Job 27

¹ And Job again took up his discourse, and said: ² “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, ³ as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, ⁴ my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. ⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. ⁶ I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. ⁷ “Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous. ⁸ For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life? ⁹ Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? ¹⁰ Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? ¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. ¹² Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain? ¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty: ¹⁴ If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword, and his descendants have not enough bread. ¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries, and his widows do not weep. ¹⁶ Though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay, ¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. ¹⁸ He builds his house like a moth’s, like a booth that a watchman makes. ¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone. ²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off. ²¹ The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. ²² It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in headlong flight. ²³ It claps its hands at him and hisses at him from its place.

Francis Chan has offered an interesting illustration that pertains to hypocrisy and to integrity.

Recently I saw a bag of potato chips with a bold declaration splashed across the front: “Zero grams of trans fat.” I was glad to know that I wouldn’t be consuming trans fat, which research has shown is detrimental to my health. But then I flipped the bag over and read the ingredients list, which included things like “yellow #6” and other artificial colors, and partially hydrogenated oil (which is trans fat, just a small enough amount that they can legally call it “0 grams”). I thought it was incredibly ironic that these chips were being advertised in a way that makes me think they are not harmful yet were really full of empty calories, weird chemicals, and, ironically, trans fat.

            It struck me that many Christians flash around their “no trans fat” label, trying to convince everyone they are healthy and good. Yet they have no substantive or healthful elements to their faith…Obviously, it’s not what you advertise that counts; it’s what you are really made of.[1]

One might say that the book of Job consists of Job’s “friends” accusing him of being like that bag of potato chips and of Job responding that, in point of fact, what was on the inside was exactly what was advertised on the outside. Job’s friends insisted that he must have had some hidden “trans fats.” Job again and again insisted that he did not.

Chapter 27 is an interesting chapter that can be read in one of two ways. The first way is to read it as an initial statement of innocence on Job’s part and of guilt on his friend’s part. The second way (and the way I am going to approach it) is to see in these two components a dilemma. Simply put, Job’s dilemma is that he cannot deny his innocence nor can he deny that judgment and calamity rightly (and eventually) befall the wicked.

Job cannot deny his innocence.

Job spoke in the last chapter, chapter 16, and now he speaks again. Interestingly, verse 1 seems to be introducing a new section of speech from Job yet there is not speech from his friends between chapters 16 and 17, which has been the normal formula heretofore.

¹ And Job again took up his discourse, and said

Robert Alden suggests that “this separate introduction [v.1a] indicates that chap. 27 is distinct from chap. 26. Apparently there was no response from Zophar, so Job simply ‘continued.’”[2] Perhaps there was something in Job’s tone or body language as he spoke in chapter 26 that let his friends know it was best for them to be silent. Seeing their hesitation, Job continues speaking in chapter 27.

² “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, ³ as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, ⁴ my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. ⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. ⁶ I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. ⁷ “Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

For Job, the matter that has always been one of conviction now solidifies into outright righteous defiance: he is innocent and refuses to be kowtowed into a false confession of guilt. Whatever the reason might be for Job’s suffering, his guilt is not a part of it for he is innocent and he is righteous. It must be understood that the book of Job itself never wavers on this point.

The interesting thing about the theory of retributive justice that Job’s friends kept pushing is that Job and Job alone (among men) was able to disprove the theory, for, as we have said before, if one righteous man suffers then the theory is incorrect. Job knew that he was righteous, that he was innocent. Job knew that there was no secret guilt at the root of his dilemma. As such, Job knew that his friends were mistaken.

Job cannot deny that judgment and calamity rightly (and eventually) befall the wicked.

Not only were Job’s friends mistaken, but their defiant and arrogant clinging to their fallacious theory moved Job to count them among the wicked. For our purposes, let us not see the verses primarily as a rebuke of his unsympathetic friends, though it can be read that way. Let us see the wider point that Job’s rebuke makes, namely, that though Job has argued that the wicked oftentimes “get away with it” on this side of heaven, the fact remains that, eventually, they will indeed face the judgment of God.

⁸ For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life? ⁹ Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? ¹⁰ Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? ¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. ¹² Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain? ¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty: ¹⁴ If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword, and his descendants have not enough bread. ¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries, and his widows do not weep. ¹⁶ Though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay, ¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. ¹⁸ He builds his house like a moth’s, like a booth that a watchman makes. ¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.

We have had occasion to note before that there is an almost schizophrenic quality to Job’s theology at times but that such often happens in the midst of intense personal pain. Having previously bemoaned the absence of judgment for the wicked, he now levels a broadside against his friends but reminding them of the certainty of coming judgment for the wicked. Perhaps we might say that, for Job, judgment for the wicked was a certain eschatological or future reality whether it started on this side of heaven or not, and, in this, Job is correct. Put another way, the wicked can get away with it for a while, but only for a while.

