Job 31:1-23 - God Sees My Ways and Counts Every Step

Job 31:1-23

1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?

2 For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4 Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?

5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8 Then let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 Then let my wife grind for another,
And let others bow down over her.
11 For that would be wickedness;
Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.

13 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,
14 What then shall I do when God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his heart has not blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.

23 For destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

Job continued to elaborate on walking righteously with God, knowing that the Almighty sees our ways and counts our every step we take in life.  He began with physical lust, declaring that he had made a covenant promise before God to only have eyes for his wife, not any other young woman since God gives us a partner by that promise from above and gives consequences of destruction and disaster for the wickedness of working sin that is defined as evil iniquity.  Job therefore, knowing he had tried his best to walk with integrity and holiness as far as a man is able to, he asked for a just and honest assessment by God of his actions that he be weighed and not found wanting.  He vowed to be held accountable if he had turned from God’s way and let his eyes guide his heart after other things, or if there was a spot of evil doing marking his hands.  If there was any of these, he vowed to be held accountable and forfeit all his possessions (as he had taken from him already but not because he sinned was the argument to his friends so far).  He further offered his own wife to be mistreated by others if he mistreated theirs because such immorality of iniquity, sin in actions, would be justly due to be punished.  He further offered to be held accountable for mistreatment of his servants who are equal in God’s eyes by His hand of creation, and likewise if he mistreated theirs poor by not sharing God’s bounty with them.  He realized and confessed that he would face destruction from the LORD and that terrified him, a true sense of the fear of God whose magnificent glory he did not want to offend or face the consequences of not being a pleasing child to Him.  May we view our own walk of morality in the face of temptations towards immorality and lack of compassion for others walked out in the fear of the Lord even though we might not face eternal destruction since we are now in Christ.  God sees my ways and counts every step for accountability as written in my books to be opened before the bema seat (2 Corinthians 5:10) on that Day.  Amen. 

Job 30:1-31 - Facing Suffering and Death

Job 30:1-31

1 “But now they mock at me, men younger than I,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
Their vigor has perished.

3 They are gaunt from want and famine,
Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste,
4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes,
And broom tree roots for their food.
5 They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.

6 They had to live in the clefts of the valleys,
In caves of the earth and the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they brayed,
Under the nettles they nestled.
8 They were sons of fools,
Yes, sons of vile men;
They were scourged from the land.

9 “And now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off restraint before me.
12 At my right hand the rabble arises;
They push away my feet,
And they raise against me their ways of destruction.

13 They break up my path,
They promote my calamity;
They have no helper.
14 They come as broad breakers;
Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight;
The days of affliction take hold of me.
17 My bones are pierced in me at night,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.

18 By great force my garment is disfigured;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.

20 “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You regard me.
21 But You have become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it;
You spoil my success.
23 For I know that You will bring me to death,
And to the house appointed for all living.

24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins,
If they cry out when He destroys it.
25 Have I not wept for him who was in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

27 My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 I go about mourning, but not in the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29 I am a brother of jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.

30 My skin grows black and falls from me;
My bones burn with fever.
31 My harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.

Job lamented his suffering and saw only death coming nearer on the horizon as people spurned him and all the good he had done throughout his life.  He described how he was taunted and despised by foolish men and seemingly abandoned to his fate by God.  Job poured out his heart and soul in this ongoing lament over the circumstances of his unending affliction and cried out to God, wondering why He did not answer by taking away the pain and making all things well as they used to be.  He saw the Almighty bringing him closer to death’s door and wondered why he was not healed, especially since he had spent his life helping the poor and powerless through their own suffering as he grieved and wept for them.  Now he saw only evil come on him for the good he did and only hopeless darkness as he yearned for and sought to see light again.  Such turmoil of his soul gave Job no rest and made him feel isolated as his skin rotted away and fever consumed him.  His joy had turned to mourning and sadness in this horrendous suffering.  How do we respond in our own suffering of ill health and when we seem to face death?  Do we yet trust in the Lord though it appears that He slays (Job 13:15-16) us like Job thought?  Do we look to God as David did in Psalm 23:4, 6 with hope and trust that our faith will be answered in God’s way and time according to His good purpose for our testing and refining (Job 23:10, Psalm 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, 1 Peter 1:6-7) as we go through such trials of suffering even if our suffering leads us nearer and nearer to death?  Even though He slays me, I will trust in Him and His goodness of grace for an eternal satisfaction of peace and rest. 

