Job 21

Job answers Zophar, dismissing his words as empty and false. (Job 21:34) Most of this chapter directly challenges the friends’ notion that disaster inevitably befalls the wicked. Just listen to how Job depicts the prosperity of the wicked, in stark contrast to the assertions of his friends:

Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.
Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and does not miscarry.
They send out their little boys like a flock,
and their children dance.
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.

Job 21:7-13

We know the friends were not just thinking “theoretically” about the wicked in general. All had Job directly in mind when describing the fate of the wicked, and they used their assertions as accusations against him. So although Job does not say so explicitly, I have a strong suspicion that Job might just have Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar directly in mind in presenting such contrasting prosperity. Is he watching their children doing well? Does he see their houses, safe and sound, in the distance? Is he observing their herds of cattle expand? Is he looking on while their grandchildren play? I am sure that, as his friends and peers, he originally considered them to be upright “citizens in good standing”, but now he knows for certain that prosperity does not imply righteousness, and he has seen their cruelty toward him, so maybe he need go no further than them to find examples to prove his point.

Regardless of whether Job is referring specifically to the prosperity of his friends or whether he has other examples in mind, his observations destroy the “conventional wisdom” and raise questions for how God really operates. Who is this God, anyway? Why does He work this way? Job is wrestling with these issues. His friends, on the other hand, do not really seem to be. In fact, Job charges them with scheming against him (Job 21:27), using their “conventional wisdom” as a weapon, presumably in an attempt to ultimately get whatever might remain of Job’s property. So much for their concern for the poor…

There is much more in this chapter, but I’ll leave it there for now.

Job 20

Zophar rejoins the argument and says, I hear censure that insults me. Interesting. Interesting that he heard censure, because in what follows there is no evidence that he has heard Job at all. And interesting that he feels insulted. Yes, he has been sharply criticized and rebuked by Job, so he most definitely should hear censure. And yes, perhaps he does not feel that he deserves that criticism and so feels insulted. But if there is anyone around that has actually been insulted, it is Job (and God), not Zophar.

Zophar goes on for the rest of his speech to reiterate how the wicked fail miserably. Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? (vv. 4-5) From an eternal perspective, allowing for Hell, this statement is quite true. Even the longest life, lived in luxury and prosperity, looks brief and unprofitable when an eternity in Hell is factored in. But Zophar does not have Hell in mind. He is looking at this life with only death (common to both good and bad alike) at the end. Hence, one could just as well substitute “righteous” for “wicked” and “godly” for “godless” in verse 5 and read all of Job 20:4-11 as applying to the righteous — a perspective we shall see, to some extent, in Ecclesiastes.

But let’s look at the rest of the chapter, Job 20:12-29. Here Zophar describes how the wicked get no lasting enjoyment out of their deeds and ultimately face a bitter end. As with Eliphaz and Bildad, we can readily see that real life does not always (or even generally) work out as Zophar describes. And we know that Zophar is not just speaking abstractly about “the wicked” but has Job directly in mind as a targeted example, and in that he is wildly wrong. Nevertheless, he says some things that bear thinking about:

• Job 20:12-14 — Though evil is sweet in his mouth, … yet his food is turned in his stomach.
  • Perhaps this speaks of the conscience. One might relish some sin, but then the conscience is troubled and there is no lasting enjoyment or peace.
• Job 20:18 — He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment.
  • Zophar appears here to acknowledge that the wicked see some “fruit” and “profit”, at least temporarily.
  • Again, though, a troubled conscience prevents lasting enjoyment.
• Job 20:19 — For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build.
  • Zophar is not envisioning some abstract “bad thoughts and attitudes” kind of wickedness, but real oppression of the poor.
  • Treatment of the poor is likewise very much on God’s mind. (Isa. 3:14,15; 58:6-7)
  • Directing this comment against Job, though, is exceptionally cruel.
• Job 20:20 — Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
  • The trouble with evil appetites are that they are never satisfied, and “enough” never comes.

Those are just a few verses. What stands out to you? How is Zophar on target? How is he off target?

