Job was a man in a crisis - there was no-one like him. Through all his turmoil he didn't act quickly to blame God - rather at the end of Chapter 1 he praises and thanks God in the middle of all his grief and agony ...
"Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped. And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed by the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." Job 1 verses 20 to 22
What are some of the crisis points in my life? Illness, disease, death, even war. But there is another area of conflict going on even today that I cannot see - beyond the physical and human field of vision there is the invisible battle - a glimpse is given in verses 1 to 8. It is not easy to remember that God is in ultimate control working in my life. I need to learn to listen for God and to God, just as Job did here in these verses. God is always available and ready when I turn to him.
Notice an improbable person - verses 1 to 5. Look at Job's character - pure heart full of integrity and holiness. He lives with great fear and an admiration for God. No-one could accuse him of anything. An upright man, worthy of trust, blessed materially, great riches and possessions. He had a family and acted as a priest offering sacrifices daily on their behalf. A reminder to never give up praying for my family. God should be our focus always. Love our families as God has loved us. In verse 5 we see the consistency of Job's life - he sought God for others not in a relationship with God. An unlikely candidate to go through such pain - God sends trials to test us, to help us grow in our faith and walk with God. John 11 verse 4 shows Jesus suffered when his own friend Lazarus died, using this to bring glory To God his Father just as he was for Job.
Job was no pretender! An invisible battle in verses 6 to 12 was taking place in heaven not earth. Satan made an appearance before God's throne along with the angels - one day he will not do this. God acknowledges his presence, he has all the power and authority. He spoke first and last to Satan before he left heaven. The accusation in verses 9 to 12 - Job is only faithful because of his riches and your comfort. If all was stripped away he would forsake you God - we have an advocate in heaven who acts on our behalf today - 1 John 2 verse 1.
An inconceivable tragedy unfolds in verses 13 to 19. Satan wanted to release havoc in Job's life - everything was taken from Job. His herds, flocks and then his 10 children. Only one man was left alive to tell what had happened. Surely this would drive him to despair? But all was in the control of God.
An immense control by God not Satan. God was listening and watching all that was going on - he is sovereign. I need to learn to bring all that happens in life to him and know he is in control. Nothing happens by chance.
An immovable relationship - verses 20 to 22. Job still had a testimony. Notice his reaction to events - deep mourning. But then he worshipped God. He cared more for God than all his riches, possessions, flocks and family. He praises God for all the blessings he had enjoyed even though it was taken from him. He understood God was in control and he would help him through.
My notes from chapter 2 onwards are from The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik
There is a phrase in verse 3 - "to destroy him without cause" means that for both God and Satan they had something to prove and establish in the whole account. There was no sinful cause in Job that prompted the calamities that befell him.
Satan asserted that Job failed to curse God only because he was afraid that if he did so it would bring personal punishment from God. Satan argued that the problem with the previous attacks was that none of them touched Job directly but only things next to or outside of Job. He insisted if an attack were made against Job directly, if some calamity came upon Job's body, then Job would certainly curse God. Again God lowered the hedge that protected Job but did not eliminate it.
In verses 7 and 8 Job is smitten with painful and disgusting sore boils. But we see in verses 9 and 10 that he holds his integrity before his wife. She had lost her integrity. She was very unsupportive and sharp tongued. Job did not call her foolish but rather speaking like a foolish woman. He believed this was totally out of her character. Job shows his wisdom recognizing that God does not owe us some good, he gives it as a gift we should accept. Notice Job never sinned with his lips.
In verses 11 to 13 we meet Job's friends - Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They came in Job's hour of need. Their intended goal was good and noble. The boils had left Job with a horrific disfigured appearance and his friends were instantly gripped with grief and mourning as if someone had died. For 7 days and nights they said nothing to Job. This was the usual time of mourning.
We can admire these 3 friends because ...
- they came to him
- they wept for and with Job
- they sat in silence for 7 days
- they intended the best for Job
- they were persistent in wanting and doing what they thought was best
- they spoke their opinions about Job and his condition instead of gossiping with others about him.
What can I learn from this second chapter of Job? God only sends trials that I can cope with - with his help! Sometimes the unseen hand of God is at work in my life and I cannot see it. The trials are to test me - in Job's case he never lost his integrity - could I say the same in my life? Would I lash out or keep quiet? Job's 3 friends teach me that sometimes it is better to say nothing to others who are going through difficulties - my presence and acknowledgement is sufficient in such times.
In chapter 3 the overriding theme is that Job rather than cursing God curses the day he was born. We see in this chapter Job's response to all that has happened. The battle has now entered into Job's mind and soul. Job will curse his birthday but not his God. He longs to be taken from this world, to leave behind all his misery. He questions why he was ever born. We can see something of the real anguish Job is going through as he questions his very existence. Job feared and felt that God has lost faith in him. Job never mentions what he has lost materially but rather is afraid that he has lost his peace with God. That is what he really cares about.
