Reflections on Job

Earlier in the morning I had read Job 7-9 and I thought there were some interesting things, but I had no time to think about it, so I read it over again as well as 10-14... lol.

I guess I always thought Job reacted differently. From what I've read so far he's in this huge debate with his friends about God and who he is. You see, satan kinda challenged God saying that Job only worships God because of all the blessings he has, so God tells satan that he's wrong and so God let's him take some stuff away from Job. His family, his house, his stuff, his health, etc. but not his life. I thought Job would always be like 'well, I have God, so I'm good', but I see him being human. He's having trouble dealing with it. He's thinking he would rather have never been born. He's pretty annoyed and he's being pretty dramatic too like 'If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas!' But he also knows how great God is and how based on ourselves we can't approach him.

Job says all of the following in the book of Job in the Bible:

9:4-10 "His wisdom is profound, his power is vast... He moves mountains ... and over turns them ... He shakes the Earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

12:13,16 "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his... To him belong strength and victory"

9:19 "If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him?"

12:10 "In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

10:8-12 "Your hands shaped me and made me... you molded me like clay... Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit."

7:17-20 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone for even an instant? If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men?"

10:14-15 "If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty -- woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and aware of my affliction."

9:2 "can a man be righteous before God?"

9:32-35 "He is not a man like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

14:15-17 "You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offense will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin."

I know I can relate to what he is saying. I struggled for a long time thinking that I needed to become more righteous before I could come before God and ask for forgiveness. I knew, to a degree, that the sin in my life was extensive. I knew that and thought that I needed to fight it. Fight it myself until the battle was nearly won then let Him destroy all that was left.

That was a losing battle with no chance of winning. I'd last a couple days longer and fail again. I'd last a week longer and fail again. I wasn't making any progress and instead it was just getting to me. I was feeling frustrated. I couldn't do it and it was so hard. I read once that 'you don't know how hard it is to be good until you really try' and it's true.

The thing is that we, in 2011, live in a different time than Job and his words say more than he thinks. I mean, what he has said has actually come to pass. He longs for an arbitrator that can help him approach God. Someone that can help him stand even in the knowledge of his past sins. Someone who can bridge the gap between sinful man and the perfect, holy, creator of the Universe, God.

And the difference is that we have that arbitrator. God's wrath has been diverted. Indeed, God does not let sin go unpunished, but instead had someone else pay for us. God sent his only begotten Son to us. God came and took on flesh. He came down to Earth and became fully man while remaining fully God. He had "days like those of a mortal [and] years like those of a man" (Job 10:5). He can fully relate with us and is God. And through his death on the cross the rod of God's wrath that was on us has been redirected. We can stand firm before God because of the hope we have in this life He has given us and the love He has shown for us. Through Jesus' resurrection we see God's victory over sin and death. God is calling out to us and giving us the choice to answer or turn away.

We still go through these struggles, battling intellectually the same way Job was, but we also have the next part of the story that hadn't been written at the time when Job was alive.

As Job's friend put it "if you devote your heart to him, and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope" (Job 11:13-18)

Jesus has taken my sin and covered me in his righteousness. By Him and Him alone can I stand firm before God knowing I have been forgiven. This hope, this undeserved grace, this love poured out upon us, it's all right there, the gift of God is being offered to each of us.