Job 11-20

Job 11-12

Job 11 – Zophar speaks truth, but misapplies it as the “formula” that answers Job’s situation. He doesn’t allow for Ecclesiastes 7:15, and similar, that show the futility of seeing life adhering unswervingly to formulas.
Job 12 – Job likewise responds to Zophar, acknowledging that what he said has truth (“Who does not know such things as these?” 12:3), but frustratingly explaining that it has little bearing on Jobs situation because he was (relatively) “just and blameless” (12:4). In other words, this isn’t some punishment for Job doing something especially wrong.

13:20-21; 14:6: Job prays for God to leave him alone. This prayer strikes me in 2 ways: (1) He sees God as sovereign and behind his misery, and thus the one to go to in his condition. Much different than us who go to everyone but God. (2) Many pray for Gods nearness, which is good (James 4:8). But there is an aspect of His nearness that might be dreaded – even if it’s the loving discipline of the Father (Heb 12:11)
14:7-22 sounds a lot like Job denies the resurrection of the dead. But Job 19:25-27 sounds like he does believe in resurrection (along with the fact that his children are the only ones not to double in number—potentially pointing to the fact that the others will resurrect and thus not be lost, thereby eventually the number will be double). I take 14:7-22 to be like the things “under the Sun” in Ecclesiastes that are separate from the eternal realities spoken of at the end of Ecclesiastes. In other words, Job 14 shows what happens IN THIS LIFE. That is, we generally don’t resurrect and thus there is great anguish over death here and now. While the other parts of Job speak to eternal life, where all things are made right (“above the Sun” if I can say it that way).

Here we find that Jobs friends were considerably older than Job (15:10). Shows that man’s knowledge can be poor, even if it’s gone more the test of time.
I had a new thought while reading this: I think Jobs friends may have never had a lot of trials, otherwise I don’t think they’d be so confident in their formulas.

I was struck in these chapters how much Job is convinced in God’s sovereignty, while it still stings something awful. A good example is Job 16:12 – “he [God] seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces.” I appreciate his faith in God’s sovereignty but it does seem he loses faith in Gods loving kindness: “He [God] has hated me.” Job 16:9.

19:25-27 is chock full—wow! Job just got done saying how God has estranged everyone imaginable from him: “my brothers…those who knew me…my relatives…my close friends…guests in my house…my maidservants…my servant…my wife…the children of my own mother…young children…my intimate friends…and those whom I loved have turned against me.” (19:13-19). Yet amidst this utter God-caused alienation, Job believes that 1 will not ultimately abandon him in the end: God. The very One who has put him through the wringer. And even if God gives him no relief in this life and he dies, “after my skin has been thus destroyed…I shall see God.” (19:26). Lord grant us such a faith!

It seems to me that the more entrenched Job gets in claiming his innocence, the more entrenched the “friends” get in pointing out his guilt. Here Zophar seems very certain that Job is wicked and just hasn’t been found out until now. I can’t imagine the sting Job would feel in hearing this when his life has imploded.