Sunday Morning Service (Job 15-Job 17)

Job 15-Job 17

Audio Access Available Above

“Where Then Is My Hope?” •  3.7.21  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- Job has offered a sound defense against the thinking of his friends. As you have listened, you'll note that there isn't any hint that Job might be convinced to think otherwise.

- If you were his friend, you might just step back and realize that you were "wasting" your words. Conventional wisdom would give the person space to be "wrong."

- Eliphaz and company are neither willing to concede their position nor allow Job's disagreement. With that, we move into "Round 2" of the dialogue portion of Job. Chapter 15.

Text

• Job 15:1-6 : "Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 'Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or by speeches with which he can do no good? Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you." : Job has failed to convince Eliphaz of his innocence. Job is not sinless, but he has not caused his condition by any word or deed.

- To be fair, it's not that Job was not convincing, nor was it true that he had not clearly explained himself. Eliphaz hasn't been listening to understand. He's just waiting for his turn!

- James tells his readers that they are to be "swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath." (James 1:19) Eliphaz was quick to react, quick to speak and unwilling to hear!

- The Temanite wonders about Job's wisdom simply because he disagrees! Has he set it aside to answer with emptiness? Has he just become a windbag whose speech is detached from reality?

- In the original language, many have commented that there is an added tension to the air. Eliphaz has failed to score any points intellectually. Naturally, it is time for insult!

- Job is full of hot air! That is how he has been able to speak so freely of his righteousness. His iniquity, his perversity continues through his speaking! He has chosen to speak in a cunning way.

- Eliphaz doesn't need to burden himself with proving his case. In his eyes, Job is proving it for him with every word that he utters. Verse 7.

• Job 15:7-16 : "Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills? Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, much older than your father. Are the consolations of God too small for you, and the word spoken gently with you? Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth? What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!" : Eliphaz assumes that Job has an alternate source of wisdom that is superior to his. Eliphaz would like to know what Job knew that they didn't know!

- He and his friends, as he admits, are older than Job and indeed, older than Job's Father! This makes matters all the more tragic!

- Eliphaz is leaning heavily upon his age, but has no idea how insufficient his wisdom has been. Gray hair and many years may not issue in the gaining of godly wisdom!

- I would rather stand on the side of a man who has bathed in the scripture and has asked for the filling of God's Holy Spirit, than to stand with an old, high minded, super educated elite.

- The real issue with Eliphaz is that he theorized about a God that he did not know personally. He could only from what he had come to learn through second hand knowledge.

- That kind of knowledge is fine when your circumstances are favorable. It is woefully insufficient when you or someone you love, is suffering.

- Job has addressed this with them, letting them know that wisdom comes from the Lord, not from worldly experience! We never have to settle for our own wisdom when God freely offers His!

- Eliphaz asks Job if the consolations of the Lord are too small for him, offered on the wings of the "gentle word!" First, can you identify a single comforting word from the Lord that came from them?

 Second, what is their definition of gentle!? Do they think that they have been gentle with Job!? If so, we have a very different definition today!

- Surely, Job has blown off their counsel and has turned his spirit away from God! That's the only way that Job could consider himself righteous!

- The NLT finishes his thought well: "Look, God does not even trust the angels!" In his mind, Job is not only not righteous, he's actually thirsty for more wickedness!

- Despite evidence to the contrary, Eliphaz continues to regard Job as a wreckless sinner. Where does he get his fuel? Verse 17.

• Job 15:17-26 : "I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare, what wise men have told, not hiding anything received from their fathers, to whom alone the land was given, and no alien passed among them: The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him. He does not believe that he will return from darkness, for a sword is waiting for him. He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand. Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle. For he stretches out his hand against God, and acts defiantly against the Almighty, running stubbornly against Him with his strong, embossed shield." : Eliphaz wants to demonstrate to Job that he is right in his assessment. He isn't merely old and experienced. He is well sourced!

