JOB
https://jacquiharbinson.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-invisible-battle.html
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
In chapter 2 we see a re-run of chapter 1. Remember both chapter 1 and 2's events happened without Job's knowledge. Satan and certain angelic beings (fallen and faithful angels) have somewhat open access to God's presence in heaven. The second dialogue follows the same pattern as the first. God impresses upon Satan the futility of the first attack against Job. God and Satan understand the attack could only come to Job because God allowed it.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."
In chapter 13 Job challenges his critics.
He complained against the claim of superior knowledge on the part of his
friends. To them, especially Zophar, the situation seemed so simple therefore
Job must be somewhat ignorant to see what they believed was so easy to see.
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."
In chapter 17 Job directs a complaint both toward earth and heaven. He continues the same sense of defeat as in the previous chapter. He points out the lack of sympathy and help from his friends. They had started out with sympathy but now appear to be mocking him (verse 2). When Job did not respond to their wisdom as they thought he should was especially painful. Job begs heaven to sustain and support him. Job feels heaven is against him. He asks God to set things right, it was beyond him to be able to do it (verses 3 to 5). This is so meaningful in light of what his friends had told him to do - repent and set things right with God. As I reflected on this I thought of my salvation. Jesus Christ did it all on Calvary for me. He died for my sins. There is nothing I need do but accept it. Job moans the fact that he has become a "byword of the people" whereas before he was held in high esteem. He feels humiliated and humbled but at the same time recognises God's sovereignty - it was God who had made him this way. There is victory but only if he will endure and progress "the righteous also shall hold on his way and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." At the end of the chapter we once again see Job's hopelessness. He accepted his good years were behind him and that one day he would perish. He wanted something to hope in - "And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it." It is easy to get the impression that Job has finally given up on restitution and resolution from God.
Once again Bildad speaks in chapter 18. He rebukes Job for his words and the low opinion he has of his friends. Once more Bildad states that he believes Job has sinned and he needs to repent. In verses 5 and 6 Bildad refers to the wicked and the implication is clear - Job is among the wicked. Bildad goes on to describe the dangerous path of the wicked in verse 7 to 10, the miserable life of the wicked in verses 11 to 16 and the sad destiny of the wicked in verses 17 to 21.
Reminder: It is not Job's wickedness but his faithfulness that the Lord is disclosing through this ordeal. in fact there may be nothing our God wants more than to bring each one of us to the point where he can do with us exactly what he did with Job: hand us over with perfect confidence into the clutches of Satan knowing that even then our faith will hold.
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:
"How long will ye vex my soul and break me in pieces with words? These ten times have ye reproached me; ye are not ashamed that ye made yourselves strange to me. And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: Know not that God hath overthrown me and hath compassed me with his net."
Job goes on to describe in very poetic language how God has attacked him - through captivity (verse 8), dethronement (verse 9), like a wall torn down or a tree removed (verse 10), by being angry with him (verse 11), laying siege (verse 12) and being surrounded (verse 12). He then describes the latter results of God's attack upon him in verses 13 to 20.
Again in verses 21 and 22 Job proclaims his trust in God and that one day he would be resurrected - "For I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold and not another, though my reins be consumed within me." Another flash of faith! The word "redeemer" is goel which has a double meaning in both the criminal and civil aspect. It means a vindicator, one who defended his cause and an avenger. I am reminded that I have been redeemed by the price paid at Calvary and continues in the power of the Holy Spirit daily. From chapter 17 to this chapter we see Job has a renewed hope. He had a redeemer who was alive and one day he would see him.
In these verses we can see a shadow of Jesus and his suffering on the cross of Calvary (verse 9 to 20). It reminds us of all he had to endure before he died.
In chapter 20 Zophar speaks again. He retracts nothing that he said before and decides to focus on the wicked - an implication that he still believes Job is included in the description. Yes the wicked do triumph but it is for a short time - one day he will face judgment. He tells Job what to expect - the dark destiny of the wicked man will be yours Job! Zophar saw the wicked man pierced by the arrows of God's judgment. Remember Job had said at the beginning that he felt like he was being pierced by God's arrows (Job 6 verse 4 and 7 verse 20). Zophar thought that the reason Job was in such agony and distress was because of his own self-sufficiency. This was the explanation for Job's misery.
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?
