Days of Affliction

Job 30:16-31

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.

Days of afflictio n confronted Job, seemingly endless and relentless.  He cried out to God for instant relief, but the suffering just kept going on, and he could not reason out why it was still happening.  He felt poured out, drained, with no physical, mental, or spiritual strength left to keep him going on living this way after such a good life before the adversary had been given limited reign to assault God’s upright servant.  Job felt cast off into the mud, used up like ashes and dry as dust from which mankind came from before God breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7).  He lost sight of God’s redemptive work to come, as revealed in 1 Samuel 2:8 and Psalm 113:7 which look to deliverance from dust and ashes of defeat and looming death.  He cried out in prayer to God but received no immediate answer or relief for the agony.  It seemed cruel of God to let this go on from Job’s viewpoint, to spoil his past success and prosperity in life and carry him away as on a strong wind of evil when he looked for good.  Death seemed inevitable, and even desirable.  He reflected on the times when he himself had mourned in empathy and sympathy for the poor and suffering in these dark times of no answer of the same towards himself now.  That is why these days of affliction must have overwhelmed Job with inner turmoil and spiritual restlessness according to the things said here.  His joy turned into mourning and sadness instead of joy and glad rejoicing.  The circumstances were overwhelming him.  Our days of affliction can likewise bring us to despair of life and happiness until we see that God is sanctifying us, purifying and molding us into the image of Christ as we are reminded of in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, where we are told not to give up in our heart, but to count all suffering as transitory and momentary in light of eternity.  We look to the end of suffering at the end of this world and adversity’s time because we are in Christ’s victory and grace by promise of such certain hope!  We live and move and have our being in this grace by faith (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 7), knowing all sorrow will cease forever in His presence (Revelation 21:4).  Let us remember the anguish of Job in light of the hope he found out in the end, and which we know with more certainty and understanding now in the revealed word of God in the rest of His word (Job 19:25-27).  These days of affliction are but an eye blink in God’s plans of good for us and for His glory, revealing what we can learn from these days in light of eternity by God’s hand working in us.  Amen, it is so.

Mocked and Suffering Servant

Job 30:1-15

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.

Job continues his defense by describing those now opposing him who previously were mere rabble who had nothing to do with him.  The ones who now mocked Job in his adverse circumstances judged and insulted him.  These were so common, so vulgar, that Job would not even have hired their fathers to mind his dogs, not exactly a glowing compliment.  These were vagabonds from society who had been driven out to be away from others, useless to help Job and perhaps this was a comparison to his friends come to give him unhealthy counsel.  The ones out in the wilderness were underfed, treated with the same respect as outcast thieves, living in caves and among rocky dwellings in the wilderness.  Under the bushes they brayed as wild donkeys, and among the nestles they nestled to sleep, completely wild as the animals.  Fools and children of fools, these mocking Job now taunted the once highly-respected leader who had seemingly fallen from grace to suffer as even beneath them!  So we see their despising him and insultingly spitting in Job’s face in their hate and disgust because of the circumstances.  They judged and then executed their sentence on the once high and mighty leader of the community, much like the Jews and Romans did with Christ (Matthew 26:67, 27:30).  Job saw this as God allowing it as if loosening bowstrings so they threw aside their restraint to so disrespectfully treat him.  This rabble rose against him with destruction as their way of life to impose it upon Job in order to bring him down to their level and beneath to feel better about themselves.  These terrors assaulted God’s upright one with attacks on his honor as all prosperity had left him.  It demonstrates to us how others want to bring us down because we are in Christ, to defame Him and His name by defaming us.  We must stand firm, knowing how they treated him and how we will therefore suffer as being in Him (Philippians 1:29, 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Peter 4:19).  We are mocked and suffering servants of the Master who was our suffering servant.  We endure with joy in Him. 