Job 29:1-25 - A Good Defense

Job 29:1-25

Job’s Summary Defense

1 Job further continued his discourse, and said:

2 “Oh, that I were as in months past,
As in the days when God watched over me;
3 When His lamp shone upon my head,
And when by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my prime,
When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;

5 When the Almighty was yet with me,
When my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed with cream,
And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!

7 “When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
8 The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood;
9 The princes refrained from talking,
And put their hand on their mouth;
10 The voice of nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.

11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me,
And when the eye saw, then it approved me;
12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the poor,
And I searched out the case that I did not know.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.

18 “Then I said, I shall die in my nest,
And multiply my days as the sand.
19 My root is spread out to the waters,
And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is fresh within me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 ”Men listened to me and waited,
And kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech settled on them as dew.

23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,
And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.

25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief;
So I dwelt as a king in the army,
As one who comforts mourners.

Job gave a good defense to the counselors as to his fruitful living before the suffering he presently suffered endured.  Men used to come and hang on his every wise word of counsel and he spoke of all the good deeds he had done in the community as well to demonstrate the righteousness he put on like a cloak as he helped others who were poor or in need, contrary to the accusations of his life of uselessness and sin that the three had painted onto his life from the far distances they had come to help Job.  He had been prominent in the city where royalty stopped to hear him and God at that time was with Job and had been watching over him with blessing that even his children had gathered to hear.  He had been prosperous and blessed by the Almighty and asked his friends then how they accused him of sins to the con of seeking to do good in righteous living.  He gave a good defense as we are to do in how we live (1 Peter 2:11-12, 13-14, 15-16) as witnessed to both and man.  As it is written (1 Peter 3:17), “it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”  May we do so with a good conscience as Job did. 

Job 28:1-28 - Fear of the LORD with Right Living

Job 28:1-28

Job’s Discourse on Wisdom

1 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess
For ore in the darkness and the shadow of death.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.

5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;
6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.
7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud lions have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.

12 “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 It cannot be purchased for gold,
Nor can silver be weighed for its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal can equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or quartz,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
And concealed from the birds of the air.

22 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And sees under the whole heavens,
25 To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.

26 When He made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

True fear of the LORD leads to leaving evil as a man draws near to God in humility and repentance, for real repentance is a change of the direction of the heart, mind, and life directed away from all that displeases God to what honors and pleases Him.  That is true godly fear and righteous understanding brought to light in understanding what the will of the Lord (Ephesians 5:15-17) is.  Job saw wisdom and gave this great discourse for us to consider and act upon, especially to show us that God understands the way of death and destruction and points us away from them to Him.  Such wisdom is beyond the value of mere jewels and precious metals; unregenerate man can never understand what only God can reveal as the wisdom of true and eternal value in Him.  Man vainly mines the earth for wisdom as if it it was simply material wealth, missing the infinite value of the ways and words of God who created all things and yet in Himself is found the only lasting (Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10, Matthew 6:19-20, Luke 12:33, Colossians 1:9) and unfailing wealth that only comes down from heaven above.  Thank the Lord that we have His word that is the mine of wisdom to uncover (Ephesians 1:17, 18, 3:8, 9, 2 Corinthians 4:6) by the enabling of His indwelling Spirit in us who alone gives understanding from above as we cannot reason out on our own!  This begins with the fear of the Lord in facing death and destruction and then repenting from sin by faith to follow Him with right living in the understanding and guidance of His Word.  

Job 27:1-23 - Hold Fast to Your Integrity!

Job 27:1-23

Job Maintains His Integrity

1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:

2 ”As God lives, who has taken away my justice,
And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
4 My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me
That I should say you are right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go;
My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be like the wicked,
And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.

