King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 3 notes
1Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job stayed true to his words and convictions.
He would not let others lure his mind away from that truth.
7Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
11I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
13This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
16Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
17He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
Here we see the justice of the Lord in recompensing evil to the wicked.
And Job, through the years, had seen this.
However, in previous verses he complains of how the wicked grow old and seem not to be rewarded for their wicked ways.
So we see that in this life the wicked sometimes get the due reward for their wickedness and hypocrisy.
And there are times they seem to get away with it, but of course eternal judgement awaits all.
But why some get recompensed in the earth 🌎 and others don't, and what criteria is used to judge thus, only God knows.
Just as the righteous get blessed and may prosper materially and for all to see,
There are times the righteous suffer loss for their righteousness' sake.
But like David says, I was young and now I am old, and I've not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
18He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
19The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
22For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
The God who takes revenge in action here... He is a just God.
We may not always understand his strategy, because sometimes out of the most wicked of souls comes a Saul or Paul who will change the phase of Christianity.
Let us just trust the graciousness and wisdom of God.