Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Job 21 – Praying through the Bible #164 – A Prayer from the Wicked
“Why do bad things happen to good people;” is the inverse of “Why do good things happen to bad people?” Most of the rich are unbelievers. Many shadowed by “bad luck” are believers. How do we reconcile this reality with a good God?
Something strange happens in Job’s second response to Zophar. He repeats the prayer of the wicked as being true to reality and contrary to the theology of his friends: (14) Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know Your ways. (15) Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?” (Job 21.14-15).
This prayer is reminiscent of Pharaoh responding to Moses: “Who is Yahweh that I should obey Him” (Ex.5.2)? God sent 10 plagues on Pharaoh; but truth is, often the righteous are the plagued in this life. The emphasis for us in the wicked man’s prayer is the last part: “what will we gain by pleading with Him?” Right before this prayer Job recounted the wicked man’s good life (21.7-13). Job’s life was the opposite. This presents a dilemma. Was Job wicked or righteous before when blessed? What did Job’s righteousness gain him? No longer is he powerful and influential; he has lost his children, lives in fear, lost his animals, and feels no joy. The problem for Job, his three friends, and all the rest, is this two-sided reality is dueling against what they believe. The good suffer; the evil prosper. Job’s friends have continually allowed platitudes of “reality” to form their theology:
Job 20.5 the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?
By their theology, do you think Job’s friends were wealthy? But their view of righteousness and reality contradicts what is seen in others. Where did their warped views come from? Here’s another surprise, the Bible. Both in the old and new covenants God promises we shall reap what we sow (Hos. 8.7; Gal.6.7). So what do we do when our reality rebukes our understanding of scripture? Some change the scriptures; too often, and too easily. Their feelings rewrite what is written. Such makes our experience the arbiter of truth instead of God. Instead, what we must do is alter our view of reality until it is in sync with God’s. The full answer is not found in Job. Reality is, reality is more than just this world. To see more clearly, God revealed three realities that balance the scales in this life, between the blessings of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. They are the crucifixion, resurrection, and eternal judgment. True reality, full reality, is not found in what is seen and temporary; but in who is incarnated. Jesus is our reality.
Prayer Challenge: Pray not to be blinded by the world’s thinking that this world is the beginning and end. Jesus suffered and died, so that we might live eternally.
Comments