Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,
Job answers his friends in their debate over suffering by arguing from what can be seen in this life, that the wicked often prosper and enjoy wealth and ease while the righteous suffer, with their real punishment still future. He points his hearers to ask travelers on the roads what they have observed, whose tokens are the signs of the dead along the way, even tombstones where the wicked lie in the dust. What is known from them is that the wicked are spared and reserved to the day of destruction and brought forth to the day of wrath, rather than fully punished at death. They rest silent in the grave and in sheol, not suffering in hell now, but held there until they are raised to face judgment. That bringing forth is at the second resurrection, when each is rewarded according to his works in the judgment that cleanses the earth by fire.
Setting and Wording
Job 21 belongs to the extended debate between Job and his three friends about his afflictions found in chapters 3-31. That larger colloquy takes up the cause and object of human suffering. Within it, chapter 21 speaks from human wisdom and observation about suffering. There Job reasons to a considerable extent from the same standpoint of observation as his friends, while knowing his own integrity, unable to understand God's dealings with him yet not charging God foolishly.
His answer contends that the wicked prosper in this life but face punishment in the future. In the present world the wicked may flourish and enjoy worldly wealth and pleasure while the righteous suffer persecution, yet God sees this condition and comforts His people through His word. To establish this he appeals to the testimony of those who travel the roads and pass by, who can report what they have seen of what happens to the wicked. The question is whether those who go by the way have been asked and whether their observations have been noted, since their testimony shows the wicked reserved for a future day of destruction rather than receiving final punishment at death.
Their tokens are the signs of the dead seen along the way as travelers pass by. Those signs include tombstones marking where the wicked lie in the dust. They stand as visible evidence that the wicked wait in that state for the day of destruction, when they will be brought forth for the day of wrath.
Reserved for Future Judgment
What travelers know is that the wicked are reserved or spared for the day of destruction and shall be brought forth to the day of wrath, so that their final punishment lies in the future after judgment rather than occurring now at death. The signs they know as they pass by are the signs of the dead seen along the way, even tombstones marking where the wicked lie in the dust awaiting that day. They remain in the grave until then and are raised or come forth from their graves for judgment and punishment. Their common death is not itself the full punishment for sin, for they may die at ease without suffering and yet remain reserved for the day of destruction and brought forth to the day of wrath.
Those who died in sin are not now suffering punishment in hell before that time but are silent in sheol, kept back and held over in the grave waiting for the decision of the judgment. Reserved means kept back and held over to a future time, with the reservation in the grave. The bringing forth is at the second resurrection to receive the punishment decreed against sin in the judgment, when each person is rewarded according to his works. That day is the judgment and destruction associated with the earth's cleansing by fire. In this present world the wicked may flourish and enjoy worldly wealth and pleasure while the righteous suffer persecution, but God sees this condition and comforts His people through His word.
Job answers his friends in their debate over suffering by arguing from what can be seen in this life, that the wicked often prosper and enjoy wealth and ease while the righteous suffer, with their real punishment still future. He points his hearers to ask travelers on the roads what they have observed, whose tokens are the signs of the dead along the way, even tombstones where the wicked lie in the dust. What is known from them is that the wicked are spared and reserved to the day of destruction and brought forth to the day of wrath, rather than fully punished at death. They rest silent in the grave and in sheol, not suffering in hell now, but held there until they are raised to face judgment. That bringing forth is at the second resurrection, when each is rewarded according to his works in the judgment that cleanses the earth by fire.
Setting and Wording
Job 21 belongs to the extended debate between Job and his three friends about his afflictions found in chapters 3-31. That larger colloquy takes up the cause and object of human suffering. Within it, chapter 21 speaks from human wisdom and observation about suffering. There Job reasons to a considerable extent from the same standpoint of observation as his friends, while knowing his own integrity, unable to understand God's dealings with him yet not charging God foolishly.
His answer contends that the wicked prosper in this life but face punishment in the future. In the present world the wicked may flourish and enjoy worldly wealth and pleasure while the righteous suffer persecution, yet God sees this condition and comforts His people through His word. To establish this he appeals to the testimony of those who travel the roads and pass by, who can report what they have seen of what happens to the wicked. The question is whether those who go by the way have been asked and whether their observations have been noted, since their testimony shows the wicked reserved for a future day of destruction rather than receiving final punishment at death.
Their tokens are the signs of the dead seen along the way as travelers pass by. Those signs include tombstones marking where the wicked lie in the dust. They stand as visible evidence that the wicked wait in that state for the day of destruction, when they will be brought forth for the day of wrath.
Reserved for Future Judgment
What travelers know is that the wicked are reserved or spared for the day of destruction and shall be brought forth to the day of wrath, so that their final punishment lies in the future after judgment rather than occurring now at death. The signs they know as they pass by are the signs of the dead seen along the way, even tombstones marking where the wicked lie in the dust awaiting that day. They remain in the grave until then and are raised or come forth from their graves for judgment and punishment. Their common death is not itself the full punishment for sin, for they may die at ease without suffering and yet remain reserved for the day of destruction and brought forth to the day of wrath.
Those who died in sin are not now suffering punishment in hell before that time but are silent in sheol, kept back and held over in the grave waiting for the decision of the judgment. Reserved means kept back and held over to a future time, with the reservation in the grave. The bringing forth is at the second resurrection to receive the punishment decreed against sin in the judgment, when each person is rewarded according to his works. That day is the judgment and destruction associated with the earth's cleansing by fire. In this present world the wicked may flourish and enjoy worldly wealth and pleasure while the righteous suffer persecution, but God sees this condition and comforts His people through His word.