Job 21:17-21, “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, the sorrows God distributes in His anger? They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that a storm carries away. They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; let Him recompense him, that he may know it. Let his eyes see his destruction, and let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months is cut in half?”
Injustice in a fallen world is not a new thing. Wickedness
perpetrated by the wicked is likewise not something novel, yet it still manages
to stun us into silence or flush our cheeks with anger when the full breadth of
it is exposed, and we see the level of depravity to which men will sink.
Likewise, the righteous wrestling with the reality that, for
the most part, there seems to be no punishment or negative impact for the wicked
is not new. Job found himself contemplating the lives of the wicked, juxtaposed
with his own, and while he suffered in ways difficult to comprehend, it seemed as
though the lamp of the wicked did not go out, nor had destruction come upon
them.
To his eyes, it seemed unfair and unjust, and if all we had
to go by was a snapshot of that moment in time, we might tend to agree with his
conclusion. If all you see of the Mona Lisa is her disjointed, crooked nose,
and you wonder to yourself why it’s considered a masterpiece, you’re too close.
Take a few steps back, and see the whole painting for what it is. Then,
perhaps, it will make sense.
When we focus on a single moment in time, or see a snapshot
without considering the aggregate, the full picture, or the reality that God’s
sovereignty and justice extend beyond this present life, we're likely to reach
the same conclusion as Job.
Knowing that all men will answer for their choices, and whether
here or beyond this life, they will know true justice, however, gives us a
certain level of peace. God is not blind, God is not deaf, God is not
indifferent. He sees all, knows all, and though we might feel as though justice
tarries, in His time God will avenge, punish, and judge with righteous
judgment.
Even the heathen has an innate sense of justice, and of right
and wrong. Even the godless know the difference between virtue and hedonism.
The only ones who no longer possess this innate moral scale are those whose consciences
have been seared, who have wholly given themselves over to wickedness,
darkness, and debasement, becoming something other than human beings created in
God’s image.
After going without food for two weeks, being battered by a
storm that Luke describes as no small tempest, having seen neither sun nor
stars for many days, and having given up all hope of being saved, a ship of prisoners
being transported to Rome, Paul being among them, ran aground off the coast of
the island of Malta.
With no other choice but to make for the coast, those who
could swim swam to safety, and those who couldn’t floated on pieces of timber
that had once been a mighty galleon of the Roman Empire. Paul had prophesied
this outcome. He had seen it unfolding and did not hold back from informing
those with whom he was being held captive of what they would encounter.
Once they made it to shore, they ran across the natives, who
showed unusual kindness, kindling a fire and making the prisoners and Roman
soldiers feel welcome. Although the natives had no knowledge or understanding of
God’s law or the justice system of the Roman Empire, they nevertheless
possessed that inborn awareness of right and wrong to the point that when Paul
was bitten by a viper, they concluded he must have been a murderer, since
having escaped the sea, justice would not allow him to live.
Acts 28:3-6, “But when Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and
laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on
his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said
to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped
the sea, yet justice does not allow him to live.” But he shook off the creature
into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would
swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time
and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a
god.”
There’s what men think, then there’s what God knows. We live
in an age when men are readily taken in by the image others project, and we’ve
gone from being able to fool some of the people some of the time to being able
to fool most people most of the time. Even so, it’s for a season. Eventually,
the truth will out. While the wicked rest easy believing their wickedness will
never be exposed, sooner or later their actions come to light because nothing
is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known
and come to light.
It’s a certainty, so the only unknown variable is the timing
of it all. Some hidden things come to light quickly, while others take years,
if not decades, to bubble to the surface and be exposed and revealed. Examples
of this are numerous and too many to count, but one thing is certain: God is
not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
As pendulum swings go, you couldn’t get more extreme than
thinking a man guilty of murder, and concluding justice had found him and his
life was forfeit, then believing him to be a god because he survived what no
other man could. Job’s friends came close enough, though. Seeing his situation,
they had likewise concluded he was guilty, convinced that God was dispensing
justice in His righteous anger. Thankfully, upon seeing his restoration, they
did not deem Job a god.
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