Author: Jon Green

This chapter is Job’s closing remarks of the first round of discussion between him and his friends. Since we’ve made it through many days of heavy poetry and debate, we’re going to do something different today. As we reach the end of this section of the book, we are going to try to think of this book in a different way, and hopefully reach a different perspective on this book. Picture this in your mind: The book of Job is like two court rooms, one in heaven and one on earth.

In heaven, God is in charge: the judge who controls the court and makes all the decisions, and because He is all-knowing and just, He has never made the wrong decision. His angels are there, to serve their King and give input. We saw in chapters 1 and 2 how one of these members of the heavenly court asks to afflict suffering and pain on a righteous man named Job, all to prove that this man only praised God because of all the things he had been given.

The second court is on earth, in the remains of what used to be all that Job had been gifted from God. Job is the defendant (the one being accused), and his three friends that had originally been there to mourn with him, are the prosecuting attorneys, arguing that Job must have done something to deserve what happened to him. At this point, each friend has spoken once, and Job is finishing up this round of arguments, responding to the friend that spoke directly before him, and to all three friends. 

The main point that Job is making in this chapter is this: Human life is extremely frail and temporary. People live for a short period of time, die, and don’t ever live again on Earth. In the second half of this chapter (v. 13-17), Job describes a hypothetical situation, one that he wishes could be true. He says that if the dead could live again, it would give him hope. If this were the case, God would guard his steps, and God would cover his guilt. This situation is hypothetical to Job, only wishful thinking, but to us it is real and available through Jesus! He died for our sins, so the dead could live again in Heaven with Him, taking on the punishment for our sin that we deserve.

When someone we care about is struggling, we want to help. Often that help comes in the form of a solution.

 “Have you tried _______________?”

“You should _____________!”

“If you had done __________, then this would not have happened.”

While problem-solving or offering perspectives can be helpful at times, Job 13 cautions us against this approach as a default response. This is the approach taken by Job’s friends, however, it does not prove helpful. So, what should we do? How can we be helpful in the midst of others’ suffering?

First, we admit humility and avoid prideful advice. In verses 1-2, Job declares that he knows what the friends know, he is not inferior to them. If offering advice, we must do so humbly, refraining from condescension, and turn our efforts to encouragement. We do not have an exclusive deal with God. Prideful advice is a form of judgement, and judgement is not helpful or loving to the suffering. Jesus declared, “For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world,” in John 12:47.

Next, we acknowledge we are not God. This sounds simple, but in our efforts to make earthly sense of situations, we often rely on our human reasoning and proclaim it as truth. In verses, 7-12, Job admonitions the friends for speaking for God, and we must be careful not to do the same. We like to have answers, but we are not God. In Isaiah 55:8-9, God declares  “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Finally, we sit in the silence. Job declares, in verse 5, “Oh that you would be completely silent, and that it would become your wisdom!” When others suffer, they need sympathy and support, which often sounds like silence. We give them space to grieve, provide permission to be honest, and validate their difficult emotions. We remind them of God’s love through our love.

Job calls us to set aside what we know or think should be done in moments of others’ suffering. He begs us to sit in the quiet moments with others’ pain, acknowledge we don’t have the answers, and simply admit we don’t have any words, but we have His love to share.

Job 12 encompasses Job’s reply to Zophar, and he begins by stating that all men are limited in their ability to know wisdom by being human in a way that the Lord is not limited by. As the chapter progresses Job reveals that he has been falsely rebuked by his friends. These verses (v. 4-6) remind us of Jesus, because He was and is perfect and holy. Nevertheless, He was accused, rebuked, and ridiculed for sins He did not commit and yet He still suffered on the cross when He sacrificed Himself for all, defeating death, giving us an opportunity to be reconciled to God, and joining God the Father in heaven three days later for eternity.

In the second half of Job 12, Job begins to address the Lord’s character. Job urges himself to remember the faithfulness of God by speaking on how all creatures exist to worship Him. Worship is the natural expression of creation praising its creator, and the Lord constantly reveals Himself as sovereign to humans through His creation. Job, despite not fully understanding God’s motive, practices faith in this moment. He chooses to exercise faith in hard circumstances because of his dependence on the character of God. Even if present situations make it hard to trust that God is who He says He is, every believer can grow in faith by remembering creation and remembering His faithfulness to us in the past.

Why does this matter? We can easily become entangled in the circumstances of our lives and attempt to take control, believing that our plan is the best plan, despite the Lord having one for us before we even came to exist. In the times when our plan doesn’t happen how we want it to, it is easy to run away from the Lord or listen to what the crowd of people around us is saying. 

