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.