Job 19:12–20

It was Eloah who had hedged up his way so that he could not escape. He covered his path with darkness, stripped him of honour, and took the crown off his head. He crushed him on every side, so that he was going, and uprooted even his hope. It was He whose anger burned against him, and who counted him as one of His foes. He massed His troops, piled up mounds against him, and camped right around.

Job counted them as God's troops come together, "building roads" against him. Of course Job's surmise was wrong. God did not move these people against him, though no doubt Satan did so. Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this. His acquaintances, relatives and close friends had distanced themselves from him. Even those living in his own house treated him as a stranger, a foreigner not worth considering.

"He has also kindled His wrath against me …" — there he was wrong — "and He counts me to Him as one of His enemies. His troops come on together; they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent."

The Assyrians were only instruments in His hand. He would Himself strike, but not wipe out His guilty people. He does not destroy them; He chastens them. This humbles, but it also comforts, for love is there. See the case of Job. There are the instruments of judgment, and Satan behind them, but God above, who directs everything for Job's good. At the end Job is more blessed by Jehovah than at the beginning, bright as that beginning was.

Job thought God was against him; but he has to learn that God was the only One that was truly for him. Satan, the Sabeans, the winds and the fire of heaven, his wife and his three friends — all were against him, and set on his destruction or condemnation. And last of all he has to learn that he was against himself. There was only One in the universe who was his Friend, and He was the One Job regarded as his enemy. God controlled all the enemies mentioned. He let them go only a certain length.

What follows is a fearful charge laid against God. It is well for Job that he is accusing infinite patience, or he might have had a real taste of divine anger. But God bears with it all, waiting His own time to bring the poor distracted man into His own holy presence.

Then, in the middle of all these laments, he speaks those magnificent words of faith: "I know that my Redeemer lives." But this was the very God he had just been charging with injustice! How good it is to see Job's faith, in all this turmoil, turning to the very One he was maligning!

"He has also kindled His wrath against me…" — there he was wrong — "and He counts me to Him as one of His enemies. His troops come together and raise up their way against me, and encamp around my tent. He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me." You know what that is to the heart if you have ever tasted it. "My relatives have failed me, and my close friends" — he now gets closer — "have forgotten me."

But Job counted them as God's troops come together, "building roads" against him. Of course Job's guess was wrong. God did not move these people against him, though no doubt Satan did so. Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this. His acquaintances, relatives and close friends had distanced themselves from him.

His own brothers have forsaken him; his relatives have forgotten him. His very slaves look on him as a stranger. Even to his own servant he must repeat his appeal again and again before the man will listen. Worst of all, the wife of his heart recoils from the foul smell of his body. Boys mock him, friends detest him… It is a dreadful picture of a horrid disease. It is unspeakably sad when we remember that he could not turn to God for comfort.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were friends and brothers indeed, though they proved to be only "miserable comforters." They came to Job when all had deserted him… They were true-hearted friends, who said they would go and comfort their suffering brother. And they did go; and they sat with him in his place of ashes and broken pottery for seven days.

With a heart supremely able to receive love as well as to give it, He must be alone. God's hand divided Him from every human kindness: "You have put my acquaintance far from me"… "Lover and friend you have put far from me." While His enemies surrounded Him like a flood, He was without a single comforter. The desertion of His friends was a portion of the cup prepared for Him.

"Oh that my words were written… Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives." Here we come to the very clear confession of his faith… It was beautiful too at such a time. He was in the deepest desolation and distress. Not one friend was left among men, and God Himself was striking him.

"He has put my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me." You know what that is to the heart if you have ever tasted it. "My relatives have failed me, my close friends" — he now gets closer — "have forgotten me." "Those who dwell in my house, and my maids, count me a stranger: I am an alien in their sight."

Job counted them as God's troops come together, "building roads" against him. Of course Job's surmise was wrong. God did not move these people against him, though no doubt Satan did so. Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this. His acquaintances, relatives and close friends had distanced themselves from him.

It is perfectly true that it must have been God allowing all this... "He has also kindled His wrath against me" — there he was wrong.

His own brothers have forsaken him; relatives have forgotten him. His own slaves look at him as a stranger. He has to beg his own servant again and again before the man will answer. Worst of all, the wife of his heart recoils from the foul smell of his body. Boys mock him, friends detest him... It is a dreadful picture of a horrible disease. It is sad beyond words when we remember that he could not turn to God for comfort.

