Job 23:10 (ESV)
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as
gold.
Job is still
contending that he is innocent. He desires to argue his case before God, yet he
cannot find God. He searched for God. He called for God. He cried for God, but
he cannot find him. He firmly believes that if only he could present his case
before the throne of the Almighty he would be vindicated. On the other hand,
Job fears God greatly.
Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
yet I am not silenced because of the
darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.
Job’s friends
assume that because he is defending his innocence and desiring to present his
case to God, he therefore has no fear of God. Yet that is hardly the case. Job
does not understand why these things are happening to him. He feels that if
only he could present his case he would be guiltless. Yet his fear of God has
never diminished. Job desires to approach the unapproachable God. What
motivates Job’s desire to present his case to a fearsome God is his faith in
the character of God.
Job is absolutely
convinced of two additional truths. First, Job is convinced that even though he
cannot find God, God “knows the way that I take” (Job 23:10a). The omniscience
of God is comforting to Job. He cannot find God, yet God knows right where Job
is and what is happening to him. Not only does God know, but God is watching
over him. That brings us to the second truth: Job is convinced that he will
come out of this trial like purified gold. “When he has tried me, I shall come
out as gold” (Job 23:10b). That sounds an awful lot like 1Peter.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little
while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested
genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is
tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though
you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is
inexpressible and filled with glory,
This may not
answer the why question that Job is wrestling with, but it gives hope. Whatever
I am facing, whatever pain, or difficulty, or oppression, or opposition, or
even persecution we face as believers, we know two things. God is watching.
Nothing escapes his view. And, we will come through the trial like purified
gold.
Trials aren’t
fun. No one prays for more difficulty in life. Yet it is just that which God
uses to burn off the dross in our lives and purify our faith. It reminds me of
the old chorus:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely
dim
In the light of his glory and grace
Helen Howarth Lemmel
The challenge, of
course, is to turn our eyes upon Jesus when we cannot see him. That was Job’s
conundrum. Sometimes, with Job, we can only see him through eyes of faith. And
so we hold firmly to this one truth: “But he knows the way that I take; when he
has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:10).
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