Oh the tragedy that the unrepentant wicked will see the Lamb all right, but in His wrath, not His love.
It’s more like a squeak than a bellow, but Job finally declares that he believes God will act in justice against wicked men. “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life. He gives them security, and they rely on it; yet His eyes are on their ways” (Job 24:22-23). How does He do this? It seems like a slap on the wrist, but, Job says, even though there seems to be security in their lives—the sun rises, the rain falls, the darkness descends each evening to hide their crimes—yet on the other hand “no man is sure of life.” This uncertainty about what a day may bring steals the joy from their pleasures. And because all of life is unpredictable, you can’t really count on anything to last, says the man who lost everything in a matter of a few days! In addition, we can’t help but sense that Someone is watching. Call it karma or fate or providence, all seem to have the sense that a day of reckoning is coming. And yet… It hardly seems like justice even when a wicked man dies, adds Job. “They are exalted for a little while, then they are gone. They are brought low; they are taken out of the way like all others” (v 24). Those last three words are the issue. Yes, he says, wicked people finally die—but so do we all. Where is the justice in that? During their lives, “God does not charge them with wrong” (v 12). And then their passing is no different from those who cared for the poor instead of robbing them. Job’s right. If everything terminates at death, there is no justice. But human existence doesn’t end there. Said John, “I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God…And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Rev 20:12). God will balance the books.