Introduction⤒🔗

There may be times when we find it difficult to reconcile God’s action (or inaction) with God’s justice.

One such case is that of that pious warrior and servant of God, Uriah. Uriah served David as a faithful soldier who demonstrated unwavering commitment to his commander and fellow-soldiers. When he was called to return home from the battlefield, he refused to sleep with his wife, knowing that his fellow-soldiers were enduring the dangers and deprivations of war. What earthly reward did this faithful soldier receive? He was assigned to the front line of combat (and certain death), so that his wife might be taken from him, becoming David’s wife (2 Sam. 11).

Another such case is that of that pious citizen of Israel, Naboth. In accordance with the law of the LORD, Naboth stood up against the unrighteous demand of King Ahab, refusing to sell his family inheritance, (which Ahab greatly coveted as a choice vineyard). What earthly reward did this devout and courageous man of God receive? He was slandered and, by means of the false testimony of worthless men, he was unjustly executed—and his vineyard was then confiscated by the king (1 Kgs. 21).

There may be times in our own lives when as Christians we find God’s dealings with us hard to reconcile with God’s justice. Job certainly experienced this in his life. His friend, Bildad, assures Job that God’s actions are in accordance with justice (8:20): God, in His justice, makes a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous. But Job responds by asserting that he has a hard time reconciling that truth with his present experience and what he sees in the world (9:22). Job maintains that there are times when he does not see God making any distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous—this appears to be inconsistent with God’s justice.

How are we as Christians to deal with the “inconsistencies” of God’s justice?

We Must Affirm God’s Absolute Justice←⤒🔗

Bildad rhetorically asks the question, “Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?” (8:3) The answer he anticipates and which he affirms is a resounding “No! God certainly does not pervert justice!” To support the truth that God does not pervert justice and to defend God’s present actions with regard to Job and his family, Bildad implies that Job’s children have sinned and thus deserve the calamity that has befallen them (8:4). Furthermore, Bildad implies that Job himself has committed sin; but if Job will acknowledge his guilt, the LORD will forgive and restore him:

⁵If you will seek God diligently, and plead with the Almighty for mercy; ⁶if you are pure and upright, he will rouse himself on your behalf, and restore your righteous estate. ⁷Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be! 8:5-7

Bildad appeals to the fact that the justice of God is the sure and unanimous testimony handed down from the ancients (8:8-10). Job may not be inclined to listen to Bildad, but he surely cannot refute the testimony of the ancients (8:8-9). Bildad assures Job, they will instruct you and tell you (8:10); he implies that they are in full agreement with his position: God does not pervert justice. He invites Job to listen and receive the teaching they impart from the depths of their experience (8:10b)—their teaching on this subject comes with the conviction of personal observation and experience.

Bildad now offers illustrations derived from the natural world in support of the truth that God does not pervert justice and does not undermine righteousness:

¹¹Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? ¹²While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. ¹³Such is the fate of all those who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.8:11-13

Just as surely as the tall stately papyrus, (growing to a height of eight to ten feet), quickly withers when the marsh dries up, just as surely, according to Bildad, does the hope of the ungodly perish. That is to say, their anticipated success and the peaceful enjoyment of their ill-gotten prosperity does not come to fulfillment; rather, they perish and are deprived of their wealth.

The ungodly are defined as “those who forget God” (8:13); i.e. they choose to live their lives without any reference to God or any regard for God. Rather than being God-centered in their thinking, they are self-centered and oriented only to this present world, (the Hebrew word,ִ חָנ , translated “godless,” means “profane,” or “secular.”) To be sure, in apparent support of Bildad’s claim, the Psalmist does testify, “Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days” (Psl. 55:23b). However, we should note that the godless, referred to in Job 8:13, is a broader category than the “bloodthirsty men” spoken of in Psalm 55:23; the latter may be identified as gangsters and criminals who do most often meet with a violent and pre-mature death.

According to Bildad, the ungodly man’s confidence is as fragile and flimsy as a spider’s web:

¹⁴His confidence will be cut off—that in which he trusts is like a spider’s web. ¹⁵He leans against his web, but it cannot support him; he clings to it, but it does not hold [his weight]. 8:14-15

His confidence that he can violate God’s moral law with impunity and not encounter God’s just retribution, his confidence that he can live without accountability to God, is an illusion.

