I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.
Job's friends have accused him of hidden sin. Instead of answering them, he turns away to God and asks for a hearing. Verse 5 is the heart of that longing. He wants God's reply, and he is sure he would understand it. God did grant that wish one day — but not in the way Job expected.
The picture behind the words
The language is that of a courtroom. One translation shows how formal his plea is. He asks for a hearing at the throne, with his case written out:
William KellyOh, that I knew where to find Him! I would come to His royal throne. I would draw up the case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me.
Job is not afraid of God's answer
Most sufferers would dread hearing God speak. Job asks for it. One writer says Job was sure the answer would be good. He reads the next line differently too: God would not crush Job with power, but give heed to him:
William Kelly… Now that is what he desired. He was not afraid of what God would say. It was sure to be good, because He loved, and because of what Job knew Him to be. "Will He plead against me with His power?" That is what they thought. "No," said he; nothing of the sort; "but He would put strength in me." "Strength" goes a little too far. It is rather, "He would give heed to me." … I knew it would be all right if I could only get a hearing. If I could come close to Him, then He would listen.
Confidence that shades into presumption
Commentators differ on how to read this boldness. Not everyone hears it as faith. Job is sure ahead of time that he would follow God's reasoning. One writer hears self-righteousness in that certainty:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThen in blinded self-righteousness he speaks a bold word: "I would know what He would answer me and understand what He would say to me." He is so sure of it all that he declares "He would give heed to me." How different it was when the Lord did speak! Job's lips closed, and opened again only to voice the deepest self-loathing. Yet even in the words he speaks here, still in the dark about why he suffers, he shows something. He is not the defiant wicked man. He is one who longs for God.
A man who runs toward God, not away
Whatever is wrong in Job's reasoning, the direction of his heart is right. He does not hide. He wants the very presence that frightens him:
J. N. DarbyIn chapter 23, we see Job's confidence in God, and his desire for God, although the blow was bitter. He said, "Oh! that I knew where I might find Him!" He did not try to keep away from God. He had such a sense of what God was that he wanted to get to Him, "even to His seat." … There was no wretched, hypocritical effort to keep away from God. He knew he had to do with God. In his heart he wanted to get to Him, though his conscience kept him away. So there was much more truth in Job than in the see-saw truths of his friends. His conscience was fully at work; theirs was not at work at all.
That is where the verse touches us. Job doubts God and still wants to get to Him:
Samuel RidoutHe doubts God's ways and accuses Him, but he is sure that if he could only see Him, everything would be cleared up. … It is always better to bring even our doubts of God to Himself, if we have nothing else to bring.
When the hearing came
Job got what he asked for. God spoke — and the arguments Job had stored up never left his mouth:
William KellyIt is one thing to weigh the opinions of men, as Job might weigh his friends' opinions. It is quite another to sit in judgment on Jehovah's ways. Job had wished to come near His seat and plead his own cause. Now here He was, meeting the boldness of Job's reproofs — if Job could answer. The only answer he makes is to admit that he is worthless. He had no answer to the divine challenge beyond the confession implied in laying his hand on his mouth. … The folly of refusing to submit is now before his soul. He had spoken too much: silence suited him. It was for Jehovah to speak.
Summary
- The request — Job wants a court date with God. He comes with a prepared case and a mouth full of arguments, and he wants an answer he can follow.
- The confidence — he is not afraid of what God would say. He expects God to give heed to him, not to crush him with power.
- The flaw — some writers read his certainty as self-righteous boldness. His later silence proves them right.
- The instinct — his conscience held him back, yet his heart ran toward God. That is truer than his friends' tidy answers.
- The outcome — the hearing came; the arguments vanished; Job laid his hand on his mouth and let God speak.