Read Job 18:1-19:29.

Introduction⤒🔗

There may be times when you as a Christian find yourself suffering false accusation and unjust treatment, especially in a society that has become increasingly hostile to Christ and His church.

In this present passage (Job 18-19), Bildad implies that Job, as a wicked man, has become ensnared in a trap of his own making (18:7-10).

Job protests that he is not caught in a trap that he has made; on the contrary, it is God who has inexplicably captured Job in His trap: “understand that God has subverted me and drawn his net around me” (19:6).

Job is suffering false accusation and unjust treatment from his friends and what at present seems to him to be “unjust” (inexplicable) treatment at the hand of God.

When such times occur, may we be sustained and encouraged by remembering two things found here in this present passage of the Book of Job.

Introductory Note←⤒🔗

We do not desire to be redundant when we again speak of participating in “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings;” but we must realize that this doctrine is a key element in understanding the Book of Job. It is a spiritual reality that Job, as an Old Testament believer, is experiencing very deeply. Furthermore, this aspect of the Christian life, (which is a part of the believer’s spiritual union with Christ), appears very prominently throughout the New Testament, especially in the epistles of both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter.

Yet, it is a much-neglected doctrine. When it comes to the sufferings of Christ, preachers focus almost exclusively on the suffering endured by Christ on our behalf, with little or no mention of the Christian’s involvement in the life (and sufferings) of Christ. Of course, our involvement in Christ’s sufferings is by no means meritorious; Christ’s atoning death was a unique, substitutionary payment for our sins, offered up unto God the Father on behalf of all who believe in Him, as the Apostle Peter writes: ”Christ...died for sins once for all, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones, so that he might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18), Nevertheless, the Christian’s fellowship in the sufferings of Christ is a very real part of the Christian life.

Scripture teaches that true Christian faith consists not only of a complete dependence upon Christ and what Christ has done on our behalf and in our place; it also involves a complete entering into His life—we are called to believe into Christ Jesus: becoming joined with Him in His death and resurrection and suffering (Phil. 3:10), so that we may also join Him in the glory yet to be revealed. Consequently, there is great value in acknowledging the reality of this biblical doctrine of the Christian’s fellowship in the sufferings of Christ:

First, this doctrine serves to give us a better, more spiritually realistic, understanding of the trials we encounter, serving to temper and counteract the shock and disappointment we so often feel when we experience trials:

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised by the fiery trials among you...as though a strange thing has happened to you. ¹³you are participating in the sufferings of Christ.1 Pet. 4:12-13

Second, this doctrine can, and should, be a great source of consolation, sustaining us in our trials: Entering into the experience of Christ’s sufferings, and still continuing to abide in Him, is the testimony that you, indeed, belong to Christ: you are joined to Him, and you are unable to become disconnected from Him; (see, again, the previous study on Job 15-17, as well as Phil. 1:27-30).

Third, this doctrine should be rightly seen to be a great spiritual honor (Phil. 1:29), one that is accompanied by great spiritual reward (1 Pet. 4:13):

...it has been graciously granted to you, for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. Phil. 1:29

...since you are participating in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice; so that at the revelation of his glory you may indeed rejoice with exultation. 1 Pet. 4:13

Let us now consider, for our own instruction and edification, how these things are worked out in the life of Job.

When You Suffer Unjust Treatment As A Christian, Realize that You Are Experiencing the Fellowship of Christ’s Sufferings←⤒🔗

Bildad rebukes Job for voicing his complaint: “You who tear yourself to pieces with your anger—should the earth be devastated for your sake?” Or, “[for your sake], should [an earthquake] move the boulders from their place?” (18:4) Bildad is maintaining that it is arrogant and impious for Job to protest against God and question God’s dealings with him. He is accusing Job of wanting the earth to be devastated by a natural catastrophe for his sake. Note: The prophet Isaiah prays that the LORD would appear with cataclysmic upheavals of nature for His name’s sake:

¹Oh, [LORD, I pray] that you would tear open the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence, ²like fire kindles the brushwood, like fire causes water to boil—[come down] to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake at your presence! Isa. 64:1-2

Here Bildad charges Job with wanting God to do the same for Job’s sake! Who does Job think that he is? Furthermore, Bildad, by addressing Job as “you who tear yourself to pieces with your anger,” judges that much of Job’s agony is self-inflicted; it is the result of his chafing against God’s discipline.

