Woes hanging over the Gadianton Robbers

In Helaman 22, the prophet Nephi came back to Zarahemla and found the Gadianton Robbers in political power, doing all kinds of injustice to the people, and when he tells them of their iniquities and warns them of the consequences, he says this:

And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies. (Helaman 7:22)

From the Gadianton’s perspective, they had all the power. They held the judgment seats, the governor positions, control of the armies, etc. Furthermore, the Lamanites, who had previously been enemies of the Nephites, had converted to the Lord and laid down their weapons, and so were enemies no more. To the Gadiantons, Nephi’s prophecy would look crazy, because at that time there were no enemies with enough power to stop them, either in their cities, or among neighboring peoples.

But. What they didn’t know was that the enemies would come from among themselves. In a mere 15 years, they would be pushed out of the land, and in their resentment, they would form a marauding band that in the last crisis would eventually have to convert to the Lord or be killed by Nephite armies.

The story of how Nephi forces Gadianton judges to detect the murder of the chief judge as coming from one of their own also gives a picture of the injustice among the Gadiantons that would prevent them from ever having the peace they anticipated or flattered themselves they would gain. Because they were founded on robber, murder, corruption, and secrecy, and while they would protect each other from public justice and try to subvert it, that also meant they would have no real justice among themselves. They would do what they wanted to each other (who could stop them?) and the victims could have no recourse in public justice because everything they were guilty of would have to be revealed in the inquiry. And inside the combination, there would be no incentive for justice, only for a show of it. With no peaceful, orderly recourse available, the Gadiantons would have no choice but to fight each other, thus splitting into warring factions.

But they couldn’t see this.

There is also subtle irony in Helaman 8:4-6 that shows their inability to see things.

4 And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them.

5 Therefore they did cry unto the people, saying: Why do you suffer this man to revile against us? For behold he doth condemn all this people, even unto destruction; yea, and also that these our great cities shall be taken from us, that we shall have no place in them.

6 And now we know that this is impossible, for behold, we are powerful, and our cities great, therefore our enemies can have no power over us.

How fascinating that they say they are so powerful and their cities so great, and yet…. They fear the people and fear angering the people if they take Nephi and condemn him. If they can’t handle the healthy corrective of Nephi’s words, and take appropriate action to change, how can they possibly handle a real crisis situation and the difficult truths that would stare them in the face then?

I think it shows the Lord’s great mercy that even when these people were steeped in such awfulness, the Lord still gave the robbers a chance to repent, sending a prophet to preach and sending signs and wonders to warn that they couldn’t hide their deeds and they were going to destroy themselves.

I also think this story shows that even if the wicked are in power, the Lord can shake things up and dislodge them.

More treasures than one in Salem, Massachusetts

9 This place you may obtain by hire. And inquire diligently concerning the more ancient inhabitants and founders of this city;

10 For there are more treasures than one for you in this city. (D&C 111:9-10)

These verses were part of the instructions given to Joseph Smith and three other leaders as they visited Salem, Massachusetts. They had come looking for sources of money to help pay their debts, so they investigated that claim. But apparently the Lord wanted to broaden their vision of value, by telling them to look into the history of the place and its inhabitants.

It struck me that it might be instructive to also look into that stuff too. After all, it is so much easier to do today, what with the internet and Wikipedia, and various fabulous resources there.

It was interesting to find this Salem was a beginning colony of the Puritans and to find out the struggles and controversies they were involved in. Although the Puritans sought religious freedom for themselves, they did not want to extend the same privilege to others. They penalized other “unorthodox” denominations with strong, cruel penalties of banishment, physical maiming, and damaging punishments, and even execution. In the end, this was part of what got their colony charter revoked.

And of course it was also the site of the infamous Salem witch trials, with all the associated superstition, false accusations, injustice, oppression, and paranoia that all involved.

How would it help the prophet Joseph Smith in 1836 to know this history? It would give a lot of information about the kinds of practices that would make a religious community odious to the surrounding inhabitants or to those who wanted to live there but who weren’t part of their faith. It would give a measuring stick against which to gauge the accusations brought against the Saints in Missouri and elsewhere.  It would definitely help form his ideas about the importance of religious freedom.  It had examples of both statesmanship and ignominious tyranny.