Again, Bildad appeals to nature for an illustration to describe the inevitable judgment of the ungodly:

¹⁶He is like a lush plant thriving in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over the garden. ¹⁷His roots become entwined around a pile of rocks; they grasp a bed of rocks. ¹⁸But when it is ripped from its place, that place disowns it and says, I never knew you. ¹⁹Listen: This is the “joy” that comes from his way of life—and from the soil another plant grows. 8:16-19

The godless man is compared to a vine that flourishes in the sun (8:16) and appears to be firmly rooted among the rocks (8:17). Yet, this vine is ripped out of the earth and replaced by another plant (8:18-19). According to Bildad, this is how the LORD in His justice deals with the ungodly. They may prosper for a little while and even though they may appear to be firmly “rooted” without the possibility of removal; nevertheless, they shall encounter the sure and unavoidable judgment of God.

Bildad concludes his speech with a final confident assertion of God’s justice: “Surely, God will not reject a blameless man,” (i.e. a man who is morally upright, as Job himself is described in 1:1), “and neither will he strengthen the hand of evildoers” (8:20). If Job heeds Bildad’s counsel to submit to God, (acknowledging whatever wrong he has committed), he will yet enjoy blessings from the Almighty (8:21-22a). But, let Job be warned that if he does not repent, he will experience the full judgment of God: “the tents of the wicked will be gone” (8:22b). In other words, every last remnant of the ungodly man's transient life will be swept away before the judgment of the Almighty.

In responding to Bildad’s speech, Job begins by affirming the truth of his claim that God is just (9:1­ 2a). When Bildad has concluded his speech, Job begins his own speech by giving his “Amen” to Bildad’s main point; namely, that God does not pervert justice, to this Job declares, “Indeed, I know that this is true” (9:2a).

Likewise—especially at those times in life when we find God’s dealings with us hard to reconcile with His justice—we must affirm God’s absolute justice. We must give our “Amen” to Moses’ testimony, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deut. 32:4), doing so by faith in His Word and in His character and in reliance upon His grace.

We Must Admit Our Own Sinfulness←⤒🔗

Job raises the question, “But how can a man be righteous before God?” (9:2b) In raising this question, Job is acknowledging both the righteousness/justice of God as well as his own sinfulness as a man who belongs to the fallen human race. If a man were to be interrogated by God with regard to that man’s life and conduct, “that man could not answer [God] once in a thousand times” (9:3), i.e. that man could give no answer that would justify himself before God.

Job acknowledges that it is inconceivable for a mortal, sinful man to set himself in opposition to God and emerge victorious: To the LORD must be ascribed infinite wisdom, as well as the infinite strength to accomplish what His wisdom conceives: “His wisdom is profound, his power is vast” (9:4a). Therefore, no one can defy God and succeed (9:4b).

Job now proceeds to list examples of the majestic strength and wisdom of God: “He moves the mountains without their consent, and overturns them in his anger. ⁶He shakes the earth out of its place and makes its pillars tremble. ⁷He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; and he seals up the stars” (9:5-7). When God draws near as the mighty Judge, the creation itself trembles at His presence. Note, also, Isaiah 13:11,13,

¹¹I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will bring to an end the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless... ¹³Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place by the wrath of the LORD of hosts on the day his fierce anger [is expressed].

Job testifies that God is the sovereign Creator of the universe: “He stretches out the heavens by himself, and walks upon the sea’s back. ⁹He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. ¹⁰He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, and miracles that cannot be counted” (9:8-10). All has been created by Him, all is subject to Him, all is accountable to Him.

