Punishment for the Wicked

Job 18:1-21 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 "How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

3 Why are we counted as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?

4 You who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

5 "The light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.

6 The light is dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him is put out.

7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And his own counsel casts him down.

8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.

9 The net takes him by the heel,
And a snare lays hold of him.

10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.

11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.

12 His strength is starved,
And destruction is ready at his side.

13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

14 He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.

15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

16 His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.

17 The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name among the renowned.

18 He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.

19 He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.

20 Those in the west are astonished at his day,
As those in the east are frightened.

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

Bildad, the self-appointed counselor and neighboring friend of Job, attacks his friend with reasoning about punishment for the wicked.  Many things which Bildad says here are true in general, but they are misapplied in condemning judgment to Job because Bildad does not know the true reason for Job’s circumstances.  It is certainly not punishment from God, and assuming suffering is a direct result of specific sins is not for us to judge others in this way.  Bildad begins by telling Job to stop talking and get some understanding, which meant to agree with the assessment and judgment of his counselors.  He thought Job to be high and mighty, that he was always right and the world had to stop and listen to him, the very thing that the three counselors were doing to Job!  He even said in verse 7 about ones own counsel bringing that one down, and further that they are trapped, terrified, weakened, and left homeless.  Such wicked ones have no root or fruit, and are quickly forgotten by those who matter.  They are driven into darkness, unseen and without any lasting impact in the world.  These are signs of one who does not know God, in other words.  These things hold truth, but are out of context and misapplied to Job by these supposedly well-meaning friends.  Yet their own counsel applies more to themselves, revealing their hypocritical condemnation and judgment by God and not for Job.  We do well to learn from these bad examples and not jump to pass sentence on others whom God is the only Judge of.  Let us struggle like Job and learn from his adversity, not repeating his missteps nor the accusations of bad and hasty counsel which only is a prideful attempt to justify ourselves and our supposed wisdom.  We do well to humbly call to mind that we are all wicked by birth and nature, rightly deserving God’s judgment if not for the forgiveness in the work of the grace of Christ and His righteousness in which we stand.  Amen!

Seeking Certain Relief From Despair

Job 17:1-16

1 "My spirit is broken,
My days are extinguished,
The grave is ready for me.

2 Are not mockers with me?
And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?

3 "Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who will shake hands with me?

4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.

5 He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will fail.

6 "But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.

7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.

8 Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.

9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way,
And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

10 "But please, come back again, all of you,
For I shall not find one wise man among you.

11 My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the thoughts of my heart.

12 They change the night into day;
'The light is near,' they say, in the face of darkness.

13 If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
14 If I say to corruption, 'You are my father,'
And to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister,'
15 Where then is my hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?

16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Shall we have rest together in the dust?"

Job was in despair from the suffering that he thought was caused by God, as well as the unwise attacks of judgment from his friends who thought they could counsel him.  They counseled apart from God’s word and the principles found there, choosing rather to assume and pass their assessments as true, which they were not in most areas.  Job was so worn down that he yearned for death to come knocking soon.  He was tired of the mocking and provoking, tired of suffering terribly, and still knowing that God will not honor those against him, even though Job’s faith was uncertain in regards to the circumstances.  He did know that he had no understanding of the motives of those verbally assaulting him with bad counsel, and so cried out to God for their being brought low for their actions.  He was not being flattered as probably with his past status in the community, but was now a joke and example of a sinful man getting what they imagined he deserved.  Sorrow overwhelmed Job, astonishing those who did follow the LORD, for they could not grasp why Job was suffering so much since they always saw him upright as well as themselves.  Verse 9 offers a glimpse of Job still holding to doing right by God, knowing the reward is renewed strength no matter what others say.  That was difficult to hold unwavering to in his circumstances, though.  Job then challenged his friends to come back and see how unwise they really were, yet still suffered despair because the suffering was not abating.  He began to see little purpose left in continuing, not even in his heart’s desires.  He awaits light at the end of the tunnel of darkness, but also welcomes the grave because hope seems to have left him with only the grave to come.  His only rest appeared to be back in the dust he came from, not seeing what 1 Samuel 2:8 and Psalm 113:7 say about hope arising from the LORD out of the dust of the downtrodden, preferring the view of Genesis 3:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:20 which show the futility of life and death in such despair.  We can learn then to trust the hope of the gospel in Christ and not find despair in circumstances, for His promises lead us through death into life (2 Timothy 1:10, Romans 8:38) forever with Him and with no more suffering anymore.  This is eternal hope in the present despair as 1 Peter 4:19 and 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 remind us. 

