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Commentary on Job 23 verses 1–7
Job is confident that he has wrong done him by his friends, and therefore, ill as he is, he will not give up the cause, nor let them have the last word. Here,
I. He justifies his own resentments of his trouble (Job 23:2): Even to day, I own, my complaint is bitter; for the affliction, the cause of the complaint, is so. There are wormwood and gall in the affliction and misery; my soul has them still in remembrance and is embittered by them, Lam 3:19, Lam 3:20. Even to day is my complaint counted rebellion (so some read it); his friends construed the innocent expressions of his grief into reflections upon God and his providence, and called them rebellion. "But," says he, "I do not complain more than there is cause; for my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Even today, after all you have said to convince and comfort me, still the pains of my body and the wounds of my spirit are such that I have reason enough for my complaints, if they were more bitter than they are." We wrong God if our groaning be heavier than our stroke, like froward children, who, when they cry for nothing, have justly something given them to cry for; but we do not wrong ourselves though our stroke be heavier than our groaning, for little said is soon amended.
II. He appeals from the censures of his friends to the just judgment of God; and this he thought was an evidence for him that he was not a hypocrite, for then he durst not have made such an appeal as this. St Paul comforted himself in this, that he that judged him was the Lord, and therefore he valued not man's judgment (Co1 4:3, Co1 4:4), but he was willing to wait till the appointed day of decision came; whereas Job is impatient, and passionately wishes to have the judgment-day anticipated, and to have his cause tried quickly, as it were, by a special commission. The apostle found it necessary to press it much upon suffering Christians patiently to expect the Judge's coming, Jam 5:7-9.
1.He is so sure of the equity of God's tribunal that he longs to appear before it (Job 23:3): O that I knew where I might find him! This may properly express the pious breathings of a soul convinced that it has by sin lost God and is undone for ever if it recover not its interest in his favour. "O that I knew how I might recover his favour! How I might come into his covenant and communion with him!" Mic 6:6, Mic 6:7. It is the cry of a poor deserted soul. "Saw you him whom my soul loveth? O that I knew where I might find him! O that he who has laid open the way to himself would direct me into it and lead me in it!" But Job here seems to complain too boldly that his friends wronged him and he knew not which way to apply himself to God to have justice done him, else he would go even to his seat, to demand it. A patient waiting for death and judgment is our wisdom and duty, and, if we duly consider things, that cannot be without a holy fear and trembling; but a passionate wishing for death or judgment, without any such fear and trembling, is our sin and folly, and ill becomes us. Do we know what death and judgment are, and are we so very ready for them, that we need not time to get readier? Woe to those that thus, in a heat, desire the day of the Lord, Amo 5:18.
2.He is so sure of the goodness of his own cause that he longs to be opening it at God's bar (Job 23:4): "I would order my cause before him, and set it in a true light. I would produce the evidences of my sincerity in a proper method, and would fill my mouth with arguments to prove it." We may apply this to the duty of prayer, in which we have boldness to enter into the holiest and to come even to the footstool of the throne of grace. We have not only liberty of access, but liberty of speech. We have leave, (1.) To be particular in our requests, to order our cause before God, to speak the whole matter, to lay before him all our grievances, in what method we think most proper; we durst not be so free with earthly princes as a humble holy soul may be with God. (2.) To be importunate in our requests. We are allowed, not only to pray, but to plead, not only to ask, but to argue; nay, to fill our mouths with arguments, not to move God (he is perfectly apprized of the merits of the cause without our showing), but to move ourselves, to excite our fervency and encourage our faith in prayer.
3.He is so sure of a sentence in favour of him that he even longed to hear it (Job 23:5): "I would know the words which he would answer me," that is, "I would gladly hear what God will say to this matter in dispute between you and me, and will entirely acquiesce in his judgment." This becomes us, in all controversies; let the word of God determine them; let us know what he answers, and understand what he says. Job knew well enough what his friends would answer him; they would condemn him, and run him down. "But" (says he) "I would fain know what God would answer me; for I am sure his judgment is according to truth, which theirs is not. I cannot understand them; they talk so little to the purpose. But what he says I should understand and therefore be fully satisfied in."
