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Commentary on Job 23 verses 8–12
Here, I. Job complains that he cannot understand the meaning of God's providences concerning him, but is quite at a loss about them (Job 23:8, Job 23:9): I go forward, but he is not there, etc. Eliphaz had bid him acquaint himself with God. "So I would, with all my heart," says Job, "If I knew how to get acquainted with him." He had himself a great desire to appear before God, and get a hearing of his case, but the Judge was not to be found. Look which way he would, he could see no sign of God's appearing for him to clear up his innocency. Job, no doubt, believed that God is every where present; but three things he seems to complain of here: - 1. That he could not fix his thoughts, nor form any clear judgment of things in his own mind. His mind was so hurried and discomposed with his troubles that he was like a man in a fright, or at his wits' end, who runs this way and that way, but, being in confusion, brings nothing to a head. By reason of the disorder and tumult his spirit was in he could not fasten upon that which he knew to be in God, and which, if he could but have mixed faith with it and dwelt upon it in his thoughts, would have been a support to him. It is the common complaint of those who are sick or melancholy that, when they would think of that which is good, they can make nothing of it. 2. That he could not find out the cause of his troubles, nor the sin which provoked God to contend with him. He took a view of his whole conversation, turned to every side of it, and could not perceive wherein he had sinned more than others, for which he should thus be punished more than others; nor could he discern what other end God should aim at in afflicting him thus. 3. That he could not foresee what would be in the end hereof, whether God would deliver him at all, nor, if he did, when or which way. He saw not his signs, nor was there any to tell him how long; as the church complains, Psa 74:9. He was quite at a loss to know what God designed to do with him; and, whatever conjecture he advanced, still something or other appeared against it.
II. He satisfies himself with this, that God himself was a witness to his integrity, and therefore did not doubt but the issue would be good.
1.After Job had almost lost himself in the labyrinth of the divine counsels, how contentedly does he sit down, at length, with this thought: "Though I know not the way that he takes (for his way is in the sea and his path in the great waters, his thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours and it would be presumption in us to pretend to judge of them), yet he knows the way that I take," Job 23:10. That is, (1.) He is acquainted with it. His friends judged of that which they did not know, and therefore charged him with that which he was never guilty of; but God, who knew every step he had taken, would not do so, Psa 139:3. Note, It is a great comfort to those who mean honestly that God understands their meaning, though men do not, cannot, or will not. (2.) He approves of it: "He knows that, however I may sometimes have taken a false step, yet I have still taken a good way, have chosen the way of truth, and therefore he knows it," that is, he accepts it, and is well pleased with it, as he is said to know the way of the righteous, Psa 1:6. This comforted the prophet, Jer 12:3. Thou hast tried my heart towards thee. From this Job infers, When he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold. Those that keep the way of the Lord may comfort themselves, when they are in affliction, with these three things: - [1.] That they are but tried. It is not intended for their hurt, but for their honour and benefit; it is the trial of their faith, Pe1 1:7. [2.] That, when they are sufficiently tried, they shall come forth out of the furnace, and not be left to consume in it as dross or reprobate silver. The trial will have an end. God will not contend for ever. [3.] That they shall come forth as gold, pure in itself and precious to the refiner. They shall come forth as gold approved and improved, found to be good and made to be better. Afflictions are to us as we are; those that go gold into the furnace will come out no worse.
2.Now that which encouraged Job to hope that his present troubles would thus end well was the testimony of his conscience for him, that he had lived a good life in the fear of God.
(1.)That God's way was the way he walked in (Job 23:11): "My foot hath held his steps," that is, "held to them, adhered closely to them; the steps he takes. I have endeavoured to conform myself to his example." Good people are followers of God. Or, "I have accommodated myself to his providence, and endeavoured to answer all the intentions of that, to follow Providence step by step." Or, "His steps are the steps he has appointed me to take; the way of religion and serious godliness - that way I have kept, and have not declined from it, not only not turned back from it by a total apostasy, but not turned aside out of it by any wilful transgression." His holding God's steps, and keeping his way, intimate that the tempter had used all his arts by fraud and force to draw him aside; but, with care and resolution, he had by the grace of God hitherto persevered, and those that will do so must hold and keep, hold with resolution and keep with watchfulness.
