Today I want to highlight three verses for us to think about:
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?
Job is again caught in a conundrum in regard to his friends. As we see in our passage, Job recognizes that God is so powerful and just that no human can truly stand before him blameless of sin entirely. But “blameless” has another sense. All throughout the Psalms, for example, this term is used to describe people, not meaning to say that they are without need for a Savior, but that because of their faith in the coming Messiah, their overall character is consist with the law of God and they are blameless towards outsiders.
The point Job is trying to make is a good one: suffering plays no favorites. The suffering in this life befalls both those who live for God and live for themselves alike. While suffering does not play favorites, there is a reality that we must not miss: there is only one right way to respond to suffering, no matter the cause of suffering—through faith. This could look like crying out to God for help and sustainment, it could look like repentance if your suffering is indeed from sin, but no matter what, your heart should be drawn to God in faith.
By: Graham Withers — Pastoral Ministry Associate
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