Job 10 - 42

In chapter 10 we find Job’s emotional turmoil such that it has begun to distort his thinking. He wonders why God makes us suffer yet at the same time blesses the wicked. Verse 1, “I loathe my very life.” Verse 3, “Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?” Again, he expresses his wish that he had died at birth. Verse 18, “Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. If only I had never come into being or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave.”

Another friend, Zophar, speaks up, perhaps he will help provide the comfort and sympathy Job desired. No, he didn’t.

In chapter 11, Zophar declares that Job deserved even worse than what he got. Isn’t that a comforting thought for Job. In Job 11:6, he says, “God has even forgiven your sin.” Another translation reads, “God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.” In other words, “you deserved even more punishment than you received.”

He goes on to say that Job shouldn’t expect to understand the ways of God. Verses 7, 10, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? Verse 10, “Can you oppose him?”

Chapter 11:5, “You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless, and I am pure in your sight.’” Job never claimed to be pure. Zophar goes on to say that if Job repented, his life “will be brighter than the noonday and darkness will become like morning” (verse 17). And that’s not true either. God doesn’t guarantee sunshine and lollipops for his people.

Job responded with a bit of sarcasm. Chapter 12:2, “Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.” In other words, “You guys are so wise that when you die the world will be without wisdom.” Chapter 13 Job continues to maintain his innocence. Job 13:18, “Now that I prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated.”

Job uses sarcasm again in 13:5, “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” The wisest thing that his friends could do would be to shut up. They should have continued with the silence of Shiva for the duration of their visit.

Job wants God to stop punishing him and to explain to him what he did wrong. Job 13:21-24, “Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. Then summon me and I will answer or let me speak, and you reply. How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?” Stop punishing me and tell me what I did wrong.”

Job continues to reflect on the shortness and futility of life. Chapter 14 reads, “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble (verse 1). Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (verse 5). One positive comment that Job makes is his belief in something in the world to come. Verse 14, “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.”

Now it’s time for Eliphaz to step in (Chapter 15). He basically repeats his earlier remarks and criticized Job for being angry with them when they were trying to help him.

Just as Eliphaz seems to be losing patience with Job, Job is doing the same with his friends. Chapter 16:1, Job replied, “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all!” Job then goes on to describe again his horrible condition. Verse 10, “Men open their mouths to jeer at me. Verse 12, “All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target.” Verse 16, “My face is red with weeping, deep shadows ring my eyes; yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.” His friends were of no real comfort. Job appears to be mired in hopelessness.

At this point Bildad joins in the conversation. Chapter 18. Verse 1, “When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.” Here Bildad repeats his earlier argument that punishment justly falls on the wicked. His logic is that, since Job is being punished, he must have done something wrong.

Job asks for his friends’ pity (verse 21) and declares that his God is alive and knows all things. God would be the one to judge him fairly, and Job puts his trust in Him (verses 25–27).

Job replies in chapter 19. Verse 1, “How long will you torment me and crush me with words? Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me.” Verses 20-21, “I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.” He feels helpless, abandoned by family and acquaintances and his three friends were the only ones who stayed with him.

In spite of his suffering, he knows that there is something better in the world to come. Verse 25-26, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” But in the meantime, Job is hurt, angry, frustrated and depressed.

Zophar’s second speech, (Job Chapter 20) focuses on the theme that the one who commits wickedness will suffer for it. In his words, verses 27-29, “The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.”

Thanks a lot Zophar, for those comforting words.

Job responds in chapter 21, saying in effect, “That’s not true!” Verses 7 and 9, “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?  Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not upon them. Verse 13, They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.” Job ends his comments with, verse 34, “So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”

Round three of the debate begins with Eliphaz in chapter 22. He suggests that Job is being punished because he must have gotten rich by taking advantage of others. Verses 5-9, “Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? You demanded security from your brothers . . . you gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the hungry. . . You sent widows away empty-handed.”

Chapter 23, Job continues to lament his situation again defends himself, saying, verses 12, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” In chapter 24 he asks, “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?” He goes on to describe how the corrupt move boundary stones, take advantage of the weak, the widows and orphans. Verse 12, "the groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing."

This sound much like the prophet Habakkuk who asked God, in Hab. 1:1-3, “How long, O Lord must I call for help, but you do not listen? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong?”

In Chapters 25 and 26 Bildad speaks again, and Job responds with sarcasm, thanking him for his “sympathetic understanding and congratulates him for his outstanding knowledge. Chapter 26:1-3, “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed.”

In chapter 27 Job’s lament continues. Verse 2, “As surely as God lives, who had denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul, as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.”

Job’s friends failed to provide him with any wise counsel. In chapter 28 he inserts a poem on the pricelessness of wisdom.

In Chapter 29 he looked back at the “good old days” when life was good. Verse 2, “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me. Oh, for the days when I was in my prime when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house (verse 4). He goes on to describe the time when men spoke well of him (verse 11), when he cared for those in need (verses 12-16).

Chapter 30:1, “But now they mock me.” Verse 15, “Terrors overwhelm me, as my dignity is driven away as by the wind.” “And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me.” “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer” (verse 20).

In chapter 31 Job challenges anyone to find any obvious sin in his life that would justify his suffering. He asks, “Did I cheat my workers? Did I lust after other women? Did I not share my food with those in need? Did I ignore the needs of the orphan and widow? Was I greedy for wealth? Did I rejoice over the misfortune of my enemies? It is as if he was a lawyer giving his closing argument in defense of his client.

