Job 9:14-35, “Justification” in the OT (2)

Guilt is the problem.  We need to be declared righteous, but it might seem like that is impossible.  Here are more passages to help us get a handle on the term.

·       In the Law God Himself said, I will not justify the wicked (Ex. 23:7).  In 2 Chron. 6:23, Solomon asks God to hear the prayer of the righteous and to justify the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.  Both of these lead us to believe it’s up to us.  If we are guilty, God won’t justify us; and the best Solomon can ask is that God will justify the one who is already righteous.

We now come to Job.  In the conversations with his “friends” the term is used several times, by each of them.  Pay attention as we work through these uses.  Remember the essence of the story: the friends are trying to tell Job that his trials are the result of some guilt/iniquity in his life; and Job is telling them that he knows of no such thing.  (In what follows, all the passages are in Job.)

·       4:17: Eliphaz asks, can a mortal be more righteous than God?

·       9:2: Job also asks, can a man be righteous before God?

·       9:15,20; 10:15: In these passages Job says, “if I were righteous I would not stand before God or lift my head.”  In other words, he struggles, believing he is not guilty of some sin deserving of what he is experiencing; yet he knows that at his best he is still ashamed to think of being in God’s presence. 

·       11:2: Zophar asks, should a man full of talk be vindicated?

·       13:18: Job responds, I prepared my case.  I know I shall be vindicated.

·       15:14: Eliphaz asks, what is man … that he could be righteous?

·       22:3: Again, Eliphaz is confident against Job, asking, Is Almighty pleased that you are righteous?

·       25:4: Bildad asks, how can a man be righteous before God?

·       27:5: Job’s last use of the term is to say to the three friends, far be it from me that I should say you are right.

·       The following come from Elihu, the young man, who spoke after the three friends failed to carry the argument against Job.

o   32:2: He is angry because Job “justified” himself instead of justifying God.

o   33:12: He insists that Job is not righteous.

o   33:32: He also insists that it is his desire to justify Job.

o   34:5,7: He quotes Job as saying “I am righteous,” but then asks, “if you are righteous what does that do for God?”

·       40:8: Finally, God uses the term, speaking to Job: would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

In the next post we will summarize and clarify these things.  It is actually quite powerful.