Job 26:1 Then Job answered,
2 “How have you helped him who is without power!
How have you saved the arm that has no strength!
3 How have you counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 To whom have you uttered words?
Whose spirit came out of you?
5 “The departed spirits tremble,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out the north over empty space,
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not burst under them.
9 He encloses the face of his throne,
and spreads his cloud on it.
10 He has described a boundary on the surface of the waters,
and to the confines of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astonished at his rebuke.
12 He stirs up the sea with his power,
and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab.
13 By his Spirit the heavens are garnished.
His hand has pierced the swift serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways.
How small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job begins his final set of speeches by asking his friends two questions:
How have you helped [me]? v.2
Whose spirit came out of you? v.4
First, it is clear to Job that his friends have not helped him. They have accused him, they have torn him down, they belittled him, they have taught him false theology, but they have not comforted him.
Where did they get the idea that confrontation was called for rather than comfort?
The answer to the second question, “Whose spirit came out of you?” v.4 is clear to Job. Eliphaz followed the advice of the deceptive spirit that appeared to him. The spirit taught him lies disguised as half-truths, while Bildad and Zophar followed the corrupted traditions of men.
In contrast to this false spirit, God’s Spirit pierced the swift serpent. v.13 Satan is often represented as a dragon or a serpent. Genesis 3, Revelation 12 But Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 God, who created and rules over his world, Stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing, binds up the waters in his thick clouds, encloses the face of his throne. v.9 God is sovereign over all of creation, including, as we have seen, Satan and his fallen spirit servants.
Satan’s spirit, called the father of lies John 8:44, had deceived Eliphaz. In contrast, Job looks forward to Christ, the Redeemer, the truth. John 14:6
Job 27:1 Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 “As God lives, who has taken away justice,
the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter
3 (for the length of my life is still in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
4 surely my lips will not speak unrighteousness,
neither will my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should justify you.
Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go.
My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked.
Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty,
and call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the hand of God.
I will not conceal that which is with the Almighty.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword.
His offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those who remain of him will be buried in death.
His widows will make no lamentation.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust,
and prepare clothing as the clay;
17 he may prepare it, but the just will put it on,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house as the moth,
as a booth which the watchman makes.
19 He lies down rich, but he will not do so again.
He opens his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters.
A storm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he departs.
It sweeps him out of his place.
22 For it hurls at him, and does not spare,
as he flees away from his hand.
23 Men will clap their hands at him,
and will hiss him out of his place.
And while it is true that God is all-powerful and sovereign over everything still Job is thinking that God took away justice v.2 from him. Job’s soul is bitter. v.2 Nevertheless, despite his pain and disappointment Job will not speak unrighteousness. v.4 He will hold fast to [his] righteousness, and will not let it go. v.6 Job will hold on to his integrity. v.5 He will not follow in the ways of the wicked. v.13 Although his friends want him to lie by admitting to sins that he did not commit, Job was not one to go along with the crowd. Exodus 23:2 Job was a man of integrity, and he refused to yield to the pressure exerted by his friends.
In this attitude we also see the attitude of Christ, the Redeemer. Christ did not succumb to lies when tempted by the deceptive angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 When that spirit promised: I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you fall down and worship me, Matthew 4:4, Christ would not comply. Christ was not willing to opt out of physical and psychological suffering for Satan’s hollow promise of prosperity and peace. Neither was Christ willing to abandon the commandments of God to follow the distorted traditions of men. Mark 7-8 And when he was falsely accused, many falsely accused him, Mark 14:56, Christ maintained his integrity.
We could all learn this lesson from Job, and from our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. How many today are willing to give in to peer pressure? How many are willing to live by lies in order to fit in and to get along? How many modern pastors refuse to teach the whole counsel of God, Acts 20:27, diluting God’s Words because the culture finds God’s Word harsh and unacceptable? Giving up his righteousness and rejecting God could not have helped Job through this situation. In fact it would only make matters worse.
For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times? v.8-10
We thank God that Christ maintained his integrity so that we could be redeemed by his obedience unto death. Philippians 2:7-8 As Christ would later warn: Whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven. Matthew 10:33 Giving in to cultural pressure to lie, even about your sins or, in this case, Job’s lack of a specific sin, sets you up for judgment from God. Exactly what Job was trying to avoid.
Job 28:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold which they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted out of the ore.
3 Man sets an end to darkness,
and searches out, to the furthest bound,
the stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.
4 He breaks open a shaft away from where people live.
They are forgotten by the foot.
They hang far from men, they swing back and forth.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread.
Underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
6 Sapphires come from its rocks.
It has dust of gold.
7 That path no bird of prey knows,
neither has the falcon’s eye seen it.
8 The proud animals have not trodden it,
nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
9 He puts his hand on the flinty rock,
and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels among the rocks.
His eye sees every precious thing.
11 He binds the streams that they don’t trickle.
The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12 “But where will wisdom be found?
