The Arguing Continues…
Job Chapter 10 — It seems as though Job was not done complaining. Again I picture Job pleading his case, walking away, and then coming back with more. He starts to get more frustrated with God and says to have God put all of the cards on the table. That God should make the case against him to show him why he deserved all of the suffering. He started to vent some more and asked God if watching Job suffer was making him happy. He reminds God that he is the work of God and look how God was treating him. He pleaded that God remember the character of Job and that he was blameless and upright.
The interesting thing about this story is that in all honesty God did allow these things to happen to Job even though he had done nothing wrong. It was simply a challenge from Satan. AND the only rule really was that Satan could not kill Job, which at this point is all that Job wants to have happen.
Job brings back up the fact that he has done nothing wrong and even though is friends insist that he must have done something he adamantly denies any wrong doing. Job also felt that God was not helping him in his current suffrage and despair. Instead it seemed as though God was kicking him while he was down. This brings Job full circle back to it would have just been better if he was not born.
Job Chapter 11 — We now get to hear from Zophar. It appears that Zophar was a cut to the chase kind of guy. Zophar did not have any compassion for Job. Especially after hearing him go back and forth with Eliphaz and Bildad. Zophar tells Job that he is all talk and no action and should not be vindicated. Zophar says that Job claims to be in the right and and not guilty of anything but based on the suffering and pain it is clear that he is not innocent. Zophar believes in something called the doctrine of total depravity. The idea of total depravity is that the sinfulness of man — both inherited from Adam and actually practiced by an individual — is so great that one could say regarding every suffering of life, know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves. Because of this believe Zophar believes Job was wrong to question God. Zophar tells Job that the best he can do is accept his punishment from God instead of protesting the injustice of it. In Zophar’s mind, Job’s punishment was just, and God was actually giving Job less than he deserved. Zophar at last encouraged Job to confess and repent by warning him of the consequences if he did not.
Job Chapter 12 — In this chapter Job responds again. I must say I am not enjoying this part of the book. I feel like this is dragging on and on. We get it — you feel wronged — your friends feel like you are not being truthful — you are frustrated with your friends because they don’t believe you — get on with life already!
In this response from Job you can tell that he has totally lost his patience. He says that basically his friends are all knowing. Job added that even though he clearly does not have the wisdom that his friends have, he is understanding and that the things his friends were saying weren’t new or exciting. Job goes onto to say that he was a godly man but was still being mocked and ridiculed by his friends. He reminisces about his past life when he used to call on God and God would answer. He said his life was at ease. He has come to the realization that he had it all backwards. He used to think that the righteous were blessed and the wicked seemed to afflicted. But now he sees it the other way. Job goes on to make several statements that are true. The point being that if all of those things are so clearly true then so is the power and majesty of God. Job then goes on to describe the power and majesty of God. He shows Gods power of men, over minds, over the wise, over rulers, over the eloquent, over the darkness, over the nations, etc. He adds that God is so powerful that that he can take away understanding of great men and when he does they grope in the dark without light.
Job Chapter 13 — Job continues to complain about his friends responses. He requests that God make sense of his suffering. Since Job firmly believes that he has done no wrong he asks his friends what will happen to them when God seeks them out and finds that they have been giving Job inaccurate advise. Now we know that God sent Satan to test Job. But Job doesn’t know that. His friends don’t know that. But we know and we wonder what will happen to Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. He reminds them that they would never want to be treated the way that Job was treated. His friends claim to be all knowing and full of wisdom, but we know that is not the case. This is the first time we see that his friends try to jump in and interrupt. But Job wants to finish. I picture him holding up his hand and saying let me finish! Job finishes with I will trust Him. Job prays to God and says that he realizes that he asked to be left alone, but that was just a feeling of despair and grief and that he really does not want to be left alone. Job begins to worry that his most recent behavior, thoughts and feelings have destroyed the relationship that he has with God. Although Job does not believe that he has sinned to bring this grievance on him he prays a wonderful prayer asking God to show him his iniquities and sins.
