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Job has bared the anguish of his soul. His friends, who traveled far to see him, and should have offered comfort, have been no comfort. Instead, in shock and panic over Job's condition, they have said, "We're sure this must somehow be your own fault!"
Job is surprised and frustrated by his friends' callused comments. Job responds by emphasizing that he is not at fault here, he is the victim of external circumstances over which he had no control. He begins this way:
Then Job replied: "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—[that's why] my words have been impetuous." (Job 6:1-3)
This isn't just a minor problem that I could have easily handled, Job says.
Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? (Job 6:5)
Now, I don't know anything about donkeys or oxen. But Job did. Animals were his livelihood. And Job says, "I can tell by the sound an animal makes what he needs; and you should be able to tell by my grief the nature of my problem. If all I had to do is repent, I would have done it by now!"
In an ironic verse, Job expresses both his hopelessness and his innocence:
Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off! Then I would still have this consolation—my joy in unrelenting pain—that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. (Job 6:8-10)
Earlier Job wished he had never been born; now he wishes God would end his suffering by ending his life. And, he says, another good thing would result from this outcome: he would die innocent of the things Eliphaz has accused him of.
"I am innocent," Job says, "and if I die now I will die innocent. But the pressure is intense—I don't know how long I can maintain my innocence. So I wish God would end my life now, while I'm still innocent."
We know the end of the story, how Job's good fortunes are restored. But Job doesn't know that yet; he doesn't believe any good future can come to him:
What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? (Job 6:11)
Often people who are hurting feel there is no hope. They may think things will never get better. Although, in our more peaceful times, we know that isn't true, it's easy to feel hopeless. And that is how Job feels.
Next Job lays out a fundamental principle in dealing with other people's troubles:
A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. (Job 6:14)
Job says to Eliphaz, "Even if you're right—even if I have abandoned God—you should still act with devotion and friendship, instead of hassling me with accusations."
What a simple, basic truth of human relations!
Job goes on to suggest a reason for Eliphaz' theology. If bad things only happen to bad people, Eliphaz can think himself safe—he certainly isn't a bad person. But if what happened to Job can happen to anybody, Eliphaz may be vulnerable. So maybe Eliphaz has chosen beliefs that accommodate his fears, rather than the truth.
Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid. (Job 6:21)
But Job isn't too proud to learn:
Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? (Job 6:24-25)
"Don't accuse me in generalities," Job says. "Tell me specifically what I've done wrong." Eliphaz believes Job knows his sin, and is hiding it. Job replies:
But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? (Job 6:28)
"I am not hiding any sin, and I'm not lying about it," Job tells Eliphaz. Instead, Job has another explanation for his troubles:
Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. (Job 7:1-3)
"Life is hard," Job says. "Bad things happen. That's why I'm having these troubles." He says the same thing again a few chapters later:
Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. (Job 14:1-2)
The next speaker is Bildad. Remember Eliphaz' opening words, something like, "you're not going to like what I have to say?" Bildad begins by saying, "I don't like what you said!"
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: "How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind." (Job 8:1-2)
Bildad agrees with Eliphaz, and he's offended that Job doesn't agree. Bildad repeats the ideas Eliphaz has stated:
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? (Job 8:3)
This is an echo of Eliphaz' belief that good things always happen to good people. This is what they believe about God's justice.
Bildad builds upon Eliphaz' idea in the most extremely unsympathetic way:
When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. (Job 8:4)
In the absence of any evidence, Bildad says, "Your children caused their own deaths by sinning." What a brazen thing to say to a bereaved father!
But, he says, it's not too late to get right with God. Do it, and everything will be OK:
But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place. Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. (Job 8:5-7)
Bildad repeats the error at the foundation of the friends' shared arguments:
Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers. (Job 8:20)
It's simple, Job! Quit sinning and everything will be OK.
After Bildad's first monologue, Job's reply takes a different tack. It seems to me that Job says to himself, "They think I'm trifling with God. They think I see God as unimportant or powerless."
So in Job's reply, he goes to great lengths to show the high respect he has for God. He begins by acknowledging his own limitations:
Then Job replied: "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can a mortal be righteous before God?" (Job 9:1-2)
"All have sinned," Job seems to say, centuries before the Apostle Paul penned the famous phrase. "I know I'm not innocent in the absolute sense. I have sinned." But Job maintains that he is innocent in the sense that he is not continuing or hiding any current sin. He has repented of all the sins he knows of.
Yet he knows that does not make him righteous in God's eyes, because God is innocent in the more absolute sense. We can never compare with God; our innocence can never equal His. If God accuses, we have no defense.
