1 – The problem of suffering
The book of Job has a number of themes, but certainly the most prominent is the problem of suffering. This matter is especially problematic because of Job’s devotion to God – why do bad things happen to godly people? It is a vexing question. The book is thought to be the oldest in Scripture; Job may have been a contemporary of Abraham. No surprise there, for the problem of suffering is age-old and universal – we are all Job. The book presents many questions about human suffering, but it also offers answers. You just have to know where – or how – to look.
Mk. 10:29-31 reads, “Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.’” Hidden within the promises of blessing is a promise of persecution, and with that a hint that persecutions are the fount of our eternal blessings. Jesus is giving suffering in the here and now spiritual significance, and that is how it has playout out: “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21-22). This encouraging scene came directly after Paul had been stoned and left for dead.
Why is this? Is God simply a cruel taskmaster? No. Acts 5:40-41 bears early witness to the purposes of suffering: “… And when (the Jewish council) had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” Let us take note that the apostles did not stop speaking the name of Jesus. They saw it was an honor to faithfully suffer for Jesus’ name’s sake before His enemies.
This situation continued to be true as the apostles and others continued on in their ministries:
• Paul – in Acts 9:15-16, suffering was not just bad luck or misfortune, it was part of the deal going in. “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’” Ananias certainly reported this conversation to Saul. Consider too Acts 20:22-23 along with 23:11 – “‘And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.’” and then “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.’” Paul is certain persecution will follow him in Jerusalem, and the promise of God is that he will make similar testimony in Rome.
In Philippians Paul lays out all the great and wonderful things he could claim as a Jew, and disowns them as trash, but in 2 Corinthians he lays out his glory: “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one – I am talking like a madman – with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.” (2 Cor. 11:23-33) Even in the very beginning of his ministry he was in danger of his life, and was delivered only through a passage of suffering and humiliation. Again, this was to be expected: “‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”’” (Mt. 7:21-23) Many great works done in the Lord’s name will mean nothing, but suffering faithfully for the sake of His name means everything.
• Peter – 1 Pet. 1:6-9 makes this exhortation: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” We have all known people who have failed to persevere in their faith because their lives have not turned out the way they wanted, even though they’re surrounded by people who are suffering more profoundly. Clinging to Jesus and our faith in spite of what our eyes tell us is the root of our faith – suffering is the soil where the roots of faith grow deepest.
But we are not asked to suffer without an exemplar. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Pet. 4:12-13) It is of some comfort to know that God stepped down from His glory to partake in our suffering, but in reality we are participating in His suffering. This indeed is our mission – “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church …” (Col. 1:24) – not that Jesus’ suffering was insufficient, but that it is our mission as His body to continue in His sufferings throughout time while He is absent. Suffering was His work, and it is our testimony. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Pet. 3:17); this is being conformed to Jesus’ image, not as He is now in the fullness of His glory, but as He was before, taking on flesh to learn faithful obedience through humility and suffering.
Now it may be easy to see how this early persecution is for the name of Christ, but what about us? Andrew Murray tells us we should be ready to suffer in the flesh, even if it’s only resisting sin. But it never ends at that – we all experience some level of sickness, heartbreak, frustration, failure. And then we end with death. How are these trials for the sake of Christ? The most important step toward applying this scenario to ourselves is to recognize the true source of all suffering.
The root of all suffering is sin, and sin comes by temptation. The author of temptation was and is Satan, whether it’s a cause or effect of the Fall. Since the Fall, all suffering from death on down is because of Satan. Even the bad things that are natural parts of life as we know it are a result of the Fall, Satan’s great work. On the other hand, Christ’s work turns the Fall upside-down, right up to making death null. “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in (the Cross).” (Col. 2:15, AKJV) Christ uses death to defeat death. Christ makes a mockery of Satan’s great work. So, when a believer suffers as a result of Satan’s work, but rejoices still in Christ’s work, Satan is humiliated in the heavenlies. We will see this very thing transpire in Job.
