Job 19

Job’s Complaint Against His Friends

Um break it down a little bit and you know it's it's amazing. Sometimes you read a portion of scripture and it's it seems as if it's easier at times to put it into sections. And so uh this morning i want to look at chapter 19 but i want to look at it in under the and i wrote six different things this morning on the board.

Um and that's the way i want to look at this chapter and to think about how job responds to build that. And the first is he will see that he he has a complaint against them which is nothing in essence new to the to this action between them.

And then his thoughts his friends his plea his hope and ultimately at the end of the chapter his warning to his friends. But i think we should. Um let's just read the chapter again. It'll and it'll help us.

So job 19. So job began responding to bill dad's argument of him being a a wicked person. Job answered and said how long will you torment my soul. Break me in pieces with words. These 10 times you have reproached me.

You not. You are not ashamed that you have wronged me. And if i if indeed i have erred my error remains in me. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and plead my disgrace against me know then that god has wronged me and has surrounded me with his net.

If i cry out concerning wrong i'm not heard. If i cry aloud there is no justice. He has fenced up my way so that i cannot pass. He has said darkness in my path. He has stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head.

He breaks me down on every side and i am gone my hope as he has uprooted like a tree. He has also kindled his wrath against me and he counts me as one of his enemies. His troops come together and build up their roads against me and they encamp around my tent.

He has removed my brothers far from me and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. My relatives have failed. My close friends have forgotten me. Those who dwell in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger.

I am an alien in their sight. I call my servant but he gives no answer. I beg him with my mouth. My bread is offensive to my wife and i'm repulsive to the children of my own body. And even young children despise me.

I arise and they speak against me. All my close friends abhor me and those whom i love have turned against me. My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh and i have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have pity on me have pity on me.

Oh my friends for the hand that god has struck me. Why do you persecute me as god does. And i'm not satisfied with my flesh. Oh that my words were written. Oh that they were inscribed in a book that they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead forever.

For i know that my redeemer lives and he shall stand on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed this i know that in my flesh i shall see god whom i shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another.

And how my heart yearns within me if you should say how shall we persecute him since the root of the matter is found in me. Be afraid of the sword for yourselves. For wrath brings punishment of the sword.

That you may know that there is a judgment. So as we read through it um again i want to look at it as i've laid it out on the board. And because as you go through the book of job and and and know we uh have been saying this this this back and forth continues to go on but within the within that there is this great struggle on the part of well i would say there's a struggle on the part of both the three uh that come to job as well as job.

Because the three that that come to job they can't understand why job can't understand. And certainly job is struggling with all that he has. And so um let's just think about it in the first five verses there is his complaint again and and basically it's one of utter frustration and not only frustration but but almost to the point well to the point look what he says just in verse two how long will you torment my soul and break me in pieces with these words these 10 times.

And i don't know if that necessarily means a literal 10 times do you ever say something to somebody. And you say i told you 15 times and really you haven't told him 15 times right. You just but just to make make it sound uh as if it's overwhelming but he does use that word torment.

And that's an interesting thought that um it's one thing to talk to someone about what you're thinking um and your thoughts it's another thing. And job has enough torment going on in his life as it is and yet his friends or supposed friends um not only are they not helping but they're actually hurting.

And i thought about that just in in my own um thinking our lives um should not be such that we actually cause people harm. Wouldn't you agree that as as christ people as as god's children as as followers of the savior that our words um and and it doesn't mean we don't rebuke and it doesn't mean we don't correct and it doesn't mean you wouldn't admonish.

But there's a difference between um i believe there's a difference between rebuke and admonishment and exhortation from torment and vexing someone because that that's that is beyond the pale. And so that's his complaint.

You guys are uh you break me in pieces with words and and you won't stop. And and the the second part of verse three he says you're not even ashamed that you have wronged me. And this is again where um they're so convinced and and that they think they're so right that there's no there's no hesitation on their part.

Um would you not agree with me that there are times when we are feels if we're so right no matter what we're going to we're going to say it right and we're going to stick to it. And and i'm not saying that's always wrong but at the same time um especially when people respond like job has been responding to their accusations and it seems to go through in one ear and out the other and and they really are just as i said they're so convinced that that job is wrong and that they're right.

