Job 21:14-15
They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse reveals a profound rejection not just of God's presence, but of any "knowledge of your ways"—they don't want to understand God's commands or purposes. It highlights that for some, prosperity breeds a self-sufficiency that actively pushes away any divine guidance or potential disruption to their chosen path. This isn't just a casual indifference, but a deliberate turning away from God's wisdom because it would only expose the wrongness of their own.
Job is grappling with the perplexing reality that wicked people often prosper while the righteous suffer. In this section, Job is describing the attitude of these successful evildoers, revealing their defiant rejection of God. They are so pleased with their worldly success that they tell God to leave them alone, wanting nothing to do with His commands or the wisdom found in knowing Him.
Why do the wicked seem to prosper so much? Job observes that their success doesn't lead them to God, but away from Him. They don't just tolerate their prosperity; they leverage it as a reason to dismiss God.
Job is highlighting a profound irony: outward success can breed an inward rebellion. When life is comfortable and needs are met by worldly means, the temptation is to thank oneself or the 'system,' not God.
The World's Embrace
This prosperity makes them feel self-sufficient. They don't need God's intervention or guidance, so they ask Him to stay out of their lives. Their success becomes a shield, allowing them to ignore spiritual realities and the call to live by God's standards.
It's not just that they want God to leave them alone; they actively shun understanding Him. What does it mean to 'desire not the knowledge of your ways'?
This phrase reveals a deep-seated rebellion. It's not a lack of opportunity to know God's ways, but a deliberate refusal.
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A Conscious Choice
They don't want to know God's ways because knowing them would expose their own actions as wrong. Their chosen path is comfortable, and the 'knowledge of God's ways' would bring conviction, discomfort, and the demand for change they are unwilling to make.
It's a willful ignorance, a decision to remain blind to the truth that would disrupt their preferred lifestyle.
Understand the original words
sur · Hebrew Verb
To turn away or withdraw; in this context, it expresses a defiant rejection of God's presence and authority over one's life.
da'ath · Hebrew Noun
In a biblical context, knowledge is not merely intellectual information but a deep, experiential relationship and intimate acquaintance with God and His moral expectations.
Shadday · Hebrew Noun
A title for God emphasizing His omnipotence, sovereign power, and sufficiency; He is the One who is all-mighty and able to perform His will.
abad · Hebrew Verb
To serve God is to acknowledge His lordship through worship, obedience, and submission; it is the act of living in accordance with His commands.
yathar · Hebrew Noun
An advantage, benefit, or gain; here, the wicked question the pragmatic value of maintaining a relationship with or seeking God.
paga · Hebrew Verb
A form of communication with God involving adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication; it is an act of dependence on God’s grace and intervention.
This passage directly echoes the sentiment of Job's ungodly speakers, stating 'Fools say in their heart, “There is no God.”' This highlights the underlying denial of God's sovereignty and desire for His absence that Job describes.
Matthew 8:34The people of the Gergesenes explicitly asked Jesus to 'Depart from their region.' This New Testament account provides a clear parallel to the attitude Job describes, where people would rather have God removed from their lives than deal with His presence and demands.
Luke 12:16-21The parable of the rich fool who hoards his wealth and plans for a secure future, without any thought for God, demonstrates the practical outworking of the desire for God to 'depart.' His focus is entirely on worldly possessions and self-sufficiency, mirroring the mindset Job is critiquing.
Romans 1:28This verse speaks of people who 'did not see fit to acknowledge God,' leading to a 'depraved mind.' It connects the rejection of God's ways to a deliberate preference for ignorance, aligning with the statement in Job that they 'do not desire the knowledge of your ways.'
Titus 1:16The description of those who claim to know God but deny Him by their actions shows a similar disconnect. It reinforces the idea that saying 'Depart from us' and not desiring knowledge of God's ways is a deep rebellion expressed through a life lived apart from Him.
bensonJob 21:14: "Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."
Job 21:14 . Therefore — Because of their constant prosperity, they say unto God — Sometimes in words, but commonly in their thoughts and affections, and by the language of their lives, Depart from us — Let us not be troubled with the apprehension of our being under God’s eye, nor be restrained by the fear of him. Or, they bid him depart as one they do not need, nor have any occasion to apply t…
ellicottJob 21:14: "Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."
(14) Therefore they say unto God. —Should be, Yet they said unto God, Depart from us, &c.
This verse reveals a profound rejection not just of God's presence, but of any "knowledge of your ways"—they don't want to understand God's commands or purposes. It highlights that for some, prosperity breeds a self-sufficiency that actively pushes away any divine guidance or potential disruption to their chosen path. This isn't just a casual indifference, but a deliberate turning away from God's wisdom because it would only expose the wrongness of their own.
Job is grappling with the perplexing reality that wicked people often prosper while the righteous suffer. In this section, Job is describing the attitude of these successful evildoers, revealing their defiant rejection of God. They are so pleased with their worldly success that they tell God to leave them alone, wanting nothing to do with His commands or the wisdom found in knowing Him.
Job is grappling with the perplexing reality that wicked people often prosper while the righteous suffer. In this section, Job is describing the attitude of these successful evildoers, revealing their defiant rejection of God. They are so pleased with their worldly success that they tell God to leave them alone, wanting nothing to do with His commands or the wisdom found in knowing Him.
"They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’" — This verse reveals a profound rejection not just of God's presence, but of any "knowledge of your ways"—they don't want to understand God's commands or purposes. It highlights that for some, prosperi…
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