ChristadelphianBooksOnline
David Baird
The Education of Job

Chapters 23, 24 - The Third Cycle of Speeches - Job


Job's Response to Eliphaz's Appeal
23:1-7
 If only I could find God

23:8-9
 But I cannot find Him

23:10-12
 If I could, I would gain a favourable outcome

23:13-24:1
 God has a purpose but Job is confounded

Job's Appeal to Observation - Iniquities in Others Go Unpunished
24:2-4
 The way of the tyrant

24:5-8
 The plight of the poor

24:9-12
 The exploitation of the poor by the tyrant

24:13-17
 Sinners who work in darkness

24:18-20
 You say, "The wicked are punished"

24:21-25
 Reality disproves your theory

The closing appeal of Eliphaz has clarified Job's thinking and Job's response begins superbly. He would want nothing more than to be at peace with God. He is not at all reluctant to come to terms with God. But it is far more difficult than Eliphaz would intimate. God is incredibly difficult to access and therefore, in the case of Job, difficult to comprehend.

However, when we reach 24:2 we begin to encounter all sorts of problems. It is from here, until Elihu makes his entrance, that commentators struggle to come to grips with the text, especially in their overall appreciation of the character of Job. The solutions on offer are many and varied. Some sections are attributed to Bildad, a third speech of Zophar is conjured out of Job's words, the scribes are blamed for inserting the most troublesome verses, whole sections are shuffled into a different sequence, and some commentators toss their pens down, defeated by the complexities that they feel should be unravelled.

The Jerusalem Bible, arguably the best translation for extracting sense from the original, overconfidently offends in reordering the text and attributing slabs of Job's words to other speakers. This unfortunate dogmatism reflects poorly on the original text and is not supported by the majority of other versions and commentators. The solution suggested by the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible merely rescrambles what it claims to be "thoroughly scrambled."

Rather than pursue any rearranging of the text, I believe it is better to stay with the traditional order, accept it at face value, and do the best we can with it. This approach is followed by most versions and commentators.

Should you wish to examine a critique of the radical variations it is recommended you read pages 136-139 of "Ecclesiastes and Other Studies" by Brother Sargent.

Job's Response to Eliphaz's Appeal

23:1-7         If only I could find God

The charges Eliphaz made against Job were those that must, in his estimation, be laid, as Job's condition was obviously the result of overwhelming sin. Unfortunately for Eliphaz, he had no evidence. The charges were entirely speculative and palpably false. One could imagine that Job had every right, and certainly the present opportunity, to flay the words of Eliphaz and verbally bludgeon him into silence. But Job does not choose to do so. Perhaps out of respect for this venerated old man, Job ignores the charges and replies to the advice tendered at the end of Eliphaz's speech.

The advice was, in many respects, quite sound, but it seems so incredibly difficult for Job to respond to it because God's hand is so heavy on him (23:2). Yet, even though he can feel God's hand, Job cannot locate God. Eliphaz counselled Job to make his peace with God and Job has every desire to do so. Earlier he had been hesitant (13:19) and fearful that a meeting with God would only terrify him (9:34; 13:21). Now he is confident. He will:

Job is certain he is right. He does not expect that he will merely be pardoned as a guilty man. He expects that he will be declared, by divine law, a righteous man. His friends have it all wrong. He does not need to reacquaint himself with God in order to remove the unrighteousness of his life (22:23). He seeks God so that all will appreciate that Job's ordeal was because or in spite of his personal righteousness.

23:8-9         But I cannot find Him

But Job cannot find God. It makes no difference where he looks - north, south, east or west (probably more accurate than "forward", "backward", "left hand" and "right hand") - the search for God is hopeless. The language is reminiscent of the promise to Abram in Genesis 13:14 and possibly highlights a weakness in Job's understanding. God is not to be found wandering the earth. Man's future is on earth whereas God remains in heaven. God does not allow people into his physical presence nor, for that matter, is He required to declare the righteousness of any mortal man.

If anything, Job's desire to see God is mirrored by Philip in John 14:8; "Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." Our Lord's response left Philip in no doubt as to how this is possible; "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). Philip would never actually see the Father. Job would never see God nor would Job be eternally vindicated by him attesting his personal righteousness in conversation with the Father. Righteousness will be bestowed not because of law-keeping but due to the grace of God being showered on those who associate with the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2); the Lord Jesus Christ.

Job's understanding of his position before God was about to be clarified to such a degree that he would, by chapter 40, be more willing to declare his unworthiness than his righteousness. By way of an aside, it is disconcerting to observe how regularly the personal pronouns "I" and "my" feature in this chapter.

