Job 27

Yesterday Job spoke of God’s unsearchable greatness. Today Job continues his discourse, turning his attention back to himself — and holding that same Almighty God responsible for his afflictions. (v. 2) But it is all part of the same argument he is making in his own defense against his friends.

In Job 27:2-6, Job steadfastly continues to maintain his innocence. He refuses to say that the friends are right, maintaining that to do so would be to lie and to violate his integrity. (He is, of course, right about that. It is ironic that in urging Job to confess his sin, they are really urging him to make a false confession, which would itself be sin.) All of this argues strongly in favor of Job in that it shows how dearly Job holds his righteousness and integrity. He would not sacrifice it on the altar of public opinion and relief from his friends’ accusations. (By the way, Jesus says something similar in John 8:55: If I were to say that I do not know [the Father], I would be a liar…)

In Job 27:7-12, Job turns it all back onto his friends, only now he sees them as enemies. (At least, that’s how I read verse 7.) He wishes that they become as the wicked and suffer accordingly. And he asks whether God would hear their cry in their distress (v. 9), and whether they would continue to take delight in the Almighty and to call upon God at all times. (v. 10) (I rather doubt they would…)

Finally, in Job 27:13-23, Job describes the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty. (v. 13) Interestingly, here Job’s description diverges from some of what he has said before. He does not describe the wicked as prospering and going through life without seeing any negative consequences for evil. Instead, his description is somewhat similar to what we have heard from Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. I find that curious. Perhaps he is acknowledging that the wicked eventually suffer consequences (though perhaps not as surely and swiftly as the friends contended), and so maybe he is backing off of his earlier “prosperity of the wicked” argument. But I doubt it. Instead, I am guessing that he is warning his friends (now considered enemies) of what will (or should) come their way with a “crime doesn’t pay” speech. In any case, he is reaffirming his own call to righteousness and his rejection of wickedness.

So, again, what about us? Do we steadfastly and wholeheartedly pursue righteousness? Do we treasure it and hold fast to it? Do we guard and protect our integrity with all our strength? Do we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? (Mt. 6:33) On the flip side, how do we regard sin? Do we utterly reject it in any form? Do we abhor it as God does? Or do we sometimes cozy up to sin, and treasure it instead of righteousness? Are we somehow casual about either righteousness or sin? Job certainly wasn’t casual about either one — and neither is God.

Job 26

Job opens his reply to Bildad (and Eliphaz and Zophar) with biting sarcasm. How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled him who has no wisdom, and plentifully declared sound knowledge! (vv. 2-3) I guess Job is not particularly satisfied with what they have said!

Job then proceeds to describe God’s magnificence. Before God, even Sheol is laid bare. (Job 26:6) God has dominion over the heavens, and He controls the weather. (Job 26:8-11) He hangs the earth on nothing (v. 7) and stills the seas. (Job 26:12) Yet, Behold, these are but the outskirts of His ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand? (v. 14) With all of nature proclaiming God’s power and greatness, it amounts to only a whisper. We cannot begin to comprehend Him.

In some respects, Job’s descriptions of God’s power reflect Bildad’s comments in Job 25 — God is high, and we are not. But Job is clearly not throwing in the towel and agreeing with Bildad. Instead, I think he is proclaiming to his friends that God is far beyond their view of Him, that God does not fit nicely within their tidy framework, that they basically know nothing at all.

Regardless of Job’s relationship with his friends, it is well worth our time to meditate daily on God’s greatness. Turn off the TV or the phone or whatever device you are addicted to. Look up at the starry sky and wonder at the God who created the vast universe. Sit in awe at the power of a (mere) thunderstorm. Consider a raging sea, calmed by the voice of the Master. And remember that this God loves you.

Job 25

Bildad steps back in with a final (and brief) argument that no one can be found righteous before God: How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? (v. 4) It is hard to argue with Bildad on this point. None is righteous, no, not one. (See Rom. 3:10-12; Ps. 14:1-3, 15:1-3.)

So there is nothing particularly wrong with what Bildad says, just in how he says it. That is, Bildad wields these words as a weapon to condemn Job. There is no comfort here, no hope, no love — just judgment. And in the process, Bildad conveniently forgets that in speaking these words he condemns himself.

