Why is Job in the Scripture? Who is he? What is he? In this
ancient book of Job, a man appears to be having a tremendous troubles and
tribulations which come all of sudden without any warnings. He lives in the
land of Uz and has a wife and seven children. He is very rich and has a lot of
animals. He is devout and honor God as of his first priority. One day, he hears
the news of one disaster after another. He has lost everything including seven
children. Not long after that, he has been struck by terribly itching and
painful boils all over his body. His three friends hear the unbelievable news
about Job and have remained in silence for seven days and seven nights. No one
says a word to him because they see how great his suffering is.
“Why is life
given to a man
whose way is
hidden,
whom God has
hedged in?
For sighing
has become my daily food;
my groans pour
out like water.
What I
feared has come upon me;
what I
dreaded has happened to me.
I have no
peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.” (Job 3:23-26)
Job is completely bewildered and overwhelmed and confused.
The iron hammering storms of calamity hit hard beyond his mind and
comprehension. No wonder his three friends who have come to comfort him have
gotten lost for seven days and seven nights without saying a word. No human
language can describe what Job is going through now. It sounds very familiar
when the news of rape, murder, human trafficking, drug violence, genocide,
holocaust has reached our ears. Where is justice? Where is vindication? Where
is righteousness? It seems no remedy, cure, and answer. No human mind can
fathom the depth of evil and its height, width, and length. No human project is
avail in resolving relentless injustice and unrighteousness down through generations
and generations in this land. Job just wanted not to be born, saying “May the
day of my birth perish, and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’” (Job
3:3) Job has been destroyed whatever possible man to bear in physical level.
The sufferings has not ended in physical level but come in a
more gradual and unrelenting way in soulish level by three friends who has come
for comfort. This account stretches from Job Chapter 3 to Chapter 31. Then
another young man, Elihu appears and rebukes Job’s three friends, Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar including Job. Elihu is right in saying mostly, but not
quite accurately representing God. The three have taken the wrong position on the
cause of evil that they keep on pressing Job to confess his sins which cause
all these troubles. It is easy and common to believe that trouble comes from
trespass and sin. It is true but not all, not even the least explaining the
depth and height, width and length of evil. Look how has a noble man suddenly
and formidably been destroyed, crumbled, and troubled in seconds. The devil has
powerful force to destroy all the array of joyous and delightful moments of
life with no time of warning at all. It seems the evils are going to destroy and
wreck the whole land of the earth in the matter of minutes. That’s not true
either. Look how the Nazis tried hard to eliminate the Jews from the face of
the earth! A rabbi said that within months of the terrible war the holocaust
survivors were getting married and having children after children. Look how the
devil tried hard to destroy Jesus and was seemingly winning over him who died
on a cross so powerlessly and helplessly. But the moment that the devil thinks
that he is winning turns out exactly as the moment of complete failure. Jesus
Christ did not stay in the cold tomb but rose again from the dead by the power
of God, triumphing over death and scorning the last enemy of humanity.
The devil has formidable power to kill even the fourth of
the earth by sword (Revelation 6:8). However, he is not almighty but one of creatures
of the Creator. Although the devil has received some extent of freedom to use
such a sinister force of darkness by destroying Job in seconds and torturing
him with persistent and dire pressure to confess his hidden sins, in fact and
certainty, he is bounded and hedged by Almighty God. Satan cannot pass the
boundary set by the Creator at any moment, time and space, in heaven and on
earth by any degree ever. In conclusion, he is not in control of any event or
incident in history but God is all time and eternity. The boundary God set for
his servant Job is that Satan cannot touch his life. “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very
well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not
lay a finger.’” (Job 1:12) And the second time again, “The Lord said to Satan,
‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’” (Job 2:6)
One of the lessons the Book of Job shines light upon us is
that the devil is always limited and confined in his stupidity and folly though
he is cunning and crafty. Satan never submits himself to the Lord but always in
rebellion. He even thinks that he could be sitting above God, saying “I will
ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
(Isaiah 14:14) Satan challenges God that Job would curse him to his face if he
were stripped of his fortunes, his flocks and herds, and everything he has.
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you
not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have
blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread
throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he
has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” (Job 1:9-11)
Despite of all troubles and sufferings Job has not cursed
God to his face. Satan is wrong always. However, he doesn’t stop and withdraw
but keeps on attacking man regardless of the failed attempt. That’s what the
devil is doing from the beginning until he will be completely eliminated and
dispelled from the holy presence of the Lord. Jesus reveals the real identity
of the devil, saying “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to
carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not
holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his
native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
“Naked I came
from my mother’s womb,
and naked I
will depart.