• The Church then has a huge target on its back. Often bad events will hit right after a person comes to Christ or turns a corner in his walk – that is simply an attempt to knock us off the rails. The event can be subtle or even disguised as something good that ends up a trap. Usually our suffering besets us as individuals, but the whole Church feels it. In 2015 a group of Egyptian Coptics were martyred by ISIS for not renouncing Christ, stunning the Church around the world. This is part of the communion of the saints, part of what makes us one nation, and a reflection of Gal. 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
• Eph. 3:8-13 reads “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.” Though Paul is referring specifically to the inclusion of gentiles among believers, his reference to God’s “manifold wisdom” is applicable to far more. In v. 10 Paul declares that our faith is a demonstration to the powers and principalities in the heavenlies (a more direct translation than “heavenly places.”) Our perseverance through suffering is the test of that faith.
He follows with Eph. 6:10-12: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Paul says flatly our struggle is against the enemies of God. But, he also has said God’s wisdom is demonstrated in it. What does he mean? Our faithful perseverance through whatever Satan throws at us vindicates God’s choice of us, it shows that there exists a people who will love Him in spite of suffering.
Our victory will have an ultimate fulfillment, as promised in 1 Cor. 6:3: “Do you not know that we are to judge angels? …” But it is partially fulfilled even here and now as we cling to faith despite our circumstances. “And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and when you are converted, strengthen your brothers.’” (Lk. 22:31-32, AKJV) Peter was not a unique person in this. However, Satan, as usual, takes the bait but never sees the snare, and his efforts to destroy us only bring God praises.
In the book of Job God demonstrates this happening; we’re all Job. Jesus spelled it out to Peter; we’re all Peter. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8) Satan chews up and spits out the lost – he really doesn’t care about them; but for the sons of the Most High he has special ambitions.
In 1871 Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and owned a number of buildings in Chicago. Then a series of tragedies beset his family. It began with the death of his son at the age of two in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, an event that also destroyed many of his financial investments. His business interests were further hit by the economic downturn of 1873, at which time he had planned to travel to Europe with his family. In a late change of plan, he sent the family ahead while he was delayed dealing with these business losses. While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, their ship sank rapidly after a collision with another vessel, killing all four of Spafford’s daughters, aged two to eleven. His wife Anna survived and sent him the telegram, “Saved alone. What shall I do ….” Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to rejoin his wife, he wrote the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” after his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
But that was not the end of it. The Spaffords later had three more children. On February 11, 1880, a new son died at the age of four, of scarlet fever. Their Presbyterian church regarded their suffering as divine punishment – they preferred to represent Satan rather than Christ. Consequently, the Spaffords formed their own Messianic sect. In 1881, the Spafford family set sail for Ottoman-held Palestine. The Spaffords settled in Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony. Colony members engaged in philanthropy among the people of Jerusalem regardless of their religious affiliation, simply a good work in the name of Christ.
“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
“Let this blest assurance control,
“That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
“And hath shed His own blood for my soul.”
And the demons go screaming into the night. This kind of faith in the face of horrific suffering – even shamefully coming from the ignorant judgment of the Church itself – defeats Satan in the heavenlies. This is what our existence on Earth as believers is about. This is the story behind Job, the first written book of the Bible.
I don’t expect any of this would be much comfort for those in the midst of suffering – throwing it at someone would make me about as good a comforter as Job’s – but knowing it can at least help us bear under it. We always have the hope of 1 Cor. 2:9: “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him ….’” Do we love Him enough to suffer for His sake? To love Him despite our circumstances? We are weak, but eventually, hopefully, we can arrive at the point where we rejoice that we are considered worthy of suffering for Christ’s name.
2 – Job and Satan (Chapters 1 & 2)
The following lessons will refer to some long passages and even whole chapters of Job, so for the sake of brevity I will include the notations only, with Scripture quotations only for cross references.
• 1:1-5
This introduction tells us many things about Job. For instance, he is a man enjoying shalom – the peace of God. This condition might sound like it should be the norm for an Old Testament person, but consider, for example, Jacob’s children, full of jealousies and violence. As well, Job appears to be the epitome of OT righteous man – he recognizes a holy God, and that holy behavior and thoughts honor Him, and that blood sacrifice is necessary. Notably, this narrative took place long before the Mosaic law, even before the Passover; however, Job may have believed animal sacrifice was sufficient.
Also, within his culture his material prosperity would have been considered testimony to his blessed position before God; while reading his counselors’ comments, one can tell they all belonged to the privileged class.