And if you if you think about it he says to them if indeed in verse four again i'm going to take this in section he says if indeed i have erred he's saying okay if you think i'm that bad and if you think you're so right well listen the problem is mine it's not yours you you should still do what another let me ask you to to think about this.

If we see someone living a life that is wrong what's our responsibility generally what would be the responsibility of christians against people who live ungodly lives. Other christians other christians are unbelievers.

What's our responsibility. Warn them encourage them exhort them admonish them. But there's a place where that has to what stop. In other words ultimately we all have to appear before the judgment seat of christ right.

And so we cannot make people understand truth right. I mean if we could that would be fantastic right if you think about it if i could could if i could truly convince someone to believe man i would just start kidnapping people.

I mean think about it. What would be better than to see someone come to the knowledge of the truth. And if i had to give up many things for that reason i mean if you really believe that you had the inherent power to actually cause people to believe well that would change the whole uh way in which we live our life.

But what i'm i guess what i'm saying and i think job is saying is look if even if you guys were right this is my problem you should still be those who seek to comfort me to seek to encourage me not torment me.

And again um that's something i think that we can all think about in our own life. And and i think what job is saying to uh to them in a sense is and remember this job i'm going to ask this question. Did job ever claim that he was sinless.

Did job ever claim that his his heart was without error. Never does that right. And so many people who even make an attempt at saying that their lives are right very few will claim they're always right.

And anybody who claims that they're always right is probably always wrong or most of the time wrong. So what job is saying i think in part is listen okay even if you're right and my error remains me. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and please my and plead my disgrace against me know then that god is wrong with.

So in the first five verses he is basically to me his complaint against his friends and it's the continual same thing that has been taking place. They don't believe him and they will not show him any pity because their conviction rules over everything else.

So that's the first section. Now i want to look at from verse 6 to verse 13 and this is where i believe we really get to understand some of the things that are going on inside job's head. Because look what he says if you were right you should still comfort me.

Then as i said know then that god has wronged me and he has surrounded me with his net. So if you remember a couple of weeks ago we looked at some different verses and i suggested to you that some of the commentators weren't sure whether it was uh job was saying that god had shut him in or uh i i mentioned to you one commentator and i i don't agree with it but i did mention it to you one commentator thought that god revealed to job that satan was the woman that was behind all this.

Now where he got that from that was from his his own thinking. But here's very clearly job is really um telling them that they're not right and if they think they're right it's god who has wronged him surrounded him with his net.

If i cry out verse 7 concerning wrong i'm not heard. If i cry aloud there is no justice. He has fenced up my way so that i cannot pass. He has set darkness in my path. He has stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head.

He breaks me down on every side and i'm gone. My hope is he has a brooded like a tree. So as we begin to see job's thoughts his complaint and i believe it's a complaint this is not some people want to excuse job and say well if you really were going through the things like job were going through you you would um do the same thing.

Well just because two people do something wrong or three people or a thousand people it don't make it right right. You never get to that point. It's either right or wrong. So as you look at this and job is complaining and assigning to god that god has done this to him that you and i need to understand this complaint rises above the things of this world and he's looking above and outside of it and and this has been his issue before right.

He does not understand and he can't find rest in what's taking place. Now i ask us to think about that because have we not all at some point in some to some measure done the same thing where we can't understand exactly why certain things take place why certain things have happened.

Why certain things have happened to us that have not happened to others. Why certain things have happened to us even though we seek to follow the lord. And at times whether it's verbal or not i mean god sees our thoughts that we have done exactly what job has done and we have assigned uh and a complaint against god that basically saying um well i guess god don't care.

But i want to be cautious here because um if you look at this and specifically in verse 10 i want to read that verse again he breaks me down on every side and i am gone. My hope he has uprooted like a tree.

Now do you think that job's hope is what he considers in totality or what he considers based on the situation that he's in. Because there's a difference i think there's a definite difference in other words well i could just show you quickly as we think about this so he says in verse 10 my hope has uprooted me like a tree.

But then if you look over in in 23 through 27 he says for i know my redeemer lives and and so what's what's going on here in the mind of job his situation and his friends supposed friends and the things that are taking place in his body and the things that have come upon him have robbed him or confused him concerning his hope.