A Good Defense

Job 29:1-25 

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 His summary defense of his uprightness and the accompanying works to demonstrate his good character before the LORD.  He began by desiring the days gone by where he knew God’s blessings and felt His light guiding his path through life in the darkness around him.  He was in his prime of life, under the counsel of God as his friend, much like Abraham was called the friend of God in James 2:23, with a quiver full of children (Psalm 127:3-5).  Job had an honored and respected position in the town, sitting at the gate to be consulted for wise counsel.  He put others to shame with his example and words of godly wisdom, further approve for the social work he did with the poor, widows, orphans, lame, blind, and needy (James 1:27).  He had helped and defended so many from their oppressors!  He imagined that would simply go on until he died in his home (“nest”), having set roots in the community and shining gloriously before God and man with wise counsel and good deeds needed by so many.  These of course now had all turned their backs on him when he lost everything and everyone except his wife; even his three friends who came to his aid and comfort no longer listened to Job’s wise counsel or even his defense, but judged him as being under God’s wrath for some sin because he no longer was prosperous.  This is why today’s false “gospel” of prosperity, of claiming good health and wealth from God as proof of faith is so ungodly and a treacherous path to go down.  Judgment and providence belong to the LORD, and we are not to assume and judge others when in bad circumstances as a measure of their faith or God’s blessings or curse as a punishment.  We do not see into the heavenly court where God reigns over us.  It is best not to climb up there to pass judgment therefore in His name.  We need only look to ourselves to do as Job by using the wisdom and our means to help others, especially to know Christ through the gospel, as well as to meet pressing needs of the helpless and needy as James defies true religion.  Do we comfort and counsel well as we give a good defense (1 Peter 3:15), or are we caught up in finding fault and attributing sentence on sinners as if we ruled from God’s throne? 

True Wisdom

Job 28:1-28 

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.'"

Job knew what wisdom was. He compared finding it to diligently mining precious metals and jewels from the earth.  He asked where wisdom and understanding can be found.  People don’t know the value of what they cannot find, for it is beyond worldly possessions or riches, hidden from outside eyes.  Even death and destruction have but heard tell of wisdom!  But God knows where it is and the way of wisdom, for He is the Author of it.  He sees all and established it by His word and hand.  Then He tells us through Job that fear of God is the foundation of wisdom, and understanding then leads one to run away from evil, withdrawing from it and avoiding all manner of evil.  This is to be wise in being holy as He is holy.  Do we exercise true wisdom? 

Hold Fast to Your Integrity

Job 27:1-23

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 gave us the example to hold fast to our integrity in the assaults and slander of others.  Job did not know why God seemed to have taken away justice from him and allowed bitterness to overwhelm him at suffering for doing what is right (1 Peter 2:20), yet he did not speak wickedness or deceit in return.  He held to his God-given integrity and righteousness.  He did not want to answer for his heart’s deceit if he gave up and gave in to such lack of faith in God in the midst of adversity.  Even though his enemies came against him as wicked and unrighteous, Job gave the example for us to hold fast and continue to do what is right in God’s sight.  If he did not, then he would be as the ungodly hypocrites who ran after their best life now with selfishness and temporal gain instead of eternal, without hope and facing only death in the end.  Such could take nothing material with them when they died.  It is complete nonsense to believe otherwise, to live opposed to God and righteousness and then expecting Him to intervene in bad times just because they cry out to Him in trouble.  No, God requires a heart set on following Him.  The ungodly will not get what they want (Psalm 1:4-6), amd all they build up in life will be left behind for others to divide among themselves and leave no good lasting memories; Ll would have been in vain.  May we then learn what matters for eternity in God's kingdom in Christ and seek to be holy because He is holy, following the example of Job to hold fast to our integrity and the righteousness of Christ in Him. 

The Mere Edges of His Ways are Seen

Job 26:1-14 

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?"

God’s majesty is spelled out by Job in defense of God’s providence and grace in judgment.  He reminds them that God helps the helpless and those without strength, which is a display of His grace and love for His creation.  This is unlike his friends who want to judge and condemn those who fail or suffer apparently because sin must always be behind it in their eyes.  Who have they counseled with good and helpful words as God does?  Whose spirit moved them, their own, an evil one (as here from the first two chapters), or from God?  The LORD alone causes the dead to tremble because the grave is open to Him, and destruction cannot escape divine judgment.   Theirs pales in comparison.  God alone has the power of and over creation to hang the stars in the heavens and support the earth hung in space by gravitational and centrifugal forces as it hurtles around the sun in a perfect orbit by His word and design.  He made the world round, not flat, with a circular horizon as a boundary between light and dark, day and night, in the earth’s rotation.  What a design and what omnipotence!  He controls the weather, even the hurricanes and storms in the seas, and decorated the sky with a myriad of stars and galaxies.  Yet all these are the mere edges of His ways, as if an overheard whisper where we only hear a snippet of all He has done.  The magnificent thunder of His power beyond that of the storms is beyond our comprehension; we understand only these outer pieces of His work and character by His word operative and observed in His creation (Romans 1:20).  Yes, we see Him and His work planned before the horizon (predetermined or predestined) of time according to His word inasmuch as He reveals to us.  We see dimly the reflection as in a mirror (1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Corinthians 3:18) of His redemptive plan of salvation from Genesis chapter 3 to the consummation at the final page of Revelation.  We do well then to heed his word and reflect all counsel against His word of truth, and beware living by speculation become as fact.  How glorious are the edges of His ways and thundering of His power over time and space according to His plan and working to all us out of darkness into His light in Christ!  God’s providence and grace and omnipotence are awesome!  

