PREFACE

The Book of Job is an excellent Book to study to get insight, comfort and spiritual strength to get through the rough days on the way to Heaven. Job's experience tells us how bad things can get on the journey. We are living on earth, not in heaven, and earth is a battleground. Job got through the days of suffering and the nights of sorrow - how ? This Book tells us how. We learn from it not only how to understand and help others, but also how to get help from God for ourselves. Perhaps the greatest lessons of the Book are to prove that Christians can have a ' disinterested faith ' ( contrary to Satan's sneer in ch.1:9) and that God's promise will be kept, the promise to keep them enduring to the end ( Heb. 7:25). - Someone prays for us, and His prayer never fails ( John 17:24).

My thanks again to my friend Harry Woods for all the technical aspects of putting this book together.

James Clark. MA MSc MEd MTh.

MARCH 1

" He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven, there shall no evil touch thee."   Job 5:19.

This is a great promise for Job's future and ours ( although Eliphaz had doubts about Job, still urging him to repent of his alleged sin ). Eliphaz was applying the words in one way, but God in another, to strengthen Job's hope ( Ps.3:1.& 34:19)." Every new trouble needs Divine support and deliverance. God's promise is either to be kept from falling into some trouble or to be preserved from serious injury in it, before being taken out of it. Preservation in trouble, support under it, and deliverance out of it are all in the believer's covenant. The cross is not immediately taken from the shoulder, but strength is given to bear. The time and manner of deliverance is reserved by God in His own hands. Deliverance from troubles is either temporary or in part, or it is complete and final. It is only the former that is experienced in this world, where trouble comes after trouble, as wave after wave. When one is past we are to prepare for another. (" Mend your sails," said Spurgeon to one who thought her troubles were all over.) Final and complete deliverance happens only at death."  ( T.Robinson) Some disappointments and troubles come to us in order to prevent greater ones. This is something we often do not see, until we reach heaven. The life of Joseph is the greatest example of this ( Gen.50:20).

MARCH 2

" Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn comesin his season."  Job 5:26

" The husbandman does not bring his corn into the barn until it is fully ripe, and God will not take His children out of this world until they are fit for the other world. It is with Christians as it is for the fruits of the earth ; some are ripe sooner, some later. God will gather none until they are ripe for glory...I do not say they shall not die till they think they are fit to die or till they say they are ready to die ; for they may be graciously prepared and sweetly fitted to die, and yet they may judge otherwise. This way of thinking may be due to Satan's deceit or some spiritual malady may hang over them. They may also have a natural fear of death...Therefore Christians, be not unwilling to die - it is the gate of life into Paradise."  ( Thomas Brooks)

Death for the Christian is the end of a process of spiritual sowing and growth, it is the full harvest ( Mark 4:26-29). The head of this wheat stalk ascends towards heaven throughout the life on earth. " Thou shalt come.." death is the end of preparation. It comes by God's promise, death is the final transition for the believer ; the child does not refuse to come home when called by the Father. A ' full age ' is not necessarily an old age. It will be in God's season, not nature's season ; not all fruit ripens at the same time of the year. Each shall be ' ripe for glory.' In God's eyes we cannot die too soon, nor shall we be kept on earth longer than He thinks necessary.

" My Lord says,Come up hither. My Lord says Welcome Home,

  Where glory, glory dwelleth, In Immanuel's Land."

MARCH 3

" Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed ! "  Job 6:2,3.

Job could not measure, compare or describe his grief. There were no scales to weigh his misery, it was ' off the scale.' The depth of it was not common to man. Jeremiah ( and Christ ) could use the same words with a sense of their depth ( Lament.1:12) .Just as there is ' joy unspeakable ', so is there ' grief inexpressible.' Sometimes the shock is so great that you cannot speak. Sadly, his friends' lack of sympathy made him dumb also. The ' heart knows its own bitterness ', but they had little knowledge of affliction, it seems, or they would have had deeper insight regarding his condition. His mind was numb and his body was responding just as sluggishly. Job knew that God alone understood what he had to endure each day, and God was silent. 

" Words are used not only to define facts but, as far as possible, feelings. Job's grief could not be judged fairly until this was done. Shallow appraisals are often given to things we do not understand...Who can understand Gethsemane ? Well meant, but ignorant, attempts at sympathy often hurt rather than heal." ( W.F.  Adeney) Words can be used to hide the depth of our suffering, keeping them private ; but in Job's case words could not tell enough ! Only Christ's sufferings were worse than anyone else's. We are sometimes tempted to think that ours are worse than others, but we are mistaken. However, it is a comfort that God can measure our sufferings correctly, he knows how much we can bear.

" Dazed and amazed with overmuch desiring,

  Blank with the utter agony of prayer."   ( F.Meyer )

MARCH 4

" Oh that I might have my request ! "   Job 6:8.

Job wanted to die (vs.9). The burden of life here was too great for him, he thought, yet he did endure it. His words evidence that he did not think he had the strength to go on, but God had strength for him. He asks God to change his present condition and give him the comfort beyond death. He was not in despair, for he was still praying ;those in despair simply ' close down.' His friends had come to him, they were there, but there as spectators and not comforters ; they could not enter into his suffering with their hearts, their minds did but analyse him. Job felt powerless to respond to life's requirements, even the simplest. He was a patient requiring care and attention, and he was not getting it. He was exhausted, he had nothing left.

