Job’s Advice to the Judgmental
Job 19
December 13, 2015
As you know we are smack dab in the middle of
This dialogue between Job and his friends.
And I think it is safe to say that it is getting colder by the minute.
What seemed to start off as Job’s friends trying to correct Job
Has clearly turned in to Job’s friends trying to condemn Job.
It’s no longer about helping Job out, it is all about winning the argument.
Their pride insists that they rise up and refute Job every time he speaks.
Last time we heard from Bildad and it was a cruel message.
Bildad discussed the fate of the wicked.
And as we said; theologically Bildad was correct.
He talked about what the wicked can expect to receive:
• Darkness
• Capture
• Pain
• Judgment
• Destruction
• Horror
And you can go to the preaching of Jesus in the New Testament
And find that Bildad is dead on.
The wicked will in fact receive all of those things.
The problem was that Job was not wicked.
Bildad had accurate theology and terrible discernment.
And honestly this sort of mindset and practice
Has been one of the most quoted reasons
As to why the world has issue with the church.
When I was a kid growing up there was no doubt as to what was the most quoted verse in the Bible.
• You could see it referenced at every football game
(some guy would always be holding it in the end zone)
• Nearly every kid was taught it for memorization.
It was John 3:16.
Hands down the most popular.
Followed probably by the 23rd Psalm.
But not anymore.
The world has definitely adopted a new favorite verse.
I doubt they know where it is found
But most can quote it without flinching.
Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”
Of course the world is a stickler for the King James Version,
“Judge not lest ye be judged”
Over the years we’ve talked a lot about how this verse
Has been high jacked by a world that loves evil.
There is no doubt many think Matthew 7:1 promotes tolerance.
It does not.
Jesus is clear in that passage that
The goal is to in fact remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Obviously that verse is misused in our world.
But TONIGHT I want to take it from a little bit of a different angle
And I want to talk about where the world is dead on for using that verse.
See the emphasis behind that verse is not a call to tolerate sin.
The emphasis is the removal of self-righteousness.
AND ALTHOUGH THE WORLD HAS NO RIGHT
TO CALL FOR THE TOLERANCE OF SIN,
THEY HAVE EVER RIGHT
TO CALL FOR THE REMOVAL OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The problem is not that Jesus wanted specks left in people’s eyes.
It was that He didn’t want blind people performing the procedure.
He said:
Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
The problem was self-righteousness.
And the world is right to call us on it, every time it shows up.
It was a problem that continued to pop up among the PHARISEES.
• Those men who liked to give in public, pray in public, and fast in public
• Those men who liked the chief seats at the best banquets
• Those men who liked honorable greetings on the street
But at the same time they were men who
• Loved money more than God,
• Failed to care for their struggling family members,
• And devoured widow’s houses.
Sure they tithed mint and dill and cumin,
But they neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
Jesus had a very descriptive name for these people.
HUPOCRATES
Your Bible translates it “hypocrites”
The word itself had a very distinct purpose and meaning in Jesus’ day.
It was what you called people who put on costumes and performed on stage.
Today you know them as “actors” and “actresses”
They weren’t real, they were merely playing a role.
They were wicked men who were pretending to be righteous men.
The problem was they had played the role so long that
They had actually begun to believe that is really who they were.
And their discernment was terribly skewed.
• They were NOT those who obtained their righteousness by repenting of their sin and begging God for mercy.
• They were people who thought they had obtained their righteousness because they were in fact righteous.
And because they never understood the value of mercy,
They never offered it.
All they had for people was judgment.
You find Pharisees mentioned time and time again in the New Testament
But you never find one offering mercy.
All they want to do is dish out judgment.
• The woman caught in adultery – “The Law says to stone such a woman”
• The woman with the alabaster vile – “If He knew what sort of woman this is”
• The blind man – “You were born in your sins and do you instruct us?”
• The tax collector – “I thank You that I am not like this tax collector”
And so on and so on
No mercy.
Probably the most telling parable Jesus ever told about them
Was the parable of THE PRODIGAL SON.
