7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets—came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. 11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory!

REFLECTIONS

Written by Afryll Lio

It’s funny to think of the old covenant as a “ministry that brought death”. Not funny ha-ha but more like “wait, what?” But I guess it’s true. The very fact that we need laws points to an undeniable fact about humans – we aren’t good. If we could get away with doing whatever we want, whenever we want, we would. So God coming in and giving Israel a clear set of laws, and making explicit that the penalty for breaking such laws is death would be, well… a ministry that brings death, because it was inevitable that they would break the laws. Yet the old covenant was still glorious because if by chance you were the perfect human and could follow the laws perfectly, then for you it could indeed bring you into right relationship with God. So the laws God gives us aren’t the problem – we are.

That’s also why the new covenant in Jesus is even more glorious. As believers we are still to obey his commands, but our right relationship with God doesn’t depend on whether we can follow them perfectly. It depends on Jesus’ death on the cross for us. What glorious news!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Afryll is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.

Today, would you believe it, we reach the end of the book of Job! God has just finished his second reply to Job. We will now hear Job’s response and the conclusion of the book.

1 Then Job answered the LORD:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted;
3 you asked, ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’
But I have declared without understanding
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 You said, ‘Pay attention, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye has seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself,
and I repent in dust and ashes!”

7 After the LORD had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

9 So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the LORD had told them; and the LORD had respect for Job.

10 So the LORD restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the LORD doubled all that had belonged to Job. 11 So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

12 So the LORD blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land could women be found who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance alongside their brothers.

16 After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, old and full of days.

REFLECTIONS

We will think more about the way the book ends in church next week, but the line that stood out to me today was: “So the LORD restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the LORD doubled all that had belonged to Job” (v. 10). It would be a mistake to read this as a promise that God will give you material prosperity in this life if you trust him enough. That is not what the Bible promises us. But when the book finds its fulfilment in Jesus, this becomes a rock-solid promise of what God will do for his suffering people when Jesus returns to unveil the new creation.

No matter how much you have suffered, no matter how much you have lost, if you are waiting with your hope in Jesus your Saviour, God will restore overflowing joy to you in his everlasting kingdom.

Who is a Christian brother or sister you could encourage to keep waiting patiently for Jesus’ return? Pray for them now.

Today we will hear the last part of God’s second reply to Job.

1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook
and tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it make numerous supplications to you;
will it speak to you with tender words?
4 Will it make a pact with you,
so you could take it as your slave for life?
5 Can you play with it, like a bird,
or tie it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will partners bargain for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay your hand on it,
you will remember the fight.
Do not do it again!
9 See, his expectation is wrong;
he is laid low even at the sight of it.
10 Is it not fierce when it is awakened?
Who is he, then, who can stand before it?
11 Who has confronted me that I should repay?
Everything under heaven belongs to me!
12 I will not keep silent about its limbs,
and the extent of its might,
and the grace of its arrangement.
13 Who can uncover its outer covering?
Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor?
14 Who can open the doors of its mouth?
Its teeth all around are fearsome.
15 Its back has rows of shields,
shut up closely together as with a seal;
16 each one is so close to the next
that no air can come between them.
17 They lock tightly together, one to the next;
they cling together and cannot be separated.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the red glow of dawn.
19 Out of its mouth go flames;
sparks of fire shoot forth!
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning rushes.
21 Its breath sets coals ablaze,
and a flame shoots from its mouth.
22 Strength lodges in its neck,
and despair runs before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm on it, immovable.
24 Its heart is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;
at its thrashing about they withdraw.
26 Whoever strikes it with a sword
will have no effect,
nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.\
27 It regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;
slingstones become like chaff to it.
29 A club is counted as a piece of straw;
it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds;
it leaves its mark in the mud
like a threshing sledge.
31 It makes the deep boil like a cauldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment,
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had a head of white hair.
33 The likes of it is not on earth,\
a creature without fear.
34 It looks on every haughty being;
it is king over all that are proud.”