His relatives and acquaintances, at the end, seek him again. They ought, indeed, never to have deserted him. For we deceive ourselves if we think that we must be right when we grieve those whom God is disciplining. This is often very far indeed from being the case... We are more often, perhaps, in God's mind, and acting as living vessels of the Spirit, when we are soothing such people... The very fact that God's hand had touched him, as he puts it so deeply, would have been the reason for pity from his friends.

"For I know that my Redeemer lives." Here we come to the very clear confession of his faith. It was beautiful too that he said this at such a time. He was in the deepest desolation and distress. Not one friend was left to him among men, and God Himself was striking him. In his circumstances, how like Christ he was, up to a point! How unlike Him in steadily acknowledging God's holiness, free from hardness and free from complaining! Still, here we have a blessed confession, and all the more so because of the gloom, pain, and desertion in which he spoke it.

Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this. His acquaintances, relatives and close friends had distanced themselves from him (vv.12-14). Even those living in his own house, including maid servants, acted toward him as though he had been a stranger, a foreigner not to be considered (v.15).

His own slaves look at him as a stranger. He has to beg his own servant over and over before the man will even answer him.

"He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope He has pulled up like a tree. He has kindled His wrath against me …" — there he was wrong — "and counts me as His adversary… He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me." You know what that does to the heart, if you have ever tasted it.

Did they say that God was against Job? "God has overthrown me," he admits. If it was any comfort to them to know it, he confesses that his trouble came from God's hand… He himself, not they, points to how completely he was deserted — by his wife, his brothers, his servants, his whole household.

We can be sure that divine love, as well as divine wisdom, put this afflicted child of God through fresh attacks from Satan… Every prop is to be removed and every joy on earth taken away. Still Job will hold fast to the God he has trusted, even if only dimly. And through the very trials he must pass through, Job will learn the greatest lesson of all, for all eternity: that God is all in all. As a step to that knowledge, he will see that he is nothing.

When the soul turns to seek His face, and Him only as our goal and object, we discover with amazement how many false props we have had. We see how often we have been leaning on the love and approval of others, and not on a Father's love alone.

They came to Job when everyone had deserted him. Children mocked him, young men pushed his feet aside, his relatives failed him, his closest friends forgot him, his servants gave him no answer, and his wife refused him… And they did go. They sat with him in his place of ashes and broken pottery for seven days.

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth." It was beautiful at such a time, in the deepest desolation and distress, with not one friend left among men, and God Himself striking him. How like Christ he is, up to a point, in his circumstances! How little like Him in that steady acknowledgment of God's holiness, which is as free from hardness as it is from complaining!

Turning to man, Job sees the same injustice, which by implication comes from God. It is His troops who besiege him. His own brothers have forsaken him; his relatives have forgotten him. His own slaves look on him as a stranger, and even to his own servant he has to keep pleading before he will be heard. Worst of all, the wife he loves recoils from the foul smell of his body. Boys mock him, friends detest him.

At least Job's three friends did sit with him and listened to him. But his servants would not even answer when he called. His breath was offensive to his wife, which was no doubt literally true. His wife was clearly no help to him in his sufferings (vv. 16-17)... We can understand what children would feel on seeing him sitting in an ash heap covered with sores. Yet Job felt them shrinking back from him, in contrast to their former respect.

It was He who refused to listen to Job's cry and gave no ear to his appeals. And not only this: it was He who embittered his social circle and the privacy of home. He removed his brothers, estranged his acquaintances, made his relatives fail and his close friends forget him. His guests and his maid counted him a stranger, an alien. Job called his servant in vain, though he begged him humbly. Job was an object of disgust to his wife, even when he was longing after those nearest to him.

Did they say that God was against Job? "God has overthrown me," he acknowledges... He himself points to his universal desertion, not they. His wife, his brothers, his servants, his household all left him. Even youngsters treated him with contempt. Those who once respected him had now all deserted him.

And this, as far as it goes, could not have been without real faith, though it was far below the meek submission of our blessed Lord.

