March 28, 2024

Passage Read: Job 33-36
Meditation Verse: 36:6

Thought

Elihu has the same simple view as everyone else, that God rescues the righteous, but the evil man perishes. God is only interested in rebuking the righteous, but if the righteous does not repent of their evil, the Lord will destroy them. The wicked, however, never seek the Lord, so He never bothers with them, except to destroy them. Job was looking at reality and finding conflict with his understanding of God. But his friends and Elihu double down on their simplistic worldview, despite evidence from reality. There is more to God than their worldview can explain. God is just and righteous and never does wrong, but then why do the righteous suffer in life and why do wicked men prosper?

Application

We would like evil men to be punished as quickly as possible, because we consider ourselves to be among the righteous, though imperfectly so. We're safe, so why doesn't God get rid of those nasty people? We don't realize how far short we fall in righteousness, that few of us can claim even the righteousness of Job. It is to our benefit that God extends mercy to the wicked, otherwise we would be cut off quickly. In truth, there are many to whom God never speaks; they are rejected from before creation, and God never intercedes in their life, but leaves them to go their way of destruction. God is not obligated to rescue anyone, but everyone is obligated to seek Him. Unless He chooses to rescue a man, no one has any hope, and God remains just. It is His mercy and grace that throws a wrench in Job's worldview and that of these men.