Author: Scott Walter

Some times in Scripture point to the reality of “do good, get good; do bad, get bad.” At times, God blesses the faithful and punishes the wicked. But how do we make sense of the times where that clearly isn’t the case? As we have read for the last thirty chapters, Job was written to fill that void and to discuss the reality that some people do good and still get bad.

We saw in Job 29 that Job regularly helped the poor and oppressed. He was a very wealthy and powerful man who used his resources for genuine good. By the time Job 30:24, we see Job in the very same position he used to pull people out of. He has nothing, he’s sick, and can’t seem to catch a break. To make matters worse, we read this in v. 11, “Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.” Instead of helping their brother in need, Job’s friends come at him without restraint. They’re coming at him to the point the author uses the language of a military siege to describe it!

What can we possibly glean from such a bleak passage? First, the very fact that this chapter is in Scripture is important. As we know, nothing made it into the Bible without God’s approval. All of Scripture is “God-breathed,” and “useful,” so there is a purpose to the Spirit’s preservation of this text. As mentioned earlier, the Book of Job, filled with chapters like this, wrestles with the reality that one does not always receive good things simply because they’re a good person. The very fact that God placed this book in Scripture screams that it is okay to be suffering. It’s not a sign that God hates you or is disappointed in you. He doesn’t. He loves you so very much that He sent His own Son Jesus Christ to die that you might have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him!

Speaking of Jesus, that’s another key purpose of Job. Here we see a precursor to the Gospel story. Jesus knows a thing or two about doing good and getting bad. He literally did the ultimate good and received the ultimate bad. He is sympathetic to our sufferings because He suffered too. We catch a glimpse of this in Job, but we see it fully realized in Christ. For those of us in Christ, there is always a resurrection after a death.

We see Job’s theology is intimately tied to his experience with the people around him. Much of this chapter is filled with laments about the days gone by when Job used to be celebrated by everyone in his midst. He remembers “the old men rose to their feet” (v. 8), “those who saw me commended me” (v. 11), “the one who was dying blessed him” (v. 13), and “people listened to me expectantly” (v. 21). We can see clearly that Job was highly regarded. However, after his world was shaken we see people no longer treated him the same way. Rather than being applauded, he was cast aside. Rather than being blessed, he felt cursed. Rather than being listened to, he was ignored. An important lesson is Job mistakenly believed God’s character was similar to the people around him.

Verses 1-5 are crucial to understand how he views God in this time: “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me”. In other words, he believes God is treating him the same way as the people around him! Since Job feels lonely and unseen, God must have abandoned him. These statements are simply not true about God. Here is what we do know about His character: 

• Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 
• Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  

In the lowest moments of life, God has not abandoned you. He’s just as intimately watching you in your greatest successes as in your greatest difficulties. His character is not like those around us. We don’t have a God that forgets about us when things get difficult. He doesn’t leave us or forsake us. Instead, it is in these times we get to truly experience his close friendship. Because he will be a friend to us in times no one else will.   

For many of us, what we treasure is revealed in what we are willing to spend money investing in. Most often, the things that are worth the most, are the treasures we are willing to work the hardest for, regardless of how much money or time is spent in the process. This could be our cars, our clothes, our houses, our food choices, etc. Just take a look at your bank account, and you will see clearly what you treasure and pursue. The equation is simple: We spend money in exchange for possessions, based on their value. However, there are other treasures in life, of the greatest of value, that no amount of money can buy. Job tells us that this great treasure is wisdom, and its rarity is precisely what makes it so valuable. Only a few will come to search it out and find it, because most people don’t even know where to look.

In Job 28 we see that men are willing to go to incredible lengths and even endure danger for the sake of accumulating riches of gold and silver. Job makes the argument that all of these earthly and material treasures don’t come close in value to the unsurpassable worth of wisdom from God. Verse 18 says that, “the price of wisdom is above pearls.” Not only is it of high value, but it’s much rarer and harder to find than any material possession we could search for on Earth. Only God knows fully where wisdom is found, because wisdom is from God. 

The chapter ends by telling us that wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and it leads us to turn away from evil. Proverbs 9:10 says something similar, that the “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” If we want to obtain the greatest riches, we must fear the Lord, walk in the right relationship with Him, and this wisdom in our lives will be proven by the way we seek to live a life that turns away from sin and evil.

Today, God is inviting us to quit chasing after more money and more possessions, but rather to chase after things of eternal value, and in doing so we will come to find more of who He is.

In Job 27, we read the continuation of Job’s final words to his friends. He has shifted from talking about God’s incomprehensible awesomeness (using that word in its truest form) in Job.26, to discussing himself in the very next chapter. While this entire passage is quite interesting, the first six verses really capture Job’s mindset in this moment.