It is common for people in deep depression to have thoughts of death. He was in a prison of pain and he looked forward to escaping by death (vs.8). The temptation to the believer, a very real one, is to see mental darkness as a continuous state, and not as a tunnel. Hope will keep looking for the light at the end of it. " Job begs God to take away his life ( like Elijah ). But he is still looking for God, still praying with the one hope alone. If we can bring our grief to God, it is not yet despair. God will not grant Job his prayer - He will not deal with us according to our words but according to His purpose." ( W.F. Adeney)Job's prayers, however reprehensible they may seem, prove that his relationship with God continues. Job is still talking to Him and God is still listening. When someone is listening he does not speak, and so God is silent.

MARCH 5

" For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One."  Job 6:10.

" This non-concealment of God's words was now a comfort to him when all other comforts failed. It was not self-righteousness that led Job to speak thus, but only such a use of the sure evidences of grace ( 2 Tim.4:7,8). It is the nature of obedience to yield peace to the heart and no one can be blamed for enjoying that peace. It cannot be wrong for our consciences to bear testimony to the sincerity of our lives. He who is undivided in his faithful loyalty to Jesus may derive comfort from being enabled to be loyal to his God." ( Spurgeon)

Job holds fast to the words of God when he cannot perceive or understand the actions of God ; we need the former to interpret the latter. Likewise, he takes a firmer grasp of what he does know about God, and not what he does not know about God ( which would be speculation). God had already revealed Himself by the times of Abraham. David was another example of not concealing God's Word (Ps.40:10) - it is a temptation in every age. To do so, to ' hold down the truth,' ( Rom.1:18) is no mark of grace. And the best way to confirm  the word is by practice. God is the Holy One, and those who want holiness must go to Him for it through Christ ( 1 Corinth.1:30). " We must meet with God. The ordinances are the channels but not the springs of the well. By beholding the Holy One we receive, as it were, the engravings of holiness in our souls ( 2 Corinth.3:18). The eye of faith affects the heart ; and vision assimilates to glory too ( 1 John 3:2). And proportionately here too ; such as are our visions of God, such is our likeness to Him."  ( J.Caryl )

MARCH 6

" Is my strength the strength of stones ? " Job 6:12.

Job's strength has gone and his hope of recovery ( in this world ) has withered. He feels he can take no more, he is not made of stone. A stone feels nothing, but Job feels everything. " Sometimes God has to prove to us just how weak we actually are. " ( J.A.Blair) It is easy to feel we are on our own (and therefore feel either self-sufficient or abandoned ) when God is far away from our thoughts. But self-weakness which leads us to lean more upon God is the way to spiritual progress ( 2 Corinth.12:9). The mind can take much suffering, and can cope with it in ways good and bad, but it can also become like a stone, unresponsive , when pushed too far. When adversity comes we make a choice, consciously or not, in how we shall respond to it. Job was probably thinking more about his own strength than of God's. His faith struggled to look away from himself - which is what faith is given for. Faith struggles to interpret events and, in giving up this labour, must simply trust in God and wait for events to unfold in God's Providence. Job was struggling in chapter 6 ; he could not see chapter 42 as we do. But there is a chapter 42 for every believer ! We must accept that there are some things we cannot change, and God's Will is one of them. Faith must pray, look away to him and wait for Him.

MARCH 7

" To him that is afflicted pity should be shown by his friend...My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook."   Job 6:14,15.

Job is disappointed with his brethren, they have been exposed as ' fair weather friends.' Their anticipated comfort for him was a mirage in the desert, a brook which dried up when you came to it. They were like  " broken cisterns which leak out the comforts they are trusted with. This infinitely commends the love of God beyond that of men. " ( J.Caryl ) How unlike Ruth who said to Naomi in her destitution, ' I will not leave thee.' It would probably have been better for the friends of Job if they had left Job alone at this point ! Comforters can often stay too long, the bereaved need some time alone with God, and Job's ' comforters ' were not giving him that time. They were perplexed ( vs.13) by his condition and they refused to face the facts ; they simply discussed them. But this was not the time to discuss theology, this was a time to show kindness. They ought to have pitied him ( vs.14 ), but they were ' dry brooks ' of kindness. Like the priest and the Levite, they looked at Job with their eyes, with curiosity, but their hearts 

' passed by on the other side ' ( Luke 10:32 ). Their doctrine had no practice. Job's calamity was a terror to his friends, and made them afraid to identify with him. They believed that he was being judged by God ( 13:7), and that if they identified with him, showing him sympathy, they would appear to be opposing God's judgement ( vs.21). They were afraid to incur ' guilt by association.' This demonstrates how analysis can lead to paralysis.

" Adversity and affliction are the touchstone of friendship." ( J.Caryl )

MARCH 8

" But what does your arguing prove ? "  Job 6:25

Their arguments accomplished nothing ; they did not even attempt to understand Job's condition. They could prove nothing against him, but this did not stop them trying to. It is a temptation to stop talking to such people, but Job persists, and probably continues to pray for them also. Job knows his own experience, they do not ( vs.30). They are, in some sense, suffering also, and we must try to understand ' where they are coming from ' in their arguments. Job's words were a threat to their own peace of mind, because if he were right it meant that their whole system of beliefs crashed - this was a threat to their mental well-being, they were afraid to build their thinking on a new foundation. Law, works, reward and retribution were the cornerstones of their doctrinal edifice. The Lord Jesus faced the same opposition when He said to the Pharisees ( often), " But I say to you..." ( cf. Matthew 7:24-29).