The Almighty, in His transcendence, is beyond man’s ability to perceive, let alone restrain: “He goes by me, but I do not see him; he passes on, but I cannot perceive him. ¹²When he seizes the prey, who can restrain him? Who can say to him, What are you doing?” (9:11-12) No one can stand up to the Almighty, successfully oppose His will, and demand that He give an account of His actions. Note, also, the testimony of King Nebuchadnezzar,

³⁴At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my sanity was restored to me. Then I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. ³⁵All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can push away his hand, or demand of him, What are you doing?... ³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.Dan. 4:34-35,37

Note: Throughout this passage Job emphasizes the awesome might of God; but it must be understood that in Scripture true, irresistible might is derived from righteousness, and righteousness is the source of true, unmovable might. Referring to God, Elihu will asks Job, “Will you condemn the just and mighty One?” (Job 34:17b)

Job acknowledges that when God asserts Himself as the righteous Judge and manifests His righteous indignation, he will not restrain his anger (9:13). “Rahab’s helpers lie prostrate before him” (9:13b). “Rahab” is one of the sea monsters prominent in the mythology/theology of Israel’s pagan neighbors. In the Old Testament the term is used to personify the cosmic forces of evil that set themselves in opposition to God—but when the Almighty asserts Himself as the righteous Judge of all the earth, no one can come to the help of “Rahab” to deliver this cosmic monster from the righteous judgment of God.

If the cosmic forces of evil cannot withstand God, how much less can Job as a mere mortal enter into litigation against God and prevail? Thus, Job confesses: “How then can I argue with him? How can I find words [to answer] him?” (9:14) Job recognizes that he could not endure God’s cross-examination; in legal contexts the term “to argue,” or, “to answer,” means “to deliver a defense” under cross examination.¹ Even if he were righteous, Job would not dare to contest his innocence before God; he confesses, “I could only implore the mercy of my Judge” (9:15). Such is Job’s appreciation of the infinite righteousness of God, and his awareness of his own lack of true righteousness before God in the ultimate sense.

Like Job, we, too, must acknowledge our own sinfulness and lack of true righteousness before God (cp. Isaiah 64:6 and Philippians 3:7-9, printed below), a sinfulness that testifies that we do not have an unwavering commitment to justice; a sinfulness that impairs our understanding of justice. By way of illustration, it is like a drunken man arguing his case before the judge: when he opens his mouth his guilt becomes evident, and his present inebriated condition impairs his ability to argue rationally. As members of sinful, fallen humanity, we must confess that we are not experts on the subject of righteousness and justice.

⁶All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. All of us shrivel up like a leaf; and, like the wind, our iniquities sweep us away. Isa. 64:6

⁷However, whatever things were gain to me, these things I now regard as loss on account of Christ. ⁸But much more than that, I regard all things as loss on account of the all-surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Indeed, I regard [all such things as] rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him—not having my own righteousness derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God [and received] by faith. Phil. 3:7-9

This is Paul’s testimony when he was confronted with the absolute righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We Must Not Succumb to Despair←⤒🔗

Although Job acknowledges himself to be a sinner before the infinitely holy God (9:2b-3), he is also aware of the fact that he is a pious man: a man who has diligently sought to live in devotion to God and has not willfully transgressed against the law of God. As such, his present calamities administered by God are incomprehensible to him; given these circumstances, Job is precipitously close to despair.

In his moment of weakness, caused by his physical and spiritual anguish, Job questions God’s goodness and justice:

¹⁶If I summoned him and he responded, I cannot believe that he would listen to me; ¹⁷because he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without just cause. ¹⁸He does not permit my spirit to be restored, but saturates me with bitterness. 9:16-18

Job declares that if he were to call upon the LORD and the LORD were to answer him, he has no confidence that the LORD would listen to him and come to his rescue (9:16). The reason Job feels this way is due to the fact that the LORD “crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without [just] cause” (9:17). (But, as we shall see, Job’s charge that the LORD “crushes me with a tempest” proves to be unjustified.) Job is maintaining that there is no reason why he, a righteous man—one who trusts in the LORD and is devoted to Him—should be suffering the calamities reserved for the ungodly. The LORD shows him no mercy, giving him no respite; but rather, is filling him with bitterness (9:18)

Job acknowledges the fact that he is at the mercy of God—that he is no match for God:

¹⁹If it is a matter of strength, he is the Mighty One! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon him? ²⁰Though I am innocent, my mouth would condemn me; I am blameless, but it would pronounce me guilty. 9:19-20

The LORD God is the Almighty with whom no man can contend (9:19a). Since God Himself is the source of justice, there is no one else to whom Job can appeal: there is no higher authority than God Himself (9:19b). Furthermore, Job is aware of his own sinful state, despite his sincere endeavor to lead a pious and godly life (9:20). Job recognizes and testifies that it is his mouth that would condemn him and demonstrate him to be a sinner. He is in full agreement with the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ when He declares, “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks... ³⁶But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken; ³⁷for by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:34b, 36-37).