Job challenges the empty words of his friends in verses 27 to 34. Both Job and his friends didn't understand God's ways. Yet there were 2 significant differences between Job and his friends. First - his friends confidently claimed that they did understand while Job admitted his perplexity. Second - for Job's friends these were mattes of theological and moral theory and interesting topics for discussion whereas for the severely suffering Job these were life and death questions. Job knew the wicked faced an ultimate unpleasant destiny; he was more upset that it didn't seem to happen fast enough. The complexity of Job's situation was far beyond the ability of his friends to analyse. They had no comfort for him with their empty words and false answers.
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.
Eliphaz attacks Job's character - "what good are you to God?" He thought Job was thinking too highly of himself. He wanted Job to consider that God needed nothing from him and Job added nothing to God. He goes on to describe Job's wickedness and there are a number of groundless accusations against Job. Then he attacks Job's theology.
He begins with the basic idea of the might, majesty and sovereignty of God. He wars Job not to harden his heart and mind as those people who were taken away in the flood (Noah's flood). In contrast to the wicked the righteous are happy for the judgments of God. He counsels Job to make himself right with God. This would have been good advice if there had been sin in Job's life but there was none. All Job had to do was confess and then receive God's restoration
Job responds in chapter 23 by stating how he would love to appear before God and put his case before him. He felt separated from God. He could not find him. How similar this is to Jesus on the cross when he cried "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?"
Job confesses his lack of understanding and need of divine revelation (verse 8 and 9). Job insisted that he had sought God in the midst of his crisis. He had looked in every direction possible but God remained hidden through a barrier that was impossible to break. In the midst of his despair Job has a quiet confidence - "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." Again another bright flash of faith in the midst of darkness ...
- God still observed Job carefully and had not forgotten him "he knows the way I take"
- God had a purpose in the crisis and the purpose was not to punish Job "when he has tested me"
- God would one day bring the trial to an end "I shall come forth"
- God would bring something good from it all "as gold"
- God still valued Job - only precious metal is put through the fire
In verses 13 to 17 Job wonders at God's power and sovereignty. He had to admit that God would do as he pleased in his life. God would not be held hostage to Job's demands. He understood that the reasons and wisdom of God's work are ultimately with him and not known to himself or anyone else. He appreciated the distance between himself and God. It made him feel a good and righteous awe of God though it felt like deep darkness because it was little comfort to him in his crisis.
Job chapters 24 to 28
Job describes the treatment of the poor, the oppressed and people who do not get a fair deal from society. There are people who fit that description - not only in poor third world nations bu
t also in developed nations. These words are in response to Eliphaz's own speech in chapter 22 where he had said Job's calamity came upon him because he had acted in a way towards others that was wicked and cruel. Whilst Job agreed with this but not that he himself had acted in this way personally. Job questioned why God did not respond. Bildad in his final speech said it was a ridiculous presumption for any man to claim to be right with God.
Chapter 26 begins a long discourse by Job which first answered Bildad's brief speech in chapter 23 and then became a speech on wisdom and final defense ending in chapter 31. At the end of it all Job's friends got to the point where they were so concerned about being right that they forgot to be concerned about helping Job.
Job once again asked his friends how they had really helped him. He describes God's power in poetic language but he knows it does not even begin to fully described God, there was so much more that he did not fully understand.
Job commits himself to truth in chapter 27. He will maintain his integrity no matter what. Then he asks for the same punishment his friends think he deserves to be put upon their heads because of their false accusations. Job was effectively saying "I know that my situation looks like the judgment of God on the wicked yet I assure you that it is not."
In chapter 28 Job considered the way men search for precious and useful metals such as silver, gold, iron and brass. They light up dark places, search every recess, dig to break open shafts and even endanger themselves personally. He considers that true wisdom is rare and yet more valuable than all these precious metals. God is the source and summary of wisdom. He has demonstrated his own wisdom and power through the design of the natural world.
Job chapter 29 is a description of how Job flourished and prospered.
Once Job was blessed in his relationship with God - verses 1 to 6. He longed for the das before he lost everything but also for when he felt the sense of God's closeness - then god was for him not against him. This was a very spiritual loss rather than physical. He wanted God's support and help now. Job had a feeling that in those past days he was in close fellowship with God whereas now he does not have that.
Once Job was blessed in the relationship he had with people - verses 7 to 17. Job remembered the respect he had in the local community. When he spoke people listened - even princes and nobles! They also liked him and what he had to say. he was blessed by everyone who heard him.