8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite,
Though he may gain much,
If God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
When trouble comes upon him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty?
Will he always call on God?

11 “I will teach you about the hand of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Surely all of you have seen it;
Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?

13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death,
And their widows shall not weep,
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust,
And piles up clothing like clay—
17 He may pile it up, but the just will wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house like a moth,
Like a booth which a watchman makes.

19 The rich man will lie down,
But not be gathered up;
He opens his eyes,
And he is no more.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
It sweeps him out of his place.
22 It hurls against him and does not spare;
He flees desperately from its power.
23 Men shall clap their hands at him,
And shall hiss him out of his place.

Job’s discourse on holding to his integrity is the answer to his counselors who insist on assigning blame of sin for suffering and who do not consider that something else is going on to bring this assault by the adversary on his body and soul.  Job began by swearing to Almighty God that even though justice seemed to be taken away and bitterness overwhelmed him, still he would not speak evil or wicked things as long as the breath of God (Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4) who gave him life was in him.  Job refused to give into the lie that his friends wove into a reason for his suffering, that it was because of his unrighteous sin.  He held to his righteous living according to God’s word and his integrity in keeping it as best he could, and refused to say they were right with their accusations when God showed him otherwise.  This is helpful for we who are in Christ and His righteousness now, seeing the attacks of the enemy (1 Peter 5:8) to sow doubt in our minds of our own integrity and the certainty of our union in Christ that makes us righteous (Isaiah 53:11, Romans 5:17, 1 Corinthians 1:30) in God’s eyes in our position.  We can then not allow our own hearts to reproach, to condemn us (Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:9, 3:21), when we sin and seek forgiveness from Him.  Our enemies are wicked and unrighteous, and their aim is to bring us alongside them in denying the position we have in God’s Son by grace that never fails.  Like Job, we must humbly hold to our integrity of faith in His righteousness as we seek to live in holiness ourselves in response.  Job wisely pointed out that hypocrites do not trust in God or call out to him, and they have no hope when they lose their lives and face Him.  This is why Job tried to then teach them about the hand of sovereign God to,answer their utter nonsense of their bad counsel to him while not seeing the work of God (Romans 8:28) in all circumstances, good and bad.  He pointed out the end of the truly unrighteous who do not fear or follow God, who lose everything in the end and have no lasting legacy in the eyes of man or God.  Just as Job trusted God in his adverse circumstances brought on him unknowingly by the adversary, so we are able to see beyond these things to the spiritual battle against we who have the hope of the gospel (Revelation 12:17) and hold to our righteousness in Christ and our integrity by willing obedience and constant repentance to be holy as He is in our lives.  Hold fast as Hebrews 10:23 reminds you! 

Job 26:1-14 - Understanding the Mere Edges of His Ways

Job 26:1-14

Job: Man’s Frailty and God’s Majesty

1 But Job answered and said:

2 “How have you helped him who is without power?
How have you saved the arm that has no strength?
3 How have you counseled one who has no wisdom?
And how have you declared sound advice to many?
4 To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit came from you?

5 “The dead tremble,
Those under the waters and those inhabiting them.
6 Sheol is naked before Him,
And Destruction has no covering.

7 He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the water in His thick clouds,
Yet the clouds are not broken under it.
9 He covers the face of His throne,
And spreads His cloud over it.

10 He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters,
At the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are astonished at His rebuke.

12 He stirs up the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He breaks up the storm.
13 By His Spirit He adorned the heavens;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?”