The Lord
gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name
of the Lord be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with
wrongdoing.” (Job 1:21-22)
This time, Satan challenges God again that his servant Job
would curse him to his face if he were struck of his flesh and bones. “Skin for
skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now
stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse
you to your face.” (Job 2:4-5) But Job does not curse God to his face either. It
proves that humans do not worship and serve God because of material possessions,
nor because of physical health. We worship God because we’ve been made to serve
him only even before the time began. Does Satan stop then? Not at all. He never
withdraws but persistently attacks man through his friends who has come to comfort
him, but it has been no avail at all. It’s because God has pronounced the
solemn judgment upon the devil that no matter what he would be humiliated and ashamed,
and thrown into the fiery furnace of eternal condemnation in the end.
“So the Lord
God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Cursed are
you above all livestock
and all wild
animals!
You will
crawl on your belly
and you will
eat dust
all the days
of your life.
And I will
put enmity
between you
and the woman,
and between
your offspring and hers;
he will
crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.’” (Genesis 3:14-15)
What does God teach Job? God is teaching him something beyond
his mind and comprehension. It’s about who he is really, especially how he
handles the vicious monster of evil. Job has first been stripped of everything
he has and then struck of his flesh and bones. His three friends has kept on
pushing him harshly and brutally with words out of human wisdom and philosophy
in the name of God to confess his sins. A young man finally has spoken
something true, rebuking Job and three people. However, Job isn’t answered at
all. He is yearning to know why he has been suffering so badly and horribly
even. He directly appeals to God for an answer. He really wants to be answered
why. It is not only Job but the whole earth is wanting on the tiptoe to be
answered. God teaches Job and the whole humanity things beyond our mind and
comprehension.
“Then the
Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
‘Who is this
that obscures my plans
with words
without knowledge?
Brace
yourself like a man;
I will
question you,
and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:1-3)
First, God summons Job because he is going to question him
whether he is able to answer him. The questions of God are basically the
essential elements of his creation of the world. The first few questions are
the creation works of God. After a round of series of questions this man is in
a critical position to answer.
“Where were
you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if
you understand.
Who marked
off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who
stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were
its footings set,
or who laid
its cornerstone—
while the
morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)
Out of desperateness and resentment, he appeals to God for
an answer. So, God answers Job with compassion and truthfulness in a way
helping him to see realities surrounded by him. God questions Job and humanity to
see through the lens what he sees. What God sees is truth and reality because he
is the Creator and the Beginning and the End. Job has eagerly awaited for this moment
of being answered by God and hears the Lord speaking. As the Lord speaks, he
has found himself lighter and smaller like dust and ashes before the Lord of
glory and majesty. All his contentious energy to search an answer from God has disappeared
and gone. He has realized that he is not able to answer any question at all. He
has learned that he is standing incomparably far away and far lower from the
Lord of heaven. Job has deeply recognized himself as a mere man and the Lord
who speaks to him is a holy God who has made all things.
“The Lord
said to Job:
‘Will the
one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who
accuses God answer him!’
Then Job
answered the Lord:
‘I am
unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my
hand over my mouth.
I spoke
once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.’” (Job 40:1-5)
The Lord God speaks gently and kindly to Job, revealing the
mysteries of the universe and the presence of the holy one in the midst of both
peaceable and tumultuous times in history. Job is so resentful and sorry for
the unspeakable surroundings that he is accusing of God’s silence when he
utterly needs an answer. It sounds very familiar with us. When things are pretty
going well, we think that God is with us, watching over us. But when things are
not going well, we cry out where he is. Listen to the cry of Prophet Elijah who
is hiding himself in a cave from the hands of Queen Jezebel. “I have been very
zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,
torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the
only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (1 Kings 19:10) A psalmist
outcries for God’s silence on unfair treatments to the wicked who do not care
justice and righteousness but only concern their interests and benefits and yet
flourish, while the righteous seem to keep their hearts pure in vain, being
persecuted and afflicted in their midst.
“Therefore
their people turn to them
and drink up
waters in abundance.
They say, ‘How
would God know?
Does the
Most High know anything?’
This is what
the wicked are like—
always free
of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Surely in
vain I have kept my heart pure
and have
washed my hands in innocence.
