Job’s suffering made him want to argue with God. Job told his friends, “Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances! For then, it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash, For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me” (Job 6:2-6). Job continued, saying, “Therefore, I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (Job 7:11). Job described his inner struggle as the anguish of my spirit and the bitterness of my soul. Man is viewed as consisting of two parts (or substances), material and immaterial, with the body being the material and spirit and soul denoting the immaterial. “Animals are not said to possess a spirit; this is only in man, giving him the ability to communicate with God” (G5590).

Job’s friend Zophar believed that Job was suffering because he had committed some horrible secret sin for which he was being punished (note on Job 11:1). Job denied that he had done anything wrong, indicating “that the hand of the LORD has done this” (Job 12:9), and then, Job stated, “Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand. I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am. As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself” (Job 13:1-3, NLT). “Job was deeply discouraged. He felt like God was against him (Job 13:21), was intentionally silent (Job 13:22), had turned away from him (Job 13:24), and was dredging up past sins (Job 13:26). Further contributing to his discouragement, Job’s friends became misguiding voices (Job 42:7). Attempting to defend God they actually misrepresented him, speaking lies (Job 13:4), using faulty arguments (Job 13:7-8), and talking in clichés (Job 13:12). They should have kept quiet (Job 13:15; cf. 2:13) and simply listened. Job felt as worthless as rotting wood or a moth-eaten coat (Job 13:28). Job didn’t realize God was aware of his suffering (Job 40:2), yet he stayed hopeful (Job 13:15). [1]

God wants us to be honest with him. “It takes faith to pray when you are in pain. Belief in God creates challenging questions, and lament provides the opportunity to reorient your hurting heart toward what is true.” [2] Many of the psalms that David wrote were laments. David poured out his heart to God with desperate candor, giving believers an example of what it looks like for us to truly lament. David began with a confession of his faith, stating, “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous” (Psalm 25:1-3). David’s argument for God being gracious to him was that he took refuge in the LORD. David said:

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you. (Psalm 25:16-21)

David asked the LORD to forgive all his sins. The Hebrew word that is translated forgive, nasa (naw-sawˊ) means “to lift…especially in reference to the bearing of guilt or punishment of sin (Genesis 4:13; Leviticus 5:1). This flows easily then into the concept of the representative or substitutionary bearing of one person’s guilt by another (Leviticus 10:17; 16:22). David understood that he needed a redeemer, someone who could pay the penalty for his sin on his behalf. David lamented, “Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD…For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great” (Psalm 25:6-7, 11).

The concept of the substitutionary bearing of one person’s guilt by another was established in the Passover when the LORD passed over the houses of the Israelites that had the blood of a lamb on the lintel and two door posts during their Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:21-23). When John the Baptist saw Jesus for the first time, he announced to the people around him, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus acknowledged his role as the redeemer of Israel when he told his disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28). The Greek word that is translated ransom, Lutron (looˊ-tron) means “something to loosen with, i.e. a redemption price (figurative, atonement)” (G3083).

John explained in his first letter that we must confess our sins in order to be forgiven by God. John said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). John went on to explain Jesus’ role as our advocate. It says in 1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” A propitiator is one who appeases anger and brings reconciliation with someone who has reason to be angry with us (G2434). Jesus did this when he paid the penalty for our sin by shedding his blood on the cross.

The Greek word that is translated advocate in 1 John 2:1, parakletos (par-akˊ-lay-tos) means “an intercessor…one who pleads the cause of anyone before a judge” (G3875). Jesus used the word parakletos when he told his disciples shortly before his death, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16). In the same way that Jesus is our advocate with the Father, the Holy Spirit helps us by interceding on our behalf through prayer. Jesus identified the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, and said the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. And then, Jesus said, “You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).

Job wanted to speak directly to the Almighty. Job said, “I want to argue my case with God himself” (Job 13:1-3, NLT). Job later stated, “God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him” (Job 13:15, NLT). Job’s suffering brought him to the point where he was willing to risk his own life in order to be justified before God. It says in Hebrews 4:16 that we should, “With confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need,” because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus’ sinless perfection wouldn’t mean much if he were only God, but Jesus Christ came to earth and lived as a human so that his death on the cross would fulfill our need for a human sacrifice, someone like us with a human nature, who was able to live his life according to God’s standard, complete submission and perfect obedience to God’s Word (Matthew 5:48).

Job’s internal conflict reached its highest point after his friend Eliphaz accused him of not having a relationship with God (Job 15:4) and Bildad implied he was going to hell (Job 18:14-21). Job pleaded, “Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!” (Job 19:21). Job had “yet to realize that sorrow and trials in the lives of believers come from the hands of a loving God” (note on Job 19:8-22). Job finally cried out in desperation:

“Oh that my words were written!
    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
Oh that with an iron pen and lead
    they were engraved in the rock forever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth. (Job 19:23-25)

Job had been arguing with God and his friends because he believed he had a redeemer, but up until this point, Job wasn’t aware that his Redeemer was God (note on Job 19:25-27). The Hebrew word that is translated Redeemer, ga’al (gaw-alˊ) means “to be next of kin” or “to act as a redeemer for a deceased kinsman…this word is used to convey God’s redemption of individuals from spiritual death” (H1350). Jesus’ ability to act in the role of the kinsman redeemer was based on his relationship to King David (Matthew 1:1-17) to whom God promised, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

When the LORD answered Job (Job 38-41), he pointed out that “no man has any authority to judge God” (note on Job 40:8). God asked Job, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” (Job 40:2, NLT).  Job responded, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say” (Job 40:4-5, NLT).

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[1] The Spiritual Growth Bible, Dealing with Discouragement, p. 495.

[2] Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, p. 38.