Bildad now proceeds to describe the terrible fate of the wicked (18:5-21), as a warning to Job concerning what lies in store for him if he maintains an arrogant, wicked attitude. He asserts, “the lamp of the wicked is extinguished” (18:5-6). These verses stress that all light, which is associated with life and blessing, shall be extinguished; the wicked man will be consigned to the outer darkness of condemnation.

Bildad goes on to compare the wicked to a wild animal that falls victim to a trap (18:7-10). In the case of the wicked man, it is a trap of his own making: “he stumbles over his schemes” (18:7b). Because his way is unholy, it becomes a trap that ensnares him and holds him captive for the day of judgment, a similar sentiment is expressed by the Psalmist:

¹⁴He who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. ¹⁵He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. ¹⁶The trouble he causes recoils on him; his violence comes down on his own head. Psl. 7:14-16

Furthermore, terrors (springing from a guilty conscience and the awareness of the coming judgment) shall haunt the wicked man all the days of his life with no escape: these terrors are on every side (18:11). The wicked man is in jeopardy of being overcome by calamity, (i.e. the judgment of God both in its temporal form as well as its ultimate form): “calamity is ready for him” (18:12).

Finally, he shall succumb to death. Death is portrayed as a wild beast, which, having stalked its prey, now pounces upon it and devours it (18:13). The wicked shall be uprooted from this world, even though he may have thought himself to be as secure and unmovable as a tree (18:14). Upon his departure into death, nothing that belongs to him remains in his tent (18:15a). He will not even have the satisfaction of leaving behind an inheritance for his children, and thus a perpetuating of his name and his estate. On the contrary, all his wealth, and his very dwelling, will become the possession of strangers.

Contempt and dishonor: “brimstone is scattered over his estate” (18:15b); the blotting out of the memory of his name: “[even] the memory of him perishes from the earth” (18:17a); the cutting off of his children: “he has no offspring or descendants among his people” (18:19a), leaving no one to carry on his name and estate—this shall be the fate of the wicked man. Those who behold his final fate will be astonished with shock and holy fear, just as men trembled in fear before his unholy tyranny while he was alive in the days of his ungodly reign (18:20).

Bildad solemnly testifies to Job that surely this is the inevitable fate of the wicked man: “Surely, this [will be] the [final] dwelling place for an evil man, the place for him who does not know God” (18:21). This is the destiny of the one “who does not know God”—i.e. the man who refuses to acknowledge God’s sovereign lordship over his life and his accountability to God his Maker. Not to know God means to have no fellowship with God, either because a person has willfully broken his relationship with God or because he has refused to enter into covenant with God.¹

Job describes Bildad’s speech (and warning) as vexing to his soul (19:1-2a). It is a message that brings grief to Job’s soul, it strikes to the very core of his being, (thereby showing that he is not a wicked man whose heart is callous and hardened). It has such an effect on Job, even though Bildad’s speech is merely words: “How long will you torment me and crush me with words?” (19:2b) Bildad’s message does not come against Job with the devastating power of conviction because it does not apply to him: Job is not a wicked man.

Job maintains his innocence; he denies that he is guilty of great iniquity or willful wrongdoing, admitting only to being guilty of “error” (19:4). Job employs the Hebrew term, מְשׁוגהָ, which is used to describe inadvertent sin that is part of being human; the kind of wrongful act that everyone commits by reason of being human.²

Job resents the fact that his friends insist on falsely accusing him: they use his disgrace against him (19:5b). They judge him to be guilty because of what has befallen him, (i.e. his disgrace), not by pointing out any grievous, willful transgression he has committed. By their judgmental conduct they exalt themselves against him (19:5a), maintaining a “holier than thou” attitude towards him. Job insists that it is not a matter that he has been ensnared in his own trap, as Bildad implies (18:7-10). On the contrary, Job protests, “God ...has drawn his net around me” (19:6). Job is not suffering the just and inevitable consequence of his own sinful conduct; rather, for some reason unbeknown to Job, God has seen fit to bring these calamities upon him: it is God who has “subverted” (or, “overthrown”עָןהַ ) Job.

Job protests, “Although I cry out, ‘I have been wronged!’ [i.e. Job protests that he is undeserving of such calamity as has befallen him], I get no response!” (19:7) Job cries out for deliverance; but, he laments, “there is no justice” (19:7b). Justice would demand that he be released from such suffering, but no release has yet come. On the contrary, rather than coming to His faithful servant’s rescue, God has set Himself against Job with what appears to be unreserved severity (19:8-20). God has set an unscalable wall before Job and has enshrouded his path with darkness; Job feels trapped in darkness with no possibility of escaping or progressing (19:8). God has reduced Job to a state of humiliation, stripping him of his glory and removing the crown from his head (19:9).

When God stripped him of his honor, which had adorned him like a garment, and removed the crown from his head, He deposed Job from his high position as elder statesman.³ No longer able to take his seat in the counsel, he now sits on the ash heap in shame. God has taken away Job’s hope, just as a tree is uprooted from the ground (19:10). Indeed, Job asserts that God’s anger burns against him and He regards Job as one of His enemies (19:11). God, like a mighty general, dispatches His troops against Job, and they surround his tent (19:12). God has deprived Job of his friends, and even his own family members—including his wife—are estranged from him: “those I love have turned against me” (19:13-19). In addition to all this, Job has been afflicted with severe physical suffering: “my bones cling to my skin” (19:20).

In this state of physical and spiritual anguish, Job cries out to his friends to have pity on him (19:21­ 22). He earnestly appeals for their compassion, appealing to them as his friends—those to whom he should be able to look for sympathy (19:21). He cannot understand why they insist on pursuing (or, persecuting/prosecuting) him like God does (19:22). His companions are fellow men like himself, they should understand his physical and spiritual frailty and thus be sympathetic towards him. But, on the contrary, they are acting toward him like ravenous beasts: they will never get enough of his flesh (19:22b); they have an insatiable appetite to devour their friend.

What Job fails to comprehend—or can only grasp very faintly—is the fact that he is sharing in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.

Job is the victim of false accusation and slander, (in 19:1-2 Job refers to Bildad’s speech that falsely identifies him with the wicked). Our Lord Jesus Christ, likewise, would be the victim of false accusation and slander (cp. Matthew 26:59) and would be identified with the wicked (cp. Isaiah 53:9, 12):

The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. Matt. 26:59

⁹[Although] he was assigned his burial with wicked men, he was with a rich man in his death, because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth... ¹²Therefore, I will give him a portion with the great, and he will divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors—he bore the sins of many and interceded for the transgressors. Isa. 53:9,12

Job is reduced to a state of humiliation (19:9). Our Lord Jesus Christ, likewise, allowed Himself to be subjected to a state of utmost humiliation:

²Let us focus our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of GodHeb. 12:2

Job felt the horror of being alienated from God (19:11-12). Our Lord Jesus Christ, likewise, experienced the horror of being alienated from God His Father (cp. Isaiah 53:4; Mark 15:33-34):

Surely, he has borne our afflictions and carried our sorrows; but we regarded him as one who was stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted [as an evildoer]. Isa. 53:4

³³When the sixth hour [of the day] arrived, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? (which, being interpreted, [means], My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) Mk. 15:33-34

Job suffered the pain and grief of being separated from his intimate friends (19:13-19). Our Lord Jesus Christ, likewise, suffered the pain and grief of being separated from His intimate friends: “Not even his brothers believed in him” (Jn. 7:5), and in the garden of Gethsemane, at the time of His arrest, all his disciples deserted him and fled (Matt. 26:56).

