Job 20:1-29 - Judgment of Hearts Belongs to the Lord

Job 20:1-29

Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

2 “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
3 I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

4 “Do you not know this of old,
Since man was placed on earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?

6 Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
7 Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8 He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.

10 His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it will lie down with him in the dust.

12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
13 Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his mouth,
14 Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.

15 He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.

17 He will not see the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

20 “Because he knows no quietness in his heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of misery will come against him.

23 When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
24 He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors come upon him;
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.

27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.

29 This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”

Zophar did not appreciate Job exposing him and his friends in their unwise counsel based on assumptions and resulting judgments against their supposed friend.  He told Job that he heard the rebuke and just had to answer back as if he understood more than he was told in the rebuttal.  He began by saying that the man is evil and only has a short time on the earth to triumph before his hypocrisy catches up to him, an almost direct assault on Job for speaking in his own defense.  Zophar basically told Job that Job’s high and mighty attitude of knowing what was right more than he did was like dying in his own dung and he will die and nobody would even remember him of his life and wisdom.  He accused Job of being an evil person who hides lies like venom under his words that even upsets his own stomach so that his riches will come back up and be lost for defending himself as he had been doing.  He further attacked Job by saying he would not have his riches restored or get any enjoyment anymore from anything he did still possess, as one who oppressed the poor and taken someone else’s house for his own, something Job never did in his life always lived (Job 1:1, 8, 10) aboveboard in sincerity and integrity of truth to help others.  This friend took advantage of the suffering of Job to make it the reason for unsettling thoughts as proving he must be guilty without having the understanding of the real source of the circumstances coming from the adversary.  He told Job he would suffer even more loss and God’s wrath of judgment as destruction comes like an arrow or a fire or even darkness thrust on him by the Almighty to show Job his sins and loss as a result according to his misguided understanding of the situation and supposed consequences.  Zophar summed up his verbal assault by saying that these things Job suffered were the portion given by God as earned by a wicked man, Job.  He must have done something wrong and evil to suffer such a in his friend’s skewed estimation.  We are told that we do not know the hearts of one another, and are to leave such judgment until all hearts and thoughts are revealed (1 Corinthians 4:3-4, 5, Hebrews 4:12) in the end; may we learn from this to do this and not as the counselors of Job who was deemed righteous by the Lord.  Judgment of hearts belongs to the Lord, not us. 

Job 18:1-21 - The Accuser of God’s Children

Job 18:1-21

Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

5 “The light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And his own counsel casts him down.

8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel,
And a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.

12 His strength is starved,
And destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14 He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.

15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.

17 The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name among the renowned.
18 He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.

19 He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those in the west are astonished at his day,
As those in the east are frightened.

21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Job’s third friend Bildad steeped in to accuse Job by telling him how the wicked are punished and ever taken away from them, a direct message that was veiled indirectly in judgment as I he knew the situation and Job’s heart and mind as only the Almighty is able to do.  He began by telling his friend to get some understanding before speaking to him and his fellow visiting friends whom he accused Job of calling stupid for all their unwanted counsel.  Bildad continued to describe the wicked as ones whose light will go out, in other words die, and his light will go out in his house as his strength fades with his own counsel of defense against these three.  He accused Job of setting his own trap by his defense to trap and ensnare himself along his life’s path and bring such terror of suffering and death.  He reiterated that Job lost his strength and faces certain consequences of destruction, just as his outward skin condition (Job 2:7-8) and loss of all property and possessions seemed to prove to Bildad.  This antagonist then told Job that others would take his house that he lost and burn it down in judgment while comparing him to a withering plant whose roots (in God and His declarations of Job’s righteousness in His eyes) and branches then dry up and die.  He told Job that nobody would remember him in his former glory among others (Job 1:1, 3) in the community and those memories would be chased away due to his present circumstances of loss and suffering that must be brought about by Job’s sin in the eyes of his advisors turned adversaries.  He would have no posterity since his children were all killed (Job 1:18, 19) and all would observe, being afraid and astonished at his demise.  Surely only the wicked man such as Job would suffer these things of loss because he really cannot know God.  Such is the judgment of the adversary whose followers imitate as adversaries in other’s adversity to slander and insult the children of God.  The accuser of God’s children will be himself judged and sentenced in the end (Zechariah 3:1, Revelation 12:10) for the true evil he has done and so we, like Job, hold to our integrity and standing declared by the Lord in our union with Christ and His righteousness until that day.  Our hope and endurance in the face of persecution, suffering, and loss it the great and everlasting gain (Philippians 3:7-8, 9, 10) we have in Christ our Lord of all.  We trust Him and what He declares about us over anyone else.  Amen! 