In Rom. 1:19-21, Paul describes the gentile world: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Job, a gentile, was a positive example of this, the exception that proves the rule: a man who did see the truth and wonder of God naturally through creation.
• vv. 6-12
v. 7 – The scene is just as described in 1 Pet. 5-8 – “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
v. 8 – Make no mistake, God Himself brings Job to Satan’s attention. Satan sees him as just another victim, but God knows there’s more to Job than even Job knows himself at the moment. God offers up a man He declares to be innocent – this begins the demonstration of Job as a type of Christ. Again, this is the oldest book of the Old Testament.
v. 9 – Satan is always ready to accuse. This continues to be so today, though Satan’s position before God we can’t know. But there will be a day when it is no more: “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” (Rev. 12:10)
v. 11 – Satan’s accusation of Job isn’t that he’s done anything wrong, but of what he might do if God changes his circumstances. Indeed, Job is being targeted for what he actually is doing right – pursuing God. Satan wants Job to curse God, something Job was afraid of in his children and sought redemption for just in case.
It is even fair to say that Satan is accusing Job of his own bitterness. Lucifer enjoyed the highest blessing of his Creator, but he despised it in his desire for worship – “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Is. 14:13-14) – and in that found no room for repentance. He made himself the bitter enemy of God, and expects Job will do the same if his blessing is removed.
v. 12 – God allows Satan’s attack upon Job, within limits, and Satan is bound to obey. God is sovereign over all His creation, even that in rebellion. This too is mystery.
• vv. 13-22
The attacks recorded in this passage came from wicked men probably knowing they were dealing with a godly man – Job was prominent and well-known. But also included were the results of violent weather. This inclusion begs a couple of questions: What are the parameters of Satan’s power? And are devastating natural events judgments of God? These problems require studies of their own; suffice it to say, again, God is sovereign and able to assign authority and purposes as He wishes.
v. 16 – The servant that reports the losses puts the responsibility with God, and indeed Job affirms God’s sovereignty. He might rightly blame Satan or generic forces of evil, but he does not.
vv. 20-21 – This may be the hardest saying in Scripture, to say with sincerity in the face of devastating loss. Job’s adoration is accompanied by acts of humility and mourning; God does not expect us not to grieve over our material situation (although see Lev. 10:1-6 and Ezek. 24:15-18).
• 2:1-6
The same situation between God and Satan replays. There may be significance here in that two is the number of witness in Scripture. Job suffers two separate attacks from Satan as a sure witness to his faithfulness to God.
v. 3 – The questions that God poses, though He has perfect knowledge of everything, indicates He is mocking Satan. Again He emphasizes Job’s lack of guilt.
v. 4 – The challenge for a second attack is made, that Satan wants Job’s own body, but within this we must note that the attacks remain within the material realm. At no time does he seek, nor does God offer up, Job’s spiritual well-being. That is the wager itself, not the means of winning or losing. Demon possession was not in the mix, nor is it for any believer. But that too is another study.
v. 6 – God again puts limits on what Satan can do, and there is no argument against it. If the point was to make Job curse God, he couldn’t do that if he was dead. That would be complete defeat for Satan, for as we read in Rev. 12:11, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Again like Christ, Job’s death would ruin everything for Satan.
• vv. 7-9
Job’s wife may represent an attack similar to that through Eve, in that her thoughts were planted by Satan. According to verses found only in the LXX, it had been some time that Job and his wife had survived destitute, so, along with the loss of all her children, it is understandable that she would be despairing. Perhaps she was hoping God would have mercy upon Job and herself by letting him die.
v. 8 – This image has become the iconic view of a man’s suffering. The Orthodox see Job’s sores as illustrations of his sinfulness, and his desire to have them removed from himself.
• v. 10
Job still will not question God’s judgment or still even accuse Satan. This is wisdom, according to Jude 8-9: “Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’”
So in conclusion to the origin of Job’s suffering, it pleased God to bruise him to make a demonstration to Satan. “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Is. 53:10, AKJV). Job represents both the suffering and resurrection of the Christ.
“… So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 3:10) We the Church are constantly within that same demonstration.