Yet through Job 12, we can see that the best way to handle things not going our way is to reflect on the past. It is then we can begin to realize how sovereign, faithful, and wise the Lord truly is in our past, present, and future circumstances. If life had always gone the way we wanted it to when we were younger, it would be a disaster because we are humanly limited and do not know what is best for ourselves. So, the times that things do not go the way we planned for them to go may be the exact times that the Lord desires to grow our faith and intimacy with Him.

Today we read Zophar’s response to Job. Job has experienced immense suffering from the loss of his children, his livestock, and even his health. Zophar’s response to Job’s experience is harsh. The title in the ESV translation is Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse. This should serve as an example to us when coming alongside someone who has experienced suffering the way Job has. 

We are to balance both grace and truth in our response to them. Zophar responded in such a way that was so heavy with truth it comes across as arrogant. We see Zophar draw a direct correlation between Job’s suffering and his sin, meaning that Job’s sin caused his suffering. However we know that it is not true. There are several examples throughout scripture: Paul in prison, Jeremiah being placed in a cistern, and even Jesus who suffered in the greatest possible way through being crucified on a cross for sins he did not commit. Jesus was blameless (2 Cor. 5:21).

Verses 5 and 6 Zophar gives a cutting response to Job, heavily laden with sarcasm as he delivers his heavy-handed rebuke to Job. This is the last thing we want to do when comforting someone. Often when we are with someone who is in a dark place like Job was, it is more the power of presence than it is the profound wisdom that can be shared. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give them a hug and be with them. 

In the Gospels when someone who is suffering encounters Jesus they experience his gentle and lowly heart. We can be encouraged that in the midst of suffering Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:28-30). We can also be encouraged that we have a high priest who can sympathise with us in our weakness, and that because of that we can draw near him in our time of need (Heb. 4:15-16). 

Chapter 10 is a continuation of the previous chapter, dealing with similar themes of the dichotomy of Job’s own sin and innocence. However, there is a shift in the purpose to his message. He says this all with the intent of it being directed towards God, and it is a brutally honest lament of how he is feeling. This passage is full of questions, and we know there is a lot of bitterness Job feels towards God. What is easy to forget as we read this is that Job doesn’t have any of the same knowledge we have.

He is stuck in this wrestling of knowing God, but not feeling like that remains true in his current circumstance. What is important to distinguish here is that how we feel about God is not the same as what is true about His character. Job feels like God is fighting against him, but that is not what is true. As the reader, we know that there is more to the story and that Job wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for God telling Satan not to harm him (Job 1:12). Though it felt to Job that God was nowhere to be seen in his struggles, and rightfully so, God was actually at the center of it all. 

What is so beautiful to know in this is that not only was God still present in this moment, but He also didn’t punish Job for being honest that it didn’t feel like God was there. God isn’t fragile; He isn’t going to break or be angry with us when we come to Him about how we feel. He desires for us to bring all of our thoughts and feelings to Him. He can handle our doubt. Because with doubt, comes faith. 

Drew Worsham, a speaker and pastor, says it this way, “As long as doubt exists, as long as the person is still uncertain, that is the only time that faith is needed.” But that doesn’t mean that we completely forget who God is. In his plea to God, Job still is thankful for what he knows about God, saying in verse 12 “You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.” We will not know all of the answers. But it is important that in our wrestling, we still remember God.

Reading Job 8 yesterday, we learned about Bildad’s theology: God rewards the righteous and God punishes the wicked. For Bildad, theology is simple. It’s an ancient version of the prosperity gospel: Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad. Reap what you sow. It’s black and white and neat and tidy. 

Job’s response to Bildad acknowledges that while God can work that way, it isn’t always true of how God works because Job cannot reconcile what he knows to be true of God with what he is experiencing of God. He wants to “contend” with God. Meaning, Job wants his days in court with God. He wants answers. He wants to know what he’s done to deserve this even though the first verses of chapter 9 recognize no one is righteous before God, and no one could answer God because God is wise and strong and beyond our ability to understand. And, God alone reserves the Sovereign right to shake the earth, command the sun, seal up stars, and do great and marvelous things (v. 5-10). 

We’ll see over and over again the sin of Job: he demands answers from God. And, we’ll see over and over again that God doesn’t shun Job’s questions, despair, and confusion. Job’s confusion is understandable. None of us wonder why Job wants a conversation with the Almighty. All of us understand the spiral of Job’s questions and commentary:

• How can a person be made right before God?
• God’s wisdom is vast (God knows everything).
• God’s power is profound (God is able to do anything).
• God’s might and vastness wasn’t a comfort to Job. It actually made Job feel more distant from God—confirming to Job that he cannot know or understand God.
• Job feels that God is distant and impersonal and unaware of Job’s suffering.
• Job cannot defend himself against God and longs for a mediator or arbiter for help, someone to plead Job’s case. 