Job 17:1-16 - Where is my Hope?

Job 17:1-16

Job Prays for Relief

1 “My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
The grave is ready for me.
2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?

3 “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who will shake hands with me?
4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will fail.

6 “But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
8 Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way,
And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

10 “But please, come back again, all of you,
For I shall not find one wise man among you.
11 My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the thoughts of my heart.

12 They change the night into day;
‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
13 If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’

15 Where then is my hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Shall we have rest together in the dust?”

As Job continued to suffer seemingly endlessly, he was broken and ready to die to send the constant physical and mental anguish and the reproaches of others.  He realized that these mockers who blamed his ill condition on sins they imagined, that these mockers who would not even shake his hand in friendship, they had their hearts hidden from understanding by God to whom Job continued speaking as he poured out his frustrations and grief and they were not to be commended by God for their efforts.  Job also realized all too well that he was seen as detestable and a subject of derision (Psalm 42:10, Isaiah 51:7) as we do (1 Timothy 4:10) now in Christ by the unbelieving who offer similar foolish advice, not knowing we suffer for the sake of Christ and the sake of righteousness in our faith in Him.  When we do suffer for Him or because we are His (Philippians 1:29, 1 Peter 2:20, 3:17, Revelation 12:17), we can be assured that as we hold to our righteous obedience that we can be stronger with clean hands than dirty ones as those who judge us have as Job confessed here (Job 17:9) for our encouragement.  Job told his companions that they were free to visit again even if no wisdom would be found in their advice since even their presence in his impending death was some com to him.  Where was Job’s hope then?  He tells God and us that his hope was as yet unseen and he might only find it past death in the grave with his friends as his suffering ends.  We have a more certain hope in Christ (Romans 5:5, Hebrews 6:19, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 1 Peter 1:3, 13, Titus 1:2) as we know Him now and are at peace with God (Romans 5:1) in union with Him and enveloped in His righteousness.  We know after the resurrection to life that we (1 Corinthians 15:19-20, 21-22, 25, 56), we will no longer face suffering (Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 5:2) from sin and the enemy nor even death itself.  Our hope then is that we will face no more tears of suffering (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 21:3, 4) as we will stand perfected in Christ before His presence forevermore.  Where is my hope?  In Christ alone and forever! 

Job 16:1-22 - My Witness and Evidence are in Heaven!

Job 16:1-22

Job Reproaches His Pitiless Friends

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “I have heard many such things;
Miserable comforters are you all!
3 Shall words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?

4 I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul’s place.
I could heap up words against you,
And shake my head at you;
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

6 “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?
7 But now He has worn me out;
You have made desolate all my company.
8 You have shriveled me up,
And it is a witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.

9 He tears me in His wrath, and hates me;
He gnashes at me with His teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.

10 They gape at me with their mouth,
They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.
11 God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.

12 I was at ease, but He has shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has set me up for His target,
13 His archers surround me.
He pierces my heart and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
14 He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.

15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And laid my head in the dust.
16 My face is flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place!
19 Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.

21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his neighbor!
22 For when a few years are finished,
I shall go the way of no return.

