17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does [k]God apportion destruction in His anger?
18 “Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm carries away?
19 “You say, ‘God stores away [l]a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let [m]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 [n]the Almighty.
21 “For what does he care for his household [o]after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?
23 “One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and [p]satisfied;
24 His [q]sides are filled out with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
25 While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even [r]tasting anything good.
26 “Together they lie down in the dust,
And worms cover them.27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you would wrong me.
28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,
And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29 “Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their [s]witness?
30 “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.
31 “Who will [t]confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32 “While he is carried to the grave,
Men will keep watch over his tomb.
33 “The clods of the valley will [u]gently cover him;
Moreover, all men will [v]follow after him,
While countless ones go before him.
34 “How then will you vainly comfort me,
For your answers remain full of [w]falsehood?”
Job brings up another common misconception, which is that evil is genetic. Okay, so most don’t actually believe that, but there was a belief that God would visit judgment on the sons of the wicked, and their sons, and so on. We see things that might appear this way, because sometimes a man who is abusive or alcoholic will have a son who grows up that way.
Ultimately, it has nothing to do with God judging that son for his father’s sins. The question Job alludes to is, why would God punish a man’s offspring for his sins instead of punishing the man himself? Or in Job’s words, speaking of the evildoer, “what does he care for his household after him?” No, each person will give an account for his deeds to God, and only his own deeds.
Likewise, you can’t justify yourself by another individual’s shortcomings either. As the Bible says elsewhere, all our righteousness is as filthy rags… We might think we look pretty good compared to someone else, and you might be surprised that someone else thinks they look pretty good compared to you. No matter what, when we are honest, and allow God’s truth to shine a light on our lives, the result is pretty appalling.
It is because of this, that we are responsible for our own actions, that we need Jesus to take away our sins personally. Just as we are not held accountable for the sins of our parents or grandparents, we cannot get to heaven to see our Father and Creator just because they served God.
As our pastor likes to often remind us, the point isn’t getting into heaven, it is to have a relationship with our God. And we can’t have a relationship “by proxy”. Instead, it must be personal, it must be our own, He must become our God and we His people, even further: His children. Yes, we can be called “friends of God”, but He wants more than that. Even to compare God’s love with that of our parents falls short. Think of the best earthly parents you could imagine, and He is more. That is our true destiny, an unthinkable future is ours for the asking when we choose life and choose to live for God.