Job's friends assume that his impatient temper is a proof of a bad attitude towards God, but his impatience was a response to them. They were like the Inquisition ; pronouncing judgements and then looking for evidence afterwards to support their judgements ! " The wish is the father of the thought," is the old adage. Job perhaps despaired of being understood ( vs.30 ), but he did not give up his beliefs ; which were commended in ch.42 by God. Job was happy to be taught by God (vs.24), but not by fallible men. The best teachers in the church will always agree with God. God commended Job but still gave him no explanations in answer to his questions...not in this world anyway.

MARCH 9

" Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth ? "  Job 7:1.

Job sees man's time upon earth as a warfare, with toiling days and restless nights. It is God's Will which generation we shall be born into. Millions were born into families and countries which were ignorant of Christ, and did not understand why they were on earth. For believers it is a time of ( temporary ) tribulation ( John 16:3. Rev.14:13). We enjoy some pauses,respite, from the labour ; these we call ' rests ' but we know that we shall soon have to resume the fight. Paul, when he came to die ( 2 Tim.4), described his life as ' a good fight '. The truth, ' the faith ', must be kept and defended, as Paul did.

" Man's life is appointed by God, his days are determined, his months are with God, who has appointed his bounds which he cannot pass ( 14:5,14). During that time we have work to do, not only as labourers but as soldiers also. Our armour does not come off until our victory is complete. It cannot be supposed that God has sent us into the world merely to please and gratify ourselves, like the Rich Fool ! "  ( Charles Simeon)

Each of us has our own personal battle in life ; we have many of the same foes, but our weaknesses and temptations are personal. If we fail to reckon with Satan, a rebellious world and a deceitful heart with indwelling sin, then we shall not understand the truth of the Christian life, nor the difficulties of it, nor the strength which God supplies." Held, we fall to rise; are baffled, to fight better ; fall, to rise again." ( Robert Browning )

MARCH 10 

" Wearisome nights are appointed to me."  Job 7:3.

Insomnia ! ' tossing to and fro until dawn " ( vs.4). Fleeting minutes of sleep were interrupted by fearful dreams ( vs.13,14). His body was lifeless, but his mind was restless. He had slipped into depression. In ' flashbacks ' he remembered the old days, the days that hurt him. He did not look forward to the nights ; there are few distractions from our painful thoughts then. Moreover, with no proper sleep, there could be no improvement in his mental state ( John 11 :12). The day makes him look forward to the night, and the night makes him look forward to the day ( vs.13,14, 4), but there is no relief in either ! The night and the day move along slowly, and, because of the disease, when he moves in sleep he feels pain also. During the night he would wonder what he had done to receive such suffering ( vs.24) ; this is natural. He would pray to bear it till the end of life here ; acceptance does make our suffering more bearable, but it does not rid us of the pain. God does, throughout the Bible, encourage us to ' wait '. He will wait beside us through the nights, for ' He slumbers not nor sleeps.' ( Ps.121).

' How little soon will seem my heart of sorrow ;

  How fleeting is our present state ;

  Could we see all from Heaven's bright tomorrow,

  Ah, how easy it would be for us to wait."  ( Anon.)

MARCH 11

" My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope." Job 7:6.

This is another day of pessimism for Job ( which resurfaces in 9:25.10:20. 16:22. 17:1), but he comforts himself by thinking of the brevity of life. He shall 

' see no more good ' here, but his faith still glimpses that ' better country ' beyond such things as ' days '. James also speaks of the brevity of life, and also with anticipation of something better ( James 4:14).Life passes by like ripples which cannot be recalled. He experiences ' months of vanity ' ( vs.3), but it was better for Job to take his thoughts to God and not his complaints to man. How difficult it is to glorify God when you are in pain ! 

Our days go by as the wind ( vs.7), as a glance of the eye ( vs.8). They are as the cloud which moves away and soon vanishes (vs.9). We should therefore use our time with more careful planning,the day will soon pass and not come again. Decisions need wisdom, ambitions must have clear bounds, self must be restrained. ' Beware of ambition, for by that sin the angels fell." ( Shakespeare).

We need constant reminders of eternity in order to make the best use of time. It is the heavenly minded who are of most earthly use. " This also shall pass,' was the constant response of a wise man to new crises. All things have an end, except the things that last forever, and they are all found in Christ. We must keep the last day in sight, because God does. Life is brief, but it is long enough to prepare for the next one.

MARCH 12

" The eye of him that sees me shall see me no more." Job 7:8.

We see him one day and then he is gone the next. But others shall see ourselves in that same way too ; we easily forget this, that we are mortal also 

( Ps.103:16). The dead do not return to their houses, they disappear like clouds ( vs.9), and appear beyond this world, beyond our vision. They are forgotten here as the decades go by ; the few people who still remember them are soon gone themselves. At the funerals of the elderly there are few present who knew them ; many of their  contemporaries have now moved on from this world. The grave would cover Job from the eyes of others, but God would still see him ( contrary to his mistaken desire vs.19).

