Job has lost everything. His family, finances, and health are all gone. And his friends sure aren’t helping matters. Though they have come to sit with him in his pain and sorrow (a good thing!), their assessment of God and of Job’s suffering are unhelpful. No one wants to hear platitudes and pet theology in the midst of their pain. Job’s buddy Bildad makes a speech that rankles Job. In essence, he says that Job’s recently deceased children have gotten what they deserved because, “It’s plain that your children sinned against God — otherwise why would God have punished them?” (Job 8:4 Msg). He goes on, “There’s no way that God will reject a good person and there is no way he’ll help a bad one,” (Job 8:20 NIV). The implication is that Job is getting his comeuppance from God too. This doesn’t resonate with Job; and it shouldn’t. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Not every trial we go through is simply the consequences of our actions. Bildad’s advice is based on false information. His prescription for Job is to start behaving right again to appease God and then everything will be okay. Bad advice.
And that’s how Job responds. The questions that most of ask in the midst of pain are similar to the ones Job is pondering: “What have I done wrong?” “Where have I messed up?” “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why is God doing this to me?” “How can I fix this?” When Job realizes he can’t answer any of his own questions, he decides that God must simply be against him. So he begins his complaint and starts to argue his case for justice before God. He stops short when he realizes that there is no way he can win a debate with the Lord. “God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece?” (Job 9:4 Msg). After all, God is infinite, eternal, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Who can stop him should he set a course of action in place? Who can out maneuver or out think him?
Finally Job comes to the conclusion that with God you’ve got to go for mercy over justice. “So how could I ever argue with him, construct a defense that would influence God? Even though I’m innocent I could never prove it; I can only throw myself on the Judge’s mercy.” I saw the wisdom of this a few years ago when I received a speeding ticket. I was driving 35 in an unmarked 25 mile an hour zone. I thought I could argue that I had no way to know the speed limit was 25. I went to traffic court and watched person after person argue about their moving violations. Some declared the ineptitude of police and of radar detectors. Others cried and manipulated. Still others angrily declared the injustice of traffic laws. As I prayed about the situation before me, I realized that none of them were asking for mercy and as such the Judge never gave them any. The Lord told me to ask for mercy. When it was my turn to approach the judge, that’s what I did. I stated my case and asked for mercy. And that’s exactly what I received.
Job’s back is against a wall. He wishes he had never been born rather than to live day after day in extraordinary grief and pain. He can’t stand his plight. He defends himself to God and throws himself on God’s mercy, “”How I wish we had an arbitrator to step in and let me get on with life — to break God’s death grip on me, to free me from this terror so I could breathe again, (Job 9:34 Msg). He is asking for a go-between. He is looking for representation. He seeks an advocate. He points to all of our great need before the justice of God. We need someone on our side who can speak on our behalf. And that’s what we have in Jesus: An Advocate who is continually on our side. When we sin, his blood pays the penalty. When we experience injustice, he declares our innocence and intercedes for us in our need. In our pain, he sits with us and reassures us that he has felt our pain, too. He walks with us through the dark seasons of life. No matter what you are suffering or struggling through right now; don’t think you deserve God’s justice. None of us could stand under God’s justice. Instead, plead for his mercy.
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