All day long
I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.” (Psalm 73:10-14)
God cares Elijah, a psalmist, and Job so dearly and speaks
to them when they are silently listening. The Lord speaks to Elijah in a gentle
whispering voice, to a psalmist in heart, to Job in patience. Gradually and
quietly, the Lord is opening the eyes of heart and mind of his people, enabling
them to see what he sees and thinks. Job’s heart and mind is surprisingly uplifted
and awakened when he carefully listens to the Lord speaking. His resentment and
bitterness has dramatically been diminished but the expectations in knowing
this tremendous God speaking to him directly is blossoming and growing. When he
is ready to listen, the Lord speaks about the most mysterious thing regarding
the secret of evil. The names of evils are Behemoth and Leviathan whom God has
made along with man and the universe (Job 40:15-41:34). These two animals
indicate Satan who has rebelled against God the Creator. Prophet Isaiah says
the fall of morning star, son of dawn because he wants to sit enthroned on the
mount of assembly and to ascend above the tops of the clouds.
“How you
have fallen from heaven,
morning
star, son of the dawn!
You have
been cast down to the earth,
you who once
laid low the nations!
You said in
your heart,
‘I will
ascend to the heavens;
I will raise
my throne
above the
stars of God;
I will sit
enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the
utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will
ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make
myself like the Most High.’
But you are
brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)
This monster has still access to humanity in all realms of
life, arousing and stirring our hearts to doubt God and his capability and to
follow and worship idols. The devil is more cunning and crafty than any of the
wild animals. He is a liar, the father of lie from the beginning and persistently
provokes the victimized humanity to challenge God whether he is able to rescue
them. At times, we’re so blinded and darkened that we demand justice to be done
now instead of waiting in patience and letting the Lord handle it in due
course. That’s the devil’s lie. He stirs us up that we ought to rush to resolve
this injustice with our hands, making plans to revenge the wicked and
unrighteous and to restore peace and order. The devil is very good at constantly
provoking our pride and haughtiness that we can do it with our own hands and intelligence,
relying on financial resources. The Scripture says, “God resists the proud, but
gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) It is truly a dangerous practice to be
proud and arrogant before the Creator God. That’s the stupidity of man. How can
we bear when he resists? How can we stand even a moment when he opposes? No one
can stand in his holiness and awesomeness. It happened before the eyes of the
whole congregation of Israel when the Lord God himself descended down on the
Mount Saini. It was the holy matrimony between God and his redeemed people of
Israel. The whole congregation was invited to the holy wedding on the third
day. The Mount and its surroundings turned into the most holy place by the holy
one’s visitation, so that no one or animal was allowed to cross the foot of the
mountain, or they shall be put to death by stone or arrow. It was the most terrifying
scene for all people of Israel.
“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and
lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.
Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to
meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was
covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke
billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled
violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and
the voice of God answered him.” (Exodus 19:16-19)
When the Lord spoke the ten words of holy commandments with
thunder and lightening, the people were terrified and trembled with fear. They
could not bear any more the Lord speaking. They cried out let Moses speak to
them because they would die if God continued to speak.
“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the
trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at
a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do
not have God speak to us or we will die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be
afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to
keep you from sinning.’ The people remained at a distance, while Moses
approached the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:18-21)
This is exactly what Job must have felt when the Lord speaks
to him out of storm. How heavy it must have been the Creator’s words, falling
and falling on man. All words in man’s heart and mind have just gone far, far
away from his lips. All accusing and resenting walls against the Lord has been
shattered and crumbled piece by piece. He is standing bare and naked,
completely disarmed by the holy and majestic God. He is found himself no words,
so small and light before the Lord of glory. All left in man is the fear and
awe of the Lord. This is the moment of being true man who gets knowing what to
say and how to come before the Creator God. The Lord was pleased to hear at
last when the people of Israel were pleading God not to speak to them but let
Moses speak out of fear. “The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord
said to me, ‘I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said
was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my
commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!’”
(Deuteronomy 5:28-29)
“Then Job replied to the Lord:
‘I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, “Who is this that obscures my plans without
knowledge?”
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
‘You said, “Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6)
Do you fear the Lord in your midst? Do I fear the Lord
always? Or do we fear anything else other than God the Creator? He is
sustaining all things by his powerful words, especially the master of lie, the
devil who seems wrecking and demolishing humanity in seconds. God is stronger
and more powerful than the devil. God set the boundary and the devil is in trembling
and terror, not daring to violate the Lord’s command even a moment. That much
are the children of God safe and secure. The Lord God says, “Do not be afraid,
Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1) Jude exhorts
all believers in Christ Jesus with this most encouraging and sure words.
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to
present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to
the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25)
Prayer: Thank you Lord for being our God and Lord of all, watching
over us all time and anywhere and no matter what. Thank you for speaking man
who is even wrongly and ignorantly accusing the Creator with marvelous patience
and majesty. Thank you Lord for showing your unfailing love and kindness to man
who doesn’t deserve at all. Thank you Father, thank you for your grace and
mercy, stretching out to generations after generations. May God help us to keep
having the fear of your glorious presence in our midst. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
2016. 11. 2.
© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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