April 12, 2024

God Is Above It All

Job 25

Emily Hope
Friday's Devo

April 12, 2024

Friday's Devo

April 12, 2024

Friday's Devo

April 12, 2024

Friday's Devo

April 12, 2024

Big Book Idea

God is at work even when we can't see it.

Key Verse | Job 25:2

"Dominion and fear are with God;
he makes peace in his high heaven."

Job 25

Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2  “Dominion and fear are with God; 1 25:2 Hebrew him
    he makes peace in his high heaven.
3  Is there any number to his armies?
    Upon whom does his light not arise?
4  How then can man be in the right before God?
    How can he who is born of woman be pure?
5  Behold, even the moon is not bright,
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
6  how much less man, who is a maggot,
    and the son of man, who is a worm!”

Footnotes

[1] 25:2 Hebrew him
Table of Contents
Introduction to Job

Introduction to Job

Timeline

Author and Date

The unknown Israelite author of this book presents Job as a person living in Uz (see note on 1:1). Job’s godliness (1:1) matches the ideals of Israelite wisdom literature. He clearly knows Yahweh (1:21). The events of the book seem to be set in the times of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Theological Themes

The book of Job concerns itself with the question of faith in a sovereign God. Can God be trusted? Is he good and just in his rule of the world? The book shows that the reasons for human suffering often remain a secret to human beings.

In the book of Job, God seems both too close and too far away. On the one hand, Job complains that God is watching him every moment so that he cannot even swallow his spit (7:19). On the other hand, Job finds God elusive (9:11). Though God is greatly concerned about humans, he does not always answer their most agonizing questions.

At the same time, Job’s friends offer no real help. They come to “comfort” him (2:11), but Job ends up declaring them “miserable comforters” who would console him “with empty nothings” (21:34). These friends represent an oversimplified view of faith. They think that all human troubles are divine punishments for wrongdoing. Their “comfort” consists largely of urging Job to identify his sin and repent of it. These friends are negative examples of how to comfort those who are suffering.

The book illustrates that one does not need to fully understand God’s will in order to be faithful while suffering. Those who suffer need not be afraid to express to God their confusion and questions.

Purpose

The book of Job was written to those who struggle with the question of how God can be good when the world is filled with suffering.

The author does not provide a formal defense of God’s justice. Rather, as Job’s friends offer their inadequate answers, the author shows how their reasoning fails. Then, in chs. 38–41, the Lord speaks in his own defense, bringing Job to fuller understanding (ch. 42).

Even during his suffering and confusion, before God finally speaks, Job can triumphantly declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (19:25).

Outline

  1. Prologue: Job’s Character and the Circumstances of His Test (1:1–2:13)
  2. Dialogue: Job, His Suffering, and His Standing before God (3:1–42:6)
    1. Job: despair for the day of his birth (3:1–26)
    2. The friends and Job: can Job be right before God? (4:1–25:6)
      1. First cycle (4:1–14:22)
      2. Second cycle (15:1–21:34)
      3. Third cycle (22:1–25:6)
    3. Job: the power of God, place of wisdom, and path of integrity (26:1–31:40)
    4. Elihu: suffering as a discipline (32:1–37:24)
    5. Challenge: the Lord answers Job (38:1–42:6)
  3. Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job (42:7–17)
The Global Message of Job

The Global Message of Job

Universal Questions

With its story of one man’s life and suffering, the book of Job raises universal questions. Why do people suffer, especially godly people? Where is God in suffering? Can God be trusted amid suffering? Job’s friends try to answer such questions with superficial and simplistic solutions, eventually earning God’s rebuke (Job 42:7–9).

Ultimately we learn from Job that we can hope steadfastly in our sovereign God. Instead of providing easy answers to hard questions, this incomparably glorious, all-knowing, and almighty God presents to people in all places and in all times the simplest, most powerful, and most universal answer to these questions. God’s answer to human suffering has everything to do with his own infinite goodness and care for his creation.

Suffering in a Fallen World

In the life of Job we see the breadth and depth of human suffering. We see suffering in health (Job 2:7), suffering in the loss of property (1:14–17), and suffering in the tragic death of family members (1:18–19). In Job we also listen in on a discussion in the heavenly courtroom between God and Satan (1:6–12; 2:1–7), in which God delights in the upright life of Job. There we are given a window into the normally invisible reasons for our trials and suffering.

Sin and suffering. Suffering is universal, though the kind of suffering differs from circumstance to circumstance. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin. There is no such thing as sin without consequences. Sometimes God himself directly chastises his people for their sins. However, Job’s friends are wrong to assume that his suffering is a direct result of disobedience (Job 8:4), and it would likewise be wrong to conclude that all or even most suffering in the world today is divine punishment for specific sins. The speeches of Eliphaz (chs. 4; 5; 15; 22), Bildad (chs. 8; 18; 25), and Zophar (chs. 11; 20) reflect such wrong assumptions.

