Job recalled the past when he was well respected for his integrity, righteousness and wisdom. He shared that he used to help the poor (29:12), the fatherless and widows (29:130); he was eyes to the blind, father to the needy (29:15-16). We note the verse in James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and spotless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”. Job certainly fulfilled the first part of this verse; his godliness was practical and he ministered to the poor, the marginalised and the needy. He was one whose religion was pure and spotless in this regard. It was not just words but deeds. He was one who was looked up to when there was a need for wise counsel; he took pains to minister justice and dealt with wicked individuals. Job even defended the strangers in administering justice and he comforted the mourners (29:16, 25).
But Job’s godliness was not just seen in the external words and deeds; he also fulfilled the second part of the verse in James. He kept himself unpolluted by the world. His was a righteousness and godliness manifested in the inner being; Job’s integrity and blamelessness were demonstrated inwardly. He was careful not to let lust affect him in his heart when he looked at a girl; Job ensured that there was no falsehood in his business dealings and no unfair treatment of his employees. He did not allow wealth to corrupt him and prevent him from helping those in need; he refrained from idol worship of the sun or the moon and he even dealt kindly with his enemies. We see some of these exhortations in the Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter five, and Job kept the spirit of these teachings essentially in his heart. It is no wonder that God regarded Job highly and asked, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8).
Notice that by fearing God and shunning evil, Job fulfilled the definition of wisdom from the biblical point of view. More than that, Job even took oaths about his uprightness and was prepared to suffer repercussions should these claims be untrue. This shows the sincerity and reality in the inner being of this godly man. It was not just empty claims; Job was prepared to back up his claims with oaths (Job 31:7,16-23).
Here we are reminded that there is a great difference between external religiosity and fear of God in the heart. The legalists are those who take pains to demonstrate religiosity outwardly and they are quick to condemn others who do not fulfil their understanding of what it means to be godly in “keeping the moral rules”. Others looking at them may even consider them to be spiritual without seeing the reality within. An interesting fable may illustrate this.
“There is a fable wherein the devil once was crossing the Libyan desert and met a group of friends tempting a holy hermit. They tried seductions of the flesh, they sought to sow his mind with doubts and fears, they told him that all his discipline and uncompromising righteousness were worth nothing. But it was all in vain. The holy man was unmoved. The devil then stepped forward. ‘Your methods are too crude. Permit me one moment to make a recommendation’. Going to the hermit, he said, ‘Have you heard the news? Your brother has been made Bishop of Alexandria.’ ”
According to the fable, “a scowl of malignant jealousy clouded the serene face of the holy man”.
Job did not claim to be perfect but he certainly was a unique and outstanding individual, even in the eyes of God. God had confidence in such a man to face the test of the Accuser and Job did not fail Him.
Job had shared the degree of his fall from grace and the level of his sufferings, which were physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual. He lost the blessings of family and home (29:3-6); he lost the respect of young and old (29:7-11) and people no longer looked up to him as a wise counsellor (29:21).
He now was the target of mocking, spitting and ridicule even from the vagabonds and downtrodden of society. They detested him and kept their distance from him (30:1). His body was infested with sores and he had no rest but experienced grievous pain and fever, his cry to God received no answer (30:15-20).
The gospels tell the real story of God becoming man in Jesus Christ. He, the long awaited messiah, was God’s plan to defeat evil, death and the power of sin once and for all. He was sinless and innocent; He took upon Himself the task to become a man, a servant, and a representative of the human race to die on its behalf for their sins.
The gospels tell us a story of the downward spiral of evil, which finally hit the bottom and resulted in the crucifixion of this God-man who came to declare the coming of the kingdom of God. We see evil in all its forms coming together: the corrupt political power manifested by Rome, Pilate and Herod; the jealousy and blindness of the Jewish spiritual leaders; the corruption within the nation of Israel itself as they cried out “Crucify him”; the betrayal of Judas Iscariot and the desertion of the disciples; the false accusations of many witnesses; the violence of the whipping and crucifixion; and its humiliation with the Son of God being mocked, stripped naked and publicly displayed. The forces of evil were given a free reign and operated within all the human elements described above. Evil was allowed to do its worst; what was seen as seemingly the greatest victory for Satan was and is in fact his greatest defeat. All of evil and its power was exhausted at the cross when Jesus voluntarily and willingly took the sins of the world upon His shoulders and paid the price for it. The words of Joseph to his brothers from long before pointed to this reality, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).
When Jesus suffered, He did not curse, and when He was insulted, He did not insult in return (1 Peter 2: 23). All the cosmic evil was met by the sovereign saving love of God the creator in His Son at the cross. Evil was fully and completely dealt with; death has lost its sting; sin has lost its power; the penalty of sin has been fully paid. Those in bondage have been released and the presence of sin will be completely wiped out. The gospels tell the real story of the extent of the sufferings of the perfect man who embraced the will of God. He did this because of His love for men and for the glory of God the Father. He knew the agony that awaited Him at Calvary; He could have come down from the cross; His cry of “My God, my God why have you forsaken Me?’ was not one of complaint or doubt; it was an agonising cry of having to be ‘separated’ from the eternal Father with whom He has fellowship from all eternity for that moment when all the evil was unleashed on Him and He carried the filth, the darkness and gruesome sins of the human race upon Himself. Yet, He did not flinch until He could say, “It is finished”, fulfilling His statement at the garden, “Not my will but your will be done”.
Job’s sufferings must surely remind us of the sufferings of the Son of Man. We cannot say that God did not care for the sufferings of the righteous. It was not that God was far off. He empathises with us; He intercedes for us; He suffers with us. God was not and is not passive. The cross is the testimony that He did deal with evil and sufferings; it is the testimony of His undying love for us; It is a demonstration that God so loves the world that He has sent His one and only beloved Son to die for us, even to eliminate evil and sufferings once for all. The kingdom of God has come; it is coming and it will come in all its fullness and beauty when the Son comes again.