I’ve always been intrigued with Job’s story in the Bible, and it is so pertinent for today. Job’s struggle epitomizes man’s struggle with the calamities of a fallen world. It’s one thing to make sense out of bad things happening to bad people, but many people stumble over the reality that bad stuff happens to innocent people.
Job’s friends don’t help much, for they – like Job – are trying to cram God into a closed system where everything goes the way we expect. Those who work hard and follow a godly ethic succeed, showered by nothing but blessings, right? And those who hate and cheat and serve only themselves are frustrated and cursed. But it often does not work that way.
In our most troubled times, we – like Job – tend to come face to face with the ultimate question of trust. Is God really good? Can I really trust him when nothing is going as it seems it should?
Job exposes the reality of our angst. And shows us that God honors our honesty before him. He did not rebuke Job for expressing his frustration or for questioning, but rather for his failure to acknowledge his ignorance (38:1-3). It is for this Job repents (42:1-6). Sooner or later we all recognize our powerlessness. But do we realize our ignorance? God doesn’t answer Job’s “why” questions. He only reminds him of his own absolute power and goodness. That is either enough, or it isn’t. Same for us. In spite of our questions, God is either worthy of our trust, or he isn’t. Only he has all the information. Will we trust him with the parts we cannot know?
And this is where the gospel comes in. When a person comes to realize the need to trust in God, there is still an insurmountable gap. Job lays it out perfectly in ch.9. “[God] destroys both the blameless and the wicked” (v.22). (This takes a human perspective on “blameless”). Of course, we understand none of us is truly blameless (Is 53:6; Rm 3:23). We cannot ignore our condemned state; God will not acquit us, and our attempts to clean ourselves up are futile (Job 9:27-31). Job hits the crux of the matter in vv.32-35: we need an Advocate, an Arbiter, a Mediator, someone who can reconcile us to God. This mediator must be qualified to stand between God and man, to “lay his hand on [both parties].” The NT reveals this Mediator to be Jesus.
Jesus Christ alone is perfectly qualified to stand between God and man, for he himself is fully perfect God and fully perfect man. He is the Person who turns blind, desperate hope into the personal trust placed in someone we can know. Even now, in the Church Age, we know Jesus intimately through his Spirit (Rm 8:9; 1 Cor 2:11-15).
Job squares his answer about trust in 13:15, “Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.” While Job’s ancient theology does not yet fully understand the Christ, he does realize that his mediation must come from God himself, for he says in 16:19, “Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.” And in 19:25-6, he says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”
The people around us inevitably come to these issues of powerlessness and trust. When we come across someone going through a rough patch like Job, when they sense their need, to what or whom will they reach? Church, we have the only answer for them. They need Jesus. Are we listening for the opportunity? As Peter challenges us in 1 Pt 3:15, will we be prepared to give them the answer of hope?
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