Satan now exits the narrative, and Job is never directly told about his involvement.
3 – Job and Humanity (2:16-Chapter 37)
The bulk of the book of Job is in the conversations he has with his comforters, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad and Zophar, along with Elihu. This area is also where we get lost in the weeds. Also, the structure of the conversations is linear; Job’s thinking is not. His thoughts trail from one idea to another, as is true with everyone, and he hits on nuggets of truth or insight rather randomly. Therefore this study will abandon the narrative and instead take the arguments of the counselors, and Job’s replies, in the form of collected summaries.
• 2:11-13
Job’s counselors did a good job for seven days as they sat and grieved with him; then they started talking. The conversations reveal the limits and flaws of the human condition. Everyone thinks he knows what’s happening, when actually none of them know. As fallen human beings we’re too far removed to understand God, and one of our greatest flaws is failing to see this. We’re not superior to these men – although our perspective is superior, being on this side of the Cross – and the world we live in is the same as theirs. One fundamental error the counselors make is this: All the three friends assume Job’s situation is a punishment.
Job’s opening statement
• Ch. 3
When he opens his mouth, Job doesn’t curse God, but he does curse himself – this avoids blasphemy, but it was an error. God’s sovereignty and wisdom covers everything, including the birth and life of all living things, so to criticize that is sitting in judgment of God.
v. 25 – The very thing Job feared has happened: God was once his friend, now apparently He’s his enemy. Job’s situation has changed even though he knows his behavior did not. He buys into the mathematical approach, which includes the idea that God will always react the same way to similar conditions. But this isn’t so; God is a free agent, able and right to act as He pleases. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (Pr. 26:4-5)
•••
Eliphaz
He is the most prominent counselor. His primary belief was that the righteous do not perish; the wicked alone suffer, and in measure as they have sinned. Although he goes through some high praise of Job, he denies that any man is innocent and censures Job for asserting his freedom from guilt. Eliphaz exhorts Job to confess any concealed iniquities to alleviate his punishment. This is known as conventional wisdom.
His argument is, in part, rooted in what he believes to have been a personal revelation he received through a dream (Job 4): “Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error. How much more those who dwell in houses of clay?” This isn’t wrong, but it’s not to the point.
When Job disagrees with his argument as too simplistic, Eliphaz goes on the defensive and loses his composure (Job 22), accusing Job of oppressing widows and orphans, a far cry from how he had originally described Job. He goes from comforter to accuser, and he twists what Job says about God, accusing him of saying God neither sees nor knows.
So though Satan did not accuse Job of doing something wrong, because God would know better, he does use Job’s counselors to make that accusation, because Job might fall for it in the weakness of his suffering.
Eliphaz is guilty of offering merely worldly wisdom, and part of that is having no concept of grace. It is a legalism with a foundation of merit-based salvation, where God’s judgment is evident from material blessing. In his world everything boils down to a simple mathematical equation. However, he did say one wise thing: “Man is born to suffer, even as the sparks fly upward.”
Job’s reply
• Ch. 6-7
Job admits his language was strong in his first soliloquy, but he still holds out no hope. As his reply builds, many verses can be taken as looking forward to Christ.
6:8-9 – Within Job’s despair and desire for an end is very Christ-evoking language; compare this with Is. 53:10 – “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
6:27 – Again, Christ should come to mind as this verse compares to Ps. 22:18 – “… They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
7:16 – Job doesn’t want to live forever if it’s like this. He of course is referring to his suffering, but perhaps all believers should take this approach. We just need a better idea of the degradation of our sinfulness. Job closes this response dwelling on seeking mercy.
• Ch. 16-17
16:7-14 again reflect Ps. 22. Job bemoans again that God has become his adversary, and describes his suffering in poetic language.
16:19-17:2 – Job declares he is certain God sees, and confesses his need for a mediator, someone to argue for him before God. He even uses the term son of man: Later an idiom arose in Judah that anyone who was the epitome of some characteristic was call the “son of” that thing. Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the epitome of mankind, created in the image of God, as He called Himself “Son of man.”
