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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.
We bewail our sins when we begin to weigh them. We weigh them the more exactly when more anxiously we bewail them. By our lamentations it rises up more perfectly in our hearts that the severity of God threatens those who commit sin. What will be those reproofs on the children of perdition, what terror, what the abhorrence of the unappeasable majesty? Great things shall the Lord then, being angry, declare to the lost, as great as he permits them of justice to undergo.…Who else except the Mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus, is denoted by the title of “equity”? Concerning whom it is written, “Who of God is made to us wisdom and righteousness.” And whereas this same righteousness came into this world against the ways of sinners, we get the better of our old enemy, by whom we were held captive. So let him say, “I do not want him to contend with me with great power or oppress me with the weight of his mightiness. Let him judge me justly, and my judgment will come to victory.” In other words, for the correction of my ways let him send his incarnate Son. Then by the sentence of my absolution, I will turn out as a victor over the plotting foe.
If the only begotten Son of God had so remained invisible in the strength of divine nature as not to have admitted anything derived from our weakness, when could weak people ever have found the access of grace to him? For the weight of his greatness, being considered, would rather have oppressed than aided things. Yet he agreed with us by assuming our weakness, that he might elevate us to his own abiding strength.
For who else saving the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, is denoted by the title of ‘equity?’ Concerning Whom it is written, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness. [I Cor. 1, 30] And whereas this same righteousness came into this world against the ways of sinners, we get the better of our old enemy, by whom we were held captive. So let him say, I would not that He should contend with me with great power, nor oppress me with the weight of His mightiness. Let Him put forth equity against me, and my judgment shall come unto victory. i.e. ‘for the rebuking of my ways, let Him send His Incarnate Son, and then the plotting foe, by the sentence of mine absolving, I as victor will turn out.’ For if the Only-begotten Son of God had so remained invisible in the strength of the Divine Nature, as not to have admitted aught derived from our weakness, when could weak men ever have found the access of grace to Him? For the weight of His greatness, being considered, would rather have oppressed than aided him; but the Strong above all things came weak among all things, that whereas He agreed with us by assumed weakness, He might elevate us to His own abiding strength. For in Its loftiness the Divine Nature could never have been apprehended by us, inasmuch as being too little, but He bowed Himself down to man through human nature, and we as it were mounted up on Him laid low; He rose, and we were lifted up. Whence this too is added directly, whereby the Divine Being may be showed invisible and incomprehensible.
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SUMMARY
Job 23:7 encapsulates Job's profound and desperate yearning for a direct, face-to-face legal confrontation with God. In the midst of his inexplicable suffering and the persistent accusations of his friends, Job is convinced that if he could but present his case before the Almighty, his inherent righteousness would be undeniably revealed, leading to a permanent and definitive acquittal from his perceived divine judgment and the relentless torment he endures.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 23:7 makes powerful use of Legal Metaphor, framing Job's relationship with God in terms of a courtroom drama. Job envisions God not merely as a distant deity but as a judge presiding over a legal dispute, and himself as a defendant seeking vindication. This metaphor underscores Job's desperate need for justice and his belief that his case is strong enough to stand before the divine tribunal. Furthermore, there is an element of Irony in Job's plea. He desires to dispute with God, the very one who, from a human perspective, appears to be the source of his suffering. This highlights the paradox of Job's faith: he simultaneously questions God's actions and trusts in God's ultimate fairness, believing that a direct encounter will reveal divine justice rather than arbitrary cruelty. The verse also employs Antithesis by contrasting Job's current state of unjust suffering and perceived judgment with his fervent hope for permanent deliverance and vindication, creating a stark emotional and theological contrast.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 23:7 resonates deeply with the biblical themes of divine justice, human suffering, and the longing for vindication. Job's bold demand for a legal encounter with God highlights the tension between God's sovereignty and human experience of injustice. It speaks to the universal human cry for fairness when faced with inexplicable hardship, and the profound need for an ultimate arbiter. While Job does not fully comprehend the cosmic drama unfolding behind his suffering, his unwavering conviction in his own righteousness and his trust in God's ultimate character as a just judge propel him to seek this direct audience. This verse foreshadows the biblical understanding that true justice and ultimate vindication come from God alone, often through means and timing beyond human comprehension, affirming His role as the righteous Judge of all the earth.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 23:7 offers a profound model for believers wrestling with suffering and the perceived silence of God. It encourages us to bring our most honest questions, our deepest grievances, and our rawest emotions directly before God, just as Job did. His desire for a "dispute" is not a sign of irreverence but of profound faith—a conviction that God is ultimately just and will hear the cries of the righteous. In our own trials, when we feel unjustly accused or overwhelmed by circumstances, Job's example teaches us to persist in seeking God's face, trusting that He is the ultimate Judge who sees all and will, in His perfect timing and wisdom, bring about true vindication and deliverance. This verse reminds us that even when God's ways are inscrutable, His character remains trustworthy, and we are invited to lay our case before Him with both reverence and bold honesty, knowing that He is a God who hears and responds to the cries of His people.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is it appropriate for a believer to "dispute" with God, as Job desired?
Answer: While the term "dispute" might sound confrontational, Job's desire was not to rebel against God but to engage in a formal, legal argument to clear his name. In the biblical context, figures like Abraham (Genesis 18:23-32) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 12:1) also engaged in earnest, even challenging, dialogue with God. This reflects a relationship of profound trust, where one believes God is just enough to hear and respond to honest grievances. It is a bold act of faith, not defiance, rooted in the conviction that God is ultimately righteous and will vindicate the innocent. It teaches us that God welcomes our authentic questions and laments, even when they are born of deep pain and confusion, demonstrating the depth of relationship He desires with His children.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job's profound longing in Job 23:7 for a direct encounter with God to secure permanent deliverance finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Job, the righteous sufferer, yearned for an advocate and a judge who would declare him innocent. In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as the perfect and ultimate righteous one who bore the unjust judgment of humanity on the cross, becoming the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is not only our great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses but also our divine Advocate with the Father, the righteous one who intercedes for us. Through faith in Christ, we are declared righteous, not by our own merit or legal dispute, but by God's grace, receiving a justification that leads to eternal life. The "delivery for ever" that Job sought is realized in the complete and final salvation offered through Christ's atoning work, freeing us from the condemnation of sin and the power of death. Indeed, it is the Father who has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ensuring that the ultimate Judge is also our merciful Redeemer, perfectly capable of delivering eternal vindication to all who believe.