Job 21:7

7 Wherefore do the wicked [rasha`] live [chayah], become old [`athaq], yea, are mighty [gabar] in power [chayil]? KJV-Interlinear

7 'Why do the wicked still live, Continue on, also become very powerful? NASB

Jobs friends have all along held that if you are prosperous, then you must be good. After all, all prosperity comes from God. But if you are experiencing suffering in life, then you obviously must be bad or wicked. Or another observation might be, if you suddenly lose your wealth, then you must be wicked. Or if you suddenly gain wealth, then you must be on the good side of God.

One of the oldest questions in history is, 'Why do the wicked prosper?' And by the same token, 'Why do the righteous, or the good people, seem to be on the suffering side of life?'

When you lack Biblical perspective, then you do not know the answer to these questions. But if you have been a student of the scriptures for some length of time, then you probably already know the answer to these questions.

Job is going to lay out the answer to the first question, in the next few verses.

The fact in life, is that, not only do wicked people exist in this world, but they are allowed to live on in their lives even to ripe old ages. They are allowed to prosper even to become phenomenally wealthy. They are allowed to become very powerful. They assume positions of power and influence throughout the world and throughout history.

Job does not site any specifics, but his examples must be obvious because he will not be challenged.

We can look around in the world and see many examples of wicked people. They do not have to be tyrants, remember, in order to be classified as evil. Your social clubs are full of the wicked. Governments, bureaucracies, politics, celebrities and on and on, are full of examples of wicked, yet successful people.

They live to ripe old ages and then die, seemingly very well to do.

It is true today, and with Jobs comments, we know that this principle was true back in his day as well.

So, why is this? Why doesn't God blast away the wicked and make room for only those who pursue truth?

Here are but a few of the reasons why wicked people are allowed to continue their life in this world.

1. To show the patience of God;

2. To furnish a full illustration of the character of the human soul;

3. To give them ample space for repentance, so that there is no semblance of a ground for complaint when they are called before God, and are condemned;

4. Because God intends to make some of them the examples of his mercy, and to display the riches of his grace in their conversion, as he did in the case of Paul and others;

5. They may be preserved to be the instruments of Gods purpose, as was the case with Pharaoh, Sennacherib, or Nebuchadnezzar;

6. He keeps them, such that His great interests for society or history may be carried on; that the affairs of the commercial (providing jobs for example) and the political world, may be forwarded by their skill and talent, as in the case of Caesar or others.

7. To allow them to produce future generations that may very well be positive toward God.

As for their wealth? That answer may be summed up in the Laws of Divine Establishment.

In this world, God established the laws of economics, just as he established the laws of physics. If you understand business, buy low and sell high, or happen to see a good business deal, then those activities continue for all people, not just for good people.

God places air around this planet for all to breathe, so too, He created the Laws of Establishment for everyone. Everyone who was born a human, has a soul. Everyone has volition for making decisions. Everyone can get married or not. Everyone can have a family or not. Everyone can get an education, get a job, start a business, run for an elected office, make a discovery, invent a thing, and so forth.

Remember that God, Jesus Christ, controls history. But His control runs parallel with human volition, in history.

Christ creates life with each individual birth. He could have placed you into history with different parents or at a different time. You are reading this now, so obviously God put you into history now, rather than a century ago.

In eternity past, God (the Father), looked down through the tunnel of time and saw all of human history, under an infinite number of scenarios. He chose the one in which we are living out. We call that decision, the Divine Decrees. Jesus Christ carries out that original plan to the letter.

That plan called for Adam and Eve, for Moses, for David, for the timing of the Cross, for the different dispensations of history, and for you. Everything in history past, from the movements of peoples across the globe, to the discovery of the microchip just a few decades ago, was incorporated in Gods original plan.

People from all walks of life, which includes those who are the good and those who are the wicked, are included in that plan.

But remember one important thing. Your life in this world runs from your birth, until the moment of your death. God controls both, not you.

While on this planet, in this life, God has given us all many common graces in order to allow us to function during our life. That even includes your IQ, if you have one.

Some will invent and some will do nothing. Some will change diapers, and some will fly into outer space.

What you do in life is irrelevant. Mans inventions only help to bring conveniences or other forms of entertainment, or perhaps a better quality of physical life into this world. But once dead, all of that stops - cold.

Your primary objective in this life, is to prepare yourself for the next, longer life of eternity. Everything you have and do in this life is nothing more than Gods logistical support for you while you are here in this world.

Unfortunately, too many people make their life here in this world, their primary objective, to the exclusion of consideration for their next life. And why is that? Because their senses for what they can see, taste, touch, smell, hear, possess, enjoy, and so forth are far more real to them, than anything in the spiritual life.

Look up into the night sky and say your prayers. What happens? Nothing. The stars do not change, the answers do not come, the miracles of old do not occur. Only silence comes from heaven. How can one operate in life from silence?

And faith becomes the missing ingredient from ones life. The na ve will ridicule you for being the fool, and your own will, will be tested for the pressures, anxieties and discouragements of life. The toughest test there is.

Nothing in life seems to happen the way you want it too. But then, God did not place you here so He could become your very own personal genie, or so you could lecture others or threaten them with lightning strikes.

Faith comes only from the legitimate function of your spiritual life. And God will test you from time to time just to see how really tough, spiritually, you are, or just how weak, spiritually, you are.

Everything in life comes from God. In order for man to make it on his own, he needs the mechanisms of the laws of establishment, and even then he will have to face the mechanisms of the jungle environment which is out to get you. All of your troubles will come from your own volition, from people, from bureaucracies, or from natural events in disasters, including medical problems.

But for those who place their lives in Gods hands, then a higher law applies, even while we live inside of the forces of this world. God can carry you through all storms, through all kinds of disasters, through all kinds of unfairness's, through anything you can imagine, and while in His hands, you will be absolutely safe. Even if the world seems to get the better of you from time to time.

Job is our example in life. He came into this world and enjoyed some semblance of a good life. The world took it all away, but Job did not lose God, or his life. He was restored to better than before, as we will eventually see.

So it is too with your life.

Reject or blame God, and your life will end up in failure, even if you experience some success during this life.

Pursue God and your life will end up in guaranteed success, even if this world seems to get the better of you from time to time.

The world will end one day, and all it has, will disappear. All of the maligners, cheaters, unfairness's and so forth will lose, big time.

Your spiritual life cannot be touched by the world, and your life now will be better, spiritually, and your eternity will be beyond anything you can imagine.

No matter what your age is right now, all of those prior years have vanished in a blink. The next several years will likewise vanish, so take advantage of your time now, and grow up in your spiritual life. Your spiritual life is your very best investment. The world can't match it.

Now is the time to post a prayer.