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8 August. Job chapters 10-13
Job’s outcry at God continues, not merely wishing he had died in infancy but now that he had ever been born at all. He considers his physical suffering and grief as proof that there must be some sin in his life. God is seen as remote, uncaring, even inhuman – “Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see? Are your days like the days of mortals, or your years like human years?” (10:4-5) – of course, in the light of the revelation of Jesus, we can now answer those questions in the affirmative – in him God did have human eyes, and a human lifespan. But Job (or whoever wrote this story) did not have the benefit of hindsight.
After a brief speech by the third of his companions, Zophar, which again assumes that Job must have sinned, Job turns on his companions with astonishing courage. Despite his suffering (or maybe because of it) he throws back at them their accusations of sin, reaffirming his innocence before God and accusing them of sinning by having too limited an understanding of God’s ways. Then towards the end of chapter 13 he turns from them to God, and with equal boldness charges God with hiding his face, and challenges the Almighty to reveal if he has, in fact, sinned.
This shows what a strong character Job has. Few people, suffering financial loss, bereavement and incurable illness, would be in a position to argue with other people, let alone with God himself. But Job represents those who have built up a good relationship with God over the years, so that in times of trouble they are like the deep-rooted tree of Psalm 1 which can continue to flourish in a drought. Those who know that they are in a right relationship with God can cope with anything.