I believe Job chapter 23 is one of my favorite Passages in the whole Book, the entire “Jobian Corpus.” Some of the army of commentators who have remarked on this Text are not as kind to Job as I plan to be. Remember, the man is suffering egregiously!

Job begins by saying, “My stroke is heavier than my groaning.” (Job 23:2) Literally he believes that God’s “Hand” (translated “stroke” here) is extremely HEAVY on his (Job’s) person … both his body and soul (well, his spirit too). And that this God-given “burden” is much more severe than any “complaining” he has done! Than any “mourning or sorrowing.” (Matthew Henry said it would have been a sin had Job complained MORE than the weight his burden had measured!) As if: Job had 1,000 pounds of difficulty thrust upon him, and only mourned or groaned 150 pound’s worth. In other words, we could never know how much Job has suffered! Words were incapable of expressing his agony!

Then Job (like a little child who has lost his parent) longs for God! For His Lord’s Touch in a comforting manner! “Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!” What great faith this lament, Job 23:3, uncovers!

Job craves an “audience” with God!

Remember, God is “silent” toward Job because of the “test” (the “argument”) the Lord and the Satan have engendered. Satan says Job will eventually curse God, because the blessings have vanished. God believes Job will stay true to his faith, to His God, no matter what!

That’s WHY God is watching Job suffer, without a word of encouragement.

Back to Job: “I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.” Job 23:4-7

Job is NOT being rebellious here. God Himself in Isaiah 1:18 will later say to humanity: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.” God invites communion, even respectful questions, I think.

Listen to Job some more: “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.“ Job 23:8-9, some of the most admirable words in the Bible! Job is discouraged, but still seeking God! Not cursing God, Satan was wrong!

Job is being “tested” and somehow he knows it. But he (even in advance) claims Victory!

“But he (the Lord) knoweth the way that I (Job) take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10, memorize it! (God knows that Job has not overtly sinned, that he is still walking in a godly “way.” What confidence in a currently “frowning” Heavenly Father! (God is “purifying” Job somehow! Making him even more precious, like gold, in the sight of Heaven!)

So Job remains determined. He is a righteous man! “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:11-12, a lover of God’s Word! One who has not departed from the faith, Job the servant of the Lord!

Yes, Job has “ups” and “downs” in his year long (?) ordeal. But in my estimation Job chapter 23 is one of the highest peaks in all the Bible. A man trusting God, searching for God … in the midst of deep darkness!

Believing in God’s “Goodness” even as stripes fall on his back!

This is a man who has already decided of God: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Job 13:15, I stand amazed!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

In Job chapter 22 we finally hear the “end” of Eliphaz’s long-winded censure of Job. This is his third relatively lengthy “speech” in the Book! Let’s review his last thoughts.

In essence Eliphaz thinks that no mere man can help make God “pleased” anyway. Under no circumstances, ever! “Can a man be profitable unto God? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou (Job) art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?” Job 22:2-3

But Hebrews 11:6 (just using here one of several viable examples) says it IS possible for man to “please” God! “But without faith it is impossible to PLEASE him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Yes, Eliphaz is wrong again!

Job’s holy living DID bring God pleasure!

God “bragged” on Job repeatedly, in fact! As in Job 1:8 … “And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Oh, to think we might do things to put a smile on God’s Face!

Next … Eliphaz (with no compassion whatsoever) attacks Job with these insinuations. “Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?” Job 22:5

But … God certainly did NOT agree with Eliphaz at the end of the Book! The Almighty speaking, directly to Eliphaz: “Ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.” Job 42:8

Wow!

Then, still in Job 22, Eliphaz restates the wrong-headed philosophy that he and Bildad and Zophar (and Elihu as well, during his upcoming chapter-after-chapter oration) held so tenaciously. Here it is: “For thou (Job) hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.” Job 22:6-11, Job the sinner.

But Elihu has no evidence! Lie after lie, falsely accusing Job of wrongdoing. (As we shall eventually see, in Job chapter 31 the Patriarch defends himself against such libel!)

Solomon wrote it correctly, Proverbs 18:8. “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Stabs after stab, verbally!

