Job 20 and 21

I've lost count of what round we're on. Zophar is going to offer another speech to Job in chapter 20 and Job will refute him in chapter 21. Each gives witness to the facts of life that supports their argument. Zophar continues to argue the fact of retribution for evil, but Job counters that if we open our eyes we see that the evil do indeed prosper, that the wages for evil ways are not always found.

I think of the issue of cheating in school. It is not enough to stake its morality in the consequences of the behavior. Many students make it through high school and college (and many adults later in life) through cheating and never see the consequences. It is a case where wrongdoing does not necessarily reap its reward. Individuals have gone to their death bed reaping the benefits of a life earned through cheating. You could argue that a guilty conscience is their punishment, or the loss of esteem through achievement. But the reality is that there is no good reason to avoid cheating other than the higher morality of right and wrong. Job seems to be approaching the understanding of a higher morality, a higher dedication to God that the rewards and punishments of human behavior.