What does "drinks injustice like water" reveal about human behavior in Job 15:16? Setting the Scene • Job 15:16: “How much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water!” • Spoken by Eliphaz, the verse nevertheless mirrors other clear biblical statements about humanity’s moral condition (Genesis 6:5; Romans 3:10-12). Understanding the Phrase “drinks injustice like water” • Everyday necessity: We drink water constantly; the image shows injustice as a normal, even essential part of fallen human life. • Ease and speed: Just as water goes down smoothly, people commit wrong without resistance or discomfort (Proverbs 4:17). • Quantity and appetite: A thirsty person gulps water; humanity’s appetite for wrongdoing is pictured as insatiable (Micah 2:1). • Inward absorption: What we drink becomes part of us. Injustice isn’t merely external behavior; it permeates the heart (Jeremiah 17:9). What It Reveals About Fallen Human Nature • Moral corruption is universal—no one is exempt (Psalm 53:2-3). • Sin is not an occasional lapse but a habitual pattern (Ephesians 2:1-3). • Left to ourselves, we even crave what God calls evil (Romans 8:7-8). • Self-reform alone cannot fix the problem; we need divine intervention (Isaiah 64:6; John 3:3-6). Contrasting Examples in Scripture • Job himself earlier testified to guarding his ways (Job 1:1), yet even he needed God’s grace (Job 42:5-6). • Joseph’s refusal of Potiphar’s wife shows a heart transformed to resist the “easy drink” of injustice (Genesis 39:9). • Jesus, the sinless One, offers living water that replaces our taste for wrongdoing (John 4:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Implications for Our Daily Walk • Recognize the danger of treating small compromises as harmless sips; they pave the way for bigger gulps of injustice. • Stay spiritually hydrated with Scripture, worship, and fellowship so the old appetite loses its pull (Psalm 119:11; Hebrews 10:24-25). • Depend on the Spirit to transform desires, not just behaviors (Galatians 5:16-17). Personal Application • Examine habits: What media, conversations, or attitudes feed an appetite for injustice? Replace them with what is true and honorable (Philippians 4:8). • Practice quick repentance: When you taste injustice, spit it out through confession (1 John 1:9). • Keep drinking the “water of life” every day so thirst for injustice diminishes (Revelation 22:17). |
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