Where is the place of understanding?
13 Man doesn’t know its price;
Neither is it found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’
The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
15 It can’t be gotten for gold,
neither will silver be weighed for its price.
16 It can’t be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 Gold and glass can’t equal it,
neither will it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention will be made of coral or of crystal.
Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it,
nor will it be valued with pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the birds of the sky.
22 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23 “God understands its way,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth,
and sees under the whole sky.
25 He establishes the force of the wind.
Yes, he measures out the waters by measure.
26 When he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it, and declared it.
He established it, yes, and searched it out.
28 To man he said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.
To depart from evil is understanding.’”
Next Job examines Zophar’s prosperity gospel, which teaches that wealth is the greatest good that a man can achieve on earth. Job speaks about men searching out and mining for gold, silver, iron, sapphires, onyx, topaz, coral, and crystal. But what good does all this hard work profit a man? Can wealth ease suffering or can wealth extend life? No. We see this over and over again. The most idolized and fabulously wealthy people continue to die every year.
Two thousand years after Job lived, Christ asked the same question like this:
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul? Mark 8:36
Compared to all the wealth that a man may discover, his eternal soul is infinitely valuable. Wise is the man that understands this and prepares his soul for eternity. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies. v.18
Job asks: Where will wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? v.12
The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me.’ The sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’ It can’t be gotten for gold…v.14-15
Then, where is wisdom to be found?
Job answers his own question:
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.
To depart from evil is understanding. v.28
To fear the Lord is to live your life in light of God’s revelation, confessing your lawlessness, and honoring your Creator, Jesus Christ, as your Redeemer. To fear the Lord is to ask:
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11
Do you fear men and go along with their opinions or do you honor, revere, and fear your Creator, the Lord of all, with an undivided heart, living life as he designed it to be lived?
Job 29:1 Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me;
3 when his lamp shone on my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was in my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
and my children were around me,
6 when my steps were washed with butter,
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me,
7 when I went out to the city gate,
when I prepared my seat in the street.
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves.
The aged rose up and stood.
9 The princes refrained from talking,
and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;
and when the eye saw me, it commended me:
12 Because I delivered the poor who cried,
and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him,
13 the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me.
My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
15 I was eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy.
I researched the cause of him whom I didn’t know.
17 I broke the jaws of the unrighteous
and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18 Then I said, ‘I will die in my own house,
I will count my days as the sand.
19 My root is spread out to the waters.
The dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is fresh in me.
My bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me, waited,
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my words they didn’t speak again.
My speech fell on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain.
Their mouths drank as with the spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence.
They didn’t reject the light of my face.
25 I chose out their way, and sat as chief.
I lived as a king in the army,
as one who comforts the mourners.
Job wishes to return to his former life where God’s lamp shone on [his] head, and by his light [he] walked through darkness. v.3 The world can be a cruel and confusing place but in the past Job felt that his steps through the darkness were guided by God. The friendship of God was in [Job’s] tent. v.4
How do you respond when God seems distant?
Though Job does not know why, he has lost his family, his wealth, and his health. Whatever the cause, the result is he is in despair, longing for God’s presence. To make matters worse he is under constant attack by well-meaning but severely misguided friends. All of these factors lead Job to lament, longing for the good old days. He is nostalgically remembering when he was in his prime. v.4 Remembering when he was honored. The aged rose up and stood v.8 when Job entered the room. When he helped the cause of the widow v.13 and cared for the fatherless v.12, and needy. v.16 He was respected. Men listened to me v.21, and kept silence for [his] counsel. v.21 Job sat as chief, lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners. v.25
But many times retreating to nostalgia only serves to exacerbate the pain of suffering. Wishing and longing cannot make the old days come back nor ease the suffering of the present trials. Nostalgia is an empty, hollow remedy. As the old Scottish proverb teaches: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. In other words, if wishing could make dreams come true then everyone would have everything they wanted.
Job 30:1 “But now those who are younger than I have me in derision,
whose fathers I considered unworthy to put with my sheep dogs.
2 Of what use is the strength of their hands to me,
men in whom ripe age has perished?
3 They are gaunt from lack and famine.
They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of waste and desolation.
4 They pluck salt herbs by the bushes.
The roots of the broom tree are their food.
5 They are driven out from among men.
They cry after them as after a thief;
6 So that they dwell in frightful valleys,
and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 They bray among the bushes.
They are gathered together under the nettles.
8 They are children of fools, yes, children of wicked men.
They were flogged out of the land.
9 “Now I have become their taunting song.
Yes, I am a byword to them.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,
and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
11 For he has untied his cord, and afflicted me;
and they have thrown off restraint before me.
12 On my right hand rise the rabble.
They thrust aside my feet,
They cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They mar my path.
They promote my destruction without anyone’s help.
14 As through a wide breach they come.
They roll themselves in amid the ruin.
15 Terrors have turned on me.
They chase my honor as the wind.