Of course they are cast in the role of the older brother
Who had absolutely no mercy on his brother who returned home.
All they had was judgment.
And when a lost and dying world
Feels only judgment and no compassion
They are absolutely right to quote that verse back at us.
I’m not saying we should tolerate their sin,
But when you confront their sin you had better remember
That you are a recovering sinner yourself.
This is one of the obvious problems with Job’s friends.
• We’ve heard a lot of confrontation from them
• We’ve heard a lot of warnings from them
• We’ve heard a lot of condemnation from them
• But we haven’t heard much mercy
Tonight Job is going to basically tell his three friends,
“Judge not, lest ye be judged”
Tonight Job confronts the Pharisees
Now there are two main points to the text.
The chapter is in fact an ultimatum issued by Job.
In effect Job tells them, “Do this or expect this”
And based on the introduction you can probably figure out the ultimatum.
Don’t judge or be judged
So let’s break the chapter down a little and take a better look at Job’s advice.
#1 FIND PITY FOR ME
Job 19:1-22
Now I’ll be honest that we’re going to work through these verses rather quickly
Because quite frankly, you’ve heard it already…a lot.
What we have here again is Job desperately trying to show his friends
Why though ought to pity him.
And Job gives three reasons.
1) I AM WRONGFULLY ABUSED (1-6)
You can really hear Job here just wishing his friends would put a lid on it.
“How long will you torment me and crush me with words? These ten times you have insulted me; you are not ashamed to wrong me.”
“Enough already!”
All Job really wants is for his friends to leave him alone.
He just wishes they’d stop.
He can’t believe how cruel they are.
He goes on to say:
(4) “Even if I have truly erred, my error lodges with me.”
In other words, “Even if I have brought this on myself, it’s not like I’m hurting you.”
• It wasn’t your donkeys that were stolen
• It wasn’t your servants that were murdered
• It wasn’t your children who died
Job is sort of asking, “What are you so mad about?”
(5-6) “If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me And prove my disgrace to me, Know then that God has wronged me And has closed His net around me.”
And this is of course THE POINT
Job has been trying to make to them from the get go.
You are attacking me and trying to find some sort of sin in me,
But I’ve been saying all along,
“I’M SUFFERING FOR NO REASON!!!!!”
Job actually says, “God has wronged me”
Of course we admit this is crossing the line a little
And Job will answer for this to God in a few chapters.
But you do understand Job’s point.
“You guys just don’t get it. I’m suffering for doing nothing wrong. My suffering isn’t hurting you. Yet, you are angry at me and insist upon attacking me and making my condition worse.”
Can’t you see I have been wrongfully abused?
2) I AM WOEFULLY AFFLICTED (7-12)
That is to say, I am suffering like no one has suffered
And there isn’t really a light at the end of the tunnel here.
In these 6 verses Job actually refers to 7 things that he doesn’t have.
NO ANSWER
(7a) “Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;”
NO JUSTICE
(7b) “I shout for help, but there is no justice.”
NO ESCAPE
(8) “He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has put darkness on my paths.”
NO HONOR
(9) “He has stripped my honor from me and removed the crown from my head.”
NO HOPE
(10) “He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; and He has uprooted my hope like a tree.”
NO RELIEF
(11) “He has also kindled His anger against me and considered me as His enemy.”
NO CHANCE
(12) “His troops come together, and build up their way against me and camp around my tent.”
And sure we could stop and talk about each of those a little bit more,
But I think you get the point.
Job is simply reminding his friends
About how incredibly hard his life is right now.
• Not only is he wrongfully abused, he is woefully afflicted.
• Not only is he suffering for no reason, but his suffering is really, really, bad.
Anyone who suffers that much for no cause
Should certainly receive pity from his friends.
And yet that leads to Job’s third problem.
3) I AM WILLFULLY ABANDONED (13-20)
When we read those verses,
Notice all the people who have turned their back on Job.
HIS ACQUAINTANCES (Israel brothers)
(13) “He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.”
HIS RELATIVES
(14a) “My relatives have failed,”
HIS FRIENDS
(14b) “And my intimate friends have forgotten me.”