In a moment of despair, Job casts caution (and hope) to the wind: “I am blameless! [But] I have no regard for myself; I loathe my life!” (9:21) He asserts that he is “blameless;” i.e. he is upright, he is not one who harbors known sin or lives in disregard for the law of God. Again, “blameless” is being used in the sense of “godly, devoted to the LORD,” not in the sense of being without sin. He then goes on to accuse God of acting unjustly: “[God] destroys [i.e. condemns] both the blameless and the wicked” (9:22). (Contrast Job’s contention with that of Bildad: “Surely, God will not reject a blameless man, and neither will he strengthen the hand of evildoers” [8:20].)

Job proceeds to submit evidence that appears to support the charge he has just made: “When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the calamity of the innocent” (9:23). When a plague (be it a flood or disease or some other form of devastation) sweeps through the land, God “mocks the calamity of the innocent.” That is to say, the innocent succumbs to the plague just like the wicked, both are swept away before the calamity. God does not spare the innocent and cause only the wicked to be afflicted by the scourge.

Job further charges that God is indifferent to the cause of righteousness: the wicked dominate the world, and God “blindfolds its judges” so they do not see and take the appropriate action against the wicked. Ultimately, it must be God who is responsible for these things (9:24). Job is here asserting that the earth is given into the hands of the wicked; (again, contrast this assertion with that made by Bildad: “the tents of the wicked will be gone” [8:22b].)

Job sees his life swiftly passing away. He compares his fleeting days to a swift runner, or, courier, who ran with a message from one city to another (9:25); to an Egyptian skiff, a sleek ship that was known for its speed (9:26a); and to an eagle as it swoops down on its prey with rocket-like speed (9:26b). Furthermore, his days pass without a glimpse of joy (9:25b).

It is not possible for him to forget his complaint, (i.e. his protest against his “unwarranted” calamities). It is not possible for him to change his expression and be cheerful (9:27). He cannot do so because he is in dread of what he still anticipates: “I [still] dread my suffering” (9:28a). The pains he now suffers—“undeservedly”—convince him that God will finally condemn him: ”I know that you will not acquit me” (9:28b).

Job cries out, “[Since] I am considered wicked, why should I struggle in vain?” (9:29) If God is determined to treat him in the same way as the wicked, why should he strive to lead a pious life, why should he endeavor to maintain his integrity? If he were to purify himself and make himself morally clean, “Even if I washed myself with soap and cleansed my hands with lye” (9:30), Job is convinced that God would plunge him into “the filthy ditch” [i.e. the latrine] (9:31). At this point, Job views God as being opposed not only to himself personally, but even opposed to his endeavors to present himself as righteous before God.

What adds to Job’s sense of despair is the fact that there is no one else to whom he can appeal his case; no one else to whom he can appeal for justice and mercy (9:32-33). God is not a fellow man. If it were a human adversary who was contending against Job, then Job could appeal his case to a higher authority, namely, to God. But it is God Himself who appears to be Job’s adversary. There is no “arbitrator” between Job and God; there is no higher authority to whom God must submit—God Himself is the ultimate authority. There is no one who can remove God’s rod, which constantly threatens Job and intimidates him, preventing him from even making a reasonable case in his defense (9:34-35).

Casting all caution (and reverent fear of God) aside, Job, in his despair and bitterness of soul, contemplates taking God’s own position as sovereign Judge:

¹My soul loathes life; I will freely vent my complaint; I will speak from the bitterness of my soul. ²I will say to God, Do not condemn me! Tell me what charges you have against me! ³Do you derive a benefit from oppressing me and rejecting the work your hands have made, while you smile upon the schemes of the wicked? ⁴Do you have eyes like a mortal? Do you see like a man sees? ⁵Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a man, ⁶that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin, ⁷even though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand? 10:1-7

