Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him. Job 13:15-16
Job does not just profess his innocence before his friends. He is willing to put his life behind the belief he has not sinned before God. It is a complete confidence that there is nothing between him and God. He has a clear conscience, and wants to actually enter God's presence to ask Him what sin he committed to bring God's judgment. This statement was made in a time when God's law was not written, and Job's knowledge of God came through interacting with Him. It is no wonder why Job complained so bitterly that God would not answer him. He had a lifetime of seeking God, and Job was being judged without access to God.
We have our faith that we would die for. We marvel at the faith of the fathers and prophets. Christ has given us more than a clear conscience, He has provided a way to enter God's presence for us. Job's faith is an example of how we should view ourselves before God. It is not to say that we will not endure trials to showcase our faith. Job's friends had a limited outlook of God's character, but Job's viewpoint reflects how we as Christians stand before God. When we face the trials of this life those who do not have our faith should marvel at our confidence before God. The confidence we have through Christ's sacrifice trumps all earthly woes. It is not to say that we do not sorrow, but it does not overwhelm our faith. We can marvel at Job's faith as an example, but we should never overlook the confidence and access to God the believer has today.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:13-14
Another enjoyable and thought-provoking post, Adam! Job's confidence in his righteousness is admirable, and it foreshadows the confidence we can have in the even greater righteousness of Jesus. "Boldly I approach the eternal throne / And claim the crown of Christ my own," as Charles Wesley writes in the great hymn "And Can It Be."
ReplyDeleteI especially appreciate your point that there is danger in following Job's example too closely without sufficient appreciation for the *imputed* righteousness of Jesus in which we are clothed. After all, we deserve Hell, and it is quite unfair that we are given eternal life through Jesus instead!