Then Job answered and said,
I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.
Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?
If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
Job 9 is a powerful and poignant chapter where Job continues his response to Bildad, grappling with the immense power of God and the seeming impossibility of justifying himself before Him. This chapter reveals Job's growing desperation and his yearning for a mediator, a concept that foreshadows the ultimate mediator, Jesus Christ. It also highlights the importance of a proper view of God. Some of us need our view of God transformed because the God we claim to believe in is too small.
The Impossibility of Contending with God (Job 9:1-4)
Job begins by acknowledging the undeniable truth of Bildad's statement: that God does not pervert justice (Job 8:3). However, Job's experience leads him to a different conclusion. He asks the crucial question: “But how can a mortal be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2). This is a question that echoes throughout Scripture, and the Bible answers. If humans are to be justified, God must do it himself (see Rom 3:23-24). Job recognizes the vast chasm between humanity and the Almighty, a chasm impossible to bridge through human effort. He understands that God is wise and all-powerful, and no one who has opposed Him has ever emerged unharmed (Job 9:4).
God's Unfathomable Power and Majesty (Job 9:5-10)
Job's words paint a vivid picture of God's awesome power and sovereignty. He describes God as one who removes mountains, shakes the earth, commands the sun not to shine, seals up the stars, and stretches out the heavens (Job 9:5-9). These descriptions are not merely poetic; they reveal the absolute control God has over creation. He is the holy Creator of the universe and holds you in the palm of his hand. These verses remind us of the immensity of God, a God far beyond our full comprehension. Job’s observations about God display his majesty to us. Some of us need our view of God transformed because the God we claim to believe in is too small. The God of the Bible removes mountains . . . shakes the earth . . . stretches out the heavens . . . and makes the stars (Job 9:5-9).
The Silence of God and the Pain of Suffering (Job 9:11-24)
Job laments the elusiveness of God. He cannot see Him or hear Him (Job 9:11). Even if Job were righteous, he believes God would not answer his cries (Job 9:15-16). He feels unjustly afflicted, as if God is indifferent to his suffering. He is so distraught that he believed that, even if he were in the right, God wouldn’t pay attention (Job 9:15-16).
We have to remember that sometimes God is silent. But, don’t count his silence as neglect. When God gives us the silent treatment, it’s not because he’s in a bad mood or careless. It’s always because he’s trying to teach us something we wouldn’t otherwise learn. That doesn’t mean we just forget our problems and put on a smile; Job knew that (9:27-28). Instead, it means we trust our God who knows what we don’t know, can do what we can’t do, and never fails.
The Yearning for a Mediator (Job 9:25-35)
In his despair, Job expresses a profound longing for a mediator, someone to stand between him and God. He cries out, "He is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together" (Job 9:32-33). Job realized he could not defend himself before God. He is not a man like me, that I can answer him (9:32). Thus, Job wished there was someone to mediate between them (9:33).
This is an important biblical concept. A mediator is a go-between, someone who can stand between two parties who are at odds with each other and bring them together. Job was struggling and hurting. He was desperate for help as his three friends accused him of sin. But, he knew a human could never effectively argue with God. Job was in no position to plead his case before a transcendent God. Thus, Job wanted an umpire—a judge who could listen impartially to both God and him and make a ruling. Yet, Job knew of no one who could fill this role.
Job's longing foreshadows the coming of Jesus Christ, the ultimate mediator between God and humanity. To be an effective mediator between sinners and a holy God, someone would have to be like God and like human beings—knowing how he feels and thinks and how we feel and think, too. The mediator Job wished for would have had to understand Job so he could accurately represent him. Yet, he must be as great as God himself to accurately represent God. In time, this perfect mediator who could stand between humanity and God would become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God himself, yet he also knows the human condition intimately because he became human. He has a divine nature and a human nature. He experienced everything we have experienced. We needed a God-man, and only the Lord Jesus Christ uniquely fulfills that requirement. On the cross, Jesus hung between two estranged parties, his Father and the human race, to reconcile us. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human” (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the only mediator who can stand between God and us. And he does this every day as our resurrected high priest who lives forever and intercedes for us.
Job 9 is a challenging chapter, but it offers valuable insights into the nature of God, the reality of human suffering, and the hope of a mediator. While Job's questions remain unanswered in this chapter, his longing points us to the ultimate answer in Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of pain and uncertainty, we can cling to the truth that God is sovereign, just, and ultimately, merciful.
Then Job answered and said,
I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.
Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.
Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?
If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.
How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?
Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?
If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?
Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.
Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.
Job 9 is a powerful and poignant chapter where Job continues his response to Bildad, grappling with the immense power of God and the seeming impossibility of justifying himself before Him. This chapter reveals Job's growing desperation and his yearning for a mediator, a concept that foreshadows the ultimate mediator, Jesus Christ. It also highlights the importance of a proper view of God. Some of us need our view of God transformed because the God we claim to believe in is too small.
The Impossibility of Contending with God (Job 9:1-4)
Job begins by acknowledging the undeniable truth of Bildad's statement: that God does not pervert justice (Job 8:3). However, Job's experience leads him to a different conclusion. He asks the crucial question: “But how can a mortal be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2). This is a question that echoes throughout Scripture, and the Bible answers. If humans are to be justified, God must do it himself (see Rom 3:23-24). Job recognizes the vast chasm between humanity and the Almighty, a chasm impossible to bridge through human effort. He understands that God is wise and all-powerful, and no one who has opposed Him has ever emerged unharmed (Job 9:4).
God's Unfathomable Power and Majesty (Job 9:5-10)
Job's words paint a vivid picture of God's awesome power and sovereignty. He describes God as one who removes mountains, shakes the earth, commands the sun not to shine, seals up the stars, and stretches out the heavens (Job 9:5-9). These descriptions are not merely poetic; they reveal the absolute control God has over creation. He is the holy Creator of the universe and holds you in the palm of his hand. These verses remind us of the immensity of God, a God far beyond our full comprehension. Job’s observations about God display his majesty to us. Some of us need our view of God transformed because the God we claim to believe in is too small. The God of the Bible removes mountains . . . shakes the earth . . . stretches out the heavens . . . and makes the stars (Job 9:5-9).
The Silence of God and the Pain of Suffering (Job 9:11-24)
Job laments the elusiveness of God. He cannot see Him or hear Him (Job 9:11). Even if Job were righteous, he believes God would not answer his cries (Job 9:15-16). He feels unjustly afflicted, as if God is indifferent to his suffering. He is so distraught that he believed that, even if he were in the right, God wouldn’t pay attention (Job 9:15-16).
We have to remember that sometimes God is silent. But, don’t count his silence as neglect. When God gives us the silent treatment, it’s not because he’s in a bad mood or careless. It’s always because he’s trying to teach us something we wouldn’t otherwise learn. That doesn’t mean we just forget our problems and put on a smile; Job knew that (9:27-28). Instead, it means we trust our God who knows what we don’t know, can do what we can’t do, and never fails.
The Yearning for a Mediator (Job 9:25-35)
In his despair, Job expresses a profound longing for a mediator, someone to stand between him and God. He cries out, "He is not a man like me, that I can answer him, that we might confront each other in court. If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together" (Job 9:32-33). Job realized he could not defend himself before God. He is not a man like me, that I can answer him (9:32). Thus, Job wished there was someone to mediate between them (9:33).
This is an important biblical concept. A mediator is a go-between, someone who can stand between two parties who are at odds with each other and bring them together. Job was struggling and hurting. He was desperate for help as his three friends accused him of sin. But, he knew a human could never effectively argue with God. Job was in no position to plead his case before a transcendent God. Thus, Job wanted an umpire—a judge who could listen impartially to both God and him and make a ruling. Yet, Job knew of no one who could fill this role.
Job's longing foreshadows the coming of Jesus Christ, the ultimate mediator between God and humanity. To be an effective mediator between sinners and a holy God, someone would have to be like God and like human beings—knowing how he feels and thinks and how we feel and think, too. The mediator Job wished for would have had to understand Job so he could accurately represent him. Yet, he must be as great as God himself to accurately represent God. In time, this perfect mediator who could stand between humanity and God would become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God himself, yet he also knows the human condition intimately because he became human. He has a divine nature and a human nature. He experienced everything we have experienced. We needed a God-man, and only the Lord Jesus Christ uniquely fulfills that requirement. On the cross, Jesus hung between two estranged parties, his Father and the human race, to reconcile us. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human” (1 Timothy 2:5). He is the only mediator who can stand between God and us. And he does this every day as our resurrected high priest who lives forever and intercedes for us.
Job 9 is a challenging chapter, but it offers valuable insights into the nature of God, the reality of human suffering, and the hope of a mediator. While Job's questions remain unanswered in this chapter, his longing points us to the ultimate answer in Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of pain and uncertainty, we can cling to the truth that God is sovereign, just, and ultimately, merciful.