This passage includes more crucifixion language. Job declares God has broken him, but from the earlier verses we see he knows only God can heal him. “’Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.’” (Hos. 6:1)
• Ch. 23
Job longs for an audience with God, where he’s confident he will find gentleness. The problem is God remains elusive – 23:8-9 complains against this distance, in contrast to the language of St. Patrick’s Breastplate, celebrating the closeness of Christ:
Be Christ this day my strong protector:
Christ beside me, Christ before me;
Christ behind me, Christ within me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me;
Christ to the right of me, Christ to the left of me.
23:10 – Still Job remains confident in God’s mercy and healing, a declaration of faith.
23:14 – This promise is no different from Phil. 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Ultimately this completion comes when we enter the presence of God in His kingdom.
23:16-17 – Again Job declares that God has done this to him, but doing so by not protecting him from dark forces. How God allows evil beings without Himself being the author of evil is among the unanswerable questions that mankind has wrestled with through the millennia.
• Ch. 24
The theme of this chapter is how the wicked do prosper, in contrast to Eliphaz’ assertions. In a way Job is simply arguing the vanity of good and bad within the world, and he makes this same argument in ch. 21 against Zophar. The flip side of the argument is that a righteous man can be left in poverty and ruin; John the Baptist may be an apt example of this. Job turns the counselors’ arguments upside down, and shows that the problem runs far deeper than a simple mathematical equation based on material prosperity.
•••
Bildad
The three speeches of Bildad largely agree with Eliphaz and pile on. He even tries to claim Eliphaz’ vision as his own, and Job calls him out on that. That may be why his charges against Job were more unkind, deeming Job’s words impious and wrathful. Bildad was the first to attribute Job’s calamity to actual wickedness, albeit indirectly, by accusing his children of sin to warrant their punishment, which was a low blow. Christians should always remember that accusation is Satan’s role, but we’re supposed to be Christ-like.
So Bildad was simply a worse version of Eliphaz. But Job’s replies to him reveal the most about his growing theology.
Job’s reply
• Ch. 9-10
Job declares that God is all powerful and aloof, and even the blameless can’t answer Him.
9:20 – Job illustrates the futility of it all by acknowledging God’s greater knowledge, even of himself.
9:32-33 – Job makes his magnificent call for a mediator, someone who could literally stand between God and man and not be destroyed. Job lived in a time without the priesthood of the law (he made his sacrifices himself) and comes to realize there is nobody able to bridge that gap.
10:4-7 – Job closes out his reply with a confession that he needs deliverance from God Himself. This foresees the later experience of the Passover and crossing of the Red Sea: First God saved the Hebrews from Himself, through sacrificial blood, and then He saved them from their enemies. It is laying out the problem of how can God be both just and the Justifier? The remedy is through the Mediator, the righteous God-Man.
• Ch. 19
In v. 11 Job reiterates his fear that he stated earlier. This was truly his worst nightmare and the most profound suffering he is feeling.
vv. 25-27 – Here we see the high point of Job’s theological revelation. He confesses he needs not just a mediator but a redeemer; he invokes not just an atonement but also a resurrection, sure that in his flesh and with his own eyes he will see the Redeemer standing upon the Earth. His heart faints within him! There is rejoicing where by appearances the world would expect only mourning. When Jesus accused the Sadducees of not knowing Scripture when they denied the resurrection (Lk. 20:27-39), He could have pointed them to the oldest writing of the Holy Book.
• Ch. 26-28
In 26:6 and 13 death is exposed, and the enemy flees away. “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in (the Cross).” (Col. 2:15, AKJV)
28:12-13 – Here Job laments over the absence of wisdom everywhere that a man can go. This is declared to be so in 1 Cor. 1:19-24 – “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” – with Christ offered as the wisdom of God to any who will believe.
28:22 – The enemies of God and of all believers know the Holy One who is wisdom, and understand their time is short – “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!” (Ja. 2:19) “Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12)
•••
Zophar
He is mostly interested in sin. Zophar speaks only twice, but he is the most impetuous and dogmatic of the three. Zophar is the first to accuse Job directly of wickedness; going so far as to say that his punishment is too good for him, and he rebukes Job’s impious presumption in trying to find out the unsearchable secrets of God (in contradiction to Prov. 25:2 – “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”) Still, like the rest of the friends, he promises peace and restoration on condition of penitence and putting away iniquity.