Graceless people are reluctant to go out of their earthly tabernacles ( 2 Peter. 1:14) ) because they know they shall return no more. having their hopes in this life only, they must look upon themselves as most miserable." (John Trapp) But Job would be happy to leave the world ( vs.16). Indeed, he could not be perfectly happy until he left this world behind ( Philipp.1:23). We were made for this world, but after sin entered it, we had to be re-made for another world. Thus we become pilgrims, we cannot settle down here, nor will God allow us to. Yet the temptation to cling to this world comes to us all, and, alas, successfully to many, like Demas ( 2 Tim.4)

MARCH 13

" Thou hast set a watch over me."  Job 7:12.

This statement can either be a reason for comfort or terror, depending on our attitude to God. ( Pilgrim's Progress tells of a man who had nightmares about a giant eye). Job may be suggesting that God had set him up as a target for the arrows of  affliction ( vs.7) ; he knew that nothing happened by chance. He feels threatened by God's constant scrutiny of him and asks that he look away ( vs. 19), to leave him alone ( vs.16). He knows his own imperfections, and the awareness of God's holy presence was too much for him to bear. None of us on earth can bear being near to God without some trembling ( Luke 5:7. Rev.1:17), yet,like Job, there are still outbursts of faith ( 13:15. 19:25). It is only a man or woman without faith who has no ' fear of the Lord.'

Job felt he was being singled out for severe suffering ( and in one sense he was right ). " But our fretting under the afflictions He appoints for us shows that we are thinking that there is no reason for them. Whereas, if we are in heaviness, there is a need for it ,in the sight of God. 1 Peter 1:6. 2:21." ( J.Caryl ) It is common for believers in distress, like Job, to misinterpret God's constant ' surveillance ' of them, as if it were a threat and not a protection ( cf.Psalm 121).At one point Jacob said, " All these things are against me," (Gen.42:36 ) or David, " I am only a few steps from death. " ( 1 Samuel 20:3) - but both judged and spoke too soon. And are we not like them ? Let us not judge the end until we get to it.

MARCH 14.

" I would not live [here] always."  Job 7:16.

God will keep us in this world as long as is necessary for his glory and our good. " Pain and suffering sap our strength, make life appear long and death desirable. but the language is suitable for us. For if we were to live here longer, we would sin daily, mourn daily and always be in a state of ' tribulation' until the end comes. But while we are here, let us live for good purpose, let us live while we live.Let us live upon Christ and for Christ. " ( J.Smith ) The church, and every member in it has her duties while she waits here ; they are all written out in the Word of God - the doctrines, the worship, the practice. The church which Christ builds will do as He says, and not what they think.There is a 'desire to depart ', as Paul had, but it is for a positive reason, and not just to get away from it all. Heaven would not be heaven without Christ there." When we think of nothing but our present condition, overwhelmed by our misery, we can be tempted to feel resentment for our treatment here. Nothing can give us any comfort but the knowledge that in the midst of our misery God still loves us and will have pity upon us at the end " ( James 5:11 ). ( Calvin)

" The days of the best are so full of evil, both of sin and pain, that it is good they do not have more days ! " ( J.Trapp ) ' Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof,' said the Lord, but He also said, ' My grace is sufficient " for the days.

MARCH 15

" What is man...that Thou should visit him every morning ?  "   Job 7:17,18.

God visits us each day ( as Psalm 8 repeats), but in two senses. It may be for affliction, it may be for care. Job evidently thought it was the former, David for the latter. But why not both for Job ? Certainly, affliction came upon him ( and not by chance cf. chapters 1 and 2 ), but God did not lessen His immutable care for Job. God may visit us for other reasons ; for education, lessons by our experiences. He is always working in his world ; in goodness, and in goodness and mercy ( the latter is the saving combination, Psalm 23).

" God has a plan for using Job's own suffering in Job's own life...and also to use Job's suffering to answer Satan in the eyes of the whole universe, to prove Satan wrong in his philosophy of life. " ( Ray Stedman ). God is going to deepen Job's understanding of certain truths ; truths which he knows already but he is now being taken more deeply into them. He will grow in theology and in sympathy, as Paul also experienced through his sufferings ( 2 Corinth.1:3-10). Some truths can only be learned through suffering.Job would prove that the ' prosperity theology ' of his friends was shallow and lacking in spiritual discernment. God visited Job for a purpose ;He knew what He was doing with him. Job struggled to make sense of it, but did not deny God's rights and sovereignty. Our suffering may not be caused by sin, but we also must guard against our suffering causing us to sin.

MARCH 16

" I am a burden to myself. "  Job 7:20.