Empathy Needed While Suffering

Job 16:1-22

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "I have heard many such things;
Miserable comforters are you all!

3 Shall words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?

4 I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul's place.

I could heap up words against you,
And shake my head at you;

5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

6 "Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?

7 But now He has worn me out;
You have made desolate all my company.

8 You have shriveled me up,
And it is a witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.

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

10 They gape at me with their mouth,
They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.

11 God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.

12 I was at ease, but He has shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has set me up for His target,

13 His archers surround me.
He pierces my heart and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.

14 He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.

15 "I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And laid my head in the dust.

16 My face is flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

18 "O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place!

19 Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.

20 My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.

21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his neighbor!

22 For when a few years are finished,
shall go the way of no return.

Job had been handed over to the ungodly and to the adversary to use the ungodly to mock him and to strike him with hate on the face, just as they did at Golgotha many years later to the righteous Christ of God who suffered ridicule and judgment by sinful men as well (Psalm 22:13, Matthew 26:67).  Job had miserable counselors who sided agains him because they sided against God; they attacked His righteous and upright servant when they should have been encouraging and comforting as they pointed his faith back to God and His sovereign hand of grace and mercy to come.  Instead, it appeared as if the adversary who began these trials of Job from heaven and grasped these three friends and used them as his weapons to assault Job until he broke and cursed God (Job 1:11, 2:5-6).  They attacked Job’s faith as ridicule of God and His servant, as it were, as if satan’s tools.  Job tried to let them put themselves in his place before harshly judging and offering such mocking advice, reminding that he would strengthen and comfort them if their places were reversed.  He would who them compassion and empathy in their suffering.  Job spoke of his adversary gnashing his teeth at Job, hateful and enraged, and gather together to strike him as similarly prophesied about Christ in Psalm 22:13 we saw earlier.  Though not a type of Christ, Job suffered similar attacks of people following the adversary instead of God as seen in verses 9-11 here.  He was handed over to suffer at their hands by God’s permission, not by His desire or design, and this will be his vindication in the end.  Job was as if pierced so gall came out, somewhat similar to the spear thrust in our Savior on the cross also.  Then we see Job continuing to lament his mourning in suffering with the sackcloth and tears driving his prayer to God for relief, but needing an intercessor to plead with God for him, which we now have in Christ Himself!  Our witness is in heaven, not to our own righteousness as Job’s prayer offered up, but in Christ’s alone.  He pleads our case before the throne of the Father as God did for Job.  We will also go to the grave as Job pointed out, never to return to life here, but we have an eternal hope in life with Him by His advocacy and grace forevermore (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 1 John 2:1).  We therefore need empathy from each other while suffering on earth because of our advocate in heaven who delivers us from eternal suffering to come on the world (1 John 4:18), not judgment or unbiblical advice based on our assumptions based on our own rash assessments.  Amen! 

God is the Judge, Not Us

Job 15:17-35

17 "I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them:
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.

23 He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?'
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.

24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.

25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

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

29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.

32 It will be accomplished before his time,
And his branch will not be green.

33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit."

Eliphaz continued his verbal assault on God’s servant Job, spreading the supposed wisdom men had told him his whole life.  He spoke of how the wicked suffer in pain (as Job was), and how death, destruction, and darkness pursued such evil people.  All this trouble is a result of opposing God and suffering the consequences in the mind of Eliphaz as he projected these things on Job because he was suffering.  Obviously, his friend must have so offended God to face such adversity, he thought, in defiance of the Almighty.  He imagined stubbornness and reliance on his own strength must be behind it.  Therefore, God would take away his wealth and possessions as Job’s had been.  He was looking at circumstances and not deeper into God’s providence and sovereign grace.  Eliphaz blamed Job for his predicament as a self-deception and resulting sin, in other words.  He judged and condemned his friend without knowing the true reasons of the Adversary’s attacks on the man God called upright.  We must not make the same mistake when we counsel a brother or sister in Christ.  We are not to be judge and jury or even executioner of character, but pray and comfort and lead with scripture to relief from suffering.  Who knows if the enemy is attacking, or if sin’s consequences are bearing fruit?  We are not that judge.  God is in Christ. 

Verbal Assaults of the Accuser

Job 15:1-16

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 "Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill himself with the east wind?

3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?

4 Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain prayer before God.

5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

7 "Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?

8 Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?

10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.

11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken gently with you?