When Job answered his three friends come to comfort him in his suffering and found them to be miserable counselors, he asked them what provoked them to speak without understanding or compassion.  He told them straight up that if they had been in his position, he would not do as they had been doing, but instead he would find words to give them strength to endure and comfort in their agony.  He would not shake his head in judgment or speak many things against them as they had been doing.  Job would have acted as a true friend, like a brother even, with compassion and respect to understand and empathize instead of playing God and telling them their problems that resulted in their circumstances.  He told them that whether he remained silent or spoke his mind, he still was grieved in his suffering for unknown reasons and felt all alone in their company due to their approach to him.  He then spoke of his adversary, which could have meant them or even an inkling of the heavenly adversary who had been causing this agonizing suffering, but echoes the time Jesus suffered on the cross from the gospel accounts.  He spoke of the hatred and gnashing of the teeth (Matthew 26:65) of the adversary and of how they gaped with their mouths (Psalm 22:7, 13, Matthew 27:39) at him, as well as how they gathered together to strike him (Matthew 26:67, 27:30) on the cheek.  It seems that Job prophetically pointed to the adversary attacking Christ on the cross, not knowing, but perhaps wondering, that it was the adversary responsible for his own suffering.  He saw himself handed over to the ungodly and given into the hands of wicked men, just as Jesus would be.  Job further saw himself as a target with God allowing the attacks on his body and soul as he lay in repentant sackcloth and prayed pure prayers with tears in the midst of it all.  Above all and through this all, Job stated that he knew his witness was in heaven with God and the evidence sat with Him and not his friends who scorned him or even in himself.  He began to glimpse the grace of God to come in the righteousness found in Him alone and not himself or his own righteousness (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:23, 10:3-4, Philippians 3:9) as he poured out his heart to his Maker.  Job pleaded with God and asked his friends to do so for him instead of their judgment, knowing he was headed towards death at the rate he was headed in his extreme suffering.  We may find good and godly friends who can sympathize with our suffering (Romans 12:15, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15), but even when we do not, we still have the assurance of our witness in heaven and accompanying evidence of the grace of God that our righteousness is in our union with Christ and our hope of vindication made certain by His promises.  My witness and evidence of imputed righteousness are in heaven in Christ Jesus, no matter how others judge me! 

Job 15:1-35 - The Foolishness of Wisdom

Job 15:1-35

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill himself with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain prayer before God.

5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

7 ”Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?
8 Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken gently with you?

12 Why does your heart carry you away,
And what do your eyes wink at,
13 That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?

14 “What is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
15 If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
16 How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
Who drinks iniquity like water!

17 “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them:

20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.

23 He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.
25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

27 “Though he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28 He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.

29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”

Eliphaz called Job foolish for trusting in God and his own righteousness in His eyes, seeing Job as having foolish wisdom.  We who are in Christ and possess the gospel truth can relate to being accused of foolishness when presenting the wisdom and power (1 Corinthians 1:18, 20-21, 22-23, 24-25) of the Lord to the accusers and mockers of every generation.  This friend Eliphaz answered the speech and sincere prayer of Job with accusations of folly in his words, telling Job that he must not really fear God as he said since he gave unprofitable words, empty of true knowledge and merely dry wind out of the east that can do no good for anyone.  He told Job that sin must be driving his mouth with craftiness and so Job’s words condemned him the the estimation of Eliphaz as he sat in judgment on Job.  He did not like what Job was saying and so accused him of ignoring the counsel of the LORD and presumptuously assuming his wisdom exceeded that of the elders of the people.  He told Job that he must have turned from God to say such things, because no man can be pure or righteous before Him as Job appeared to him to be saying.  He also told Job that God certainly puts no trust in His saints and so he could not have such wisdom as he just claimed in word and prayer recorded for us in the previous chapter.  Then Eliphaz began telling Job what he had been told by older and wiser men in his view.  He said that wicked men suffer pain in their lives, that destruction and death come on those who prosper, and that starvation and want accompany this kind of person as he obtusely described Job to be.  Such men are overpowered by God as they contend with Him in defiance against Him.  That is what Job’s friend accused him of in this harsh and unfounded judgment.  He said such men who suffer must do so for their sins against the Almighty in rebellion and would lose all their possessions as a result just as Job had lost everything.  He accused Job of being deceived and would only earn futility and unfruitfulness as a result of his hypocrisy and sin.  This Eliphaz imagined that guilt and punishment were the cause of Job’s suffering in the loss of (Job 1:9, 11, 2:4-5) his family, possessions, standing, and health.  He could not see from God’s perspective in heaven how these things were not earned, but were attacks of Satan to turn Job from trusting God even if he would be stripped of all he had and then slayed, but Job (Job 13:15-16) held in faith to the goodness of God as he wondered what he might actually have done to deserve these trials and tribulations of loss.  This patter of the accuser using the friends of Job declared righteous in God’s eyes (Job 1:8, 2:3) continues throughout this book until the truth comes out in the end, just as we cannot judge ourselves (1 Corinthians 4:3) until we face Him and the secrets of our hearts are revealed to all.  We must also hold to our own integrity like Job in our trials and tribulations as we likewise trust that we are seen by the Lord as righteous in Christ and mortify our real sins to prove the accuser wrong and the Lord right in these hidden secrets of the heart and mind and will.  This is the foolishness of wisdom in Christ.  Though He slay me, I will trust in Him. 

