JOB 27 Job’s 4th & Final Response—Job Maintains His Integrity & The Temporal Status of the Wicked

Introduction : This is the second chapter [of six] in Job’s 4 th and final discourse, which continues through the end of chapter 31 and concludes with “the words of Job are ended”. In this chapter Job maintains his integrity and faithfulness and reiterates the ultimate downfall of the wicked. In the next four chapters Job: • Gives a discourse on wisdom and its true source • Summarizes his defense giving specific examples of his blameless character • Summarizes his current condition and prognosis • Defends his character by giving specific examples of his righteousness In this chapter the self-sufficiency of Job really becomes evident. Later we are told that Job “….. was righteous in his own eyes ” { Job 32:1 }. He gives no hint that he has anything to repent of, including his spiritual pride, but rather Job is steadfastly continuing to justify his cause, which is: I have not sinned and God is unjust is making me suffer like this . In the last chapter, 42, we finally see Job come to the realization that no one, not even “righteous Job”, can legitimately justify himself or herself before God and he says, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes ” {Job 42:5-6}. After Job finishes speaking, we will see that another friend named Elihu, who has been “waiting in the wings” so-to-speak [because he is the youngest friend of all { Job 32:4-7}], and he has some very interesting and exciting things to say { Job 32-37 }.

vv. 1-4
JOB STEADFAST RESOLVE TO REMAIN FAITHFUL [1 Moreover Job continued his discourse and said: 2 “As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 3 as long as my breath is in me and the breath of God in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit .”] Job continues his discourse 1 [ lit., superior/authoritative argument ] and uses some beautiful language to express his feelings. He declares “as God lives ” that even though Almighty God “has made his soul bitter ”; as long as he’s alive [has the breath of God in him] he will not speak either wickedness or utter deceit . Job is making it very clear that he is undaunted and determined as ever in his efforts to plead his cause before his friends and God. He still believes that Almighty God has taken away his justice or judgment [ lit., “verdict”]. In other words, he thinks he’s gotten a “bum rap”; he’s been “framed” and he’s received perverted justice. But God never, ever perverts justice. Later, Elihu will proclaim; “ Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice ” {Job 34:12 }.

1 The Hebrew word used here is often translated “parable”. Job Chapter 27 1 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 By mentioning his bitterness, Job thought he had every “right” to be bitter 2—he was just not going to verbalize it! This is somewhat of back-handed confession since Job, at this time, still believed he was being treated unjustly by God. But Job refuses to give up on God. He will not betray his faith or the LORD . Note something subtle here: In using the expression “….. breath of God in my nostrils ”, Job is validating the creation account of man “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became a living being” { Gen. 2:7 }.

v. 5-6
JOB ARROGANTLY MAINTAINS HIS INTEGRITY & RIGHTEOUSNESS [5 “ Far be it from me that I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live .”] Job is basically saying that he will never admit to the charges that his three so–called friends have brought against him. He will never confess that they are right and he is wrong! On the contrary, he says: “ Far be it from me that I should say you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me ”. Job knows he’s innocent of the iniquity and sin his friends have charged him with so he will never plead “guilty as charged” until he dies! Job goes on to say that he will hold fast to his [own] righteousness and he won’t let it go! He goes further and says that his heart will never convict him of any wrong-doing as long as he lives! Now this is inexcusable arrogance and spiritual pride ! Now we see Job’s complete self- sufficiency come to the forefront and take center stage. It is significant that it’s not until after God shows Job His great glory and power , reminds him of His mercy and grace {Job 38-41 } that he eventually repents of this. As Christian believers we need to come into God’s presence from time-to-time, through the study of God’s Word and prayer , to be reminded of this ourselves to make sure we are still “walking by faith”. Here is what J. Vernon McGee says in his notes about this: “Beneath the suffering which Job went through there is a great lesson for him to learn. That is the reason I say that the main lesson of the Book of Job is not why believers suffer. Suffering is not the main issue of the book. Behind it all is the great teaching of repentance, repentance in a child of God”. 3 McGee sums up the book of Job by saying: ”The Book of Job reveals a man who had a personal relationship with God, but who could find nothing wrong with himself, one who was very egotistical about his own righteousness and maintained it in the face of those who were around him. Job felt that before God he was all right. In fact, he wanted to come into the presence of God to defend himself. When Job did that, he found that he needed to repent!”

