Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today Joe Brabble Today Job wrapped up his response to Elifaz's third speech. In Chapter 24, Job continues to point

out that good things happen to the wicked and also adds that bad things happen to the righteous.

Surely you've seen this too.

When I first read this response from Job, it sounded more like a complaint, like he was kind

of whining about it. But the more I looked at it, the more it sounded like he was kind of whining about it. But the more I looked at it, the more it sounded like he was consoling himself with these details,

reminding himself that his trials don't negate his status as a righteous man before God,

while also trying to convince his friends as well.

Job points out some really important stuff here.

We can kind of see that if you follow his friend's beliefs to its logical conclusion, you'd be likely to conclude that all those

who are healthy and wealthy are living righteous lives and that those who are poor, sick, and

needy are in that situation because of their sin. There is no shortage of people who even

subscribe to this type of theology today. One of the dangers of this is that any time there's

a disaster, a fire, or a flood, or a terrorist attack, some very public

religious people will say it's God's judgment as if they know the mind of God.

They're guilty of the same reductionism that Job's friends are.

In Job's story, we're given a glimpse into God's motives because they're recorded in

scripture, but in everyday 21st century life, we don't have access to that information. People would be wise not to jump

to conclusions about why hurricanes and mass murders happen when and where they do.

After Job's speech, Bill Dad pushes back, saying that not only is Job unrighteous, but that it's impossible for a man to be righteous at all.

And while there's some truth to this, that we can't be perfect, we can be declared righteous by God

despite our actions because of the finished work of Christ. In scripture,

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