Job 8-14
Job 8-14
In these chapters Job was cross-examined by both Bildad and Zophar. Job replied in kind, with intermittent laments to God, his responses almost doubling the amount of words spoken by his interlocutors. In the end we Job’s friends “added nothing to him;” he would have to endure his difficulty, alone. Ultimately Job’s dark night of the soul was for the glory of God, to show that He is holy and just and good—and even when His chosen ones suffer.
Bildad’s first cross-examination (ch 8) reveals less patience and restraint than that recently demonstrated by Eliphaz (cf. ch 4). One can imagine Bildad rising from the prosecutors’ table and questioning the defendant with intensity: “Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?” (v. 3). Yet, Bildad held out the same proposition Eliphaz presented, arguing that if Job would “earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy” (v. 5), then He would move and restore Job’s fortune and family. With rhetorical skill Bildad mildly accused Job of forgetting his God (v. 13), and pointed to an open door where Job could enter and make peace with the Almighty: “Look, God does not reject a person of integrity…He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy” (vv. 20-21).
Job’s reply is composed of both defense and lament; he looked at Bildad, and then up at God (chs 9-10):
- Bildad’s words proved to further frustrate Job, in part because Bildad had spoken a morsel of truth (ch 9). While it is the case that God welcomes those who come to Him, and there is an “open door” for approaching the Almighty, Bildad’s speech only added to the sufferer’s frustration; what could Job say? In light of God’s magnificence (vv. 1-20), who could muster a sufficient defense before Him? In the end his defense before Bildad differed little than that before Eliphaz: “Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life” (v. 21). Job was hopeless, and he saw life—with all of its opportunities—rushing by, sure to end in despair; “I am on my own” (v. 35) he said
- Job’s lament (ch 10) was yet based upon his lack of understanding: “let me know why You prosecute me” (v. 2) he asked of God. Job understood that God was the sovereign Creator of life, so why did he have to endure all of this difficulty? Would not the God of creation be able to intervene for the ones He created (vv. 8-12)? In frustration Job said, “Please remember that You formed me like clay. Will You now return me to dust?” (v. 9), and, “Why did You bring me out of the womb? I should have died and never been seen” (v. 18)
As Bildad’s pathos excelled that of Eliphaz before him, so Zophar’s first cross-examination of Job was an even more forthright emotional appeal for Job to change his ways (ch 11). In the thinking of the day, Job’s words of self-defense were blasphemous; surely God was just in His dealings with man, surely if a man was suffering to the degree of Job it was the result of heinous sin. Thus Zophar challenged Job: “Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a talker be acquitted? Should your babbling put others to silence, so that you can keep on ridiculing with no one to humiliate you?” (vv. 2-3). If Job thought he would get away with covering his sin, he should think again: “Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?” (v. 7). Zophar followed the script established by Eliphaz and Bildad, saying: “if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it, and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—then you will hold your head high, free from fault” (vv. 14-15), followed by: “But the sight of the wicked will fail…and their only hope will be to die” (v. 20).
Job’s reply was no less emotional (chs 12-14):
- He claimed to know the situation more intimately than his friends (12.1-13.17). He spitefully answered them, “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you! But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?” (12.2-3). In their minds, the three men had exhibited great wisdom; Job thought it dull. No one had yet to answer the question of the righteous-sufferer. In fact, Job accused his friends of being so thick that they could learn much by simply observing the natural world (12.7-12), where they would see that God’s sovereignty extends over all things. Even the powerful of the world are at his bidding (12.13-25). Indeed, these men “coat truth with lies” (13.4); Job could only continue to take his case to God (13.1-17)
- He lamented for an opportunity to cross-examine God (13.18-14.22). Job yet wished for God to operate on the accepted standard of the day (i.e., one gets what they deserve); if only God would reveal Job’s transgression, then he could forsake it and find favor with God straightway!
Job’s responses reveal that his lack of insight regarding eternal life was a significant cause of his suffering. He said:
“There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not die…But a man dies and fades away; he breathes his last—where is he? As water disappears from the sea and a wadi becomes parched and dry, so man lies down never to rise again. They will not wake up until the heavens are no more; they will not stir from their sleep” (14.7, 10-12),
and:
“I wish I had never existed but had been carried from the womb to the grave. Are my days not few? Stop it! Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness” (10.19-22).
While Job’s life is a model of endurance for modern believers, it may be the case that we can endure better—since we know of eternal glory in Christ. In the storyline of Scripture Christ’s suffering and victory have earned eternal hope for all who trust in Him. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, believers in Him will rise to enjoy eternal life—the bliss of which will make the temporary suffering in this life seem but a moment. How different from Job’s words was the apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians:
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, the people of Christ…Now when this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15.20-23, 54-58).
*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com