Job 14:1-22 - Job’s Lamented Loss of Hope

Job 14:1-22

1 “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

3 And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!

5 Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
6 Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

7 “For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.

10 But man dies and is laid away;
Indeed he breathes his last
And where is he?

11 As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.

13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15 You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.

16 For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.

18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19 As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.

20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”

Job was tired of suffering for something he could not understand to have done, and he began lamenting his sorry state as a condition of all men since everyone seemed destined for doom in the end as he saw it.  People according to him appeared to be born for trouble and just fade away into death in the end, a view that missed the purpose and glory of God in each of us.  Job wondered why God did not spy with His eye the suffering in innocence of Job while seeing the plight of others and helping them who he seemed to think less worthy.  God set limits on the lives of men (Genesis 6:3, Deuteronomy 34:7) and we just go on until we are so tired that we accept death as our rest according to Job in this soliloquy of sorrow.  He had also lamented that no good comes from an unclean thing, which we all are, seen as a shadow of the revelation clarified in Romans 3:23 and other places later.  Job lamented how trees are cut down and regrow from mere stumps, yet not so with people.  Man simply dies and is put in the ground where nothing grows back, and he asked “where is he?”  Job contemplated the afterlife here as he pondered if man truly laid to rest in the grave stayed there.  He was suffering so that he begged God to hide him in such a grave until the wrath of the Almighty was past and he would be remembered at last.  He asked again if man dies, will he live again.  He would wait for the change if it were to come, the beginning of his later thoughts in Job 19:25-26, 27 on the resurrection to life where he would see God face to face (Psalm 17:15) at last when the wrath of God on his sin had passed.  We know now that in Christ this promise is fulfilled, for the wrath of God is taken away in the sacrificial death of the Passover Lamb of God (1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Peter 1:19) slain for us at His own hand as our High Priest who was compared to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:3, 15-17, 19), who has no beginning or end, as God Himself alone is able to forgive and raise us up on the last day to meet Him face to face (Revelation 22:4) at last!  God desires the work of His hands, the elect chosen like Job and we who are in Christ, that we might come before Him forever with His wrath on our sin forever forgiven.  Job seemed to have a prophetic inkling of these truths here.  Until then, he continued to lament the hope of man seemingly destroyed by suffering as he mourns over the pain in body and soul apart from Him.  Job lamented the seeming loss of hope, yet had glimpses of true and everlasting hope after death in a way he could not yet imagine.  We have that certain hope (Hebrews 6:11, 19, 1 Peter 1:3, Romans 15:4, Titus 1:2) that wipes away our tears of temporal pain and suffering with this promise (Hebrews 11:1) by faith in the those promises in Christ and takes away our lament to replace with joy.  

Job 13:1-28 - Speaking to and Reasoning with the Almighty

Job 13:1-28

1 “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to reason with God.

4 But you forgers of lies,
You are all worthless physicians.
5 Oh, that you would be silent,
And it would be your wisdom!
6 Now hear my reasoning,
And heed the pleadings of my lips.

7 Will you speak wickedly for God,
And talk deceitfully for Him?
8 Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?

9 Will it be well when He searches you out?
Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?
10 He will surely rebuke you
If you secretly show partiality.

11 Will not His excellence make you afraid,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 “Hold your peace with me, and let me speak,
Then let come on me what may!
14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also shall be my salvation,
For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.
18 See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be vindicated.
19 Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Job’s Despondent Prayer

20 “Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide myself from You:
21 Withdraw Your hand far from me,
And let not the dread of You make me afraid.
22 Then call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then You respond to me.