Job 19

Job replies to Bildad with a plea for his friends to stop tormenting him (Job 19:2), saying they should be ashamed of themselves (Job 19:3), and arguing that even if he has sinned somehow, he hasn’t hurt any of them. (Job 19:4) He then warns them that if they are magnifying themselves against him in their condemnation, they need to recognize that it is God who is bringing all this on Job (Job 19:5-6), implying that they need to be very careful or judgment may come on them next.

In Job 19:7-22, Job further describes how thoroughly God has afflicted him. Not only has He caused physical suffering, but He has destroyed Job’s reputation and turned him into a pariah. His wife, his brothers, his relatives, his close friends — all have turned their backs on Job. He even has to plead with his servants for a bit of kindness. He begs for mercy from his friends.

But then Job utters what are perhaps the most famous verses in this book:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God.

Job 19:25,26

We are, of course, inclined to read these verses through a post-Resurrection lens, with a very Messianic understanding that identifies the “Redeemer” as Christ, and that Job is expressing faith in an afterlife in which he shall see God. And knowing what we know from the New Testament, that is a very reasonable perspective. But I have severe doubts that Job means anything like that here. I don’t really know what Job means; I just doubt that it is “Christianity in a nutshell”. Reading to the end of the chapter, I think he is really just expressing some faith that he will ultimately be vindicated by the truth of his innocence and that his “friends” will ultimately find themselves facing a backlash of judgment for their ill treatment of Job.

I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Job 18

Bildad rejoins the conversation. He does not pursue any new line of argument here but just digs in, so, like Job, I wonder why he bothers saying anything, what provokes you that you answer? (Job 16:3) I am left thinking that Bildad is just defending his own position as a “wise” leader who cannot afford to be shamed by the likes of Job, who is clearly now at the bottom of the social heap. But I am just speculating on Bildad’s motivations…

Like Eliphaz in chapter 15, Bildad spends his words describing how miserable and short life is for the wicked. And like Eliphaz, his argument does not pass the “laugh test” because it is so easy to find counterexamples. So how is it that these leading men cling so strongly to the idea that the wicked invariably encounter disaster? My guess is that they see plenty of examples that do reinforce their position. They look around and see any number of scoundrels whose schemes fail and who do get what they deserve. Meanwhile they are happy to overlook their own “small” sins and attribute their prosperity to their own righteousness and superior wisdom. Once one starts to see prosperity as an indicator of righteousness, one starts to overlook the faults of the prosperous, while noticing all the faults of those less fortunate.

Even if Bildad were right about disaster befalling the wicked in this life, he (and Eliphaz and Zophar) are guilty of a tremendous logical fallacy in concluding that since disaster has struck Job, he must be wicked. That is like saying, “All dogs die. My cat died. Therefore, my cat was a dog.” Not only is their conclusion fallacious, but the “friends” are malicious in applying it so forcefully and directly to Job. There is no comfort offered here, nor even advice to repent. There is only accusation.

We must be careful here. It is easy to reject Bildad’s words out of hand as not accounting for counterexamples or for erroneous logic and misapplication to Job. But we must weigh his words in light of the rest of Scripture, which reinforces the idea that there are indeed negative consequences to evil behavior. For those who do not repent and put their faith in Christ, negative consequences do come — they just may not come in this life. Just as there is Heaven, there is also Hell.

Job 17

Job continues his complaint. In the previous verse (Job 16:22), Job “optimistically” gave himself a few years to live, but he immediately corrects himself here and says his days are extinct. (v. 1)

Even though Job continues to see God as his Tormentor, he also appears to appeal to Him as a Judge against his so-called friends. (Job 17:3-6) So it seems that in some way Job expects God to decide things justly, that God will not let his taunters come out on top. He also appears to suggest that, although he has become a mockery to most, perhaps there are a few upright who object to his treatment. (Job 17:8) On the other hand, he looks around at his friends and says, I shall not find a wise man among you. (Job 17:10)

Job ends the chapter somewhat as he began, with an expectation of death, of going to Sheol. He asks,

If I hope for Sheol as my house,
if I make my bed in darkness,
if I say to the pit, “You are my father,”
and to the worm, “My mother,” or “My sister,”
where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?