III. He comforts himself with the hope that God would deal favourably with him in this matter, Job 23:6, Job 23:7. Note, It is of great use to us, in every thing wherein we have to do with God, to keep up good thoughts of him. He believes, 1. That God would not overpower him, that he would not deal with him either by absolute sovereignty or in strict justice, not with a high hand, nor with a strong hand: Will he plead against me with his great power? No. Job's friends pleaded against him with all the power they had; but will God do so? No; his power is all just and holy, whatever men's is. Against those that are obstinate in their unbelief and impenitency God will plead with his great power; their destruction will come from the glory of his power. But with his own people, that love him and trust in him, he will deal in tender compassion. 2. That, on the contrary, he would empower him to plead his own cause before God: "He would put strength in me, to support me and bear me up, in maintaining my integrity." Note, The same power that is engaged against proud sinners is engaged for humble saints, who prevail with God by strength derived from him, as Jacob did, Hos 12:3. See Psa 68:35. 3. That the issue would certainly be comfortable, Job 23:7. There, in the court of heaven, when the final sentence is to be given, the righteous might dispute with him and come off in his righteousness. Now, even the upright are often chastened of the Lord, and they cannot dispute against it; integrity itself is no fence either against calamity or calumny; but in that day they shall not be condemned with the world, though God may afflict by prerogative. Then you shall discern between the righteous and the wicked (Mal 3:18), so vast will be the difference between them in their everlasting state; whereas now we can scarcely distinguish them, so little is the difference between them as to their outward condition, for all things come alike to all. Then, when the final doom is given, "I shall be delivered for ever from my Judge," that is, "I shall be saved from the unjust censures of my friends and from that divine sentence which is now so much a terror to me." Those that are delivered up to God as their owner and ruler shall be for ever delivered from him as their judge and avenger; and there is no flying from his justice but by flying to his mercy.
“Today also my speech is bitter,” that is, my words happen to be harsh and irksome to both our ears. In a different sense [we may interpret the passage as] you, indeed, to use harsher speech against you, drive me with your words.
“Then Job answered and said, ‘Yes, I know that my accusation comes from my hands.’ ” This means, I carry along with me the evidence that accuses me. I draw from myself the demonstration of my afflictions. “His hand has been made heavy upon me, and I groan over me.” If it were possible, he says, to discuss my punishments with him, it would also be possible to find them out. If only I could plead my case in justice, he says, and meet him and learn what he would have answered me! See how he obtained exactly what he desired. That is, in fact, what occurs at the end of the book. I wanted to know what he would have said to me and whether he would have punished me just the same; and, by saying so, I had no intention of condemning any injustice on his part.
31. In his own way blessed Job sets out with the plainer sort of words, but his declaration he closes by the deep following on of mystery. For the pain of the afflicted man ought to have been healed by the consoling of his friends, but because their consoling broke out into the soothings of deceit, the pain of the stricken man was made harsher. For whereas Eliphaz was not afraid to promise him better things on being converted, it was as if by a poisonous remedy the wound were increased. Hence it is rightly said, Even to-day is my complaint bitter, and the hand of my stroke is heavier than my groaning, in this respect, viz. that the straining of unregulated consoling increased the stroke manifold, which it ought to have diminished; by which same words taken in a type of Holy Church, the pain of the faithful is likewise set forth, who groan the more, the more they see the wicked using the acts of flattery, who, according to the declaration of Paul, by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
32. Which words may also be rightly applied to the viewing with greater exactness the mind of the faithful, who can never be without bitterness even if they seem to prosper in this world. Which persons when adversity too befalls, it redoubles that pain which it finds. Whence it is rightly said, Now also is my complaint bitter, that it might be plainly shown that even in prosperity the mind of the Elect should not be without bitterness. And it is well said, And the hand of my stroke is heavier than my groaning. For ‘the hand of a stroke,’ is the force of the striking. For their first striking the Elect see to be, that from the vision of their Creator they are parted, that the brightness of the interior illumining they never enjoy, but groan as being banished in the exile of the present life as in a place of darkness. Thus they always have their groaning in this ‘hand of their stroke;’ but when over and above adversities also befall them in this life, ‘the hand of their stroke is heavier than their groaning.’ For there was groaning for the stroke even when the adversities of the present life were away. But the bitterness of the original stroke is increased over and above by the trial of adversity. Therefore he says, And the hand of my stroke is heavier than my groaning? In that any just man adversity did not smite whilst happy in this life, but came to redouble in him the pain of the wound. Yet it happens by the extraordinary governance of Almighty God, that when in this life the spirit of the righteous man travails most in adversities, he thirsts the more ardently after the beholding of his Maker’s face.