In verses 18 to 20 Job describes the former sense of security and confidence he had. Formerly he felt he would die happy and secure after a good long life. This made his present situation all the more unbearable and seemingly unjust.
In verses 21 to 25 Job's former authority and leadership in the community is noted. Once more he remembers the respect he had in the community - he was a man honoured for his wife words.
Notice the contrast between the former esteem Job enjoyed and the terrible criticism he now endured from his friends. There was a time when no-one would have done this to Job!
Job is also a tremendous example of how a wealthy and powerful man should live his life, not in selfish indulgence but in care and concern for the less fortunate. "Noble Job!" Look at him ye nobles of the earth, ye lieutenants of counties, ye generals of armies and ye lords of provinces. Look at Job. Imitate his active benevolence and be healthy and happy. Be as guardian angels in your particular districts, blessing all by your example and your bounty. Send your hunting horses to the plough, your game cocks to the dung hill and at last live like men and Christians!
As I read the opening verses of chapter 29 I was conscious of my own longing. I remembered days of darkness when God seemed far from me. I longed to know God really close and personal again. Those days were hard. it seemed like a large black cloud had come over me. It was sobering to remember that these days could come easily and quickly again. A reminder that from Job it was spiritual darkness that covered him and as I reflected that was also true for me. I questioned God in those times wondering what I had done to deserve this. Seen from the other side I felt it was wrong to do that but then I realised that some times God's ways are beyond my understanding. it doesn't give any clearer help either during or after not knowing why things happen the way they do but rather there is a quiet assurance that God was with me through it all despite the frustrations and feelings of loneliness.
In chapter 30 Job was treated like the lowest of the low in his own community where he was formerly honoured and esteemed. He had blessed and helped many people yet the same people he had helped were the ones who were treating him with contempt. This must have been hard for him to experience!
Job describes the low character of the men who now mock him in verses 1 to 8. He was tortured by the irony of it all. The sons of men whom Job would not even put with the dogs of his flock were now his mockers and critics. Job thought of what worthless men were now his loud critics and how unjust it all was, He realised that this mocking must endure in verses 9 to 15. He mourned the agony of his present state of being despised before men when before he was respected and honoured. Now it has all vanished.
We see the misery of his present pain in verses 16 to 23, both physically and spiritually. It was first and foremast a crisis of the soul. He describes it very poetically. There was a real sense of God having forsaken him and that he must soon die. Again in verses 24 to 31 we see the misery of the injustice done to Job. He wondered why God did not respond to his cries. He questions why God did not treat him with the same kindness he himself had shown to others.
His spiritual and physical agony was more than it seemed he could bear or his friends could relate to.
In chapter 31 Job proclaims his purity and innocence. It was his final and explicit answer to the line of argument adopted by his 3 friends.
Verses 1 to 4 Job declares he was not guilty of lust
Verses 5 to 8 Job declares he was not guilty of falsehood
Verses 9 to 12 Job declares he was not an adulterer
Verses 13 to 15 Job declares he was not guilty of treating his servants cruelly
Verses 16 to 23 Job declares he did not victimize the poor or the weak
Verses 24 to 28 Job declares he was not greedy or a seeker of false gods
Verses 29 to 34 Job declares he was generally without blame
Then in verses 34 to 37 Job demands an audience with God. he wants answers! Later in chapter 42 verses 5 and 6 Job realises that he has no right to demand anything from God. In these verses we see that Job thinks his adversary is Satan, not God at all.
In his conclusion in verses 38 to 40 Job testifies to his own integrity in the most solemn of terms. Now he calls 1 more witness - his own land and property. Two "if's" result in Job saying "let thistles grow instead of wheat and cockle instead of barley." It is a reminder of the curse God placed on the land in Eden back in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned as well as Cain's curse in Exodus 4 verse 11.
Job's 3 friends had nothing more to say - they still thought he was completely wrong but so confirmed in his own opinions that it was useless to keep the discussion going. In chapters 32 to 37 we meet Elihu a young brash and almost right friend. He was a silent listener of all the dialogue up to this point in time. He was angry against Job because he felt that Job justified himself rather than God. He was also angry at his 3 friends because they failed to solve the controversy while at the same time too harsh against Job. Out of respect for those older than him Elihu held back as long as he could. Now he felt he had to speak. Job's 3 friends had nothing more to say - they still thought he was completely wrong but so confirmed in his own opinions that it was useless to keep the discussion going.