Job boldly and impiously demands that God not render a verdict of guilt against him: “I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me!'” [10:2]) Furthermore, Job challenges God to submit evidence to support His case against him (10:2). Job now raises a challenge to God’s moral integrity: Does it seem good to God for Him to oppress and reject the work of His hands? (10:3a) Does God deem it to be a good thing to oppress the man whom His has made—a man who is devoted to Him—and smile upon the schemes of the wicked? (10:3b)

Job asks God, “Do you have eyes like a mortal?“ (10:4) Job asks God if, in making a judgment, His eyesight is limited like a human being’s. If God has eyes like a mortal, He would see only partially, looking only on the externals of a matter, not on the inner motivations.² If that be the case, then God has misjudged His faithful servant, failing to take into consideration a godly devotion that springs from his heart.

Job now sarcastically inquires, “Are your days like those of a mortal?” (10:5) Job wonders if God feels limited by a short life span, as a human being does, in His search to learn if His servant has sinned in any way. If God feels pressured by time constrains, this may explain why He is using such severe measures to detect any hidden faults in His servant’s life or character.³ It is almost as if Job is accusing God of applying torture to him in order to get Job to confess to some crime he has not committed.

Job pleads with God to take pity on him, but at present Job sees no prospect that God will indeed do so (10:8-17). Job reminds God that He has created him with His own hands, yet now God seeks to destroy this very one whom He so lovingly and painstakingly made (10:8). He pleads with God to remember that he has been made out of clay, (i.e. he is fragile); will God reduce him once again to dust? (10:9) Note: The return to dust is part of the curse/judgment God originally pronounced against Adam’s sin. Following Adam’s willful transgression, the LORD declared, “You are dust, and unto dust shall you return” (Gen. 3:19b).

Job goes on to describe his conception, (using the imagery of milk being curdled into cheese),⁴ and the fact that upon being born he became the object of God’s affection and care (10:10-12). But now God has “hidden these things in [His] heart.” God has withdrawn His affection and care for Job, He has hidden these attributes deep within the recesses of His own heart, this is evident from the way that God now treats Job:

• If Job sins, God will execute His judgment against him and show him no mercy (10:14).
   
• If Job is wicked, (if he defiantly transgresses against God’s law), woe to him; there is no hope, only the prospect of certain condemnation without God allowing for the possibility of his repentance (10:15a).
   
• Even if Job is righteous, there is no hope, for God will expose his natural sinful condition and condemn him (10:15b).
   
• If Job were to lift himself up in defiant pride, the LORD would hunt him down like a lion (10:16).

Job asserts that God has set Himself against him. As a prosecuting attorney, God assembles more and more witnesses against him; as an enemy general, God sends more and more troops against him (10:17).

It is shocking to hear what Job is saying to the Almighty; and it is even more amazing to witness the long-suffering and mercy of God: He does not rise up in righteous indignation against Job.

Unlike Job, we must never charge God with moral indifference; furthermore, as New Testament Christians who have the light of Calvary, we must not succumb to despair:

³¹[God] has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all [men] by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:31

⁹This is how God showed his love toward us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 Jn. 4:9-10

We Must Look Beyond the Grave←⤒🔗

Job ponders the question, If God finds no favor in him and even sets Himself in opposition to him (cp. 10:13-17), why has God given him life? (10:18a) Job reasons that it were better for him not to have been born—or to have died prematurely at the time of his birth (10:18b-19).

Since the days of his life are few, Job pleads with God to lift His hand of oppression from off him so that he may have a brief moment of relief and comfort before his death (10:20). What Job contemplates as his future is the grave: “the land of darkness and shadows,” the land where “[even] the light is like darkness” (10:21-22). In his present state of agony and despair, Job contemplates the grave as his future destination after a life that has become engulfed in inexplicable suffering meted out by God Himself. At this point, Job is unable to look beyond Sheol to the day of the resurrection.

Unlike Job in this moment of despair, we must look beyond the grave for the answer and the solution to the dilemma when we presently find God’s dealings with us and His actions (or inaction) in the world to be humanly impossible to reconcile with His justice.