HIS EMPLOYEES
(15-16) “Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore with my mouth.”
HIS WIFE
(17a) “My breath is offensive to my wife,”
HIS SIBLINGS
(17b) “And I am loathsome to my own brothers.”
HIS COMMUNITY
(18) “Even young children despise me; I rise up and they speak against me.”
HIS ASSOCIATES
(19a) “All my associates abhor me”
AND ANYONE WHO IS LEFT
(19b) “And those I love have turned against me.”
So Job is walking through a very difficult situation
That he did not deserve,
And everyone has turned their back on him.
To that Job gives a pretty harsh description about his present condition.
(20) “My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, and I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.”
Might I remind you this is precisely where Satan intended to take him?
Job 2:5 “However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.”
Satan said if God would take Job to this point then Job would curse God.
Again, Satan has been proved wrong.
The point here is that Job is an absolutely awful predicament.
• He is wrongfully abused
• He is woefully afflicted
• He is willfully abandoned
Now, if you see someone in that condition,
There is really only 1 proper response. PITY
• Even if they weren’t wrongfully abused (if they deserved it)
• Even if they weren’t woefully afflicted (it could be worse)
• Even if they weren’t willfully abandoned (not everyone forsook them)
Even then they should receive pity,
But someone in Job’s situation certainly should.
And that is what he is trying to get across to his friends.
FIND PITY FOR ME
(21-22) “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me. “Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?”
You guys say you are my friends –
Can you not give me some compassion?
Is my suffering so insufficient to you that you feel the need to make it worse?
“Why…are you not satisfied with my flesh?”
How can you look at my life and wish I was suffering more?
Talk about cruelty.
• What kind of a person goes to a funeral where a person is burying their children and says, “They aren’t suffering enough, I’m gonna go kick them in the shins.”?
• What kind of a person visits someone in the hospital and says, “It should be worse, I’m gonna throw away their pain medicine.”?
• What kind of a person hears of someone’s house burning down and says, “That’s not enough” and then rams their car?
That is kind of what Job is talking about.
You guys are unbelievable.
Here I am in such a horrible condition
And all you seem to want to do is make it worse.
FIND PITY FOR ME
Now that is obviously Job’s request.
But as I told you earlier this chapter is an ultimatum.
See, there is an “or else” coming here.
Job says Find pity for me…OR
#2 FIND PUNISHMENT FOR YOURSELF
Job 19:23-29
What we have here is the most famous quotation from the book of Job.
Odds are good if you’ve read Job this passage is probably underlined in your Bible.
Everyone loves when Job says “I know that my Redeemer lives”
As well they should.
But let’s talk about why Job said it.
Job starts out here with a very important point.
(23-24) “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! “That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever!”
It is another way of saying,
“What I am about to say is important.”
Earlier when he was lamenting and wishing he could die,
He admitted those were pretty loose words.
He told his friends:
Job 6:26 “Do you intend to reprove my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?”
He told his friends early on that you can’t take
All the words of a person who is suffering too seriously.
Sometimes when people suffer they say things they don’t mean.
But Job is not about to speak words like that here.
What he is about to say here is very important.
In fact, Job’s request is that his friends get their iron stylus out
And chisel what he is about to say into a rock
So that they and everyone else can read it forever.
Write my words in a book
Carve them in a rock
One could look at this as Job saying, “Carve this on my tombstone”
I’ve said a lot of things that could be construed as empty words,
But these aren’t like that.
(25-27) “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”
Now that is not all of Job’s statement.
But it’s important you understand him here.
• After a great period of affliction
• After suffering wrongly
• After being maligned and abandoned by his friends
Job stands up and says, write it down, “I’m going to be ok”
This is Job’s truest theology.
• Yes he has wined a little (who wouldn’t?)
• Yes he has complained a little (who wouldn’t?)
But if you are going to force Job to be honest
And make a statement to release to the press… this is it.
“I’M GOING TO BE OK”
WHY?
“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,”
And this is really the key to the whole statement.