In chapter 32 verses 1 to 5 we see Elihu's dissatisfaction with the answers of Job's friends. Then we see in verses 6 to 9 why Elihu overcame his hesitancy to speak - none of them really understood the matter at all. In verses 10 to 14 he levels his criticism of Job's 3 friends. He was frustrated because they hadn't put Job in his place like he thought they should. Elihu noted their exhaustion. This entire chapter introduces Elihu's speech. He clearly thought himself smarter and wiser and having more understanding.
In chapter 33 Elihu challenges Job's defense. "I am your spokesman before God Job". He was anxious to demonstrate he was just as good, just as spiritual, just as wise as the rest. Then he says Job "You think you are without sin." Note: Job never said this! In verses 12 to 18 Elihu asks Job "perhaps God spoke to you in a dream."
Why do we fail to see God? Why do we fail to hear his words? It is not because he has forsaken us. It is not because he is silent. It is because we are worrying about why our lives have been so hard. God is working on something much more significant and glorious than the comforts of the moment. With wisdom, faithfulness and rescuing grace he is securing out eternal rescue.
In verse 19 to 28 Elihu said to Job "God spoke to you in your sufferings to save your soul from death." Note the word "if" in verse 23 followed by "then" in verse 24. He says ...
if he would only admit to God's uprightness then he would be restored to God's favour then ...
he would receive God's grace - verse 24
he would be rescued from destruction - verse 24
he would be healed - verse 25
he would see his relationship with God restoes - verse 26
he will repent before men - verse 27
Notice the 6 ways God speaks to mankind - dreams and night visions, secret inspirations, afflictions, messengers and through a ransom/atonement.
Verses 26 to 28 is a wonderful description of a genuine conversion experience. it shows someone who has genuinely turned to God and has a real joyful fellowship with God. Elihu told Job that all this could be his again if he would only start listening to God.
In verses 29 to 33 Elihu pleads with Job to listen to him. Elihu wanted Job to understand that God was in fact being very patient with Job. Job felt that God was being harsh and treating him like an enemy; Elihu wanted Job to appreciate what he understood to be God's longsuffering towards Job.
In chapter 34 Elihu denounces Job for losing faith and denying God's justice. In verses 1 to 9 he again inaccurately summarizes Job's argument - again he quotes Job inaccurately as saying that he was sinless. He only claimed that there was not some special sin that made him the target of this special catastrophe. Notice verse 9 - he is taking general trains of thought of Job and extending them further than Job did.
In verses 10 to 15 we see the righteousness of God and his moral code. Elihu followed the simple "you always reap what you sow" equation earlier promoted by Eliphaz in chapter 4 verses 7 to 11. Elihu was correct and this was an idea agreed upon by Job and his 3 friends. Yet the problem was that Elihu and the 3 friends also seemed to assume that God would never do anything mysteriously and were too confident in their ability to understand God and his ways.
In verses 14 and 15 Elihu wanted to emphasize the idea of God's independence and transcendence. He wanted Job to remember that God was so mighty that he was wrong to question him at all.
In verses 21 to 30 we see the perfection of God's judgment. Nothing is hidden from God. He warned Job if he didn't repent of his sin he would be judged as one who had turned his back on God. Then we see in verses 31 to 33 what Job should have said. He should have been humble and repentant. He used ultimatum and pressure that Job's 3 friends had not used.
In verses 34 to 37 Elihu states that Job's multiplied sins invited God's judgment. Elihu thought Job had not suffered enough. He though that a little more suffering might bring him to repentance.
In chapter 35 Elihu accuses Job of self-righteousness. He accused Job of a cold calculation; of saying that he denied God's moral order and there was no point to sinning or not sinning.
Verses 4 to 8 Elihu to Job: God is farther above you than you can imagine - his ideas and arguments were the same as his friends but he thought of himself as different and he could correct them all. He wanted Job and his friends to understand an idea they had already discussed and agreed upon; namely God is greater than man and beyond man therefore there was nothing man could do to God's benefit. Elihu felt that Job had lost his fear and godly appreciation of God.
Verses 9 to 12 God does not answer the proud, even if they are oppressed. Elihu noted that men see God in their time of need but their seeking often isn't sincere - they don't recognize God as their maker, they don't recognize his comfort and the wisdom he gives.