A fourth man, Elihu, speaks up (Job chapter 32). Elihu’s two concerns are expressed in Job 32:2–3. He became very angry with job for justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry with the three friends because they had no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

In Chapter 33, Elihu says that Job claimed to be without sin. Verse 8, “But you have said in my hearing-I heard the very words- “I am pure and without sin.” No, he didn’t! Elihu is misquoting Job. He never claimed to be sinless, only blameless.

Job rejects Elihu’s comments. He says, “I am innocent, but God denies me justice.” Elihu says that God is not unjust, as Job might think. And no one can compel God to explain why he acts or why he keeps quiet (chapter 35:29).

After several rounds of discussions between Job and his friends, we finally get a simple statement of explanation. Chapter 36, verse 26 says it all. “How great is God-beyond our understanding.” Chapter 37 goes on to describe how God controls everything, and his knowledge is perfect. He closes with the thought that God is (verses 23-24) “beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. Therefore, men revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?

God has heard enough of this. It’s now his turn to speak (Chapter 38). He begins by asking Job questions. Rather than Job demanding answers of God, God demands answers from Job. Verse 4, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”

Verse 12, “Have you ever given orders to the morning?” Verse 17, “Have the gates of death been shown to you?” Verse 45, “Do you send lightning bolts on their way?” “Do you know how to use all the apps on your smartphone?” I made up that last one. The point God is making is that he is the one who is all knowing and all powerful. Being God, you have to give him the benefit of the doubt that he does things or allows things to be done for a reason that we couldn’t understand even if it was explained to us.

Then God asks (Chapter 40:2), “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

Then Job answers the Lord (40:3-4), “I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? Then God asks, verse 8, “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?” God goes on to describe his what he has done and his power, compared with a mere human. In this chapter he describes the behemoth that we described earlier in this lesson. In Chapter 41 he returns to the other massive creature, the leviathan. God then says, “Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay” (verses 10-11). In other words, “I’m God and you’re not. I don’t have to answer to anyone.”

In chapter 42 we see the attitude of Job changed dramatically. Verse 1, “Then Job replied to the Lord, ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, thing too wonderful for me to know.” Again, we see that there are things that are far beyond our understanding. Job said the same thing in Job 36:26 “How great is God-beyond our understanding.”

Verse 6, “therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Translation: “I’m sorry for getting so angry and demand that you explain your actions, especially when I wouldn’t be able to understand it.”

God then turned to Eliphaz and said, “I am angry with you and your two friends; because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” God then told them to make a burnt offering and Job graciously prayed for his friends. (verses 8-10).

Verse 11, “All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.” Yeah, but where were they when he was sitting on the ash pile scraping his sores with pieces of broken pottery?

The Lord then made Job prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before (verse 12) and Job lived for 140 years.

Afterthoughts on the Book of Job

“Why has such evil befallen me” was the question posed by Job. His friends blamed him for his troubles, claiming that he was being punished for some hidden sin. But why would God punish his children and servants? Ezek. 18:17-18 says, “He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. And we know from John 9:3 that sin isn’t the cause of all suffering. “. . . he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’”

Isa. 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”

Deut. 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

My understanding is that man cannot understand the ways of God. Why does he do this or allow that in this world is beyond our understanding. Not only that, but we really don’t have a NEED to know. Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

We have what we need to know. The rest, those things that we want to know, are beyond our comprehension and unnecessary for us.

Another question that is asked deals with angels.

Ps. 91:11, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” But they are also used as escorts when we die. Luke 16:22, “The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.” So, angels can protect us and escort us when we die.

The mystery is, “Why would God send an angel to escort us to Him when he could have sent him to protect us from an accidental death?”

I’ve come to believe more and more that God must view death quite differently than we do. From our perspective, death is a tragedy. I don’t think that the apostle Paul saw it that way either. Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 12:2-4, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-god knows. And I know that this man-whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows- was caught up to paradise. He heard expressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.”

This experience that Paul had, the chance to “peek behind the curtain” and to see what lies beyond the grave, took away all fear of death. He expresses his view in Phil 1:21-24, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am turn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; for it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”

He knew that death wasn’t the end, but a doorway to something much better, something “far better.”

There is a passage, again, written by Paul, I Cor 2:9, which says, “However, as it is written: 'What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived'—the things God has prepared for those who love him." This reminds me of a joke about an elderly couple who died together and went to heaven. They were being shown around and were overwhelmed by what they saw. It got to the point where the man glared at his wife and said, “If it wasn’t for all your foolish health food, vitamins, exercise programs and medical care, we could have gotten here years ago.” Perhaps death for God’s people, from God’s perspective, isn’t the tragedy that we might view it to be.

Habakkuk struggled with another “Why” question. Why did God allow evil to continue in Judah (Hab. 1:3). Unlike Job, God did give him an answer. He told him that he had a plan to use the Babylonians to punish Judah (Hab. 1:6) and he had a timetable (Hab. 2:3). He then told Habakkuk (Hab. 2:4), “the just shall live by faith.” Living by faith is repeated in the New Testament. Heb. 10:38-39, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”

Perhaps we shouldn’t be asking, “WHY?” when tragedy strikes. For there are no clear answers on this side of eternity. We don’t need to know “Why” and if God tried to explain it to us, we probably wouldn’t understand. I think we need to ask a different question when tragedy strikes. “What do I do now?”

And those who come to “comfort” the grieving shouldn’t add guilt to the already crushing burden on those who are suffering loss. Just be there for them, and let the grieving direct the conversation.