How Can Anyone be Righteous Before God?

Job 25:1-6 

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?"

Bildad spoke against Job and his apparent self righteousness.  He began by seeing God as the Sovereign Ruler to be feared by men.  His omnipotence requires no army, and He causes the sun to rise on the just and unjust (Matthew 5:45) to give light to live by in obedience and guidance by His word and works.  Since God is so completely righteous and holy, since He is all-powerful and all-knowing, since He shows us all His way to walk through life, how then can we be righteous in God’s estimation?  How can we be pure and holy since we are born in sin (Job 14:4)?  There truly is none who is righteous as Romans 3:10-12, 23) makes more clear to our spiritual understanding.  He compares the moon and stars shining as less than perfect, these which appear to be so very perfect, to make the point how much less chance man has in all creation to be perfect and holy before God and His righteousness as the standard.  Unlike Job who was called upright by God, we see clearly through all of scripture that every one of us comes up short of His righteousness, and that Ephesians need God’s own righteousness counted as if it were ours to be acceptable in His holy sight.  That is why Christ Jesus suffered and died in our place for our unrighteousness, and rose from death to life to pay our life’s debt of death for our sinful nature and actions.  Then He imputes that holy righteousness to us by His judgment, His decree (Romans 3:21-22, 26, 4:22-25, 6:23), that we are then counted as righteous and holy in Christ alone.  In this way, Bildad had the truth, but not all of it, and had misused it against Job as if he was more righteous than the one God had called upright.  May we humbly see ourselves as sinners yet apart from the imputed grace of righteousness and holiness of the gospel, and not judge others; His word has already judged them (John 3:18-19, 12:48), it is not for us to do, especially not for our brothers and sisters in Christ who still sin as we also do (Romans 14:4).  Grace in Christ makes us clean as we continue to admit we are sinners saved and sustained by grace (1 John 1:8-10).  How then can anyone be righteous before God?  Only in the grace of Christ by faith. 

False Security, Violence, and Accountability

Job 24:1-25 

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 addresses the violence and ongoing wrong in the world which appears to go unpunished, as if God does nothing about it, and that men care not what they do, believing they can do all they want unseen in the dark.  He begins by asking how those who know God can continue to act unjustly and commit such violence and crime.  He questions why God allows these things, since nothing is hidden from Him at any time ever.  He then lists all the injustices in most of the chapter, from stealing to poverty, from using the poor to murder and robbery.  The evildoers are ones who rebel against God’s light of goodness because they just don’t understand it and don’t care for God’s word or ways.  This rebellion is sin by definition, and Job wonders how nothing is being done to stop what God obviously observes.  He does not grasp that God allows evil in the world to demonstrate their accountability and His justice done according to His time and manner.  The murderers, adulterers, and thieves all continue their violence against others, afraid only when caught as verse 17 shows us.  Yet even so, God does entrap these, either by the grace as in verse 19, or with uncertainty of life or consequences after death as in verse 22.  God gives false security which people rely on, yet He still sees their deeds and holds them accountable.  Though they seem to enjoy power or possessions for a short time, they eventually will be brought down and taken out of the way of harm to others. This is a hint of the gospel and God’s final Judgment, where He allows sin and violence to continue that accountability cannot be denied, and to demonstrate His holiness in mercy and grace as He wills on those He chooses to call out (Romans 9:18, 22-23).  In this speech of Job, he asked to be proven wrong and to make his words come to nothing if they were not so, and so we see the reasoning continue in the arguments of his counselors in the book.  We know in the end that their attacks and Job’s responses all lead to God’s providence and sovereign grace in the final analysis.  Violence, false security, and accountability are the themes and lessons here.  God does not sleep, and judgment is certain, even if the violent and evil appear to rule in this present evil age.  It was true in Job’s time, and holds true still in ours until Christ’s return.  We rest therefore in divine justice in God’s time and not our own, not blaming God or thinking He does not care to intervene as we see fit.  Our Father knows best.