Some links:

Salem, Massachusetts. Wikipedia.

Roger Conant, a founder of Salem. Wikipedia.

John Endecott, an early governor of Massachusetts.Wikipedia.  

A short history of the First Church in Salem (Unitarian Universalist) 

Abigail Williams, witchcraft accuser. Wikipedia.

William Hathorne, prominent merchant in Salem. Wikipedia.

John Hathorne. Judge at witchcraft trials. Wikipedia.

Nathaniel Saltonstall, appointed judge of Salem witchtrials, and resigned. Wikipedia.

John  Proctor,Witchcraft trial victim. Wikipedia.

Addressing the question of a God who apparently commanded genocide in the Old Testament

One of the arguments I’ve heard from people who object to Christianity is that they question the Old Testament stories that depict a God who commanded the Israelites to kill the inhabitants of the promised land in order to take possession.  They point to those stories and say, “I can’t believe in a God who commanded genocide.”  They essentially frame him as a cosmic Hitler.

I admit that when looked at in this light, the stories are disturbing.

However, there are two things I think need to be taken into account.

First, if one charges God with crimes against humanity and essentially put Him on trial, then along with our modern definitions of crime, one has to use modern standards of justice.  In order to be just in this trial, one has to consider the evidence for and against the thing God did. If God had good reason for using His people to wipe out the inhabitants of Palestine at the time of Moses/Joshua, then God was justified. But if the inhabitants were not evil, then God was not justified.

The tricky thing is, there is not much documentary evidence in the Bible about what kind of people the inhabitants were.  And there is some evidence in God's favor, but it is scarce.  Because of this scarcity, it is tempting to acquit the inhabitants and condemn God, but actually our court standards require us to presume innocence until proven guilty. So one must withhold judgment against both the inhabitants that were killed and against God who commanded their killing.

And that leads to an interesting point where one presumes innocence of both the inhabitants and the God who had them destroyed.  But this might lead one to ask oneself, “Who is likely to be more innocent—man or God?”

Second, it might be useful to imagine ourselves in God’s position at that time and consider the particular situation God was in and the goals He might have been working toward and the cultural situation of the peoples He had to work with.

So, imagine you are God.

Ready?

You have a group of people who believe in you, and they have been slaves for perhaps a generation, maybe two. You’ve delivered them from bondage so that they can serve you and become a better people. They have practically nothing. They know how to work hard, but their greatest labors have been coerced, so you’ll need to teach them about being internally motivated.  They also have a sad but understandable tendency toward disobedience and complaining that you’ve been trying to train out of them with 40 years in the wilderness.

Where are you going to settle these people of yours? Is there an empty land that is reasonably easy to cultivate? How will they survive in the time it takes to cultivate a season of crops if they have nothing? (You’ve been feeding them with manna all this time.) Where will they get the tools and seed to use, if they have practically nothing? How far will they need to travel to get to this land?

Is there a culture nearby who has enough charity and care for humanity that they will be willing to give relief to your people? Will they be able to tolerate the religious duties you have set your people?

Suppose, for argument’s sake, that there was such a people. Would there be any need to give your people the command to destroy?  No, of course not.  Your people would likely find refuge there and over a period of years find places to settle.

Now, suppose that the other cultures are hostile to everything you’re trying to teach your people.  Suppose there are serious problems with moral corruption, perversion, violence, and injustice.  (Suppose you tried all kinds of ways to reach these people before and they don’t listen.)  You understand the pressures to culturally assimilate, and the last thing you want is for your people to start learning those nasty practices. 

Destroying the inhabitants starts to look like a viable option.  (Naturally, there are a lot of additional factors that God would probably take into consideration, along with a large dose of mercy and forbearance, but I think we get the idea.)

But does it have to be your people who destroy the inhabitants?  Wouldn’t it be better to let the inhabitants destroy one another?  There’s a small problem with this.  Nature abhors a vacuum, and as soon as one culture destroys another, the land will be taken over by the victorious side, so it would still be occupied. 

Why not destroy the inhabitants with massive natural disaster, like Sodom and Gomorrah?  There’s a problem with that too. If the inhabitants get wiped off the map with natural disaster, it is likely their possessions and tools would be too, and you need to preserve that stuff to help your people get a leg up.

