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| William Blake 1823 |
Lesson #2: Job Chapters 9, 13, 19, 23
What Does It Mean?
The author of this book does not indicate how long Job's condition lasted. It was certainly not a momentary affliction, like a bout with the flu. As his suffering dragged on, with no diagnosis of the cause and prognosis of a cure, Job longs to find a reason for his trouble. The four passages in this lesson depict four stages in Job's struggle, all of which testify to his integrity in seeking God.
Job knows nothing of Satan's involvement. Moreover, God has said nothing to Job, and that silence has only increased Job's misery. All Job has to work with are his own assertion of his innocence (Job 6:10, 24; 7:20; 9:20) and his friends' assumption of his guilt (Job 4:7-8; 8:6).
In chapter nine...
Job thinks that God has afflicted him and wishes that he could appear before God to resolve the problem. If only there were a judicial body to oversee such matters, a forum where Job could face his accuser and defend himself against whatever charge God has leveled against him.
Elsewhere in scripture, especially in the prophets, God uses the courtroom motif when accusing people of sin. Most of those examples depict God as the judge, ready to issue a guilty verdict (Isa 3:13-14). Occasionally, He may call for testimony on behalf of the plaintiff (Isa 41:21; 43:26), or He may call His own witnesses to certify the accuracy of the charges (Mic 6:1-2).
Job wants an independent body to adjudicate his case, one that is not predisposed against him, one that can stay God's hand until the problem is resolved. He seeks a higher authority, before which he and God could both appear and argue their respective positions. Alas, there is no such authority, for nothing is greater than God.
In chapter thirteen...
Job appeals directly to God, requesting a two-fold dispensation. He asks the Lord to end his chastisement and to grant him an audience that Job might know the charge against him. Without some divine response, Job can only assume that God has turned against him and is now Job's "enemy" (Job 13:24; also 19:11; 33:10).
What is especially frustrating for Job is the uncertainty of his situation. Try as he might, he cannot identify the cause of his dilemma (Job 13:23). The suddenness and severity of his suffering leave no doubt in his mind that God is somehow responsible, but why God would be so displeased with Job is a complete mystery.
Convinced of his innocence, Job could accuse God of unfairness, of afflicting him without cause. In both passages, though, an attribute for which God commends him earlier, a fear of the Lord (Job 1:8; 2:3), prevents Job from overstepping his bounds and charging God with wrongdoing (Job 9:35; 13:21).
In chapter nineteen...
Job issues a remarkable testimony of faith. Despite Job's struggle with the unfairness of his situation, despite the failure of his condition to improve, and despite God's apparent indifference to it all, Job affirms his confidence that God will ultimately deliver him from his affliction (Job 19:26; comp 13:15a).
Job calls God "my Redeemer" (Job 19:25; cf. Ps 19:14), a legal term that designates one (usually a family member) who pays a debt to restore another's lost property (cf. Isa 63:16). Job has lost his wealth and his health. Unable to reclaim either, he must depend on the resources and benevolence of someone else to help him recover; so, he appeals to God.
Most of the Old Testament concentrates on the importance of this life and gives little attention to one's fate thereafter. Death is simply the end of whatever opportunities a person may have had to make good or bad decisions, opportunities to serve God or not. Whether the biblical writers were unconcerned or uninformed of their ultimate destiny, they do make occasional reference to it.
Death is not the end of existence. God does not discard people, especially His people, when their bodies wear out (Ps 16:10; 49:15). God is able to raise the dead (1 Sam 2:6; Isa 26:19) and enable them to live forever (Isa 25:8; Dan 12:2, 13).
Job seizes upon this prospect for his future. In one of the clearest Old Testament assertions of belief in a bodily resurrection, Job proclaims his confidence that God will ultimately deliver him from his current plight. He who seems absent now will one day appear to make things right (cf. Zech 14:4). Even as Job's physical condition fails to improve ("after my skin has been destroyed"), he does not abandon his personal conviction that God will restore him ("yet in my flesh I will see God" Job:19:26).
In chapter twenty-three...
Job likens his experience to a test, not the critical examination by a teacher but the heated purification of precious metal. Job still knows nothing of Satan's role and attributes his situation to God's intention. Whatever God's reason—and the prolonging of Job's suffering has not made that reason any clearer—Job is confident that he will emerge better for his having experienced it.