23 How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do You hide Your face,
And regard me as Your enemy?

25 Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?
And will You pursue dry stubble?
26 For You write bitter things against me,
And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 You put my feet in the stocks,
And watch closely all my paths.
You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

28 ”Man decays like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job had enough of the bad advice from his friends and finally said, “I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God” after hearing all their arguments and reasoning so far to blame his sin as the cause of his suffering.  He called the friends liars and bad doctors whose only reason would be found with their mouths closed due to such erroneous assumptions and misguided prescriptions for Job’s spiritual and physical health.  He asked them point blank if they were contending with God instead of Job as they spoke wickedly and with such well-meaning deceit.  He asked them if they were ready to face Him when caught by Him in their mockery and partiality of opinions of His judgment seen by the suffering of His righteous one in the end.  He reminded them of God’s excellence as a reason to fear Him and that they had no defense against His judgment in their empty platitudes they had been giving Job all this time.  Finally, he told them to hold their peace and listen carefully to what Job had to say to them and to God.  He told them that even if God slayed him, Job would still trust in His sovereign goodness and accept whatever came his way from the hand of the Almighty.  He would still defend his ways as attempts to do what was righteous in God’s eyes, knowing only the LORD was able,to deliver and save him.  That is faith in the grace and goodness of God whose character we know far better now as revealed in Christ.  He had thought these things through carefully and was prepared to address God with them in their hearing, so he told them to listen carefully as he was vindicated, knowing if he kept quiet that he would certainly perish before God and man.  He prayed primarily for two things and he would not hide from God.  First, for God to take His hand away from Job to ease his suffering, and secondly to keep Job’s fear of the Almighty from overwhelming him.  He would then listen as God called to talk with him and hear his answers, as well as hear him talk and hear God’s answers to Job.  He desired a prayer of communication with God, which real prayer truly is.  He asked what his sins were that he might understand the depth of them instead of being kept in the dark and wondering why the LORD was hiding from him as if his enemy.  He wanted to know why God was allowing these things to happen to limit him and keep him from fear and bitterness of what he had done against Him.  Job understood and confessed that all men are rotten in their deeds with holes in their holiness and so deserved divine justice of judgment due to them (Romans 3:20, 23, Hebrews 9:27-28), yet seemed to be asking for mercy through understanding to be reconciled with the LORD as he desired to walk in righteousness once more in God’s eyes (Job 1:1, 8) as we know this is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ whose righteousness makes us holy and whose Spirit in us enables us to walk out that holiness (1 Peter 1:15, Ephesians 3:16, Romans 8:4-5, 9-10, 11, 12-13) with Him.  As we read and consider these truths, may we also speak and reason with the Almighty when we face adversity with trust in His promises of providence and protection (John 17:15, Galatians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, 1 John 5:18b) from the adversary until we are with Him in the resurrection (John 5:29, 2 Corinthians 5:4, Romans 8:11) to life.  We trust Him in the face of our accusers with the hope that He calls us holy and righteous in his Son and we live confidently before His face until we see Him so (Revelation 22:4) forever. 

Job 12:1-25 - A Good Defense Points to God

Job 12:1-25

Job Answers His Critics

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

4 “I am one mocked by his friends,
Who called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.

5 A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for those whose feet slip.
6 The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?

11 Does not the ear test words
And the mouth taste its food?
12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with length of days, understanding.

13 “With Him are wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
17 He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.

18 He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He leads princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.

21 He pours contempt on princes,
And disarms the mighty.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and guides them.

24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
25 They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

