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Job 14-16     Listen Podcast

 

Job continues: it's pretty hopeless (Job 14)

1 “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
2 He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3 And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me to judgment with Yourself?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
5 Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
6 Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
9 Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
10 But man dies and is laid away;
Indeed he breathes his last
And where is he?
11 As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.
13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15 You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
16 For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my iniquity.
18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19 As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”

Here's the continuation of the same monologue of Job 12-13 (see notes), but Job's tone changes. He had been expressing confidence that he could prove his case before God if he were given the chance, but now he's back to, "It's hopeless!" As a matter of fact, he indicates that it's pretty hopeless for everyone in the first five verses. Then he's back to his familiar theme: Death is the only logical way out. Notice verse 14, "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes." Job expresses his understanding of a personal resurrection, though no details of exactly what he believes are given here. Keep in mind, Job's concept of how God deals with man has been shattered. Now he seems to be rethinking every aspect of his relationship with God. However, it should be noted, he does not question the existence, sovereignty or power of God; he's just no longer sure about what all of this means to him. By the end of the book, he'll have a very clear picture. However, he doesn't mince words here, and one might think his speech borders on being irreverent. Let's be honest about this chapter; Job does say some things that disappoint us a little. But I would ask you this question: How do your prayers sound when you are stricken with heavy grief? We're getting a glimpse of human frailty in the face of adversity.

Round 2 for Eliphaz...and he gets kinda mean. (Job 15)

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill himself with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain prayer before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?
8 Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
And what do your eyes wink at,
13 That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
15 If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
16 How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
Who drinks iniquity like water!
17 “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them:
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
23 He wanders about for bread, saying, “Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.
25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.
27 “Though he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28 He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34 For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”

This is our second speech by Eliphaz. He first spoke in Job 11, see notes) and aggravated by Job, Eliphaz speaks again, but this time he pulls no punches. It does seem that Eliphaz has taken offense at some of Job's comments about God in chapter 14. Of course, he's not the one covered with oozing boils! He expresses his strong opinion regarding Job's words in verses 1-6; he regards them as hot air, deceitful, crafty, etc. In verses 7-13 he issues a bunch of rhetorical questions indicating his belief that Job was just too arrogant. Obviously Eliphaz is disturbed by some of the seemingly irreverent statements Job had made regarding God in chapters 12-14. Eliphaz then spends some time rejecting the notion Job had expressed regarding the prosperity of the wicked. Instead, the wicked experiences "pain all his days" (verse 20), an abrupt end to "prosperity" (verse 21), "trouble and anguish" (verses 22-24), and premature death (verses 32-34). He's obviously including Job among this group. Eliphaz is determined to keep it simple: Righteous folks prosper and wicked people don't. He is just completely unaware of any other scenario for the kind of trouble Job is experiencing. With problems of this magnitude, it must be that Job secretly is a very, very, very bad man; at least that's what Eliphaz believes, as do these other two misinformed counselors.

It is important to understand this about the speech Eliphaz gives in this chapter: Eliphaz is wrong! He is corrected, along with Zophar and Bildad, in Job 42:7-9 (see notes).

Job answers, "Miserable comforters are you all!" (Job 16)

1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “I have heard many such things;
Miserable comforters are you all!
3 Shall words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
4 I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul’s place.
I could heap up words against you,
And shake my head at you;
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.
6 “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?
7 But now He has worn me out;
You have made desolate all my company.
8 You have shriveled me up,
And it is a witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.
9 He tears me in His wrath, and hates me;
He gnashes at me with His teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.
10 They gape at me with their mouth,
They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.
11 God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.
12 I was at ease, but He has shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has set me up for His target,
13 His archers surround me.
He pierces my heart and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
14 He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.
15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And laid my head in the dust.
16 My face is flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17 Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place!
19 Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.
21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his neighbor!
22 For when a few years are finished,
I shall go the way of no return.

Job's not buying this free counsel. He comments in verse 2, "...miserable comforters are you all." As a matter of fact, he proclaims in these opening verses that if the tables were turned, he would not be a miserable counselor like these friends of his. What would he do? In verse 5 he says, "But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief." Then he spends some time talking about how he is no match for an angry God. As a matter of fact, verses 7 through 14 seem to show a very frustrated Job making some pretty severe comments about God. He finishes up this chapter with another gouge at his so-called friends in verse 20 saying, "My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out tears to God." So, if the tables were turned and it was one of them in his position, how would Job respond to them? Look at verse 21, "Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, As a man pleads for his neighbor!" Verses 18 and 22 seem to indicate Job's feeling that he will die before he is able to be vindicated before God. Here's a very beaten-down man.

Here's the lesson from these three chapters. Job's friends have come; they obviously care for him. After all, they sat with him on the ground for seven days before saying a word and just grieved with him. Here's where they went wrong: They transformed their unfounded hunches about the nature of God into doctrinal mandates. What they said to Job was without authority...and sorta mean spirited. They became offended at his refusal to accept their premise, though they had no authority for making the kind of statements about him or God's nature that they did. So, rather than stand with Job and just pray that God would grant him understanding and wisdom, they just want to blame him. Here's the admonition: If you don't understand someone's dilemma, don't trash a friendship pretending like you do. I would add, however, that we have something that Job did not - the complete counsel of God's word on the subject of trial. We have been given clear scriptural guidelines on distinguishing chastisement from trial. Job's friends had no such guidelines, but preached to him as though they did. Had I been Job, I would have taken offense too!

Read the following two articles to gain perspective on trial and chastisement:

This speech of Job's continues into Job 17 (see notes).