Though one wished to dispute with him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand. (Job 9:3)
Job agrees with his friends that God is truly great; for Job to maintain a life of sin would be dangerous:
His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? (Job 9:4)
Job would like to talk with God about his troubles; but God isn't answering Job.
When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him … Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. (Job 9:11, 16)
Job wishes there were someone he could appeal to, to make God talk to him. In Job's position of leadership, he must have arbitrated between people frequently. But Job rightly understands God's position, and realizes there is no one higher to whom he might appeal.
He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us … Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot. (Job 9:32-33a, 35)
If Job could talk to God, what would he say?
I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. (Job 10:2)
This is the same thing he said to Eliphaz earlier: don't criticize me in generalities, tell me specifically what I've done wrong.
Eliphaz and Bildad think Job is sinning and trying to keep his sin secret. Job knows he can't get away with sin, because God is always watching; but Job's innocence has not brought him relief.
If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. (Job 10:14-15)
Job repeats his earlier wish for death:
If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! (Job 10:19)
But since that didn't happen, Job now wishes for a more present relief:
Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy (Job 10:20)
Job says, "Leave me alone! Go away and stop bothering me. Let me suffer in peace."
Now Zophar, the third friend, has the turn to speak. His comments add no new light to the discussion; he merely agrees with what Eliphaz and Bildad have said.
Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?" (Job 11:1-3)
Zophar goes on and on saying, to put it in modern terms, "You think you're so smart, do you?" Then he repeats the sentiment that Job must repent of his sin, and everything will be OK:
… if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear. (Job 11:14-15)
But if Job fails to repent, he can expect no good to come:
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp. (Job 11:20)
Zophar has added no new evidence, made no reasonable arguments; he has only repeated the prejudice of his friends.
At this, Job becomes impatient. This conversation is going nowhere!
Then Job replied: "Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!" (Job 12:1-2)
Do you hear the sarcasm in his voice?
Job's friends "don't get it". They aren't thinking clearly, just reacting:
Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. (Job 12:5)
"You haven't walked in my shoes," Job says. "So you don't take my troubles seriously."
And just to emphasize again that Job doesn't trivialize God, he speaks a beautiful verse about God's greatness. Here is just a sampling:
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; … To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. … To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his. … He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. (Job 12:7, 13-14, 16, 23)
Job's God is not like the gods of the pagans, a god who can be fooled or trifled with. And Job, in respect for his God, lives in integrity, and hides no sin. Job gladly bares his heart to his God.
But Job's friends, with their accusations, have been no help to him:
You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! (Job 13:4)
And he adds a bit of humor that accurately expresses the value of their misguided speech:
If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. (Job 13:5)
Job is determined to maintain his faith in God, regardless of the circumstances:
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him (Job 13:15a)
Then Job interrupts his speech to his friends, to speak to God; Job has two requests:
Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from you: Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply. How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. (Job 13:20-23)
Yet again, Job says, "tell me specifically what my sin is". As far as he knows—and he is correct—he is innocent of the accusations against him.
Well, every guest has spoken, and Job has answered each one. Protocol at this point returns the floor to the oldest guest, Eliphaz, and the rotation from oldest to youngest continues, with Job answering each monologue, until no one has anything left to say.
Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of new content in the next several go-arounds. They are mostly repetitions of what has already been said.
Perhaps the most amusing thing about these sections is Job's sarcasm. Here are some samples:
Then Job replied: "Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me. Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on." (Job 21:1-3)
Then Job replied: "How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!" (Job 26:1-3)
And maybe you thought sarcasm was a modern invention of English-speaking peoples!
Job's friends claim they know the reason for Job's troubles. But in chapter 28, Job speaks a beautiful verse, the moral of which is "we don't know all we wish we knew". Job wants to know why all these hardships have come to him, but he doesn't know, and he can't find out.
In this poem, Job says that wisdom cannot be found. The "wisdom" he refers to here is the specific information about his troubles. Today we are fond of saying wisdom can always be found, in God; and that is true; but Job is talking about something different. Job had no way of knowing about the factors that led to his own catastrophes. There was no prayer, no Bible reading, no insight that would have given him the information about the meetings between God and Satan, until God chose to reveal it later.
