Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Job confronts the worldview that the wicked always get paid back on Earth, is judged by his "friends" as an evildoer, and declares his belief that God will ultimately vindicate him.
This section of Job brings up some very interesting points which we will discuss that have to do with how suffering and trauma cause us to have a wrong kind of fear of God. More on that in a minute...
Job answers and asks his friends to listen carefully and bear with him before continuing their mocking (Why does he continue speaking with them if he knows it is fruitless? How long does this conversation last anyway?) He confronts their worldview that the wicked always "get what's coming to them" in this life by pointing out that often, wicked men who don't even care to know God often seem to prosper and die in peace and security- and he has a good point! He says some men die at ease, having experienced pleasures in their lifetime, while others die never having experienced them. It's interesting that he admits to not having an answer for everything, which is one of the hallmarks of true wisdom. He concedes that "the wicked are reserved for the day of doom" (He does know that God will have the final say.) He asks his friends how they could possibly "comfort" him if such blatant falsehoods are found in their answers. Job has a strong "truth-meter" and is wiling to confront lies and inaccuracies he hears in his friends' arguments.
One of his friends speaks again, saying again how Job must be cursed by God because he is wicked. He goes into detail about how Job must have turned away the hungry and the naked and ignored the plight of widows. He even says that Job must have said to himself that God will never find out his wickedness. These three "friends" are definitely standing in judgment of Job, acting as if they know everything about him and have all the answers to why he is being afflicted.
Job is still bitter. He laments that he wishes he knew where God was so that he could come to Him and present his case, and that other righteous men who have died could also reason with God. He says that no matter which way he turns, he cannot see God or perceive His workings. Yet, he proclaims, "[God] knows the way that [I] take. When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." He may be wrong about exactly what God's role is in his suffering and God's feelings about it (dead wrong), but he does have faith that God will redeem him. He says he has "treasured [God's] words more than food." He says God does what He wants and holds to the fact that God must have wanted this calamity to fall upon him... (which is an interesting thought... WAS this God's will for Job? That's a hard pill to swallow.) Job ends the chapter by saying that he is afraid of God because God chose not to hide deep darkness from him. Don't we often, subconsciously, come to the same conclusion when something traumatic has happened? "If God did not spare me from this but allowed me to go through it, what else will He allow me to go through?" This results in our becoming afraid of God. This is something we all have to work through with God.
Thoughts/Questions:
Have you ever judged a situation before its time and found out that you were completely wrong? A person?
Have you ever wished you could talk to God face to face and "present your case" for Him to hear? You can! :)
Have you ever come out of a traumatic or painful situation with a wrong kind of fear of God, afraid that if He wouldn't protect you from that, what else might He make you go through? Were you able to work through that fear? What did you learn?