Hope in God's Righteous Judgment

Job 23:1-17 

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.

We do not know the ways God takes, but He certainly knows the way we take.  Job’s complaints were from bitterness, having done his best to follow God and His word, yet finding himself in such painful circumstances.  He wanted to approach God where He dwells on high to present his case and find justice in that judgment, hoping for God’s answers to be understanding and with a personal understanding, not in the great power of His wrath of sentencing.  Job trusted the LORD to be fair and give him His ear, but he could not seem to find Him; looking ahead and behind, God was not to be seen in the midst of Job’s suffering.  When God worked to the left or right, Job could not tell where He was.  But he did know that God understood the way Job went, and that the testing of trials he endured would see him go through these and emerge from them as gold - precious and incorruptible in God’s sight.  Job therefore kept his feet following God’s commands, valuing each of them as priceless.  He even valued God’s word above the food required to sustain his life!  He realized how God is unique, incorruptible and immutable.  His sovereign will was absolute, determining and ordaining all that was to happen in his life and in all creation.  These predetermined or predestined things made Job understand that God did these things or allowed them in His plan, being fully aware and in control at all times.  Nothing Job did could change that.  This put the fear of God in Job, knowing He had allowed the dark times of adversity he was going through as part of His predetermined will.  Such thoughts of predestination on God’s part of sovereign actions in our own lives can either terrify us or comfort us, depending on how we understand the grace and goodness of God on our behalf (Romans 8:28).  Do we trust His goodness in our adversity, or join the adversary in blaming God as Job’s friends led him to believe?  May we therefore go to His word as our daily food to rely on His character and working in the past and future as well.  We rest in Christ’s work and promises on behalf of our Father in heaven by the assurance and guidance of His Spirit living within us (Isaiah 30:21, Romans 8:14, 18, 26-28).  God’s righteous judgment is immersed in grace, and we can trust His goodness even as darkness surrounds us (2 Corinthians 4:6, Colossians 1:13, Psalm 42:9, 11)! 

Discerning Faith from Desires

Job 22:19-30

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."

Job’s accuser added to accusations of Job’s wickedness by saying that the real righteous would be glad to see the just due of the wicked.  He told Job to really get to know God to know peace and find good instead of suffering. He was to hear Gods words and store them inside, taking them to heart.  By so turning back to the LORD, Job would then be built back up, presumably as with possessions and children as formerly, and put off his sin which brought all this upon him from God (as Eliphaz thought).  He told Job to make God his treasure, not gold or silver.  He further counseled to find delight in God the Almighty and pray to Him while obeying according to all promises made to the LORD.  He would just na,e something and claim it as his own, finding God’s light of guidance.  By the humility and purity of good works, he would be delivered.  Now some of these things ring true, but some are ungodly advice.  To know God and follow Him by His word are good and right, but to find every whim of desired simply given as from a wishing well through a name it and claim it thinking is not walking by faith, but by selfish desires.  God alone gives good gifts as He wills, and is not our slave to give us whatever we desire, and not the testing of adversity or unpleasant circumstances.  May we discern these good bad, wise and unwise bits of truth from this passage.  We are to discern things of faith from our self serving desires. 

Accusations of Wickedness

Job 22:1-18

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.

Eliphaz began judging and accusing Job of being evil.  He began by questioning Job’s profit to himself or even to God, saying that his righteousness and upright ways meant nothing to God (though the first two chapters demonstrate that God called His servant upright and blameless, not Job ascribing these to himself).  He further accused Job of being punished for his sin, not because of his fear of God, another lie of the Accuser.  Eliphaz further assaulted the character of Job, saying he stole from the poor and withheld charity to others, another false accusation.  He blames the darkness of Job’s trials on Job by creating what must have been the reasons for this great suffering and loss, oblivious to God’s sovereign work in allowing the accuser to slander God by tempting and tormenting God’s upright servant.  God truly is in high in heaven, but he does see all and judge all righteously.  Job knows this, even of accused otherwise.  This bad counsel even compared Job to those who refused to hear God and who tell Him to leave them alone, because He has no right or power to tell them what to do or how to act.  He accused God and Job.  Then he dares to claim that he himself does not listen to wicked counsel after giving such evil advice to Job!  We learn what we see around us in those who deny God and accuse His people, believers of Christ and followers of God in His declared righteousness of us.  We do suffer consequences of our sin, but the adversary is also out to fool us with his ways that we might follow his temptations into sin (James 1:14-15).  May we not listen to accusations of wickedness and judge our brother by his circumstances, but see him in the righteousness of Christ by grace as we ourselves are (Psalm 32:1-2, 33:18). 