Why not hit the inhabitants with a deadly disease then?  Problem is, it’ll leave all their stuff covered in germs, and while your people are instructed in cleanliness and washing as part of the law you’ve given them, all it takes is one person carrying it and you’ve got a pandemic on your hands.

Commanding your people to destroy the inhabitants starts to look more viable..

But why not try to use lots of big miracles to convince the inhabitants to receive the Israelites?  Well, actually God did that.  The news of the Exodus miracles and all the subsequent miracles spread to the Palestine peoples, but instead of deciding to help the Israelites, the inhabitants were frightened and most preferred to fight.  One king (Balaak) even tried to have Israel cursed.

Ultimately, these considerations still may not be convincing to some, but as a person who believes in the God of the Old Testament, they help me remember several things:

--A decision of the kind God made is an incredibly heavy responsibility and would require full and complete knowledge. In a word, omniscience. 

--I don’t know all the factors leading to this particular command, but the ones I can imagine give me a hint of how God worked with the conditions of the time.

--The Bible doesn’t tell the full story. But I have faith that ultimately there will come a day when all the whys and wherefores of God’s doings will be explained.

Probably the most worrisome aspect of this discussion may be the implication that such a command might be given again.  But I think that unlikely.  That particular command was instruction customized to a particular set of conditions, much like God’s command to Noah to build an ark was customized to circumstances in his day.   

Since God is omniscient, no doubt He knew that future generations would not have a full record of the conditions that would make conquest by His people necessary. He knew He would be painted in black colors as an angry tribal God, but since He intended to bear the blame and fault for all mankind to give us all a chance to repent, He was not deterred by that. 

When Jesus taught the people during His mortal ministry, He declared Himself as Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. Since He bore the sins of the Palestine inhabitants, He certainly had authority to say when their time was up. It is possible that He intended our sparse Biblical record to be a test to see if people could muster the faith to believe He was good even though it might look like He did something that would appear unjustified.

The progression of the Lord’s justice

And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,

and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth;

and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

(2 Nephi 30:9)

Here Nephi quotes Isaiah 11:4. 

When I read this recently it occurred to me to notice the verbs used – judge, reprove, smite, slay.

Also, look at the order of the verbs. Do you see there is a progression in severity there?  It starts with simply judging, then reproving, then smiting, then slaying.   It gives us the sense that the Lord uses gentle means first, but if people ignore Him, He will use more extreme measures to try to get their attention.

Another thing I notice is that He does this all with His words.  Even the smiting and slaying is done with His words. That’s pretty powerful. 

Conflicting reports on the death of Gilead in Ether 14

In Ether 14, in the middle of the chaos and war for the Jaredite kingdom, Coriantumr’s rival at that time, named Gilead, makes himself king, but is murdered, but there are conflicting reports on how this happened.

8 Now the brother of Shared, whose name was Gilead, also received great strength to his army, because of secret combinations.

9 And it came to pass that his high priest murdered him as he sat upon his throne.

10 And it came to pass that one of the secret combinations murdered him in a secret pass, and obtained unto himself the kingdom; and his name was Lib; and Lib was a man of great stature, more than any other man among all the people. (Ether 14:8-10)

For a long time I was inclined to think this was saying the high priest murdered Gilead and then Lib murdered the high priest. But now I’m more inclined to think this is actually giving us two conflicting accounts of who killed Gilead.

But why two conflicting accounts?  Maybe no one knew who did it.

Was it done by the king’s high priest, or was it done by a secret combination? Or was the high priest part of the secret combination?

Further, not only is there disagreement about who did it, but where it was done. Was it done at the throne or was it done in a secret pass?  Where was the king found dead? No one says anything about that.

It seems to me that the supposed murderer in each report is oriented a certain way in the conflict.  The king’s high priest is an insider. A secret combination is a group of outsiders.  And people would be inclined to accuse people on the other side of crimes done by unknown persons.   Coriantumr’s people (outsiders at the time) would say insiders did it because “see, that shows how awful they are; they can’t even trust each other.”  Gilead’s people (insiders at the time) would say outsiders did it because “see, that shows how awful they are; they can’t stand for anyone but their own guy to be in charge.”   Each side constructs an explanation to serve their own ends.