Common suffering. Another type of suffering is what we might call “common suffering.” This is suffering that affects all people without distinction. It is simply the result of living in a fallen world. It includes health problems from colds to cancer. It includes bad weather, earthquakes, and typhoons. It includes financial struggles, and even death itself. Each tragic incident in Job’s life includes an element of this common suffering.

Godliness and suffering. Not only are godly people afflicted with suffering just as others are, but the godly experience some kinds of suffering due specifically to their godliness (Matt. 10:24–33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). Faithfulness to Christ will bring insult and at times persecution—suffering that could be avoided if we were not disciples of Christ. We see this principle in Job, for it was precisely Job’s uprightness that prompted God to single him out to Satan and then led Satan to seek to afflict him (Job 1:8–12).

Devastating suffering. Job’s suffering is uniquely profound and painful. Some suffering, we learn, defies any category. We discover in Job that Satan has a hand in some of the suffering of God’s people (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; compare 2 Cor. 12:1–10). But even such demonically instigated suffering is not outside of God’s sovereignty. Nor should our focus be on Satan when we suffer but rather on persisting in steadfast faith amid such God-ordained pain. At the very least a lesson to be learned from Job is that our vision and insight into suffering is severely limited. What is not limited, however, is God’s perfect understanding and sovereign control over every event in our lives. In the “Yahweh speeches” of Job (chs. 38–41), God does not engage Job in the details of his questions and complaints. Rather, God reminds Job that God is God and Job is not. God laid the foundation of the earth (38:4); he is God over the seas (38:8, 16), over the stars (38:31–33), and over every creature (39:1–30; 40:15–41:34).

A Global Message of Comfort and Hope

The almighty, all-good God. Despite its focus on challenges and sufferings, the book of Job speaks a message of great hope to the world. We live in a world longing for comfort and hope, and such hope is found in the sovereign God who sees, who is good, and who is faithful. We are not victims of random fate or uncontrolled circumstances. We are loved faithfully and passionately by a sovereign God who works all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). The suffering global church can take comfort amid suffering, knowing that God is pleased with our faithfulness to him, even as God expressed delight in “my servant Job” (Job 1:6–8; 2:3). James 5:11 reminds us that God will fulfill his good purposes and is indeed compassionate and merciful toward his people.

No neat formulas. Living an upright life of faith in God does not exempt us from suffering. This was the fundamental misunderstanding of Job’s friends (Job 8:6) and the reason that their “comfort” was so “miserable” (16:2). Indeed, in Job and in all of Scripture we see that suffering is a part of the experience of godly people, and that suffering is also a means for our sanctification. Suffering is a blessing as through it we learn that God’s ways and purposes are much greater than we can know (chs. 40–41). His purposes and faithfulness are much greater than the achievement of ease and a comfortable life; the global church must not make an idol out of worldly comfort and earthly abundance.

The sufferings of the Savior. Job confessed faith in the living Redeemer (Job 19:25). That Redeemer would one day come and suffer for us on a cross. Here we have yet another kind of suffering, the atoning sufferings of Christ. He suffered for our salvation, bearing the penalty for our sin. It is also our great privilege to share in his suffering (2 Cor. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:13). These are not the sufferings of health problems or bad weather or the consequences of our own folly. These are sufferings that flow from our union with and loyalty to Christ. There is a global attack on the righteous, but God will continue to provide sufficient grace to his people (2 Cor. 12:9).He will grow both his people and his kingdom through such suffering as it is endured in faith.

Our Intercession and Mission of Hope

Though God’s righteous anger burned against the three friends of Job, their folly was forgiven in response to the righteous intervention of Job’s prayers (Job 42:7–9). What then is the Christian response to those who suffer—and to those who cause suffering?

We are to intercede for the world, both in prayer and in life. We are to “comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). This comfort must find expression in our ministry and service to those in need both where we live as well as around the world—to orphans, widows, and all those who suffer.

This comfort is most gloriously and eternally known as the church ministers the gospel of new hope in Christ to the world—to the lost, to the downtrodden, and even to our enemies (Matt. 5:44). For the greatest suffering in this world is not the loss of property or even family; it is to be lost in sin, without the living Redeemer.

Proverbs Fact #1: Wisdom

Fact: Wisdom

Wisdom is a key term in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The word can mean “skilled at making sound decisions in life.” Proverbs 9:10 states that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Job Fact #1: Comfort

Fact: Comfort

Comfort is a key word in the book of Job. When faced with personal tragedies, Job receives no comfort from his friends (16:2). But when God answers him (see chs. 38–41), he finds the comfort he needs.

