Job 9 Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad
“Then Job spoke again: “Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times? For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?”
“Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble. If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine. He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea. He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky. He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.”
“Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go. If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’ And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.”
“So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him? Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy. And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me. For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause. He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.”
“If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one. If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court? Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked. “I am innocent, but it makes no difference to me—I despise my life.”
“Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ When a plague sweeps through, he laughs at the death of the innocent. The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked, and God blinds the eyes of the judges. If he’s not the one who does it, who is?”
While Job’s friends have been pontificating about God, now Job describes God’s power accurately and magnificently, demonstrating that Job knows God far better than his friends do. Once upon a time, Job believed that God was good and loving; however, now Job is confused. “And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me. For he attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause. He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.”
Job doesn’t know which way to turn, for he has tried to live as righteously as possible and yet he is suffering. Job assumes that God hates him; meanwhile, God is testing Job’s faith. Bad things do happen to good people, as the many stories from the recent floods in Texas serve to illustrate. Camp Mystic was a Christian camp, and one of the most enduring images from the floods is the video of the campers who survived singing praises to God as a school bus transports them to be reunited with their parents. By all accounts, those campers who died were bright spots in their homes, beloved and talented daughters whose deaths have left huge voids. Remarkably, many of the grieving families are founding scholarships or various other beneficent acts in honor of these precious girls. While these families are suffering “bitter sorrows,” they are trying to use their suffering to accomplish something wonderful for others.
“My life passes more swiftly than a runner. It flees away without a glimpse of happiness. It disappears like a swift papyrus boat, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful, I would still dread all the pain, for I know you will not find me innocent, O God. Whatever happens, I will be found guilty. So what’s the use of trying? Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye, you would plunge me into a muddy ditch, and my own filthy clothing would hate me.”
Here Job is addressing God. Prior to the disasters that tore away wealth and family, Job loved his life and trusted that he was worshiping a good God. Now Job is confused, fearful, and discouraged. Each new day seems to only bring more problems with no escape.
“God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength.”
Notice the difference between Job’s view of God and that of his friends. Job’s friends more or less view God as a divine machine-put in enough prayers and do enough good deeds and God should instantly reward you. Failure to pray enough or to do enough will result in suffering. Job has a far bigger view of God and realizes that God is sovereign. Still, Job is human and very frustrated.
Job is also speaking out of his culture. In many traditional cultures, when a problem arises between two people or between two groups, each opposing group selects a mediator who then speaks on their behalf. It is the job of mediators to find middle ground so that disputes might be resolved successfully. The selection of a mediator is critically important, for a mediator must be someone older with good standing in the community and the ability to speak well. But how is Job to find anybody with sufficient stature to represent him before God?
We must leave Job alone as he faces this unsolvable dilemma. Job lived before the coming of Jesus Christ. The good news for us is that Jesus Christ has come into the world and that he is co-equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit; therefore, Jesus is completely qualified to be our advocate.
Hebrews 4: 14-16 tells us, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
We are far better off than Job was, for when we trust in Jesus Christ as Savior from our sins and Lord of our lives, we can claim His help. Does this mean we won’t suffer? Ask all those families down in Texas, many of whom were strong followers of Jesus Christ. We will suffer; however, unlike Job, we have a Representative who knows our weaknesses and who has shed his blood for our sins.
Please do not hurry through this chapter but read and re-read Job’s statements about God. Here are some of the most magnificent descriptions of God’s power and glory ever written, and these words were born out of a heart of suffering. At this point in the story, Job sees no way out and only wants to die; yet, he continues to believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God. May we too respond as Job has done when we find ourselves caught in suffering with no exit.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, as Job has said, Your power and Your wisdom are beyond our understanding. Help us to trust You even in the midst of suffering. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment