Reading: Job 29-31, Psalm 142

The story of Job opened with a divine courtroom scene. We were introduced to Job as a righteous man, then taken to a scene in heaven where he is accused before God of being righteous only because he was blessed. God agrees to make a trial of this, and allows the Accuser to take away Job’s blessings. This does not have the effect of breaking Job’s integrity, so he allows the Accuser to attack Job’s health. Then the scene in heaven ends, and we see the results of Job’s ruin on earth. Everything the book has said since then has been a continuation of the trial. It is not a trial scene like any we would hold in the world today, but we can see familiar elements: God is judge. There is a prosecutor in the character of Satan. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar are witnesses, telling the court what they see in the situation and in Job. Job offers up his own defense. Today we have arrived at the end of the evidence and defense part of the trial. Tomorrow a new character will appear, who is ready to pass judgment on Job, his friends, and even on God.

Before that happens, though, we read through Job’s summary of his life and actions. If this is to be the final reckoning for him, he wants to clearly state what his life has been like, accepting whatever outcome results from that. This is a familiar pattern from some earlier parts of the story. Moses gives one of these in Deuteronomy; Joshua in chapter 24 of his book, and we get another from Samuel in 1 Samuel 12. The leaders and prophets put an appeal to the people before leaving their official role to clear up any lingering doubts and debts. Job is doing the same here, but before God rather than the assembled people of Israel.

Job works up to this slowly, starting by reminiscing about the good old days, when he and God walked together. He recalls how good it was to be God’s friend and companion, for God to reply when Job called him. But then he turns to how he has been afflicted. Though he had many good times, they have all been turned bad and sour by his recent experience. The God who was his friend now appears as his foe. Job understands that all things come from God, the good and the bad, and he is setting up his defense against the charge he doesn’t even know was made back at the beginning of the book: Is he righteous only because he has been blessed? No, Job has been both blessed and cursed by God. He has received good things and bad. His right attitude towards God has not been dependent on these things.

Then he turns to how he has behaved over the course of his life. It is worth looking at what was important to Job: fidelity in his marriage, honesty both privately and publicly, fair treatment even of servants, generosity to the poor and the widow, and a proper trust in God more than his own wealth. His review of his life reads like a fulfillment of the books of Moses. He makes his case before God based on his actions and his heart being in line with God’s, and then declares he is done speaking. The court can proceed to judgment.

The accusation has been made, the evidence presented, and the arguments considered. But who will judge? Job himself does not consider himself worthy or able to appear before God’s throne, though he begs for the chance. The three friends do not expect God to respond to Job, because no man can be righteous before the almighty. So who is left? Tomorrow we will introduce what to us is an unexpected and odd character, Elihu, an adjudicator who passes summary judgement on everyone involved. Judgment has been requested, and a man has been found who will proclaim it. He appears to think he is the last word on the subject. But it won’t quite turn out that way.