Job 22-27

Job 22-27

Some preliminary thoughts:  Job may have been contemporaneous with the patriarchs (Abraham, 2500-2000 BC).  He mentions iron; “Items that were likely made of iron by Egyptians date from 2500 to 3000 BC.”  There is also no mention of the Mosaic Law, and he offers sacrifices for his family (serving as priest), which would have been forbidden by the Mosaic Law 

23:17:  NIV/ESV:  yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.

Job teaches us not to trust internal sources of wisdom; to mistake man’s technology for wisdom; nonBiblical versions or sources of wisdom.  It is very clear that man’s access to wisdom is very limited, that it comes from rightly understood fear of God.  

I must teach the Bible in context, so I’m going to start with chapter 22 and make a few observations, spend some time in the beautiful chapter 23, and then move on quickly to this passage today in chapter 28.

In chapter 22 Eliphaz accuses Job of the worst community sins, not taking care of widows and orphans (although as a rich person he should have and could have).  Eliphaz seems to be saying, “You are wicked” but that it would be o pleasure to God if Job were blameless.  Eliphaz seems pretty cynical.  V. 21:  Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace;  Thereby good will come to you.”  It is easy to make fun of Job’s friends, but I think we miss the point.  They are saying what is commonly believed.  At least they are honest in what they think, even if wrong.  They do not sugarcoat and give platitudes, “It will be all right, think positive, all things work for good, etc.”

Chapter 23:  This is Job’s defense of his righteousness and praise toward God’s righteousness.  What really matters is what we learn about God here.

v. 1-2:  depth of Job’s anguish

3:  His searching

4-5:  What I want to do—have a chance to defend myself and understand

6-7:  If I could find God, this would happen:  I would reason with Him.  I want to be able to talk to God before the throne, face to face. 

8-9:  My knowledge  of God is limited as is my ability to know Him.

10:  But his knowledge of me is perfect. 

            Psalm 1:6

            Psalm 139:1-4

            Psalm 17:3

            Psalm 66:10

The image of metallurgy is important in Job:  testing, refining, purifying.  I see that as the metaphor for us.  While we do have sins to repent of, God is using testing to purify us of the things that are not so much bad but not part of what he wants for us in the end.  The metals that come from the purifying are not bad metals, but they are not the pure gold or silver.  What is in our lives that holds us back from being purely and wholly His?

11-12:  Job holds fast to his integrity.  He is not saying he is sinless; if so, he wouldn’t need purifying and refining.  He knows he is a frail and limited human being who cannot find God and is totally dependent on, even terrified by, Him.  But he refuses o confess to sis he didn’t commit because his friends are saying, “This has happened to you because you took advantage of the poor and orphaned,” and so on.  Likely, his friends have some jealousy of his former wealth.

Job is not browbeating himself that he is the cause of his trials.  He knows it’s not all about him. His struggle is over “why God,” not “why me.”  It’s over what meaning he should make of his experience, and how does he move on from it.  He rejects Kharma, as should Christians, even in jest, because it is totally nonChristian (like yoga). 

Of course, we should recognize that actions have consequences, and recognize those consequences as opposed to what God chooses to bring into our lives.  That discernment is the key and “the better part of wisdom.” 

Job is a plumbline about what worldly ideas about suffering and pain that we should reject. 

Confessing to sin that you didn’t commit is no virtue, but listening to the Holy Spirit show you your error is a virtue.  Everyday God shows me a better way and out of my judgmentalism, anger, defensiveness, narcissism, and vanity. 

v. 13:  “But He is unique; who can make Him change?  And whatever His soul desires, that He does.”

v. 15:  “I am terrified.”  Why?  He has seen the deep darkness.  He has experienced the dark night of the soul.  The beauty of Job is his existential honesty.  He has seen how bad it can get. 

In this chapter Job affirms God’s reasonableness, justice, uniqueness, immutability, and awesomeness.  That is what the note in my Bible says.  Maybe.  That’s part of it.  But there is more than a theological list here. 

The Old Testament (First Testament, we should say) does not make a strong distinction between head and heart, intellect and emotions, that we do today.  It also doesn’t speak of murder without a violent heart (which is exactly what Jesus said—anger is violence in our heart, the seed of murder). 

In Job 24, Job speaks of how violent and wicked people seem to do all right on earth, but there is a final justice (not kharma; “what goes around comes around” is only half the story).  Sins he mentions are lack of concern for the poor: violence, especially to the poor; murder; and adultery.  Interesting list:  the first on par with the others. 

In chapter 25, Bildad the Shuhite (shortest man in the Bible), asks, “How can a human be righteous before an all-righteous God?”

In chapter 26, Job gives his answer to the three:  Are you all that charitable, Misters Know-Everything?  And God is so powerful that we can only know a whisper (“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him,” v. 14)

In chapter 27, Job defends his innocence again:  I am not a wicked person you accuse me of being; in contrast, a wicked person will be judged generationally and eternally.

In chapter 28 we come to the mystery of wisdom.  More tomorrow.