SOAP 10/30/2014; Job 21:19-21

Today's reading: Job 21; Mark 5, 6

S) "¹⁹ You say, 'God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.'
Let God repay him so that he may know it.
²⁰ "Let his own eyes see his decay,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ "For what does he care for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?"

Job 21:19-21 (NASB)

O) Job was lashing out, in his anger that the wicked are not punished directly. While his friends were trying to remind him that the wicked do not escape justice forever, Job was impatient, and he actually raises a valid point- if only it was completely accurate. While it was true (through most of the Old Testament), that the sins of the father had consequences for the son, even down to the 4th generation- that was not a deterred, or delayed execution of justice. The same wicked man who sinned was still being punished, but often timescale the repercussions from the LORD would carry past his own life. As Job mentioned, threatening an evil man, with punishment toward his offspring, is probably ineffective, but that's not all that happens.

A) Now, in terms of how this verse can change the way my life goes, there are two routes. On the one hand, I am thankful that our Father God no longer punishes posterity. However, on the other hand, this should make me consider the discipline I use with my children. It should be specific (the one who actually erred is the one disciplined) and immediate (as close as I can manage). It is not effective for one child to "ruin it for everyone" and it flies in the face of the grace God gives us. Adam ruined it for everyone, but Jesus Christ fixed that. It is ineffective also, to delay discipline, because it's too easy for a child to start rationalizing, calculating odds (plus, I just want to forget, because that's not discipline at all- unless it's actually mercy).

P) Father God, You are merciful and loving, even in Your discipline. Help me to recognize my own sins immediately, to confess and repent from them. With the discipline I give to my own kids, help me be decisive, wise, timely, and responsible. I am a steward of their lives, Father God, and I want to do everything I can to raise them biblically. Let Your will be done in their lives. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.