Man’s Falsehood or Godly Counsel?

Job 21:22-34

22 "Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?

23 One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;

24 His pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.

25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.

26 They lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.

27 "Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.

28 For you say,
'Where is the house of the prince?
And where is the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?'

29 Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?

30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

31 Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?

32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.

33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.

34 How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since falsehood remains in your answers?"

Job continues his defense by appealing first to God as the highest authority, not his friends nor any other man.  God judges both those on high in heaven and on this world, so nobody can teach Him or question His word.  Both rich and poor die and face the same death, whether at ease in this life or in bitterness and poverty.  This was a defense to those judging Job for losing everything and no longer being rich as previously.  In the end, Job reminds them, God will judge, having reserved a place for wrath on those not declared righteous by Him.  He is the judge.  In these things Job reminded the counselors that their words are hollow and meaningless because they lie about him and about God.  We do well to remember these things as we offer counsel to others in Christ; God alone knows the secrets of their hearts, and circumstances are not a barometer of judgment.  We all need grace who are in Christ, declared righteous in His righteousness and never our own.  Do we offer man’s lies or true godly counsel?  Let no falsehood remain in our answers. 

Denial and Mocking of the Wicked

Job 21:1-21

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your consolation.

3 Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep mocking.

4 "As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me and be astonished;
Put your hand over your mouth.

6 Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.

7 Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?

8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.

10 Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves without miscarriage.

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.

12 They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in wealth,
And in a moment go down to the grave.

14 Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?'

16 Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God distributes in His anger?

18 They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm carries away.

19 They say, 'God lays up one's iniquity for his children';
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.

20 Let his eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?

Job begins an answer to the accusers by asking them to hear him out before continuing to mock his words.  He reminds them that his impatience is against God’s work in allowing the unjust and wicked to prosper in power and wealth, while he himself suffers so severely that others have a difficult time just looking at him.  The wicked who deny God seem to escape God’s heavy hand and build dynasties, eating and drinking and being merry (Luke 12:19-21, 1 Corinthians 15:32-33), happily unaware of the eternal consequences.  But death comes quickly to them as they tell God to stay away because they don’t want to hear His word nor follow Him in obedience to it.  They find no gain, no profit of wealth, in serving God, and so serve themselves as their own feeble gods instead.  These forget that whatever possessions or health they seem to possess is by God’s gracious generosity, not their effort or power or wisdom.  Therefore, Job takes no counsel from the ungodly (Psalm 1:1-2) who are blown off the earth as worthless chaff from the threshing of eatable grain (Psalm 1:4, Luke 3:17).  These ungodly will only think God is a punisher as His wrath comes upon them and their lives come to an abrupt end; they forget that they refused to listen and serve their Maker who wanted the best for them if they turned from rebellion to love and willingly obey Him.  This is still the way of the wicked who deny the gospel, making their futile works their reliance for death instead of the work of God in John 6:29 spells out as believing and trusting His deliverance according to hearing His word (John 1:12).  It is not too late for those who oppose Him to turn from denial to trust; may God therefore open the blind eyes of their hearts to find deliverance in Christ Jesus.  Job’s words to his accusers stands today, that denial and  mocking of the wicked in God’s sight leads only to certain judgment and suffering without end, unlike the transitory agonies of this present life.  Turn and live!  That is the call of the gospel. The gospel to hear and follow Christ is God’s ultimate answer to our deserved judgment.

The Fate of the Wicked Apart from Grace

Job 20:1-29 

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."

