Understanding Suffering: Job's Quest for Justice and Advocacy
Summary
In our exploration of Job chapters 8 and 9, we encounter the second of Job's comforters, Bildad the Shuhite. Bildad, like Eliphaz before him, holds a rigid view of divine justice, asserting that suffering is invariably a result of sin. He challenges Job by asking if God would pervert justice just for him, implying that Job's suffering must be due to some hidden sin. Bildad's perspective is rooted in a 'cash register' understanding of justice: you reap what you sow, and suffering is always divine retribution. This view, while acknowledging God's sovereignty, fails to grasp the complexity of divine justice and mercy.
Job, in response, expresses a profound sense of isolation and injustice. He longs for an arbiter, someone to stand between him and God, to plead his case. Job's struggle is not with the concept of sin but with the perceived absence of justice. He feels trapped in a universe where God's actions seem arbitrary and unpredictable. Job's lament is a cry for understanding and representation, a plea for someone to bridge the gap between his suffering and God's sovereignty.
The heart of Job's struggle is the question of God's goodness and justice. He believes in God's power and wisdom but wrestles with the apparent lack of fairness in his situation. Job's experience resonates with anyone who has felt abandoned or misunderstood, who has faced suffering without clear cause or resolution. His cry for an advocate foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as our mediator, who understands our pain and represents us before God.
Key Takeaways:
1. Bildad's rigid view of justice reflects a common misunderstanding: that suffering is always a direct result of sin. This perspective fails to account for the complexity of God's justice and the reality of undeserved suffering. It challenges us to trust in God's wisdom even when His ways are beyond our understanding. [02:13]
2. Job's longing for an arbiter highlights the human need for representation and understanding in the face of suffering. His cry is a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles; we have an advocate in Jesus Christ who intercedes for us and understands our pain. [06:28]
3. The question of God's goodness is central to Job's struggle. He believes in God's power but wrestles with the fairness of his situation. This tension invites us to trust in God's character, even when His actions seem inscrutable. [08:55]
4. Job's experience speaks to the feeling of isolation and helplessness in the face of suffering. His lament is a powerful reminder that God hears our cries and is present in our pain, even when we cannot see His hand at work. [13:30]
5. The desire for justice and understanding is a universal human experience. Job's story encourages us to bring our questions and doubts to God, trusting that He is both just and compassionate, and that He will ultimately vindicate those who seek Him. [21:51]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:40] - Bildad's Challenge to Job
[02:13] - The Cash Register View of Justice
[03:40] - Job's Continued Suffering
[05:11] - The Need for an Arbiter
[06:28] - Job's Plea for Representation
[08:06] - Wrestling with God's Goodness
[09:33] - The Question of Justice
[12:12] - The Struggle for a Hearing
[13:30] - Distrust in God's Providence
[15:00] - The Sovereignty of God
[16:20] - The Search for Justice
[17:49] - Ancient Myths and God's Power
[19:14] - The Feeling of Helplessness
[21:51] - Jesus as Our Advocate
[24:12] - Conclusion and Reflection
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: Exploring Job 8-9
Bible Reading:
1. Job 8:3-6
2. Job 9:32-35
3. 1 Timothy 2:5
---
Observation Questions:
1. What is Bildad's main argument about divine justice, and how does he challenge Job's situation? [02:59]
2. How does Job express his feelings of isolation and the need for an arbiter in his response to Bildad? [06:28]
3. What does Job mean when he says, "There is no arbiter between us," and how does this reflect his struggle? [05:53]
4. How does Job describe his perception of God's actions and justice in his lament? [08:55]
---
Interpretation Questions:
1. How does Bildad's 'cash register' view of justice reflect a common misunderstanding about suffering and sin? [02:13]
2. In what ways does Job's longing for an arbiter highlight the human need for representation and understanding in the face of suffering? [06:28]
3. How does Job's struggle with the question of God's goodness and justice resonate with the experiences of those who feel abandoned or misunderstood? [08:55]
4. What does Job's experience teach us about the feeling of isolation and helplessness in the face of suffering? [13:30]
---
Application Questions:
1. Have you ever felt like Bildad, believing that suffering is always a result of sin? How has this perspective affected your view of others' suffering? [02:13]