12 Why does your heart carry you away,
And what do your eyes wink at,

13 That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?

14 "What is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

15 If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

16 How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
Who drinks iniquity like water!

Now Eliphaz takes his second turn to accuse Job of folly.  This is the friend from chapter 4 who claimed divine revelation from a spirit (Job 4:15-16), and who had in verse 6 accused his friend of relying on his own holiness and integrity for his standing with the LORD.  Now Eliphaz continues these attacks by slandering Job as if he were only speaking empty knowledge and worthless talk.  He accused Job of losing his fear of God and speaking cunningly out of sin, which condemns himself.  He again derides Job with accusations of self righteousness and pride to dare speak as if he knew better than his elders.  Eliphaz then further spoke ill of Job, demeaning his hearing from God (while he himself had listened to spirits in chapter 4).  Job was accused of not listening to God through these men come to help him, having listened to his own feelings instead of good counsel as they imagined it.  He even said that Job had turned against God by speaking as he did!  Of course, Eliphaz states the obvious that no man can be pure, but the integrity of Job was relative for him as a man and was described by God Himself to be upright, which started satan’s attacks in the first place.  He then tries to use the sinfulness of others and the corruption of creation reaching to heaven as a reason for Job to stop claiming to be right and righteous.  Yet he forgot that Job was described by the Almighty as being upright in His sight, a truth not to be argued by another sinful man.  There are elements of truth in what Eliphaz says, but they are misappropriated and misapplied to Job in the self righteousness of Eliphaz himself as accuser, just as the accuser and adversary in the spiritual realm.  He was being used by the adversary to question God’s servant and His words, ultimately.  The accuser of us all will be judged in the end (Revelation 12:10), and our vindication will be in the sacrifice of Christ in our stead.  His declaration of our righteousness in Jesus will be our eternal security, and our hope now and forever against all the attacks and slander of the evil one until His words end as those of Job’s accusers.  It is therefore not our uprightness under attack, but God’s, just as the devil spoke against the LORD in the first two chapters of this book, for it is God who declares our integrity and uprightness in Him. 

If a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?

Job 14:1-22 

1 "Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.

2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

3 And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?

4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!

5 Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.

6 Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

7 "For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.

8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,

9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.

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

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

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

14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.

15 You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.

16 For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.

17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.

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

20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.

21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it."

Job wavered between hope of a change after death to relieve his suffering, and with the doubts of being worthy to find his fleeting life judged for all his sin and shortcomings in life.  We find God’s word inspired Job to write things which he himself did not fully grasp.  He begins here with the trouble we are all born to, the sin nature as we know it, and how quickly man grows and dies as a flower of short-lived splendor or a passing shadow with little substance.  He knows judgment is due because it is impossible with man to cleanse himself from that innate sinfulness.  No one can bring clean from unclean, yet we know in Christ that He alone can do that in us by regeneration and rebirth by His work and will alone.  Our times are predetermined in His hand, and unlike a tree cut down and regrowing, man breathes his last and is buried to send no new shoot out of the ground as that tree.  Man dies, dries up, and stays there until the heavens are no more.  This hints of a resurrection and a new creation as the only hope for of a change for life after death.  Job pleads with God to keep him in the grace until His wrath on sin is abated and that God would remember him after that.  He then asks if a man will die and then live again.  This veiled hope of a resurrection fills his thoughts because of the suffering he is going through, and the doubts of God’s love and care as the suffering is not answered with release and healing.  He knows that God loves the creation of His hands, and that will answer Job’s cry for deliverance.  More importantly, Job knows his iniquity will be covered by God, a picture foreshadowing Christ covering the sin of His beloved ones called to Himself.  Looking around, it would appear that there is no hope, that men just die and cannot even see their family grieve over them, and this makes him sad to consider the hopelessness of a life that simply ends without a continuation after the grave.  Job seems to doubt, yet hold on to hope in a resurrection or at least a life after death in some way, for the things he says are inspired by God’s Spirit and recorded here as scripture.  We see then that the book of Job offers hope in our suffering and doubts as well, pointing to fulfillment and clarification revealed in Christ by His work for our resurrection assurance through change in this life for the continuation through the grave and into eternity.  The question of whether a man shall live again after he dies has been answered assuredly, decisively, and absolutely in the life and work of Jesus the Christ of God for all He calls to Himself (Romans 4:17, John 10:3-4, 27-29).  Job’s question has been answered! 

Despondent Prayer with Hope

Job 13:20-28

20 "Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide myself from You:

21 Withdraw Your hand far from me,
And let not the dread of You make me afraid.

22 Then call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, then You respond to me.

23 How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.

24 Why do You hide Your face,
And regard me as Your enemy?

25 Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?
And will You pursue dry stubble?