Job " is locked up in himself." ( Calvin) How he would like to be other than he is ! But he must carry the same burden about each day - himself. This burden disturbed his thoughts and took away the spiritual enjoyment and the sweetness of his communion with God. His consciousness was a demanding mixture of pity, anger, disappointment, prayer, self-defence ; a maelstrom of suffering. And his capacity for different kinds of suffering experienced in a single person was strained to the limit. Like Augustine, he prayed to be delivered from himself. It was a burden he could not unload and it weighed him down in everything he did, every day. Job could not talk of progress, his thoughts concentrated on his survival. And what new suffering would arrive tomorrow ?Life had become a burden, he did not look forward to the new day. Sleep , when it came, was a ' welcome oblivion.'  " These ( negative ) expressions of Job are recorded, not for our imitation, but to show us what human nature is. He was a good man, but not a perfect one. " ( A.Barnes) His reality was a painful experience, he was living among thorns ( Song of Sol.2:2 ) ; whichever way he turned, it was in pain. A mind living in darkness all the time gives no joy. He had a ' seasonal affective disorder ' ; but it was a spiritual season of darkness, and not only a natural one. But seasons have an order, and shall pass.

 "  A wounded spirit, who can bear ? " Only God. Therefore cast thy burden, and thyself with it, upon the Lord. ( Ps.55:22)

MARCH 17

" I have sinned - what shall I do to Thee, thou Preserver of men ?  ' Job 7:20

" God is without passions, immutable." ( Westminster Confession of Faith ch.2). Job asserts that his sin does not affect the Essence of God ( ch.35:6) ; God is eternally and immutably happy ( 1 Tm.1:11). But sin does affect our relationship to His moral government, it is ' transgression of the law.' For a (limited ) example, think of a judge - he passes sentence on our crime, but this decision does not affect His own private life. There is nothing we can do to add to God or subtract from God ( Ps.16:2). He laughs at rebellion on earth ( Ps.2:4), but He has also decreed to punish it ( Ps.2:12). 

While it is proper to say daily,' I have sinned ', this confession is not always genuine ( Pharaoh, Baalam, Judas all said it ). But Job ( and David and the prodigal son) all meant it, felt it. While conviction of sin, on its own, never saved anyone, it is an essential part of repentance. And repentance itself is always accompanied by a faith which looks to Christ crucified for pardon through the blood.

God is the Preserver of all, He keeps all alive, but some are eternally alive in Christ ( 1 Tim.4:10. Ps.17:8. Ps.31:23) We must not think that sin is trivial. The Bible is clear that sin deserves eternal punishment. If we look at the cross we shall see what sin deserves, for Christ suffered what His people deserved to suffer. " There is no injustice in giving sinners what they deserve." ( Thomas Watson ) But the Gospel message is also about grace, about what sinners do not deserve ( Ps.103:10).

MARCH 18

" Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be ( here ). " Job 7:21

Job feels that he is about to die, and when anyone comes to visit him tomorrow, they shall not find him in this world ( Ps.103:16). Sometimes a person is told by a consultant that they have six months to live, but they actually have no guarantee that they shall still be alive here even tomorrow ! ( James 4:14,15). Satan was working to exhaust Job so that he would just lie down and die ( vs. 21) ; but he was preserved by God's strength ( Ps.84:7). He feels guilt but not despair, is speechless but still praying inside. He is still looking for the comforts ( vs.7,8) which are attached to forgiveness ( Matt.9:2). However, we must remember that we are not saved by ' assurance ' ; it is not of the essence of faith.

" Job's suffering is presented to us, so that we will ask God not to leave us as we are, else we would find ourselves lost in the depths." ( Calvin) " When hardships lie upon us they shall strain much infirmity out of the best, weakness they had not previously detected in themselves is now seen. Also, much grace will be revealed in us which we had not detected before. Job's faith would never have shined so brightly if his trial had not been so severe." ( James Durham) Job's faith struggled against ' sight ' ( 2 Corinth.5:17), but he was not abandoned by God, as he feared, and never could be. God had joined him to Christ, and no power could 'put asunder ' this eternal union. Hiis deliverance was only a matter of time.

MARCH 19

" Does the Almighty pervert justice ? "   Job 8:3.

Bildad was ignorant of God's words in heaven ( chs.1&2), and this is why he emphasises that God works only by a kind of moral action-reaction system  alone. ie. if you are ' pure and upright ' (vs.6) God will reward you and if not, God will punish you. Everyone naturally thinks this way. As John Owen said, ' The conscience requires to be taught concerning grace ', because it only knows morality by nature. By rejecting Bildad's ' prosperity theology ' he was thought to be criticising God's justice. " Bildad the brutal " also makes a nasty inference regarding Job's children ( vs.4). But if you take away the works of the law from Bildad's theology, he has nothing left ; his whole system collapses. This is why Paul was attacked by the Pharisaic party in the visible church, because his teaching was opposed to legalism ( Rom.3:20ff). These opposers become very angry when you tell them that they are sinners too ! No one is sinless, all have broken the Law; indeed all are born lawbreakers ( Ps.51:4,5. Rom.3:23).

Job believed that God had more attributes than justice and wrath. Bildad did not believe that God could show mercy to sinners - unless they were ' good sinners' ! But Job believed in a Redeemer, a Mediator who could bring God and the sinner together in peace. Bildad believed that if God did not punish sin His justice would be compromised, but God did punish sin, in a Surety, and His justice was satisfied. God does not punish the sins of believers twice - that would be unjust ! ( Heb.9:24-28. Rom.3:24-26). we must not allow the Bildads to take away the comforts of the Gospel.

MARCH 20

" If...If...If... "   Job 8:4,5,6.

