Job 21 - The Wicked Will Not Prosper

The Wicked Will Not Prosper

As we continue to listen to Job and his friends go around and around, we hear Job’s next summation of the ways of the wicked. He basically told his friends to ‘clam up’ and let him talk. Then they could continue to mock him afterward. What a deal! Can you imagine these conversations? They were all over the place and it was anything but friendly. It has been amazing to see what the Lord would show us each step of this journey, hasn’t it? I for one stand in awe of the Most High. I approach the keyboard each day and begin to look at what He shows me – totally clueless about where we will go. In all of the Bible study I have ever done, this one has really shown me how totally dependent we are on Holy Spirit for revelation.

Father in Heaven,

Thank You for Your presence – so wonderful. Thank You for Your word which is You Lord. Thank You for giving us something solid that we could live on in these days to help us to really get to know Your heart and Your will for us as we live out this life in the flesh. Father I ask You to give me wisdom, revelation and application as we dive into the pool of the water of Your word today. I ask You to speak to me and speak through me so that Your message gets to all of us; unhindered and unchecked by any flesh or outside force. I thank You in advance for growing us up in this experience today in Jesus name! Amen.

Once we read through this chapter a time or two be begin to have our spiritual eyes opened to what the Lord is trying to say to us in it for this season – amen?! In the bulk of what Job is talking about, he is discussing the ways of the wicked. He looks at how they seem to prosper and become wealthy and strong in their own might. And then we see him talk about how the wicked, as they seem to be doing so well, would ask (my paraphrase), “Why should we call on your God? What good would that do? How could we be doing any better than we are right now without Him?” Oh such foolish talk! We have seen many such examples of people who thought they were doing just fine without God, haven’t we?

As we absorb this lesson, keep in mind that all humans have a choice. Some will work hard and do well – God won’t stop that. If they make a lot of money and use the gifts He has given them, the Lord will not stop their efforts. He does not control people. We can look around our world today and see many who have made millions and billions of dollars.

There are people who have been placed in positions of high authority in our world, and lots of them, in fact the majority want nothing to do with God. They think they are doing just fine on their own. They live out their lives seeking their own personal pleasures, going to and fro as they desire, never going to church or even picking up a Bible and consider the One who gave them their life, breath and talents to do what they seem to think they can do so well all on their own.

I bet you and I can name several in our own lives who we have seen do very well and not once did they ever give honor or respect to the Lord. And many of us have looked at them a bit ‘cock-eyed’ while scratching our heads and saying, “How can they do so well when they don’t even want anything to do with the Lord, while all these people who have given their lives to the Lord are struggling to keep a meal on the table and a roof over their head?”

It just doesn’t seem to make sense, does it? But today we will look at a Biblical example of how the Lord has His way with the wicked. We must also remember that He is always looking for a person to repent – He wants every human He ever created to have a chance to turn their life around and get headed in the right direction…

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

No matter how wicked or evil a person may seem, remember that God created them just like He created you and me. He didn’t want them to make those terrible choices, but they did get to choose – everyone does. Today let’s look at a man who needed some humbling by the Lord. You will find him in the book of Daniel. His name was king Nebuchadnezzar. He was a man after his own heart – certainly no God’s. I invite you to stop here and read the entire chapter of Daniel 4 before you proceed with my study. It will prepare you for what we are about to discuss. If you really want to get the meat of everything that led up to chapter 4 you may want to start with chapter 1 and read it through – it is really a quick read and very interesting!

The book of Daniel starts off with a man who was after God’s own heart and the book bears his name – Daniel. The king of Judah had been given into the hand of king Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (the world outside of God’s people). Daniel was summoned to serve the king and he refused to defile himself with the king’s food and customs. He honored the Lord and even though he was thrown into a furnace, the Lord saved him. Oh this book is so rich with spiritual truth and encouragement, isn’t it saints? Hallelujah. The king of Babylon was a wicked man. He was all about himself and did things his own way.

He sought his own pleasure and had assumed all his leadership and prosperity were the result of his own doing – nothing to do with God, or so he thought. Those who tried to go against him would be put to death – and in the worst of ways. Being thrown into a lion’s den or a fiery furnace would be some of the worst ways a person could die! The king had made an idol and wanted people to bow down to it. He wanted people to worship him. He knew about God but still didn’t make a choice to live for Him. Doesn’t that sound like the majority of the world today?

The king had made a decree that the people should all honor the God of Daniel by not speaking ill of Him – but that was as far as it went. That sounds good enough, right? But he still had not given the Lord his heart and the Lord knew it.

