Job 21:17  How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
18  They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
19  God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
20  His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21  For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
22  Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
23  One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
24  His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25  And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
26  They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
27  Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28  For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29  Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,
30  That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
31  Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32  Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
33  The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
34  How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?

Job continued to counter Zophar’s false theology. Death comes to the wicked according to God’s timing. It is not true that the wicked will always be cut off in their youth or that they will suffer greatly and then die.
Job pointed out that the life of the wicked is very fragile as well. God is in charge of the final moment of each person. Even though the wicked may have children that do well in this world, they are still accountable to God and He will end their life according to His time. God is merciful and He gives the wicked time to repent and be saved. He does not need to give anyone time, but He does. He also sets the time for each one. No one is guaranteed old age.
The Bible warns many times that to day is the day of salvation. It is foolish to think that a person can live a wicked life and when they are old they will turn to the Lord. Those who choose to reject God in their youth often become harder and harder and never get saved.
In verse 22 Job asked an important question. No one is going to teach God anything. Zophar needed to submit to God rather than try to tell God how He needed to act. God judges kings and He judges the poor.
Job pointed out that one man dies at full strength. The reference to breasts full of milk and his bones moistened with marrow is a reference to the strength of the man. He is talking about a male in verse 24. He is not supporting the wickedness being promoted of “transgenderism”. This is speaking of a man that is at full strength and agility. It would be a reference to a younger man who is in the prime of his life.
In verse 25 we see that another man might die with bitterness in his soul. He has faced a rough life and is angry at the world and at God.
Both of these men will face the same end. They both die, and the worms will eat them up. Death is the great equalizer. The difference is in where the soul will go at death. That is determined by what the person does with the truth, in this life. Those that reject God will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will face eternity in heaven.
In verses 27-28 Job declares that he knew what these men were up to. They had made it clear what they were thinking. He did not need to imagine anything.
In verse 28 he again stated that the house of the prince and the house of the wicked will both come to an end. God has not given man the right to make up our own judgment on either. God declares what will happen to man. We can examine the tree by its fruit. The basis of all judgment must be God’s Word. God tells us what happens at death. Those who truly know God’s forgiveness will be in heaven. Those who reject God’s grace and mercy will face eternity in hell.
Zophar had ignored Job’s testimony. They looked at his circumstances and judged him according to that. God had already declared who Job was and that would not change.
In verse 33 Job reminded these three men that the wicked die just as innumerable others who have died before them. No one avoids death by wishing it will go away. No one avoids death by paying their way out of it.
In verse 34 Job reminded these men that they were vain comforters. When he refuted them, they just doubled down and came at him from another angle, but the storyline was the same. They had nothing to offer him and as he had stated at the beginning of this chapter, they would have been wise to just be quiet. They were incriminating themselves by making false statements, not just about Job, but about God. This would come back to bite them.
It is important to warn people of what is ahead. It is important to do so based on truth. The Catholics teach there is purgatory that gives the dead person opportunity to redeem himself. That is a lie. Most Mennonites as well as some other groups teach that a person can lose their salvation. They try to scare people into submission to their false teachings by threatening that if a person steps out of line with their teaching, their eternity is in jeopardy.
The truth is that if a person turns to God in repentance and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, they are granted eternal life by God. Those who are in this place, will show evidence of salvation. The Bible tells us this. We do not need to make it up.

II Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

It is imperative that the true child of God walk as a child of God. New Evangelicalism has lied to thousands of people and stated that you can keep your sinful habits and be a Christian. There is not a single Bible verse to support that lie. Paul addressed the carnality in I Corinthians. He did not make exceptions for them. He was directed by God to rebuke them and to teach them the need and the way to deal with this sin. Paul had much to say about the need to cast off the old man and put on the new man.

Galatians 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

We do not do a person a favour when we lie to them about life. Those who are truly saved are saved by God. They are not saved by repeating a prayer. They are saved by turning to God and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Works do not save. James was directed to remind us that Godly works will follow true salvation.
Job demonstrated his faith in God by his lifestyle. God told us he was a righteous man in chapter 1. God does not lie. Zophar and his friends were ignoring what God said and they were trying to condemn Job as a wicked man because he had lost his family and his wealth and his health. They could not point to any sin in Job. They accused him of being a hypocrite but they had no evidence to back that up.
Job would need to endure some more of their lies yet before God would stop them. Job was being tested and he was being given an opportunity to trust God even when life was tough. He would learn this and he would be a better man due to this. His three friends would learn that they had been heaping up the wrath of God against themselves. God would be merciful to them and give them an opportunity to be forgiven.
Those who are saved need to draw nigh to God whether times are good or tough. We need to ask God to give us the patience and the steadfastness needed to serve Him faithfully. Lost people are watching. They want to see something real. As we serve God faithfully we can help the lost to see that God is real and His way is right. In the end, no lost person will have an excuse for rejecting the truth. God is working in the heart of each lost person. He is showing each one they are lost. He is seeking to draw them to Himself. It is up to the lost person to listen to God and find a good church where they can hear the truth and be saved. The clock is ticking for each person. Death is sure. Submit to the truth now and begin to walk with the Lord according to His will and Word.
Pastor Bartel