Job waxed on in awe and wonder at the majesty of God in contrast to the frailty of mere men like himself and his counselors.  Only the Almighty has power to help the helpless (Romans 5:6, 2 Corinthians 13:4) and give right counsel to the unwise with sound divine advice and wisdom to guide us.  We know this to be true in Christ who alone has power to save and keep us as He gives His words to mere men to help by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:3-4, 10, 12-13) as we understand in Him and not our own wisdom.  As Job observed, the dead tremble before God as they face the judgment to come and the destruction of all they had trusted in while still living.  In His awesome majesty, God has created and maintains the entire universe, from the world we live in to the farthest stars.  He has hung the earth in orbit around the sun and makes the clouds to constantly drop their water and reclaim it over and over as He put all of nature in motion by the word of His power and wisdom, and covers the throne of His glory from us with those clouds.  He shows that the earth is round by the circumference of the horizon seen around the open seas as a way to delineate the night from day (Genesis 1:3-5) and hold up the sky by the design of the world enveloped with air and held down by gravity and the earth’s rotation.  God also stirs up storms in those seas and sovereignly stops them in His time just as easily.  He has hung the stars in the heavens which we are only beginning to see the marvelous nebulae and other celestial wonders of His hand there.  In summary of these few selected wonders, Job wisely tells us all that we see only the mere edges of His infinite and omnipotent ways in creation and we hear only a whisper of the explanations for our limited understanding.  Even the thundering of His power we cannot grasp as we sit under it in awe and wonder at the majestic name and works of the Almighty Creator of heaven, earth, nature, and us.  These edges of His ways should fill us with humility and awestruck wonder at the parts He chooses to reveal to us that we might worship Him as we ought and trust Him as we must. These mere edges are not the entirety of all God has for us as we shall see when we see Him face to face at last.  

Job 25:1-6 - The Answer to How Man Can Be Righteous

Job 25:1-6

Bildad: How Can Man Be Righteous?

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 “Dominion and fear belong to Him;
He makes peace in His high places.

3 Is there any number to His armies?
Upon whom does His light not rise?

4 How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

5 If even the moon does not shine,
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

6 How much less man, who is a maggot,
And a son of man, who is a worm?”

The age old question is how can a sinful person be righteous when the evidence of inherent inherited corruption is clearly evident in the selfishness, immorality, injustice, stealing and murderous actions that reject God and His creation.  This counselor née friend to Job asked this question that those seeking God have done from the day Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden for disobedience to the word of God and kept them from reentering into eternal life in that fallen state of the corrupt body and soul which they passed down (Romans  5:12) to us all as their children in our physical and spiritual DNA.  Bildad asked legitimate questions that only God could answer, and He did in His Son!  We now have been given the answer in God’s Son whose self sacrifice exchanged His life for ours (Romans 5:17, 19) to impute His righteousness in us (Romans 4:11, 23-24) because we are found in the righteousness of Christ alone by trust in His work which is faith for our deliverance from sin’s penalty and judgment we all stand under apart from Him.  Apart from salvation from the wrath of God on our sin of rebellion and disobedience, we also see the same things that Bildad expressed here to Job.  Only God can make peace in high places, that is in heaven before His sovereign throne.  Only the Almighty can rule with the power of an unlimited army and shine light to illuminate the soul with hope.  Only the LORD can make we who are born impure into holy people before His eyes who are seen as dirty bugs wallowing in immorality and idolatry of the body and soul.  This is pointing to the gospel to come in the time appointed by God for us to find the answer to the age old question of how anyone can be righteous in God’s sight; it is through faith in His work of righteousness to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:4, 9-10) and count us as having done the same because we cease our vain attempts at perfection and find ourselves in the perfect one and stand in His righteousness alone.  Christ is the answer to the question of how anyone man or woman can be righteous and holy. 

Job 24:1-25 - Security: His Eyes are on Our Ways

Job 24:1-25

Job Complains of Violence on the Earth

1 ”Since times are not hidden from the Almighty,
Why do those who know Him see not His days?

2 ”Some remove landmarks;
They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They push the needy off the road;
All the poor of the land are forced to hide.

5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,
They go out to their work, searching for food.
The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

7 They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.

9 ”Some snatch the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge from the poor.
10 They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing;
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
11 They press out oil within their walls,
And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

12 The dying groan in the city,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

13 “There are those who rebel against the light;
They do not know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.

14 The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is like a thief.

15 The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he disguises his face.

16 In the dark they break into houses
Which they marked for themselves in the daytime;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death;
If someone recognizes them,
They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 “They should be swift on the face of the waters,
Their portion should be cursed in the earth,
So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So the grave consumes those who have sinned.