Let that be a lesson to us. We must indeed hold fast to the truth without compromise. But the truth must always be spoken in love. It is not sufficient just to have a winning argument. Love is what truly triumphs. Job’s friends have not spoken of love, nor have they spoken lovingly. They have all presented mere condemnation. But the message of the Gospel is different: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

By the way, this is the last we hear from Job’s three friends…

Job 24

Job continues his response to Eliphaz, and again asks where God is, but this time in reference to God’s apparent lack of judgment upon the wicked. In Job 24:2-12, he describes ill treatment and oppression of the poor at the hand of the wicked, yet God charges no one with wrong. (v. 12) Then he describes various forms of evil behavior (Job 24:13-17), and he cites his friends’ argument that the wicked are swiftly brought down to Sheol. (Job 24:18-20) He then reasserts that God does not bring them down so swiftly, but instead prolongs their life and even seems to exalt them for a while (though they die in the end). (Job 24:21-24) He ends with a final challenge to his friends: If it is not so, who will prove me a liar and show that there is nothing in what I say? (v. 24)

In Job’s descriptions of how the wicked abuse the poor and how the poor end up toiling for the wicked, I again wonder whether Job has his friends specifically in mind. Are his observations simply common examples drawn from the world at large? Or are they much closer, playing out right there in front of him, with his friends sitting in smug prosperity, seeming oblivious to their role in the oppression? I am, of course, just speculating about the behavior of Job’s friends. Job has not explicitly accused them of such things. Even so, I might note that, although the friends have likewise said that mistreatment of the poor is evil, the friends’ worldview would suggest that the poor deserve to be poor; that is, their poverty is simply God’s judgment on their sins, just as Job’s suffering is evidence of his sins. Hence, I doubt that they have much real sympathy for the poor… But Job does.

Job 23

Job replies to Eliphaz, continuing his complaint with a mixture of frustration and confidence. Job is frustrated that he cannot find God anywhere. He looks high and low but cannot perceive God’s presence. But he is confident that, were he to find Him, he could lay out his case and be acquitted. (Job 23:3-7,10)

It is not immediately obvious to me how much of Job’s confidence is faith in God’s justice (and mercy) and how much is (over?) confidence in his own innocence. Job has always maintained his innocence and has been firm in his insistence that he should be acquitted. But he has not been so consistent in his characterization of God. In previous chapters (e.g., chapter 9) Job has cynically seen God as his Adversary, craftily able to prove Job wrong no matter how right Job might be. Here he expresses at least some sense that God would listen and rule in his favor, which is a significant improvement. Yet he also expects God to continue on His current course (i.e., to continue Job’s afflictions), and that terrifies him. (Job 23:13-16)

As to Job’s frustration at not being able to find God, I can relate — and I expect you can, too. How often have you felt like God has abandoned you? Or that He just isn’t listening, that your prayers are for naught? How often have you opened your Bible, hoping for a sip of Living Water, but all is dry, a desert waste? Sometimes it does indeed seem that God is completely absent, and it is hard to understand why He seems to hide Himself. And often the explanations I get for such seasons fall flat, sounding more like Job’s friends than like real Truth. And so, again, I appreciate Job’s voicing of his frustrations. The fact that the Bible honestly faces such human challenges strengthens my faith and helps me through the wilderness.

Job 22

Eliphaz jumps back into the fray and rather quickly indicts Job:

Is not your evil abundant?
There is no end to your iniquities.
For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
The man with power possessed the land,
and the favored man lived in it.
You have sent widows away empty,
and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.

Job 22:5-9

On what basis does Eliphaz level these very serious and specific charges? We know Job is blameless, so Eliphaz cannot have any actual evidence, let alone proof. All he has is Job’s current suffering as “evidence” of God’s judgment against him for some unknown evil. So why these specific charges? My guess (and this is pure speculation on my part, so take it for what it’s worth…) is that these are things of which Eliphaz himself is guilty, and since he cannot conceive of anyone who is actually innocent he projects his own sins onto Job. (That’s just a theory, but I’ve seen similar things play out in modern life, so I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibilities. See Romans 2:1.)

Interestingly, what Eliphaz says in Job 22:17-18 sounds very similar to what Job said in Job 21:14-16. I am not quite sure what to make of that. Is Eliphaz just quoting/paraphrasing Job, sarcastically throwing his words back at him? Is he himself trying to claim that the counsel of the wicked is far from me, in contrast to Job’s claim? My guess is sarcasm, but I really don’t know.

To Eliphaz’s credit, he ends his speech (in Job 22:21-30) with a much softer tone than Bildad and Zophar. Although I am very doubtful of his sincerity, if we give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he really is concerned for Job and really does believe that Job is in the wrong, then he gives good advice to repent, offering encouragement that such repentance will lead to reconciliation with God and a restoration of prosperity. That may be somewhat of a misrepresentation of how things work (vis-à-vis “prosperity gospel”), but it is potentially well-motivated. Nevertheless, that “encouragement” still carries with it all the underlying accusations that he voiced earlier, so though softer, it is a bit of a mixed bag.

So what about us? Have you ever been falsely accused of something serious and specific, especially on the basis of false assumptions, with no evidence? How did that feel? How did those relationships work out? Or perhaps more importantly, have you ever falsely accused (or judged) someone without real evidence? Have you “projected” your own issues onto others? Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (Mt. 7:1-2)

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.