And with things as chaotic as they were, would there be any chance for justice to investigate and grind out the real answer?  Not likely. Who would do it when they’re still fighting over who’s in charge?  Who is going to be accepted as the authority to investigate and execute justice?  Probably no one. Thus, there would always be conflicting reports.  Each side probably used it to demonize the other.

And Ether, unwilling to favor either side, simply gives both sides.

So this little incident shows us that justice has not just broken down for the little guy, but also for the big important people.  Nobody, not even the king, can get justice because everyone wants to escape it. Mysterious deaths remain unsolved, and people just use them to whip up animosity for their enemies.

This is the kind of thing that makes me really appreciate having a justice system with civil rights.  I’m sure there are people that can point to incidents of injustice and faults in the system, but in comparison to awful anarchy at the end of Jaredite society, we have a lot to be grateful for.  At least we have a system that works on the whole.

Alma shares extra info about Melchizedek

As Alma the younger is preaching to the people in Ammonihah, he takes some time to tell them about priesthood authority and also about Melchizedek.

17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;

18 But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father.

19 Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention. (Alma 13:17-19)

This account is more than is in the Bible (excepting the JST about Melchizedek), but it still seems rather bald, and we have to read between the lines a bit.

Melchizedek was king over Salem, and his people were very wicked. This must have been very distressing to Melchizedek. But he could do something about it. After all, he was king.  And he had choices about what he could do.  He could either enforce the law and punish all his people, or he could preach repentance to them and hope they would listen.

He chose to preach repentance.  So he received the high priesthood and he preached… and happily, his people chose to repent!  (Yaaaaay!  Celebrations all around!)  And because they repented, the city was much more peaceful and the people all had peace in their lives, and things were so much better after that.

So why did Alma tell this to the people of Ammonihah?  I think he hoped they would realize that Alma himself was essentially trying to do the same thing Melchizedek did—preach repentance to the people instead of going out and enforcing the law immediately. He had given up the chief judge position specifically so he could do that.  He hoped the people would take the hint and humble themselves and repent.

It hit me that Melchizedek was also a type of Christ. Christ is the king over the earth, and He sees that all His people are wicked, and He could just enforce justice, but He wants to save His people.  So he, as high priest forever, walked among them and preached repentance (and he sends others to preach repentance as well). (So I guess Alma, in emulating Melchizedek, also is a type of Christ.)

   Another way Melchizedek was a type of Christ was in how it was said he was king over Salem and he reigned under his father.  Melchizedek was a prince who was also king, but he was a client king under his father.  In the same way, Christ is king, but He also reigns under Heavenly Father.

Coolness!  I love finding types of Christ I haven’t seen before!

Re-examining Job's Friends' Views of Who is Wicked

Some time ago I listened to a Maxwell Institute podcast with Mark Larrimore about how the Book of Job hasbeen viewed through the ages, and I found it interesting to see how the way Job is read could change so much over time.  (I highly recommend the podcast, by the way; the hour it takes is worth it, though don’t be afraid to skip forward a few minutes at the beginning to get to the meat of the discussion.)

One line of thought in the podcast that was suggestive of further avenues of studying Job was that these three friends talking to Job instead of just one suggests they all have slightly different views, and since they explore the difference between the righteous and the wicked, that suggests their views on that are slightly different as well.  It challenged me to go back and look at what Job’s friends say, all with the understanding that ultimately God is not pleased with what they say, since God rebukes them at the end.

What became pretty clear to me is that Job’s friends speak in sweeping generalities about what happens to the wicked, and yet, they also claim to tell what they have observed.  So they each have specific cases of people in mind that they talk about, people they consider wicked.  And we may know people like this, which makes us often agree with them.  But the fact God is not pleased with their views should warn us that our views are just as morally skewed as Job’s friends’.

So ultimately, if we can figure out where Job’s friends go wrong, we will also be able to correct our own wrong views about how God’s justice plays out in this life and not be so quick to judge others.

First let’s look at what Eliphaz says in Job 5:2-7, 12-14:

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward….

12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

Eliphaz refers to the foolish, the silly one, the crafty, the wise, and the froward.  But what is going on in their lives, if we ignore all the name-calling by pretending the name-calling is just blanks?