REFLECTIONS

There are lots of debates over what the two great beasts in Job 40-41 are – Behemoth (which we heard about yesterday) and Leviathan. Are they just names for two “natural” animals, like the hippo and the crocodile, or do they represent something more sinister? This isn’t the place to get into the details, but I think they are monster-like representations of the great and ancient spiritual forces of evil. Basically, Behemoth represents death and Leviathan represents Satan.

That fits with God’s challenge to Job yesterday. God began by saying: “If you would criticise my justice, can you bring down the proud and crush the wicked?” Ultimately, doing that doesn’t just mean fining shop-lifters or putting money-launderers in jail. It means ending all evil. It means judging Satan, the ancient enemy of God’s purposes, and destroying sin and death themselves.

That’s why the whole book of Job looks forward, in the end, to Jesus. We’ll think about this more in church on Sunday – but Jesus is God’s perfect justice and final answer to evil. So whatever you do and whatever you go through, stick with Jesus!

We have just finished God’s first reply to Job out of the storm. Today, after a quick interlude, we will hear the first part of God’s second reply.

1 Then the LORD answered Job:
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

3 Then Job answered the LORD:
4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy—how could I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.
5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;
twice, but I will say no more.”

6 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Get ready for a difficult task like a man.
I will question you, and you will inform me.
8 Would you indeed annul my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor.
11 Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger.
Look at every proud man and bring him low.
12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot.
13 Hide them in the dust together;
imprison them in the grave.
14 Then I myself will acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.

15 “Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look at its strength in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 It ranks first among the works of God;
the One who made it
has furnished it with a sword.
20 For the hills bring it food,
where all the wild animals play.
21 Under the lotus trees it lies,
in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream conceal it.
23 If the river rages, it is not disturbed;
it is secure, though the Jordan
should surge up to its mouth.
24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes
or pierce its nose with a snare?

REFLECTIONS

God’s first reply to Job focused on his complete and intimate knowledge of every detail of the universe. His second reply shifts to one particular feature of the universe: the evil that exists in it. Job has suffered great evil, and because of that, he has accused God of being unjust and of mismanaging the world.

God’s answer is effectively: “Unless you have the knowledge and power to put all evil to an end, you can’t begin to understand what I am doing about the evil in the world, let alone judge me for it.”

We’ll come back to the strange (and terrifying) creature Behemoth tomorrow. For today: God’s words to Job here are a huge rebuke … but they are also a subtle assurance. God challenges Job to bring low the proud and crush the wicked (v. 11-12). Of course Job can’t do that! But God can – and there is a hint here that one day, he will. He will end all evil.

We have so much more than just hints about that. We have the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! In Jesus, subtle hint has become certain hope.

God’s reply to Job will come in two speeches. Yesterday we heard the first half of God’s first speech – which was a barrage of questions. The barrage continues in the second half of the speech.

1 “Are you acquainted with the way
the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch; they bear their young;
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.
4 Their young grow strong and grow up in the open;
they go off and do not return to them.
5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
6 to whom I appointed the arid rift valley for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.
8 It ranges the hills as its pasture
and searches after every green plant.
9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope;
will it till the valleys, following after you?
11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit your labor to it?
12 Can you count on it to bring in your grain
and gather the grain to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap with joy,
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
15 She forgets that a foot might crush them
or that a wild animal might trample them.
16 She is harsh with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.
17 For God deprived her of wisdom
and did not impart understanding to her.
18 But as soon as she springs up,
she laughs at the horse and its rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust?
Its proud neighing is terrifying!
21 It paws the ground in the valley,
exulting mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin flash.
24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.
25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.

26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle soars
and builds its nest on high?
28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag and a fortress.
29 From there it spots its prey;
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses are,
there it is.”

REFLECTIONS

I love the contrast between the yesterday’s questions and today’s. Yesterday was about God’s complete knowledge of the vast expanses of time and space: only God was there when the universe was created, and only God owns and directs the big, powerful forces of nature like storms and floods.

Today, God switches to the small things, the countless unseen “life events” that happen in the animal world. The language suddenly becomes gentle, almost playful. Every time an ibex gives birth in the remote steppes of Mongolia, it’s because God formed the baby and nurtured it through to birth. Do you even know how long a Siberian Ibex’s pregnancy is? God does, of course. God even knows why the crazy animals are crazy – like the ostrich, which is low on parenting skills but big on speed. Why is it crazy like that?

