Job: Tragedy, Repentance & Restoration – Part IX

Job’s three friends have finished their first rounds of “speeches” to him.

We ended with Zophar’s first speech to Job. Filled with insults and false judgments, Zophar’s speech didn’t help Job anymore than the other two friends of his.

It’s now time for Job to once again speak. He is addressing all three of them, not necessarily just Zophar.

The Book of Job – Part IX: Job replies to Zophar and his other two friends

Then Job responded, “Truly then you are the people, and with you wisdom will die!” –Job 12:1-2.

After being berated by his three friends, Job starts his reply with sarcasm. “Obviously, you three think you are all that,” Job would sound in our modern vernacular.

“But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?” –Job 12:3.

Job points out that he isn’t as stupid as they would assume he is. He also reminds them that most of what they have said, everybody already knows (or should know). Here is the problem with how Job’s friends went about their discourses: they accused and attacked Job. When you accuse and attack someone, generally they have no choice but to defend themselves. Oftentimes they will just entrench themselves all the more.

Job’s friends didn’t help Job get to a point to where he looked inward and saw his flaws. All his friends accomplished was to cause Job to fall back on his own righteousness. All his friends did was paint a flawed picture of who God is. They left out merciful and gracious and loving. They presented only the wrathful side of God. This did not help Job at all.

“I am a joke to my friends, the one who called on God and He answered him; the just and blameless man is a joke. He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, as prepared for those whose feet slip.” –Job 12:4-5.

The general meaning here is: “How easy it is for you–Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar–living in your comfortable world, to mock me!”

For the rest of chapter 12, Job goes on the offensive with his friends to say to them that they don’t have all wisdom concerning God. Job will insist that he, too, knows about God and His power.

Job cross-examines his friends

“The tents of the destroyers prosper, and those who provoke God are secure, whom God brings into their power.” –Job 12:6.

In effect, Job is saying that “the god of robbers is the weapon that is in their hand.” Not very effective.

“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this.” –Job 12:7-9.

Job turns the tables on Zophar’s previous insult that donkeys are smarter than Job (Job 11:12). Here Job says that animals are smarter than he (Zophar) is because even they know that calamities can come from “the hand of the Lord.”

“In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? Does not the ear test words, as the palate tastes its food? Wisdom is with aged men, with long life is understanding.” –Job 12:10-12.

The last phrase should read as a question. Job is asking: “Is wisdom held by aged men or understanding with a long life?”

“With Him are wisdom and might; to Him belong counsel and understanding.” –Job 12:13.

Only in God is there wisdom and might. God holds all true counsel and real understanding of the issues of life.

“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; he imprisons a man, and there can be no release. Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; and He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. With Him are strength and sound wisdom, the misled and the misleader belong to Him.” –Job 12:14-16.

All things are under God’s sovereign power and control.

“He makes counselors walk barefoot and makes fools of judges.” –Job 12:17.

This verse in partly prophetic is relation to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In Daniel chapter 4, Daniel advises King Nebuchadnezzar to humble himself before God. The king does not, instead taking pride over his position and rule of Babylon. God spoke to him and told him that his sovereignty has been removed, he will be driven away from mankind, and he will live with the animals.

“Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.” –Daniel 4:33.

Just as Job said, the great king of Babylon was brought low by God and made a fool.

“He loosens the bond of kings and binds their loins with a girdle. He makes priests walk barefoot and overthrows the secure ones. He deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on nobles and loosens the belt of the strong. He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deep darkness into light. He makes the nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges the nations, then leads them away.” –Job 12:18-23.

Job is speaking these things before the nation of Israel became a force on the earth. It’s an interesting passage because by the time Israel is freed from Egypt, there will be the mighty Canaanite nation occupying the Promised Land. They obviously grew in power under God’s sovereignty for His purposes. They were there in the land so that ultimately the people of Israel could drive them out. All nations, good or bad, are under God’s control. No nation is too great for Almighty God.

“He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people and makes them wander in a pathless waste. They grope in darkness with no light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.” –Job 12:24-25.

Another almost prophetic passage that could refer to King Saul and his course of being king to his downfall into depravity as outlined in 1 Samuel 9:1-31:13.

“Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue with God.” –Job 13:1-3.

Job doesn’t want nor does he need these friends of his who aren’t helping him in this dire time of need. Job wants to speak directly to God.

“But you smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians. O that you would be silent, and that it would become your wisdom!” –Job 13:4-5.

His friends have utterly misdiagnosed Job’s problems, just like a “worthless physician.” And as it says in Proverbs:

Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is counted prudent. –Proverbs 17:28.

If you’re a fool, you’d at least be considered somewhat wise by just keeping your mouth shut (at times). His friends did the right thing back in Job 2:13. The problems started when they started opening their mouths!

“Please hear my argument and listen to the contentions of my lips. Will you speak what is unjust for God, and speak what is deceitful for Him?” –Job 13:6-7.

Job directly states that they are misrepresenting God by speaking unjustly and deceitfully. These are very cautionary verses for the Christian. They serve as reminders that we need to be sure that we are speaking justly and honestly about the things of God.

“Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God? Will it be well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man? He will surely reprove you if you secretly show partiality.” –Job 13:8-10.

God is just. When He gives the law in Deuteronomy, He will tell the people:

“You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.” –Deuteronomy 16:19.

“Will not His majesty terrify you, and the dread of Him fall on you? Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay. Be silent before me so that I may speak; then let come on me what may. Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hands?” –Job 13:11-14.

Job has had enough of his friends’ “proverbs of ashes” and “defenses of clay.”

Job pleads his case before God

“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before Him.” –Job 13:15.

This is one of my favorite verses in Job. Two years ago when I was laid off from my employer without warning, this verse came to my mind immediately. I had no idea what God was up to, but I vowed in my soul to trust in Him.

However, here begins Job’s problem. It’s his great statement of faith, but the problem lies in his desire to come into God’s presence to plead his case of righteousness.

There is no way you can ever go into the presence of God and plead your own case based upon your own righteousness.

You know what your own righteousness looks like before a Holy God?

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. –Isaiah 64:6. (Emphasis mine).

There was a time that this verse wasn’t preached as literal as it should be because of how graphic the original Hebrew is. The term “filthy garment” refers to “a garment of menstruation.” Graphic? Yes, it is. But everyone needs to understand that you cannot approach a Holy God because we are all sinners and have all sinned (Romans 3:23). The only way to approach God is through the Son, Jesus (John 14:6). He paid the price for sin so we can have fellowship with God once again through Jesus’ atoning work on the cross.

At the time of Job, there was no true Redeemer because Jesus hadn’t come yet. As such, there is no way for Job to approach God based upon his righteousness.

“This also will be my salvation, for a godless man may not come before His presence.” –Job 13:16.

Job acknowledges that God is his salvation, much as David will later.

“Listen carefully to my speech, and let my declaration fill your ears. Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.” –Job 13:17-18.

Job is saying what so many of us have said at one point in our lives before we knew Christ: “When I get to heaven, I’ll show God how many good things I did while I was alive.” Won’t happen, my friend. Until you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are already God’s enemy. You are already under condemnation!

“Who will contend with me? For then I would be silent and die. Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide from Your face: remove Your hand from me, and let not the dread of You terrify me. Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then reply to me.” –Job 13:19-22.

Here Job is giving God orders. He’s telling God to stop punishing him and to start speaking to him. We can never presume to give God orders. Prayer is not something you enter into by thinking that God is your “heavenly butler.” God doesn’t take orders, He gives them!

“How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin. Why do You hide Your face and consider me Your enemy? Will You cause a driven lead to tremble? Or will You pursue the dry chaff? For You write bitter things against me and make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.” –Job 13:23-26.

It’s high-noon and Job is calling God out. It’s a dangerous predicament to be in, but how many of us have been there? I know I have in the past.

“You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet, while I am decaying like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.” –Job 13:27-28.

It’s a powerful visual. Job must have truly looked like he was rotting away.

Job’s Elegy on Death

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil.” –Job 14:1.

A simple truism. I heard on the radio the other night that the Christian probably suffers more than the non-believer. The only difference is that the Christian has hope and can find meaning in the suffering.

“Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.” –Job 14:2.

The older I get, the faster life seems to be going by. With having a son just over a year-and-a-half old, life is going by even faster than before!

“You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself. Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!” –Job 14:3-4.

Another truism. We are all born of a sinful mother and a sinful father. How then can we be born as anything other than that?

“Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.” –Job 14:5.

True and a great comfort. Only God knows the moment of our death. You cannot live past that point. This is only under God’s divine authority and control.

“Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest, until he fulfills his days like a hired man. For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he?” –Job 14:6-10.

Recently, we witnessed the passing of several celebrities: Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Walter Cronkite. It doesn’t matter how high you go in this life. We all end up in the same place.

“As water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, so man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, that You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, that You would set a limit for me and remember me!” –Job 14:11-13.

Here again, Job longs for death to relief his suffer. He longs for the hope that there is something on the other side of Sheol. If there is, he might be able to endure.

The term “Sheol” is used 65 times in the Old Testament. It often means the grave, where the body is placed at death. It can also mean the place of departed spirits, of both the righteous and the wicked.

“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.” –Job 14:14-15.

The eternal question! “If a man dies, will he live again?” The answer is a resounding “yes!” Moreover, there are only two places for you at that point: you will either be in the presence of God or you will be cast into outer darkness. Where are you going to spend eternity?

“For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You wrap up my iniquity.” –Job 14:16-17.

C.S. Lewis once wrote:

“God is going to invade this earth in force. But what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream, and something else–something it never entered your head to conceive–comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us, and so terrible to others, that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use of saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we realize it before or not. Now, today, is the moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back, to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. (Emphasis mine.)

“But the falling mountain crumbles away, and the rock moves from its place; water wears away stones, its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; so You destroy man’s hope. You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away. His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it. But his body pains him, and he mourns only for himself.” –Job 14:18-22.

The end of chapter 14 marks the end of the first round of discussions between Job and his three friends.

From Job 15:1 to Job 37:24, there is a second round of discourses between Job and his friends.

Next time we will fast forward to Job 38 and see what God has to say to him finally.

May He Increase!