2. Job longs for an arbiter to plead his case. In your own life, how do you seek representation and understanding when facing difficult situations? [06:28]
3. Job wrestles with the fairness of his situation. Can you recall a time when you questioned God's goodness or justice? How did you navigate that struggle? [08:55]
4. Job's experience speaks to the feeling of isolation. When have you felt isolated in your suffering, and how did you find comfort or support? [13:30]
5. The desire for justice and understanding is universal. How do you bring your questions and doubts to God, and what practices help you trust in His character? [21:51]
6. Reflect on a time when you felt your prayers were not being heard. How did you maintain your faith during that period? [13:30]
7. Job's story encourages us to trust in God's wisdom. How can you cultivate trust in God's plan, even when His ways are beyond your understanding? [02:13]
Devotional
Day 1: The Complexity of Divine Justice
In the story of Job, Bildad the Shuhite presents a simplistic view of divine justice, suggesting that suffering is always a direct consequence of sin. This perspective, while acknowledging God's sovereignty, fails to recognize the complexity of God's justice and the reality of undeserved suffering. Bildad's 'cash register' view of justice—where one reaps what they sow—challenges us to trust in God's wisdom, even when His ways are beyond our understanding. It is a reminder that God's justice is not always immediately apparent and that suffering can occur without a direct link to personal sin. [02:13]
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)
Reflection: Think of a time when you faced suffering that seemed undeserved. How can you trust in God's wisdom and justice in that situation today?
Day 2: The Need for an Arbiter
Job's longing for an arbiter highlights the human need for representation and understanding in the face of suffering. He feels isolated and misunderstood, crying out for someone to stand between him and God to plead his case. This cry for an advocate foreshadows the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ as our mediator, who understands our pain and represents us before God. Job's plea is a reminder that we are not alone in our struggles; we have an advocate in Jesus who intercedes for us and understands our pain. [06:28]
"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6, ESV)
Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel misunderstood or isolated? How can you invite Jesus to be your advocate in those areas today?
Day 3: Wrestling with God's Goodness
The heart of Job's struggle is the question of God's goodness and justice. He believes in God's power and wisdom but wrestles with the apparent lack of fairness in his situation. This tension invites us to trust in God's character, even when His actions seem inscrutable. Job's experience resonates with anyone who has felt abandoned or misunderstood, who has faced suffering without clear cause or resolution. It challenges us to hold on to our faith in God's goodness, even when we cannot see His hand at work. [08:55]
"Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him." (Job 13:15-16, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you are struggling to see God's goodness? How can you choose to trust in His character today, despite your circumstances?
Day 4: The Presence of God in Our Pain
Job's experience speaks to the feeling of isolation and helplessness in the face of suffering. His lament is a powerful reminder that God hears our cries and is present in our pain, even when we cannot see His hand at work. Job's story encourages us to bring our questions and doubts to God, trusting that He is both just and compassionate. It reassures us that God is with us in our suffering, offering comfort and understanding. [13:30]
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." (Psalm 34:18-19, ESV)
Reflection: How can you invite God's presence into your pain today? What steps can you take to bring your doubts and questions to Him, trusting in His compassion?
Day 5: The Universal Desire for Justice and Understanding
The desire for justice and understanding is a universal human experience. Job's story encourages us to bring our questions and doubts to God, trusting that He is both just and compassionate, and that He will ultimately vindicate those who seek Him. It reminds us that while we may not always understand God's ways, we can trust in His ultimate justice and mercy. Job's cry for justice is a call to trust in God's character and to seek His presence in our lives. [21:51]
"Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven." (Lamentations 3:40-41, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you are seeking justice or understanding? How can you bring this desire to God, trusting in His ultimate justice and mercy?
