Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (OTA)

Job 34:10-30

¹⁰    “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:

far be it from God that he should do wickedness,

and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹    For according to the work of a man he will repay him,

and according to his ways he will make it befall him.

¹²    Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,

and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³    Who gave him charge over the earth,

and who laid on him the whole world?

¹⁴    If he should set his heart to it

and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

¹⁵    all flesh would perish together,

and man would return to dust.

¹⁶    “If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I say.

¹⁷    Shall one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸    who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’

and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’

¹⁹    who shows no partiality to princes,

nor regards the rich more than the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰    In a moment they die;

at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,

and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

²¹    “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,

and he sees all his steps.

²²    There is no gloom or deep darkness

where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³    For God has no need to consider a man further,

that he should go before God in judgment.

²⁴    He shatters the mighty without investigation

and sets others in their place.

²⁵    Thus, knowing their works,

he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶    He strikes them for their wickedness

in a place for all to see,

²⁷    because they turned aside from following him

and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸    so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,

and he heard the cry of the afflicted—

²⁹    When he is quiet, who can condemn?

When he hides his face, who can behold him,

whether it be a nation or a man?—

³⁰    that a godless man should not reign,

that he should not ensnare the people.

This almost sounds like the perfect 4th of July text. The people of the american colonies did not like their king. But their King was placed there by God. He was given charge over the people. God does not do wickedness, so what would make you think that God would allow a wicked man to rule? Who says to a King, "You worthless one!" The intended answer is nobody, but rather the world would scream everyone. Presidential approval ratings in the United States rarely make it over 50% they are generally good when they are in the upper 30s.

But here is the real point, "For according to the work of a man he will repay him and according to his ways he will make it befall him." You need to look at your own work. If you were a bad King, God would make sure you got de-throned. If you are a bad father, God will take away your children. If you are an evil person God will punish you. But when is this going to happen. The world shows us that nice guys finish last. 

I even heard the other day that if a guy is too nice on a date, the girl will think he is toying with her, or trying to decieve her. Is this really true? This is why everyone wonders where all the nice people have gone. They have been trampled on and turned to do evil. Jesus was a nice guy, he got crucified (there may be a little more going on there).

We know that we are going to be judged by our works. We also know that we are saved by Grace alone through faith alone. We know that God has mercy on us and will forgive our sins. We know that the godless will not reign in eternity, but those who are in Christ Jesus will reign with Christ. So maybe in the end Nice people will finish strong, but only with the help of Christ.