26 For You write bitter things against me,
And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

27 You put my feet in the stocks,
And watch closely all my paths.
You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

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

Job trusted God in his adversity, yet still grew ever more despondent as the trials of suffering continued.  He kept turning to God in prayer to reason with the Almighty (Job 13:3).  He really only asked for two main things as verse 20 starts this conversation with God.  First, that God would not leave him alone in the suffering, but remain close by.  Second, that he would not be overwhelmed with the fear of God to his dread and destruction.  He wanted His creator to be close and His hand of protection and sustaining goodness to not leave him helpless and alone.  He also did not want to give in to the situation so that the adverse circumstances might make him lose trust and give into fear of punishment and torment (1 John 4:18).  Job had held to God’s providence of goodness and grace from the beginning, and he did not want to lose his grasp on that truth as he endured prolonged suffering.  He did not want to withdraw, to hide from God, and so he prayed for these two things to strengthen his faith and not forget.  Job then promised to answer the LORD when He called to Job, as well as to be allowed to speak to Him and be heard in response.  He asked to have his sins exposed, not kept from him as if he was a condemned enemy of the Most High.  The evidence against him seemed insurmountable, for he was pursued by God’s justice for his sins from his beginning days.  He felt as a prisoner of these things, locked in the stocks and restrained from moving away from them.  Job ultimately knew all mankind is as a rotted waste and moth-eaten piece of clothing.  There was no inherent righteousness in people apart from God.  We know that now as well, for the only righteousness and uprightness in us is Christ Himself whom we are now found in.  We pray with absolute hope of answers either now or in eternity, and need not be despondent as Job was without that gospel assurance.  We know His hand is ever upon us for good (Romans 8:28) and that He will never leave us alone (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18) or forsake us entirely as we suffer trials for the sake of Christ.  Our temporal despondent prayers have everlasting hope to brighten our souls in Christ our Savior.  

Trusting Fully in Adversity

Job 13:1-19

1 "Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

3 But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to reason with God.

4 But you forgers of lies,
You are all worthless physicians.

5 Oh, that you would be silent,
And it would be your wisdom!

6 Now hear my reasoning,
And heed the pleadings of my lips.

7 Will you speak wickedly for God,
And talk deceitfully for Him?

8 Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?

9 Will it be well when He searches you out?
Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?

10 He will surely rebuke you
If you secretly show partiality.

11 Will not His excellence make you afraid,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?

12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 "Hold your peace with me, and let me speak,
Then let come on me what may!

14 Why do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?

15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

16 He also shall be my salvation,
For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.

18 See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be vindicated.

19 Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Job let his self-appointed counselors know where he stood with God.  He heard the words they offered, their accusations and condemning judgment, and let them hear the fact that the circumstances did not escape him either.  But he then turned the conversation towards God for the understanding of the circumstances and answers as to the reason he was suffering in such adversity.  Job told his friends that they were useless doctors of his soul and body, liars by their assumptions and accusatory diagnoses.  If they stopped talking to him like this, that would be real wisdom, instead of inserting words in God’s mouth as if they spoke for Him as sent by God.  They each needed to be looked at by God for their own diagnosis.  Fear of the LORD should make them watch their words as He sees into their motives and judgmental ill will towards His servant Job; remember that these accusations and attacks originated against Job by satan.  Because their words were clay and ashes in substance and reasoning, Job stopped them long enough to let him speak, knowing that he was in God’s sovereign omnipotent hands anyway.  What would come was providential.  Job would continue to trust God as in the beginning when he had lost all (Job 1:21-22, 2:10), even if it was to death.  This did not stop him from reasoning with God about the reasons for his suffering, however.  He still defended his uprightness attested to by others (including God).  He knew deliverance was only through the LORD by agreeing with Him about his sin, confessing the truth and not being two-faced in denial of it while espousing his goodness.  He therefore speaks through these chapters to justify himself while faced with his friend’s accusations.  Job trusted that God would vindicate him in the end because that was His character, and refused to keep quiet as they kept at him.  He knew ultimately that nobody could oppose him if God was for him (Romans 8:31, 33).  This is our defense now in Christ, as we have a greater understanding of grace and justification of deliverance from sin’s penalty which we all deserve in spite of the adversary’s accusations (Revelation 12:10).  Our uprightness, our righteousness, is Christ’s alone, not our own.  This would be the lesson for Job to learn in the end as well as our reminder, but there are many other jewels throughout concerning God’s character and providential working to glean from this book also!  Since we see Job trusting fully in adversity, though it may not always appear to be this way, we can therefore learn many of the same lessons God taught him. 

