Bible Commentary - Job 9

In this chapter, Job responds to Bildad by asking who could judge between him and God.

This chapter really encapsulates all of Job’s most important arguments for the rest of the book.  The basic tension is that Job simply does not believe that he has done anything deserving such punishment.  However, Job also doesn’t believe that he has the power or the wisdom to dispute God’s judgment.  Job believes that he is being punished by God without good reason, yet because God has all power in the universe, there is nobody to whom Job may appeal for help.  There is no greater authority who can call God to account, to question God’s actions or judgments.

The flip side is that, even though Job says he has done nothing wrong, he also says “how can a man be in the right before God”? (v. 2)  The idea is that on the one hand, Job says he has done nothing wrong  (v. 20-23).  On the other hand, Job admits that no person is righteous before God; God is so holy and righteous that in comparison to him, nobody on the earth is righteous by God’s standard.  It seems like a contradiction, but I think this is a fair representation of Job’s mentality (both that Job thinks he is innocent, while acknowledging that nobody is innocent before God).

This chapter continues the legal/justice theme we have seen in the book of Job so far.  From Job’s perspective, we see that Job views himself as having a dispute with God.  In Job’s mind, God has “ruled” that he should be punished, and Job thinks this ruling was incorrect or unfair.  However, God has infinite power and cannot be called to account by anyone (v. 19).  Job does not have any recourse for “appealing” God’s judgment or an independent third party to judge between them (v. 32-33).

From this perspective, it seems that Job actually views God in the same way as his three friends.  Even though they disagree with one another on some things, Job and his friends actually have a lot in common.  They all view God as an arbiter of justice who punishes the wicked and strengthens the righteous.  They all see God as relatively distant, not particularly friendly to anyone.  To them God is like a judge or government official.

However, where they disagree is that Job does not perceive himself as wicked, while his friends do not believe that God is unfair.  This is causing Job to question God’s fairness, while it causes his friends to question Job’s righteousness.  The surprising conclusion of this book is that they are both wrong; Job is indeed righteous, and yet God remains just and fair.  Understanding and resolving this tension is what Job is all about.  This is the mystery of why bad things happen to good people, while living in a world governed by a just God.

In the next chapter, Job continues speaking.