Job’s friend Zophar now begins to lecture him about the fate of the wicked man, with the obvious intent on accusing Job of being a sinner who deserves what he has received in suffering.  Zophar was angry at Job’s rebuke of him and his two companions, and was moved to say something - but it was not God who moved him, but his own pride in retaliation.  He spoke of the short-lived triumph of the wicked and the hypocrite, and how the proud one is cast away to be of no consequence afterwards, again an attempt to prove Job wrong and warn him of the results if he continues.  He points out how the evil and proud will gain riches, only to have God empty Him of them, seemingly just as Job lost all his wealth in this trial which Zophar saw as a punishment.  Many other woes for the wicked are enumerated by Job’s friend as if to point the wagging finger at him and warn him to repent or suffer the same consequences as these he named.  Zophar ends up saying that his iniquity will be revealed and vengeance will follow such a wicked man, earning the wages of his sin.  In a sense, this is right, for the wages of sin is death, yet the accusations against one whom God has already called upright fall short of condemning Job.  What Zophar and his friends cannot see it is this fact and the real reason for Job’s suffering as an attack of the Adversary.  We who are in Christ do well to remember that we all are sinners (Romans 3:23), saved by grace and found in Christ’s righteousness alone, not our own.  Evil does earn the things mentioned here, but grace provides an atoning and reconciling acceptance of the sinner as if righteous because we are in Him who is righteous.  This is the fate of the wicked apart from saving grace.  May we hold back condemning others and leave the judgment to God’s word which falls on us all and remains on those who refuse to believe Christ and His work for our reconciliation (John 3:18-19, Romans 5:10), bearing witness to them instead of salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My Redeemer Lives!

Job 19:1-29 

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "How long will you torment my soul,
And break me in pieces with words?

3 These ten times you have reproached me;
You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

4 And if indeed I have erred,
My error remains with me.

5 If indeed you exalt yourselves against me,
And plead my disgrace against me,

6 Know then that God has wronged me,
And has surrounded me with His net.

7 "If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard.
If I cry aloud, there is no justice.

8 He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass;
And He has set darkness in my paths.

9 He has stripped me of my glory,
And taken the crown from my head.

10 He breaks me down on every side,
And I am gone;
My hope He has uprooted like a tree.

11 He has also kindled His wrath against me,
And He counts me as one of His enemies.

12 His troops come together
And build up their road against me;
They encamp all around my tent.

13 "He has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

14 My relatives have failed,
And my close friends have forgotten me.

15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,
Count me as a stranger;
I am an alien in their sight.

16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer;
I beg him with my mouth.

17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am repulsive to the children of my own body.

18 Even young children despise me;
I arise, and they speak against me.

19 All my close friends abhor me,
And those whom I love have turned against me.

20 My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21 "Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!

22 Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

23 "Oh, that my words were written!
Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
24 That they were engraved on a rock
With an iron pen and lead, forever!

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

28 If you should say, 'How shall we persecute him?'—
Since the root of the matter is found in me,
29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves;
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
That you may know there is a judgment."

Job looked forward to seeing his Redeemer face to face after his suffering ended at the grave.  His friends offered only reproach and judgment for his great adversity of suffering, seemingly without any shame, while he reasoned back with them concerning their behavior.  Job reminded them that he was alone responsible for any sin, and their prideful assaults would not alter his predicament.  He answered to God who had taken everything from him and allowed him to suffer so, apparently in wrath and retribution.  Job could not see the heavenly battle arrayed against him by the adversary, so he assumed that God was doing these things because he deserved it all.  Job had no friends, family, or even a wife who did not blame him and turn their backs on him as if he deserved what he received from Him.  Job therefore cried for pity instead of judgment, mercy in place of persecution.  He desired for his words to God and to them to be recorded for history as a witness of his sincerity and their condemnation, as well as God’s hand in it all.  His hope then turned to God again as he spoke those prophetic words of knowing his Redeemer not only lived, existed eternally and sovereignly, but also that he would be before Him eventually after suffering and death.  He would see God face to face, with his own eyes as He is and as Job was, not as others depicted Him.  He knew that hope of a resurrection or life beyond death, and was driven by his heart to desire that day with all his being!  Then Job reminded his friends that they will answer for their persecution of God’s servant, for there is an eternal judgment for all to face after death.  This is a picture and type of the gospel, the wrath of God on all our sin, no matter how much or how little, and the resulting judgment or joy in facing the LORD after death as Hebrews 9:27-28 clarifies for us (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  Only through God’s declaring us upright, righteous, in Christ the Messiah anointed by God’s Spirit, can we face our Redeemer on that day.  Oh, what yearning we have in our hearts who know His reconciliation and redemption (Revelation 21:3-4, 22:3-4), and how sad those facing Him on that judgment day apart from Him (Revelation 20:12, 15)!  Such grace to redeem us and know our Redeemer lives, whom we will see face to face and dwell with forevermore!  This echoes Job’s hope of eternal life with the exclamation, “My Redeemer Lives!”  This is the hope of the gospel as revealed in part to Job, and fully to us in Christ.