But remember what we've been trying to say or i've been trying to say that there's the if you will there's the here and then there's the then then. And if we think about that here is this side of the veil this is this is where we dwell.

Right this is what what's going on. So this is life here life on earth. Do you think that job's hope carries in his mind because he says my hope is uprooted. Does it carry across. Is he saying he's hopeless.

I don't think. So i think what he's saying is if you look at my life you look at my situation if you look at what's happened to me basically i'm i'm a goner. I'm this is this is not going to end. Well i think that's what he's saying.

This is not going to end well for me in this life. But even in his complaint and and this is what i think is important for all of us to think only look for hope here we're in big trouble. Agree. Because this is disappointing.

I don't care how great your life is. This is this. There's going to be disappointments here. There has to be this just living in a world that is cursed. Um living in a world that is if you will out of whack living in a world of people who don't know the truth.

So when he says that in verse 10 that his hope is is gone he says it's uprooted like a tree. And my hope he is uprooted like a tree. He's kindled his wrath against me. I don't believe joe was saying that what is to take place then is what he really has in mind.

So again just think about that think about how um god has left us all in this situation. For what reason. If if god is for us who could be against us. And so when we encounter things like that when you get to the point where you almost feel like it's hopeless.

What's behind that.

Is there a reason for that. It feels strength.

Okay so it builds strength. I'm just going to write down some words here because i think it's important. So it builds strength. What else causes us to not get overwhelmed with the great things of this world.

And it actually teaches us teaches us about god. It teaches us about christ teaches us about suffering. Though we suffer in this life we're god's children. Why should we have problems with god sent his son into this world to to save us for all eternity.

Yeah. So so again these two things kind of go together. It teaches us of the sufferings of christ. And here's what else it does. Anticipation. Good. Don't worry about it it's over. But it does. It creates what it creates a yearning in us doesn't.

It creates an opportunity for us to focus. That's another good one. Right. So what does. Not only does it comfort us but it actually enables us to comfort others wouldn't you agree. Yes right. It enables us to comfort.

And certainly that's a big part of it. In other words who's the best one to comfort someone in a particular situation besides someone who's already been in that situation. Great. I mean that's in that part of what it is to be a parent that you're kind of teaching that that.

Well hopefully we're teaching that nothing here is going to last. And if you sink your feet too far in the mud you're going to get stuck in the mud. You're never going to get out of the mud. And so we who have been taught of god are able to teach others that the real focus should be here and not here.

And that's important. And so when job says this and and again these are not um these are not the best words for job. And we've talked about job says some stupid things. Um anybody want to say that they never spoke things that they shouldn't have spoken.

And you always want to say that we're not in a sense sometimes grumblers and murmurers and could um disgruntled and different things. So as job says he's and and truly job is twisted up in his mind. I was thinking about it this morning.

You know what kept coming to my mind this morning was as the first servant came and said yeah your kids are gone. And and says right away the second servant came and all your goods are gone. And those three sir could you imagine it's like getting three phone calls one man after the other.

Um it would it would really sidetrack you. And so job is really and he can't understand because his heart is right with god. So i guess what i wanted us to think about in this section was he really thinks that god has left him to suffer but at the same time he never loses.

He never loses his hope for this. Because brothers and sisters we lose hope here. Then we are truly hopeless. Right. Isn't that our great comfort that the sufferings in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which we shall have thereafter.

Right. And then he goes to all the things. Neither principalities the powers the things of this earth or any other thing shall be able to separate us from the love of god which is in christ jesus. So job doesn't have paul to to give him clear understanding.

Job doesn't have the gospels. But job still has. He has understanding enough to know that as we will see shortly that his redeemer still lives. And so in in verses 6 through 13 i think that's what he's comparing these things to that that god has done this and god has ripped down his tent and all these different things.

And and then look at this from verse 13 on. And this is where he goes into his friends and his family. So let's think about that. In verse 13 he says he has removed my brothers far from me and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

My relatives have failed my close friends have forgotten me. Those who dwell in my house and my nature they count me as a stranger. I am an alien in their sight. I call my servant but he does not answer.