Here are some excerpts from Job's discourse:
There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. (Job 28:1)
… a place where we can mine iron, a place for copper, a place we can find sapphires; but there's no place we can find information on demand:
But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? (Job 28:12)
He lists many places wisdom can't be found:
The deep says, 'It is not in me'; the sea says, 'It is not with me.' It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver. (Job 28:14-15)
He asks again:
Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? (Job 28:20)
And he answers his question:
God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells (Job 28:23)
"There are some things," Job says, "that only God knows. We can never know all we wish we knew." God doesn't let us know everything. Instead, God tells us to trust Him even in the absence of compete understanding:
And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' (Job 28:28)
"So," Job says, "we may never know why these tragedies happened to me."
Job wants to put a stop to the accusations. His friends have proven they're not going to stop just because he asks them to. How can he silence them?
Job decides that he will openly examine his life, point by point, showing his innocence at every point.
This must have been humiliating for Job. Until recently, he was above suspicion. If any accusation arose, everyone would assume Job was innocent. But now, he is reduced to answering every conceivable charge, because "everyone" assumes he must be guilty of something.
And so, in chapter 31, Job reviews one area of his life after another, showing in each case his innocence. He begins by declaring his sexual purity. Job knows God is watching, so he won't flirt with lust:
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl … Does he not see my ways and count my every step? (Job 31:1,4)
What a standard!
The normal thing for his accusers to do, when they get their turn to speak, is to answer Job's claim of innocence with specific accusations. "Job, you said you never look at a girl that way, but I remember the time …" But in fact, his friends never replied to his claims of innocence; and by their silence, they admit that they can't refute his claims.
Next Job discusses his honesty. He uses the "if I'm lying, may lightning strike me" paradigm to emphasize his claim of innocence:
If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit … then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. (Job 31:5, 8)
Job doesn't take advantage of his employees, recognizing that God will hold him responsible:
If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? (Job 31:14)
Job has always helped people in need:
If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless … if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece from my sheep … then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. (Job 31:16-17, 19-20, 22)
In spite of Job's wealth, he is not guilty of "the love of money":
If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,' then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high. (Job 31:24, 28)
Job treats even his enemies well:
If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against his life— … (Job 31:29-30)
Some masters cut costs by reducing the food they supply to their servants, but Job made sure all his servants were well fed:
… if the men of my household have never said, 'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?' (Job 31:31)
Job practiced hospitality, a needed practice in a world that hadn't yet franchised motel chains:
… but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler (Job 31:32)
Job treated his tenant farmers with justice. Cheating tenant farmers has been a common practice from Job's day right down till our own.
if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears, if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, then let briers come up instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley. (Job 31:38-40a)
So, Job has bared his life. Since the "friends" won't make any specific accusations, but insist on a "guilty until proven innocent" posture, Job has laid his life in front of them. He has shown, in one area after another, how he habitually acts with integrity.
Now the expected response—if the accusations are legitimate—is for his friends to say, "Not true! You say you're innocent, but here are the specific charges." In the tribal culture of the middle east, Job's life was visible to his whole community, and any guilt would have many witnesses—witnesses who would be glad to testify, now that Job was powerless.
But instead of countering Job's defense—silence!
So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. (Job 32:1)
… in other words, because they couldn't come up with any concrete accusations.
There was a fifth man there while Job and his three friends had their long conversation.
Elihu was at that awkward age—old enough to be included peripherally in the discussions of "mature" men, but too young to fully participate. Their culture assumed old people were wise and young people were not; and so their protocol dictated that young people listen and learn, but not speak in the forum of their elders.
It must have been frustrating for Elihu to listen to all the arguments, accusations, defenses, and opinions, unable to voice his own thoughts.
So when it was clear the older men were done speaking, and it would no longer be a breach of protocol, Elihu carefully began his own monologue. We will not cover in any detail the six chapters that contain the artful words of this sharp young man. But a brief summary:
Elihu's frustration centered on two points:
First, Elihu was frustrated with Job. Unlike the three friends, Elihu didn't assume Job was guilty. Yet Elihu believed Job should be able to provide a satisfying explanation for his hardships. Life should be neat and tidy. If something happens, our theology should be able to explain it. But no one could explain it, and Elihu's first frustration went unanswered.
Second, Elihu was frustrated with the three friends because they could find no fault with Job, yet insisted he was guilty.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments. (Job 32:12b)
And so they should have relented and declared Job innocent; but they wouldn't, and Elihu thought that was wrong. (Elihu was right.)
I believe Elihu took some of his inspiration from nature; as Elihu is speaking, a storm is brewing. And toward the end of Elihu's speech, as he is talking about how great God is, he uses the imagery of the approaching storm. Notice the emphasized words:
He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance. He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach. At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.' (Job 36:27-37:6; italics added)
But it was no ordinary storm that was coming.
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