Monday, March 2, 2015

Job 16: "God Is Against Me...And For Me"

Job replies to Eliphaz's second speech in Job 16.  We hear his famous comment: "Miserable comforters are you all!" in verse 2.  Job is discouraged by the response of his so-called friends.  He is disappointed that they have taken the easy way of criticizing and judging Job.  Were their roles reversed, Job believes that he would encourage and support his friends.

Unfortunately for Job, he doesn't have the opportunity to find out.  He is the one on the hot seat.  In verse 6, Job confesses that he gets no relief whether he speaks or keeps silent.  But he feels his words simply cannot be kept to himself.

Job makes a case that God must hate him in verses 7-14.  He lists all the sufferings he has endured: he is worn out, he has been bound, he has become gaunt, he is assaulted by enemies, he is crushed, etc.  As Job states in verses 12-14: "All was well with me, but he shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me.  He has made me his target; his archers surround me.  Without pity, he pierces my kidneys and spills my gall on the ground.  Again and again he bursts upon me; he rushes at me like a warrior."  He feels that God has been relentlessly attacking him.

In spite of these painful attacks, however, Job still maintains his innocence (vs. 15-17).  He insists that he is suffering unjustly.  Even though he has been wounded and injured (by God, he mistakenly believes), Job states that his hands are clean and his prayer is pure.

To testify to this, Job says that God is his witness (vs. 19-21).  In an amazing theological turn, Job senses that God is his advocate, his intercessor, his friend.  As New Testament Christians, this language sounds remarkably like a reference to Jesus, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit!

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