Then, in the middle of these laments, he speaks magnificent words of faith. He says, "I know that my Redeemer lives." But this was the very God whom he had just been charging with injustice! How good it is to see Job's faith in all this turmoil turning to the very One he was speaking against! Truly these — not his own protests of innocence — are the words worth carving into lasting rock.

Here, then, we have a glimpse of the blessed Lord whom we know. He is not One who is yet to arise. He has already triumphed over death and the grave. He has vindicated us — not from attacks on some imagined righteousness of ours, but from sins of the deepest kind. He has enabled us to say, "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?"

His breath was offensive to his wife, which was no doubt literally true. His wife was evidently no help to him in his sufferings (vv. 16-17). He also says, "I am repulsive to the children of my own body. Even young children despise me." Of course he was not speaking of his sons and daughters, who had already been taken in death, so it is likely his grandchildren he speaks of. We can understand what children would feel on seeing him sitting in an ash heap covered with sore boils, yet Job felt them recoiling from him, in contrast to their former respect for him.

His brothers were put far from him. His acquaintances turned cold. His relatives failed him, and his close friends forgot him. The guests in his house and his maid counted him a stranger, an alien. He called his servant in vain, though he begged him humbly. He was an object of disgust to his wife, even while he was yearning after those nearest to him.

Worst of all, his own wife recoils from the foul smell of his body. Boys mock him, friends hate him. It is a dreadful picture of a horrible disease, and sad beyond words when we remember that he could not turn to God for comfort.

Did they say that God was against Job? "God has overthrown me," he acknowledges. If it was any comfort to them to know it, he confesses that his trouble came from His hand... It is Job himself, not his friends, who points to his complete desertion: his wife, his brothers, his servants, his household. Even youngsters treated him with contempt. Those who once respected him had all now abandoned him.

People generally live by a legal principle, so it is understandable that they took the same attitude toward Job as his friends did. Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this. His acquaintances, relatives and close friends had distanced themselves from him. Even those living in his own house, including maidservants, treated him as though he were a stranger, a foreigner not worth considering... Of course Job's guess was wrong. God did not move these people against him, though no doubt Satan did.

There is a little reality, a little of the "friend in need" who "is a friend indeed," but there is a great deal of scorn and desertion in the hour of calamity, still so well known in the world. Job has three friends who sit with him among his ashes and broken pottery, but everyone else sees him only from a distance. Is not all this "the present evil world" drawn to the life?

How pitiable! He had come down very low to ask his dear friends to have pity. All they gave him was ugly suspicion, and it wounded him deeply... "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth." This is a most wonderful expression of faith.

It was He who embittered his social circle and the privacy of home. He removed his brothers and estranged his acquaintances; his relatives failed him, his close friends forgot him. The guests in his house and his maid counted him a stranger, a foreigner. He called his servant in vain, though he begged him humbly. His wife found him disgusting, even while he longed for those nearest to him. The very youngsters despised him. If he stood up, they spoke at him instead of showing respect. All his close friends loathed him, and those he loved turned against him.

He says, "Even young children despise me." Of course he was not speaking of his sons and daughters, who had already died, so he is likely speaking of his grandchildren. We can understand how children would feel at seeing him sitting in an ash heap covered with sore boils. Yet Job felt them pulling away from him, in contrast to their former respect for him. But if he stood up, he said, they would speak against him. At least, however they felt, even young children should not be so callous as to speak against a sufferer.

How boldly he speaks out. As far as it goes, that could not have been without real faith. Did they say that God was against Job? "God has overthrown me," he acknowledges. If it was any comfort for them to know, he confesses that his trouble came from His hand... He himself points, not they, to his universal desertion — the desertion of his wife, of his brothers, of his servants, of his household: in short, even youngsters acting contemptuously towards him. Those who once revered him had all now deserted him.

Passing to man, Job sees the same injustice, which by implication comes from God... Boys mock him, friends detest him... It is a dreadful picture of a horrible disease, sad beyond words when we remember that he could not turn to God for comfort.

Every prop must go, and every joy on earth be taken away. Still Job will cling to the God he has trusted, even though dimly. And on the other hand, Job must pass through these very trials. Through them he will learn the lesson of all lessons, for all eternity — that God is all in all. As a step towards that knowledge, he will see that he is nothing.

