Surely God will never do wickedly, nor the Almighty pervert justice. Who gave Him charge over the earth? Or who appointed Him over the whole world? If He should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. “If you have understanding hear this; listen to the sound of My words: Should one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn Him who is most just? Is it fitting to say to a king, ‘You are worthless,?’ And to nobles, ‘You are wicked?’ Yet He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands…” Job 34: 12-19, NKJV.
Gracious God, we come before You in thanksgiving! We know that You have a message for us today, that will help us to stand even when we feel as if the ground beneath our feet is giving way! Please speak to our hearts now, we pray; in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.
Today we are going to look at the last dialogue between Job and Eliphaz. Let me just mention at this point, that what I have been trying to do thus far, is to look at the discourses of Job and his “friends,” in the light of some of the experiences that we live in the Twenty-first Century! How misunderstood people feel; how insensitive friends can be; and how little we know, of what is taking place behind the scenes in the lives of others, and even in our own lives! I have tried to speak in our language, and deal with our feelings. This is by no means a philosophical, exegetical, or, theological, explanation, of this very complex book!
In Chapter 17 we see Job’s courage weakening. His spirit is broken. He is ready for the grave, or rather, the grave is ready for him (1) . He sends out a flickering S.O.S. to his three friends. Will anyone vouch for me? Will any of you stand surety for me (3)? Good for Job, that He knows that God will vouch for Him. Jesus will become the Surety (Guarantee) of a covenant (Hebrews 7: 22), that assures Job, as well as all of us, of eternal life; not because of any merits of our own (we have none); but because of Christ’s merits! Remember Job said earlier, that as the thread in the weaver’s shuttle runs out, his hope had run out? Well here we find him struggling to regain, and, hold on, to hope (13-16).
In this last discourse, Eliphaz does what many people tend to do, if they cannot defeat someone, or, at the very least, get the person to see things their way; he becomes downright mean! He has become increasingly aggressive in his manner of speech toward Job (notice the difference in language between chapters 4, 5, 15, and 22)! He now openly accuses Job of all manner of misconduct: great wickedness, iniquity, extortion, abuse, cruelty to widows and orphans, rebellion against God; and the list grows (22: 5-20)! He insists that Job should agree with God (21, 22), and be at rest. That is always a good thing to do; but really, what is he wanting Job to admit? That he has made gold his god? That he has turned away from God? That he has become proud (23-30)?
Because Job knows that he is not guilty as charged, he does not even answer Eliphaz! Instead, after expressing how bitter he has become, he expresses his desire to have an audience with God. He knows that God would listen to him (3-7). It sounds very much as if Job is acquainted with the God of Isaiah, who invites His creatures to “Come now let us argue it out” (Isaiah 1: 18, NRSV)! In his grief, he utters his feelings of abandonment; and in the next breath he talks with the greatest of confidence about God knowing him, and judging him, according to his faithfulness (Job 23: 8-12). He has his good days, and his bad days! Does that sound familiar? Like many of us, he is in a roller-coaster experience, between worry and worship; between pouting and praising; between defeat and deliverance {Job chapters 23 and 24)!
The next time we find ourselves in this situation, may God help us to remember that, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed… So we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4: 8, 9, 16)!