In what ways does Job 21:16 connect with Psalm 73's view on the wicked? Setting the Scene • Job 21 records Job’s rebuttal to friends who insist that earthly calamity always follows wickedness. • Psalm 73 is Asaph’s reflection on the same puzzle: why do the wicked often thrive while the righteous struggle? Shared Observations about the Prosperity of the Wicked • Job 21:7–13 and Psalm 73:3–12 both catalog the comforts, wealth, and apparent security of ungodly people. • Job: “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7). • Psalm: “For I envied the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:3). • Both writers acknowledge that, on the surface, injustice seems to prevail in everyday life. Key Connection: God’s Ultimate Control • Job 21:16—“Look, their prosperity is not in their own hands; let the counsel of the wicked be far from me.” – Job concedes that the wicked may appear self-made, yet their success is ultimately outside their control; God alone governs outcomes (cf. Proverbs 21:30). • Psalm 73:16–19—“When I tried to understand all this, it was troublesome to me until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I discerned their end. Surely You set them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin.” – Asaph reaches the same conclusion: God is sovereign, and apparent prosperity will collapse at His timing. Divergent Angles, Same Destination • Job speaks from the ash heap, underscoring that the wicked do not hold the reins of their own success; he therefore rejects their “counsel.” • Asaph speaks from the sanctuary, recognizing that God Himself will shatter that success; he repents of envy and clings to God (Psalm 73:22–28). • The link: both men transfer focus from what the wicked possess to Who ultimately oversees every outcome (Psalm 75:6-7; Job 12:13-25). Takeaways for Believers Today • External prosperity is fleeting and never self-secured (Psalm 37:1-2; James 4:13-16). • Separation from “the counsel of the wicked” (Job 21:16) guards the heart from envy and compromise (Psalm 1:1). • Worship—whether in honest lament like Job or in sanctuary meditation like Asaph—realigns perspective with eternal truths. • Confidence rests in God’s just governance; He will vindicate righteousness and judge wickedness in His perfect timing (Romans 2:5-8; Revelation 20:11-15). |
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