As usual, those who think they have everything figured out have the least to offer. Job’s replies to him are mocking, and at one point he accuses Zophar of thinking he holds God in his hand. Here he expresses that his sufferings also include public humiliation – again, a foreshadowing of Ps. 22.
•••
Job’s closing statement
Job laments over his former life, ends again asking for an audience before God.
• Ch. 31
Job insists on the good works he has done: Even though his theology has developed, he still falls into the trap of personal merit. Here he could be compared to the rich young ruler of Mt. 19:16-22, who sought to “inherit” the kingdom through obeying the law, though no number of works makes someone an heir. Many Christians today share this outlook.
•••
Elihu
This mysterious man appears from nowhere and excuses himself because of his youth, but lashes out at the others for their lack of wisdom. Elihu differs from the others in that his monologues discuss divine providence, which he insists are full of wisdom and mercy. He claims that the righteous have their share of prosperity in this life, no less than the wicked, and he denies that all pain is a punishment for some sin, the central flaw of the three friends’ arguments. Elihu states that suffering may be decreed for the righteous as a protection against greater sin, for moral betterment and warning, and to elicit greater trust and dependence on a merciful, compassionate God in the midst of adversity. His answers are more spiritual in nature than the counselors’, but they also fall short; still, he hits upon some nuggets.
33:23-28 – Elihu agrees with Job about the need for a mediator and a ransom paid – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mk. 10:45) – and he allows that a man’s soul is redeemed from the pit.
34:31-32 – He understands the sin nature and that suffering, even if it is punishment, does not change a person’s behavior – this is probably the most significant truism to take away from Elihu. By extension this means that a man can never work it so God owes him anything, including an explanation. Elihu closes out his speech with a long litany of worship.
In the end, when God finally speaks, He does not accuse Elihu.
4 – Job and God (Chapters 38-42)
Job finally gets his audience with God, but it doesn’t go the way he expects. The answers he gets to life on Earth are not about what has happened to him, but about how he can never understand God. It is an object lesson in Is. 55:8 – “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” Job learns very quickly his perspective is severely limited.
• 38:1
God makes a sudden, mysterious visitation from within a whirlwind. Precedent for a Divine appearance of this sort can be found in Scripture: “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Ex. 13:21); “Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. … And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:1, 11); “Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord.” (Ezek. 10:3-4)
Ch. 38 and 39 consist of a long list of observable elements of nature that God invented but Job cannot understand. God’s use of even the simple things of creation is similar to Jesus’ teaching through parables, using a context the people could grasp to illustrate things they didn’t. For instance, 38:12 speaks of the dawn; we know that the day passes due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis, but only since the last 500 years. Science has explained a number of these things in the modern world, but it does not use that knowledge to glorify its Creator. In a sense mankind continues to rebuild the tower of Babel.
• Ch. 40
vv. 1-5 – God rebukes Job like a parent. He is no longer a theoretical concept, but a real Being. Job has come face to face with ultimate power and holiness, and he knows at this point it is best to just shut up. Again, those who think after death their spirits will hand a bill to God for what He owes them will be sorely disappointed.
vv. 6-14 – God’s charges change profoundly. It seems He is contending that Job is condemning Him and usurping His judgment. But did Job do this? Who might God really be referring to? These are things Satan did in Ch. 1-2 – he challenged God’s sovereignty, knowledge and choice of Job, and indeed those who take this attitude are aligning themselves with Satan. In making these salvific arguments, God also declares that only He can deliver Job, which is an indication that’s what He intends to do. That declaration leads directly into the next major passage.
vv. 15-24 – The text introduces Behemoth, considered to be some unknown great land animal. The Church fathers are not unanimous about interpreting Behemoth, but Isho’dad of Merv says this: “… Those who assert that this book was written by the divine Moses maintain the reality of the Behemoth. It is a figure of Satan, they say, and as this animal destroys everything it sees, so Satan does the same thing secretly, and therefore it has been made Satan’s accomplice in crime. Both in its name and in its action it is the figure of Satan, because, according to the sense of the word, Behemoth means ‘through it death,’ that is, death has entered among people through it.” What follows are some Scriptural justifications for that interpretation.
