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.
Heavenly Father, we come before Your throne of grace, confident that You have a blessing in store for us. By faith we accept this blessing as we enter the study of Your Word. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…” God is about to reveal Himself to Job, in a way that Job has never seen Him before! In fact, Job has never seen Him before! He admits, almost to the end of the encounter, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42: 5). Emphasis provided. Job, here is the moment you have been waiting for, the chance of a lifetime! This is the opportunity that many of us are longing for – to see the LORD face to face, and ask Him some questions about things that have bothered us all our lives! Instead, Job is practically speechless, as I imagine many of us will be, when we see Jesus! He “[lays his] hand over [his] mouth” (40: 4)!
There are some things that I would like us to consider in the way God deals with Job. I will not try to paraphrase the words of the Almighty; instead I would like us to notice the difference in the way Job’s friends handled Job’s grieving, and the way God did. God did not go to Job as a judge, but as the Creator! He did not go pointing His finger in Job’s face and reminding him that, “there is none that is righteous…” (Romans 3: 10)! He did not go condemning him for questioning His authority. Instead he says, Okay Job, stand up like a man, and let us talk! “Where were you when I…” In a series of rhetorical questions the Lord takes Job into the secret things of creation, and reveals to him, His great power!
You see my friends, when someone is broken, they do not need a judge; they need an all-powerful Savior! They need a Healer! They need a Creator, to put them back together again! That is the reason some Christians have no joy! Their concept of God is so faulty! The only role they ascribe to Him, is that of judge! They are bent on vindicating God. God does not have a problem with what we think about Him! He definitely wants us to know that He loves us! But He knows that in due season, we will see that all along He had our best interest at heart! Instead of arguing with the sinner, put your arms of love around him or her, and lead them to the Savior!
God told Job quite frankly, that, unless he (Job) was capable of managing creation; he was in no position to find fault with the way God was doing it! “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it” (Job 40: 2)! Now, Job does what his friends were trying to get him to do; he humbles himself before God, “Behold I am vile, what shall I answer You?… Once I have spoken but I will not answer, yes twice, but I will proceed no further” (4, 5). Only God brings conviction! Only He can make us see ourselves as we really are! “Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42: 6).
At the beginning of the dialogue God said that Job had spoken, “words without knowledge” (38: 2). As God concludes, He says the following to Job’s three friends: “you have not spoken of Me what is right, like my servant Job” (42: 7). Emphasis provided. It was not God, who had afflicted Job, (even though that is what Job thought); it was the Adversary. So what could God have meant? Perhaps it was the fact that Job was not being punished because of any sin that he had committed. Not that he was sinless; but his sin was not the cause of his suffering! Whatever God may have meant, the Bible says:
“And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job…” (42: 10, NRSV)! And may we be merciful to those who suffer!