How does Job 21:10 challenge the belief that prosperity indicates God's favor? Setting the Scene Job 21 records Job’s reply to his friends, who insist that suffering comes only to the wicked and prosperity only to the righteous. Job counters by pointing to observable reality: many openly godless people seem to flourish. Reading Job 21:10 “Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.” Job’s Point in Context • Job lists specific markers of agricultural and familial success—healthy livestock, numerous offspring, abundant possessions (vv. 9-13). • By highlighting flawless breeding and safe calving, he zeros in on prosperity that an ancient audience would immediately associate with divine blessing (cf. Deuteronomy 28:4). • Yet the people enjoying these blessings, Job says, are those who brazenly declare, “Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?” (v. 15). Why This Undercuts the “Prosperity = Favor” Formula • Literal observation: Even those who reject God experience tangible, measurable success. • Job refuses to dismiss this as mere illusion; he presents it as factual, challenging the tidy equation his friends promote. • The verse exposes a partial reading of covenant blessings. While obedience does bring blessing (Deuteronomy 28), Scripture never guarantees a one-to-one correlation in every individual case or moment. Supporting Scriptural Voices • Psalm 73:3-12—Asaph admits envy of “the prosperity of the wicked.” • Jeremiah 12:1-2—Jeremiah laments that the wicked “take root; they grow and bear fruit.” • Ecclesiastes 8:14—“There is a vanity… righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve.” • Matthew 5:45—God “causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.” • Luke 16:19-25—The rich man enjoys luxury in life yet lacks God’s favor in eternity. Clarifying the Balance • Scripture is consistent and literal: God rewards righteousness and judges wickedness, but His timing spans beyond earthly life. • Temporal prosperity may signal common grace rather than covenant favor. • Eternal outcomes, not immediate circumstances, ultimately reveal God’s verdict (Romans 2:5-8). Key Takeaways for Today • Observable success cannot, by itself, be treated as a stamp of divine approval. • God’s people are called to measure favor by faithfulness and future inheritance, not by present assets (1 Peter 1:3-4). • Job 21:10 invites a humble, patient trust in God’s perfect justice, which will be fully unveiled in His appointed time. |
    |