23:10-12         If I could, I would gain a favourable outcome

This does not mean that Job was evil. On the contrary, Job did live a life that was pleasing before God. Job's rectitude is well-and-truly acknowledged from the outset. However, he had some lessons to learn and his character could only be improved by his spiritual pride, which had been so obviously inflamed by his blinkered friends, being relegated to non-combatant or, better still, non-existent service.

But, if he was not an evil person the question that needs to be answered is, "Why is Job suffering?" Job correctly supplies the answer when he says, "He hath tried (bahan) me" (23:10). Bahan "denotes examining to determine essential qualities, especially integrity ... [bahan] is used almost exclusively in the spiritual or religious realm" (TWOT). He is not being punished. He is being examined in the crucible of affliction. This realisation has a significant influence on the thoughts he now expresses.

Despite God seeming to deny Job the contact he so earnestly yearns for, Job comprehends that God knows everything about him; that Job's way of life has been one of undeviating service to Him. He is confident that, unlike Eliphaz's picturesque image of Job having a gold-fixation (22:24), he will emerge the fires of affliction like tried gold (23:10; 1Pet 1:7). He is certain he has not departed from God's commands and that he treasures God's words more than his daily bread.

The nagging problem for Job is that God appears to have departed from him.

23:13-24:1         God has a purpose but Job is confounded

The commencement of 23:13 literally reads as, "He is one" (RVmg, Roth, Andersen). It is an acknowledgment by Job of the greatness of the unapproachable God. Sure, Job desired contact with God but He is way above man and not about to change. Man cannot oppose God (see comments on 9:12). God will perform what He has determined for Job and all the recipients of God's incomprehensible actions (23:14).

Job, in not being able to understand God's acts, seems to be responding in a way that is negative, even derogatory. It is as if he is saying, "God can do what He wants, but what He is doing to me, and others, does not make sense." Therefore, Job is terrified of God (23:15). His contemplation of God's dealings with man fills him with dismay.

The emphasis in 23:16 is on the words "God" and "Almighty." That's what really disturbs Job. It wasn't the fact that he was suffering mightily or that his friends no longer had any respect for him. It was the fact that God was the architect and executor of Job's calamity. Verse 17 bears this out amid the complexity of its Hebrew construction. The marginal rendering of the Revised Version is rightly well regarded by a number of commentators:

"For I am not dismayed because of the darkness,
        nor because thick darkness covereth my face."

Chapter 24

Job, in his dismay, continues in 24:1 and wants to know why God does not appear to have a set time to judge the wicked. Job's affliction is part of God's decree for him and God obviously has times and days, so why are the faithful kept in the dark about them? The meaning of this verse could well be, "Why has God hidden His purpose from the righteous?"

If this be the case, Job is stepping into dangerous territory. It is not for him to call God into question, nor to infer that God is unresponsive when Job feels He should be otherwise. Job should revert to the attitude, he exhibited way back at 1:21-22, of humble submission to the wisdom of God's ways.

Thankfully, he changes direction at this point and commences his own description of the ways of the wicked. The punchline is simple - the wicked often go unpunished and nobody can provide evidence to the contrary.

Job's Appeal to Observation - Iniquities in Others Go Unpunished

24:2-17 is essentially an inventory of criminal activity and the oppression of the poor. It is in some ways a revisitation and expansion of 21:7-18 where Job silenced Zophar with his observations of the apparent immunity of the wicked to judgment. Chapter 24 is, for Job, a presentation of scenarios that call for an answer but the answer is not forthcoming.

Job sees oppression and heartless indifference in rural communities (24:2-4), the absolute destitution of the poor (24:5-8), legalised violence by tyrannical businessmen (24:9-11), murderers, thieves and adulterers (24:14-16) but "God charges no-one with wrongdoing" (24:12 NIV). God has established laws, which are being openly flouted, but He seems reluctant to enforce them. Why? And, challenges Job, there is nobody who can prove his observations to be false.

24:2-4         The way of the tyrant

The tyrant is the focus of Job's initial illustration of the ongoing conundrums evident in human society when aligned with God's morality. The tyrant:

24:5-8         The plight of the poor

Job's mention of the poor inspires him to add more detail about the misery of their existence. In this, Job is speaking in a way not reflected by ancient civilisations. The poor had no recognition in society. They were merely chattels for the benefit of others, and built great monuments (e.g. the pyramids of Egypt) to the people who counted. The poor lived in hopeless degradation, ground down by extortion and oppression. They were pitiful human beings who were victimised by the ruthless.