Verses 13 to 16 Elihu to Job: "God does not want to hear your empty talk." He resumed his harsh approach towards Job. His idea was that God did not hear Job because he was a false empty seeker. "Job if you were really a godly man then God would have answered you by now. The fact he hasn't proves you ungodliness."
In chapter 36 Elihu teaches Job about the justice and righteousness of God.
Verses 1 to 4 there are yet words to speak on God's behalf. He spoke with a directness and an authority Job's friends did not. Verses 5 to 12 God rewards the obedient and the disobedient perish.
Elihu again promoted the idea of God's power and perfect justice. In his perfect justice God punishes the wicked and works for the oppressed. In other words - Job you are one of the wicked! he warned Job to repent and to not be like the disobedient who perish and who die without knowledge.
In verses 13 to 15 we read the sad fate of the hypocrite. Elihu felt Job was a hypocrite for continuing to deny his guilt. He felt Job was putting himself under a greater and greater outpouring of God's wrath. He painted a bleak future for an unrepentant Job. In verses 16 to 21 he tells Job what God would have done for him. If Job would only have repented then God would have ...
- brought Job out of his distress
- brought Job into a broad place where there is no restraint
- brought Job to a table full of richness
For Elihu Job's problems were easy to diagnose. Job did not have the blessings God gives to the obedient and repentant therefore Job was not obedient or repentant. Instead he was filled with the judgment due the wicked. Elihu assumed that rich people trust in their riches. He was implying that because of Job's riches he was in this position. All this suffering and agony is your choice. it could be different as soon as you repent and turn back to God.
In verses 22 to 25 Elihu again remembers the greatness of God. He wanted to exalt God in Job's eyes thinking that his problem was that he had too low a view of God and too high a view of himself.
This begins a section where a marked change comes over Elihu. He probably spoke with his eye upon a rapidly approaching storm with all of its rain and wind and thunder and dark clouds. A sudden and wonderful inspiration filled Elihu and he spoke in a very different way than his previous harsh and condemning way towards Job.
In verses 26 to 33 the unsearchable greatness of God is expressed in the storm. Elihu again promoted the concept of the transcendence of God. He heard and sensed how Job demanded answers from God and counselled Job to understand that God was beyond Job and beyond explaining things to him.
In chapter 37 Elihu sees God in the storm. Elihu did rightly understand that the mighty sound of thunder seems to man to be the voice of God. There is a repetition of Elihu's theme that Job had transgressed the line that separates God and man and that Job presumed to know more than he could or should know from God. In this Elihu was partially correct.
In verses 6 to 13 we see what the voice of God can do. Now Elihu considered that the voice of God commanded the snow, the gentle rain and the heavy rain; his breath makes ice and freezes the broad waters. He wanted Job to not only appreciate the greatness of God but also the submission of creation. The implication was that unrepentant Job should submit to God the way creation has.
Verses 14 to 18 Elihu to Job: You don't know as much as you think you do.
Verses 19 to 24 Elihu to Job: Stop trying to speak to God and simply fear him instead. He returned to his theme of God's distance and transcendence. He wanted to discourage Job from insisting that God owed him (or anyone else) an audience or an explanation.
God will indeed settle this dispute but he will do it his way. Job wanted God to settle it by proving him right and explaining the reason for all his afflictions; Job's friends wanted God to prove them right and for Job to recognise his error. God will not satisfy their expectations. Significantly God did not obviously answer Job's questions.
Chapter 38 to 41 is God's response to Job. His first statement to Job in chapter 38: you have been talking about things you just don't understand. your words were absolutely out of place, irrelevant. But I'll help you anyhow. What follows in these chapters are questions ...
verse 4 to 7 - at the creation of the earth were you there?
verses 8 to 11 - can you control the sea?
verse 12 - can you control the sun rise and the sunlight shine?
verses 16 to 18 - do you know the dimensions of the earth and do you know the nether world which is Hades and the abode of the dead?
verses 19 to 21 - what can you do about light and darkness?
verses 22 to 30 - can you control the elements - the sun, the rain, the frost and the cold?
verses 31 to 35 - can you control the constellations and heavenly bodies?
verses 334 to 38 - can you control the rain and the snow, are you under their command. Do you know how to manage them?
In chapters 38 and 38 God described a number of living creatures all of whom he watches over continually - lions, ravens, mountain goats, deer, wild donkeys, the wild ox, the ostrich, stork, horse, hawk, eagle - he asks Job 'do you know the time they bring forth their young? Can you be a midwife to the deer? Can you count the months for them to deliver?'
