21 “Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.
22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?
-Job 9:21-24
This passage blows me away with in each line. I think of it as a compilation of images, each with its own puzzling characteristics, that, when brought together, creates a picture all its own. Let me tell you what I mean by each image.
Let’s start with verse 21. “Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.” Firstly, WOW! What a man to be able to say, “I am blameless”. I’m sure very few people have ever been able to truthfully say this. I suppose this is why the LORD chooses Job as an example of a faithful man. The next part in this line, at first, strikes me as contrary to the view most people (believers included) think of how a man of God, especially one as devout as Job, would regard his life. However, when one takes into consideration what had just happened to Job, for him to “have no concern for [himself]” and “despise [his] own life” shouldn’t surprise anyone. My point is that I believe God accepts our mourning and sorrow as worship, just as He takes the joy and happiness, so long as we are reverent and honoring of our God.
In the following verse, Job says, “It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’” Here, I was puzzled. I wondered, “Does God really destroy the blameless as well? I thought that God brought down only the wicked and exalted the humble, upright, and blameless.” Without digressing, let’s push on. Job states, “When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent.” What?!?! God mocks the despair of the innocent?!?! I DON’T BELIEVE THAT! Then, Job says, “When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges.” Okay…what does that mean? Who are the judges of the land? If we look back into the previous books of the Old Testament, we see who the judges are. These men were called by God to help steer His people in the right direction, to discern what was right and God-willed, helping the people to come to the appropriate conclusions and make the correct decisions. So, is Job saying that God will not even allow the judges to see what is going on? Will God prohibit the judges to help the land from falling into wicked hands? There is no hope for these lands, and God is partly to blame? Then, Job says, “If it is not he, then who is it?”
Wait, what? Job doesn’t realize who is at work here. However, we know that Satan is the one who is putting Job through these times. It is Satan who destroys the blameless and the wicked, who brings the scourge upon men, who mocks the despair of the innocent, and who lords over the hands of the wicked to whom these lands fall. It is not the LORD! Satan is to blame!
The fog in my mind as I read through this passage is now cleared. I can see again. Thank God. I would bet that Job was quite confused to say the least! Job lost everything and had no idea who was at work. He knew God was in control and that he had done nothing to deserve this loss, so he wondered why God would do this, not knowing that God hadn’t done this at all.
I suppose the reason I found this passage so significant is because, like Job, many of us find ourselves in moments of great sadness and confusion. On countless occasions of losing loved ones, for example, many of us lash out at God; we are hurt and confused. Some of us even dishonor God by blaming him for our loss. I hope that this passage will serve as a reminder that, in too many ways we, as believers, will go through hard times. We will have to carry the cross of Christ and suffer through some hard times. We may be mocked, punished unfairly, and lose much that is dear to us. Still, we have hope! We have hope in the God who is proud of his children who honor Him and are faithful. We have hope in a God that has control over good and of the wicked, who makes all things turn for good. We have hope in something that Job was unaware of in his time, “someone to mediate between us [and God], someone to bring us [and God] together, someone to remove God’s rod from [us], so that his terror would frighten [us] no more.” (Job 9:33-34) We have hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ! Let us not forget!