Someone is killed by an angry man (v2).  Another is killed out of envy (v2).  Another person’s children die in accidents where no one is there to save them (v4).  Another person’s crops are stolen secretly (v5) or they are robbed of their produce (v5), taken by force.  Another person makes plans and then can’t carry them out (v12-13).  Another has no idea what to do when to everyone else it is completely obvious (v14).  

Are we to reason that because these things happen, the people they happen to were wicked?  Eliphaz seems to argue it is so.  Really?  I don’t think so.  

This tells us that we should read carefully to distinguish whether Job's friends are describing a sin or whether they are describing what they consider to be a consequence of sin.

Next let’s look at what Bildad says in Job 8:11-19:

11 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?

12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.

13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:

14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.

15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

16 He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.

17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.

18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

Note that Bildad refers to these people as “all that forget God” and as “hypocrites” in v13.  But if you just look at what occurs in their lives, he’s talking about people who seem to prosper very early on and then fall just as quickly (v12, 16-17).  Or these people hoped for something that doesn’t come to fruition (v14).  Or they depend on their families to help and their families let them down (v15, 18).  But that could happen to anyone.

Let’s see what Eliphaz says in Job 15:20-35: 

20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.

21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.

29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.

30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.

31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.

33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.

34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

What have we got here?  Eliphaz seems to think that those who suffer in constant physical pain all their days without knowing how long their life will last has to be an oppressor (v20), probably reasoning that a person suffering chronic pain must have caused chronic pain to someone else and is just getting a taste of karma.  Then he describes the pessimistic rich man (v21-24).  He also seems to think in v25-27 that a person is directly fighting against God if they become really fat. (Huh?)  Then he describes the rich man who lives all alone in a big house (v28) or in a house that is falling to pieces (v28), or who has sudden financial reverses (v29-33). 

He ends with a scatter-shot of curses—the hypocrites will be made desolate, those who take bribery will be burned, as well as the mischievous, vain, and deceitful.  Okay, we know hypocrisy and bribery is definitely bad.

But the thing about hypocrisy is that the bad stuff usually happens in secret.  It is usually pretty difficult to detect hypocrites, so it is a good bet Eliphaz is referring more to people who say one thing and do something different, but all in public.  And there are degrees of this behavior inconsistency, as there are to all things.

Bildad gives his contribution in Job 18:5-21:

5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.

6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.

8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.

9 The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him.

10 The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.

12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.

13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.

14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.

15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.

16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.

17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.

18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

19 He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.

20 They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.

21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

Bildad seems to be describing those who don’t know what to do (v5-6), those who can’t catch a break and those who are hampered by their own weaknesses (v7-8), those who are victims of others’ wickedness, (v9-10), those who suffer from generalized anxiety (v11, 14), and the weak (v12), even those who have no sons or who lose all their children, extended relatives, or even progenitors (v13, 16-17, 19)..

But what have they actually done that is wrong?  Or is he just reasoning backward and saying that since those bad things happened, that is an automatic indication of wickedness? 

Then there is Zophar’s assessment in Job 20:5-29: 

5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

Zophar describe the rich man whose children feel the need to give restitution (v5-10), the miserly and dissatisfied rich man (v12-14), the rich man who is finally forced to give back (v15-18), the rich man who dies leaving nothing to his descendants because he spent it all himself (v19-21), the rich man who is killed and robbed of everything (v23-28). 

Zophar obviously does not have a good opinion of rich people in general.

The sins that he describes the wicked having committed are that they have 1) oppressed and forsaken the poor, and 2) violently taken away houses he didn’t built.   It sounds like Zophar is describing money lenders when they have to eventually confiscate collateral when people default on their debt.  However, those who borrow money and don’t pay it back are technically “thieves and robbers,” according to the law of Moses, so lenders are within their rights to collect.

Then we have Elihu’s view in Job 36:9-14:

9 Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.

10 He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity.

11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

12 But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.

13 But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

14 They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.

Elihu describes those who were warned of their wickedness by misfortune and refused to listen and who died violent deaths in a state of ignorance (9-12).  Then he describes as wicked those who keep making people mad (v13), those who don’t complain when they are imprisoned or handicapped (v13), those who die young (v14), and those who live among the unclean (which I think he means spiritually unclean and dirty) (v14).