Job Fact #7: Three cycles of conversations

Fact: Three cycles of conversations

The book of Job includes three cycles of conversations in which the friends of Job offer their comfort and advice, and then listen as Job responds. The first cycle covers chs. 4–14.

Job Fact #15: Elihu

Fact: Elihu

Elihu is the only character in the book of Job with a Hebrew name.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

After the Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job, three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort him. However, all three wrongly assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of some hidden sin. Each man urged Job to repent so that God would have mercy on him. But Job insisted that he was innocent. Although it is true that some suffering is a result of sin, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar oversimplified this truth. They believed that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing, which was not the case for Job. The wrong actions of Job’s three friends should remind believers today to be wise and sensitive when dealing with people in distress. The Lord rebuked Job’s three friends and instructed Job to pray for them. (Job 42:7–9)

Study Notes

Job 25:4 How then can man be in the right before God? This question is repeated several times by Job and his friends in slightly different forms (4:17; 9:2; 15:14).

Study Notes

4:1–25:6 The Friends and Job: Can Job Be Right before God? The main section of the book contains the dialogue between Job and the three friends. It opens with Job’s initial lament (3:1–16) and then alternates between speeches by each friend (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) and responses by Job.

Job 22:1–25:6 Third Cycle. The consistent pattern of the first two cycles unravels in this last dialogue. Eliphaz describes Job’s life as a constant stream of wicked activity (ch. 22). Job’s reply (chs. 23–24) strongly implies that the divine power that has afflicted him is impulsive and destructive. Bildad offers the beginning of a reply (ch. 25) before Job interrupts with a further assertion of the mystery of divine power (ch. 26; see next section). Zophar does not speak in this cycle. Job and his friends disagree more strongly now than when they started this discussion.

Job 25:1–6 Bildad’s words represent the final speech of the three friends. The friends have argued that their theological understanding and application represent God’s perspective. They have never really considered the possibility that they could be wrong.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

After the Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job, three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort him. However, all three wrongly assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of some hidden sin. Each man urged Job to repent so that God would have mercy on him. But Job insisted that he was innocent. Although it is true that some suffering is a result of sin, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar oversimplified this truth. They believed that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing, which was not the case for Job. The wrong actions of Job’s three friends should remind believers today to be wise and sensitive when dealing with people in distress. The Lord rebuked Job’s three friends and instructed Job to pray for them. (Job 42:7–9)

Listen to the Podcast

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Job 25

When I read the responses of Job's friends, I often think, "You're so close, but that's not completely right." The same can absolutely be said about Bildad. In his final response to Job, he states that God is above all, and man is nothing more than a maggot. While he is not wrong that God is above it all and that man is nothing in comparison to a holy God, Bildad misses the ultimate point.

Man is nothing in light of our holy God, but He is not a God who is uninterested or detached from His creation. No, He is a God who condescends, or comes low, to be with His creation. He is a God of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. How do I know this? Look at the Son, Jesus Christ, God in flesh, who became one of us. He lived the life we couldn't and took on the death we deserve so that we can be forgiven and be made right with God the Father for eternity.

I wonder what would have changed for Job had he heard of the grace of God along with the truth that God is One to be revered and held in awe. Do I think that Job's situation would have changed? No. We read that God had a plan through all of Job's circumstances. Do I think that Job's pain would have been taken away? No, pain is unfortunately part of life in our broken world. 

What I do think would have been different is Job's perspective and perseverance. When we can remember that God is sovereign over everything and that He is a good and loving Father, we can learn to trust Him even when we can't see or don't understand what He is doing. We can lean on God and persevere in hard times, pouring out our hearts, knowing that He hears us, and He cares.

While things on earth may not always be perfect, we have a perfect Father who is always at work and whose character precedes Him every day.

This month's memory verse

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

– Galatians 5:22-23

Discussion Questions

1. If you were to use three words to describe God, what would they be? Where do you see these characteristics on display in Scripture?

2. How have you seen God at work in your life today? This week? This month? This year? How can these moments help you persevere in the midst of difficult circumstances?