The imagery is compelling and unnerving. The wicked, Job tells us:

• have no hope
• will be cut off by God
• will have their lives ended by God
• will not have their cries of distress heard by God
• will see his progeny destroyed
• will not be wept over by his widow
• will see his money and clothes go to the righteous
• he is exposed and in danger
• he will lose all that he has

Speaking of verse 18’s depiction of the fragile state of the wicked man’s house (“He builds his house like a moth’s, like a booth that a watchman makes.”), August Konkel writes:

27:18 fragile as a spider’s web. The Heb. Word (‘ash…) normally means “moth,” an insect not noted for house-building. The use of the word in related Semitic language suggests it may mean other insects…or an insect at the larva stage while it is in its cocoon (NIV). The ancient versions all indicate some type of insect. Other translations relate this to another Semitic word (‘ushun) meaning “next” (NRSV, REB).[3]

Thus, the abode of the wicked is like a spider’s web or perhaps even a cocoon. There is no solidity in it, no safety in it. The rich are exposed precisely when they think they are safe.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off. ²¹ The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. ²² It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in headlong flight. ²³ It claps its hands at him and hisses at him from its place.

The wicked are fearful. They have no peace of mind. He is tormented by the very wind.

One cannot help but note the connection between wickedness and inordinate wealth. Clearly the book of Job never says that wealth itself is evil. In fact, given the righteousness of Job and his wealth, it may just as easily be said that it views wealth as a blessing. In reality, wealth is oftentimes a blessing from God and it is sometimes gotten by the wicked through ill-gotten gain.

But in Job 27 it is the wealthy wicked who are depicted as fearful. Fear tends to come with great wealth. Francis of Assisi was once asked why he did not allow his monks to have possessions. “Because,” he answered, “if we had possessions we would have to have an army to protect it.”

I once knew a man, a dear brother in Christ, who had a great deal of money, a large house, and very nice cars. He also had a great deal of money coming in. I loved this brother, but I did begin to notice a note of fear in his words. He told me once that he lay awake at night afraid of somebody kicking his door in. That struck me as profoundly sad. Here he was surrounded by great comfort and great wealth, but he was awake at night afraid he would lose it all. I know this brother loved the Lord, and I could see the conflict within him. Children of God should not live in fear.

Job is describing the wicked rich and and is assuring them that, one day, the door will indeed be kicked in and judgment will come! The child of God needs have no fear, but the wicked and the tyrant should.

The powerful will not always be powerful and the kings of the earth will all fall unless they bow to Jesus.

“Can you remember a time when millions saluted Mussolini?” asked J. Vernon McGee, commenting on these verses. “There came a day when people actually walked across his dead body and that of his paramour as they lay in the mud after their execution. The wicked shall be judged.”[4]

This is a sobering thought, and one that remains true. This is why it is so very important that we know Jesus. Jesus took our judgment upon Himself on Calvary, suffering for us, paying the price for us. In Him we have life and peace of mind and heart. In him we have a future and a home that will never be taken away.

There is something else in this chapter, and I think we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge it. In Job 27, we see a solidifying of Job’s faith. He is not where he needs to be, but he has not abandoned His God. For instance, Chuck Swindoll noticed that in Job 27, Job had a profoundly “vertical perspective” and that “in seven statements he refers to the name of his God no less than eleven times” (more than that in the English Standard Version, quoted below).

² “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,

³ as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils

⁸ For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?

⁹ Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?

¹⁰ Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty.

Swindoll concluded from this that “the single most important One to Job is His God. It is the Almighty. It is the Lord.”[5]

This is true, and, given all the struggles that Job has faced with his faith, this is beautiful and hopeful. Job’s perspective has indeed become vertical. In the midst of agonizing heartbreak and pain, a vertical perspective is our only hope, for a merely horizontal perspective can bring nothing but despair.

In the midst of his confusion and in the midst of his pain, surrounded by doubts and friends that have increased his burdens, there by the graves of his children and on the ash heap of his own grief and disease and brokenness, Job dared to look up.

Job looked up.

The devil is always trying to get us to look everywhere but up. But Job looked up…and, in so doing, something seems to have stirred within him. He seems to have recalled a distant memory, something that he used to know and yet somehow still knew even as he raged against it. It was an idea, a truth, that had gripped him once before and that he had tried desperately to rid himself of now, but it was a haunting and clinging idea, a stubborn truth, and could not be easily shaking. It was the idea, the truth, that Job was not alone in his suffering, that the God he now struggled to understand was yet with him and even, amazingly, for him. So Job looked up and Job dared to proclaim the goodness and justice of God.

Friends, look up, even if you do not understand and even in the midst of your questions and doubts, look up.

Your Savior is there.

Your God is there.

And your Savior and God are here beside you and with you and residing in you in Christ if you have called upon his name.

 

[1] Francis Chan, Crazy Love (Colorado Springs, CO: David Cook, 2008), p.93.

[2] Robert A. Alden, Job. The New American Commentary. Vol. 11 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishing Group, 1993), p.262.

[3] August H. Konkel and Tremper Longman III, Job, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs. Cornerstone Biblical Commetary. Gen. Ed., Philip W. Comfort. Vol. 6 (Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2006), p.168.

[4] J. Vernon McGee, Job. Thru the Bible Commentary Series. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers), p.126.

[5] Charles R. Swindoll, Job. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), p.217-218.