There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.
Job has just said he cannot win a case against God. What he lacks is someone to stand between them — an "arbiter," or a "daysman" in older translations.
The Question Underneath the Cry
Earlier in the chapter Job raised a legal question: how can a man be right before God?
C. StanleyThis chapter brings out the state of Job's mind. He says, "I know it is so of a truth. But how should man be just with God?" He gets before God as Judge; and his perplexity is very great. He cannot answer God one in a thousand. "I am afraid of all my sorrows. I know that You will not hold me innocent." Poor Job! He does not know now which way to turn. And is not this the case with every believer the moment he gets before God as Judge?
What a "Daysman" Is
The word Job uses belongs to the courtroom.
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe word means 'mediator,' or 'umpire,' as in the margin: one "that might lay his hand upon us both," Job 9:33: as the Lord Jesus is mediator between God and men.
Why Nobody Around Job Could Fill the Role
Job knows no one who qualifies. The role demands two very different hands.
F. B. HoleHow clear it is that Job knew he was a sinful creature before his holy Creator, and that he had in himself no means of getting right. That being so, his only hope was in the stepping in of a third party; but he knew of no such third party, no "daysman." His three friends could not act the part, and neither could any other man. The daysman must be great enough to lay one of his hands upon Almighty God, and gracious enough to lay the other upon poor, diseased, sinful Job.
Two Hands, Two Qualifications
Think about what laying a hand on someone assumes. It rules out anyone who is only one thing.
J. T. MawsonI might come to you and lay my hand upon your shoulder and talk freely with you, for we are equals. But I could not stand beside His Majesty the King and lay my hand upon him. How much less could a man lay his hand upon God, or upon the throne of God!... And yet the mediator for whom Job cried in his despair must be able to put His hand upon God. He must be God's equal. No one less could step in, or be of use to Job or to us. But He must also put His hand upon men. He must be one of us, able to take our part and to identify Himself with our vast indebtedness. HE MUST BE GOD AND MAN.
A Wrong Spirit, a Right Instinct
Job's spirit here is not a model. Still, one writer traces the wish itself back to a healthy source.
J. N. DarbyI am not commenting here on the spirit in which Job takes the matter up, for it was a wrong one. I bring it forward to show this: the sense of needing a mediator arises from the conviction of sin, and does not hinder it.
Elihu: The Wish Half-Answered
Later in the book, a new speaker named Elihu quotes Job's wish back to him.
Samuel RidoutHe reminds Job of his own desire for such a person: "Neither is there any daysman between us, that might lay his hand upon us both" (Job 9:33)... To this desire Elihu now replies: "Behold, I am according to your wish, in God's stead; I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make you afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon you" (Job 33:6-7).
The Answer Job Never Saw
Elihu could speak for God as a man of clay, but he was not God's equal. One writer names the One who is — and warns that becoming man was only the first step.
W. W. FeredayRealising that man cannot bridge the gulf that sin has made between himself and God, Job felt the need of a mediator. Christ alone meets this need. From Godhead glory He stooped to manhood in His indescribable grace. This enables Him to "lay His hand upon us both." But His incarnation could not of itself remove one single sin... Remission is impossible apart from blood. Accordingly the apostle adds: "Who gave Himself a ransom for all." The manger was a necessary step to the cross.
Summary
- Question. Job's cry starts with one question: how can a man be right before God? He wants an arbiter for a courtroom, not comfort.
- Gap. He is a sinful creature before a holy Creator, with no way in himself to get right. No friend and no other man can bridge that gap.
- Hands. One hand must be great enough to touch God, the other gracious enough to touch a ruined man. So the arbiter must be God and man.
- Shadow. Elihu answers the wish in part. He stands in God's place as a man formed of clay, but a man of clay cannot lay a hand on God.
- Answer. Christ meets the need. But the manger alone removes no sin: He laid His hand on both by giving Himself as a ransom.