Job 21:29 | KingComments | STEP | After having explained that the wicked do not always receive their punishment in this life, Job confronts his friends with their own reasoning and theology ( ). He knows how they think about him, he knows their opinion about the cause of the misery in which he has ended up. He summarizes their reasoning and puts it clearly into words. You don’t have to be a profound thinker to know what they think. Their words and head shaking leave no doubt about it. They forge “plans” to prove that he is a sinner and a hypocrite. By doing so they violate him, they do him a great injustice and increase his pain. He sees that their conception of him has not changed and can never change, because then the whole building of their thought world collapses. They continue to convince him that he is an evil, sinful man. They continue to insist on the anvil that the wicked are overwhelmed by disasters. Job is overwhelmed by disasters, so he is a wicked man. To prove that he knows their thoughts and plans, he cites their hurtful assertion – ‘wrong me’ ( ) means ‘hurting me’ – about the house and tent of the noble yet wicked person ( ). They say that by God’s judgment of their wickedness those have been overthrown and gone. With this they claim in so many words that Job, who has lost house and hearth, is in fact a wicked person. But what the friends say does not correspond at all with the practice of life. Why didn’t they just check their reasoning with “the wayfaring men”, people who come from somewhere else, who have seen a little more of the world ( ). They can testify to what they have encountered. Is there any truth in their story left? Did those wayfaring men tell that they saw everywhere that the dwellings of wicked people were in ruins? Of course they didn’t. Why do they not accept the testimonies of such people? They confirm the truth of what Job said, that the wicked often prosper and live long. Job continues his argument with the observation that the wicked man is often not punished directly for his wickedness, but that this only happens later ( ). He certainly does not escape punishment. He “is reserved for the day of calamity” (cf. ; ). Pharaoh of Egypt, who again and again rejected God’s command to let Israel go, is an example of such a person. It confirms once again that the wicked are not always punished immediately. Only an unwise and foolish man does not see this ( ). Job speaks of “the day of fury”. That is the day when God’s wrath comes upon the sins of the wicked. ‘Fury’ is plural. The wicked will have fury upon fury upon him. The judgment of God concerns every sin. It is also a judgment that continues endlessly. The wrath of God abides on him forever ( ). No one dares speak to the evildoer of his evil behavior ( ). Whoever does so will bring his anger upon himself. And you don’t want that, do you? We know there have been people who have done this, like Elijah to Ahab and Jeremiah to the sons of Josiah. John the baptist even paid with death for speaking to Herod of his sins. The evildoers were not immediately punished for their evil deeds and could just go on with their sins, because there was no one to punish them. Any evil that is not punished immediately after it is committed, or even during the life of the evildoer, will be repaid by God on the day of judgment.

‏ Job 21:29

Job Accuses the Friends

After having explained that the wicked do not always receive their punishment in this life, Job confronts his friends with their own reasoning and theology (Job 21:27). He knows how they think about him, he knows their opinion about the cause of the misery in which he has ended up. He summarizes their reasoning and puts it clearly into words. You don’t have to be a profound thinker to know what they think. Their words and head shaking leave no doubt about it. They forge “plans” to prove that he is a sinner and a hypocrite. By doing so they violate him, they do him a great injustice and increase his pain.

He sees that their conception of him has not changed and can never change, because then the whole building of their thought world collapses. They continue to convince him that he is an evil, sinful man. They continue to insist on the anvil that the wicked are overwhelmed by disasters. Job is overwhelmed by disasters, so he is a wicked man. To prove that he knows their thoughts and plans, he cites their hurtful assertion – ‘wrong me’ (Job 21:27) means ‘hurting me’ – about the house and tent of the noble yet wicked person (Job 21:28). They say that by God’s judgment of their wickedness those have been overthrown and gone. With this they claim in so many words that Job, who has lost house and hearth, is in fact a wicked person.

But what the friends say does not correspond at all with the practice of life. Why didn’t they just check their reasoning with “the wayfaring men”, people who come from somewhere else, who have seen a little more of the world (Job 21:29). They can testify to what they have encountered. Is there any truth in their story left? Did those wayfaring men tell that they saw everywhere that the dwellings of wicked people were in ruins? Of course they didn’t.

Why do they not accept the testimonies of such people? They confirm the truth of what Job said, that the wicked often prosper and live long. Job continues his argument with the observation that the wicked man is often not punished directly for his wickedness, but that this only happens later (Job 21:30). He certainly does not escape punishment. He “is reserved for the day of calamity” (cf. 2Pet 2:4; Jude 1:6). Pharaoh of Egypt, who again and again rejected God’s command to let Israel go, is an example of such a person. It confirms once again that the wicked are not always punished immediately. Only an unwise and foolish man does not see this (Psa 92:6-7).

Job speaks of “the day of fury”. That is the day when God’s wrath comes upon the sins of the wicked. ‘Fury’ is plural. The wicked will have fury upon fury upon him. The judgment of God concerns every sin. It is also a judgment that continues endlessly. The wrath of God abides on him forever (Jn 3:36).

No one dares speak to the evildoer of his evil behavior (Job 21:31). Whoever does so will bring his anger upon himself. And you don’t want that, do you? We know there have been people who have done this, like Elijah to Ahab and Jeremiah to the sons of Josiah. John the baptist even paid with death for speaking to Herod of his sins. The evildoers were not immediately punished for their evil deeds and could just go on with their sins, because there was no one to punish them. Any evil that is not punished immediately after it is committed, or even during the life of the evildoer, will be repaid by God on the day of judgment.