When Job heard the blame and mocking of his supposed three friends come to help in his suffering and misery, he had to respond to their suppositions and insinuations of guilt for sins being the cause of his adversity.  He began by pointing out that they were not the only ones who were wise and he knew more than they assumed about his condition.  Job was mocked by them as he called on God who answered him as they ridiculed the just and blameless one in the sight of the Almighty.  They acted as his judges and jury in sentencing him without proof, on mere hearsay of their own unfounded reasoning and wild imaginations.  He used parable sayings to show their folly and error such as the need for a lamp when it is dark that is despised when the light shines, and how robbers fill their houses while those trusting God are secure in His provision and do not take from others.  These friends of Job seemed to despise the light of understanding that Job had, only liking the light they needed to illuminate his problems; they also took from God His discernment and passed their own judgment on Job without understanding the spiritual battle wrought from heavenly places by the adversary as the real cause of Job’s suffering.  Job pointed them to the creation itself — animals, birds, and fish — understand these things are in the hands of their Creator, so why do they not also?  God alone holds the life and breath of everyone in His sovereign omnipotent hands with all omniscience of every situation of each one.  He told them in a way that they needed wisdom from experience as they tested the words they heard in the light of God’s word to grasp these things without leaping to their own conclusions.  God alone has perfect wisdom, strength, counsel, understanding, and rule over everything and everyone.  They needed to likewise humble themselves and their judgment to Him and His and not assume to tell Job what the cause of his suffering was without that divine understanding.  God alone rules over the deceived and deceiving ones and is the final Judge.  He alone controls kings and kingdoms (Daniel 2:21, 22) as He causes them to rise and fall and accomplish His purpose in all the earth to make them great or to destroy them according to His times.  He alone reveals the secrets of the hearts (Psalm 44:21, 1 Corinthians 4:5) of men as He shines the light of truth on the dark and hidden places of circumstances and intentions of the heart.  Without the guidance and wisdom of God, all simply wander in the wilderness without a clear path to walk and stagger as drunken men in the dark.  Job seems to apply this to his friends with their unwise counsel to answer with a good defense (1 Peter 3:15-16, 17) that points to God and a good conscience while walking in the light to the best of one’s abilities for the unknown answers to his plight and to curb their unfounded accusations and assumptions that Job’s sin must be the cause of his suffering.  How we still hear those who assume sickness and suffering are only the result of our sins and fail to consider the attacks of the enemy and trials which the Lord permits for our sanctification for our good and His glory!  We therefore are called by this example to walk by faith, not what we see with our eyes, and trust His grace and providence through all bad times as well as the good as we withhold judgment on our own and others’ adversity in the circumstances we face.  In all accusations, we remember that a good defense points to the Lord and His saving grace of atonement in the righteousness of Christ in whom we stand.  Amen.

Job 11:1-20 - Zophar Unjustly Judged Job

Job 11:1-20

Zophar Urges Job to Repent

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

2 “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be vindicated?
3 Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
4 For you have said,
My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’

5 But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that God exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

7 “Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
8 They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

10 “If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can hinder Him?
11 For He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
12 For an empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

13 “If you would prepare your heart,
And stretch out your hands toward Him;
14 If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
15 Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
16 Because you would forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
17 And your life would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.

18 And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.
19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.

20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And their hope—loss of life!”

The third friend come to help Job now spoke.  This Zophar also blamed Job for his suffering and called him to humble himself and repent.  He chided Job for answering in his defense with many words to justify his actions as righteous and not intentionally sinful.  He told Job that his doctrine was not so pure as he believed and he was not innocent before God, which of course in the estimation of Zophar was the reason Job was suffering for his sin, not knowing that the enemy in the heavenly places was attacking Job who was seen as upright and blameless by God in grace as a picture of our own righteous standing counted to we who are in Christ.  This friend of Job told him that if God were to open His mouth right then and talk to Job, that the secrets of His wisdom would show the sinfulness of Job and that the mercy of God was giving him less than he deserved, a true statement of grace not intended by Zophar, but ultimately true.  This friend continued by pointing out that nobody can find out all the secrets of the Almighty, His deep things and limits (limitless in the omnipotence and omniscience of God) higher than the heavens and unreachable by any man.  His ways are also deeper than the grave, longer than the earth, and wider than the sea!  Nobody can thwart His judgment because He knows the hearts of men in their deceit and wickedness as well.  He was pointing out to Job that he did not have a leg to stand on in defending himself before the Almighty, in other words.  He called Job to repent, to prepare his heart to reach out to God for forgiveness and mercy, to stop sinning, and only then look God in the face without fear of judgment and be released from his suffering and misery.  Then his life would he bright with hope again as a new day dawning in renewed hope and safety from judgment and fear of death.  This of course is not possible by works alone, for only in Christ and His reconciling righteousness (Romans 4:3-4, 5-6, 22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9) is this ever really possible.  Yes, the concluding words of Zophar have truth in them to point out that the wicked fail and cannot escape judgment and death, yet this was a condemnation of Job that did not take into account the grace and calling of God who called Job righteous on God’s behalf and merit, and not that of Job who was more righteous than any other man alive (Job 1:1) as Noah was also named by the LORD (Genesis 6:9), yet still just as much a sinner in need of grace and pardon as his friends and us.  Just as Zophar unjustly judged Job based on works and not the grace of God, so we are not to condemn others for their imperfections of sin in their lives if God’s grace reckons them as righteous (Romans 3:21-22, 23, 3:28, 6:11) in Christ alone and not our own works by His imputed righteousness.