Note: the following is the manuscript for the message and will not match exactly the recorded message above.
Review and Intro
We continue our series in the book of Job, looking at chapters 15-17 today. So far in the book, we have seen a righteous man named Job experience the tremendous suffering of losing all of his ten children and all of his animals.
This happened because of a conversation between God and an angel referred to as the satan, or the adversary, in which the question of Job’s motives is brought up.
Is he devoted to God because he gets blessings from God? Or would he still be devoted even if all his blessings are taken away. What is at stake here is whether humans are capable of loving God regardless of what they get from God.
So, everything is taken from Job and at the end of it all, Job continues to be devoted to God. But as we have been going through the speeches between Job and his friends, we are seeing increased hostility on Job’s part toward God.
It is common to think about the book of Job as a lesson for why bad things happen to good people, or how to suffer well. If we follow the example of Job, then perhaps we will find ourselves back in God’s favour, just as Job is at the end of the story.
But this is not the case. Job does not give us a perfect example to follow. And, the only answers to the question of why people suffer are provided by the friends, who do not offer good answers.
The purpose of the book is actually how to think well about God when disaster strikes. When life is going wrong we would like to know how God governs the world. The book of Job is making the case that God’s justice is not the foundation of how the world operates.
We cannot explain every bad thing that happens by investigating them as the result of our behaviour. But, as we are discovering, this is the problem for Job and his friends.
They believe that God rules exclusively with justice, that only the wicked are punished in the way that Job has been. This is the crisis in which we find ourselves in these speeches.
The book of Job teaches us that, instead of trying to understand everything that happens as a reflection of God’s justice, we should learn to trust his wisdom.1
We come now to the second round of speeches. Each of the three friends has taken a crack at trying to comfort Job by suggesting solutions to his problem. Job has responded to each of them, insisting that he is righteous and does not deserve what has happened to him.
In Job’s speeches, he addressed both the friends and God himself. Unlike the friends who only speak about God, Job speaks to God. Job has resolved to approach God essentially with a law suit, taking him to court over a wrongful judgment against him. He knows he could be killed by God because of this, but he has no other hope.
This is where we pick up as we enter the second round of speeches. Eliphaz is up first once again and is not beating around the bush. He is very direct, accusing Job of speaking nonsense and that he must be truly wicked which is why he has suffered so much.
Job then reacts with the exact same accusation, that Eliphaz and the other two friends also speak empty words before turning back to God with harsh words and expressions of longing for death.
We are encountering increasing repetition as we get deeper into these speeches. Repetition helps with getting information to take root in our minds and hearts. If you want to know something, it’s easy enough to do an online search for the information.
But transformation requires repetition. And the Bible is not just a book to give us information. It is meant to transform us.
So, if you’ve been listening to these messages and thinking that I’m repeating myself week after week, just know that it’s intentional. I’m not interested in bringing you new ideas if those ideas are not in the text.
With that said, let’s look at what Eliphaz and Job have to say in their second round of speeches to one another.
A Word for the Wicked
Job 15:2–9:
“Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind? Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God. Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you. Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?”
In the opening words of his speech, Eliphaz offers Job no comfort. His primary purpose is to convince Job to accept the traditional teaching of the wise.
Eliphaz says that Job’s words are empty and even sinful. Job claims to be wise, but wise people don’t speak such nonsense.
He gives three pairs of charges against Job, which we see in verses 4-7.
First, in verse 4, he says Job is undermining piety and hindering devotion to God. In other words, Job’s speeches are doing spiritual damage, not just to Job, but to those who hear his speeches. He is compromising his own righteousness and making things worse for himself.
Second, in verse 5, he says Job is speaking from sin and using twisted arguments. Eliphaz suggests that Job’s suffering is clouding his judgment. His words are no longer honest or true, but manupulative. He is no longer seeing clearly and needs to stop before he does more damage.
Third, in verse 6 and 7, Eliphaz says Job is condemning himself and acting like he is wiser than anyone who ever lived. The view of the ancient people is that wisdom is all about setting this in their proper order.
Eliphaz is accusing Job of thinking that he knows how everything works. That he knows the proper order of things.
Then he goes on to warn Job about the fate of the wicked. They live in fear, they suffer torment, they are cut off and destroyed.
Job 15:20–22 “All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him. Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him. He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness; he is marked for the sword.”
The speech seems to imply that Job is a wicked person. But, perhaps Eliphaz is not actually saying that Job is wicked. Rather, he might be warning Job that the path he is going down leads to destruction.
Eliphaz might actually believe that Job is fundamentally a righteous man. It is likely that he actually envies Job’s righteousness.
He could be saying to Job that this suffering is just a test, not actually a punishment for his sin. If Job would stop challenging God, everything would be restored.
In Eliphaz’s mind, perhaps Job’s sin isn’t really anything he did in the past, rather it is how he’s talking now. The problem isn’t the past, it’s the present. His words are reckless and dangerous.
He says that if he has any sense at all, he must abandon his desperate hope of disputing directly with God. Otherwise, he will produce a worse fate for himself than what he has already endured.2
Eliphaz emphasizes that God will not compromise his justice, that he always punishes the wicked. There is only one escape for Job, which is to stop this nonsense of trying to convince God of his innocence. He is, after all, a righteous person, is he not?
So, perhaps Eliphaz, despite lacking tact and consolation, has Job’s best interest in mind. He is operating within his own understanding of how things work and offering to Job the best of his own wisdom.
So often that is the case with us when we bring words of rebuke and warning to others. We can learn from Eliphaz that this is not the best approach to comforting a friend in the midst of pain and suffering. It is unhelpful to point out obvious mistakes and warnings.
