Hello everyone! Today’s Bible study is on Job 9 – There Is No Mediator. According to Bible scholars, the events of the book of Job took place approximately before 2100 B.C.
I encourage you to turn to Job 9 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Job 9 with me. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God better. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know. All the scriptures that you find highlighted in purple in this post are from the NKJV.
In the Bible Study on Job 8, we read about Bildad urging Job to repent so that God could deliver Job. Well, in this Bible study on Job 9, we will read about Job’s discourse of how he has no mediator between him and God.
Without any further delay, let us begin the Bible Study on Job 9 and study about Job’s discourse, shall we?
Job Says That No Man Can Contend With God
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I know it is so,
But how can a man be righteous before God?
3 If one wished to contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
In Verses 1-4 of Job 9, Job answers Bildad that no one can contend with God. In Job 8, Bildad urged Job to make a supplication to God and be upright before God so that Job could be set free from his situation. However, Job answers that it is impossible for any man to be upright before God. He further argues that no man has the answer to even a single question that God could possibly ask. It is because the wisdom of God cannot be compared to that of a man and God is the Creator and man is a created being. He cannot compete with God nor question God.
According to Job, no one with a hardened heart could prosper before God.
God Is The Master Over All Creation
5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
8 He alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea;
9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10 He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
In Verses 5-10 of Job 9, Job goes on to explain how God removes the mighty and huge mountains and overturns them in His anger (as if they were just toys) and the mountains do not even perceive their dislocation/removal from their original place. He shakes the foundations and the pillars of the earth. Also, He commands the sun to not rise and it obeys Him. He seals off the stars so that they do not give light at night and they (the stars) obey Him.
Only God can spread out the heavens and tread on the waves of the sea. He made the constellations. Man simply cannot fathom and keep note of the greatness of things that God does, for, the great things that God does is overwhelming and infinite.
Job Says That He Cannot Question God
11 If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
12 If He takes away, who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
13 God will not withdraw His anger,
The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.
In Verses 11-13 of Job 9, Job tells Bildad and his friends that if God passes by him, he does see Him nor perceive Him. He further asks, who can stop God if He takes away something and who can ask God “What are you doing?”. Job is convinced that God will not withdraw His anger and all those who take sides with the proud lie prostrate beneath God because they cannot fool nor mock God.
In short, Job asks how could one question God when he cannot even perceive God’s movements, nor perceive where He goes or comes, in the first place.
Observation
In Verse 12, when Job says “”If He takes away, who can hinder Him”, he is referring to himself and his lost health and property and children. Job’s perception is that God is angry with him (he does not know why) and Job thinks that God took away his wealth, property, children and eventually his health and it is not in Job’s power to stop nor question God as to why He did all these things.
As I have pointed out numerous times, in all the previous chapters, Job has no idea of the conversation between God and satan. It is satan who wanted to prove Job’s lack of loyalty to God and tempted God to test Job.
Job Says That He Cannot Answer Nor Reason With God
14 “How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
15Â For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
16Â If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17Â For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18Â He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
In Verses 14-16 of Job 9, Job says that he cannot answer God and he does not have enough words to reason with Him. According to him, he would simply have to beg God for His mercy without attempting to reason with God. If he were to call God and He answered Job then he wouldn’t believe that God actually had listened to his voice and answered him. To Job, God seems very distant during his trial.
In Verses 17-18 of Job 9, Job tells Bildad that God crushes him with a tempest (as violent as a tempest) and multiplies his wounds without any reason. He says that God has not allowed him to catch his breath but He has filled him with bitterness.
Job Has No Mediator In The Court of God
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20Â Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
In Verses 19-20, Job says he could not reason with God in terms of strength for God is stronger than Job. However, if it is a matter of justice, Job asks who would appoint his day in the the court of God to present his case and speak on his behalf? He claims that he has no mediator and he is not righteous enough nor blameless enough before God to present his own case, for his own mouth would prove him perverse.
Observation
In the Old Testament, before Jesus – the Messiah was born there was no mediator for man in the court of God. The only way to was to repent of sins and offer sacrifices through the shedding of blood of “select” animals. Not all animals could be offered as a sin offering because not all the animals could be a substitute for man’s sins.
Job, in those days, already had knowledge about the court of God for He knew that God is a righteous judge. And he knew about the court proceedings and how he would need a mediator (an advocate) to talk in support of him before God to obtain justice for him.
Our mediator in the court of God, “now“, is Jesus christ and the blood of Jesus for the blood of Jesus has a voice too. Job, in talking about the mediator in the courts of God, reveals that we need a mediator to present our case. And that mediator cannot be a man because man cannot be equal to God in order to present his case and argue with God. The mediator must be equal to God. Our mediator Jesus Christ makes up the God-Head (The Trinity – The Father, The Son -Jesus and The Holy Spirit) and He also is the last Adam. He took upon human flesh. Hence, there is no one who can better understand our situation than Jesus Christ and speak on our behalf as our advocate in the court of God.