20 The womb should forget him,
The worm should feed sweetly on him;
He should be remembered no more,
And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
21 For he preys on the barren who do not bear,
And does no good for the widow.

22 “But God draws the mighty away with His power;
He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
23 He gives them security, and they rely on it;
Yet His eyes are on their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little while,
Then they are gone.
They are brought low;
They are taken out of the way like all others;
They dry out like the heads of grain.

25 “Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech worth nothing?”

Job realized that sin corrupted the whole world (Romans 8:21) with death and destruction as a result.  God gives a measure of earthly security until men are held accountable and judged accordingly according to their ways; we who are now in Christ have a similar accountability, but not to eternal destruction, for we are given eternal security in Christ and His righteousness, yet He still tests our hearts (2 Chronicles 16:9, Job 34:21) to refine us through suffering and trials as His eyes are on our ways as we rest in that security.  Job reflected on how man seems not to see that nothing is hidden from the Almighty God; they steal, kill, bully, and ravage the land for the fleeting personal gain of sin (Hebrews 11:24-25, Philippians 3:7-8, 9, 1 John 2:17) instead of counting the obedience to God’s word as of primary importance.  We see the ills of the present world spelled out in the examples given here observed in the time of Job — the selfishness, immorality, injustice, stealing and murderous actions that reject God and ignore the consequences of sin.  Though people are given the common grace of overall security, we often forget that His eyes are on our ways.  Only the righteousness of union within Christ offers us any lasting hope and peace with (Romans 5:1) God.  Job realized this as he spoke of how the grave consumes the sinner as God draws the mighty in this world away by His infinite power so that none is certain of life for another day unless he considers that the Lord sees his ways and hold us all to account, either for condemnation or for grace that washes the consequences of our sin away on the cross (Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14) by the lifeblood given for our lives in His sacrifice as our Passover Lamb.  People may seem to have it all (Psalm 73:2-3, 17-19, 27) until it is taken from them to their seeming surprise as they are brought low to humble them and take them out of the way.  Job ends this speech by asking anyone to prove him a liar in these truths he spoke to them as if it all was meaningless or false.  He knew that God reigns in heaven over the just and the unjust, and also holds all to account (Romans 14:12, 1 Corinthians 3:12-13, 14-15, 1 Peter 4:5, Acts 10:42-43, 2 Timothy 4:1, Revelation 20:12, 15) one way or another in the end.  Remember that the Lord gives us certain security, but His eyes are still always on our ways.  May we then be pleasing children that face Him without shame when we meet Him face to face at last. 

Job 23:1-17 - Trust and Follow the Unseen God

Job 23:1-17

Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
My hand is listless because of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!

4 I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.

6 Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
7 There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food.

13 “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.

15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
16 For God made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
17 Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.

Job answered Eliphaz who accused him of suffering for sinning against God because he attributed all suffering as a punishment instead of a higher purpose to glorify God through a response of faith through endurance that holds to God’s word no matter what comes.  Job admitted that he was suffering terribly and was finding it impossible to see God through it all, yet he wanted to present his case before the Almighty if he was permitted to approach that throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) and hear then response of God to understand what he had done wrong.  Job anticipated finding justice before God for deliverance and not a simple answer of power in condemnation.  He looked everywhere as God seemed distant and unapproachable as described by being unable to see clearly how He really works in the lives of men like himself.  Even so, by faith Job held to the heartfelt belief that God both knew the way his life took and that when he was tested by Him that he would one out with value to God and His glory as described by pure and precious gold.  He kept the way he walked therefore to God’s path laid our in the map of His word and refused to turn (Isaiah 30:21) aside as he kept his ear of faith to the words he heard and knew to be true and right.  He treasured the words of God’s mouth more than the food he daily needed to survive, his daily bread (Jeremiah 15:16, Luke 11:3) which we also find essential every morning from His scriptures as words for life (2 Peter 1:3) and godliness.  Job realized the character of God as unchangeable, all powerful, and in complete sovereign control of the universe.  He knew that His will was immutable and certain in providence that was predetermined, no matter the suffering Job had to endure.  Knowing the character and power of God, Job trembled in His presence (Psalm 2:11, Philippians 2:12, Acts 9:31) with godly fear in looking into the darkness of the world and his own suffering beyond his understanding.  He did not have the same measure as we do now in Christ who have the peace of the Holy Spirit in us to comfort in our suffering and give understanding and grace to endure what we face.  May we be ever thankful for this grace and peace as we face uncertainty in adverse circumstances and knowing we are both being tempted and attacked by the adversary and tested by the Lord for our response of trust according to His word and promises.  We also trust and follow the unseen God as His character and purposes are revealed to us in the inner man by His word and Spirit. 