It was beautiful too, coming at such a time. He was in the deepest desolation and distress. He had not one single friend among men, and God Himself was smiting him. How like Christ he was in his circumstances, up to a certain point! How little like Him in the steady acknowledgment of God's holiness, free from hardness and free from complaining. Still, here we have a wonderful confession, all the more so because of the gloom, pain, and desertion he spoke it in.

It was God who embittered his social circle, and the privacy of his home. His brothers were put far away, his acquaintances estranged, his relatives failed, his close friends forgetful. The guests of his house and his maid counted him a stranger, an outsider. He called his servant in vain, though he begged him humbly. He was an object of disgust to his wife... The very youngsters despised him. If he rose, they spoke at him instead of showing any respect. All his closest friends loathed him, and those he loved turned against him.

Anyone who has been through such rejection is bound to feel the pain of it. Yet Job's friends do not seem to have even considered how deeply this must have hurt Job.

Since people generally live by a legal principle, it is understandable that they had the same attitude toward Job as his friends did. But Job counted them as God's troops come together, "building roads" against him. Of course Job's guess was wrong. God did not move these people against him, though no doubt Satan did. Job's brothers had removed themselves from him, and Job blamed God for this.

He himself points, not they, to his complete desertion: his wife, his brothers, his servants, his whole household, and even youngsters treating him with contempt. Those who once respected him had all now deserted him. So complete, and so sudden, was Job's fall... It was the painful truth, and he admits it all.

Job's words may often seem to come close to the words of Christ in the Psalms. But they really stand in contrast with His perfection. For He always remained in the love of His Father. He never failed to justify His God, even when abandoned by Him on the cross. Job was never abandoned like that, and neither was any other servant of God who ever lived. So Job stands as the instructive foil to Christ. We cannot rely on the old and modern writers who agree in saying that Job was a picture of Christ as the Victim or the undeserving Sufferer.

He boldly charges God with having wronged him. He is the object of divine cruelty and of human scorn. And yet it is wonderful to see the poor crushed spirit rise from the dust in those words of faith and hope, "I know that my Redeemer lives." ... (3) The scorn of man (vv. 12-20). (4) The plea for pity (vv. 21-24). (5) The triumph of faith (vv. 25-27).

However deeply Bildad's cruel words hurt him, Job's reply shows not the slightest sense of the guilt laid at his door… And it is wonderful to see this crushed spirit rise from the dust in those words of faith and hope, "I know that my Redeemer lives."… (1) Reproach (Job 19:1-6). (2) God's hand (verses 7-11). (3) The scorn of man (verses 12-20). (4) The plea for pity (verses 21-24). (5) The triumph of faith (verses 25-27). (6) The close (verses 28, 29).

He was an object of contempt, and everyone left him. Even his servants and his wife would have nothing to do with him. The words he used to close this account of his sorrows in verse 20 describe his physical state, and they have become a common saying among us.

His bones stick to his skin, and so far he has only just escaped death, as by the skin of his teeth. That is, everything is eaten away except the thin covering around the roots of his teeth. It is a dreadful picture of an awful disease. It is deeply sad when we remember that he could not turn to God for comfort.

Perhaps the expression which is most familiar to us is from chapter nineteen, verse twenty, where Job says, "I have escaped by the skin of my teeth." People sometimes use the verse for a "close shave." But what Job really meant was that he was covered with boils from head to foot. The only place with no boils was his teeth, because there was no skin there.

It was He who threw him down and caught him in a net he could not escape. It was He who refused to listen to his cry… It was He who made his circle of friends bitter, and his home life too. His brothers were taken away, his friends turned into strangers, his relatives failed him, his closest companions forgot him… All his close friends hated him, and those he loved turned against him. He himself was wasted away, escaped with nothing but the skin of his teeth.

"He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head." He felt all this very deeply. What right has any believer to a crown now?… The day when we will be crowned is the day when we have nothing but what is of Christ, with every bit of the old nature completely gone. That is where Job had much to learn. "He has also kindled His wrath against me" — there he was wrong.

Fire will test every man's work. Some are building with wood, hay, and straw, and their folly must be plain. Such material will perish in the flames: "if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." The man in this passage has a soul that is safe through the precious blood of Jesus, but he has wasted his precious life on things that perish… he escapes by the skin of his teeth. His soul saved, but all his work lost.