seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Job 23:1 Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand[a] is heavy in spite of(b)my groaning.
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?
No, he would not press charges against me.
7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him,
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.
8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.
15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
a. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
b. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me i
This is from the easy English site.
Job’s final speech begins here. It continues to the end of chapter 31. Bildad interrupts briefly in chapter 25. Some people think that there are other interruptions too. For example, they think that Job 26:5-14 is by Bildad. And they think that Job 24:18-25 and Job 27:13-23 are by Zophar. But the Bible does not name these speakers. And elsewhere the Book of Job always names the speakers. So we think that the complete speech in Job chapters 23 to 31 (except chapter 25) is by Job.
In Job’s society, if somebody needed help, that person would go to the judge’s court. The person would explain their problems to the judge. The judge might not only act as judge, but also as the policeman. So he would be an important man, and everybody would respect his judgement.
Job was confident that God is a fair judge. Job could not explain why God seemed to be punishing him. But Job knew that God’s answer would be right.
Job was starting to understand the reason for his troubles. His troubles were like a test (Job 1:8-12; Job 2:3-6). Job had been a wealthy man. Now he was poor. The purpose of the test was to see whether Job would still serve God. But the test would also improve Job. Job was learning to trust God more and more.
Job’s attitudes were good. Job loved God’s law. Job always wanted to obey God.
Job loved God. But Job was still worried. He did not know God’s plans. And Job was afraid of the future.
This commentary is from Bibletrack.org.Job still longs for the opportunity to make his case before God for his righteousness as we see in verses 4-5. You will notice that Job never doubts God, he just wants an understanding of what all of this means. As far as defending his personal righteousness before God, look at what Job says in verses 11-12, "My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." I'm not sure how exactly Job and his generation derived the commandments of God, but we'll see in Job 38 that God literally speaks to Job out of a whirlwind. It very well could be that God's law had been revealed through these kinds of supernatural manifestations. One thing is certain, Job acknowledges knowing and adhering to God's commandments. This monologue continues into Job 24 .
Consider this..... Suppose a body is going along life as instructed..... the kids are a pain.... but mostly they are good kids.... and a body prays that God will coverr them with His protective hand..... a body goes to church and a body goes to Sunday School, Bible Studies, contributes to the care of the homeless and the hungry and the sick through the church..... a body runs his business in a fair and honest manner..... everything is good.... all is peaceful..... God is good..... And then everything goes sideways and everything a body conceived as part of a good life is taken from him. At first a body would say..... "Why God?" and a body would take stock of the circumstances..... but the checkbook balances and the rules and regulations are still in tact.... there is no reason that can be pointed back to the original issue [sin] that brought on the calamity. "Why God?"
Now.... if God would allow satan to take everything away from Job [a well respected stupid human]..... what else would God do? Job's afraid that the "Why God?" might turn into "What's next?"
Job is saying.... before the "What's next?" comes.... he wants to talk to God and find out what he did so he can correct it..... but Job says.... "Where's God?" Job's not getting his day in court because court is not on earth...... "Where's God?" It's really hard to question someone who isn't there.... isn't it.... "Where's God?"
