Week 26: Job 6 – 24

THE BOOK OF JOB – chapters 6 – 24

6:1 – 7:21 – Job replies after the speech by his friend Eliphaz (chapter 4 and 5).
“Eliphaz’ speech has not touched Job’s problem at all. So Job ignores it, on the whole. This is quite a typical feature of the book, with the various contributors speaking past one another” (Clines).
6:1-3 – Job admits he previously had spoken rash words. But they had followed intense suffering and were not the cause of that suffering. His friends do not appreciate the extent of his suffering.
6:4 – Job thinks God has attacked him, but he cannot determine why that is so.
6:5-7 –Job has lost his taste for life, and his friends have offered tasteless food (words).
6:8-10 – He actually turns to God, but only to pray for death. He has not denied the word of the Holy One (10), but how much longer can he hold out?
6:14-23 – Job is disappointed over the attitude his friends are showing. He needed helpers, not critics. He had not requested or demanded anything (money) from them, yet they seem afraid of offering him genuine sympathy.
6:24-27 – Job denies any wrongdoing such as Eliphaz suspects. Bring concrete evidence, not just assumptions, Elilphaz!
6:28-30 – He wants them to reconsider, for his vindication (“integrity”NIV) is at stake.
7:1-6 – Note the extent of Job’s suffering.
7:7-10– Job’s concept of death is hopeless. He does not know the hope we have in Christ.
7:11-21 – Job turns to God to express his complaints. Since he is about to die, he might as well speak his mind to God. If he has sinned, what difference would that make to God? If he has done something to cause God to target him, why doesn’t God just forgive it (he would have loved to have known Heb. 8:12 or 1 John 2:1,2). He ends with “For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be”(21b). He doesn’t know why God has turned against him but in his heart of hearts he believes God will wish him well – but He had better do it soon!
8:1-22 – Bildad’s first speech. He is rude and even cruel. If God has sent suffering on Job there must be some sin to justify it, for God would never pervert justice (3). He asserts that Job’s children had sinned and so were punished (4). In verse 11 he says the equivalent of our “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” – so really accusing Job of evil.
9:1 – 10:22 – Job replies to Bildad. He begins to explore the question of how he can be vindicated. If he had his day in court to prove he is innocent of sin that would deserve such suffering, how could he stand up to Almighty God (9:2,3)?
9:4-12 – God is incomprehensible (10) and unaccountable/uncontrollable (12).
9:13-21 – He imagines if he would face God in court. Though he is innocent (15), how could he measure up to Him? He would be overwhelmed, like facing a clever lawyer in court and being led by him to condemn onself.
9:22-14 – Job paints a vivid and terrible picture of God. “Job has reached the lowest point in his feeling of separation and alienation from God” (Chapman).
9:25-35 – What could he do to make things right with God? Change his attitude (27)? He needs an umpire or arbitrator between himself and God to argue his case.
(How he would have loved 1 John 2:1,2 – “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” – or 1 Timothy 2:5 – “one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human.”)
10:1-22 – Now Job appeals directly to God. It is interesting that he does not ask to be cured, but to understand the “Why?” God is doing these things to him. He knows he is God’s creation, he remembers God’s gifts and God’s care. Why is this loving God seeking to destroy him? (8-13). His hope sinks back (14,15). A spirit of hopelessness returns in his sad concept of death (20-22).
(Do we appreciate “our Saviour Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”(2 Tim. 1:10)?)
11:1-20 – The first speech of Zophar. He is dogmatic and cruel from the beginning. He is too sure in his religious knowledge and greatly lacking in humility.
11:5 – The time will come when God will indeed speak, but he will not say what Zophar expects!
11:6b – A dogmatic affirmation with no proof at all.
11:7-12 – God’s wisdom. “You can’t know” but Zophar claims he knows.
11:13-20 – “Therefore, you must repent!” Zophar is off base. Job has practiced these things all his life (cf. 1:1). Zophar thinks that Job’s problem is his sin; we know it is not!
12:1 – 14:22 – Job replies to his friends.
12:2 – Who can blame Job for being sarcastic, after what his friends have said?
12:5 – How true – it is easy to have “contempt for misfortune” when you are “at ease.”
12:6 – A statement sure to upset his friends.
12:7-12 – God does what He pleases.
12:13 -25 – Job denies the traditional answers. Look around you! There is purpose in God’s “wisdom” and “counsel” and “understanding” but it is hard to see.
13:1-12 – “What you know, I also know” – but he still has not found out the answers to his case. He would prefer to deal directly to God rather than his friends. They have been false witnesses for God (7,8). God will be unhappy with such partiality (9-11). Note that Job is asserting belief n the ultimate justice of God!
13:13-28 – Appeal to a higher court. He is not a hypocrite or godless (16). He really has faith in the justice of God (18). He desires two things from God: lay off the heavy hand, and enter dialogue with Job (20-22). Tell me what I have done to warrant this suffering (23). “Why” is this happening (24)? Are the sins of my youth the problem (26)?
14:1-22 – Frail man. Job’s thoughts swing between hope and despair. A tree has hope, but he sees little for man. A seed of hope rises (13-17). What he longs for we now have in Christ! But the sweet dream is not reality to Job (18-22).