As noted, the Apostle Paul assured the Athenians, “[God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof of God’s justice and the proof that God will judge the world with justice: God did not abandon Christ Jesus, the Righteous One, to the state of condemnation; He restored him to life, raising him from the dead, and rewarded him by exalting him to His own right hand. In Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, we have the proof of God’s commitment to justice.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

There may be times in his life when the Christian finds God’s dealings with him hard to reconcile with God’s justice.

As Christians, what are we to do at such times?

Based upon this present passage of Job as well as the rest of Scripture, we are exhorted to respond at those times in the following way: 1) we must affirm God’s absolute justice; 2) we must admit our own sinfulness, which demonstrates our own lack of unwavering commitment to justice and to some degree impairs our understanding of justice; and, 3) we must neither charge God with moral indifference not succumb to despair—we must look beyond the grave for the answer, namely, to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and the day He appears as the righteous Judge of all the earth.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. What question does Bildad ask? See Job 8:3 What answer does he give to his question? See Job 8:20 Based on his confidence in God’s justice, how does Bildad account for the calamity that has come upon Job’s children? See Job 8:4 To what extent would you agree with Bildad? How would you account for the calamity suffered by Job’s children? Note Jn. 9:1-3,

³Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness? Job 8:3

²⁰Surely God will not reject a blameless man, and neither will he strengthen the hand of evildoers. Job 8:20

⁴If your children sinned against him, he has [merely] delivered them into the hand of their transgression. Job 8:4

¹As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. ²His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind? ³Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned; [he was born blind] so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Jn. 9:1­-3

2. How does Job reply to Bildad’s assertion that God’s actions are in accordance with justice? See Job 9:22 What evidence does Job give in support of his contention that God does not make a distinction between the blameless and the wicked? See Job 9:23-24 But in the final analysis, is Job’s contention ultimately true? See Matt. 25:31-32, 46,

²²It is all the same; that is why I say, He destroys both the blameless and the wicked. ²³When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the calamity of the innocent. ²⁴The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, who then is it? Job 9:22-24

³¹When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides [his] sheep from the goats...⁴⁶And [the unrighteous] will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.Matt. 25:31-32, 46

3. Job has pointed out an apparent incongruity in God’s administration of justice in this present world, but has this led him to deny God’s justice? What is his initial response to Bildad’s assertion found in Job 8:20? See Job 9:1-2a Do you accept the LORD’s personal testimony concerning His righteous character, and trust that He will at last prove it to be true? Note Deut. 32:4,

²⁰Surely God will not reject a blameless man, and neither will he strengthen the hand of evildoers. Job 8:20

¹Then Job replied, ^2aIndeed, I know that this is true. Job 9:1-2a

⁴[He is] the rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice, and God of truth, and without injustice; righteous and upright is he.Deut. 32:4

4. Having acknowledged God’s righteousness, despite the present anomalies, what question does Job now ask? See Job 9:2b How would you answer this question? How does the Word of God answer that question? See 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8b-9,

^2bBut how can a man be righteous before God? Job 9:2b

²¹...[God] made [Christ] who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. 5:21

^8bIndeed, I regard all such things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God, [received] by faith.Phil. 3:8b-9

The “things” of which Paul speaks are the products of his own attempts to produce a righteousness that would meet the standards of God’s absolute holiness.

5. Despite his acknowledgement of the righteousness of God, as he personally experiences with great intensity an anomaly to that righteousness, in what state does Job now find himself? See Job 10:18, 20-22a Allowing himself to be momentarily swallowed up by his spiritual crisis, Job cannot see beyond Sheol (“the land of gloom and darkness”) to the resurrection. To spare you from succumbing to the state in which Job presently finds himself, what N.T. assurance is given to the Christian? See Rom. 6:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:20-23,

¹⁸Why did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me! ... ²⁰Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so that I may smile for a moment, ²¹before I go— never to return—to the land of darkness and shadows, ²²to the land of gloom and darkness, [to the place] of deep shadows and the dissolution [of the body], where [even] the light is like darkness. Job 10:18, 20-22

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, ⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. Rom. 6:8-9

Note: At the moment a person places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they become spiritually joined to Christ in the death He died at Calvary.

²⁰...Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death]. ²¹Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. ²²Just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own turn: the first fruits, [which is] Christ; then those who belong to Christ when he appears [in glory]. (1 Cor. 15:20-23)