Job 17:13-16

One could take that as an expression of despair, but I see a hint (at least) of ongoing hope, an appeal that his hope should not die, that, in fact, it would be improper (and unjust) for his hope to thus descend to the Pit. Job does not yet have the Good News of Jesus Christ. He does not yet know of the Resurrection. He does not yet have the living hope we have:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

I Peter 1:3-5

Job 16

Job responds to Eliphaz, recognizing the worthlessness of Eliphaz’s argument and noting that if Job’s “friends” are trying to comfort him, they aren’t doing a very good job! (Job 16:2) Further, he asks what motivates (or provokes) his friends to even engage in the argument. (Job 16:3) And he notes that, were the shoe on the other foot, Job could easily taunt them with similar words (Job 16:4), but he also says that he could just as well soothe their suffering with better words. (Job 16:5)

Job continues to bemoan his afflictions and recognizes that his condition is the very thing that acts as a witness against him. (Job 16:8) He describes his pains and perceives God as the primary One responsible for his suffering (Job 16:7-16), yet he maintains his innocence. (Job 16:17)

In the last few verses of this chapter (Job 16:18-22), a glimmer of hope arises. Job begins to perceive that there might be Someone else in heaven Who might testify on his behalf, Who might argue his case before God. It is not at all clear that Job has any notion yet of Who that might be. It seems that he has in mind “a son of man”, not necessarily “the Son of Man”, but he nevertheless looks for this testimony “on high”. Of course, he still sees God as his Tormentor, so it is unlikely that he expects God to also be his Advocate, but he has at least a suggestion that he is not fighting his battle alone.

What about you? Have you ever felt utterly alone? Do you perceive your Advocate? Do you recognize Who He is? Really?

Job 15

Today Eliphaz returns to the conversation and is quick to reject everything Job has said. He does not bother weighing Job’s words, parsing out what might be right and what might be wrong. Eliphaz tosses out Job’s words entirely, because he considers Job to be abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water. (v. 16)

Although Eliphaz claims wisdom well beyond Job’s, look at what he says: The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless. In Job 15:20-35, Eliphaz gives a description of how bad life is for the wicked — a description that frankly fails to pass the laugh test. Think for a moment and consider real-life examples of “the wicked”: mafia dons, drug lords, dictators, etc. Do they “writhe in pain all their days”? Do they wander about, begging for bread? (v. 23) No! Such people live in luxury, with pleasures of every sort at their fingertips. Some may eventually land in prison or meet an “untimely demise” at the hands of their rivals, but many do not, or at least do not for a very long time.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am certainly not advocating such careers, nor am I saying that God does not ultimately bring judgment upon the wicked. But casual observation of present realities should be sufficient to refute Eliphaz’s statements. And that is what I like about this book — it confronts life as lived in the real world and breaks through the platitudes that one might otherwise land on.

Job 14

Job continues his response to Zophar, turning his attention to the brevity of this life. Other passages of Scripture echo the notion that life is short. (For example, Ps. 78:39; 103:15; 144:4; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:12; James 1:10-11; 4:14.) Here Job bemoans that any chance of enjoying this brief life has been taken away, consumed by suffering — and all because God somehow chooses to focus His (negative) attention on man. (Job 14:1-6) He views a tree that is cut down, yet sprouts new growth from old roots, as having more hope than man, who dies and just returns to the dust with no hope of anything more. (Job 14:7-12)

But Job opens the door — just a crack, and only for a moment — to the idea of life beyond this one:

Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
that You would conceal me until Your wrath be past,
that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my service I would wait,
till my renewal should come.
You would call, and I would answer You;
You would long for the work of Your hands.
For then You would number my steps;
You would not keep watch over my sin;
my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,
and You would cover over my iniquity.

Job 14:13-17

If there were some possibility of life after death, then Job could endure this suffering and look forward to new life with his sin “sealed up” and “covered over”. But this is just a (cynical?) hypothetical for Job at this point. He does not grab onto it as a real hope. Instead he ends with his continuing view that he is steadily — and painfully — being destroyed. (Job 14:18-22)

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Finally, as an aside, I’d like to note that if the word “Sheol” trips you up, you can almost always substitute “the Grave” (capital “G”, so to speak) and arrive at pretty much the same meaning.

Job 13

Job continues his reply to Zophar. Let’s look at the first several verses.