- Wise men who know the land have instructed him. What he believes comes from native wisdom, not from some alien source. Eliphaz can be trusted!

- The problem is that being old doesn't guarantee wisdom. Being a part of the majority doesn't guarantee truth claims! All of the men that Eliphaz encountered would have endorsed his wisdom.

- There is an established profile of what happens to those that are wicked. According to him, God has always dealt with the wicked the same way and it looks eerily similar to Job's case.

- The wicked contorts himself in order to escape his pain. All that the oppressor can expect is years of trouble. He is terrifed by every sound and worried about losing all that he has.

- Just when he thinks he has it all, the destroyer comes! "Does that sound familiar Job? Did you see the fire coming?"

- The wicked expects that he will never be able to leave his dark life. He believes that he will only leave that life in a body bag! He anticipates the reaping of the darkness that he has sown.

- I have had this very conversation with members of gangs, who swore that their only way out was to die! They have no hope of another kind of life!

- They prepare for their own demise as if they were the Kings of the world, thinking at best, that they can stop God's rule from overpowering them, but at the worst, knowing that they will die trying.

- Like a King, the wicked man goes out with all valor against Almighty God, running out to meet Him with his own special shield. He doesn't repent. He doesn't accept defeat. He will not surrender.

- Don't miss his insinuation: Job is a rebel. A troublemaker. He is an enemy of God!

- He is pictured as a man who runs straightforward and headlong into this conflict with God. That is his history lesson for Job. "Does any of this sound familiar Job!?"

- Job just stares at Eliphaz. This man is speaking of other men, but he certainly isn't speaking about Job's heart. Job wants to surrender. He wants peace. Eliphaz continues. Verse 27.

• Job 15:27-35 : "Though he has covered his face with his fatness, and made his waist heavy with fat, he dwells in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabits, which are destined to become ruins. He will not be rich, nor will his wealth continue, nor will his possessions overspread the earth. He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, and by the breath of His mouth he will go away. Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, for futility will be his reward.  It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not be green. He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, and cast off his blossom like an olive tree. For the company of hypocrites will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit." : When it comes to appearances, the wicked man seems as if he has it all. He's a "fat cat," living in luxury, but ultimately, his luxury is reduced to a slum.

- Those who seem like they have it all together are only showing you a projection. Their real condition is hardly ever revealed, but there is no way to fool everyone everytime!

- The wicked has no future. The places where he lives will eventually be run down and uninhabitable. Whatever he has in this moment is unsustainable. In time, their possessions will fail.

- In all of his days, he won't leave his dark life. God will not allow him to spread out. He'll corner him and vanquish him with His holy breath! God will burn away all that belongs to him!

• Job 15:31,32 (NLT) : "Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward. They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green." : According to Eliphaz, the wicked never live up to their potential. They are cut down and their lives amount to nothing.

- He is again asserting that Job's sin cost him the lives of his children! "The flame will dry out his branches." "His branch will not be green." "His grapes will not come to maturity."

- According to the wisdom of Eliphaz, Job's wickedness has born the fruit of destruction! There can be no other explanation except for the truth that he is unaware of! All of this teaches us.

- Being old doesn't guarantee a person wisdom. Being in the majority doesn't guarantee that you will arrive at the truth. Being aware of a profile may not lead you to an accurate diagnosis! Ch. 16.

• Job 16:1-5 : "I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all! Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief." : Eliphaz is just repeating information that Job had already heard. All of them had done the same!

- Their brand of comfort, their supposed "gentle words" were a source of grief to Job!

- They had accused Job of being a windbag, but their words were the empty ones! Why did they keep speaking to him? What made them need to respond? Was this really a time for arguments?

- Job's message is clear: Please stop talking! Those that need our comfort would rather absorb it through our presence, not so much through our words, especially when they are poorly chosen!

- If the situation were reversed Job could treat them with the same lack of compassion. It takes one to know one! Job understands why they lack compassion. They haven't suffered like he has!