- v. 19 – Behemoth is called the “first of God’s works.” Before or hidden within the creation story that begins with Gen. 1:1 there was a spiritual creation, cherubim and seraphim, angels of Heaven and those who rebelled. It is hard to pin down, in part because time as we know it didn’t exist before the solar system. These verses of Job at the very least indicate the power of these beings – the LXX reads, “And this is the ruler of the Lord’s creation, made to be mocked at by His angels.” As we read in Is. 14:12-17, “‘How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?”’”
This is the nature of our judgment over angels Paul speaks of in 1 Cor. 6:3: “Do you not know that we are to judge angels? …”
- v. 24 – God declares He leads Behemoth about with a hook in his nose. Gregory the Great says, “The devil seized the bait that was His body. Christ’s Passion showed him the bait, but concealed the snare.”
• Ch. 41
This chapter introduces Leviathan, which corresponds to Behemoth as some unknown great sea animal. Bible commentators are not always clear on who is speaking or to whom a reference is made in this passage. For example, vv. 10-11 is sometimes presented as God talking, and other times as God putting words in Leviathan’s mouth, but clearly the beast is presented as fearsome to all but the Lord.
- v. 24 – Jesus implored the people of His time to soften their hearts, and indeed God promised to change those who would come to Him. “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh …” (Ezek. 11:19) But the opponents of God remain intransigent through time.
- vv. 33-34 – This being is presented as the king of the proud. “‘In its neck’ means in arrogant self-estimation; ‘its strength abides,’ because it does not stand still but always overestimates itself. The souls that advance with a high neck (as is confirmed by Isaiah) are (like the devil’s) neck, because they have the power to deceive. But such a power is vain; indeed, the weakness that my Savior and Lord assumed for me, which is called the weakness of God, completely defeated that power.” (Olympiodorus)
We can glean more about Leviathan where he appears in other passages:
Job 3:8 – “Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.”
Ps. 74:14 – “You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.”
Ps. 104:26 – “There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.”
Is. 27:1 – “In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.”
All of these references speak to God’s sovereignty over this beast, and the last should give us a clue about his identity. “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Rev. 12:9) The Church Fathers are not certain about Behemoth, but they are in complete agreement about the satanic implications of Leviathan.
Finally, we have Rev. 13:1, 11 – “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. … Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.” This imagery of beasts on both the land and sea exists to represent Satan in the earliest and latest writings of the Bible. In a veiled way God is telling Job who is behind his suffering, and suffering in general.
All of these questions that God poses in chapters 38-41, covering both the material and spiritual worlds, serve to illustrate that Job is unable even in his understanding, much less his power to change things, but God is able. Job was full of good and pious works at the beginning of the narrative, but he should have no faith in their efficaciousness.
• Ch. 42
vv. 1-6 – The story then tells us Job repents, the only example of a man to do so in the Old Testament. Daniel goes into a time of repentance for the sins of Israel – “Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” (Dan. 9:3) – but no other individual is said to repent of his own sins. Job admits no great single sin but instead repents of himself.
vv. 7-9 – God turns His judgment upon the three counselors as speaking wrongly about Him, but declares Job spoke rightly. One can only conclude that God means Job’s messianic statements of 9:32-33 and 19:25-27. After these sayings, what else is important? Elihu also spoke of a mediator and redeemer, the need for a ransom paid, and so was not chastened. As an act of mercy, Job the man of God is appointed to pray for his friends, the act of a priest.
vv. 10-13 – Job’s fortunes were restored double, so there was a happy ending, but not a complete one: Job had seven sons and three daughters before his troubles began and then again after. There is no replacing people lost to us in this world. But his new children indeed doubled his riches when he regained his former children in the afterlife.
v. 17 – And that’s the end, except for v. 18 – added by the LXX. “It is written that he will rise with those whom the Lord resurrects.” Satan saw Job as the bait, but he didn’t see the snare. Job’s words vindicated God’s choice of him. Satan is defeated and humiliated by Job’s faithful perseverance. So the themes of Job include suffering, perseverance, wisdom, the mysteries of God, the conflict in the heavenlies, and also resurrection. The end of all these other things is resurrection. “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” (1 Cor. 2:9)
All Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.
Craig Davis Archive 