ROUND TWO OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN JOB AND HIS FRIENDS (15-21).
15:1-35 – The second speech of Eliphaz. He has run out of patience with Job. He alleges Job’s guilt (2-6), mocks Job’s wisdom (7-13), denies his claim of innocence (14-16), and appeals to the wisdom of the fathers as to the fate of the wicked (17-35).
16:1 – 17:16 – Job answers in a rather disjointed speech.
16:1-5 – Old tales and cold comfort!
16:6-17 – Job speaks plainly about his sad condition; one he ascribes to God. And all this is against an innocent man (17).
16:18-21 – His faith again comes to the fore. His hope is that God would step forth as his champion or advocate.
17:1-16 – He speaks of the brevity and sorrow of life. Truly righteous men will be appalled what has happened to Job (8,9). Once more he sinks into gloom (11-16).
18:1-21 – Bildad reproves Job as haughty and obstinate. The world’s moral order, which Job seeks to overturn, is fixed; the fate of the evil man (like Job) follows a fixed law.
19:1-29 – A speech by Job that some consider the watershed of the book. He describes his sad situation (2-22). His friends are being God-like in their treatment of him(21,22)(how differently Jesus has helped us view God!). If his case were written down future generations would see his innocence (and so it is, in the Bible!). A wonderful burst of faith (25-29)(difficult to translate). He envisions a redeemer (vindicator) who will vindicate him (God? Some other? We would say someone like Christ, Hebrews 7:25).
20:1-29 – Zophar describes the misery and ruin of the evil person (of Job, he thinks). “Zopher has no compassion and his God has no mercy” (Anderson).
21:1-34 – Job this time replies to his friends’ arguments. In spite of what they argue, we can observe that sometimes the wicked do quite well in this world! Real life just isn’t what they say it is (24). (We know justice is not always meted out in this life, thus judgment to come. cf. Acts 17:30,31; Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10; John 5:28,29.)

ROUND THREE OF THE DEBATE (CHAPTERS 22-28).
22:1-30 – Eliphaz’s third speech. He argues that human morality does not affect God (3)! He even gives a list of Job’s sins (of which we know he is innocent)(6-20)! He calls for Job’s repentance (21-30). Eliphaz is a diligent soul winner stating some wonderful truths – which don’t apply to Job!
23:1 to 24:25 – Job’s reply to Eliphaz. Yes, he would like to lay his case before God (1-7) but where is He (8,9)? He has confidence that God knows his integrity (8-12) but he can find no pattern, rhyme or reason in what God is now doing (19-17). You say justice is always dispensed in this world – but just look around and see that life does not meet your assertions (24:1-25).