- He empathizes with them and realizes that he could easily use their same arguments, but having been through this, he realizes what his suffering would prompt him to do.

- He would offer words that would strengthen. He would give as much comfort and relief as possible without accusation, judgment or superimposing a generic profile.

- Let us determine in our hearts to speak only words of strength and comfort! If we have none, let our silence speak loudly of our love and loyalty! Verse 6.

• Job 16:6-14 : "Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; And if I remain silent, how am I eased? But now He has worn me out; You have made desolate all my company. You have shriveled me up, and it is a witness against me; My leanness rises up against me and bears witness to my face. He tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; My adversary sharpens His gaze on me. They gape at me with their mouth, they strike me reproachfully on the cheek, they gather together against me.  God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked.  I was at ease, but He has shattered me; He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; He has set me up for His target,  His archers surround me. He pierces my heart and does not pity; He pours out my gall on the ground. He breaks me with wound upon wound; He runs at me like a warrior." : Job's friends have not soothed his mind and talking hasn't helped Job either! On the other hand, if he stays silent, he isn't put at ease.

- God has worn him out. He can't speak to relieve his pressure and he can't stay silent to find peace. He's relentlessly restless, as his mind searches for closure.

- Job is exhausted with grief over his devastated family, his "company." Physically, Job is shell of himself as his body and face tell the story of his grief to all. He is shriveled up and lean.

- Many who experience grief and trauma simply forget to eat of take care of themselves!

- Between the sadness of his loss and the pain of his condition, Job just doesn't have anything left for his own physical health.

- Mentally, Job feels as though God has viciously attacked him. It's unrelenting, as God tears into him and threatening, as He envisions God bearing His teeth toward him, seeking for more!

- Socially, Job considers himself a spectacle. People look at him in unbelief and proverbially slap him on the cheek in insult. They are a mob of sinners that God has delivered him over to.

- There were many men that envied Job in the time of his success. When they discovered what had happened to him, they took the opportunity to reveal their true feelings for him.

- This is not the life that he was prepared for. Prior to all of this, Job lived a life of ease and then God turned his life around and made him His favorite target!

- He is surrounded on the battle field, wounded and near death, but in his mind, God keeps pouring it on, running at him with a warrior's intent to finish the job! Verse 15.

• Job 16:15-22 : "I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and laid my head in the dust.  My face is flushed from weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Although no violence is in my hands, and my prayer is pure. O earth, do not cover my blood, and let my cry have no resting place! Surely even now my witness is in heaven, and my evidence is on high. My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out tears to God. Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor! For when a few years are finished, I shall go the way of no return." : Our brother is in a deep state of mourning. Sackcloth matched the external with the internal.

- It would seem that having put sackloth on over exposed boils may have made it feel as though he had sown the material to his skin as the boil dried next to the coarse cloth.

- Putting dust upon the head was the ancient way of saying that a man was lower than the dust. Job's face was red from the emotional expenditure of weeping, his eyes black without sleep.

- He hasn't done anything wrong and the injustice of that is beginning to wear on him. He wants it known. He wants the earth to be his witness. He wants the angels to be his witness!

- Even here, he knows that there is a witness in heaven that can speak for him. All of the evidence for his case was registered in heaven!

- For all of this, his friends mock him even as he cries out to God for help! What an awful portrait we have. Job is all alone in his plight.

- If only there was one that could intervene, to call upon God to lighten his treatment of Job. If only someone was big enough. His time is short before he dies.

- Job has no way of knowing that he'll actually live to 140 years! Chapter 17.

• Job 17:1-5 : "My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me. Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me? For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail." : Job doesn't have any fight left in him. He's resigned to his assumed fate and yet, those that mock him are seeking to pick a fight with him!

- Job's friends, in committing to their fale theology, have become increasingly hostile toward Job. They will not back down.