Why did God allow Job to continue in life, even after all he had lost?
- to teach a lesson to the angelic beings
- to teach a special reliance upon God
- to teach Job to not regard the wisdom of man so much
- to vindicate him before other men
- to make him a lesson and example for all the ages
- to give him more than he ever had before.
Of course all of this can be seen at the end of Job's story, not while we are in the midst of it. And what we know Job didn't know at the time. He had to endure so much for all these lessons to be proven. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we had it every time something happens to us we would know how to react and speak. What struck me very much was how Job was scared to have lost his peace and communication with God through all that was going on. I wonder if I had been in the same situation would I be afraid of that more than anything else? I doubt it - this is the challenge I have seen in chapter 3. To lose something very precious - livelihood and family would be hard to endure and yet Job's example has taught me so much about my faith. Will it endure even in the toughest of times?
The first friend is Eliphaz. He was probably the oldest and considered the wisest. He came from Temon, an Edomite city known as the centre of wisdom - Jeremiah 49 verse 7.
He preaches a God who can be figured out. For him there are no unknowns behind the scenes, there is no drama or purpose in the heavens that motivate what God does and what he allows to be done. How shallow and unknowing the counsel of Eliphaz was - it was so wrong in this situation.
An example is seen in verse 7 "Remember I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?" In other words - if you have some evil you will be cut off. But this was not true as Job continued to argue very carefully and emphatically,
Eliphaz tried to show Job that his problems have come on him because of some sin on his part and Job should confess and repent of it in order to be restored.
Notice that Eliphaz reveals one of the sources of his teaching in verses 12 to 16. It was from an evil spirit and taught that it is ridiculous and presumptuous for anyone to claim to be right with God nor can any person be righteous in the presence of God. "Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?" Remember God himself declared Job righteous - chapter 1 verse 8 and chapter 2 verse 3.
Verse 17 of chapter 5 is interesting -
"Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou
the chastening of the Almighty." In other words - God blesses everyone who
does or believes the right things. In verses 18 and 19 Eliphaz infers that Job
was being chastened by the Almighty when in fact he wasn't - "For he
maketh sore and bindeth up: he woundeth and his hands make whole. He shall
deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch
thee."
C
H Spurgeon once preached a sermon on chapter
5 verse 26 "Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a
shock of corn cometh in his season." He showed 3 things about death ...
- death is inevitable (you shall come)
- death is acceptable (you shall come)
- death is timely (at a full age)
- death is honourable (as a sheaf of grain ripens in its
season)
In chapter 6 Job responds to Eliphaz. He
expresses his opinion that it was because God himself had attacked and
cursed him - verse 4 "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the
poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in
array against me." Job actually opens and closes his speech with this
poetic image - chapter 7 verse 20 "I have sinned; what shall I do unto
thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against
thee so that I am a burden to myself?"
In verse 6 Job tells Eliphaz that his words were weak and
flavourless. He would be better off dead - a theme from chapter 3 again. Notice
that Job asks God to destroy him rather than he killing himself. Suicide does
not come in to Job's mind throughout all his talking, he would rather God make
that choice for him and of course we know that God has refused to let that
happen.
In verses 14 to 17 Job accused his friends of being like a
"wadi" or book. A wadi is a dry river bed filled with water in the
winter season from rain and melting snow. But when the weather turns hot and
water is really needed there is none in the wadi because it has dried up. Job
said his friends had nothing to give him when he needed them most. What a
challenge - would I have anything to give a friend when troubles come on them?
In verses 24 to 30 Job challenges his friends to point out
his errors and lack of discernment. He basically says to them "you say I
am suffering because of sin but you have never pointed out anything
specifically."
In chapter 7 Job saw his present suffering
like the futile discouraging work of a servant or a hired man. He felt there
was no hope or reward, only weariness. This is a theme that continues
throughout the chapter. The futility of life. And we see a sprinkling throughout
his speeches of what he thought about the afterlife. He has a combination of
uncertainty and triumphant confidence (chapter 19 verses 25 and 26).
Job believes his spiritual crisis was deeper than his
physical or material crisis. He acknowledges God is testing him every moment -
"What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set
thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning and try
him every moment?" He asks - why are you doing this God?
Because God is proud of us and wants to bring out the best in us.
In chapter 8 we
meet the second of Job's friends - Bildad. His argument was this: if Job was righteous God would bless and defend him.
He sees things very black and white and prides himself in his straightforward
no nonsense approach.
In verses 3 to 7 Bildad puts forward the theory that if Job
was right with God he would be prospering. The fact that he is not shows he is
not right with God.