For Bildad suffering is always a matter of justice ; you get what you deserve, there is no mystery. He has no Gospel for Job, only Law ; he would never understand the cross as he was. The Old Testament does however speak of mercy. But for Bildad and others, it was the Law that was ' good news ', good news for good people ( although God says that ' there is none good '). Bildad and his friends thought that they were defending God, it was actually Job that was defending God, against them and the devil. He was proving by bitter experience that God can be served for no reward ( ch.1:9 & 2:4). They however refused to reconsider their ' theological suppositions '. 

" A person who has no unanswered questions has no need of faith." ( D.Garrett )

" These friends never seem to refer to God for help, they never ask God to open their minds. We need to speak cautiously when we deal with the deep hurts and problems of life." ( R.Stedman)

" It is not universally true that God delivers His saints from adverse circumstances or prospers them with outward good always...thousands today still suffer. Material prosperity is not a sign of His favour, or adversity the sign of His displeasure. We must be taught to be largely independent of circumstances, and to find in God Himself the springs of unfailing supply. " ( A. Smellie)

MARCH 21

" Our days on earth are a shadow."  Job 8:9.

A similar metaphor is found in 1 Chronicles 29:15, where a shadow is a symbol of something temporary : " Our days upon earth are as a shadow." Bildad reminds Job that life is brief, too brief to acquire great knowledge and great wisdom ; wisdom being the best way to use that knowledge. This shadow follows us as we walk through this world. There is a dark side to human nature, our own and others. The light of the Holy Spirit in believers ( 2 Corinth.4:6) enables us to see some of sin's potential and movements ; we see some of the cracks in our ' earthen vessels ', but the same Light shows us Christ and His power ( vs.7) working against sin.

A shadow only lasts as long as there is light. You cannot have a shadow without light, it proves that light exists. When death comes there is no light in the eyes. The light of the day has gone, because we have exited time, days, to enter eternity ; the Lamb is the Light there, and there are no shadows. Time is like a short interlude in our eternal existence. The soul has its dark times here and we have to live through them. Soon death will cast its shadow ( Ps.23) over us, but it is only to bring the believer through the valley into the light. There is an emptiness about darkness, but in heaven we shall see clearly.

MARCH 22

" Shall they not teach thee and tell thee ? "   Job 8:10.

Bildad is referring to the teaching of their forefathers ( vs.8) and is saying, ' People believe as I do.' The Bible has much to say, by warning, about human traditions, handed down from generation to generation, but without Divine approval ( cf. Matt. chs. 5,6,7 and 23 ). Their words ' come out of their own hearts ' ( vs.10). Some do agree with Scripture, but they have changed  the meaning and practice of scripture ( cf. sermon on the Mount). Bildad is saying that Job's view of God receives no support from others in his generation, and implies that his punishment continues because he refuses to ' recant.' His argument is to encourage Job to agree with them and thus receive God's blessing. However, chs.1,2 and 42 confirm that it was they who had ' not spoken rightly ' about God, not Job. It is notable that none of them prayed for understanding ;they thought the matter was closed by the opinions of previous generations. But, as Cromwell said to someone, " Have you considered sir, that you may be mistaken ? "

Job did the right thing ; he went to God with his sufferings, his best Friend. He saw that the wisdom of past generations could not help him, but God could. It was God's words he wanted, not man's. Each individual suffering is in some way unique ; one kind of remedy does not fit all. Their proposed remedies for his mental condition did not work - only God could understand his thinking. God made no answer, but He still understood.

MARCH 23

" The paths of all that forget God."  Job 8:13.

The unbeliever, like Cain ( Gen.4:16 .Jude 11 ) does take a path through this world, but not a safe path(  Ps.9:17. 2:11), not a path of life ( Ps.16:11), although many of them do know it. Many do not go to hell by ignorance, but by neglect, because they are not empowered by willingness to go to heaven ( John 5:39,40. Ps.110:3). Each path leads to a destination, infallibly so ( Matt.7 ). Bildad was religious, but was following in the path of the law ( which path Adam's sin closed forever, it is a dead end), not grace. There is such a thing as ' godless prosperity ' but it does not endure ; it will fall as a house in the storm , a house which has no solid foundation ( Matt.7)." They who forget God are like the paper-reed ( vs.11,12). They seem to flourish but they have nothing firm or substantial...So it will be with the wicked, though apparently prosperous." ( A.Barnes ) " To forget God is a heinous sin and the cause of all other sins. Which of the two is the greater wonder - that God should mind us at all, or that we should be mindful of God ?...Neither grace nor comfort can exist but in fellowship with Christ, the Fountain of life." ( J.Caryl)

How do I know all shall be well in the end ? - which path am I on, who am I following, and how ?

MARCH 24

" The hypocrite's hope shall perish...whose trust shall be a spider's web." Job 8:13,14.

Amidst all their ' pious ignorance', Job's friends did utter several truths and this is one of them. It is said twice because sinners are reluctant to believe it and take heed. A false hope can take a person almost to the gates of heaven ; not far from, but not inside ( cf Ignorance in Pilgrim's Progress ). The spider's web may look strong but, like the sinner's hope, it is weak, because it comes from himself, and not from Christ (Rev.18:7). What are such deluded people leaning on (vs.15) ? Whatever it is, it is not Christ ( Song of Sol.8:5). Some have the ' faith of assent ' ; they simply agree with the truth, but it has no saving effect on them ( James 2;19). There is no self-examination by the Word ( 2 Corinth.13:5), they are self-satisfied. 

