Today we will hear the first half of Job’s first response in the final round of the debate.

1 Then Job answered:
2 “Even today my complaint is still bitter;
his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 O that I knew where I might find him,
that I could come to his place of residence!
4 I would lay out my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know with what words he would answer me
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me with great power?
No, he would only pay attention to me.
7 There an upright person
could present his case before him,
and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

8 “If I go to the east, he is not there,
and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.
9 In the north when he is at work,
I do not see him;
when he turns to the south,
I see no trace of him.
10 But he knows the pathway that I take;
if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.
11 My feet have followed his steps closely;
I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.
13 But he is unchangeable, and who can change him?
Whatever he has desired, he does.
14 For he fulfills his decree against me,
and many such things are his plans.
15 That is why I am terrified in his presence;
when I consider, I am afraid because of him.
16 Indeed, God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness,
because of the thick darkness
that covered my face.

REFLECTIONS

At some point in these seemingly endless speeches, you might have asked yourself: “Why do they go on for so long? They’re going around in circles. What’s the point?” Christopher Ash, in his commentary, has a helpful suggestion. He says part of the reason is that long-term suffering often doesn’t have quick and easy “answers.” Why does God allow some people suffer so much more than others, when it’s not their fault? Those who are suffering will wrestle over and over with that question – and we all need to learn to sit with them through that long journey. We need to resist the urge to “move on” and leave those who are suffering behind.

One thought from Job’s agonised wrestling today. Job looks to the east, west, north, and south, but says, “I see no trace of God” (v. 8-9). Often God and his ways are hidden to us, and that can be a struggle for us. But that’s why it’s such a comfort to know about Jesus and his death and resurrection. The weakness of the cross of Jesus is where God has put on display all his power, glory, love, and wisdom. As Paul says, the message of Christ crucified is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Even when you can’t see all God’s ways in your own circumstances, keep looking to the cross of Jesus – you will always find God there.