(2.)That God's word was the rule he walked by, Job 23:12. He governed himself by the commandment of God's lips, and would not go back from that, but go forward according to it. Whatever difficulties we may meet with in the way of God's commandments, though they lead us through a wilderness, yet we must never think of going back, but must press on towards the mark. Job kept closely to the law of God in his conversation, for both his judgment and his affection led him to it: I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food; that is, he looked upon it as his necessary food; he could as well have lived without his daily bread as without the word of God. I have laid it up (so the word is), as those that lay up provision for a siege, or as Joseph laid up corn before the famine. Eliphaz had told him to lay up God's words in his heart, Job 22:22. "I do," says he, "and always did, that I might not sin against him, and that, like the good householder, I might bring forth for the good of others." Note, The word of God is to our souls what our necessary food is to our bodies; it sustains the spiritual life and strengthens us for the actions of life; it is that which we cannot subsist without, and which nothing else can make up the want of: and we ought therefore so to esteem it, to take pains for it, hunger after it, feed upon it with delight, and nourish our souls with it; and this will be our rejoicing in the day of evil, as it was Job's here.
The real meaning is this, “Suppose I willingly submit the judgment of my actions to the eyes of the Lord.” What happens to me? God is invisible in his nature. Will I look for him in those material things that are before me? He cannot be seen. He is before me, but I do not perceive him. When he moves to the left, I cannot grasp him, and when he is on the right, I cannot see him at all. These words do not mean that God passes from one place to another bodily or by moving, but they intend to show that he is present everywhere and, nonetheless, escapes our perception and cannot be comprehended by us. “If I am no longer,” that is, “If I further extend my research, I will be out of myself and dizzy in reflection while I try to comprehend what is incomprehensible.”
38. For the Creator of all things is not in a part, inasmuch as He is every where. And then He is found the less, when He, That is whole every where, is sought in a part. For the Incomprehensible Spirit containeth all things within Itself, Which at the same time both while filling encompasseth, and while encompassing filleth, both in supporting overtops, and in overtopping supports; and it is well that after it had been said, if I go to the East, He appeareth not; if I go to the West, I shall not understand Him; if I go to the left hand, what shall I do? I shall not comprehend Him; if I turn myself to the right hand I shall not see Him; he thereupon added, But He knoweth the way that I take. As if he said in plain words, ‘I am unable to see Him, Who seeth me, and Him that beholdeth me most minutely, I have no power to behold:’ that is to say, that he might show that He is so much the more heedfully to be feared, in proportion as He is not discernible. For He Who so beholds us that He may not be by us beheld, is so much the more to be dreaded in proportion as in seeing all things He is not seen in the least degree. For when we believe that there is anyone hidden in ambush to assault us, we dread him the more that we do not at all see him; and when we do not at all discover his ambush where it is placed, we apprehend it even there where it does not exist. And our Creator, Who is whole every where, and while discerning all things is not discerned, is the more to be dreaded in proportion as continuing invisible, what He may determine concerning our actions and at what time is not known. Which words, too, may be understood in another sense also. For we ‘go to the East,’ when we lift up our mind in thinking of His Majesty. But ‘He appeareth not,’ seeing that such as He is in His own Nature, by mortal thought He cannot be seen to be. If I go to the West, I shalt not understand Him; we ‘go to the west,’ when the eye of the heart that is lifted up in God, but made to recoil by the mere immensity of the light, we bring back to our own selves, and being spent with labour, we learn that the thing is very much above us which we were seeking; and viewing our own mortal condition find out that as yet we are creatures unfit to have the power to behold One that is Immortal. If I go to the left hand what shall I do? I shalt not comprehend Him. To ‘go to the left hand’ is to yield one’s self to the enjoyments of our sins. And it is surely plain, that he cannot ‘apprehend God,’ who still in the gratification of sin lies prostrate along the left side. If I turn myself to the right side I shall not see Him. He truly is ‘turned to the right hand,’ who is lifted up on the ground of virtuous attainments. But he cannot see God, who is glad with selfish joy for his good deeds; because in that man the swelling of pride weighs down the eye of the heart. Whence it is well said elsewhere, Thou shalt not decline to the right hand nor to the left. [Deut. 17, 11] In all which particulars the soul very often searches out itself, nor yet is able perfectly to find out itself.
