Job's Standing: The very first verse in the book tells us that Job
was perfect and upright. And in verse 8 of chapter 1 God says to Satan,
Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect man and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
In 2:3 God repeats the same words to Satan and adds,
and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst Me against
him, to destroy him without cause.
And after his troubles came, Job ...sinned
not, nor charged God foolishly... In all this did not Job sin with his lips
(1:22; 2:10).
Drawing from Human Experience, Human Tradition, and Human Merit, his 3 friends
(?) did their best to find something wrong in Job so that they might condemn
him and find a reason for his misfortunes.
In these trials Job stuck to his faith. Once Job said,
Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him (13:15). Again in chapter
14 he gives that wonderful passage on resurrection praying that God would
hide him in hell till the wrath was over, and finally says,
Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee.
He probably reaches the zenith in this trial in 19:23-25 where he says,
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That
they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know
that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth: Nothing wrong with Job's standing.
Job's State: Here is a different matter. Job was perfect in his standing
before God and Satan could not change it. And this is true of every believer
(Romans 8:38,39). And it is true
of all of us, that, although our standing before God is perfect in Christ
Jesus, nevertheless our state could be improved and needs it. Amen?
See what Job says in 27:2,6, that
God hath taken away my judgment...My
righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go. Ah, there is the
trouble. Job has the mistaken idea that in himself, that is, his flesh, is
some good, some righteousness. Paul had learned the lesson and said,
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing
(Romans 7:18). But Job did not know that his own righteousness was only as
filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah
64:6).
Elihu the daysman puts his finger on the trouble in
32:2 where he got angry with Job because that Job justified himself
rather than God. In 34:5 he accuses
Job of saying, I am righteous: and
God hath taken away my judgment. This is where Job was lacking in his state.
He needed correction.
Job's Lesson Learned. God stepped in and asked Job a lot of questions
that left him speechless. Then he said,
I am vile (40:4). Then God
said, Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest
be righteous? And Job ends by saying,
Now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
ashes (42:5,6). This is a lesson all of us need to learn lest we think
too much of ourselves.