Then Elihu proceeds,  thinking he is now giving the “invitation” in his “Sins of Job” Sermon … “Acquaint now thyself (Job) with him (God), and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” No mercy whatsoever, Job 22:21-28 (Job, get right with God and He will bless you! All your “problems” will be solved.)

But, may I observe, thousands of years later (2016 as I write) … Elihu is just a “vestige” of days past. While God’s servant JOB is still a household word, a paragon of faith!

I study Elihu and want to better learn how … to keep my mouth shut!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

After hearing two “Sermons” on the fact that God ALWAYS punishes the wicked man, Job makes a startling observation! (By the way, this fact of “God rebuking the wicked” has been the argumentative “mainstay” of Job’s 3 friends for many chapters now, beginning way back in chapter 3. But most recently Bildad in chapter 18 and Zophar in chapter 20 have given full arguments on God’s invariably depriving the wicked of the world, taking away from the wayward all their pleasures.) However, Job sees that this scenario is not ALWAYS the case!

So Job asks then notes: “Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.” Job 21:7-9

And: “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.” Job 21:11-13

The ungodly seem to enjoy their children (oftentimes) … but Job’s children are all dead!

The wicked often maintain their wealth and power, and when old age finally comes, and then they die without prolonged suffering. “In a moment” they go to the grave! Yet Job has suffered and suffered for nearly a year now!

“What is God doing,” Job struggles!

Clearly, Job is refuting the “iron clad” theology of his friends … that God (sooner rather than later) always blesses the righteous and always chastens the wicked!

Point blank … the wicked do NOT always suffer!

And the righteous do NOT always have things easy, not in this life!

Job immediately continues with another question: “How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them?” Job 21:17, NOT VERY OFTEN, an exasperated Job believes.

Yes, Job is having another “hard” day.

But, just a minute.

This question … “Why do the wicked prosper?” … is literally found throughout the Bible.

In Psalm 37:35 the godly writer contends: “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.” Prospering again, sounds like!

Some good (still in Psalm 37) advice: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” Verse 1, do not be jealous of their money or fame or health or whatever!

Now to Psalm 73, where Asaph tells us. “I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the PROSPERITY of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.” Psalm 73:4-5, and Asaph was a godly man!

Even Jeremiah himself poses this very question to God Almighty! “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?” Jeremiah 12:1, more than once in the Book of Jeremiah does this question, this problem, surface. See also Jeremiah 5:26-28.

And the answer is?

Such questions must be left in God’s Hands!

But this I do know.

God’s Word is true.

The wicked will not always prosper!

Neither will the righteous always suffer!

And by now, Job agrees.

I shall close the lesson today with a conclusion reached in Psalm 37. It might help someone put this issue in perspective. “The wicked … they SHALL SOON BE CUT DOWN like the grass, and WITHER as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: FRET NOT THYSELF BECAUSE OF HIM WHO PROSPERETH IN HIS (WICKED) WAY, BECAUSE OF THE MAN WHO BRINGETH WICKED DEVICES TO PASS.” Psalm 37:2-7, where “fret” means “to be displeased.” Or even “to be angry!”

God makes no mistakes!

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Yes, we serve a God Who allows us to ask questions!

 

 

I once thought (as I first began studying Job) that I’d like to discern the “differences” between Job’s three “friends.” The “nuances” of their arguments. The “peculiarities” of each man’s reasoning, about “suffering.”

But I have concluded that there is no MAJOR difference between the three. All feel Job is guilty of some great sin! And that God is demolishing Job for that reason, “unconfessed iniquity” somewhere in the man’s life! And each feels that he knows the answer … three huge “egos” … men of wisdom all!

But perhaps this much can be said, differentiating them.

They try to “outdo” each other, it appears, in harshness to Job!

Each strives to be MEANER that his predecessor … throwing barb after barb at Job their acquaintance!

Today we notice Job chapter 20, where the man named “Zophar” is speaking, for his last time in the Book. Eliphaz and Bildad both give three speeches, Zophar only two. (This may be the Jobian author’s way of saying that the antagonists’ arguments are failing! Their falsely alleged charges against Job getting no “traction!” The probably intended “3 cycles” of rebuttal (against Job) falling short! Breaking apart prematurely!

