Job: How Can I Argue with God?
“Then Job answered: “Yes, I know that it is so, but how can a mortal be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered? He moves mountains without their knowledge, when He overturns them in His anger. He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble. He commands the sun not to shine, and seals off the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him. If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’ God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him. How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him? For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice. For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness. If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him? Even if I were righteous, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would declare me guilty.
Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life. It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good. They sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’ I would still dread all my sufferings; I know that You will not acquit me. Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain? If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me!
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court. Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both. Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me. Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.”
Amazing! Job is suffering and miserable, having lost everything that would make life tolerable. His friends are proving to be fiends bringing accusations. Despite all this suffering, Job still speaks of God’s greatness, His power, His righteousness, and justice. It is this response that separates Job from his friends. Job’s friends don’t really know God; they only know about God and that information is second – hand and scanty. It is because the distance between Job’s friends and God that they can blather on about a God whom they have never actually met.
Job is certainly frustrated with God as evidenced by some of his statements. “If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.” “How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him? For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice. For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.”
At this point, Job’s problem is simple: Job has known God for years and has worshiped Him for all that time, but now he feels God is refusing to give him any relief or respite. “He does not let me catch my breath, but overwhelms me with bitterness.” Job is beginning to doubt God’s justice; after all, Job has tried to live righteously and God is allowing disasters to crush him. “When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?”
Finally, Job continues to live in mortal terror of God. As far as Job can see, God has brought all these calamities on him, so how can Job possibly defend himself? “For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court. Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both. Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me. Then I would speak without fear of Him. But as it is, I am on my own.” Job is losing all hope.
APPLICATION: If anybody ever shared the sufferings of Job, it might have been Nelson Mandela, the famous South African leader. This is what Wikipedia says about Mandela: “A Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, Union of South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg.” Mandela was educated and had a bright future; however, when apartheid came, Mandela did everything he could to oppose it. For working against apartheid, Mandela eventually was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent twenty-seven years in three different prisons.
Despite suffering from tuberculosis acquired while in prison, Mandela eventually gained his freedom and became the head of the South African government. Ignoring all that suffering, Mandela refused to harbor resentment and even formed a committee headed by Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu that investigated crimes committed by both the supporters of apartheid and those opposing it to bring peace and healing to South Africa. Once free, Mandela worked on healing wounds. Mandela’s most famous saying is this: “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
Mandela was a strong Christian whose faith helped sustain him during those long years in prison. Mandela recognized the sinfulness of man while also recognizing the justice and righteousness of God. Nelson realized that it was man’s sinfulness that led to apartheid and that apartheid was not God’s will for South Africa.
While we may never suffer as much as Nelson Mandela, many of us find ourselves at the mercy of those who are prime exhibits of man’s sinful nature. Vicious bosses, jealous co-workers bent on sabotaging our efforts, economies that tank, leaving our savings worthless – there is no end to the ways in which we can suffer. But behind all this, God is still there and He is still working. God’s nature has not changed nor will it. Hang on to that thought and don’t become discouraged! Eventually God delivered Job, and God is fully capable of helping you as well.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to continue to trust in Your everlasting goodness even when things seem difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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