3. Do you believe that God is above all and is always at work even when you can't see it? How can you begin to release control of your circumstances and begin to trust God? What is one small step of surrender you can take today?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

GJ

greg jones

Good morning Emily. I really enjoyed your deeper dive. Q3a-Do you believe that God is above all and is always at work even when you can't see it? Yes. Not sure about always he may rest on a sabbath. Also not sure if meeting what I feel like are my needs is the top priority of his work. I feel like I’m invited into a portion of a work he is doing. Not all of the greater work I see. Q3b-How can you begin to release control of your circumstances and begin to trust God? I like what you said, “We can lean on God and persevere in hard times, pouring out our hearts, knowing that He hears us, and He cares.” Or I can choose not to do that. That I can control. I want to control what I can and should control in all my circumstances. Controlling the proper should and can issues is a wisdom thing. Q3c-What is one small step of surrender you can take today? I get the question. My self motivating opinion on the question is as follows. Gaining wisdom is more conducive to a taking ground mentality than a surrender mentality. “What I do think would have been different is Job's perspective and perseverance.” I agree with you concerning Job in a different circumstance. And, I see Job as having a proper perspective and perseverance for his unique circumstance. He didn’t surrender to the prevailing view that surrounded him. He spoke right of God. Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!” Believing that God is describing himself to me in that statement makes me feel like running from or surrendering to him. The expectation on Job is to surrender to that thought. Believing that men are describing their view of God to Job makes me think “Job way to stand your ground and confront your friends views of God.” And on the other hand men, myself included, arr capable of being “a maggot” before God in some circumstances. Choosing surrender over maggot in those circumstances is then appropriate. But I still see that kind of surrender as taking ground. Great devotional I liked how handled that chapter.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Emily! What a huge difference it would have made to Job--and even moreso to his friends--if they had been able to grasp the depth of God's grace. I'm so thankful for the gift of the perspective of being on THIS side of the whole canon of scripture. When we read verse 4 in 2024, "How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?" we can know the answer to this rhetorical question: we can't. But His Son applies HIS righteousness and purity to us when we trust in Him. Once again, thanks to Dr. Constable, Warren Weirsbe provides wonderful application: “The best way to help discouraged and hurting people is to listen with your heart and not just with your ears. It’s not what they say but why they say it that is important. Let them know that you understand their pain by reflecting back to them in different words just what they say to you. Don’t argue or try to convince them with logical reasoning. There will be time for that later; meanwhile, patiently accept their feelings—even their bitter words against God—and build bridges, not walls.”
AL

Amy Lowther

1. Three words which describe God are: supportive, consistent, and hardworking. 2. God is at work in my life today by helping the sun shine and by helping people respect themselves and each other. In this week, God has been present in telephone account managers providing excellent customer service. In this month, God has been present for Easter and for all of the activities of Easter. In this year, God has been present by helping people get new jobs and by helping people make positive progress in life which benefits themselves and everyone in general. God comforts me and supports me in everything. 3. Yes, God is above all and is always at work. I know this because of studying God’s Word a little bit everyday and because of applying what I learn from God in daily life everyday. Emily - Thank you for sharing your ideas. You make a good point in saying, “When we can remember that God is sovereign over everything and that He is a good and loving Father, we can learn to trust Him even when we can't see or don't understand what He is doing. We can lean on God and persevere in hard times, pouring out our hearts, knowing that He hears us, and He cares”. God is good.
MS

Michael Scaman

This is the last we will hear of Bildad speaking. He will be 6 verses follwed by Job having 87 verses with his friends not answering a word. Strangly he speaks better than he knows or intends Job spoke for pages, Bildad is terse in Job 25 He's not wrong sometimes you say right things in a wrong way Man born of woman is on a downward spiral An answer already given in th seed of the woman who will crush the head of the sepend An answer will be given in the Psalms in two places 'I am your servant the son of your maidservant" Ps 86:16, Ps 116:16 He will break the cycle the second Adam He will say I am a worm and not a man in Psalm 22 but that is not rimmah as it is here meaning grub or maggot, it is tola, a worm crushed for a red dye that dies in a tree Title: Bildad Speaks Better than he Knows About Seeds of Redemption by author intentionally left unknown In Bildad's terse final critique, a truth profound, Man born of woman, spiral bound. Downward, downward, fate's cruel turn, In shadows deep, we seem to yearn. Yet in the seed, a promise gleams, Of one who'd crush the serpent's schemes. A Savior born, to break the chain, And free us from our sin's domain. In Psalms 86 and 116, a whisper, soft and clear, "I am your servant, Your maidservant's son dear." A lineage traced, through ages past, To Him who'd come, and all recast. The second Adam, strong and true, Brings hope where once despair we knew. With power to change, to heal, to mend, Our brokenness finds its sweetest end. So though we're born of woman's line, In Christ, a new birth we define. No longer slaves to sin's control, For in His grace, we find our soul. The second Adam will say I am a worm but a tola not rimmah I am a worm and not a man in Psalm 22 but there the word is not rimmah as it is here meaning grub or maggot, it is tola meaning scarlet, a worm crushed for a red dye that dies in a tree Like Job he will say "My God, My God, why are you forsaking me?"
WM

Wray Miller

We are blessed by a loving, merciful and forgiving God.