The king had a dream that frightened him and he sought to have it interpreted. His astrologers and soothsayers (aka, fortune tellers) couldn’t help him. Then Daniel was given the opportunity to interpret the scary dream. He told him that the kingdom would be ripped from him and that this seemingly strong and mighty king would be reduced to a beast-like creature, eating as if he were one of the savage animals of the field. How’s that for being humbled? He would grow long hair and nails, and eat grass! No more fancy cuts of meat with choice veggies and wine at the banquet table for this king!

He was quickly reduced to nothing by the Lord. God is never mocked…

Galatians 6:7a

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;

This so called great king was nothing more than a wild savage animal in the field, all because he thought he was ‘all that’ and would not honor the Lord who had given him his place of authority to begin with. When we read this chapter we can see that God was going to give the man time – a specific time to change his heart. After that he would be given back his kingdom. Why did the Lord make it known that he would be restored? Because the Lord knows the end from the beginning. God knew what it would take to humble ol’ king Nebuchadnezzar and get him to straighten out. And He knows what it will take for you and me.

When people prosper who are led by the Lord, it is a very good thing. God wants that for all of us. But if we use that prosperity on ourselves for selfish purposes, all that pomp and circumstance will come to an end and suddenly. Think about how brief our lives really are. For some it will be 70 or 80 years even though the Lord wants to satisfy us with long life and we could go 120 years. During that time you have an opportunity to grow up, make your living and do what you are called to do.

But if we choose to live it for ourselves, that time will be the shortest time in all eternity. Each and every man will have to face the Lord on Judgment Day. Everyone will have to give an account of his life…

Romans 14:12

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

The day of God’s wrath is reserved for the wicked – those who refuse to accept what Jesus did for them at Calvary. The worst sin - the unforgivable sin is to reject the Holy Spirit – when we deny Jesus and what we have been given, we have no place in heaven with the Lord. We can ‘party like it’s 1999” as the old song said, but one day the party will be over. We will be standing face to face with our Maker and have to explain to Him why we denied the Savior. Many on that day will say this…

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

It’s not only the people who wouldn’t step a foot in church that will perish. No, sadly, there are many going to church today who do not know the Lord. They come for all the wrong reasons. To them it is a show. Some even bring large amounts of money and want their name on the tiles to prove that they donated something to make the church building beautiful. They are seeking their own glory – not that of the Lord. Some will even pray and do things of various kinds in the name of the Lord – all the while remaining a stranger to Him.

That’s what religion can do to folks. People who want to serve themselves will fit right in with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They wanted to look good and get all the attention in the synagogues, but look at what Jesus said about them…

Matthew 23:27

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

How many years did I sit in a church and though I had accepted Jesus as my Savior at the age of 9, I really knew nothing about God, the Bible or His things. I had no training or teaching that would open up the information. I sat in a church for over 22 years that never taught me how to really have a relationship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit. While I was excited about Jesus and going to church, I really didn’t know anything about how to love Him and how much He loves me.

When I heard the Bible being read at church, there was no passion in the reader’s voice – it was like they were reading a clipping from the newspaper. And then they sat down. That’s all the Bible we got.

But nobody carried a Bible to church and nobody raised their hands to worship the Lord. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were not in operation and it seems so odd to me now. It wasn’t until the year leading up to me leaving my husband that I began to feel like I needed something more where church was concerned. I would go to church pretty faithfully because we raised our daughters there – but it really started to seem so dead to me. And what did know even then? Not much at all.

One day the Lord led a coworker of mine to me who invited me to her church. I accepted her invitation to go get a bite to eat with her and attend the evening service. One of the biggest problems church going folks make today is not listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit and going to the church God wants them to go to. Or they leave and go someplace else because they don’t like what someone said, or the color of the carpet – the music is too loud or too soft or something they don’t like. They never bothered to ask the Lord where they were supposed to be to get fed and serve and stay there as long as He wanted then too. Church hopping has become a major problem among Christians today.

When I went to this friend’s church  - everything seemed different. It was a more modern much, it very was relaxed and they talked about real life situations we faced and what the Bible has to say about how to handle them. I was quite intrigued by it and went back another time. What the Lord was trying to show me is that there was more out there. That tugging in my heart had been the Holy Spirit. He was trying to show me a better way. He was trying to pull me out of religion into relationship with our awesome God. But for me it would take an earthquake to get my attention. It wasn’t long after that when I took a step off the edge of life and walked into the worst catastrophe of my lifetime.