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SUMMARY
Job 23:1 serves as a pivotal and profoundly significant transitional verse, marking the commencement of Job's final and most intense discourse in the Book of Job. Following the exhaustive, and ultimately unhelpful, theological arguments presented by his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, this verse signals Job's decisive pivot from engaging with human counsel to a fervent, direct address to God. It introduces a section where Job articulates his profound longing for a divine encounter, a just hearing, and a deeper understanding of his inexplicable and unmerited suffering.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 23:1 primarily functions as a transitional marker within the narrative structure of the Book of Job. It clearly delineates the end of the friends' arguments and the beginning of Job's final, comprehensive discourse. The phrase "Then Job answered and said" is a classic formulaic introduction common in biblical literature, lending a sense of formality and weight to the ensuing speech. This formula signals to the reader that the words about to be spoken are significant and deliberate, not merely casual remarks, but a profound declaration. Furthermore, the verse subtly contributes to the overarching dramatic irony of the book; Job desperately longs for a direct encounter with God to present his case, unaware that God is indeed listening and will ultimately respond, though not in the manner Job anticipates.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 23:1, by introducing Job's renewed and intensified lament, connects deeply with the broader biblical theme of honest and persistent prayer in the face of suffering and divine silence. It affirms the theological principle that God invites our raw, unfiltered expressions, even our complaints and questions, as we wrestle with faith during times of profound trial. Job's unwavering determination to speak out, despite the failure of human comfort and the apparent absence of God, serves as a powerful model for believers to bring their deepest pains and doubts directly to the Lord, trusting in His character even when His ways are inscrutable. This verse sets the stage for Job's continued pursuit of divine justice and understanding, a pursuit that resonates with the cries of many righteous sufferers throughout Scripture, demonstrating that authentic faith can coexist with profound questioning.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 23:1, though brief, offers a profound message for those navigating the complexities of suffering and spiritual struggle. It highlights the critical importance of maintaining one's voice and continuing to seek God, even when circumstances are dire, answers are elusive, and human comfort proves inadequate. Job's persistence in speaking, in pouring out his heart to the Lord with raw honesty, serves as a powerful model for authentic prayer and wrestling with faith. This verse encourages us to believe that God invites our honest expressions—our laments, our confusion, our questions, and even our complaints—as we seek His presence and understanding. It reminds us that true faith is not the absence of doubt or pain, but the courageous willingness to engage with God through it, trusting that He hears and will ultimately respond in His perfect time and way, often in ways we least expect. Our willingness to speak our truth to God, even in our brokenness, is an act of profound trust.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is this short verse so significant within the Book of Job?
Answer: This seemingly simple verse is profoundly significant because it functions as a crucial narrative marker, signaling a major shift in the Book of Job. It marks the end of the cycles of debate between Job and his friends and the beginning of Job's final, most intense, and deeply personal discourse. It sets the stage for Job's direct address to God, where he articulates his profound longing for a divine encounter and a just hearing, moving beyond human arguments to wrestle directly with the Almighty. It is the moment Job turns his full attention from his failed human comforters to the divine Judge.
What does the Hebrew idiom "answered and said" imply beyond a simple reply?
Answer: The Hebrew phrase translated "answered and said" (wayya'an wayyomer) is a common biblical idiom that carries more weight than a mere conversational reply. It typically introduces a significant, formal, or deliberate speech, emphasizing the speaker's intentionality and the importance of the words that follow. In Job's case, it underscores that he is not just reacting to his friends' last comments but is launching into a comprehensive and deeply considered statement of his spiritual condition and his fervent desire to encounter God. It suggests a solemn and purposeful utterance, a prepared and weighty declaration rather than an impromptu remark.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 23:1, with its introduction to Job's desperate longing for a direct encounter with God and a just hearing, finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Job yearned for a mediator, someone who could "lay his hand on both of us" (Job 9:33), bridging the chasm between suffering humanity and a seemingly distant or inscrutable God. Jesus is that perfect Mediator, the one mediator between God and mankind. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who not only hears our laments but has personally experienced the depths of human suffering, injustice, and abandonment, becoming a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Through Christ's perfect life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection, we are granted direct access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)—the very access Job so desperately craved. He is our advocate (1 John 2:1), ensuring that our cries are heard and that our ultimate vindication and righteousness are secured, not based on our own flawed integrity, but on His perfect sacrifice. Job's yearning for a divine audience is fully realized in the person of Jesus, who bridges the chasm between humanity and divinity, offering not just a hearing, but reconciliation, redemption, and eternal life.