When I was young, my dad and I watched the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In the story Jefferson Smith stood up against corruption by holding a 24-hour, one-man filibuster on the Senate floor. In his speech, he wasn’t just speaking to the Senate chair, but to the entire Senate and any onlookers.
Elihu has been giving Job his opinion on the man’s desperate situation. Now, he moves from talking to Job to addressing the crowd that had gathered. He begins, “Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning” (v. 2). He speaks to them as if they were a jury in a court case that would give a verdict after his final argument. He ends with the appeal, “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me, ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight’” (vv. 34–35).
What is Elihu’s verdict? He not only views Job as a person covering up sin, but he also said Job was in a state of rebellion. “To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God” (v. 37). The clapping of the hands is an expression of contempt. Lamentations 2 states, “All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem” (Lam. 2:15).
Elihu is anything but kind toward Job. He publicly scolded him and actively recruited others to join in his “righteous” indignation toward this dear man of God. Do we do the same? With the advent of social media, it can be easy to publicly attack a fellow Christian without knowing the whole story. In Job 34, Elihu shows us how it’s done.
Go Deeper
What can we learn from Elihu when we comment on social media? Do you think twice before criticizing a fellow Christian? Do you try to get others to side with you?
Pray with Us: We give You thanks, almighty God, for nourishing us in Christ. By Your Spirit, You assure us that we belong to Your family and are heirs to Your everlasting kingdom. Help us to be encouragers to others, and not critics.
Do you remember report card day in elementary school? Your teacher would send home a report card that evaluated how well you performed at math, science, and the rest of your subjects. If you got good grades, you were happy to bring your report card home. But if your report was less than stellar, you hid it at the bottom of your backpack.
In chapter 31, we get Job’s report card. In a self-evaluation, Job expresses the integrity of his life. He had fulfilled the requirements of God’s Law, and more. He did not follow the longings of his flesh but lived a blameless life (v. 6). Job lists a series of challenges that begin with “if.” In essence, “if” he did these things, then his punishment would be justified. However, implied in these challenges is the truth that he hadn’t done them.
He lists example after example: “If I have walked with falsehood” (v. 5); “if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled” (v. 7); “if my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door” (v. 9); “if I have denied justice to any of my servants” (v. 13); “if I have denied the desires of the poor” (v. 16). Job concludes: “If I have concealed my sin as people do, by hiding my guilt in the crowd,” then God’s punishment would have been justified (v. 33).
Clearly, Job lived a remarkable life. In both Job 1:1 and 1:8, he is described as “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Job is not hiding his report card. His life was an open book, clearly demonstrating His obedience and respect for God.
Go Deeper
If you were to look back at your faith journey, what do you think your own report card would look like? Consider how you can aspire to fear God and live a life that is blameless and upright.
Pray with Us: God of light and truth, before the brightness of Your presence even the angels veil their faces. Yet You came to dwell with us in Christ. You’ve shown us the path of righteousness. Keep us, we pray, from straying from this path!
Is there a time in your life that you would love to revisit? For me, it would be the summers during my elementary school years. They were filled with bike riding, popsicles, ice cream, picnics, and playing with friends. My biggest concern was: “Is it going to rain today?”
Job reminisced about days that were much more consequential than just childhood memories. Job longed for the days when he was in intimate fellowship with God. He began in chapter 29 with the words: “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me” (v. 2). “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (v. 4).
Job recalled God’s goodness in his life. Poetically Job states, “My path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil” (v. 6). What a beautiful picture of God’s generous love and guidance! God had elevated Job to a place of influence. “When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and old men rose to their feet” (vv. 7–8).
We are given insight into the type of man Job was, a man of kindness and justice. “I rescued the poor who cried for help and the fatherless who had none to assist him. The man who was dying blessed me and I made the widow’s heart sing. I put on righteousness as my clothing and justice was my robe and my turban” (vv. 12 –14).
Job’s walk with God was as intimate as a person’s walk could be. His service to God was a model for others to follow. Job provides a model for us in our own walk with God.
Go Deeper
As you reflect on your life, how has God blessed you? What can you resolve to do today to pursue God and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ?
Pray with Us: Lord, our hearts are full of gratitude for the faithful believers we encounter in Your Word, men and women of God, Job among them. May we learn from them with open hearts, modeling our own walk with You on their example.
In a court trial, each lawyer is given the opportunity to make a closing argument before judge and jury. In the same way, in chapter 25 of Job, we hear a final speech from Bildad. He starts out strong, proclaiming: “Dominion and awe belong to God” (v. 2). In verses 3 and 4 he continues by asking profound questions. If he had ended after verse 4, we would feel compelled to join him, declaring: There is nobody like our God!
But unfortunately, Bildad kept talking. Verses 5 and 6 exposed his skewed view of humanity. Bildad compared men and women to maggots; a human being to a worm. These derogatory statements were directed at Job, who was in poor physical condition. Bildad was trying to put Job in his place.
In his commentary, Tremper Longman contrasts Bildad’s view with the psalms: “The psalmist is moved to reflect on the dignity of humanity by saying: ‘You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas’ (Psalm 8:5–8 NRSV).”
Bildad had forgotten that God created humans in His own image. Scripture states, “So God created mankind in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). While it is true that God’s image in humanity has been marred by sin, we are not maggots. We are given worth and dignity by our Creator.
In verse 4, Bildad asked, “How then can a mortal be righteous before God?” The answer is we are made righteous by placing faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
Go Deeper
Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation? If not, why not talk to a pastor or a Christian friend about this today? Or go to moodybible.org/knowing-christ.
Pray with Us: Jesus our Lord, help us cast aside our own ambitions and pursuits. Teach us to seek Your purpose for our lives and find our worth and dignity in You, our Creator and Redeemer. Amen!
When we were kids, my cousins received a game for Christmas called Twister. It had a plastic sheet that was laid on the floor, and on it were different colored dots. When you spun the needle, the arrow would stop on either a hand or foot and a color. So, you had to put your foot or hand on the colored dot on the sheet. This was the case for every player. Soon everyone was twisted into a knot.
In Job 20, Zophar was twisting Job’s words into something that wasn’t representative of Job’s circumstances (v. 3). Zophar gives a great overview of the ultimate end of the wicked. In fact, chapter 20 of Job is an excellent argument against living an unrighteous and ungodly life. According to Zophar, the results of this type of life will end in ruin for the wicked. The problem with his argument is he is directing it at Job who is not unrighteous, ungodly, or wicked.
Although written several years later, Job would have most identified with the words of Psalm 92: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him’” (Ps. 92:12–15). From Job’s perspective, he should have been flourishing in his old age like a palm tree.
But life does not always work the way we expect. God allows circumstances to enter our life for the purpose of developing our character and bringing Him glory. Like for Job, the reason is not always revealed for us. But we can trust Him to always do what is best.
Go Deeper
What twists and turns have you had to deal with in your life? How were you able to adjust to those expected circumstances?
Pray with Us: Merciful God, whenever we seek You, love is what we find! In Christ, we know Your love; in Him we find life. Teach us to seek Christ through all the twists and turns of our destiny.
