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Job's Reply to Eliphaz
Today I Complain Bitterly
1Job said:
2Today I complain bitterly,
because God has been cruel
and made me suffer.
3If I knew where to find God,
I would go there
4and argue my case.
5Then I would discover
what he wanted to say.
6Would he overwhelm me
with his greatness?
No! He would listen
7because I am innocent,
and he would say,
“I now set you free!”
8I cannot find God anywhere—
in front or back of me,
9to my left or my right.
God is always at work,
though I never see him.
10But he knows what I am doing,
and when he tests me,
I will be pure as gold.
* 11I have never refused to follow
any of his commands,
12and I have always treasured
his teachings.
13But he alone is God,
and who can oppose him?
God does as he pleases,
14and he will do exactly
what he intends with me.
* 15Merely the thought
of God All-Powerful
16makes me tremble with fear.
17God has covered me
with darkness,
but I refuse to be silent.
Reflect
Did you notice? Where Eliphaz, in the last chapter, had challenged Job on the basis of his theology, Job’s response is of a different order. He doesn’t even bother with Eliphaz’ theology. It is God himself that Job is seeking.
But God is nowhere to be found. Job is sure that if he could lay his case before him, God would pay attention to him, and acquit him.
At this point many Christians have a problem. We know from Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” How can Job protest that he is innocent?
He is not claiming sinless perfection! Much of what we think of as sin—pride, lack of love, jealousy, etc. (sins of the heart)—never occurred to him. “Wisdom literature,” the kind of writing found here and in Proverbs and other parts of the Old Testament, thought of life as like two paths. You could choose the way of the good, or the way of sinners (Proverbs 2:20-22). Job is adamant that he has chosen the good way and not deviated from it.
We too are often bewildered by suffering. We don’t have to look far to find good people who suffer terribly, while others flourish in the midst of lives that flout God and pay little attention to other people. You may be suffering yourself. Sometimes God seems far away. There are no “answers,” no theology that can explain things. For the Christian there is only the knowledge that Jesus also suffered unjustly, and the hope that ultimately good will prevail. Whatever we feel, we know that God sees, God knows and God cares (Exodus 2:23-25).
Respond
Loving God, There is so much we don’t understand. Help us to be honest in our prayers. We thank you for all that we know of you, and trust you even when life doesn’t make sense. In the name of Jesus, who suffered for us. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.