Yes, Zophar is mean!

He, like Bildad did in Job chapter 18 (review that Lesson) likens Job to the typical “wicked man.”

(Another example of how these “friends” seem to merely repeat each other, in many ways. Compare Job chapters 18 and 20 to see what I mean.)

But Zophar seems to “hone” his description of “the wicked man” … to especially “fit” Job!

Cruel indeed!

Zophar opens  this way: “Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the WICKED is short, and the joy of the HYPOCRITE but for a moment?” Job 20:4-5, where he just face-to-face called Job a “hypocrite.” As well as “wicked!”

Listen to the near vulgarity of this next line: “Though his (the “wicked man’s,” as in “Job’s”) excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; Yet he shall perish for ever like HIS OWN DUNG.” Job, you may have once been rich … but you’re not worth “manure” now! Job, you’re headed to the “septic tank,” to the “sewer!”

And Job, you must have been a very wicked young man! “His (again, the typical “wicked man’s”) bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.” Job 20:11, the sins of youth! (This accusation being lodged against a man who has a “vow” with his eyes … to never lust after a pretty young girl! See Job 31:1 for authentication.)

Waxing poetic, Zophar now observes: “He (Job as “wicked”) shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.” Job 20:16, in other words … “JOB, YOU ARE SNAKEBITTEN!” God has so “doomed” you, “condemned” you!

(When in reality the Devil, the Satan, the real “serpent,” could NOT bite Job, count NOT make him curse God! One of Satan’s greatest all-time defeats, the life of the man named Job!)

Then an outright lie posited against Job by Zophar: Job’s troubles are “because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not.” Job 20:19, but not a record of any such thing exists in all Job’s 42 chapters! In fact, Job says NO emphatically! (In Job 31:16 this godly man curses himself IF … “If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail.” He had done no such thing!)

God is mighty angry at Job, and rightly so, thinks (and says) Zophar! “When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.” Job 20:23, just when Job is about to eat … God’s red-hot “Fury” falls!

(God is not testing Job like this because of His righteous anger. Rather, God is proud of Job, of his outstanding integrity. God is actually putting the man “on display,” to be seen through all the ages! Hear God speaking to the Satan, twice in Job chapters 1 and 2: “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” Wow!)

Zophar is wrong!

But listen to this, as he rants further: “The heaven shall reveal his (Job’s) iniquity!” Job 20:27, just you wait, Job. Eternity will reveal what a rascal you are! (I really suspect eternity will echo these approving words about Job: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21)

And remember how Job’s 500 yoke of oxen were “taken away” (stolen) by the Sabeans? And how Job’s 3,000 camels were also “rustled” by the Chaldeans? How “Job-specific” could a set of charges become? Zophar blurts: “The increase of his house shall depart (as in being “stolen”), and his goods shall flow away (as in being “rustled”)  in the day of his (God’s) wrath.” Job 20:28, brutal, really anything but “filled with the Holy Spirit’s gentle kindness!”

We’ve reached the end of the chapter, Job 20.

Goodbye Zophar!

His name does not appear again the Book of Job until Almighty God censures these three friends, telling them they have not spoken right about Job! See Job 42:7-9 for proof, for the Scripture verifying what I just said.

False accusations!

Oh, how dangerous they can be.

How hurtful.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

This has been quite a busy “travel day.”

I intended to write the “Job Lesson” once I arrived at the motel here in Indianapolis.

BUT I AM EXHAUSTED AND AM GOING TO REST A FEW MINUTES.

Pray for the Service tonight please, and again tomorrow evening.

Liberty Baptist Church in Indianapolis has been mightily used of God through the years. Now they have a young Pastor, Amos Graham, who desires to lead them even further into Christian maturity and fruit-bearing.

Here’s a photo I made today, looking out my window, United Air Lines this time.We were approaching O’Hare International Airport in Chicago (where my flights connected) and we flew out over the Lake, Lake Michigan.

Again I ask you … pray for the Service tonight please.

Thank you.

Dr. Mike Bagwell