Know God’s Character, Counsel, and Sovereignty

Job 12:13-25

13 "With Him are wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.

14 If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.

15 If He withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

16 With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.

17 He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.

18 He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.

19 He leads princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.

20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.

21 He pours contempt on princes,
And disarms the mighty.

22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.

23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and guides them.

24 He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.

25 They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Job knew the character and sovereignty of God.  He also understood the futility of man in his own understanding and power apart from God’s.  Wisdom, strength, understanding, and counsel are His alone.  His works cannot be reversed or undone (Isaiah 14:27, 43:13).  His working cannot be undone by our efforts or reasoning, and His judgment and sentence are eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1), by which we understand that we die once and face that judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28); there is no second chance to undo God’s decree after death, no purgatory to get out of jail free apart from God’s work in Christ before death.  God, controls the weather, using even our mismanagement of the environment as tools in His hands to work His plans.  This Sovereignty is certain.  Job knew that.  God has the deceiver in control as well as the ones deceived; He can give liberating truth to the deceived as well as condemn or free the the deceiver.  He controls governments and their leaders absolutely in the vector of His history accordingly.  God alone gives right words to those chosen or takes away the words of those not speaking for Him.  It is His right and in His power to do all these things according to His righteousness of character.  He brings light out of darkness to men to set us free, and causes nations to rise and fall on command, leading them through history by His plan and for His ultimate glory in the end.  He is absolutely sovereign, ruling according to His will and word.  We have understanding or lack it, even as leaders, by His word.  If He takes that understanding away from rulers, they wander aimlessly to nowhere, blind as if walking in darkness or staggering as drunkards.  Job knew these attributes and out-workings of the LORD of himself and those attempting to counsel him, and trusted in God’s counsel over the bad advice and judgment of his friends.  We do well to understand and test counsel against God’s before taking it to heart as well as Hebrews 13:7 advises us.  We are therefore to know God’s character, counsel, and sovereignty.  

God Gives Wisdom and Understanding

Job 12:1-12

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!

3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

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

5 A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for those whose feet slip.

6 The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

7 "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.

9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?

11 Does not the ear test words
And the mouth taste its food?

12 Wisdom is with aged men,
And with length of days, understanding.

The hand of the LORD has done this.  That was the answer for the self-appointed counselors of Job, the one called just and blameless by Him.  Job pointed out sarcastically that the wisdom of the people, even of humanity by implication, would die with them.  He pointed out that the things they claimed, he knew also; he was no less than they in understanding, and much of it really is common knowledge.  They just want to mock the man who has been knocked down and forget that Job is the one who heard from God when Job ask Him about things.  Not them.  They ridiculed him and blamed his circumstances on imagined sin because they believed that sickness and suffering always came as a consequence of sin.  This bad teaching continues to the present day, unfortunately, and even within the church!  People look past God’s providence and sovereign grace to only see works as earning favor or punishment, just as the friends of Job here.  He likens himself as a righteous lamp giving light to guide others, yet good times make it seem unnecessary; only when the darkness creeps in and their feet slip do they want to have its guidance on the immediate path under their feet to avoid trouble.  Even thieves and critics of God find His providential grace, however.  He shines light on all (Proverbs 29:13, Matthew 5:45).  All of creation knows that God has made and governs everything and everyone; He holds our lives in His hands, not we ourselves.  He gives us life and breath.  Wisdom then is to taste and see that God is good (Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 2:2-3).  We look into His word, knowing it comes from Him, and learn to trust His providence and goodness through all circumstances, good and bad.  He allows all for our good, not to destroy us, as He gives us Light for our path in His word through others (Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 10:8).  May we grasp and understand these things with humility.  Remember, God gives wisdom and understanding that we might rightly judge all things in humility and with grace, not in condemnation and accusations like Job’s three friends with misguided counsel. 

God Requires Less than You Deserve

Job 11:1-20 

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

2 "Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should a man full of talk be vindicated?

3 Should your empty talk make men hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

4 For you have said,
My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.'

5 But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!

For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that God exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

7 "Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

8 They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9 Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

10 "If He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can hinder Him?

11 For He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?

12 For an empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey's colt is born a man.

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

Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
18 And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.