At this point, Job's choices are severely limited. There is nothing he can do to rectify his condition. He knows no medical remedy to effect a cure. The advice his friends have offered has provided no relief (cf. 13:4). He knows no spiritual remedy to blunt God's apparent anger. The petitions he has directed heavenward have produced no light on his situation and no respite from his suffering. Having exhausted these options, Job hopes that his life of obedience will elicit God's favor in the end.
Job mentions his adherence to God's "commands" (Job 23:12), but what do those entail at this point in history? As a contemporary of Abraham, Job has relatively few rules to obey. Before God gives the law at Sinai, the only recorded expectations are those God reveals to Noah, prohibiting murder and the consumption of blood (Gen 9:4-5). Nevertheless, Job has the dictates of his conscience, that innate ability to identify "sin" and to act righteously (Job 1:5, 22; 2:10). He may also have direct revelation from God (Job 6:10; cf. 38:1). However Job came to know God's will, Job heeded whatever God revealed to him.
The testimony Job offers may seem self-congratulatory, but it is part of the self-analysis one must make when facing unexplained, personal calamity. While Job addresses these comments to his friends, his testimony is also part of a continued appeal to God, reminding God (as if that were necessary) about the intensity and consistency of Job's devotion (Job 23:11-12).
- While others may be satisfied with general compliance to God's law, heeding only the broad principles they find therein, Job has obeyed meticulously ("closely followed"), to the smallest detail.
- While others may be satisfied with occasional compliance to God's law, following His precepts only when it is convenient, Job has obeyed consistently ("without turning aside"), regardless of the situation.
- While others may be satisfied with skeptical compliance to God's law, ever doubting its value and only grudgingly accepting its restrictions, Job has obeyed wholeheartedly ("treasured"), even when uncertain.
Why Does It Matter?
From chapter nine...
Job's assertion that God "is not like a man that I may answer him" (Job 9:32), reminds us that we should not regard the Lord as if He were one of us, and we should not presume too familiar an attitude when we come before Him in prayer or worship. God may befriend us, but we should not think of Him as a pal or a good buddy. We may call Him our Father, but He is not "Dad" or "Pop" to us.
This familiar attitude is evident in the popular but erroneous notion that "Abba" (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) means "Daddy." The Aramaic word is a term of endearment, but it is also an expression of respect. Hence, "Father" is a more accurate translation. While we value an intimate relationship with the creator, we must remember that man is "only a worm" in comparison (Job 25:6; cf. 7:17; Ps 144:3-4).
From chapter thirteen...
However much we might want to locate the root of a problem, be it ours or someone else's, we may lack the necessary information. In our desire to resolve the question—"Why is this happening?"—we may be tempted to accept for ourselves or offer to another an easy answer (as Job's friends did): "I" or "you must have done something to deserve this."
Suffering has little punitive value and no corrective value if the recipient is unable to connect the punishment to the crime. What good parent disciplines a child for wrongdoing without telling him why? When Job cries out to God, "Show me my offense and my sin" (Job 13:23), he is expressing his frustration and bewilderment, because nothing he has done warrants such severe retribution.
While sin may be the cause of suffering, without some confirmation, making that assertion may be off the mark. The Bible gives many reasons for suffering, and we must not presume to know the reason for a given situation without sufficient evidence.
From chapter nineteen...
In the opening chapters of the book, God extols Job's reputation (Job 1:8; 2:3). As Job's affliction continues to trouble him, it tests the durability of that reputation. Similarly, the pressure we may experience from a problem beyond our control—be it declining health, increasing debt, strained relationships, job insecurity— tests the durability of our reputation and of our commitment to God. The true measure of our devotion is how well it endures such pressure. We may lament our state and cry out to God in pain or anger or frustration. We may suffer repeated setbacks and may even lose the battle in this life. But if we maintain confidence in our Redeemer, we most assuredly will win the war and, with Job, "will see God" and satisfy the ultimate yearning of our heart (Job 19:26-27).
From chapter twenty-three...
When we encounter crises that are not of our making and God seems unconcerned for our plight, the temptation is to look elsewhere for relief. We may try to reduce the pressure we feel by softening our moral position: "I'll never memorize all this material for the exam, so I'll just write a few key facts on my hand in case I need them." We may accept a temporary fix that could actually exacerbate the problem: "The only way to meet the deadline on this project is to overlook the safety standards." In such ways, we bow to pressure and sacrifice our integrity rather than seeking God to help us manage our problems. Job would have none of that, and neither should we.
A pdf of all four studies in the Job series can be found here.
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Jim Skaggs