God doesn’t answer that, or any of these questions. Why would he? This is just a tiny sample of a billion trillion quintillion details of the universe … and God knows every single one. You can get irrationally angry at that – or you can rejoice in wonder and praise, and trust in his understanding of it all.

Last week we heard Job present his defence of his innocence to God. We then waited 6 chapters while Elihu attempted to judge Job’s case. Now, at last, God will break his silence … but it will be nothing like Job expected.

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
with words without knowledge?
3 Get ready for a difficult task like a man;
I will question you,
and you will inform me.

4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you possess understanding.
5 Who set its measurements—if you know—
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its bases set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars sang in chorus,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea with doors
when it burst forth, coming out of the womb,
9 when I made the storm clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 when I prescribed its limits
and set in place its bolts and doors,
11 when I said, ‘To here you may come
and no farther,
here your proud waves will be confined’?
12 Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
or made the dawn know its place,
13 that it might seize the corners of the earth
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features are dyed like a garment.
15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised in violence is broken.
16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.

19 “In what direction does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?
21 You know, for you were born before them;
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow
or seen the armory of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?
24 In what direction is lightning dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,
a wilderness where there are no human beings,
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?
28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky, who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades
or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out
the constellations in their seasons
or guide the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?

39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness
and satisfy the appetite of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?

REFLECTIONS

One of the things I often reflect on is that a lot of non-Christians think that if God exists, he needs to prove himself to us or explain why the world is the way it is. But that is both wrong and impossible – something even godly and righteous Job needed to learn.

Job has spoken “words without knowledge” (v2) by criticising God’s ways, and God’s barrage of questions graciously shows Job just how little he knows about the universe. We can see and understand such a miniscule slice of time and space and reality. God knows it all – he formed it all. Wisdom starts by humbly recognising our place before him.

Today we will finish the long verdict that Elihu hands down for Job’s court case with God.

36:1 Elihu said further:
2 “Be patient with me a little longer,
and I will instruct you,
for I still have words to speak on God’s behalf.
3 With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively,
and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness.
4 For in truth, my words are not false;
it is one complete in knowledge
who is with you.
5 Indeed, God is mighty, and he does not despise people;
he is mighty, and firm in his intent.
6 He does not allow the wicked to live,
but he gives justice to the poor.
7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
but with kings on the throne
he seats the righteous and exalts them forever.
8 But if they are bound in chains
and held captive by the cords of affliction,
9 then he reveals to them what they have done
and their transgressions,
that they were behaving proudly.
10 And he reveals this for correction
and says that they must turn from evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
they live out their days in prosperity
and their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they refuse to listen,
they pass over the river of death
and expire without knowledge.
13 The godless at heart nourish anger;
they do not cry out even when he binds them.
14 They die in their youth,
and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by their afflictions;
he reveals himself to them by their suffering.
16 And surely, he drew you from the mouth of distress,
to a wide place, unrestricted,
and to the comfort of your table
filled with rich food.
17 But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Be careful that no one entices you with riches;
do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
19 Would your wealth sustain you,
so that you would not be in distress,
even all your mighty efforts?
20 Do not long for the cover of night
to drag people away from their homes.
21 Take heed; do not turn to evil,
for because of this you have been tested by affliction.
22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed his ways for him?
Or said to him, ‘You have done what is wicked’?
24 Remember to extol his work,
which people have praised in song.
25 All humanity has seen it;
people gaze on it from afar.

26 “Yes, God is great—beyond our knowledge!
The number of his years is unsearchable.
27 He draws up drops of water;
they distill the rain into its mist,
28 which the clouds pour down
and shower on humankind abundantly.
29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?
30 See how he scattered his lightning about him;
he has covered the depths of the sea.
31 It is by these that he judges the nations
and supplies food in abundance.
32 With his hands he covers the lightning
and directs it against its target.
33 His thunder announces the coming storm,
the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.

