Job cries out for a judge of mercy. But what do outward circumstances truly prove about a person? Absolutely nothing.
Job argues that God kills both the wicked and the upright alike, and when despair falls upon both, God’s attitude is the same towards the righteous and the wicked.
I sometimes wonder if Job wished he could take these words back as he turns his attention to his friends who are accusing him of evil.
“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
If the whip kills suddenly,
He mocks the despair of the innocent.
The earth is handed over to the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?” (Job 9:22–24)
Job’s thinking may seem dark and hopeless, but he says these things to prove his friends wrong about his own condition.
He concludes by saying, “There is no arbitrator between us, who can place his hand upon us both,” (Job 9:33).
Job proves that he is not pure by himself just through his very discourse. But we must remember that the darkest part of the night just precedes the dawn. Christ came and conquered death for Job and for us. We can forget our grief and be declared righteous by one Arbitrator, and that is Christ.
Do not let the outward circumstances of your life determine your worth or your relationship with God. Instead, look to Christ as the ultimate judge of mercy, and find hope in his sacrifice for you. Remember, the dawn and the King is coming.
For the next devotion in this series click here.
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