Job 9:1-35
Job Speaks
1 Then Job replied:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
3 Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14 “How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17 He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
18 He would not let me regain my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him?
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
21 “Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’
28 I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?
30 Even if I washed myself with soap
and my hands with washing soda,
31 you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.
32 “He is not a man like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,
to lay his hand upon us both,
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
Job was looking for answers...He wanted the truth...Job wanted solid, frank answers about his questions and why he was suffering...As Job lay suffering, he heard answers, at this point, from Eliphaz and Bildad...They gave him information, but not the answers he wanted...Job wanted solid answers...Answers, the kind Job wanted, could come only from God...
Bildad had just spoken...Earlier Eliphaz had spoken to Job...Later Zophar and Elihu would speak to him...Job seeking concrete answers was only getting uncertain comforts from his friends...But Job asks a profound question in verse thirty three...If only there were someone to arbitrate between God and he, to be able to lay His hands on both God and himself, someone to remove God's rod from him, so that this terror would frighten him no more...God seemed to have left Job...God allowed the evil one to enter Job's life...Job had lost everything...He was in great suffering, frustration, and experiencing of suffering -with many questions...
Job's request for an Arbitrator would come true, and was already true...Job thought that there was no one he could appeal to God on his behalf...But there is One who has been with God from the beginning (John 1:2)...That One is with God before Abraham was even born (John 8:58)...Jesus has been glorified in God's Presence with the glory He had with God before the world even began (John 17:5)...Job's desire for an advocate was a powerful foreshadowing of our need for a Savior, who is Christ our LORD...Our Savior would also suffer...He would suffer, because of us...He suffered for our sins...Jesus has the answers to Job's questions...