Job 23:1

JOB 23

JOB'S EIGHTH SPEECH:

JOB'S YEARNING FOR ACCESS TO GOD;

OH THAT I KNEW WHERE I MIGHT FIND HIM!

"Then Job answered and said,

Even today is my complaint rebellious:

My stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Oh that I knew where I might find him!

That I might come even to his seat.

I would set my cause in order before him,

And fill my mouth with arguments.

I would know the words which he would answer me,

And understand what he would say unto me.

Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?

Nay, but he would give heed unto me.

There the upright might reason with him;

So should I be delivered forever from my judge.

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;

And backward, but I cannot perceive him;

On the left hand, when he doth work, but I cannot behold him;

He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him."

This speech of Job is different from all the others in that it has no word at all directly addressed to his friends, being rather a monologue, or soliloquy, on the amazing riddle of God's treatment of Job. This speech is recorded in two chapters; and Job 24 follows the same pattern, except that it embraces the riddle of God's treatment of men generally.

In neither of these chapters did Job make any direct reference to what Eliphaz had said; but he did stress two main things, namely, (1) his innocence and integrity, and (2) his desire to commune with God which was prevented by his inability to find Him. These things, of course, were in refutation of what Eliphaz had said.

Job's plight was pitiful; and the deep questionings of his soul evoke sympathy and concern in all who meditate upon them. The great fact here is that Job lived at a time long before the enlightenment that came with the Advent of Messiah. The Dayspring from On High had not yet illuminated the darkness that enveloped the pre-Christian world.

"Even today is my complaint rebellious" (Job 23:2). "Job's friends considered his questionings regarding the government of the world, and his protestations of innocence as rebellion against God; and in these words, Job declares that he will continue to be a rebel in their eyes."[1] This passage positively does not mean that, "Job's attitude has drifted into open rebellion."[2] Such an erroneous interpretation is flatly contradicted by what Job said in Job 23:10-11.

"Oh that I knew where I might find him" (Job 23:3). For Christians, the answer to this question is our Saviour. Jesus said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9); but for Job there was a profound uncertainty and perplexity concerning the Father and his government of mankind.

Furthermore, we do not mean to infer that all of the doubts and uncertainties have been removed even for Christians. "We now see through a glass darkly" and we know "only in part." (1 Corinthians 13:12). The mystery of God has not been finished yet (Revelation 10:7); and all of us should be careful to avoid the cocksure arrogant conceit of Eliphaz who pretended to know all the answers. We do not know all the answers; and it is imperative to remember that it is only the false teacher who pretends that he does.

The restlessness in Job's heart as he sought to find a more perfect knowledge of God is a God-endowed element of human life. As Augustine stated it, "O God, our hearts were made for thee, and never shall they rest until they rest in Thee."

That intense and perpetual yearning of the human heart after God is most beautifully expressed in these nine verses.