19 You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.

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

Now the next friend of Job, Zophar, begins to lecture him to set him straight on God’s seemingly obvious judgment on Job, in order to move him to repent.  He saw Job as self-righteous and judgmental to others, as if Job alone was pure in living and doctrine, that his words alone were right with God towards others.  He wished that God would talk to Job and straighten him out in these matters.  Why?  So that Job would learn prudence in knowing that God demanded less than Job deserved for his sin and pride.  This is certainly true for us all, knowing that God’s grace in Christ gives us less than we deserve, and more than we could ever hope.  We deserve judgment on our sin, but the Lord does not exact punishment from us is we are in Christ; however, if we remain outside of that work of grace, we remain remain under the full wrath of what due punishment we earned (John 3:17-18).  Though Zophar here meant this as an accusation, we know the deeper truth of the matter in God’s eyes through Christ our advocate.  The natural man certainly cannot fathom the deep things of God and the expanse of His workings, but with His Spirit living in us, we can (1 Corinthians 2:10, 12, 16).  We can be fairly certain that Job knew at least the essence of these things because he was so close to God, but cannot know that for certain.  Zophar does state biblical truth, even if misdirected.  He points out how God sees and considers the deceit and sinfulness of men who deserve being held accountable, and how hearts must be prepared through repentance and resultant holy living to live fearlessly and confidently before the Almighty.  These things he did state rightly, if not in context nor rightly in Job’s case.  Repentance brings light to the darkness of separation from God, hope in judgment, and favor with Him and others.  The unrepentant and wicked, however, face a certain loss of life in due judgment.  Of course, this is only a parable to the gospel truths we face, yet it helps us to know the place of repentance and forgiving grace in Christ to make us fearless in judgment (1 John 4:18) because of His work for us to gain the reconciling salvation we cannot ourselves.  There is judgment and repentance is required,  but we are not to judge each others as Job’s friends, for God’s word does that already (John 3:18-19).  We have truth for our sin’s consequences as well as knowledge of the attacks of the Adversary.  There is victory only in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).  As verse 6 states, “Know therefore that God exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.”  This is our steadfastness (1 Corinthians 15:58)!

Pleading with God

Job 10:1-22

1 "My soul loathes my life;
I will give free course to my complaint,
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me;
Show me why You contend with me.

3 Does it seem good to You that You should oppress,
That You should despise the work of Your hands,
And smile on the counsel of the wicked?

4 Do You have eyes of flesh?
Or do You see as man sees?

5 Are Your days like the days of a mortal man?
Are Your years like the days of a mighty man,
6 That You should seek for my iniquity
And search out my sin,
7 Although You know that I am not wicked,
And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?

8 'Your hands have made me and fashioned me,
An intricate unity;
Yet You would destroy me.

9 Remember, I pray, that You have made me like clay.
And will You turn me into dust again?

10 Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You have granted me life and favor,
And Your care has preserved my spirit.

13 'And these things You have hidden in Your heart;
I know that this was with You:

14 If I sin, then You mark me,
And will not acquit me of my iniquity.

15 If I am wicked, woe to me;
Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.

I am full of disgrace;
See my misery!

16 If my head is exalted,
You hunt me like a fierce lion,
And again You show Yourself awesome against me.

17 You renew Your witnesses against me,
And increase Your indignation toward me;
Changes and war are ever with me.

18 'Why then have You brought me out of the womb?
Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

19 I would have been as though I had not been.
I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.

20 Are not my days few?
Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,
21 Before I go to the place from which I shall not return,
To the land of darkness and the shadow of death,
22 A land as dark as darkness itself,
As the shadow of death, without any order,
Where even the light is like darkness.'"

In his immense distress, Job begins pleading with God for relief, for deliverance from suffering and for His goodness and renewed favor.  He became so self-loathing and depressed that he spoke his bitterness to His creator, holding nothing back with Him.  He asked not to be condemned, but also to reveal why he was made to suffer to such a degree.  Job wondered if God despised him by allowing evil counsel to prevail.  He confessed that God does not see as man sees, that He is eternal and does not seek out sin in him as others do, even though there is nobody who can deliver him from these things.  He acknowledged God’s creating him, fashioning Job with great care and in great detail (Psalm 139:14), and so wondered how God could then destroy him, returning the clay of his being back to the dust of the earth from which man was originally made (Genesis 2:7).  Yet in the midst of this questioning and bitterness of hopelessness, Job says in verse 12 that he has been given grace and care from His Maker to preserve his spirit, a measure of hope for his continued existence.  He also knew that his sin earned consequences (Romans 6:23), and that his wickedness garnered woe (Isaiah 3:11) as a result.  Job was ashamed and guilty before God, disgraced in misery.  He realized still that the evidence was against him and witnesses indicted him, to the increase of God’s wrath.  Job then questioned why he was even born, wishing like Jonah to not only die, but further desired to never even to have been born!  He just wanted the suffering to end, to be left alone until he died, and not harassed by his friends.  The desire was to go to where he would never return, the grave, a place of darkness where there was disorder and even the light was dark.  This depressed view of death seemed to be the hopelessness brought on by his adversity, which shook his trust in God’s grace and goodwill towards him as before the adversary had begun the attacks on his person, possessions, and family.  We can also feel hopeless when all is taken from us, when we suffer great health problems, and when all turn against us; but we must remember the backstory of Job and realize the enemy is prowling about because of our testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Psalm 22:13, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:17).  This should bring hope and relief from here to eternity, knowing the character and grace of God’s goodness promised to His children.  We should not doubt nor blame God for our suffering, not name and claim relief or blame a lack of faith on our bad health or poverty, but instead temporally and eternally trust Him in all circumstances of life (Romans 8:28, 35, 37-39).  Our pleading with God is based on His goodness and grace in Christ alone.  This is an example for us to trust God, not the circumstances.