At those times when you as a Christian suffer unjust treatment or false accusation, or in any other way experience the fellowship of Christ’s suffering (cp. Heb. 2:18, “he himself has suffering, being tempted”)—realize that there is no one who understands better what you are experiencing than the Lord Himself:

Then the LORD said, “I have certainly seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of their taskmasters. [the assurance that the LORD is aware of our suffering and has not forgotten us in our time of need] I know their sorrows. [the comfort that the LORD is fully empathetic with our plight; He is not distant and unmoved by the trials and pains His people experience] ⁸I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” [the sure promise of final redemption] Ex. 3:7-8

The Apostle Peter provides this assurance for Christians who were facing severe persecution for the sake of Christ:

after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will personally restore you, support you, strengthen you, and establish you. ¹¹To him belongs the dominion forever. Amen. 1 Pet. 5:10-11

Be Assured that You Shall at Last Be Vindicated←⤒🔗

Job expresses his desire that his words, (i.e. his profession of innocence and righteousness), be recorded for posterity, that they be “engraved in a rock forever” (19:23-24). Job is aware that if he does nothing, his claims will be forgotten after his death and his fate will serve as a prime example of a hypocrite’s tragic end. Therefore, he desires that his testimony might be preserved so that some day when it is proven true, he will be vindicated [posthumously]. Then his honor will be restored.⁴

Job now goes on to express a bold and confident assurance that God will at last vindicate him: God will testify to Job’s innocence and restore him to fellowship (19:25-27). Job testifies, “I know that my Redeemer is alive, and at last he will stand upon the earth” (19:25). Here is Job’s firm and sure conviction, (“I know”) that the divine “Redeemer” (Vindicator, Defender, לאַגּ) will at last appear in Job’s defense and for his vindication. Although at present He has not revealed Himself and has not come forth to Job’s immediate defense; nevertheless, Job is certain that the divine Redeemer is, indeed, alive, and He knows the facts of his situation and will finally act on his behalf.

What does Job mean by the phrase, “at last”? Is he referring to the day of the resurrection (the Last Great Day)? Or is he referring to a future day in this present life before his death? It seems best to take the phrase “at last” as a reference to a future day before Job’s death; which, indeed, proved to be the case, note Job 42:7-9,

After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My anger burns against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a whole burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you—because I accept him­ so that I will not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.' ⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them to do; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

Job goes on to declare, “After my skin has been so [utterly] mutilated, still, in my flesh, I will see God” (19:26). The point is that at the last moment, at the very extremity of Job’s suffering, when his skin “has been so [utterly] mutilated” that he is at the point of death, at that last moment the LORD will appear as his great Redeemer.

In the light of further revelation, especially New Testament revelation, we realize that Job’s hope and conviction find their ultimate fulfillment in the final resurrection on the Last Great Day; note John 5:28-29, where the Lord Jesus testifies,

the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice ²⁹and shall come out: they who have done good shall be resurrected to life; but they who have done evil shall be resurrected to condemnation.

The theophany, (the appearance of God in His majesty and glory), recorded in Job 38-42 is a type, (i.e. a model, a living, historical prophecy), of the Last Great Day. So for Job, the LORD’s appearance for his vindication occurred prior to his physical death, but it was at the same time a foretaste and revelation of the LORD’s final appearance for the vindication of His people: the day when He acknowledges them to be justified and receives them into His glory.

The basis for Job’s faith in a future vindication stems from his deep and unshakable confidence in the justice of God. Although, for some reason presently unbeknown to Job, God has seen fit to suspend His enactment of justice on Job’s behalf, nevertheless, because of God’s divine integrity, that day of justice and vindication will come at last. Job’s confidence in God’s justice, and hence the assurance that he will be vindicated, overcomes his doubts that were expressed in verses 23-24, (those verses expressed the hope of vindication in some distant future day after Job had succumbed to death). But now (vs. 25-27), Job has confidence that he will live to see his vindication; in other words, he will experience it personally.

Job expresses a deep longing for that day of vindication when God as his divine Redeemer will act on his behalf; anticipating that day, Job exclaims, “How my heart yearns within me!” (19:27b) Such is also the longing of the New Testament Christian’s heart: “He who bears witness about these things says, ‘Yes, indeed, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20)

Whereas previously Job had been near to being consumed with despair, he is now consumed with hope and the eager expectation of the day of vindication: the day when God will act on his behalf.

Job closes his present speech with a warning to his friends who have assumed the role of his accusers (19:28-29). Job warns them that there is coming a day of judgment (19:29b); a day when he will be exonerated; and, conversely, those who have falsely accused him will be judged (note, again, Job 42:7-9).