37:1 At this also my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice,
to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
even his lightning to the far corners of the earth.
4 After that a voice roars;
he thunders with an exalted voice,
and he does not hold back
his lightning bolts
when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall to earth,’
and to the torrential rains, ‘Pour down.’
7 He causes everyone to stop working,
so that all people may know his work.
8 The wild animals go to their lairs,
and in their dens they remain.
9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,
icy cold from the driving winds.
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through the clouds.
12 The clouds go round in circles,
wheeling about according to his plans,
to carry out all that he commands them
over the face of the whole inhabited world.
13 Whether it is for punishment,
or for his land,
or for mercy,
he causes it to find its mark.

14 “Pay attention to this, Job!
Stand still and consider the wonders God works.
15 Do you know how God commands them,
how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud?
16 Do you know about the balancing of the clouds,
that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 You, whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind,
18 will you, with him, spread out the clouds,
solid as a mirror of molten metal?
19 Tell us what we should say to him.
We cannot prepare a case
because of the darkness.
20 Should he be informed that I want to speak?
If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up!
21 But now, the sun cannot be looked at—
it is bright in the skies—
after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.
22 From the north he comes in golden splendor;
around God is awesome majesty.
23 As for the Almighty, we cannot attain to him!
He is great in power,
but justice and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.
24 Therefore people fear him,
for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”

REFLECTIONS

Elihu’s speech is hard to work out. He certainly says many things that are right and that anticipate God’s own verdict. But in the end, Elihu blames Job for his predicament, just like the friends had. I think Elihu shows how limited human judgment is. Only God is qualified to judge the deep mysteries of suffering in this world.

There is, in fact, only one human judge who is competent to judge the thoughts of the heart: Jesus Christ – because Jesus is the Son of God who “comes from heaven” (John 3:31). That is why God the Father “has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). You can trust Jesus’ judgment of all things.

Elihu has stood up to judge Job’s case and adjudicate between Job and his friends. Today we will read the middle section of his verdict.

34:1 Elihu answered:
2 “Listen to my words, you wise men;
hear me, you learned men.
3 For the ear assesses words
as the mouth tastes food.
4 Let us evaluate for ourselves what is right;
let us come to know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job says, ‘I am innocent,
but God turns away my right.
6 Concerning my right, should I lie?
My wound is incurable,
although I am without transgression.’
7 Who is there like Job,
who drinks derision like water?
8 He goes about in company with evildoers;
he goes along with wicked men.
9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man
when he makes his delight with God.’

10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
from the Almighty to do evil.
11 For he repays a person for his work,
and according to the conduct of a person,
he causes the consequences to find him.
12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly,
and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
13 Who entrusted to him the earth?
And who put him over the whole world?
14 If God were to set his heart on it,
and gather in his spirit and his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and human beings would return to dust.

16 “If you have understanding, listen to this,
hear what I have to say.
17 Do you really think
that one who hates justice can govern?
And will you declare guilty
the supremely Righteous One,
18 who says to a king, ‘Worthless man,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’
19 who shows no partiality to princes,
and does not take note of the rich more than the poor
because all of them are the work of his hands?
20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night;
people are shaken, and they pass away.
The mighty are removed effortlessly.
21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual;
he observes all a person’s steps.
22 There is no darkness, and no deep darkness,
where evildoers can hide themselves.
23 For he does not still consider a person,
that he should come before God in judgment.
24 He shatters the great without inquiry
and sets up others in their place.
25 Therefore, he knows their deeds;
he overthrows them in the night,
and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place where people can see,
27 because they have turned away from following him
and have not understood any of his ways,
28 so that they caused the cry of the poor
to come before him,
so that he hears the cry of the needy.
29 But if God is quiet, who can condemn him?
If he hides his face, then who can see him?
Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike,
30 so that the godless man should not rule
and not lay snares for the people.