The Reasons for a Mediator

Job 9:15-35

15 For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.

16 If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.

17 For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds without cause.

18 He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.

19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?

20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

21 "I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.

22 It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, He destroys the blameless and the wicked.'

23 If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.

24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?

25 "Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.

26 They pass by like swift ships,
Like an eagle swooping on its prey.

27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,'
28 I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You will not hold me innocent.

29 If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?

30 If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with soap,
31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will abhor me.

32 "For He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.

33 Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.

34 Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.

35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.

Job realized his need of a mediator with God, but also the reasons for that in spite of his uprightness in His and other’s eyes.  He first of all realized that he would still require mercy if he was truly righteous, for he would still need mercy before the judge of the living and the dead.  We now know is true because the gospel has been unfolded from the Old Testament into the explanations of the New; we now understand that we are all unrighteous due to the inheritance through the first Adam, whose sin we are all born with and carry to the judgment seat without the Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Timothy 2:4-6).  He alone is able to forgive and reconcile us because He is divine and sinless, unlike every child of Adam and Eve.  Job was so utterly despondent without that mediator that he could not believe God really would hear him if He answered Job’s cries for deliverance.  He looked at his circumstances only to come to this conclusion, not knowing the heavenly backstory.  He knew God’s omnipotence and justice, yet knew that his own righteousness fell short of God’s just standards (Romans 3:23).  His own words would testify to this fact because he really did not know himself fully, not completely understanding the fall of his progenitor, Adam, nor that effect of sin on himself.  He saw only that apparently God destroys both the wicked and blameless, and that he was bitter after having struggled to live by righteousness his whole life.  The world seemed to have been put in the hands of the evil one in verse 24 (which has been done temporarily as we see in John 12:31, 1 John 5:19, and John 16:11), and Job needs someone to rescue him from the common end all face in judgment.  He saw his life coming to a swift end, but could not bring himself to put on a happy face of denial because of his current and future (eternal) suffering brought on by his guilt and just due to come.  He wondered why he tried to do good if the end was determined; all his attempts to do good and make himself clean and righteous seemed ineffective in God’s estimation.  Because the Divine was not a man like Job, he could not just go to court to arbitrate his sentence.  Of course we now realize that Christ did exactly that by being both a man and God to be able to arbitrate by taking the sentence upon Himself to both satisfy justice and to impute His righteousness to us so we would not suffer our just due.  Such grace not clearly revealed or understood yet in Job’s days!  He knew only that there was no apparent Mediator who could bridge that gap yet.  He only desired mercy and forgiveness to take away the fear of torment because of due punishment (1 John 4:18).  He wanted to speak to God without fear.  We can do this in and through our Mediator, Jesus Christ! 

Our Need for a Mediator

Job 9:1-14

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 "Truly I know it is so,
But how can a man be righteous before God?

3 If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.

4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?

5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;

8 He alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea;
9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;

10 He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.

11 If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;

12 If He takes away, who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'

13 God will not withdraw His anger,
The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

14 "How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?