Ultimately, Job cannot make sense of his narrative: “God rewards the righteous. I am innocent. God punishes the wicked. I am not wicked, yet God is punishing me with suffering, but God is good and does good. This is not good. I cannot figure out God.”

We get this circular thinking. We read Job 9 and want to make sense of the nonsensical. We don’t want to be confused by God. We want to understand God’s ways and how He defines good because it’s easier to have a neat and tidy faith than one that requires faith and trust in the midst of mystery and confusion. However, if we could figure out God, would we need Him? We’d reason God away. We’d explain away the miraculous. We’d become self-reliant and self-righteous. Our awe of the Almighty would be replaced with satisfaction of self. We need Something bigger than us. When we walk through the darkest nights, profound loss, unimaginable suffering, our souls long to rest in One who holds all things together, One who is making all things right, One who defeats the dark, One who is with us through it all. 

Job’s grief and confusion challenged—and eventually changed—his simple theology; but his acceptance and awe of God wasn’t quick and easy. His growth took time. Maturity isn’t instant. We’ll sit with Job in his pain and confusion and watch as some offer thin answers to thick questions. Let’s be patient with Job and ourselves as God grows our trust and faith in Him in the mystery of His ways. His ways are not our ways and we need Him to be bigger than our understanding.

The Book of Job can be a confusing one to many readers. What do we make of the actions of God in this book? What about Job’s anger and frustration–is that okay? And then there are Job’s friends. For a time, they have a perfectly appropriate response to the trauma Job is enduring, but then they decide they’ve had enough. When they open their mouths, they have the intent to help, but this is neither the time nor the place for sermons based on assumptions.

In Job 8, we read the “advice” of Job’s friend Bildad. Reading through this, Bildad seems to make some decent points. He points Job to being “pure and upright,” and he tells him to “ask the former generation [to] find out what their ancestors learned” (v. 6, 8). This would be great advice in many situations! Understanding that the previous generations have so much to teach us is so very important, and it’s always a good idea to do what is right, so is there anything wrong with what Bildad is saying?

Bildad’s entire argument is based on two assumptions: that Job and his family messed up in some way and that he (Bildad) believes he knows why all of this is happening. First, as we see in chapter 1, Job was already “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” If this is to be believed (and it is), then Bildad’s first underlying assumption is rendered null and void. His second point, that he is the one who understands how God works, is defeated by his own argument: “…we were born only yesterday and know nothing.” Bildad proves his own ignorance in trying to illuminate Job’s.

None of this is to say, however, that we shouldn’t try and understand what we can about God—not at all. The point here is simply that no human can understand everything about the Infinite Creator of all we know as “real.” So, what can we know about God?

There is so much! The entirety of the Bible is God’s revealed nature and will for us! We learn that He is a relational God, that He loves us, that He loves us so very much that He sent His Son to die for the very people who made the cross necessary, and that He wants to guide you through life no matter what you have or haven’t done. There is much to know, so let us humble seek Him and what He has revealed to us today.

Job 7 is the continuation of the previous chapter. This chapter is important in the story of Job because he gives us insight into his theology in the midst of deep pain. What is interesting about this section is that we get to see that his thoughts towards God are correct, while also lacking important context. Job’s response towards God in his agony is important for us because oftentimes our theology will look similarly in our pain.   

One of Job’s greatest grievances with God in this chapter is that God is so involved with Job’s life. Really, Job just wants God to go somewhere else! He writes in verses 17-19 “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?” He thinks that God is so focused on Job’s life for the sole reason of bringing him pain as a punishment for sin. However, this is a very different picture from the one we get from Jesus. He says in Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” 

 So while Job knew that God was involved in his life, he thought it was to bring him harm. Jesus tells us that God is aware of our circumstances because we are regarded as valuable to Him. God doesn’t take joy in bringing us pain, but deeply desires to comfort us in it.   

In Job’s grief he again looks towards God and says in verse 21, ”Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins?” Again, we know in the context of Jesus that God does count our sins against us (2 Cor 5:19). He does not punish us for our sins, but rather He has taken on our punishment so that we might have peace.   

While in this moment Job believed God to be involved in his life for his harm, we can know that our God is involved for our good. He desires not to harm us, but to give us a life abundantly. This chapter is an opportunity to solidify your theology today before pain inevitably comes tomorrow. Don’t let your circumstances define who you know your Savior to be!