I beg him with my mouth. My breath is offensive to my wife. And i'm repulsive to the children of my own body. Now if you remember what was what happened when when the that wind came and it blew the house down all his kids.

Was it all his kids. Maybe it was. I'm just saying it says the sons and daughters gathered. But let me ask you a question. Don't you think there were others when they're when their grandchildren. Perhaps i mean these were full-grown people.

Right. I i just don't think we should just think about every person that jobe ever knew or ever loved or ever had a relation to was destroyed. And and so as jobe looks out these are these are words that add to his sorrow.

And i mentioned this to you. And again i mentioned it again. Um he talks about his wife. Right. Um my breath is offensive to my wife. We haven't heard about his wife since chapter one when she told him what curse god and die.

And we talked about that whether she meant it in a sense or just get it over with jobe. Or or it was just because remember he said you speak as one of the foolish women. And so all these people are watching this scene again.

Jobe is not sitting in in a in a dungeon somewhere and his friends come to visit him. Um this is kind of open to all to see his maidservants and and his kids his family his relationships they've all kind of been witness to what's been taking place in jobe's life.

And and again i think we brought that up a little bit when you think about it um we should add this word too. Yeah that many of the things that happened here in this life are examples that you and i we we need to see our life as more than just our own little world.

We really are false as we are to be living epistles known and read of all men. But but much of our life is used by god. And if that offends us then we have a wrong understanding. God uses our lives as examples of many things.

But still and so jobe's life is kind of exposed to everybody else. How many of us would like all our i use the term how many of us like all our laundry just hung out for everyone to see any takers anybody want everybody else to know everything that you do in your life.

I don't think so now some people are maybe a little more private than others and some people are a little bit more exposed than us. But i don't think any of us would like to see our issues spread out for the whole world to see.

Well just so you understand jobe is is saying this that not only does his friends come against him not only does he believe that god has come against him. He says he's been if you will ridiculed by everybody that sees him.

And i wonder if it's because he thinks that they think like the friends thought that he was wicked and he was ungodly. I want to make this point and again just as a point in many ways jobe stands out as a picture of christ.

Agree. As long as we're careful that we don't do it in absolute one-on-one relationship. In other words if you look at jobe and everything that every single thing that jobe goes through and every single thing that jobe says and every single thing that happens to jobe must must be in line with what happened to christ.

But i will suggest especially as you read these words what he says. He's removed my brothers far from me. Was christ accepted by his brothers. Not. Certainly not at first was christ estranged from the town he was born in sure sure it was.

Was his relatives and his close friends. They forgotten them. Did they not count christ as a stranger and an alien. And and when you think about these things that happen to jobe and you think about the scriptures that say that you know man when jesus said uh search the scriptures for you think in them.

You have eternal life. And they speak of me. Well they do. Right. The testimony of scripture is the spirit of scripture is the testimony of christ. So not in an absolute one-on-one but as jobe goes through these things and even the friends because they they are in a sense a type of those who came against christ.

Right. No matter what jesus said no matter what jesus did the friends i mean the the jews and those those crowds that gathered around him how many of them made accusations. He did a marvelous miracle.

And what did they say. He cast them out by the power of beelzebub. So in in many ways as you look at jobe you can see um an example and it's sometimes clearer than others of what takes place in the lord jesus christ in his ministry to us.

But at the same time historically i said jobe's in jobe's in a bad position. He can't find help anywhere. He can't find comfort anywhere. And he is i guess in my mind he's just overwhelmed. He is completely at the point where i almost understand his desire to just have it end right again when you have a when you have a problem sometimes you get to the point the only thing you want is that problem to go away.

The problem with us is once that problem goes away something else comes because again we're still here no problems there all right. So that's the next part of the chapter. Now now we get to um i just want to mention this in verse 21 and verse 22 so he goes through this whole thing speaks to his friends complains about how god has wronged him speaks about the situation in his life that nobody wants to hang out with him.

And then he says in verse 21 and 22 and this is where he's looking at his friends have pity on me have pity on me on my friends. For the hand of god has struck me why do you persecute me as god does it not ashamed.

And to me this is a rather low point in job's mind he's not going to find any pity from his friends. And yet he's he sees the things that have happened in his life and he has no other help. And uh and at least in his thoughts.