At those times when you as a Christian suffer unjust treatment or false accusation, be encouraged by the assurance that you shall at last be vindicated:

...God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶God is just: He will pay back affliction to those who afflict you ⁷and give relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power ^10aon the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. 2 Thess. 1:5-10a

Note: “Those who do not know God” is a reference to those who refuse to enter into a covenantal relationship with God, choosing rather to continue in sinful resistance and defiance of God.

Therefore, let those who are suffering in accordance with the will of God commit their souls in doing what is right to a faithful Creator.1 Pet. 4:19

Whenever you, as a Christian, experience the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings in any way, be assured that you shall also share in His glory:

...since you are participating in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice; so that at the revelation of his glory you may indeed rejoice with exultation. 1 Pet. 4:13

Not only does the Christian have the assurance of future vindication, there is also granted to us a present foretaste of the glory to come. The Apostle Peter not only writes of future vindication (1 Pet. 4:13), he also writes of a present experience of our ultimate fellowship with Christ in glory:

Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, by believing in him you greatly rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and glorious, ⁹obtaining as the result of your faith the salvation of your souls.1 Pet. 1:3-9

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What does Bildad imply by means of the comment he makes to Job in Job 18:4a? Although it is not true of Job, how much of our distress is self-inflicted, the result of chafing against God’s discipline? As Christians, what counsel do we receive from Proverbs 3:11-12?

You who tear yourself to pieces with your anger—should the earth be devastated for your sake? Or, [for your sake], should [an earthquake] move the boulders from their place?Job 18:4

¹¹My son, do not reject the LORD’s discipline, and do not become tired of his rebuke,¹²for the LORD rebukes those whom he loves, just as a father rebukes the son in whom he delights. Prov. 3:11­-12

2. In Job 18:4b, Bildad is accusing Job of wanting the earth to be devastated by a natural catastrophe for his sake. What accusation is Bildad bringing against Job by means of these questions? When we suffer, do we ever wish that the whole world would experience what we are experiencing? Or do we desire that God would perform a great act for our benefit? What counsel do we receive from James 1:12?

Blessed is the man who endures trial; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.Jas. 1:12

3. By means of his description of the wicked man, (Job 18:7b-10, esp. vs. 7b), which he suggestively applies to Job, what is Bildad implying about Job? While it may not be true of Job, have you ever become entrapped by your own sins? Note Jas. 1:14-16 When such occurs, what must we do? See Psl. 44:26,

The vigor of his stride wanes, and he stumbles over his schemes. ⁸His feet get caught in a net­ he steps into a web. ⁹A trap seizes him by his heel; a snare grabs hold of him. ¹⁰A noose for him lies hidden on the ground; a trap lies in his path. Job 18:7-10

...each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. ¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Jas. 1:14-16

Arise for our help, and redeem us for your mercies’ sake. Psl. 44:26

4. What countercharge does Job bring against his friends who have falsely accused him of being a wicked man who is suffering for his sins? See Job 19:1-3, 5 Have you ever looked upon someone known to be living in sin, and now suffering the consequences of their sin, and congratulated yourself on being more righteous than them? What does Scripture say our attitude should be? See Gal. 6:1

Job replied, ²How long will you torment me and crush me with words? ³Ten times now you have reproached me; you have not been ashamed to treat me harshly... ⁵If you would indeed exalt yourselves above me and use my disgrace against me... Job 19:1-3, 5

Brothers, even if a man is caught in the act of committing any trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a spirit of humility, being on guard so that you also are not tempted. Gal. 6:1

5. Despite his present inexplicable suffering, what is Job’s sure confidence? See Job 19:25 Job is confident of his ultimate redemption; what confidence is given to you as a Christian? See 1 Pet. 5:10 How does Job respond to the knowledge that his Redeemer shall at last appear on his behalf? See Job 19:27 How are we as Christians to respond to the knowledge of the coming return of Christ our Redeemer? See Rev. 22:20,

But I know that my Redeemer is alive, and at last he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will personally restore you, support you, strengthen you, and establish you. 1 Pet. 5:10

I myself will see him; my own eyes will see him. [Indeed], I will see him personally, and not someone else. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:27

He who bears witness to these things says, 'Yes, indeed, I am coming without delay!' Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! Rev. 22:20