31 “Has anyone said to God,
‘I have endured chastisement,
but I will not act wrongly any more;
32 teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done evil, I will do so no more’?
33 Is it your opinion that God should recompense it,
because you reject this?
But you must choose, and not I,
so tell us what you know.
34 Men of understanding say to me—
any wise man listening to me says—
35 that Job speaks without knowledge
and his words are without understanding.
36 But Job will be tested to the end,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.
37 For he adds transgression to his sin;
in our midst he claps his hands
and multiplies his words against God.”

35:1 Then Elihu answered:
2 “Do you think this to be just
when you say, ‘My right before God’?
3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’
and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’
4 I will reply to you,
and to your friends with you.
5 Gaze at the heavens and see;
consider the clouds, which are higher than you.
6 If you sin, how does it affect God?
If your transgressions are many,
what does it do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,
or what does he receive from your hand?
8 Your wickedness affects only a person like yourself,
and your righteousness only other people.

9 “People cry out
because of the excess of oppression;
they cry out for help
because of the power of the mighty.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,
who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth,
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
12 Then they cry out—but he does not answer—
because of the arrogance of the wicked.
13 Surely it is an empty cry—God does not hear it;
the Almighty does not take notice of it.
14 How much less, then,
when you say that you do not perceive him,
that the case is before him
and you are waiting for him!
15 And further, when you say
that his anger does not punish,
and that he does not know transgression!
16 So Job opens his mouth to no purpose;
without knowledge he multiplies words.”

REFLECTIONS

We will read the final part of Elihu’s verdict on Monday. In the meantime, the question to wrestle with is still: Does Elihu bring the true wisdom that Job and his friends were lacking? Is he qualified to act as the judge, or is this a case of the blind leading the blind?

Job spent 24 chapters debating with his friends. Then in chapters 29-31, we heard Job present and sign his formal statement of innocence to God. He then stopped speaking, and is waiting to see if God will appear to judge his case and adjudicate between him and his friends.

God will appear eventually. But first, there is an unexpected interruption. A man called Elihu suddenly jumps in and presents himself as the judge for the case.

32:1 So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 With Job’s three friends he was also angry because they could not find an answer, and so declared Job guilty. 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because the others were older than he was. 5 But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.

6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up:
“I am young, but you are elderly;
that is why I was fearful
and afraid to explain to you what I know.
7 I said to myself, ‘Age should speak,
and length of years should make wisdom known.’
8 But it is a spirit in people,
the breath of the Almighty,
that makes them understand.
9 It is not the aged who are wise,
nor old men who understand what is right.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me.
I, even I, will explain what I know.’
11 Look, I waited for you to speak;
I listened closely to your wise thoughts, while you were searching for words.
12 Now I was paying you close attention,
yet there was no one proving Job wrong,
not one of you was answering his statements.
13 So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom.
God will refute him, not man.’
14 Job has not directed his words to me,
and so I will not reply to him with your arguments.

15 “They are dismayed and cannot answer anymore;
they have nothing left to say.
16 And I have waited. But because they do not speak,
because they stand there and answer no more,
17 I too will answer my part;
I too will explain what I know.
18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me constrains me.
19 Inside I am like wine that has no outlet,

like new wineskins ready to burst!
20 I will speak, so that I may find relief;
I will open my lips, so that I may answer.
21 I will not show partiality to any person,
nor will I confer a title on anyone.
22 For I do not know how to give honorary titles;
if I did, my Creator would quickly do away with me.

33:1 “But now, O Job, listen to my words,
and hear everything I have to say.
2 See now, I have opened my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth has spoken.
3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart,
and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Reply to me, if you can;
set your arguments in order before me
and take your stand.
6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;
I too have been molded from clay.
7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure be heavy on you.

8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing
(I heard the sound of the words!):
9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean and have no iniquity.
10 Yet God finds occasions with me;
he regards me as his enemy.
11 He puts my feet in shackles;
he watches closely all my paths.’
12 Now in this, you are not right—I answer you,
for God is greater than a human being.
13 Why do you contend against him,
that he does not answer all a person’s words?

