I, the Faultfinder

Several weeks ago, Justin Taylor (Between Two Worlds) quoted Ed Welch as saying the following:

Apart from the giving of the law, God's longest speech in the entire Bible is in the last four chapters of Job. It is a speech intended to cause Job to grow even more in knowing God's greatness. If you read these chapters every day for a month you will find that they are a treatment for almost anything. Do you fear people? Are you suffering? Are you anxious? Depressed? Struggling with anger? Hard-hearted? Listen to these questions from the mouth of God.

"Have you ever given orders to the morning?" (38:12)

"Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?" (38:17-18)

"Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are?'" (38:35)

The pace of God's questions is relentless. They leave you speechless. But they are graciously delivered to a righteous man who prizes the fear of the Lord above all else.

Intrigued by the challenge, I have decided to give it a try. Today was day twelve. Each time I read through, I try to keep in mind a different struggle or sin, to see what new insights I might discover by the Holy Spirit speaking actively through the Word of God. I might get to some of these discoveries later, but every time I read there are a few verses that strike my heart and offer fresh conviction to every area of my life.

Job 40:8 – “Will you really condemn Me that you may be justified?”

At first, this one puzzled me. It sounded deep and powerful, but it wasn’t until I really started to pick it apart that I began to understand just how much truth stood behind this short question. The overall themes of God’s questions through this speech are man’s lowly state and His own greatness, and this question certainly fits that mold, but there’s more to it. If we play into the question, we must first find a fitting description of condemnation. Simply put, God can justly condemn man because man has failed to live in the way which God has ordained as right. So, for man to condemn God is to tell God that He has not acted according to what man has ordained as right. It sounds ridiculous put that way, right? But there’s even more to the question. Not only is this hypothetical man expecting God to act as he desires, but in doing so he seeks to justify himself – to actually reverse reality and say that it is God who has erred and man who has done no wrong.

I can think no better example to illustrate this verse than Adam himself. After eating of the Tree in the Garden of Eden, disobeying God’s clear instruction, Adam says to God: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). Adam is not blaming Eve; he is blaming God. He is condemning God that he may be justified. Yes, God’s rhetorical question to Job sounds preposterous, but oh how often we repeat that sin that Adam first committed, though not always with such blatant words.

Job 40:2 – “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?”

This is another one that floors me every time. The implication is similar to the question in Job 40:8, that we should find fault with God, as if we know better. It brings God’s sovereignty into the equation. What an appropriate title for me: the faultfinder. Hardly a day goes by, I am sure, in which I do not somehow call into question God’s sovereignty, His plan. How great I must be that I am able to find fault in perfection. Or perhaps the issue is that I don’t truly believe in the perfection of God’s plan. God is asking whether I will contend with him -- this is a strong word. To contend with God’s will is not just to call it into question, but actually to oppose it and live out instead my own will in defiance of that which has been put in place for my ultimate good.

I intend to finish out my 30-days of reading Job 38-42, and I am sure that God will continue to reveal Himself through it. Expect to hear more of this journey soon.