2 This is a Hebrew word derived from the word used to describe the distillation process of myrrh, which itself is symbolic of death and sorrow. 3 Ref. 5; page 135. Job Chapter 27 2 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 In the Overview section of the Introduction to the book of Job we mentioned the fact that when men want to talk or write about repentance, they usually always pick a character who has had a sinful beginning such as Manasseh, the most ungodly king of Judah {see 2 Kings 21:1-16; 24:3-4; 2 Chron. 33:1-9}. Miraculously, he repented after doing 50 years of evil { 2 Chron. 33:10-19 }! Although King David was a “ man after God’s own heart ” { 1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22 } he committed the sins of adultery with Bathsheba { 2 Sam. 11:1-5} and the murder of her husband, Uriah, a soldier in his army { 2 Sam. 11:14-17 }. But David eventually repented in dramatic fashion { 2 Sam. 12:1-14; Ps. 51:1-19 }. There was also Saul of Tarsus who was an enemy of both the Gospel and Christians { Acts 8:3; 9:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:9 } until he had an encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ and repented { Acts 9:3-22 } and became perhaps the greatest evangelist the world has known. That is the kind of repentance 4 we usually think of. But it is important to note the fact that God did not allow a man who was an obvious “sinner”, unmistakably in need of repentance, to go through the kind of suffering Job went through. God didn’t pick a man like Manasseh, David or Paul [Saul of Tarsus] in order to teach repentance—although He could have! To teach us about repentance God selected Job who was a man that, from all outward appearances, was right with God, had integrity and loved his family. He may have even been the “best” man who ever lived during the time of the patriarchs. God especially chose this man to teach us that even the most godly person may need a large dose of humility and repentance! He chose someone whom we would least expect needed to repent. Why? To dramatically illustrate that it’s often the one who is walking with God that is in need of repentance!

Application : It is crucial for every Christian to keep in mind why the Lord alone is to be worshipped: There is no other name but the name Jesus whereby a person can be saved { Acts 4:12 }; Jesus Christ alone is both Creator of all things { Job 26:7-14 ; Col. 1:15-17 ; Rev. 4:11 } and Savior { Job 19:25 ; Col. 1:18-20; Rev. 5:9-10 }. Just like Job, a Christian can fall into the “apathy trap” and think that just because they’re doing all the “right things”; studying God’s word, praying, going to church, giving, involved in Christian ministry, etc., that they have nothing to repent of. A Christian needs to take “spiritual inventory” from time-to-time” to make sure he/she is still following Christ and not their own ego. Christians need to routinely reevaluate their lifestyle to make sure it is in conformance and obedience to Christ’s plan and purpose for their life. And if it is not it needs to be confessed and repented of. Note:

4 Repentance means agreeing with God and turning from going in the wrong direction [away from God] to the right” direction [towards God]. The apostle Paul puts it this way in his letter to the believers at Thessalonica, “…. turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God ” { 1 Thess. 1:9 }. Practically speaking, an “idol” can be anything that takes the place of or is substituted for God. Job Chapter 27 3 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us .”—1 John 1:6-10 “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another .”—Gal. 6:3-5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified .”—2 Cor. 13:5-6 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world .”—1 Cor. 11:28-32 All our own righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s eyes { Isa. 64:6 } and we need to examine ourselves from time-to-time to see if we have need of repentance. This ought to be a “wake-up call” to every believer today—it should teach everyone who reads Job’s words that no matter how good we think we are, or others think we are, we need to see ourselves as God sees us. See also 1 Cor. 4:4 .

vv. 7-10
JOB ASKS FOUR QUESTIONS OF CONSCIENCE [7 “ May my enemy be like the wicked and he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. 8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much, if God takes away his life? 9 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? 10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God ?”] Job asks that his enemy would receive the same fate as the wicked 5 and the one who attacks him would be punished as the unrighteous. Justifying his calling out judgment upon his enemies, Job now asks four rhetorical questions, which have expected answers. [ For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much, if God takes away his life? ] This first question is the just like the one Jesus asked in the context of choosing salvation over worldly possessions: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” —Luke 9:23-25

