When God Hides Himself

And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.—Deuteronomy 31:18

Verse by verse Bible study in Job 23

Nowhere are the workings of God more obscure than in the life of Job. A righteous man, beset by trials not of his own making, seeks for an answer to the age-old question: "Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God permit evil?"

Three friends, undoubtedly sincere, seek the answer with him. Their reasonings are so inadequate that Job finally calls them "miserable comforters." Eliphaz has just finished his oration, which Job rebuts. Eliphaz accuses Job of rebellion against God and suggests that he has lost contact with his Creator and needs to become reacquainted with him.

Job’s Cause—Verses 1 to 3

Then Job answered and said, "Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!"

Accused of magnifying his complaint, Job responds that his trial is greater than his complaint. Matthew Henry wisely notes: "We wrong God if our groaning be heavier than our stroke, like froward children, who, when they cry for nothing, have justly something given them to cry for."

Job correctly sees that nothing in his own action merits such a heavy load of afflictions. He wants to discuss the matter with God but feels that he has lost touch with his Creator since his prayers appear to be unanswered.

His timidity is not unlike that of Queen Esther when asked by Mordecai to intervene with King Ahasuerus on behalf of her people. She demurred on the grounds that she had not been able to approach the king for thirty days (Esther 4:11). This quest for reestablished communication forms the pathos of our chapter.

Job’s Intentions—Verses 4 to 6

I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

The fourth verse contains two key ingredients for handling such stressful situations—to set our arguments in order and to seek out that which we would plead.

Sorrow, distress, and grief have a habit of so overloading our minds that we stop thinking rationally. When distraught, our first order of business must be to calm our nerves and to look logically at the situation before us. The prophet Jeremiah provides a good example of this. He was overcome with grief when the city of Jerusalem fell to the armies of Babylon. The expressions of his sorrow have been appropriately named Lamentations. The book is written in poetic style using the disciplined form of an acrostic, where each successive verse begins with the next successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. All but the central chapter include twenty-two verses, one for each letter in that alphabet. The third, or middle, chapter has sixty-six verses with each successive set of three beginning with the progressive alphabetic letters. Such a style requires great discipline of thinking and is not typical of other writings penned in the midst of overwhelming grief.

The second expression, I would "fill my mouth with arguments," suggests importunity, constancy in bearing our petitions before the Almighty. The parable of the Importunate Widow in Luke 18:1-8 was similarly given "to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (v. 1). Constancy and persistency are required by the diligent seeker.

Job’s request is a reasonable one. He desires to know the specific charges against him. Confident that God would not arbitrarily take issue with him, Job understandably calls out, "Why?" He does not know the background in the first chapter of the book where permission has been given for the afflictions of Job to show the great adversary that there are some who will serve God willingly even if it fails to bring an instantaneous reward. Job’s service to God is not a Pavlovian reaction but a determination to serve the Creator under all circumstances. This is what is being put to the test.

How often we desire an immediate answer to our wondering about why certain things are happening to us. Viewed from the short range picture of the current life there is no satisfactory answer to this question. Only when we step back and look at the long picture can we realize that today’s afflictions, no matter how severe, are trivial compared with the blessings of eternity. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).

Perhaps in verse five Job is also contrasting the words he expects to hear from God to that which he is hearing from his three friends. "I do not understand what you three are trying to tell me; what I desire is to hear what God has to say on the matter." How important it is, when we seek to solace another, that we not give them our philosophies and counsel but point them to the words of the Lord. In contrast to these three "comforters," the young man Elihu, who speaks later to the issue, seeks to do just this: "My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:3, 4).

Not only is Job convinced that God would not plead against him but, with his great power, would give him strength to endure what he cannot understand. This is a noble prayer. When buffeted by sicknesses and afflictions, it is not the Christian’s place to pray that these be removed but rather that we be given the necessary strength to bear up under them. The thought of 1 Corinthians 10:13, that God will provide "a way of escape" from our trials, is more correctly translated in Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott "will direct the issue so that ye may be able to bear it."

The Righteous Man—Verse 7

There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

This verse is open to two diverse interpretations. It may be that he is merely referring to the justice of God in reasoning with "a righteous man"—one who seeks to live righteously, as Job had done. The plea then is for judgment based on intentions rather than on strict conformity to the principles of righteousness, for "there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psa. 14:3; 53:3).

However Job’s meaning may be considerably deeper. This may contain a veiled prophecy of the resurrection time, when man will not plead his own case but will have an ally, a mediator, to argue for him. Other places in Job contain phrases that appear to have the same intent. For instance the words of Elihu in Job 33:23, 24, "If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness [not man’s, but the righteousness of the interpreter]: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom."