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SUMMARY
In Job 23:8, the suffering patriarch Job articulates his profound despair and spiritual agony as he desperately seeks to locate and comprehend God amidst his intense trials. Despite his exhaustive efforts to search in every conceivable direction—forward and backward—he finds God conspicuously absent and His ways utterly inscrutable, leaving Job in a state of agonizing confusion, longing for divine clarity, and a direct encounter with the Almighty.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 23:8 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the depths of Job's spiritual agony. The most prominent is merism, seen in the pairing of "forward" and "backward," which together signify a complete and exhaustive search across all conceivable directions (east and west). This device emphasizes the totality and desperation of Job's quest for God. The verse also utilizes antithesis by contrasting Job's active and diligent seeking ("I go forward," "I go backward") with God's perceived absence and incomprehensibility ("he is not there," "I cannot perceive him"). This stark contrast underscores the vast chasm between Job's earnest desire for a divine encounter and his agonizing reality of God's hiddenness. The overall tone is one of profound lament, a common biblical genre expressing deep sorrow, complaint, and petition to God, often stemming from a sense of abandonment or injustice. This lament is further intensified by the implicit rhetorical question posed by Job's fruitless search: "Where are you, God?"
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 23:8 vividly portrays the human experience of Deus absconditus, the "hidden God." This is not a statement about God's inherent unknowability, but rather a profound articulation of the believer's experience when God's presence feels distant, His purposes are obscured, and His answers seem withheld. Job's inability to find or perceive God challenges the simplistic retribution theology of his friends, forcing a deeper, more mature understanding of divine sovereignty, wisdom, and the nature of faith itself. It suggests that God's ways often transcend human comprehension, operating on a plane beyond our immediate perception, yet demanding continued trust and pursuit. This verse offers profound validation and solidarity to those who genuinely seek God but encounter seasons of spiritual dryness or perceived divine silence, affirming that such a struggle is a legitimate part of the faith journey and can, paradoxically, lead to a deeper reliance on God's character rather than His immediate revelation.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job's agonizing search for God in Job 23:8 offers profound resonance for contemporary believers navigating seasons of spiritual dryness or divine silence. In a culture that often prizes immediate gratification and tangible results, the experience of God's hiddenness can be deeply disorienting and faith-testing. This verse reminds us that even the most righteous and earnest seekers of God, like Job, can encounter periods where His presence feels elusive and His purposes inscrutable. It validates the legitimacy of honest lament, questioning, and even frustration as a genuine part of faith, encouraging us not to suppress our spiritual struggles but to bring them directly to God, just as Job courageously did. The enduring lesson is not that God is truly absent, but that His presence and working may transcend our immediate perception or understanding. Our faith is often refined and deepened in these very moments of perceived absence, compelling us to trust in God's unchanging character and sovereign wisdom even when His hand is hidden. It calls us to persevere in seeking, knowing that the journey itself, with its moments of darkness and light, is part of God's transformative work in our lives, leading us to a more robust and resilient faith that rests not on immediate answers, but on the unwavering character of the Almighty.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Job's inability to find God mean God was truly absent?
Answer: No, Job's inability to find or perceive God in Job 23:8 reflects his experience and perception of God's hiddenness, not God's actual absence. From the outset of the Book of Job, the narrative framework (e.g., Job 1-2) reveals God's sovereign presence and active, though often unseen, involvement in Job's circumstances. God is permitting and overseeing the events, even when Job is unaware of His direct hand or the heavenly dialogue. Furthermore, God eventually breaks His silence and speaks to Job from the whirlwind in Job 38:1, powerfully demonstrating His ultimate presence, control, and wisdom. This verse highlights the human struggle with Deus absconditus, the "hidden God," where God's ways are beyond human comprehension and immediate discernment, but it does not imply divine non-existence or abandonment. Rather, it underscores the profound mystery of God's working and the limits of human understanding in the face of divine sovereignty.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job's agonizing search for a hidden God, unable to perceive Him "forward" or "backward," finds its ultimate resolution and profound fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. While Job yearned for a direct encounter and an explanation from a seemingly distant deity, the New Testament reveals a God who has drawn near, who has made Himself perfectly visible and knowable in His Son. Jesus is not merely a prophet or a teacher, but the very image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3). No longer do we search in vain for a hidden God; instead, the eternal Word became flesh and "dwelt among us" (John 1:14), and Jesus Himself declared, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). The mystery of God's purposes, which so perplexed Job, is unveiled in Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, demonstrating God's perfect justice, boundless love, and comprehensive redemptive plan for humanity. In Christ, the hidden God of Job's lament becomes the revealed, accessible, and intimately present God, offering not merely answers to suffering, but the very presence of God in our midst, a presence that promises to be with us "always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20), even through the darkest valleys.