My point is this. Even though we go to church, we can be just like the wicked that Job is telling his friends about in our chapter today. The ‘wicked’ in God’s eyes are those who are not saved. And the churches today are filled with unsaved people. They are going – that’s good. There is something in them that wants something better. But too many places are teaching us how to be religious – not how to love the Lord and read His word and pray in the Holy Spirit and be led by Him. Many are running around thinking they have a lot of good things going on.

I have run into folks like this after I began witnessing to people. Their parents are wealthy and they are on the fast track to becoming wealthy themselves. They go to play tennis and golf. They go on great vacations all over the world. They eat in the finest restaurants and wear the best clothes.

They have everything they could possibly need and so when someone approaches them about the Lord, they quickly turn the other cheek. And some of them that I have encountered are church goers – yet they seemed to want nothing to do with God. It is really heartbreaking. How it must break the Lord’s heart that all these people that He knit together in their mother’s womb want nothing to do with Him. He is nothing but good and has nothing but good in mind for us if we will simply do life His way. And His way is a good way.

Just yesterday at church we looked at what is the number one problem in the world today. It is rebellion! People everywhere are rebelling against God. Most people just want to live to satisfy their flesh and do things their own way. The devil is the ultimate rebellious one! He has led the world in rebellion. But when we look at the beginning of the Bible we see that everything God made in the beginning was good. His intentions for us have always been purely good…

Genesis 1:31

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

Everything God does is good and it’s right. He didn’t make us to give us a hard time. Before the fall everything in man’s life and in creation was perfect. But sadly in a short time, man would decide to rebel against his good God and from that time on everything would be turned to a curse. From the ground to the atmosphere, the lives of every man and woman. While the wicked seemed to have no hope, God made a way where there seemed to be no way. After Adam and Eve fell into satan’s hands, God knew the only way He would bring mankind back to Himself would be through a spotless sacrifice. The good news is that God had something so good planned – hallelujah! Look at this…

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

There really is help for the worst of sinners, so that their end will not be destruction and everlasting fire on the Day of Judgment. The following verse explains what can happen if a person truly has godly sorrow for their sins…

2 Corinthians 7:10

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

When a person is really sorry for their sins, no matter what they have done or how far they have gone, they can turn it all around and get their promised and secured salvation in the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord – hallelujah! So no matter who a person is, whether a king or a homeless man or woman on the street – there is hope that will not disappoint. You might say, “Ya, but what about Hitler and Osama Binladen?” Well friends, you better hold on to your hats because if they had repented, truly in their hearts, even in their final hours, God would have forgiven them! Yes, it is true. He wants all to come to the knowledge of the truth!

Job didn’t find any comfort in his friends. And rich people will not find comfort in their wealth…

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money or things – the problem is when those things have us. Job knew deep in his heart that he had God. He just didn’t understand a lot of things at the point we are looking at in today’s chapter. But he knew that the ways of the wicked would never prosper with God. He knew without a doubt that while they thought they had all the money and fun they needed, they would be hopeless on Judgment Day without the Lord. Job wasn’t totally clueless about God. Remember, he had been a man after God’s heart for a very long time before this event, and he knew his God pretty well, don’t you think? 

Questions:

What did Job tell his friends to do in the beginning of the chapter?

What was king Nebuchadnezzar’s main problem?

What was the king’s end result?

What kind of sorrow is God pleased with?

Have you been rebellious toward God in any way that requires you to repent? List it here and take it to prayer.

Psalm 18:25-27

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;
With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You will show Yourself pure;
And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
For You will save the humble people,
But will bring down haughty looks.

                                                                             

There are three main points to consider from today’s study… 

The wicked will not prosper on Judgment Day

Godly sorrow brings us to a place of true repentance

We cannot serve both God and ourselves

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for making a way for every sinner who ever lived through Your wonderful Son Jesus Christ! Lord, thank You for giving everyone hope, no matter what they have done. Lord, we are grateful that You want everyone to be saved. Father, I ask You to help me remember that when I am in a witnessing situation. Help me to look past what they have done to what Your Son has done for all of us. Give me a tender heart toward the lost and give me the right words to say and the right questions to ask in every encounter. I ask You to show me if there is anything that I need to repent of. With Your help I will turn from it quickly and get back on the right path. Thank You Father for saving Your people in Jesus name! Amen

With whom can you share this message of hope?  

And God Said… You fill in the blanks.

Psalm 37:1-11

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
but it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.