5 Sometimes referred to as an ”imprecatory” prayer, which is invoked to request harm or judgment to fall on another person. Examples in the Bible include prayers directed against evil and unrighteous individuals as well as kingdoms. Some believe these kinds of prayers are inappropriate or unscriptural, but the evidence seems to indicate otherwise—they have a time and place. The danger is in having a holier-than-thou attitude when invoking such a prayer and one needs to guard against this. Biblical examples of such prayers include those of King David { Ps. 7:9 ; 10:15; 11:6; 17:13; 35:1-8; 68:1-3; 139:19; 141:5; }, the prophet Daniel { Dan. 4:19 } and also the apostle Paul { Gal. 1:8-9; 5:12; 2 Thess. th 1:5-8}. We are told that when the 5 SEAL is opened the souls of the martyred saints under the altar before the throne of God cry out and pray this way { Rev. 6:9-10 }. Also, there is the prayer for the kingdom of the anti-Christ to be destroyed { Rev. 18:4-8}. Job Chapter 27 4 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 The hypocrite [ lit. “soiled one” ] is the one who is impious and thus wicked. Such a person, even if they amass great wealth, has no hope when God takes away their life. [Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him?] The answer is, “No”, God will not hear his cry when trouble [ lit., “tightness” ] and affliction come upon him. Note: Elihu: “There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men. Surely God will not listen to empty talk, nor will the Almighty regard it.”—Job 35:12-13 “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear.”—Ps. 66:18 The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness. Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”—Prov. 21:12-13 Thus says the Lord to this people: “Thus they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now and punish their sins”. Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.” —Jer. 14:10-12 See also Prov. 1:28; 15:29; Isa. 1:15; Jer. 11:11; Ezek. 8:18; Micah 3:4 and John 9:31 . [Will he delight himself in the Almighty? ] No, the wicked do not delight themselves in God. [ Will he always call on God ?] No, the wicked does not only and always call on the name of God. The wicked may call upon pagan gods. They may perhaps call upon the LORD only as a last resort, like a back-up plan, thinking He may provide them with a “get out of jail free” card. vv. 11-12
JOB TAKES HIS FRIENDS TO “S CHOOL ” [11 “ I will teach you about the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 12 Surely all of you have seen it; why then do you behave with complete nonsense? ”] Contrary to his friends’ opinion, Job had a lot to teach them about character and ways of GOD ALMIGHTY . Job’s friends had been “ miserable comforters ” { Job 16:2 }, “ worthless physicians ” and “ forgers of lies ” { Job 13:4 }. Their words had no ability, no power to help Job—in a word their words had been “vain”. So now Job charges his friends with behaving in a completely meaningless manner by using redundant Hebrew words for vanity. The Hebrew literally reads, “ why/how are you thus in empty vanity ”. Job claims that his friends have no excuse for their attitude and response because they are not ignorant—they have seen the reality of things the way Job has described them.

Job Chapter 27 5 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 vv. 13-18
THE TEMPORAL NATURE OF THE “WICKED ” [13 “ This is the portion of a wicked man with God and the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty: 14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 15 Those who survive him shall be buried in death and their widows shall not weep, 16 Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up clothing like clay—17 He may pile it up, but the just will wear it and the innocent will divide the silver. 18 He builds his house like a moth, like a booth which a watchman makes .”] Many Biblical scholars assign these words [as well as vv.19-23 ] to Zophar because this would give each of Job’s friends three speeches [like Eliphaz and Bildad had] and because the words seem more consistent with one of his friends. But Job is simply showing that he is in agreement with them on all the fundamental points. So this is a rather flimsy reason to reassign these words to someone else, especially since Job had previously spoken of the fate of the wicked { Job 24:18-24 }. He never denied the ultimate punishment of the wicked, but he did deny that they are always immediately punished, contrary to Zophar's claim {Job 20:5; 21:7 }. Job was demonstrating that he could speak about the fate and heritage of the wicked as well as, or better than his friends. So Job proceeds to describe the portion [the “allotment”] and the heritage [the “legacy”] of the wicked man as Almighty God deals with them. Job mentions 10 things that are the portion and heritage of the wicked if their family members [lit., “sons”] are multiplied: Their offspring [ lit., “descendents”] will be subject to death by (a) the sword [i.e., slain in war], (b) starvation [i.e., scarceness of food] and (c) the survivors of their family line will die in sickness [“buried in death”] and their widows will not weep [i.e., there will be no sense of loss]. Though they (d) become “filthy rich” by heaping up silver [as it were dust ] and pile up clothing [like it were clay ], their clothing would be passed on to the just [justified by faith in God] and their silver will be divided among the innocent [the blameless].

Application : This is the moral of Jesus’ parable of the rich fool in the context of covetousness: “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry’.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided ?”—Luke 12:19-21

[He builds his house like a moth…] Eliphaz had earlier used the example of a moth’s frailty contrasted with God’s sovereignty { Job 4:19 }. In similar fashion, Job uses allegorical language to compare the temporal nature of a moth’s cocoon [i.e., “house”] to that of a wicked man’s house—(e) his dwelling place will be short-lived and become empty and deserted—a mere shell. [like a booth which a watchman makes ] A “watchman” was a person responsible for guarding a field of crops or a vineyard from invasion by animals. They would often make temporary shelters that were flimsy and only meant to be temporarily inhabited [usually during the ripening and harvesting season]. (f) Such will be the fate of the wicked man’s house.