• Job 13:1 – Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.
  • That is, he has observed all those things he mentioned in Job 12, so unlike his friends Job is therefore taking into account real-life experience that runs counter to their worldview.
• Job 13:2 – What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
  • Pretty self-explanatory. Job is no fool and certainly does not need his friends to regurgitate what he already knows.
• Job 13:3 – But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.
  • I think of this a bit like a phone call to some support line where you aren’t getting anywhere with the person on the other end so you say, “Let me speak to your supervisor…”
  • That is, Job wants to cut out the intermediaries and talk with the One in charge, the One Who really knows the truth, and Who has the power to remedy the situation.
• Job 13:4 – As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all.
  • Job perceives the inadequacies of his friends’ arguments and how his own experience — along with observed reality all around — contradicts their worldview, but rather than dealing with those realities, they “whitewash” over them, effectively lying “on God’s behalf”.
  • At best, his friends are quacks.
• Job 13:5 – Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!
  • Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!
  • This hearkens back to Job 2 when Job’s friends sat in silence, which was indeed the best comfort they ever gave him.
• Job 13:6 – Hear now my argument and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
  • One thing Job’s friends clearly have never really done is to truly listen to Job, to empathize in any meaningful way.
  • Sometimes the one thing we really need more than anything else is for someone to listen.
  • Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger… (James 1:19)
• Job 13:7 – Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for Him?
  • This, I think, goes to the heart of Job’s frustration with his friends (and to God’s rebuke of them in Job 42:7), as he recognizes that in their “whitewashing” of reality, they are in fact speaking falsely for God.
• Job 13:8 – Will you show partiality toward Him? Will you plead the case for God?
  • Job wants a fair trial. In his view, he is already “up against” an unbeatable Foe, Who does not need deceptive lawyers pleading His case.
• Job 13:9 – Will it be well with you when He searches you out? Or can you deceive Him, as one deceives a man?
  • Hey, Zophar! Look in the mirror! When God comes and searches you out, what might He find? Do you really think you should be faring better than I? Or do you think you can somehow pull the wool over His eyes?

I’ll leave it there except for one more verse further down, Job 13:23: How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. At the core of Job’s frustration is that he is unaware of any big sin in his life and so is undeserving of such horrendous treatment. Here he prays that God would reveal any such sin to him that might explain the problem. It could be argued that Job is offering this prayer somewhat rhetorically, that he doesn’t expect God (or anyone else) to be able to point to anything. But I rather think that he is honestly asking. And it is an excellent prayer for all of us. We should all ask God to convict us of any sin in order that we might repent of it and turn to Him to remove it from us — but not just to escape punishment; rather, that we might have fellowship with Him.

Job 12

Job replies to Zophar with a nice bit of sarcasm right out of the gate: No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. (v. 2) That is, “Wow! You guys really are smart! When you die, what will the world do without you? Wisdom will be lost for all time without you!” He then reminds them that he also has understanding and is not inferior to them; in fact, their brilliant “wisdom” is just common knowledge. (Job 12:3) Even so, although Job is a just and blameless man, he is nevertheless now a laughingstock. (v. 4) And although Job’s friends can blithely conclude that Job has brought that upon himself, he instead finds it to be a worldview-shattering contradiction.

In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. (v. 5) How true that statement is! We see it clearly in Job’s friends who sit in comfort condemning poor Job, with no real sympathy or compassion, just a self-righteous contempt. And we see it all around us as elitists scorn those “below” them and “cancel” any with whom they find fault. There are plenty of examples in the political arena (on any side), in the famous and the infamous, and in our own neighborhoods. Do we do the same?

Job sees that everything — including his suffering — is under God’s sovereignty, but it is a sovereignty that does not quite line up with his original worldview. He looks at nature and sees God’s hand at work. He sees that wisdom comes from God. He sees that God raises up and tears down and that no one — no matter how strong or respectable his office — can resist Him.

As I read what Job says, I have a tendency to forget the ongoing nature of his suffering. I (almost) tend to imagine that he is having these arguments with his friends somewhat “after the fact”, like on a debate stage, making his points from a position of reasonable strength. But that is all wrong. Job is in immense pain. He is weak and nearly dead. I should imagine Job struggling to speak these words, perhaps in a raspy whisper, barely able to get out a few words at a time. Naturally, the content of what he says remains the same, but imagining the scene like this might change how I hear it…