And again in Job 9:32-35, "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." Nelson’s Bible Dictionary defined "daysman" as an Old Testament word for mediator. It is only with the knowledge of such a mediator on our behalf that we need not fear his rod—his chastening rod now and the "iron rod" of righteousness in his kingdom.

Job’s Search—Verses 8 to 10

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Oh, the agony of not being able to trace the steppings of God; the sorrow of soul to find oneself estranged from the Almighty; to feel, in the words of the Psalmist, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psa. 22:1). David must have felt similarly when, hiding in a cave, he wrote Psalm 142: "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul" (v. 4). He, too, prays for deliverance, in verse 7: "Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me."

Looking forward, backward, on the right, and on the left, it would appear that Job had searched everywhere—everywhere but up, for then he might have found him. How oft do we look first to all human agencies before turning our eyes heavenward to the one sure place where true solace can be found?

Yet Job, in the despair of his fruitless search, is not faithless but believing. Though he cannot discern God in his life at the moment, he does not let go of one main principle: "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Here we have the Old Testament equivalent of that precious promise of Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

This promise is one that is frequently repeated. "Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways" (Psa. 139:3). And again, "But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee" (Jer. 12:3).

Job’s Plea—Verses 11 and 12

My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food..

Job pleaded with "the answer of a good conscience toward God" (1 Peter 3:21). He had done what he could. Like the rich young ruler who answered Jesus with similar words, his query must have been "What lack I yet?" (Matt. 19:20).

Nor did Jehovah require more from poor Job than the best he could give. The principle applied to him, as well as it does to us, that "if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Cor. 8:12).

David knew as well that seeking to do right was the best answer. When expressing his sincere repentance for his sin with Bathsheba, he emphasized that it was not the animal sacrifices of a personal sin offering that God desired but that these, to be effective, must be preceded by a far more difficult sacrifice: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. . . . Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar" (Psa. 51:17, 19).

Nor was it a one-time instruction in his youth that Job pleaded, but a daily feeding on the words of God. How well he lived the words of the Law which Jesus quoted during his temptations: "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live" (Deut. 8:3). As that manna must be gathered daily so must we, as the ancient Bereans, daily seek out the word of God, the heavenly manna, for sustenance (Acts 17:11).

The Judge—Verses 13 and 14

But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Turning now to describe his judge, Job first recognizes his omniscience. The thought of the Hebrew is, "He is one, who can change him?" Because he is the Creator of all things, he alone has the right to make the rules for that which he creates. As the psalmist writes, "the fear [or respect, reverence] of the Lord is the beginning [starting point] of wisdom" (Psa. 111:10).

Job notes Jehovah’s omniscience and his omnipotence as well: "what his soul desireth, even that he doeth." Proceeding from the general to the specific, Job notes particularly that Jehovah’s actions in his personal life are all "appointed." Professor W. E. Vine uses the word "prescription" as one of the meanings of the word. God gives us prescribed experiences. As a doctor must often insist that a patient take some bitter medicine for his overall health, so God prescribes experiences which, though appearing to be bitter, "afterward yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Heb. 12:11). As the physician may lance a wound, so God sometimes wounds, but he wounds to heal (Isa. 19:22). Nor is God content to do these appointed acts once, but "many such things are with him." A similar expression is found in Elihu’s words in Job 33:29, "all these things God works oftentimes with man." Jehovah knows his students learn best by repetition, practicing the graces of the spirit over and over until they become second nature. Not only are there the lessons of affliction but there are compensating lessons with prosperity as well. Frequently the latter brings the greatest rate of failure. Both are needed to the full rounding out of the Christian character. "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits" (Song of Sol. 4:16).

Job’s Reactions—Verses 15 to 17

Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

Being unable to perceive the ways of the Lord, it was natural for Job to be fearful of the future. He had no way of knowing that the end of his experience would be a two-fold blessing (chap.. 42). What was needed was a heart reliance and trust in the truth, which he intellectually grasped, "when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." How we, when similarly perplexed, need to grasp the words of the hymnist:

Yet despite the troubling thoughts which vexed Job’s mind, God was using these experiences to soften his heart. There is a negative sense in which the heart can be made soft, when it melts like wax out of fear of an uncertain future. There is also a positive sense, for just such difficult experiences as Job was going through create a sensitivity to the experiences of others. We each need to have the hearts of stone removed, replaced by hearts of flesh: hearts sensitive to another’s needs; hearts that are pliable in the master potter’s hands.

For these reasons we are not cut off in death before going through our beds of afflictions, and for these reasons he does not hide and protect us from the dark clouds of trouble that sometimes surround and engulf us.

Though God may seem to hide himself from our frail eyesight at times, it is to help us detect more surely and follow more completely the way he leads. So directed, we will not only follow him when his leadings are obvious, but learn to discern the very wink of his eye, which leads us to our heavenly home. "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psa. 32:8).