SUMMARY
Job answers Zophar, who has asserted that the wicked will be punished. Job argues that, on the contrary, the wicked often prosper.
ANALYSIS
The question that is often asked when tragedy strikes an innocent person is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” In this chapter, Job asks a question about a reality that is almost as troubling: “Why do good things happen to bad people?”
Job lists such good things: the wicked live to old age, their children are secure, their livestock breed without fail, they are prosperous, and they die in peace. And all of this is true even though they refuse to worship God or serve God. This scenario makes Job bitter, especially since he – a good man – has lost everything.
Job wants the wicked to reap what they sow. We understand his bitterness. It is too often the case in our world, as in Job’s, that the wicked seem to prosper. Such a reality should lead us not to bitterness, however, but to advocate for just laws so that corrupt people are held accountable. We can say with Job, “The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me” (21:16). And we can work for a just society where no one is above the law.
