2 "Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?
3 Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
Job knows it is foolishness to argue with the Almighty. Worse, He has no right. What wisdom He has compared to the Lord?
4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
Who shall resist Him? who can fail His plan and live?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
He is the Creator. All creations submit to His command. Do we possess power and authority like His?
10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'
The Lord gives and The Lord takes away...Blessed be the name of the Lord!
13 God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.
14 "How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
Can our blamelessness be compared to His Holiness? Job is right to say that He can only plead for mercy. Job understand very well who he is and who is God (No one is righteous, no one seeks God...long before the book of Romans).
16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
17 He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.
Job has a healthy fear for God, a reverence for God. Just admirable!
18 He would not let me regain my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.
19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him?
Wow...what faith! to Job, God is mighty and just.
20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.
32 "He is not a man like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court."(Job 9)
Again a sense of unworthiness before the Almighty.
Job 10
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit. (Job 10)
Wow...God did this to each of us. He gave us life and showed kindness and in His providence watched over our spirit.
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things? (Job 12)
4 You, however, smear me with lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!
5 If only you would be altogether silent!
For you, that would be wisdom. (Job 13)
I like what Job said to his friends...haha. He has an enviable confidence that He is blameless and resolutely rejects his friends accusation of his sinfulness.
7 "But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this? (Job 12)
He knows...very certain...that it is God who caused his suffering. How many of us would have a picture that God the Almighty is able to do this? "And in all things God works for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). So contrary to the popular prosperity doctrine.
10 In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?
Can the older people boast upon their many experience and hardships? The next verse will have the answer. I think Job is referring to his friends that spoke before. They seem older than Job (it will come in Elihu chapter, only Elihu is the youngest of all).
13 "To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man he imprisons cannot be released.
"You can do all things, [Lord] and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2
15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16 To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
Amen! Those who takes refuge in the shadow of the Almighty will be an instant winner. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
17 He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth [b] around their waist.
He saves and redeems the helpless...
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows men long established.
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
Do not be proud! for God gives grace only to the humble.
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.
25 They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards. (Job 13)
Job's God is infinitely wise, completely sovereign and perfectly loving. This God does what He pleases. No one, absolutely no one can stand on His way. This same God offers us promises of Hope and a future (Jer 29:11). Yet, He is not a man that He should lie or change His mind (Heb 6:18).
Conclusion: This God of Job is trustworthy.
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