Rather, as we turn to Job’s speech, we will see that what’s really needed is someone to stand with the suffering, to advocate for them, and to bear witness to the the legitimacy of their injustice.
Can I Get a Witness?
Job 16:2–8
“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household. You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.”
Job responds to his friends and the pain in his voice is raw. His friends are miserable comforters. They are not offering compassion but emptiness.
He describes his suffering in vivid terms: God is tearing him apart like a lion, his face is red with weeping, his body is broken and his spirit is crushed.
For Job, it feels like God is an enemy attacking him and his friends have joined in on the assault. Instead of comforting him, they are tormenting him.
Then, we come to verses 16-19: “Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.”
Job is looking for a witness to make a case for him. He knows his friends won’t do this. He’s not even sure God will rescue him.
But, he hopes for someone in the heavenly counsel who will speak for him, someone who will see the truth and defend him.
So, who is this witness? Ultimately, we know the witness Job is looking for is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But, based on what we know about Job, there is no concept of a Messiah in his mind.
After spending a good deal of time studying the different options for who Job is referring to, my conclusion is that this is merely wishful thinking.
He is imagining the possibility of someone coming to his rescue. A true friend who will have his back no matter what. He is hoping for someone that he’s not sure actually exists.
But, we are fortunate to know such a friend. Jesus is our witness. And he doesn’t make a case based on our innocence, but on his own.
He stands in for us and pleads our case to the judge based on the new humanity that he has given to those who want it.
This is our hope. It is not an empty hope or wishful thinking as in the case of Job. It is a certain promise. No matter what happens, we have a friend who stands with us through everything, even including our own failures.
I want to spend just a few moments looking at one final statement that Job makes. This is a difficult one.
God Hates Me
The following section draws from Tremper Longman’s commentary on Job.3
Job 16:9 in the New Revised Standard Version says this: “He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.”
His pain boils over into a terrifying conclusion. God must hate me. How else can he explain his situation?
After all, he, like the three friends, believes that only sinners suffer, but since he is innocent, he knows that he is not suffering because of his sin.
He also believes that God is in control of his life, so his suffering must be God’s doing. Therefore, God hates him. That is the only reason why he has become the object of God’s punishment.
In their time wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites also believed that God hated them. Deuteronomy 1:27 records the Israelites saying, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.”
They are not alone in this thinking. When bad things happen, a common reaction is to ask, “What did I do to deserve this?”
When we cannot think of anything that we have done, we begin to think that God does not love us. He doesn’t care.
But this raises an interesting and important question. Does God hate anybody? Many will respond negatively. God does not hate anyone.
John 3:16 says that God so loved the whole world…
Yet, there are passages that speak about God hating certain kinds of people.
Psalm 5:5 “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;”
Psalm 11:5 “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.”
Proverbs 6:16–19 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”
These biblical passages indicate that God hates wicked people. The old slogan that God hates sin but not the sinner sounds great, but is it actually biblical?
Some will reply that to speak of God’s “hate” is simply a metaphor. God does not really hate anyone.
Although they point beyond themselves, they also communicate truly, so it is right to say that God loves but also that God hates.
So, in a way, Job is not wrong to consider the possibility that God hates him. God hates sinners. But Job is convinced he is not a sinner. It is on that basis that Job should know that God does not hate him.
This is the source of his torment. He is conflicted about what to think about the situation. He so badly wants to be loved by God. He has always experienced God’s love in terms of blessings and favour.
Now that these things are taken away, he is not sure God actually loves him. It would make sense to be outside of God’s favour if he had behaved poorly. But he hasn’t. He is described not as a sinner, but as righteous.
Of course, according to the New Testament, we are all sinners. None of us can make the claim that Job is making, which is why we cannot truly identify with Job.
Sure, we experience difficulty. But, if we were like Job and believed that God’s favour is only given to the righteous, then none of us can claim we are being treated unfairly.
None of us are righteous. If God hates sinners, then we all deserve his wrath.
However, those who turn to Jesus are no longer judged as the sinners we are.
Our sins have been forgiven, and the righteousness of Christ stands in our place. Therefore, we are no longer the objects of God’s wrath but of his mercy. God’s love is channeled to us through Christ, who is the only truly righteous one.
So yes, Job’s question is honest and understandable. But the answer for him and for us is not found in ourselves as though we could somehow sidestep God’s hatred for sin.
Our answer is in Jesus. He makes the way for us to be loved by God. It doesn’t mean life will be perfect, but it does mean we can live with the joy and hope of restoration to eternal life and blessing in the presence of God.
Conclusion
This speech from Job takes us on a rollor coaster ride of emotions.
In light of all that he has suffered, his declaration in 17:9 makes his position clear: “Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.”
Not one time does Job speak about getting all his prosperity back. Truly righteous people are concerned about their devotion to God, not the rewards they receive.
As we consider this section of Job, here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- When things go wrong, can you trust that God loves you and that this love is based on his righteousness and not your own?
- When good-meaning friends speak harshly to you, can you turn to Jesus as your true friend who loves you?
- When you think no one is on your side, can you trust that Jesus is your mediator?
Benediction
May God the Father bless you with his favour, may Christ the Son be your witness, and may the Holy Spirit remind you each day of the unending love of God. Amen.
- John H. Walton and Tremper Longman III, How to Read Job (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2015), 19–20. ↩︎
- David J. A. Clines, Job 1–20, vol. 17, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 365. ↩︎
- Tremper Longman III, ed., Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Job (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 244. ↩︎