In verses 11 to 18 Bildad talks about the rule of cause and
effect and applies it to Job's situation. The "rush" needs water but
it is fragile and withers before the other plants. C H Spurgeon used this as an
image of the hypocrite ...
- grows up quickly
- is hollow and without substance
- is easily bent
- lowers its head in false humility
- bears no fruit
Again in verses 19 to 22 Bildad says that God promises
blessing to the blameless - if Job turned to God again he could come to the
place of joy and laughing.
Job responds to Bildad in chapter 9. He praises
the wisdom and strength of God. He had suffered more than a normal person yet
no-one could rightly accuse him of sinning more than a normal person. If he was
not righteous before God then how could any man be?
In verses 14 to 20 Job wonders how to answer such a mighty
God. He understood God is righteous and mighty, what he can't understand is how
God will us that righteousness or might to help him. God seemed distant and
impersonal to Job and to many who suffer. Job felt God's might was against him
not for him.
In verses 21 to 24 Job explains his own inability to defend
himself. Then in the following verses we see Job's strong sense of
condemnation. He felt his life was spinning and running out of
control.
Job longed for a mediator between himself and God - verses
32 to 35. He was frustrated that he couldn't come into God's presence and have
a direct interview with him. A reminder that we do have a mediator today - 1
Timothy 2 verse 5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus,"
In chapter 10 we read what Job would say to
God if he could. Basically he would ask "why are you doing this?" C H
Spurgeon used the words of verse 2 "wherefore thou contendest with
me" in his sermon. He suggested for saints the answer would be ...
- it may be to show you his power to uphold you
- to develop your graces
- you have some secret sin that is doing you great damage
- because God wants you to enter in to the fellowship of his
sufferings
- to humble you
Whereas for the seeking sinner ...
- because you have not wakened to your lost condition
- because God wants to test your earnestness
- because you are harbouring one sin you will not turn over
to God
- because you do not understand the plan of salvation
Repeatedly throughout this chapter Job asks God why he is
doing this. He refers to God as the creator, he knew he was the author of
creation and specifically of mankind. In beautiful poetry Job illustrated the
fashioning of the body using 3 pictures ...
- verse 9 man is like a vessel of clay shaped by a potter
- verse 10 man is like a cheese poured out by a cheesemaker
- verse 11 man is like a garment woven by a weaver
He actually thanks God for 3 wonderful things ...
- his life
- divine favour
- divine visitation
Then he asks God to reveal a sinful cause within him. He
understood that God knew all the causes and answers for his condition but he
was not telling them to him.
Finally in verses 18 to 22 Job asks God to leave him alone.
It is a returning to the theme of chapter 3. He did not recognize that it was
only because God did not leave him alone that he had endured this far and was
not completely destroyed by either the devil or despair.
In chapter 11 we meet the third friend, Zophar. He
only speaks here and in chapter 20. He speaks the most arrogantly of all. He is
very confrontational towards Job. In his mind all of Job's eloquent complaining
shows him to be nothing more than a man full of talk - one who should not be
vindicated. In verse 4 we see that he tells Job he was wrong to claim to be
pure and clean because he was so guilty before God. He believed that Job
deserved far worse suffering. He does not believe that Job is right in
questioning God. Once again this friend calls on Job to repent of his sin - God
would bless and honour him, restoring him to a bright confident admired life
once again if he did so.
In chapter 12 Job addresses all 3 friends
and he is very sarcastic in his response. He makes 2 points ..
- he was a man of understanding
- the theological principles presented by his friends were
already widely known.
This passage reminds us of Jesus when he was mocked by the
soldiers who beat him in Matthew 27 verse 29, then by the chief priests as he
hung on the cross Matthew 27 verse 41. He was also ridiculed by others in Mark
15 verse 27 to 31.
Job remembers what life used to be like. He used to call on
God and receive an answer. His life was one of ease but now it is all different
and his friends only mock and misunderstand him.
Job describes God's great power. He rebukes Zophar's
previous speech when he had criticized him for not knowing God and likened him
to an empty headed man. He shows that he does indeed know God is great in
wisdom and strength, mighty in counsel and understanding.
Job's message to his friends was clear - "I do know God
and how great he is. Don't criticize me on this point any longer."
Job develops the theme that would end with a virtual demand
that God make sense of his suffering (in the last chapter of the book). He
responds to his friends in bitterness. He dismissed their supposed guidance as
mere platitudes with no substance whatsoever.
This is where we have the famous verse often quoted -
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own
ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come
before him." This is the attitude that will see him through his past and
present crises. Job did not understand any of his situation and felt that God
was against him, not for him. At the same time he would trust him. Even before
God he would defend his own ways, not in arrogance but in a determined connection
to reality.
