Job Versus Perry Mason (and the Crusher)

Two men looked through bars…one saw mud…and the other saw stars.
So goes the little poem about how two people, looking out through the bars of their circumstances, can have such differing perspectives. While in their prison, one sees possibilities and is filled with hope; the other dwells on the rottenness of life and is filled with despair.

In this episode Job sees both mud and stars.

In chapters 9 and 10 we are made acutely aware of Job’s deep agitation and turmoil. One moment he determines to be happy, but in the next he is racked with unbearable pain. He talks about the constellations and the wonders of God one second; and then a few lines later he complains about being attacked by a God Who has forgotten to be kind.

We will take a brief overview of the first sixteen verses and focus on verses 17 and 18; verse 17 in particular reveals something rather intriguing.

The language of chapter nine is that of lawyers and litigation and the court (with a little bit of WWE Belt Wrestling thrown in). Believe it or not, Job essentially wants to take God to court. He feels that he has been given a life sentence of misery without so much as a preliminary hearing. Hartley writes, “In an ancient court the winner was the one who argued so convincingly and persuasively that the opponent was put to silence…Job wants to charge God with violating his obligation of kindness.” There is also a hint of the ancient practice of “belt-wrestling” in which opponents, while tethered together with a belt, fought till one prevailed. Thus Job seems to be taking on both Perry Mason and the Crusher (make that John Cena for the younger generation).

9:1 Then Job spoke again: 2 “Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? 3 If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times? 4 For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully?

Job wonders, “How can a man be declared innocent or win a legal argument with God?” (The Hebrew word is “tsadaq,” meaning “to be righteous in character and conduct;” its used extensively in Job). Essentially he is asking, “I haven’t sinned so grievously so as to be punished so extensively. How can I win a court case against God?” But he knows that Perry Mason never lost a case, and neither has God! (Come to think of it, I guess Perry did lose in “The Case of the Terrified Typist”).

“Who has ever challenged him successfully?” The KJV has “defied” and the word describes the way in which a warrior would brace himself and make his neck hard or stiff in preparation for battle.

9:5 “Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. 6 He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble. 7 If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine. 8 He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea. 9 He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky. 10 He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles."

Perhaps Job is (in a round about way) referring to himself in this passage about the power of God – the mountains were moved and turned upside down without warning – and so was I!

“He made all the stars – the Bear and Orion and Pleiades…” I wonder if, during those lonely ash heap nights, he ever thought about the camping trips he had gone on with his kids and how they tried to find the Big Dipper and other constellations as they slept under the stars. It must have left him heartbroken to think back to those days.

“He does great things too marvelous to understand” And yet I am infested with worms…and my kids are dead. Hartley writes, “Job gives vent to the deep agitation of his inner thought. In this speech he tends to state a position boldly, then abandon it when he sees its difficulty and jump to another idea, which is also quickly abandoned. Other times he reverts to despair, almost utter despair…His jumping about reflects his frustration at the lack of any insight into the reasons for his plight.”

9:11 “Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him. When he moves by, I do not see him go. 12 If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him? Who dares to ask, ’What are you doing?’ 13 And God does not restrain his anger. Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet. 14 “So who am I, that I should try to answer God or even reason with him? 15 Even if I were right, I would have no defense. I could only plead for mercy. 16 And even if I summoned him and he responded, I’m not sure he would listen to me."

Verse 12 states, “Who dares ask Him, ‘What are you doing?’” Haven’t you ever felt like crying out, “God what is going on?!?” During a particularly puzzling period of time a few months ago, while I was praying I looked up to the basement ceiling and asked, “Lord are you writing this down?” Or perhaps it’s an interrogation type of scenario with the brilliant klieg lights shining in God’s eyes, “Where were you on November 17th when my kids died?”

Note the courtroom type of language in this paragraph: I have no defense…I can only plead for mercy…if I summoned Him…

9:17 “For He bruises me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause. 18 “He will not allow me to get my breath, but saturates me with bitterness. 19 “If {it is a matter} of power, behold, {He is} the strong one! And if {it is a matter} of justice, who can summon Him?"

Note the words:
He bruises me with a tempest (He attacks me with a hurricane)
He won’t allow me to catch my breath
He saturates me with bitterness – I am glutted with calamity!

But note especially the key phrase “without cause”. The author of Job seems to use these pivotal words to tie together the main characters in a striking fashion. They are used when:

Satan speaks of Job in 1:9, “Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nothing (without any ulterior motives)?”

God speaks to Satan in 2:3, “And the LORD said to Satan, "…And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to ruin him without cause (gratuitously or undeservedly)!"

Job refers to God in 9:17, “For He bruises me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds without cause (devoid of reason or purpose).”

Job’s plea to both God and his friends? There is NO REASON why I am going through this! And the striking thing is – God agrees with him! (But Job doesn’t know that).

Verse 19 seems to sum up the first 18 verses when Job says, “If you think I can take on Reginald “The Crusher” Lisowski and win, He is the strong one! And if it’s a matter of arguing with Perry Mason in a court of law, I will just trip over my own tongue!”

Conclusion: Hartley writes this which seems to get to the very core of Job’s trial, “This dimension of the trial strikes a raw nerve in Job. God allows him to be tested in a way that leads Job to question the very basis of faith, namely, that God is just and good. No stronger test exists for a faithful servant of God. On the other hand, God has such confidence in his servant that he is not afraid to have his own goodness appear tainted to Job.”

Remember, the severity of your trial is probably not a measure of the lack of faith on your part, but rather the measure of trust that God has in you!