Job 9-11 A Third is Heard
Job answers his second friend and a third voice of condemnation is heard. “Surely you have done wrong. Repent and be made right again.”
Job protests his innocence of sin while still recognizing that no one can measure up to God’s exacting character. He is certain that he has done nothing to deserve this ‘punishment’. His friends can’t, or won’t, believe that. As the saying goes; “The wolf doesn’t howl at the door where there is no bacon.”
That phrase has been running through my head the whole time I have been reading Job. But the image I have associated with it throughout my life is not the same that Job’s friends are seeing. When I first heard this saying, it was used in conjunction with Satan going after those who are fighting against his kingdom. In other words, a ‘complacent Christian’ doesn’t have to worry about Satan’s attacks. They aren’t threatening his kingdom, so he leaves them to their own devices. Those who are ‘shaking heaven and earth’ are his focus. He wants to stop them at all costs. I’m wondering if this isn’t a true interpretation, in some respects, for Job.
Job didn’t keep his wisdom to himself. As his friend pointed out, he strengthened others, he taught wisdom, and he helped wherever he could. Maybe Satan was THRILLED to be ‘howling at his door’.
Let’s rejoin Job’s journey and listen in as he tried to reconcile his faith with his experiences. Holy Spirit, lead on again please. Help me understand the concepts and meaning being brought forth.
♥ ♦ ♥
Job is nodding his head and shaking it along with Bildad’s reproof of him. Yes. God is holy and man is not. But he hasn’t done anything to deserve this punishment. When Bildad finally falls silent, Job is ready with his reply. His eyes are filled with sadness as he states the futility of his cause.
“My friend, you are right when you say that God will not reject a blameless man. But who can be completely perfect in God’s eyes? Who could ever stand up against His judgment and win? Not even in a thousand times could a man prevail against Him.”
Job raises his face towards heaven as he describes the greatness of God. His God. The one whose judgment rests on his flesh.
“He who created the universe, who set the stars in the sky, who raises up and tumbles mountains with just a word. His wonders and mind are beyond understanding of man.”
Job drops his chin to his chest as tears silently slip from his eyes.
“He who has turned away from me. Whose blessings have been stripped from my hands. Who am I to ask Him; ‘What are you doing?’”
Job raises his hands in a futile effort.
“God will not turn back His anger. Even the forces of darkness He subdues. Who am I that I could challenge Him? Even though I know that I have done no wrong, I cannot tell Him that He has acted wrongly. All I can do is appeal to His mercy. But I don’t even know if He is listening to my prayers! He is crushing me with the weight of all that has happened to me.”
Job’s energy surges as he proclaims his own strength compared to the Lord’s.
“If it is a contest of strength, HE is mightier! If it is a matter of justice, HE is above reproach! Even the fact that I am innocent, He knows the faults within me that I don’t even know. Even though I am blameless, He can still find perversion in me. I am nothing compared to Him.”
Ugly sobs issue forth from Job as he rails against what he sees as injustice.
“I am blameless! But even if I weren’t, I HATE my life. God destroys both the blameless and the wicked. Disasters fall on both. He has no regard for the innocent! The whole earth is given into the hands of wickedness. Even the judges are blind to this injustice!”
Job looks his friends straight in the eyes. “If not Him, then who is it that is in control?”
Job shakes his head and dries his face with the back of his arm.
“My life is pouring through my own fingers. If I get up and put on a ‘happy face’ and go around pretending that I am not suffering, it won’t remove it from me. If I wash my body with the strongest soaps and clean my mind with strict determination, it’s still not enough. For, who can measure up to His standards. I can’t face Him in a courtroom and expect to be heard. If I weren’t afraid for my very existence, I might be able to stand up against Him and defend myself.”
Job raises a fist and shakes it.
“I HATE my life! And I’m going to complain of my pain and pour out bitterness. I want to call out to God. ‘Why are You doing this to me? Please STOP! Do You like crushing the righteous and blessing the wicked? Do You even understand what is happening to me? Can You see through my eyes? Feel what I feel? It feels like all You do is look for the hidden sins that I don’t even know exist. And, even though You KNOW that there is no sin in me, there is no one to rescue me from Your hand. Rember, You made me. I am the work of Your hands. Don’t crush what little is left of me. You knit me together and formed my bones. If I sin, You know it. If I am guilty, woe is me! If I am innocent, still I have no relief. People judge me guilty because of what You have done to me. I can’t get away from this condemnation of man or from Your hand. Why did You even make me? Why did You not kill me in the womb? You brought me into life instead. And it’s short enough. So, PLEASE STOP. Let me find some peace and joy before I die. I’m sinking into death where there is only darkness. I find no hope.’”
Zophar is appalled by Job’s words. To imagine of speaking this way to God is more than he can stand.
“Should we judge you pure just because YOU say so? Do you think that because you keep protesting that we should just shut up and listen? You keep saying; ‘I am not guilty of any sin, but pure in God’s eyes.’ But what would GOD say if He were to speak right now? Would He tell you of all of His wisdom? His ways are FAR above yours and He is judging you even less than you deserve!”
Zophar points a finger at Job from his place in the dust.
“Who do you think you are? God has no limits. He is higher than the heavens. He is deeper than even death. His wisdom is beyond your comprehension. If HE has judged you guilty, who are YOU to argue with Him? Do you think that He will simply look past your sins? Even a stupid man would figure it out by now.”
Zophar’s words and eyes soften as he pleads with Job to repent.
“Search your heart and stretch out your hands towards him in prayer. Remove the sin from your life, your heart, your hands. Surely then you can lift your head without shame and He will restore you. And your life will be so much better! You will have hope and security. You will lay down and rest in peace.”
Hardness returns to Zophar’s voice at his last words.
“But if you don’t remove the wickedness from your heart, you will have no escape. You will be forever lost; condemned.”
(to be continued)
Job’s friends are convinced that he is hiding some secret sin. But he isn’t. And yet, he is STILL not completely pure in God’s eyes. Even Job knows that. He recognizes that man cannot meet God’s standards alone.
Job lacked something that we have today. He didn’t have Jesus bridging that gap between God and man. We can NEVER be good enough or righteous enough on our own. We have to ask for, and receive, Jesus’ righteousness to cover us. He came for that very purpose. To do for man what he cannot do for himself.
Job was a righteous man. God Himself said so. Yet it wasn’t enough to keep calamity completely away from him. Bad things do indeed happen to good people. And good things happen to bad people. It is the world that we live in. That does NOT mean that God doesn’t love us or that we caused our troubles. Sometimes it is because we are serving God with all our might that Satan tries to stop us. And I will be the first to admit that it’s not always easy to tell the difference between ‘the wolf howling’ and ‘a necessary lesson’. Often, we only truly know in hindsight.
Father God, help me see the difference in those two. I want to ‘learn the lesson’ quickly so I can go beyond that point. But the wolf howling; let him howl! I will trust you in the middle of it regardless.
Thank You for making a way for me to actually come to You. THANK YOU for Jesus’ work on the cross and for His righteousness covering me. I have earned NONE of it. No matter what I do with my life, it will NEVER be enough to repay You for that precious gift!