Job once against asks God to tell him if sin is indeed the
cause of his suffering. He shows that he understood God's hand was sustaining
him in the midst of this great trial. He wanted to have restored communication
with God. He questioned if the sins from his youth were being held against him
at this point. He felt completed fenced in by God and laments the futility of
man.
As I read this passage I realized that Job had no qualms in
his questioning of God - what an example to follow. Would I question God when
something happens? More often than not I would actually blame God. Here we can
see it is not wrong to bring our questions to God for him to answer - Job got
his answers at the end of his ordeal - surely I would too?
In chapter 14 Job considers once more the
grave and afterlife. He asks God for mercy. He does not fully understand that
there is life beyond this one. This is important to remember - Job's concept of
life beyond the grave was wrong. In 2 Timothy 2 verse 10 we read that Jesus
Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. God would
later challenge Job and correct him - chapter 38 verses 2 and 17.
Job asks an important question in verse 14 - "If a man
die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till
my change come." We see 3 glimpses of this glorious change in later
scriptures ...
- Moses face
- in Christ's transfiguration
- in Stephen's countenance when he stood before the council
This gives us hope ...
- we shall be changed into immortality at the resurrection 1
Corinthians 15 verses 50 to 53
- when we see him we will be like him 1 John 3 verse 2
- our bodies will be gloriously transformed Philippians 3
verse 21
- David was confidence that he would be changed into God's
likeness Psalm 17 verse 15
Job expresses his hope for the restoration of the
relationship with God after death - "Thou shalt call and I will answer
thee." He continues to consider the limitless power of God and despairs.
In chapter 15 we have the start of the
second round of speeches by Job's friends. The first is from Eliphaz again.
This time he accuses Job of empty knowledge, (verse 1), unprofitable talk
(verse 3) and having cast off fear (verse 4). He continues to accuse Job of a lack
of understanding in verse 7 - "art thou the first man that was born?
Hast thou heard the secret of God? What knowest thou that we know not? what
understandest thou which is not in us?" He appeals to the idea of
tradition and "all the wise people know these things". If you sin you
receive judgment. This principle is true in all situations, Eliphaz contends.
The implication is clear - Job you must be so wicked, confess and repent now!
In chapter 16 Job responds to Eliphaz. He
tells him once again that he is not giving him what he really needed. They were
only adding to his problems. He felt trapped by both options - if he speaks he
finds no relief from his unsympathetic friends; yet silence does nothing to
ease his grief. Job seemed close to surrendering to God; to simply
acknowledging that in his struggle with God, God had indeed won. God had
stripped everything away from Job and exhausted him. He felt he was in a
supreme conflict, not with his friends, not with his circumstances but with his
God or at least his prior conception of God. He felt he was under attack by
God. His struggle was being publicly seen ...
- verse 12 God had assaulted Job as in a street fight
- verse 12 God was the pitiless archer and Job was the
target
- verse 14 God was the warrior who utterly slew Job
In verses 15 to 17 Job wonders why his righteous life has
deserved this dark trial. He had shown his grief - with sackcloth, ashes and
weeping. He just could not reconcile his previous righteous and pious life with
his present desolation. We can see very clearly in this chapter that mentally
and spiritually Job was under attack. He believed he had a righteous witness in
heaven that would vindicate him as all the evidence was revealed. He talks
again about having an advocate in heaven, someone to plead his case before God.
He believes that he would not live long enough to see his longing fulfilled in
Jesus Christ yet he would be eventually comforted by an anticipation of that
fulfilment - "When a few years are come, then I shall go the way when I
shall not return."
Job responds in chapter 19. He complains that his friends have not understood him at all. He was steadfast in his refusal to agree with his friends that he had caused this crisis by some remarkable sin and refusal to repent. He insists he was not guilty. He is clearly so very honest in his feelings:
Again we see in chapter 21 that Job thinks his friends were not listening to him. He tells them that he will speak and then they can continue with their mocking (verse 3). Job clearly shows that his real point of crisis is his personal conflict with God. He considers the prosperity of the wicked in verse 4 to 16. Job challenged the moral order of the universe as previously understood by his friends - was it possible for a wicked man to be seemingly blessed whereas a righteous man like himself seen to be cursed? Then Job rejects the premise that innocent people are not afflicted. 2 people can die, one never had a day's problems while the other never knew a day's happiness. Who can say that one was more righteous than the other?
Eliphaz speaks for his third and final time in chapter 22. This is the beginning of a third shortened round of debate between Job and his friends. In the first round they are content to talk generalities without venturing to apply their doctrine directly to Job. In the second round the main theme is the fate of the wicked and Job's point of view comes into open contradiction with that of his friends. Now it comes into the open and the breach between them is complete. Once this point is reached there can be no further dialogue and the discussion grinds to a halt.
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