Wisdom Books Job

Waiting on the Lord

Discover Jesus as: Promised Redeemer Job 21 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 379 of 730
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INTRO

Waiting on the Lord has always been difficult. In this chapter, Job responds to Zophar’s second speech. Job’s speech in this chapter was a response to Zophar, but it also spoke to the bigger picture of what was going on.

TEACHING

Job 21:1–3: Job desperately wanted his friends to hear his words, to stop judging his conduct, and hear his heart in his suffering. He wanted his friends to sympathize with him. Job began this speech with a restatement of the sentiment in Job 13:5: “If only you would shut up and let that be your wisdom!” Job admonished his friends to listen to him for just a moment before rushing to speak again.

Job 21:4–16: Constable pointed out that Job simply wanted to be heard by his friends.1 Job was desperate for someone to hear him because he felt even God wasn’t listening to him. However, his friends were more concerned with trying to get him to repent of sin they were sure he had committed.

Beginning in verse 7, Job spoke about how wicked people experience continued prosperity.2 The wicked experience good things while refusing to acknowledge God at all. Wiersbe called this “practical atheism.”3 The wicked simply didn’t care about God but were still prosperous. This truth undermined his friends entire theology of God always punishing the wicked and always rewarding the godly.

Job 21:17–26: Job argued that God chose how and when the wicked prospered. In Job’s mind, life was not as simple as his friends made it out to be. Sometimes God allowed the wicked to prosper and the righteous to suffer. At other times, God might punish the wicked and prosper the righteous. The issue was much more mysterious and less formulaic than his friends made it out to be. Job’s argument refuted the idea of karma. Doing good things, including obeying God, did not mean he was due to receive good things. Nor did doing bad things, including sinning, mean he was necessarily due to receive bad things.

Job 21:27–34: Job offered more examples to refute his friends theology of retribution. He asked them to simply walk around and observe how wicked people lived securely in their houses, experienced peaceful burials with people watching over their graves, and saw their children live on after them. In Job’s mind, his friends needed to open their eyes to the world around them to see their argument didn’t hold water.

In Job 21:4, Job struggled to wait on God, during his suffering and in the middle of everything going wrong. Linda Green offered ten suggestions for things we can do while we ç:

  1. Believe that the God who saved you hears your cries. No matter what situation you have found yourself in, whether you are alone or with others, you must understand God hears you. “But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me”(Micah 7:7).
  2. Watch with expectancy, but be prepared for unexpected answers. “At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.”(Psalm 5:3). God will answer our prayers, but He might not answer them in the way that we think He will..
  3. Put your hope in His Word. We can put our hope in many things, but Psalm 130:5–6 says, “I wait for Yahweh; I wait and put my hope in His word. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning—more than watchmen for the morning.”
  4. Trust in the Lord, not in your own understanding. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths”(Proverbs 3:5–6). None of the things we can do to settle our minds in the midst of struggles ultimately work. We only find the relief we seek when we resolve to place our trust in the Lord.

Resist fretting, refrain from anger, be still, and choose patience. Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans. Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm” (Psalm 37:7–8).

Be strong and take courage. “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord”(Psalm 27:13–14).

See it as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness. “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him”(Lamentations 3:25).

Wait for God’s promise instead of going your own way. “While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise”(Acts 1:4).

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving. “Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving”(Colossians 4:2).

Remember the blessings yet to come. “Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy”(Isaiah 30:18).4 We may receive the blessings of the Lord in the here and now, or we may receive them eternally. Either way, God promises to bless us as we wait for Him.

CLOSING

These ten truths help us understand how we can wait on the Lord in the middle of suffering. They aren’t a process or a formula but holding on to these truths will ensure we get to the other side of any situation that requires us to wait on the Lord.

  1. Dr. Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Expository Bible Study Notes: Job, p. 82; available at https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/job.pdf.

  2. Constable, p. 82.

  3. Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: Wisdom and Poetry (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2004), p. 44.

  4. Linda Green, “What to Do While You’re Waiting on God”; available at https://unlockingthebible.org/2017/08/what-to-do-while-youre-waiting-on-god/.

Questions

  1. What was the one consolation Job said his friends could give him? Do you struggle to listen to others? How can you become a better listener instead of the one giving your opinion?
  2. To whom was Job’s real complaint aimed at? Do you see this as a bad thing? Explain.
  3. What were the three main points of Zophar and his friends that Job refuted? (Job 21:7, 17, 22–26)
  4. What was Job’s position on the thought that the punishment for parents’ sins falls on their children? (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:1–20; John 9:1–3)
  5. Read Job 21:7–16. Do you ever catch yourself envying or admiring those who reject God yet seem to live a trouble-free and prosperous life? How do you share the gospel with people who seem to have everything?
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Job 21 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Job 21:4–5

“As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient? Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.”

Job responded to his friends’ reasoning about why he was experiencing this time of suffering, living day and night with painful boils. Job’s thoughts and emotions had been up and down, and yet he continued to wait upon the Lord for the day when he would be free from the suffering.

Waiting. When you walk in the Spirit, the Lord will fill you with patience. In contrast, when you walk in your flesh, you will naturally grow impatient, experience worry and fear, get irritated, and lose perspective. Whether you are waiting for coffee to brew, the line at the grocery store to move, or traffic to clear, everyday situations may cause you to grow impatient. Waiting for a health test result over the week- end or for a loved one to get out of surgery can really cause unrest in your heart. However, the Lord says those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. No matter what you are waiting for, you can release your prayers to the Lord and wait expectantly, trusting that He hears you! As you wait for something in your life today, believe one thing—the Lord knows. He hears you. So trust His timing even through traffic. Wait with thanksgiving. Rest in His promises. Resist the urge to fear and fret. The Lord your God is with you through the waiting.

“As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn’t I be impatient? Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.”

— Job 21:4–5

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • Psalm 5:3 — “At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.”
  • Isaiah 40:31 — “But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
  • Micah 7:7 — “But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”