But only one group in the four groups who heard the Word were saved, and that is still true today ( Matt.13). Many have a hope, but on what ground ; do they have Biblical reasons for their hope  ?( 1 Peter 3:15). The hypocrite is careful to avoid public sin, but not private. What is our motive in avoiding sin ?  " What is your motive ? The thing that keeps you from sin may now be worse than the desire which drew you to it in the first place. Was it God or man, God or pride, God or your reputation which motivated you to change ? If anything but God prevailed with you, then ' hypocrite ' is the name which fits you, more than it did before. Maybe you have laid down that sin - good, but why ? " ( William Gurnall) Gurnall indeed shows the subtlety of the human soul, but fear of harm can keep you away from snakes as well as love for health. Those who bear gunpowder in the heart, as we do, are rightly afraid of going near matches. And ' the burned child dreads the fire.'

MARCH 25

" God will not cast away a perfect man."  Job 8:20

Bildad still believes that some of themselves are ' perfect ', sinless, but the meaning of the word is ' upright ' ; which is the character of the justified by faith in the Redeemer ( Ps.37:37). They pervert Job's words ( vs.20), who had made no claim to being sinless. Jesus never taught that sinless people would be acquitted by God ( why would they need to be ? ), only sinners. The upright man does not rely on his works for his joy ( vs.19). He is not like the spider, who relies on his own resources and diligence ( vs.14). 

Sin does have consequences in lives; some consequences are overruled, some you have to live with. But great suffering does not necessarily come for some specific sin ( John 9:1-3), as even some of the disciples thought. By their wrong beliefs,Bildad and his friends were actually taking away their own hope, for if we are left to the Law alone, none shall stand in the Judgement ( Ps.130). There is no mercy in the law ( Heb.10:28) - our own sins would be the witnesses for our condemnation. Only one Person kept the Law perfectly, and He did it for others. Bildad asserts that " humankind is sharply differentiated into ' innocent people ' and. 'evildoers ' ...and each group gets its just deserts." ( D.Cline ) But the human race is not divided eternally by works, but by Christ, by the middle cross.

MARCH 26

" How should man be just with God ? "    Job 9:1.

Job moves on to focus on the justice of God, which, on its own, can be used to terrify everyone. They are condemning Job in order to establish their own righteousness. But in comparison with the perfection, the innocence, which God demands, ' there is none just ..' (Rom.3:10-20). A man cannot say that he has kept God's law, this would be to deny that he is a sinner. He is therefore unjust, unrighteous, unholy, and cannot change his state by his own efforts. Some think they are justified by their keeping of the Law, but they have lessened the perfect demands of the law in order to come to this way of thinking. 

On the other hand, some say that a man was never able to love and obey God perfectly. but Adam was able to do this ! However, Adam sinned away his righteousness and now sin is a hereditary and fatal disease ( 1 Samuel 2:25). Now, because of this Fall, we cannot be just in ourselves, but it is possible to be just in Christ. We must be justified by an 'imputed righteousness ' ie. be joined to Christ's righteousness by faith and not by our own works. This is the Gospel message ( Rom.3:21 ff. )In God's court we cannot prevail if we assert our own goodness. " One defect makes a sinner, but many good actions cannot make us righteous." ( J.Trapp)

And yet we cannot go to heaven unless we are righteous. We cannot be just , but we can be justified through faith in Christ, trusting in His righteousness to cover us ( it is not infused ). Forgiveness and acquittal will follow if we believe in Him and not in ourselves.

MARCH 27

" If he will contend with Him, he cannot answer Him."  Job 9:3.

Noone can contradict God and prosper. God is always true ( Rom.3:4). No one can argue with him and win. " Man must acknowledge the justice of His judgements. " ( J.Trapp) The Bible refers critics of God's sovereignty to the example of the potter's power over the clay ( eg. Rom.9 ). He has the right to do what He wills with his own creatures ( Matt.20:15). God cannot be held to account ( Ps.51:4). Many want to humanise God,conform him to our way of thinking, but Job acknowledges that he does not have the wisdom and the words to answer God ; Job is only a man.

Job points to the earthquakes and the star constellations ( vs.6-9)  as evidences of His power. Questioning God will not change Him. He can also take away anything and anybody (vs.12) whenever He wills, irresistibly. Why should God listen to us ? Do we know better than He does ? Faith has a constant mental fight to maintain that God is in control ; faith must interpret Providence and cleave to God despite Providence. Many at the time of Jeremiah, and today, turned away from God because of disasters in their world. Jeremiah, like Job, sat in the dust. But, Like Spurgeon during the Downgrade controversy, each could say, " I will believe what God says about Himself even if I have to believe it alone ! " Often we cannot answer God, but by grace we can trust Him - and that is what matters. [ NB. in chapters 38-41 God asked Job 77 questions, and he couldn't answer one of them.]

MARCH 28

" Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered ? "  Job 9:4.