If Not God, Who Else Could It Be?
21 “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
22 It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
23 If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?
In Verses 21-24 of Job 9, Job explains that he is blameless as far as he knows yet he does not know himself and despises his life. He cannot trust himself anymore and he is confused. He says that the blameless and the wicked are the same before God for He destorys both alike. Job says that God laughs at the plight of the innocent when the scourge slays him suddenly. The earth is given to the hands of the wicked, according to Job, because he sees the wicked prosper.
And Job says that there is no one to fight for justice because God covers the faces of the judges of the earth so that the judges are not aware of any wrong-doings. When the faces of the judges are covered, they neither see, nor hear nor talk.
Later, he questions, if it is not God doing all these things to mankind then who else is doing all these things?
Observation
In Verse 24, the direct answer to Job’s question would be satan. God is for man (because man is His beloved creation) and satan is not for man (satan is jealous of man). God Himself is the righteous judge. However, Job is so distressed and pained in his situation and found no relief. His situation caused him to think and speak a certain way about God. He didn’t grasp the fact that satan was the god of the world and all evil that happens on the earth is satan’s doing.
Job’s Days Flee Without Seeing Any Good
25 “Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26 They pass by like swift ships,
Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
In Verses 25-26 Of Job 9, Job says that his days are swifter than a runner and they (his days) flee without seeing any good. He also compares his days to that of swift ships and to the swiftness of an eagle swooping on its prey.
Job Thinks He Is Condemned Forever
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
28Â I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29 If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
30Â If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with soap,
31Â Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will abhor me.
In Verses 27-29, Job tells his friends that if he says in his heart that he will make an effort to forget his complaint about his situation and put off his sad face for a moment and smile, he is afraid of suffering more. And, he knows that God will not hold him innocent just because he put off his complaints and his sad face. On the other hand, if he is condemned, then why does he have to labour (suffer in his present situation) in vain. If he is condemned forever, God might as well end his life and release him from his earthly suffering. He sees no way out and his outward smile or ceasing to complain won’t change his situation.
In Verses 30-31, Job says that if he washes himself with snow water (snow here implies purity) and if he cleanses his hands with soap, he says that God will plunge him into the pit (made of soil and dirt) and his own clothes will abhor Job as they would have become dirtier than before because it is easier for a lot of dirt to stick to wet clothes. What Job, intends here is that he, by his own might/strength, cannot purify himself. The word ‘purify’ also means to ‘deliver’. He cannot deliver himself from his current circumstances.
For God Is Not A Man To Answer Job Nor Go To Court With Him
32 “For He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
33 Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
34 Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.
In Verse 32 of Job 9, Job says that God is not a man that he could answer Him. He acknowledges that he is lower than God and cannot stand face to face with God and challenge God. Man is not equal nor on par with God. He further adds that God is not a man that He would go with Job to the court to plead his case.
In Verse 33, Job repeats himself here and says that there is no mediator between him and God. In Verses 34-35, Job wants God to take His heavy rod away from him. He does not want the dread of God to terrify him. In short, Job says that he is not able to speak because of the heavy rod of God and he is terrified of God’s anger. The heavy rod of God usually refers to God’s correction. If God’s ceases from His anger and takes away His heavy rod, then he would attempt to speak to God and not fear Him. However, Job declares that it is not the case with him.
Observation
When Job speaks in Verses 32-35, he acknowledges God as the most-high and sovereign Judge as no one can question God, at least not without a mediator. He expresses his wish to speak with God and ask Him the reason for his situation but he is under heavy oppression and is terrified of God’s anger against him. He is terrified of suffering more. Up until, Job lost his property, children and health, he had experienced only the goodness of God in his life. He hadn’t encountered anything like this (heavy losses) before in his life. And he thinks that all his suffering and losses are a result of God’s discontent with him.
The truth was that God was already pleased with Job. Satan didn’t ask God for permission to attack Job for nothing. Job was a class apart in his sincerity and loyalty to God and that is why satan attacked him. The oppression that Job is facing is because of satan and Job in his terrible situation thinks that God is angry with him. However, throughout his discourse, he does not lack in his respect towards God. He still reveres God and holds God as the Sovereign Judge.
Conclusion
This brings us the end of Job 9. Though most of the chatpers of the book of Job is about Job and his friends’ conversation, each chapter is different and brings new revelation and knowledge. Here, is this chapter, Job reveals about the courts of heaven and he tells that he has no mediator between him and God. Hence, this proves that we need a mediator (who is not a man) on our behalf in the court of God to approach God with any siuation. I hope you enjoyed this Bible Study on Job 9, as much as I enjoyed wirting it. If you have any comments or questions feel free to leave them in the comments box below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until Next Time!