Nobody cared. Nobody except for Job as revealed in this rare statement, for his era, of human sympathy. There is no doubt that Job's bizarre change in fortune had granted him an insight, an empathy with the poor, that was not as easily acquired while he dwelt, albeit with moral integrity, in prosperity. Job's indignation and compassion are stirred as he recalls their hunger (24:6), nakedness (24:7) and destitution (24:8).

24:9-12         The exploitation of the poor by the tyrant

Then just so no listener can misunderstand what he is describing, he narrates a series of images that combine exploiter, the tyrant, and exploited, the poor. What miserable pictures they are. He sees:

Surely, the wicked should be condemned and punished. Surely, the poor will be relieved of their burdens and blessed by God. According to the logic of Eliphaz and his two companions, they most certainly should. Despite all the wrongs described by Job, God, in Job's reckoning, does not do a thing. He neither redresses the wrongs perpetrated on the poor nor does He restrain the wicked in their ways. God does not see anything unsavoury in what has happened ("folly" - see notes on 1:22), just as Job saw nothing unsavoury in what God did to him way back in 1:22.

Is this correct? Strictly speaking, no. God does care (1Pet 5:7). God finds displeasure in the outrages committed by man (Amos 2:6). Job's generalised allegation is deficient under scrutiny. But Job's hyperbole was an attempt to prove that divine disfavour is not evidenced in the mere fact that God does not appear to intervene openly and directly in a person's life.

The poor may live an unrelieved wretched life and the tyrant may never go without luxury but that does not make the tyrant blessed of God and the wretch cursed by God. Righteousness is not always manifested in wealth and ease of living.

24:13-17         Sinners who work in darkness

Job introduces a new class of sinner whose values and activities are opposite to those of the righteous. These sinners find pleasure and comfort in darkness. Men like Job do not. For Job, darkness speaks of death (10:21-22), but for murderers, thieves, adulterers and home-invaders, "deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends of deep darkness" (24:17 RSV).

Daylight is poison to these sinners. It exposes their acts and reveals their true identities. They feel insecure during the day, but at night they are free to do as they please, saying, "No eye shall see me" (24:15). Clearly, they have no fear of God and constitute those of John 3:19 - "Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil."

Why does Job mention these people? Because the conclusion he is leading to is that they manage to survive and survive well (Ecc 8:11-13). As perverse as it may sound, their success provides a role model for others. It is as if God has actually given them safety. This, of course, flies in the face of the teachings of Eliphaz.

24:18-20         You say, "The wicked are punished"

These verses are among those that rattle the commentators. Most commentators have considerable difficulty affixing these words to Job so they attribute them to somebody else or remove them from the main flow of speech. The Revised Standard Version offers a more sensible solution by prefixing "You say" to verse 18. In other words, 24:18-20 is Job's summary of his friends' sentiments and 24:21-25 is his rejoinder to them. This approach is also suggested by the Revised Version margin, Reichert, Brother Papowski and Brother Styles. However, while this suggestion is altogether logical, we should not dogmatically endorse it as it has no unambiguous textual support.

What is the fate of evildoers? According to Job, his friends say that evildoers:

24:21-25         Reality disproves your theory

Does Job agree with the thoughts of 24:18-20? No, but he is not stating the exact reverse of them. He never contends that the wicked always prosper and the righteous always suffer (9:22; 21:23-26). He is attempting to balance the extreme position of his friends but, in doing so, gives the impression that he adheres to a point of view that is overwhelmingly gloomy. What is certain, in the overall context of these speeches, is that Job is quite baffled by the way God has dealt with him. He knows God is right in all His ways but Job does not understand why God does what He does.

By all appearances God, as opposed to what men like Eliphaz affirm, prolongs the life of these mighty (in evil) men (24:22 RSV). The reality of Job's bitter experience and careful observation deflates the espoused popular theology. The wicked seem to rise up when, by all accurate reports, they should be cut short. It seems that God supports them and gives them the safety denied people like Job (24:23 RSV).

But surely the wicked die? Indeed they do, declares Job, but usually after they have been "exulted for a little while" (24:24). Everybody dies. We are "taken out of the way as all others." It is an inescapable human destiny. However, the evildoer's death is later rather than sooner, swift and relatively painless (this is the probable interpretation of "cut off the tops of the ears of corn" - see 5:26; 21:13). Zophar's description of the demise of the wicked (20:4-7) does not tally with Job's.

Therefore, Job concludes with a sharp challenge to his friends - "Prove me wrong" (24:25). He knows that they cannot do so. They have been unable to do so until now so it is unlikely that they can offer some last minute testimony that will put Job on the defensive. The following speech, Bildad's last, is a powerful indicator of how Job had reduced his accusers to mouthing empty platitudes. His challenge is not taken up by them.
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