Hardened hearts oppose God ( Jude 15) and, although they may seem to prosper for a while, yet in the end they shall meet destruction ( Prov.29:1). God cannot and does not bless disobedience. In Exodus 4:21.7:13. & 8:15 we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart and also that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. How does this latter happen ? It is by God using a man's own sin against him, removing restraints so that he will himself decide to go down the path of destruction, deceived by the assurance he has of the rightness of his own choice.  '' There is a way that seems right to a man, but ..."  the end of it is death. ( Prov.14:12, repeated in 16:25). If there is no self examination according to the Word of the Lord ( eg. as it came to Pharaoh ) there can be no repentance ; perhaps sorrow at the consequences of disobedience, but no praying against the root of it.

There are still religious people who complain in their hearts about God's ways and words ( Malachi 3:13. John 6:60,66), and when the heart turns away the legs will follow the heart. The believer who is suffering like Job struggles on, to keep believing that God's love is behind his suffering, that the sun shines above the clouds. He is also afraid that murmuring will make things worse, and prays to be kept in the heart, for it is " out of the heart " that all comes. Hence the exhortation in Hebrews 12:4-13. " None can successfully resist God ; and the true policy of man, as well as his duty, is to yield to Him and be at peace with Him." ( A.Barnes)

MARCH 29

" Lo, He goes by me and I see Him not."  Job 9:11.

" As He is powerful in His deeds, so He is secret in His plans ; everywhere present but not perceived." ( J.Trapp) " The image is that of a howling wind (Isaiah 21:1) ; so God is felt in the awful effects of His wrath, but is not seen( John 3:8). Therefore, reasons Job, it is impossible to contend with Him." 

( R.Jamieson)

Bildad and his friends have profound difficulty in accepting that God is essentially  incomprehensible to us. Job can no longer see (sense ) God and is afraid that he has alienated God and that God has withdrawn from him. This happened to Asaph too ( Ps.77;3,9). Job acknowledges that it is God with whom He is dealing, but he cannot get close to Him either to  ask or receive understanding of his reasons for treating Job in this extraordinary manner.

" God's hiddenness gives Job no comfort...he cannot turn to Him and speak face to Face, as he would to a friend. " ( D.Garrett). The invisibility of God also implies danger. One never knows where He is or what He will do. He can suddenly come and strike a man down, as He did to Job. God is transcendent, and therefore we need a Mediator, someone to bring us together, and in peace.

Job now knew what it is to follow the Lord by faith alone, faith stripped of all its comforts. This condition can come to any of us, and it is good to know we are not alone in this experience. ( cf. Thomas Goodwin's sermon on Isaiah 50:10)

MARCH 30

" Who will say to Him, What doest Thou ? "  Job 9:19,20.

Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9 (vs.20,21). " Let none presume to ask Him what He has done, to question His right to do it, or to question His righteousness in doing it. " ( J.Trapp ) Job will not do so ( vs.14) ; no power or prayer can deflect God from His intention, His course of action. However, if God has revealed His purpose, or given a promise - this is to be prayed for. No one can force God to explain Himself, and we are not not at death summoned to appear in a human court, but in His court.

Paul, in Romans 9, had to deal with critics of God, who thought that it was unfair for Him to lift his wrath from some, but not from others (vs.13 and cf. John 3:36). Such forget that no one deserves to be saved ( Ephes.2:1-8). " We are all in the hand of God as the clay is in the Potter's hand.. This is humbling to the pride of man, and yet nothing can be more self-evidently true." ( Robert Haldane) God reminds Israel of this ( Jerem.18:6 ) and us.

The meaning of our suffering will not be explained until we get to heaven...if at all. Meanwhile, and it is difficult, we must remember that frustration can only make our suffering worse, not better. Let us pray, and do what we can do, not what we can't do. It is only God who can do ' what is impossible for man ' - and so we may always hope.

MARCH 31

" I would make supplication to my Judge."  Job 9:15.

Job was aware of his need of reconciliation, ( which has been accomplished) and now he is aware of his need to be renewed in his nearness to God, and in his strength to bear His ' absence.' Job speaks rightly of ' supplication ', and not about demanding our rights or claims upon God.God is not under any obligation to any sinner. But he will carry out the promises made to His Son in eternity, in the Covenant of Grace, to save sinners, to bring them through this world into the next. This is why we need a ' saving interest ' in Christ. The supplication is for mercy and this prayer is a work of the Holy Spirit within us ( Zech.12:10). 

" Conscience and evidence tell us that we have violated His laws, and that we have no claim to His mercy." ( A.Barnes) We apply because we know His character ( Exodus 34:6).

The attitude of the suppliant is " of lowly humility before the Eternal and the Almighty. It involves an attitude of self-distrust, and therefore Job casts himself into the arms of God. He has repentance and patience. Patience is the pathway to heaven's gate. He who walks lowly walks surely. To make supplication is the attitude of prayer. He is led to the feet of him who casts away no poor and needy suppliant. " ( R.Green) Job is aware there is only one Judge that matters ( Heb.12:23 ). An honest conscience is so important for our eternal security, and when convicted will always plead for mercy in God's court. And if it is mercy through Christ alone, the Divine verdict will always be acquittal ( Ps.109:21,22,31), no condemnation , not now, not ever ( Rom.8;1).