​First, Job believes that God has “denied [him] justice” and “made [his] life bitter.” While this isn’t in God’s nature, who, as we read in Psalm 37:28, loves justice and will not forsake His people. Not only here, but God’s promise to never leave nor forsake His people is found throughout Scripture. With that much repetition, it doesn’t seem to be something He takes lightly, does it? While we know that God doesn’t forsake His people, He will not deny them justice eternally, Job is relatable to many here. Since most of us can likely relate on some level to having bad things happen in our lives, immediately we can connect with Job here. So where does he go from here?

​In verses 3-6, Job tells us how he is going to respond to this present, bleak situation, “…my lips will not say anything wicked…I will not deny my integrity…I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it.”

​In response to his circumstances, Job chooses to maintain his innocence and integrity. This move is one we can all look to. Job here shows us the reality that sometimes things are hard, and sometimes we want to just throw in the towel, but this is no reason to fall into sin, proving those who accuse us right. Job here is actively living out what Paul writes to the Ephesians, “In your anger do not sin,” or what the Psalmist says in Psalm 4:4, “Tremble and do not sin.” It’s okay that Job is angry, processing his current situation. In fact, when we are angry in the face of unjust circumstances, we reflect God’s heart, but when we then use this as an excuse to sin, we reject that same heart.

​So, in light of this, what do we do? We follow Job’s example as far as we can. Even when we get angry, we do not sin. We run to God, and we sit in His presence, even when He’s the One we’re angry with. We voice our anger to Him and we follow His way. Without a doubt He will be pleased with that showing of faith.

In Job 25 we saw Bildad explaining why a person like Job could not be considered righteous by God. Basically, Bildad said that Job had to have done something to deserve the acts of justice served on him. But Job knows he has done nothing sinful in God’s eyes, so Job is not happy and he is going to let Bildad know it. You can just feel the sarcasm oozing in verse 3 when Job says, “And what great insight you have displayed, Bildad!”

We know that Job is justified in feeling how he does–God already told us in earlier chapters that Job is wise and righteous. So now this is his chance to show his friends, with all of their opinions, the wisdom to which God was referring. Job speaks about the dead, the underworld, things below and things above; the rain, the clouds, the moon; the ocean, mountains, and earthquakes. Job reminds his friends that God controls them all and calms them all at His simple command.

Job descriptively marvels at the greatness and vastness of God’s creation as proof of who he knows God to be. He reminds his friends that God is so complex and dynamic that He and His ways cannot be understood. Until this point, Job has struggled, but he is beginning to find his way back to his faith. We can see Job’s heart opening to trust.  He understands that his words only touch the mere edges of God’s ways. (v. 13) Job’s faith and conviction clearly run deep enough to argue for God and God’s wisdom, but his circumstances still prevent him from resting in that trust.  As one commentary describes it, Job could hear the thunder of God’s power, but it didn’t tell him all he wanted to know.  It was merely a small whisper of God and Job needed more. (v. 14).

The book of Job is an invitation to trust God and His ways; no matter the circumstance; even when it doesn’t make sense and we don’t have reasons for the things happening around us or to us. The beauty is that God saved these words for us. Did you ever think about why the book of Job was divinely preserved for us to read? God wanted us to see that questioning Him, and brutal honesty with Him in times of suffering, is ok. In fact, in Job 40 we will see God’s approval of Job’s response and processing when He says Job “spoke rightly” of Him. God protected these written descriptions of Job’s ugly, sinful, honest journey of suffering so that we could understand that our similar questions and struggles don’t make us bad or wrong.  They make us human and honest.  And it’s in that honesty that God can spread a balm of peace over our wounds, allowing us to heal and rest in His trustworthiness. 

Job 25 marks the last occasion that we hear from Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar. Day after day we have read these back-and-forth debates about the situation Job found himself in and this is the finale. In this chapter, Bildad concludes their collective attempt at consoling their friend and trying to explain why all that has happened to Job just happened. While they were well intentioned, we can sense the frustration that Job must have felt. It’s easy to start poking holes in their arguments while reading along ourselves.

Bildad’s final speech was short and straightforward. He has two points he is trying to drive home: God is great and majestic and man is the opposite. Bildad ends on the most depressing note of all of the speeches we read from Job’s friends, concluding with Bildad devaluing the role of humanity to nothing more than a maggot or a worm (an insensitive comment considering Job already told us he was covered in worms in Job 7:5). It is hard for us to know exactly what Bildad was hoping for in this speech. Maybe he just wanted Job to concede defeat and tell Bildad he was right. Maybe he was trying to get Job to his breaking point. Whatever Bildad’s reasoning, his argument is both right and wrong and it is important to put his argument under the microscope to see what we can learn about God and His character in this story. 

We can agree with Bildad about the greatness of God. Scripture time and time again reinforces that fact. We can also agree with Bildad about the wickedness of man. From Genesis 3 on, man stumbles to uphold God’s standard time and time again. But where we can disagree with Bildad is about God’s love for people. People, despite their wickedness, aren’t on par with worms and maggots in the eyes of God. God’s love and heart for humanity is displayed all throughout Scripture, but perhaps most prominently in John 3:16-17:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

While Job didn’t have the benefit of that reminder from Scripture, we do today. Let’s live as people who are both aware of our depravity and God’s unending love for us through Jesus today. 

