Job's Prayers and Prophecies

Lesson four in the Job series.

During the course of Job's trial, he prays two prayers that we will look at very closely. The first prayer is in Job 6:8-10. Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope, that it would please God to crush me, that would let loose his hand and cut me off! This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 

Now on the surface, it looks like Job is asking God to kill him and be done with it. But this is a wisdom book, so we have to dig a little deeper. Job's comfort is the key theme of this entire book. What is Job's comfort? That during the course of this trial, he will not deny the words of the Holy One--that he would not deny God's commands by sinning against them!

Think about this! Here is Job in excruciating pain, surrounded by friends who are cruel to him. And the only thing that will give him comfort is to not sin against God. He would rather die than sin. His one request and his one hope and his only comfort would be not to sin. I don't know about you but if I were in Job's place, I would just want the pain to go away. I would want to be healed. But Job says he would even rejoice in his pain if he could be assured of not sinning against God. Who does that remind you of? It should remind you of Jesus who was willing to go to the cross for you!

Job is the most righteous man on the earth and he is praying the most righteous prayer in all Scripture. One psalmist was so impressed by Job's prayer that he made it into an acrostic form of poetry and song that we still sing today. It is Psalm 119 and it is a fitting exposition of Job's prayer--"Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you." Job's prayer should be our prayer in every trial. 

Job's second prayer is in chapter 16:19-21. Job has no idea why he is being treated so unjustly and he wants his day in court so he can lay out his case before the judge. But every plaintiff (the person who lays out his case) needs a lawyer who understands the law to help him with his case. In this case Job wants an arbiter. An arbiter is someone who goes between both parties and tries to help both. He has the best interests of both parties in mind. This says a lot about Job--Job isn't just looking out for himself--he wants to be fair to all sides. But who could possibly be the arbiter between a man and God? A man would not be able to represent God's best interests (Job 9) and God would not understand a man's frailty (Job 10). So Job is asking for a miracle in this prayer. He starts out expressing his faith: Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor.

Do you see what Job is asking here? He literally wants God himself to argue with God on his behalf in the same way that a man would argue with his friend! This is unheard of. It is almost as if God could be two persons at once--God arguing with God! Really??? We have to remember that at the time Job lived, there was no theology about the Trinity, so we have to see this as a prophecy. Job didn't even realize exactly what he was talking about, but he knew what he needed and he knew God would provide it. We see Job's faith revealed in chapter 19:25-27 when he says, For I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me.

Job realizes he is going to die any minute. If they had hospice back then, the hospice workers would be calling the family in. But he is so sure that God will come and vindicate him that he has logically deduced that there must be a bodily resurrection. This is another of Job's prophecies--something that had never been heard of before. In Old Testament times, all they knew is that the body went into the ground to Sheol, and the spirit returned to God in heaven. They had no clue about bodily resurrection. But Job's process of reasoning that he began in chapter 14:7-14 finds its logical conclusion in chapter 19:25-27. He knows that even if God came right now, he would literally have to raise Job from the dead because his body has already decayed and his bones have rotted. It is a miracle that he can even still speak. 

We see more evidence of Job's faith in chapter 23:3-7. He says, Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me. There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

Job is predicting that when God does show up on the scene, it will not be as his judge but as his advocate.  The "upright man" who argues with God will be Jesus, but Job does not know this. He only knows that an upright man will be provided to argue his case. 

Job's well-laid-out case has brought him to two significant logical deductions: 1) There has to be a bodily resurrection, and 2) There has to be a fully God/fully man arbiter. His faith in God is so strong that he knows these things to be true. Job knows God can do the wildly impossible. I hope you know that too. 

Next time we will talk about Job's prosecutor.