And so he basically is saying to his friends can't you see my situation. Can't you have pity on me. And so that's in a sense his plea. And i don't think it's the right one. But now i want to make sure we've we finished this.

I want you to read from verse 23 to 20 27 again because this is the cool part his hope is still alive. And and this section has been used many many times. I think i spoke on it one easter morning about the resurrection and just read it again.

Oh that my words were written oh that they were inscribed in a book that they were engraved on a rock when an iron pen and led forever. He says this. It's amazing that he says this. I know my redeemer lives and he shall stand at last on the earth.

And after my skin is destroyed this i know that in my flesh i will see god. Job seems to go from irrational to semi-rational to very clear and lucid thinking. And i think that's kind of like us. I know it's like me there are sometimes i think i'm thinking clearly and then sometimes i can't put two thoughts together at the same time right.

And it's it's frustrating and it's confusing and all. But i think here is where we really see the character what's really at the heart of this man. And he believes that his redeemer his savior the the umpire if you will the one who's going to stand in between the gap for him.

He knew that his redeemer lives. Well job didn't live in the time of the resurrection of christ who had revealed all this to him. Where did job get this from. He had it to me. He had to get it by the spirit of god right.

He had to have understood the same way abraham in great in a great way understood that god was able to do what after he sacrificed isaac. That god was able if if it's so pleased god to raise isaac back up from the dead after he had sacrificed him.

So when job says this i mean this is a great confession. This is if you and i can say this then we're we're in good standing in if we could say it in truth. And and here's the thing i want you to just look at the way it's worded again.

He says i know. And then he has in verse 26 after my skin is destroyed this i know that in my flesh i shall see god whom i shall see. My eyes shall behold. And how my heart yearns within me. Listen friends it has to be very individualistic right.

We came into this world um one by one. Now maybe if you're a whatever but the point is each one of us have been created uniquely by god and god is going to take each one of us. You want to say it. God's going to take every one of us from here to here.

And job knew it. He didn't understand. I don't believe he understood the fullness of it. But which one of us really understand the fullness of it. Which one of us can say i fully know what lies ahead.

None of us. But here's what we should be able to say. I know my redeemer lives. Right. And and forget what he says now after my flesh is destroyed this i know that in my flesh i shall see god. Job understood a bodily resurrection.

Job wasn't fatalistic. They didn't believe in annihilation. Um he didn't believe that the the other side of the veil was just this spiritual uh whatever cosmic whatever people think today because people have some really weird thoughts right job said in my flesh so he believed in resurrection.

Listen. Um we're a bunch of broken bodies right. Anybody here perfect in health. Nope all of us are decaying. All of us are breaking down. Some of us break down one way. Some of us break down one day someday friends there'll be no more breakdown.

And if that doesn't if that doesn't carry us here then i'm not sure we really have a right understanding. Because that should be able to carry us from this. This is to be lived in anticipation of that again.

Job has this and he i shall see for myself and my eyes. Well shall behold. And i've said this many times i know we got to close friends. We're going to explode into eternity. Don't think of it as you take your last breath.

And you're going to make this slow monotonous journey um into the presence of god. I truly believe with omaha we're going to when we take our last breath whatever that is. And however it is we're going to see him as he is.

And friends that ought to be the thing which that's that's the drive in in the train man just to keep on going. And so as job says this. And finally as we close he if you read the last couple verses what he does is uh he basically tells his friends you know you uh make a lot of accusations against me.

You've uh you won't give up on it. You think i'm such a wicked man. But if you just read the last verse he says basically i think what he's saying is be careful because guess what friends build that zopad and elephaz you're here now guess you're going there.

So be careful about what you do to me because ultimately as sure as i go across the belt so do you so something to think about. And again this chapter to me was a little easier to to look at but we're going to see as we get through this that um job struggles continue uh and that his friends will continue to if you will throw more fire more wood on the fire.

So uh so we do it again let's let's close in a word of prayer lord thank you for our time together. Thank you for your word. Thank you. Your word stands forever as a way of teaching a comfort and a warning an example be with us this morning lord may we worship you in spirit and truth.

May we see and know in the depths of our hearts that our redeemer lives in christ's name amen.