Quotes
"What's he saying? He's a little brasher than Eliphaz -- he's probably younger than Eliphaz -- and he's coming in and he's saying, 'Does God pervert justice? Does God put justice aside just for you, Job? There's a principle. There's an order in the world. And does He turn that order, does He turn that system upside-down just for you?' What is that order in the world? We saw it in our previous lesson. Eliphaz introduced it in chapter 4. You reap what you sow. You get out of life what you put into it. No more and no less." [00:00:53]
"The case that Job's friends are making is that suffering is always punishment. It is always, invariably, without exception, divine retribution. That's the law of the universe. That is their understanding of God. Now, you must understand that Eliphaz, and Bildad, and Zophar, and Elihu later on, they're not weak-kneed liberals. They believe in law, they believe in justice, they believe God is sovereign. They believe God punishes. They believe in the wrath of God, right? So, they're not lily-livered liberals. They're strong defenders of the sovereignty of God." [00:02:06]
"Drop down to verse 6 -- 'If you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.' If Job's protestation of innocence is correct, God will come in and restore him. The fact that he isn't being restored, the fact that Job is continuing to decline into this ill health that threatens to take his life, is evidence that the judgment of God is upon him. And the judgment of God can only be upon him for one reason -- because he's a sinner, because he has committed some act of sin now, in the past, in his youth, he may have even forgotten what it is." [00:03:24]
"Well, Bildad, like his predecessor Eliphaz, has what you might call a 'cash register' understanding of justice. You get what you deserve. And so Job comes in in chapter 9, and I want to go right to the end of what he says, in verse 33 -- 'There is no arbiter between us.' Now, the ESV translates that. There's a translation issue here -- whether this is expressing a wish, or stating a fact. And if you have an ESV you'll notice there's a little footnote that says, 'Would that there were an arbiter between us.'" [00:05:22]
"Here’s Job. He’s pleading innocent. He has a case. Think of it as a legal case. Think of it as a court of law. And then there's God, who's the judge. There's no one in between. There's no arbiter. He needs somebody to represent him. He needs somebody to argue his case. He needs somebody to come and represent him before the Almighty. Job is saying, 'I wish I had such a person' or, as the ESV translation is saying, 'I don’t have such a person.'" [00:06:14]
"The heart of this book, you see -- behind that -- there's Job and then there's God. And this God -- yes, He's sovereign and He's just. The question that Job is wrestling with is 'Is God good?' And not just good in general but 'Is He good toward me?' And he's wrestling with that. Satan lies behind it. He's calling it into question. Satan has already laid down that thought in Job's mind -- 'God cannot be trusted. His justice may work one way with one person and another way with another person, and there is no standard rule. There is no predictability about it. Life seems unfair.'" [00:08:28]
"The problem here is the justice of God. How can it be fair, how can it be right that someone who hasn't committed any particular sin -- and we've been told that by God; he was a godly man -- how can it be fair that God should visit that person, and inflict upon that person, pain, and suffering, and disease? What is Job saying? What Job is saying is how can you ever have justice with God? Where can I find justice?" [00:10:28]
"Job believes in the sovereignty of God. He believes in the transcendence of God. Job believes, as we might say, in a 'big God' -- a God who is outside of creation, a God who is 'other,' a God who is transcendent. 'How can I get justice? How can I -- How can I even plead my case? How can I even get a hearing?' Well, do you ever feel like that about a certain issue? The only way that you can get a hearing is to pray. Correct? You pray." [00:12:35]
"Now, in verse 13 -- 'God will not turn back His anger, beneath Him bowed the helpers of Rahab.' We need to say something about this. In the ancient Near East, there were certain myths about creation -- Job is obviously familiar with them -- and one of them is the influence of Rahab. This is part of an ancient Near Eastern religious belief. The same is going to be true of Leviathan and Behemoth, perhaps, later in Job, the closing chapters of Job, and so on." [00:17:22]
"Yes, so Job wishes he had an arbiter. That's what suffering can do, do you see? It can make you cynical, cynical about God, cynical about ever getting justice, cynical about the order of the universe. Or perhaps just cynical about God's attitude towards you personally. You may believe that the gospel, and so on, is fine for others but, as far as you is concerned, everything seems to be, well, just turned upside-down." [00:20:45]
"Job wishes he has an arbiter. He wishes he has an advocate. He wishes he has a lawyer. That's what he wants. He wants somebody to represent him in a court of law, represent his case. And he wishes he could find one. And you could say, well, 'Jesus is our advocate. He is our lawyer. He is our representative.' But representative in what sense? Job isn't looking for somebody to forgive him his sins. That's not his point. His point is that he is in the right. 'Who's going to plead my case?'" [00:21:57]
"I think of a beautiful woman in Memphis to whom something truly awful was done. I think of a teenager who was tired of being picked on unfairly. I think of a widow bereft of her life partner and facing the future that seems full of, well, darkness and uncertainty. I think of a family trying to pick up the pieces after their teenage son has taken his life. Bruised reeds. Smoking flax. And I'm saying we have a Savior who heals the broken-hearted." [00:22:25]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Jul 19, 2023. Do you have any questions about it?