You know, I’m not so sure that some of those things Elihu describes are actually bad things.  You show me handicapped person who doesn’t complain or a person in prison who doesn’t complain and I’ll show you someone who has amazing self-control. Also, you can easily imagine some of those things happening to both good people and bad alike.  (Who among us is so good that they never make anyone mad? Or never repeat an offense?)

Again, Job’s friends hardly ever describe specific acts of wickedness, but instead describe the misfortunes that happen to those they think are wicked.  It is as if they reason backwards from circumstances.  “You had this bad thing happen, therefore you are a bad person.” 

Now, compare this with how Job himself describes what happens to the wicked:

7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.

13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.

14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

19 God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.

20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? (Job 21:7-21)

Job, in contrast, explores the often prosperous circumstances that the wicked enjoy.  Clearly he has seen people who sin, who do not repent, and who nevertheless live long lives and gain great resources and influence (v7).  He lists their pleasant position:

--They get to see their children grow up and establish families of their own (v8)

--Their families aren’t afraid of anything, nor do they seem to be chastised by God (v9)

--Their livestock multiplies like normal (v10)

--They have scads of happy children (v11)

--They make and enjoy music just like everyone else (v12)

--The live in wealth (v13)

To judge by what happens to them, they do not seem wicked at all.  Yet, Job asserts they are when they don’t want to learn anything about God and they think their material prosperity means they don’t need to know God or serve him and they think there is not advantage or profit in serving God or praying (v13-15).

I think this is an important point. When Job describes the wicked here, he doesn’t even mention people who do unkind and oppressive acts. (He takes it for granted that his friends understand that is wicked.) Instead, he points out how wickedness is a matter of the heart—the disregard for God, which leads to neglect of faith, repentance, and obedience that would ensure an eternal reward.

He also points out that despite how the wicked enjoy their pleasant earthly circumstances, if they don’t repent God still lays up their iniquity, which is another way of saying that the pile of sins they are collecting is growing bigger and bigger by the day, and eventually they will know the bitter reward of wickedness (v19-20).

In another place, Job discourses on the variety of wickedness in the earth:

2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.

5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.

10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.

22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. (Job 24:2-24)

Job tells his friends that for all the wickedness people do and seem to get away with, they may be exalted for a little while, but eventually they die.  They may seem to live in safety, but God sees everything they do and rewards them according to their works.

13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.

14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.

16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;

17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.

19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.

20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.

21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. (Job 27:13-23)

Further, he describes as wicked those who oppress and he says that their children will be massacred (v14) and dissatisfied (v14), that they won’t be mourned by their surviving spouse (v15), and even if they gather riches, at the end the just and innocent will enjoy those riches instead (v16-17).  He also says the rich’s power is temporary (v18-19) and only confined to this life, and they are punished with fear (v20) and natural disasters (v20-22), and social storms that hurl them out of their place (v23).

I notice that Job states the final results of wickedness, and the earthly punishments that come upon the wicked, but he doesn’t make the mistake of saying that all those who experience those things are wicked.

While his friends insisted Job had to have done something wrong that made him deserve all his suffering, and while they argued that God could only be just to allow what happened, Job knew that what had happened to him was unjust because he knew what true justice was.

Job’s friends pointed out a lot of human weaknesses and labeled it wickedness. They also pointed out a lot of tragedy thinking it was indicative of wickedness.  But they also said that man was born to trouble as the sparks fly upward, so there was at least an acknowledgement that man could not escape trouble.

From this exercise, I think I’ve learned that some things I’ve thought were indicative of sin were actually just human weaknesses, like those who just can’t catch a break. I also learned that some of the suspicions we harbor against the rich are unjust too.  It teaches me that to condemn others because of what happens to them would be a sin. I hope I can remember what I learned so that I am less likely to judge others.  It also teaches me that everyone deserves help in adversity.

As a postscript, I want to re-mention that I’ve realized the implications about divine justice from the story of Job are that if God allowed that suffering to come on Job, God could not leave the divine scales of justice out of balance indefinitely.   If suffering was given, then later compensation would be given too.   This brought me to the intriguing idea that God allowed that suffering to come on Job knowing it would qualify him for much greater blessing, some of which came in mortality, and some of which would come afterward.