What does Job 10-12 teach us about God and our relationship with Him?
Job’s afflictions: Sabean raid,stole oxen and donkeys,
Fire from the sky,burned sheep and servants
Chaldean raid,stole camels,killed servants
Mighty wind,collapsed house,killed all ten children
Severe boils,covered body from head to foot
Intense psychological grief,tore robes,shaved head,sat in ashes
Scorn from his wife,urged him to curse God and die
Judgment from friends,accused him of hidden sins
Insomnia and nightmares,terrifying dreams,lack of restPhysical decay,bad breath,peeling skin,extreme weight loss
Here are scriptures outside of Job that align with the thesis of Job 10–12: the tension between human accusation/despair and the silent, sovereign mystery of God.
Job starts verse 10 by declaring that he is about to vent and then laying into God but his tone changes from his declaration in verse 1 to his asking questions of God but they are pointed and accusatory… do you have eyes? what charges do you have against me? does all this oppression please you and do you smile on the works of the wicked? you know I am not guilty and you know none can rescue me…from you…will your hands that created me now destroy me?
then the arch starts to shift and Job acknowledges that God gave him life, showed him kindness, watched over him with fortuitous providence.
but still the anger stirs in Job’s soul as he asks was this which he had experienced recently what was concealed in God’s heart always – the moment he would sin he would be severely punished
Job laments that God had ever given him life, asks for a moment of joy before he dies and goes, essentially to hell the place where “even the light is like darkness” it is lines like that which make Job a poem even while in prose.
And the next act is chapter 11 where his friend, accuser-comforter, not friend, in fact. He pleads with God to strike Job down with words that rebuke him. He mocks Job for declaring himself sinless and says that God has even forgotten some of Job’s sin and mocks Job for even thinking he can fathom the mysteries of God and how vast and immeasurable they are and how Job cannot even begin to probe them.Further he says that if he forsakes his sin then all of this will pass by like the waters of the ocean. life will be like noon, darkness will have been forgotten by him in the preceding morning.
chapter 12 Job takes the stand again. His friend’s words were so harsh, so judgemental of Job who still has not been charged with any sin by God and also his friend is a more approachable and assailable target so Job speaks. He mocks his friend for being so much better, apparently, wiser and more righteous than Job that he can say these things. Job responds that all creatures know in their hearts that God has created all and that God is the owner of all wisdom and power, counsel and understanding, strength and insight, reveals the deep things in the darkness and bring utter darkness into light and makes weak the mighty nations and rulers of the Earth making them stagger like drunkards.
It is in Job 13 where we first see clearly and loudly the righteousness of Job as he calls his friends worthless physicians but speaks of his unwavering hope in God while asking for relief. It is not until Job 38 that God speaks. Stay tuned to these videos to hear of God’s verdict and the sentence for Job and also for his “worthless physician” accusatory judgement-giving friends.
So here are the questions you might want to consider.
Remember first these are Job’s afflictions:
Sabean raid,stole oxen and donkeys,killed servantsFire from the sky,burned sheep and servantsChaldean raid,stole camels,killed servantsMighty wind,collapsed house,killed all ten childrenSevere boils,covered body from head to footIntense psychological grief,tore robes,shaved head,sat in ashesScorn from his wife,urged him to curse God and dieJudgment from friends,accused him of hidden sinsInsomnia and nightmares,terrifying dreams,lack of restPhysical decay,bad breath,peeling skin,extreme weight loss
so, questions –
Was Job indeed sinless?
Was Job right in declaring himself, essentially sinless?
Was Job’s suffering a punishment or a test?Why did God allow Satan to afflict Job?Is it ever acceptable to question God’s justice?Did Job commit a sin by cursing the day of his birth?Can a human being truly be righteous before God?What does Job’s story teach about the suffering of innocent people?Does God reward the righteous and punish the wicked in this life?
Job brings forth many questions in his dialogue with God but stay tuned for these as God does not speak out from the whirlwind until chapter 38. Keep these question in mind and come up with whatever questions that you have yourself. And keep this in mind as you do… These may not be the right questions. Many people read Job and miss the essential points entirely.
