Much of the Book of Job is presented in the context of a courtroom drama. Although Job’s friends probably believed they represented the Lord in their judgment of Job’s calamity, in reality, they simply acted as Job’s accusers or witnesses against him. He has denied their allegations and held them in contempt, calling their accusations lies, and although they had originally come to comfort him, they failed miserably and had totally misunderstood his dilemma (Job 13:4). In this context, then, Job presented himself to the Lord, asking for clemency on two matters. First, Job asked the Lord to relieve him, temporarily, of his pain, so he could logically plead his case, and, secondly, he asked that God wouldn’t frighten him with his majesty. If the Lord would do these two things for him, then Job would willingly appear before him and not try to hide himself (Job 13:20-21; cp. Genesis 3:10).
Job asked the Lord to take the initiative, as the prosecuting attorney, and interrogate him and Job would answer. However, if the Lord preferred that Job take the initiative, he would do that and let the Lord answer (Job 13:22). Some believe Job was being irreverent at this point, but I do not. It is my understanding that the shoulders of God are quite large and capable of bearing what may be construed by the observing eye as irreverence. However, the Lord looks upon the heart, not the words we use in prayer or discussion. I see Job’s heart as pure. He was confused over what the Lord had done to him (Job 10:2) and simply wanted to know why, why the Lord treated him as he did. Who hasn’t asked God: “Why?” It is commonly understood that the Lord treats us according to our acts, but according to the Book of Job, this isn’t so. Indeed, Job was educated in the same school of thought that his friends were, but Job was beginning to understand that something was wrong with that worldview. Where should he go for answers? Where should we go, when our worldview is shattered? Job went to the Lord, and I am simple enough to believe that wasn’t irreverent.
The human heart is complex, and often what we believe seems contradictory and hypocritical. Nevertheless, Job couldn’t be accusing the Lord of injustice, as the friends believe, for he looked to God for his salvation (Job 13:16; 19:25). Job asked the Lord to cause him to know his sin (Job 13:23), because he was unaware of so great a sin that would bring down upon him so great a judgment as had occurred. Something was wrong but what was it? Job’s friends had accused him of great wickedness, but neither they nor he could identify what that could have been. ‘What is going on, and why have you hidden your face from me (Job 13:24)? How could I begin to understand what I have done, if you have taken away your light and left me to live in darkness? I am not your enemy. Yet, you treat me as though I were, in that you withhold your light.’
Job compares himself and the sins he knows he has committed to an insignificant leaf of a plant or of a tree, vis-à-vis a piece of useless and unwanted chaff that is driven by the wind. Why would Almighty God be so concerned with such insignificance as this, and use his great power to destroy it (Job 13:25)? Such a thing didn’t make sense, and since Job wasn’t conscious of any great wickedness in his life, why would God want to destroy him for the little sins he is guilty of committing, or why would he punish him now for the passions of his youthful ignorance (Job 13:26)? Isn’t God bigger than this? Shall not the Judge of the earth do right (cp. Genesis 18:25)? Yet, Job understands his calamity, as a written document of a court of that accuses him of great wrongdoing for all to see. Why would God do this?
Job perceives his calamitous misfortune, as one might envision one committed to stocks for punishment. He couldn’t move far and was narrowly observed by everyone, including his friends, as one marked by God as a wicked sinner (Job 13:27). He is guilty and unable to escape, and neither could he prove his innocence, given the present school of thought, regarding the Lord’s treatment of the sinner. Why had the Judge of the earth done this thing (Job 13:28; cp. Genesis 18:25)? Would the Lord answer clearly and logically (cp. Job 10:2)?
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