Job poignantly paints a disturbing picture of what seems commonplace in his culture: displaced boundary markers; stealing from the fatherless, the widow, and the needy, leaving them naked, hungry, thirsty, and without shelter; seizing babies as collateral; and mortally wounding the defenseless. What outlandish injustice and oppression Job depicts! He further describes the wicked as a group of heartless, murdering, thieving, lovers of the dark who prey upon the innocent. “For the morning is like death’s shadow to them. Surely they are familiar with the terrors of death’s shadow.” (v. 17) The wicked continue in their evil deeds with no apparent justice ever being served.

But God! Job highlights the justice of God in light of human suffering. “But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life. He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their way.” Although He may seem silent, His eyes are ever on mankind. Proverbs 15:3 declares, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Nothing escapes His watchful eye. Job opens this chapter with a question that begs an answer: “Why does the Almighty not reserve time for judgment?” Because we are on this side of Calvary, we can affirm 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”  

What do we do in the meantime? We are to be prayerfully alert to injustice in our world and spring into action. As followers of Christ, Scripture outlines specifically what we are to be about. James 1:27 declares, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” We must move from sympathy (feeling) to empathy (action). Join in where the Lord is at work for the least, the lonely, and the forgotten.

Job heard the counsel of Eliphaz and is still discouraged. Instead of hearing from other people in his despair, he is really longing to see and feel the presence of God. God’s presence was going to be the biggest encouragement people could not offer. Despite what was going on in Job’s life, including loss and sickness of all kinds, he knew the only thing that could possibly help was being in God’s presence.

Job had it right. But what about us? Let’s think about our own circumstances that may bring despair. It might be a friend not knowing Christ, a child going astray, or a broken relationship within the family. What do we search for? So often we search for an immediate fix that we can provide ourselves. Seeking God’s presence, like Job did, is often a last resort. How often have you said or heard prayer is the “only thing we can do”?

Consider how responding to despair more like Job did would be a wise choice. Job ran to prayer rather than resorting to prayer. He saw prayer as his first option rather than thinking prayer is the only option. Prayer is what we get to do rather than what we have to do when facing difficult times. We get to go to the Lord in His presence and be with Him in His glory. 

Setting prayer as the first resort rather than last resort will change our perspective of the circumstances we face. His presence changes how we think and what we do. When we fall to our knees and feel the weight of his glory and power, what seemed insurmountable seems possible. Sitting at the throne of God in prayer reminds us that He is over all things, including our trials.

Furthermore, Job seeks God’s presence after feeling forgotten and forsaken by God. Even when doubting God, he continued to search for what God was doing. It is amazing to see Job searching for God’s presence even when he felt like God was not there. What faith! Let us all remember Job’s story and do the same.

After initially showing Job sympathy, Eliphaz was the first of the three friends to speak (Job 4-5). He focuses on the prosperity of the innocent, implying Job must not be innocent.  Eliphaz’s second speech (Job 15) calls into question Job’s fear of God. In this chapter, Job 22, Eliphaz attacks Job’s character in a very personal way. Eliphaz emphatically declares Job’s own sin and wickedness as the source of his suffering and punishment from God.   

 Sitting face-to-face across from his friend, Job listens as Eliphaz condemns him for being wicked and cruel and greedy and heartless. What hurt, anger, and disappointment Job must be feeling at this moment when his friend accuses him of such sins. Harsh and all untrue. Eliphaz responds as the world would respond because he can think of no other reason for all the tragedies befallen Job. Eliphaz assumes suffering can only be the consequence of sin and God’s punishment follows. It does not occur to Eliphaz that Job’s suffering was not born of sin and that the innocent can suffer. 

Eliphaz’s harsh assumptions and accusations lead him to counsel Job to repent (v. 23). Eliphaz calls on Job to pray and submit to God so that a “light will shine upon his ways” (v. 28). Oh, how Eliphaz knows so little of Job and God! Eliphaz’s retribution theology misrepresents God and leads to a misunderstanding of life.

Today, let us use this story as a reminder that we do not have all the facts. Never will we know what God knows. We must be careful when making assumptions and remember that His way will always be the right way. God’s master plan may include innocent people suffering to strengthen their faith or draw others to Him. Furthermore, we must be careful not to use Eliphaz’s advice when leading nonbelievers to Christ. God does not require repentance before He will accept a sinner (Matthew 11:28). In fact, it is the virtue we derive from Christ that leads to genuine repentance. In Job’s situation, repentance was not the solution. Trust and reliance on the one true God in all circumstances is the calling on Job’s life as well as our own (Proverbs 3:5-6).