Suffering: God’s Megaphone
Job 29-37
I. Job’s Transgression (Chapters 29-31)
1) Job’s Spiritual Progression
- Job begins the trial with a stunning victory over temptation – (1:20-22; 2:9-10)
- Job bitterly laments his situation and wishes for death but does not sin against God (Chapter 3)
- Job begins to openly question God’s goodness and justice as the trial drags on (cf. 9:22-24, 16:9-14; 19:11-12, 22)
- Job expresses his need for wisdom (Chapter 28)
- Job defends his own reputation at the expense of God’s reputation (Chapters 29-31)
- Some of Job’s impassioned speech has now crossed the line into blasphemy
- God will intervene before Job allows the sin of pride to overtake him completely
2) Job’s Final Defense (Chapters 29-30)
- Job remembers his life before the trial
- Emphasis on the way he was once honoured and respected by everyone
- Emphasis on his righteous deeds (vv. 12-17, cf. Eliphaz’ accusations in 22:5-11)
- Job bitterly laments his present situation
- He is shamed by the village ‘rabble’
- He accuses God of cruelty and persecution (vv. 20-22)
- He insinuates that he has shown more mercy than God (vv. 24-25)
3) Job’s Challenge to God (Chapter 31)
- Job present God with an ‘Oath of Innocence’
- He is now trying to manipulate God in a desperate effort to save his reputation
- If he’s guilty of sin Job challenges God to strike him down
- If God does not impose the punishments Job specifies in the oath, his innocence will be publicly vindicated
- Job has decided that his reputation is more important than God’s reputation
- Job has successfully silenced his friends, but in the process, he has sinned against God (32:1,12)
II. Elihu’s Tirade (Chapters 32-37)
1) Elihu’s Righteous Anger (Chapter 32)
- He is angry with Job because “Job justified himself rather than God” (v. 2)
- He is angry with Job’s friends because they were unsuccessful in answering Job (v. 5)
- Elihu (a young man) believes that he has more wisdom than these three elders
- Some dismiss Elihu’s speech as rude, self-important, verbose and irrelevant
- Others recognize great wisdom and truth in Elihu’s strong words of rebuke
- Job does not answer Elihu’s rebuke (32:31-33)
- God does not condemn Elihu’s words
2) Elihu’s Conclusions
- Job is not suffering because he sinned, but he has sinned in his suffering (33:8-12; 34:35-37)
- Suffering has an instructive purpose in God’s dealings with the righteous. God uses suffering to ‘open our ears’ (33:14-30; 36:8-17)
Application Points:
– Suffering often stirs up residual sin in our hearts that God wants to deal with. Suffering is God’s ‘megaphone’
– Be on guard against the temptation to sin in your suffering, or to think you know better than God.
– When you suffer as a Christian, do not assume that God is punishing you for sin. Receive suffering as a Father’s instruction that will ultimately be for your spiritual benefit (Hebrews 12:5-11)
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