Job Chapter 27 6 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 vv. 19-23
THE SUDDEN DOWNFALL OF THE WICKED WILL BE CELEBRATED [19 “ The rich man will lie down, but not be gathered up; he opens his eyes and he is no more. 20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest steals him away in the night. 21 The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. 22 It hurls against him and does not spare; he flees desperately from its power. 23 Men shall clap their hands at him and shall hiss him out of his place .”] Here Job associates the wicked person with great wealth. But note that Job is not saying that all wealthy people are wicked else he would have counted himself as “wicked” [prior to the loss of his wealth]. That Job was such a man there can be no doubt since we were told that; “Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.”—Job 1:3 And King David, a man of whom the LORD said was “ a man after My own heart ” { 1 Sam. 13:14 ; Acts 13:22 }, was rich; not to mention King Solomon! So we see that wealth and riches do not automatically equate to wickedness. So what is Job really saying? Just this, it is hard for a rich man to be humble and righteous and such a man is typically at odds with God’s moral standards and trusts in their own riches rather than God. Thus, by God’s definition he or she is “wicked”. After the rich, young ruler turned away, Jesus put it this way 6: Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”—Mark 10:23-25 And the apostle James elaborates on such a rich person: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sab’aoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.”—Jam. 5:1-6 (g) The wicked person will “ lie down ” [i.e., be at ease as before] but he/she will not be “gathered up”, that is, be restored to their status. As suddenly as he/she open’s their eyes their wealth, power and influence is gone. (h) The wicked person’s wealth, that which he/she trusts in, will be gone suddenly, and it will seem like their possessions were suddenly carried off by a violent storm which causes flooding and massive property damage. The “east wind” here can be compared to the Sirocco 7, which is a strong, hot and dry wind which originates from the Sahara Desert and can reach hurricane velocities [> 80 mph]. In Job’s day such a wind could sweep away everything before it, including tents and houses.

6 See also Matt. 19:23-24 and Luke 18:24-25 . 7 One of the 8 recognized Mediterranean winds. The others are: Tramontane, Gregale, Levante, Ostro, Libeccio, Ponente and Mistral. Job Chapter 27 7 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016 (i) Although the wicked desperately try to flee the power of the “coming storm” and avoid the inevitable, the calamity hits them hard like an “east wind” and it does not spare them . (j) It will seem like the calamity is mocking the wicked and making fun of him , like a man clapping his hands and hissing, all the while he tries to escape its merciless onslaught.

Table 27-1. The Major Themes Repeated in Job’s Responses First Round of Speeches

Theme 1st Speech 2nd Speech 3rd Speech

Disappointment in his friends 6:14-30 ― 12:1-6; 13:1-12

Declaration of God’s greatness ― 9:1-12 12:7-25

Disillusionment with God’s ways 7:11-19 9:13-10:17 ―

Despair with life (or desire to Response 11:1-20 6:8-13; 7:1-10 Response 8:1-22 10:18-22 14:1-22 Response 15:1-35 die)

Desire for vindication with God 7:20-21 ― 13:13-19 Bildad’s Zophar’s Eliphaz’

Second Round of Speeches

Theme 1st Speech 2nd Speech 3rd Speech

Disappointment in his friends 16:1-5; 17:3-5 19:1-4 21:1-6

Declaration of God’s greatness ― 19:28-29 21:19-22

Disillusionment with God’s ways 16:6-17 19:5-22 21:7-18, 23-24 Response 20:1-29

Despair with life (or desire to Response 18:1-21 Response 22:1-30 17:6-16 ― ― die)

Desire for vindication with God 16:18-17:2 19:23-27 ― Bildad’s Zophar’s Eliphaz’

Third Round of Speeches

Theme 1st Speech 2nd Speech

Disappointment in his friends ― 26:1-4

Declaration of God’s greatness 23:8-17 26:5-14; 27 ; 28 Speaks Speaks Disillusionment with God’s ways 24:1-17 ― Response 25:1-6

Despair with life (or desire to Elihu Chapters 32—37 ― Chapters 38—41

29:1-30:31 The LORD die)

Desire for vindication with God 23:1-7 Bildad’s 31:1-40

Job Chapter 27 8 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016

Bibliography (1) New Unger's Bible Dictionary , Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. © 1988. (2) Nelson’s Bible Dictionary ; Thomas Nelson Publishers, © 1986. (3) Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament , Cook Communications Ministries; Copyright © 1983, 2000. (4) Barnes Notes , (5) Thru the Bible Commentary: Poetry (Job) , Vol. 16 ; J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson; Nashville. ©1991. (6) Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament , Hendrickson Publishers, Copyright © 1886. (7) Wycliffe Bible Commentary , edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer, Everett F. Harrison, Moody Publishers, Copyright ©1962. (8) New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary , International Bible Translators, Inc; Copyright © 1994, 2003.

Job Chapter 27 9 Klaus G. Schiessel Copyright © June 2016