It is very interesting that Job mentioned his “Redeemer” here.
There are a lot of words he could have used, but this one is so telling.
“Redeemer” translates GO-EL
And “Redeemer” is a good translation for it.
Let me show you some places it was used.
Leviticus 25:47-49 “Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.”
So based on that passage we could also translated the word “Debt Payer”
• A person gets in such financial trouble that his only recourse is to sell himself into slavery to pay off his debts.
• But someone else comes along and pays his debts for him so that he can be released from slavery.
That person is called his redeemer.
But that’s not the only way the word is used.
In Mosaic law there was a strict punishment policy.
Leviticus 25:17-20 “So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God. ‘You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land. ‘Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it. ‘But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?”
So if someone killed another person, what was the penalty? Death
But what if that person fled?
Then there was a certain person who would go after them.
In the Bible they were called “The Blood Avenger”
(Sounds like a Biblical Super Hero)
Numbers 35:19 “The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him.”
In fact, the Law even commanded that the Israelites set up cities of refuge for a person to flee if they killed someone accidentally where they would be safe from the blood avenger.
The Hebrew word for “blood avenger”?
Same word: GO-EL
So that person can be someone who pays your debt,
Or it can be a person who avenges a wrong done against you.
Proverbs 23:10-11 “Do not move the ancient boundary Or go into the fields of the fatherless, For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.”
This is also sort of the idea in Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 50:33-34 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, “The sons of Israel are oppressed, And the sons of Judah as well; And all who took them captive have held them fast, They have refused to let them go. “Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to the earth, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.”
In other words, you may afflict Israel, but you had better watch out,
Their avenger is strong!
Can I show you another place it was used?
Remember that young Moabite woman who accompanied her mother-in-law back to Israel to care for her?
• That woman had no one to care for her.
• That woman had no one to provide for her.
• That woman had no one to take her in and be her shelter.
That woman was Ruth
Ruth 3:6-13 “So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” Then he said, ” May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. “Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. “Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. “Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning.”
Boaz was called “a close relative”
The Hebrew word? GO-EL
There it referred to the one who will take you in and care for you
And provide for you and shelter you.
So are you following Job’s reasoning?
Yes, my life is hard, but I’ll be ok because “my GO-EL lives”
• The One who will pay off my debts…
• The One who will avenge my cause…
• The One who will take me in to His shelter…
I’ll be fine because “I know that my Redeemer lives”
Now obviously if we had more time we could take a whole segment here
And talk about our Redeemer who is none other than Jesus.
He pays our debt…
He intercedes on our behalf and avenges our cause…
He shelters us under His provision…
You get it right?
Well so does Job.
“My Redeemer loves and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”
And the result for Job?
(26-27) “Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!”
Job feels as though he is being treated unjustly now,
But he also knows the day of his redemption is coming.
He knows that because of his avenger, he will be vindicated.
He will stand before God in righteousness.
Even after death, he will rise, and all will be well.
“I’LL BE JUST FINE”
HOWEVER – I can’t say the same for you guys.
Here is the other very important part of Job’s message to his friends.
(28-29) “If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’ “Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”
Are you catching Job’s point?
My Redeemer will avenge all those who wrongly persecute me…
That means you!
If you don’t start showing me pity in my affliction
You can rest assured that your punishment is coming.
“Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword, so that you may know there is judgment.”
Now if you’re paying attention,
That is the same thing Jesus told the Pharisees.
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
You had better be very careful dealing out judgment
Because you will also live under that same standard.
Do you understand?
You don’t get to make standards for other people that don’t apply to you.
Jesus said, “by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
That is what Job is trying to get through to his friends.
You are so quick to deal out judgment
You don’t seem to realize that
No one will escape under the standard you are setting.
Job says, “I’m going to be find because I’m leaning on my Redeemer.” I’m trusting in mercy. But you’re seeking justice, I’d be careful if I was you.”
I find it far better to operate on mercy.
Yes we confront the sin of the world, but we confront it
As those who have been forgiven of the same sin.
“Judge not lest ye be judged”
“Find pity for me or find punishment for yourself”