My welfare has passed away as a cloud.
16 “Now my soul is poured out within me.
Days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 In the night season my bones are pierced in me,
and the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
18 My garment is disfigured by great force.
It binds me about as the collar of my tunic.
19 He has cast me into the mire.
I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you, and you do not answer me.
I stand up, and you gaze at me.
21 You have turned to be cruel to me.
With the might of your hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up to the wind, and drive me with it.
You dissolve me in the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death,
to the house appointed for all living.
24“Surely he would not stretch out his hand against a heap of ruins.
Or in his calamity when they cry for help?
25 Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble?
Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
26 When I looked for good, then evil came.
When I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My heart is troubled, and doesn’t rest.
Days of affliction have come on me.
28 I go mourning without the sun.
I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
29 I am a brother to jackals,
and a companion to ostriches.
30 My skin grows black and peels from me.
My bones are burned with heat.
31 Therefore my harp has turned to mourning,
and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
But the reality is that nostalgia could not solve Job’s dilemma. The reality was that Job had lost respect in the eyes of the community. Those who are younger than I have me in derision. v.1
Instead of honor Job was mocked. I have become their taunting song. v.9 He is in misery, body and soul. My soul is poured out within me. Days of affliction have taken hold of me. In the night season my bones are pierced in me, and the pains that gnaw me take no rest. v.16-17
Despite this unimaginable affliction, Job calls out honestly to God saying of God in effect: You are more merciful than this.
Surely he would not stretch out his hand against a heap of ruins. v.24
Job cries out to God expecting mercy.
Do you think that Job’s prayer will be answered?
Job 31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
2 For what is the portion from God above,
and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,
and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4 Doesn’t he see my ways,
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit
6 (let me be weighed in an even balance,
that God may know my integrity);
7 if my step has turned out of the way,
if my heart walked after my eyes,
if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me sow, and let another eat.
Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed to a woman,
and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let others sleep with her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime.
Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for it is a fire that consumes to destruction,
and would root out all my increase.
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male servant
or of my female servant,
when they contended with me,
14 what then will I do when God rises up?
When he visits, what will I answer him?
15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him?
Didn’t one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have withheld the poor from their desire,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
I have guided her from my mother’s womb);
19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing,
or that the needy had no covering;
20 if his heart hasn’t blessed me,
if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
because I saw my help in the gate,
22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,
and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 For calamity from God is a terror to me.
Because of his majesty, I can do nothing.
24 “If I have made gold my hope,
and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had gotten much;
26 if I have seen the sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
for I should have denied the God who is above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when evil found him
30 (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking his life with a curse);
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
32 (the foreigner has not camped in the street,
but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 if like Adam I have covered my transgressions,
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I feared the great multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door—
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!
Let the accuser write my indictment!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
and I would bind it to me as a crown.
37 I would declare to him the number of my steps.
I would go near to him like a prince.
38 If my land cries out against me,
and its furrows weep together;
39 if I have eaten its fruits without money,
or have caused its owners to lose their life,
40 let briers grow instead of wheat,
and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Job continues building his case to God. Throughout the Psalms we see David presenting his reasons to God as to why God should rescue him. For example he begs:
Answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death: Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. Psalm 13:3-4
Similarly, in obedience to God: “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments,” Isaiah 41:21, Job sets forth his arguments as to why God should answer him.
Job knows that he is innocent of the behaviors his friends have accused him of, and he wants the opportunity to present his case to God. In Job 9:32 Job stated that he did not want to go to court with God. But now he is asking to come before God, the Judge. He was not guilty of lust v.1, falsehood v.5, adultery v.9, cruelty v.13, greed v.16, idolatry v.24, destruction v.29, cursing v.30, or lying v.33. To the contrary, Job had always been gracious with his words v.30 and he has always shown hospitality. v.32
Job is so sure of his innocence that he is willing to sign a formal indictment. v.35 He is asking for a formal hearing in God’s courtroom. Job would come before his judge confidently like a prince v.37, like a member of the royal family. He would then defend himself declaring his innocence: I would declare to [God] the number of [my] steps. v.37
Would you be willing to come before God with such boldness?
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Because our Redeemer is also our Mediator we are urged to come boldly before God.
The tremendous truth of the New Testament is that when we stand before the tribunal of God, the presiding judge at our trial will be Jesus. At the same time our court-appointed defense attorney will also be Jesus. It is not a frightening thought to go to trial when one is secure in the knowledge that our judge is also our defense attorney. (R.C. Sproul, The Mystery of the Holy Spirit)
Job 32:1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God. 3 Also his wrath was kindled against his three friends, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was kindled.
With Job’s final answer his three friends gave up. In fact, Zophar did not even bother to offer a third response. There was no sense in continuing to argue because [Job] was righteous in his own eyes. v.1
But that was not the end of the story because a fourth friend, Elihu had been listening the whole time, waiting for a turn to offer his case against Job.