Jobs greatest agony was that he felt God had abandoned him and now he knew he had not. Like any real revelation of God there were plenty of elements that would make Job feel small before the greatness of God; yet it could not take away from the massive comfort Job felt in simply being once again consciously in the presence of God.
Chapter 39 verses 1 to 4 - do you know about or master the wild mountain goat?
verses 5 to 8 - do you know about or master the wild donkey?
verses to 12 - do you know about or master the wild ox?
verses 13 to 18 - do you understand the ostrich?
verses 19 to 25 - do you understand or master the horse?
verses 26 to 30 - do you understand or master the hawk or the eagle?
Job and God had a wonderful time together in chapters 38 and 39; God taught Job all about his greatness using the whole world as his classroom. Yet in it all God remained God and Job remained a man.
We need no think that God was angry and harsh with Job in these chapters - it is still entirely possible - likely indeed - that God's manner with Job was marked by warm and loving fellowship more than harsh rebuke. It is the goodness of God that leads man to repentance - Romans 2 verse 4.
In chapter 40 we read of the Power of God, the Power of Job and the Power of Behemoth.
Verses 1 and 2 God asks Job "will you now challenge me?" He answered his heart and not his questions.
In verses 3 to 5 Job is speechless before God. he had prayed often for his friends throughout but he was the only one who spoke to God. Now he speaks after God's revelation of himself and with a different tone than before. it changed because while he once felt that God had forsaken him, now he felt and knew that God was with him. He sensed his own relative position before God and that he could not answer God.
In verses 6 and 7 we see God's challenge to Job. In verses 8 to 14 God continues his dissertation asking Job a penetrating and significant question "Can you take over dealing with the wicked?" God asks Job are you fit to prove me wrong or to save yourself? God again reminded Job of the distance between himself and Job. Yes the fellowship had been restored to Job but it did not mean that God and Job were on the same level. There was still the distance that exists between God and man. God challenged Job to do these things only God can do. As Job recognized his inability it reminded him of his proper place before God. God strongly brought the point to Job - since he could not do these things that only God could do neither could he save himself with his own right hand.
In verses 15 to 24 we see an example of God's might and Job's relative weakness: behemoth. Here and in chapter 42 God gives Job a look at 2 remarkable creatures. The identity of behemoth is debated. God seems to rejoice in his own creation as he describes the wonder of this remarkable animal noting its strength, size, appetite and habits. If Job cannot contend with his fellow creature how could he ever contend with the God who created the behemoth?
Chapter 41 verses 1 to 7 mankind is helpless against leviathan. Leviathan is first mentioned in chapter 3 verse 8. A mythical sea monster. It shows just how powerless he is against this creature - there is nothing that Job can do against this mighty monster. So are we powerless against an unleashed Satan - only God could defeat it.
Verses 8 to 11 if mankind can't overpower leviathan it can't hope to overpower God. God himself was master over leviathan.
Verses 12 to 17 the limbs and skin of leviathan. Verses 18 to 21 the fearful emanations from leviathan. Verses 22 to 34 the might of leviathan ...
- they are strong
- they are cruel and entertained by sorrow
- they strongly defend
- they are unsympathetic and hard of heart
- they cause the mighty to fear
- they cannot be successfully attached
- they have few vulnerable spots
- they have no worthy adversaries on earth
- they are filled with pride
Chapter 42 - when Job had a personal encounter with God everything changed. When Job looked horizontally by all human standards he was righteous. But when he looked vertically and saw God in his holiness he saw how utterly base and vile he was by comparison. Notice how Job was finished with all his questions.
Notice God said Job had spoken correctly from the beginning to the end. God never criticized Job. Job had to humble himself before God. God gave back to Job what he had lost. He restored to him exactly double what he had at the beginning. God provides according to his riches not ours - Philippians 4 verse 19. Only his children were not doubled because his first were not lost chapter 1 verse 5. God heard his prayers for them.
The lessons to learn from Job ...
Learn to trust God - Proverbs 3 verse 5
God maintained his sovereignty - God does what he wants, when he wants the way he wants and asks no-one's permission
Legalism - rules don't make us righteous
Politics- there are more bad people than good people - we need the preaching of the gospel to change people. Jesis only ever condemned the righteous who gave him the most problems
God deals with individuals - he has a detailed specific plan for our lives. He saw something unique in Job but he needed to make some changes first.
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