October 18
Reading: Job 27
1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his widows do not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house like a moth’s,
like a booth that a watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;
he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
in the night a whirlwind carries him off.
21 The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.
22 It hurls at him without pity;
he flees from its power in headlong flight.
23 It claps its hands at him
and hisses at him from its place.
In Job 27-28 Job is teaching his friends. The debate has collapsed. Job’s friends have gone silent. They have not helped him and now have nothing more to say. But Job has made progress. Even though he has been on the receiving end of their ignorance and lack of compassion, the discussion has helped Job to process his pain and move from lament (chapter 3) to speaking truth about God. Job is not done with his grief, nor does he have it figured out, but 25 chapters of emotional and mental anguish have helped Job to grow.
In verse 2 Job clearly holds God responsible for his situation. Interestingly, he does not care about Satan, nor does he attribute any of his problems to Satan. Satan is not important and has no ultimate control or sovereignty. Satan is not even mentioned in the book after chapter 2. Job’s issue is with God and God alone. But, in the next two verses, Job makes it clear that he is not claiming that God, the one who gives him life and breath, has done anything wrong. He still refuses to curse God or to speak any lies about God.
At the same time, in verses 5-6, Job also refuses to admit to any unrighteousness that would have caused God to afflict him. Realize that Job is not saying that he has been perfect, but that his faith is in God and he has been living a life of righteousness in the Lord.
Is Job’s “enemy” and the one who “rises up against” him (vs. 7) his three friends? Job does not say. In verses 7-10 Job describes the plight of the godless man. The worst of it is this: God does not hear his prayer. Even though Job has not heard from God, he is sure that God has been listening to his cries.
In verses 11-12 Job turns his attention to his friends and declares that he is now going to teach them. In verses 13-23 his instruction begins. Job knows this: The wicked man will get what is coming to him. In saying this, Job is agreeing with his friends, but who is speaking makes all the difference.