- Whoever doesn't agree with them will be subject to condescension, mockery and taunts. Job is locked in this endless cycle with these men. What has to happen? God has to intervene!

- "Put down a pledge for me with Yourself!" If you used this language in the marketplace, you might consider a "pledge" a "downpayment." Job is asking for an agreement from God.

• Job 17:3 (NLT) : "You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me." : God has to break through to his friends. They have demonstrated a lack of abilty to understand the realities of his situation.

- For the sake of all that is good, God could not let them win! This final phrase is very strange. It seems to speak of a form of betrayal, as when one becomes an informant.

- Neither he nor his children will see the spoil they wish to have from their actions. Job's friends, if they are allowed to succeed, will ruin their "children's" futures!

- If God does not stop their way of thinking, it will ultimately ruin them! Verse 6.

• Job 17:6-9 : "But He has made me a byword of the people, and I have become one in whose face men spit. My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows. Upright men are astonished at this, and the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. Yet the righteous will hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger." : Verse 6 might be one of Job's best claims to truth. God has made Job a "byword" in a sense. His name is synonymous with suffering and men of his time used it for mockery.

- To spit in one's face in the middle east remains the ultimate insult that can be given to men!

- The people around him are kicking him while he is down and he's in no shape to mount a defense. He can hardly see out of his weeping eye. His body is weak.

- The upright and innocent either stand afar off to gaze at Job or they openly rebuke him.

  - For all of that, Job does recognize that his resolve has not weakened one bit! His flesh is weak, but his spirit is fighting for all that he has!

- These moments reveal the strength of God's spirit. Job is in mourning and he is given to fits of depression, as any man would. But, there is also a refrain of hope.

- Every so often, Job rises above his circumstance and sees light. It is momentary, but it is there. His strength is short lived however, as he plummets back toward the Earth. Verse 10.

• Job 17:10-16 : "But please, come back again, all of you, for I shall not find one wise man among you. My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.  They change the night into day; The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.  If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in the darkness,  if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’ Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?" : Job is inviting his friends to come back with a better argument. They have utterly failed to offer one this time around and Job has no confidence that their wisdom will improve with time!

- They have worldview commitments that will force them to be wrong because they begin with what is wrong about God! According to them, Job is finished.

- His days are over. His purposes are complete. He can't even think straight! Job cannot seem to satisfy their theological bent.

- He sees their counsel as a matter of ignorance with regard to reality. "They change the night into day." All is dark, but they claim to see a light!

- Their "light" is darkness because their solution, their prescription doesn't address Job's heart! How can a man repent for actions that he has not committed!?

- If that is the "light," if their conclusion is correct, then all that is left for Job is Sheol, corruption and decomposition!  His new family will be made in the grave.

- If that is all he has, where is his hope? Who can see it? Is this just going to end with death and dust?

Conclusion
- Job cannot see his hope, but we cannot help but see it! Job knows that he has a witness in heaven, that his case will be settled there, where someone will vouch for him.

- He knows that He is there, but he has no idea who He is! We aren't saddled with the same problem. We know where our hope is and who it is attached to!

- Jesus is the Advocate, the Helper, the High Priest and the Lawyer that pleads our case!

- Job is innocent in not having caused his trial, but Jesus is the truly innocent Man that never sinned, from birth or action!

- Job feels as though he is the victim of God's wrath and that He is bearing His teeth toward Him. Jesus actually endured the unbridled wrath of His Father for the sake of His people's sins.

- Job felt the sting of humilation as men jeered at the sight of him and took advantage of his weakness.

- Jesus was an astonishment to men, a byword to the supposedly righteous, a man acquainted with physical suffering and personal humiliation to the degree that He hung virtually naked on a tree.

- Jesus was mocked, hated, slapped and spit upon by the strong bulls of Bashan who gaped at Him with their mouths! Could there be a better, more understanding representative for Job?

- Could there be a better hope for us than death and dust? God answers us with Jesus!