The Second Cycle of Dialogue (Job 15-21)

At first, Job’s friends used their understanding of theology and God to call Job to repent for his wickedness. They believed that all of the bad things in life are directly caused by our own sin. But when Job rebuffed their “wisdom,” they were offended. 

Now, in the second cycle of arguments, Job’s friends no longer consider a way out of Job’s problems. They bristle at his words against their understanding and turn to castigation. All three friends double down on their assertion that wicked people will always suffer. And, since Job is suffering, he must be a wicked man too. 

Job’s responses in this section still tend to be a cry of anguish. His friends are no friends at all. They just contribute to his suffering. He calls out to God for both abandoning him, but also to plead for and advocate for him. But in the end, Job counters his friend’s faulty theology. 

Wicked people do not invariably suffer in this world. In fact, they seem too often to flourish! 

We see evidence of this still today. The godless can be very successful. Some of the most powerful people in the world do not believe in or follow God. They cheat the poor and take advantage of systems that they have set up. These systems tend to keep power and riches with the powerful and the rich. The poor and downcast—whether they are God-fearing or godless—stay poor and downcast. And not because they are inherently wicked (or lazy, or dumb) but because they often do not have opportunity or ability to get out of their state. 

Bad theology makes pharisees of the best of us. But when we double down on bad theology because we benefit from it, we are in danger of being the wicked that Job describes. The wicked that prosper and enjoy their wickedness. The wicked that feed a false system of belief that benefits us, and doesn’t lead anyone to God.