Job 22:1-30 - Attributing Evil to The Good

Job 22:1-30

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 “Can a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?

6 For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But the mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

10 Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
11 Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 And you say, What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
14 Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

15 Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
16 Who were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to them?’
18 Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19 “The righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
20 ‘Surely our adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’

21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth,
And lay up His words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
24 Then you will lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
And your precious silver;
26 For then you will have your delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.

28 You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.

29 When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

Eliphaz once more judges Job with bad counsel, yet some of the things he speaks still hold basic biblical truths, just ones that are misapplied since he does not see what is going on behind the scenes in heaven.  We cannot therefore dismiss all he says here or in other parts of this book simply because he does not understand it all; this is still God’s word with truths we need to live by in the correct context.  Some things are just wrong, however.  For instance, when Eliphaz begins by saying that a man cannot be profitable to God and that a man’s righteousness is not pleasing to God, he is incorrect in that our holiness in following His word does please God, but yet it alone does not appease Him.  It is true in the next verses that God corrects those with godly fear of judgment for a man’s sin such as the ones named in Job 22: 6-9 that are failures to keep the six commandments of how we are to treat one another on love as Jesus (Luke 10:27) summed up for us.  God is in the heavens above, out of our sight and above all creation and the creatures which He made in it.  God does know all and judges rightly as Eliphaz states truly here.  What is not right is how he applies these truths to judge the secrets of Job’s heart (Psalm 44:21, 1 Corinthians 4:5) as only the Almighty is able to do.  It is also a basic truth from verses 15-18 that some keep on the former ways of doing evil instead of turning from it to follow God’s word and even reject Him who gives them all things richly to enjoy.  The way Job’s counsel tells it to him appears to be an attempt to condemn Job as one of those people, since in his mind Job is obviously suffering for doing such evil according to these words of Eliphaz.  He continues with a diatribe on how the truly righteous and innocent man is glad to see evil punished as the adversaries are cut down by God.  There is no mercy or grace in this bad counsel, a warning for us not to repeat this error.  Then in (Job 22:21-22) the next verses he speaks a biblical universal truth, that we find peace with God as we get to know Him intimately and are teachable when we hear and read His words to us and lay them firmly in our (Psalm 119:9-11) hearts to have as guidance to our lives.  Repentance turns from sin to Him and is rewarded with good for our souls as we evict evil from the tents (houses) of our thoughts and works of our hands.  The Almighty is to be our treasure and not the material (Matthew 16:26, Philippians 3:7, Hebrews 11:26) mammon in our storehouses.  We are to find delight in Him as we lift up our faces in prayer and find His light shining on us for clarity in life and living.  He does save the humble man and even delivers those who are not innocent, a foreshadowing of the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ who does not save us because we are innocent of sin, for nobody is righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:21-22, 23, 26) in His sight (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6) apart from faith in the only Righteous One who justifies the ungodly.  Union with Christ in His righteousness makes us innocent in His sight and purifies our hands to deliver us as Eliphaz prophetically stated here as he attempted to use this truth in a misguided attempt to discredit and accuse Job and call him to repent for what he assumed was the underlying cause of such suffering.  Not all suffering is a direct result of our sin.  God uses suffering to refine our faith to trust in His righteousness and calling us righteous (Job 1:1, 8) in His estimation as He reckons righteousness to us in Himself.  May we therefore not judge another before the time of His return by attributing evil to good.