14 “For God speaks, the first time in one way,
the second time in another,
though a person does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, a night vision,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they sleep in their beds,
16 then he gives a revelation to people
and terrifies them with warnings,
17 to turn a person from his sin,
and to cover a person’s pride.
18 He spares a person’s life from corruption,
his very life from crossing over the river.
19 Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed
and with the continual strife of his bones,
20 so that his life loathes food
and his soul rejects appetizing fare.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones, which were not seen,
are easily visible.
22 He draws near to the place of corruption,
and his life to the messengers of death.
23 If there is an angel beside him,
one mediator out of a thousand,
to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness,
24 and if God is gracious to him and says,
‘Spare him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,’
25 then his flesh is restored like a youth’s;
he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.
26 He entreats God, and God delights in him;
he sees God’s face with rejoicing,
and God restores to him his righteousness.
27 That person sings to others, saying:
‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,
but I was not punished according to what I deserved.
28 He redeemed my life
from going down to the place of corruption,
and my life sees the light!’

29 “Indeed, God does all these things,
twice, three times, in his dealings with a person,
30 to turn back his life from the place of corruption,
that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, Job—listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have any words, reply to me;
speak, for I want to justify you.
33 If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

REFLECTIONS

We are only a third of the way through Elihu’s judgment of Job’s case. I won’t comment much until we reach the end. But in the meantime, the question to ask yourself is: Does Elihu bring the true wisdom that Job and his friends were lacking, or is this yet another case of someone speaking without knowledge? Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Today Job will finish arguing his innocence and presenting his formal self-defence before God.

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes;
how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?
2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust
and disaster for those who work iniquity?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked in falsehood
and if my foot has hastened to deceit—
6 let him weigh me with honest scales;
then God will discover my integrity.
7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes,
or if anything has defiled my hands,
8 then let me sow and let another eat,
and let my crops be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife turn the millstone for another man,
and may other men commit adultery with her.
11 For I would have committed a shameful act,
an iniquity to be judged.
12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction,
and it would uproot all my harvest.

13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed with me,
14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment;
when he intervenes,
how will I respond to him?
15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired,
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 if I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans —
18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow —
19 if I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
20 whose heart did not bless me
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court,
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let my arm be broken off at the socket.
23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me,
and by reason of his majesty I was powerless.

24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to pure gold,
‘You are my security!’
25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
26 if I looked at the sun when it was shining,
and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,
28 then this also would be iniquity to be judged,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy
or exulted because calamity found him—
30 I have not even permitted my mouth to sin
by asking for his life through a curse—
31 if the members of my household have never said,
‘If only there were someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s meat!’—
32 but no stranger had to spend the night outside,
for I opened my doors to the traveler —
33 if I have covered my transgressions as men do,
by hiding iniquity in my heart,
34 because I was terrified of the great multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I remained silent
and would not go outdoors—

35 “If only I had someone to hear me!
Here is my signature —
let the Almighty answer me!
If only I had an indictment
that my accuser had written.
36 Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder,
I would bind it on me like a crown;
37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;
like a prince I would draw near to him.

38 “If my land cried out against me
and all its furrows wept together,
39 if I have eaten its produce without paying,
or caused the death of its owners,
40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,
and in place of barley, noxious weeds.”

The words of Job are ended.

REFLECTIONS

Job is so sure of his own blamelessness that he goes through all the parts of his behaviour and checks them off one by one: “My eyes? I never even looked at a woman lustfully. My feet? I have never walked in falsehood,” and so on. As I read that, a Sunday School song came into my head: “Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see … Oh be careful, little ears, what you hear … Oh be careful, little tongue, what you say,” and so on – and with each one, the song reminds us of the gospel motivation for striving to be godly in that area: “There’s a Father up above and he’s looking down in love.”

It's a great song, but it felt jarring next to Job’s self-defence. We all long to obey God in all those areas (I trust!), though sometimes we fail. Job isn’t just supremely confident in his obedience, he goes through each area and calls down God’s judgment on him if he has failed in it.

I doubt Job is saying that he never sins – he has already acknowledged sin in earlier speeches. But his description of absolutely and perfect innocence applies absolutely and perfectly to the Lord Jesus. Yet Jesus placed himself under God’s judgment on the sin of the world as it poured down on him at the cross. He didn’t run, but stood between us and the wrath of God for our sin.