In his great suffering, Job reasoned about his plight and the causes which might have brought him there.  He knew that he needed a mediator with His Creator, for it is impossible to be truly righteous by God’s standards.  Neither he nor anyone else ever born could answer God when arguing with Him about His creation or His will or Himself.  Man does not have that ability, wisdom, or understanding as God possesses.  It is therefore futile to argue with or accuse God.  He had all wisdom and strength, against which nobody can stand for even a split second.  There is no way to win an argument or striving against God.  If you look at the creation, notice how the mountains stand firm at His word, or move as He wishes, then you realize that this is beyond our ability to imitate.  If you realize how He can command an earthquake and how it shakes the foundation out from under your feet, you see just how mighty God is.  The sun and other stars hang perfectly in the heavens at His word, an infinite undertaking which we still struggle to comprehend, let alone see fully.  He lets us see just how much of the vast universe that He wants to, and we are still in awe as we see more and more of its wonders.  He truly does “great things past finding out,” as it is written here.  These innumerable works of His mighty hand shape burning balls of fire in the sky and the softest cotton out of the dirt beneath.  It is difficult to imagine, because as Job says here, we cannot even see Him as He does all these wonderful things.  We don’t even sense He is near as He works, so how can we interrupt or stop Him.  How dare we question His working (Romans 9:20) or ask why when He has told us enough in His word as well?  We trust in awe.  We realize we need Him as our mediator because of His anger against our pride which questions His word and work.  As Job said, how can we answer Him in these things or find the words to reason with God, knowing His omnipotence and omniscience?  May we stop and consider the fact of His creation of us in His vast creation and humbly listen and trust.  A mediator is of no use to us apart from that faith to trust His working for effectual deliverance of us from His anger for our disbelief and willful disobedience of all He does and all He is.  Great is His name, and greatly to be praised (Psalm 145:3)! 

Competent to Counsel

Job 8:1-21 

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2 "How long will you speak these things,
And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

3 Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

4 If your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away for their transgression.

5 If you would earnestly seek God
And make your supplication to the Almighty,

6 If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would awake for you,
And prosper your rightful dwelling place.

7 Though your beginning was small,
Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

8 "For inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
9 For we were born yesterday, and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.

10 Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?

11 "Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reeds flourish without water?

12 While it is yet green and not cut down,
It withers before any other plant.

13 So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,
14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,
And whose trust is a spider's web.

15 He leans on his house, but it does not stand.
He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

16 He grows green in the sun,
And his branches spread out in his garden.

17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,
And look for a place in the stones.

18 If he is destroyed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, 'I have not seen you.'

19 "Behold, this is the joy of His way,
And out of the earth others will grow.

20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless,
Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,
And your lips with rejoicing.

22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing."

Now the second friend of Job, Bildad, speaks in his form of counsel for Job to repent and seek God’s grace.  He joins the first friend in beginning with the assumption that Job has sinned, and that his unrighteousness has earned God’s recompense.  He does not see behind the curtain of the heavenly court to see the Most Holy and the battle for Job’s integrity by the adversary.  Therefore, Bildad asks how Job can defend himself, knowing that the LORD keeps to judgment and justice without wavering.  He misses that God’s grace can provide these, just as He will completely in the Messiah Jesus to come when the time is right (Galatians 4:4).  In verse 4, this counselor assumes the sins of Job’s sons brought about their death (Job 1:18-19).  He further advises that Job put his heart into seeking God and would answer his prayers if he was righteous enough.  Then Job would have plenty again, the health and wealth he lost due to the perceived sin in the eye of Bildad.  Then he pointed Job to other examples of cause and effect, claiming that these prove sin brought all the adversity on his friend.  He was trying to move Job to repent for reconciliation and restoration with God.  He reminds Job that God will not cast off the upright, but will also not support the sinner.  This sounds biblical and right, but we must remember this judgment of man is not God’s against him; we have seen how God called him upright in heaven (Job 1:8, 2:3), the place where Bildad has not seen or heard God’s words of the true reason Job was attacked by the evil one.  This should give us cause to stop our assumptions of judgment without getting the truth first, or we may counsel others foolishly instead of with godly judgment (Psalm 119:66) according to His word and Spirit.  There is truth in receiving God’s joy and seeing the wicked come to no good end against us when we live righteously, but our righteousness comes from God’s grace in Christ, which is backed by resulting good words and actions out of that source.  We are not upright in ourselves nor justified in our works to prove our righteousness, but as a result of His righteousness we do right and are held accountable in those things (Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12, Hebrews 4:13, 1 Corinthians 3:14-15).  The book of Job has many truths from the friends come out of themselves to counsel their friend Job, but many are misapplied by assumptions and insinuations.  This does not negate the need to repent and seek God’s grace, but it must be based on God’s view and not our own.  May we learn prudence in judgment by getting the true facts with the guidelines of God’s scriptures with the understanding by His Spirit living in us, and not our reasoning apart from those.  Then we may be competent to counsel, as Jay Adams titled his book years ago. Job’s friends were not.  May we be.  Hopefully we will then consider each Job in our lives as God sees  him or her.