April 1, 2024

Does God Even Care About My Pain?

Job 16

Payton Shoemaker
Monday's Devo

April 1, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 1, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 1, 2024

Monday's Devo

April 1, 2024

Big Book Idea

God is at work even when we can't see it.

Key Verse | Job 16:6-7

If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
Surely now God has worn me out;
he has made desolate all my company.

Job 16

Job Replies: Miserable Comforters Are You

1 Then Job answered and said:

2  “I have heard many such things;
    miserable comforters are you all.
3  Shall windy words have an end?
    Or what provokes you that you answer?
4  I also could speak as you do,
    if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you
    and shake my head at you.
5  I could strengthen you with my mouth,
    and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

6  If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
    and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
7  Surely now God has worn me out;
    he has 1 16:7 Hebrew you have; also verse 8 made desolate all my company.
8  And he has shriveled me up,
    which is a witness against me,
and my leanness has risen up against me;
    it testifies to my face.
9  He has torn me in his wrath and hated me;
    he has gnashed his teeth at me;
    my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
10  Men have gaped at me with their mouth;
    they have struck me insolently on the cheek;
    they mass themselves together against me.
11  God gives me up to the ungodly
    and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
12  I was at ease, and he broke me apart;
    he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
he set me up as his target;
13      his archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare;
    he pours out my gall on the ground.
14  He breaks me with breach upon breach;
    he runs upon me like a warrior.
15  I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin
    and have laid my strength in the dust.
16  My face is red with weeping,
    and on my eyelids is deep darkness,
17  although there is no violence in my hands,
    and my prayer is pure.

18  O earth, cover not my blood,
    and let my cry find no resting place.
19  Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,
    and he who testifies for me is on high.
20  My friends scorn me;
    my eye pours out tears to God,
21  that he would argue the case of a man with God,
    as 2 16:21 Hebrew and a son of man does with his neighbor.
22  For when a few years have come
    I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

Footnotes

[1] 16:7 Hebrew you have; also verse 8
[2] 16:21 Hebrew and
Table of Contents
Introduction to Job

Introduction to Job

Timeline

Author and Date

The unknown Israelite author of this book presents Job as a person living in Uz (see note on 1:1). Job’s godliness (1:1) matches the ideals of Israelite wisdom literature. He clearly knows Yahweh (1:21). The events of the book seem to be set in the times of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Theological Themes

The book of Job concerns itself with the question of faith in a sovereign God. Can God be trusted? Is he good and just in his rule of the world? The book shows that the reasons for human suffering often remain a secret to human beings.

In the book of Job, God seems both too close and too far away. On the one hand, Job complains that God is watching him every moment so that he cannot even swallow his spit (7:19). On the other hand, Job finds God elusive (9:11). Though God is greatly concerned about humans, he does not always answer their most agonizing questions.

At the same time, Job’s friends offer no real help. They come to “comfort” him (2:11), but Job ends up declaring them “miserable comforters” who would console him “with empty nothings” (21:34). These friends represent an oversimplified view of faith. They think that all human troubles are divine punishments for wrongdoing. Their “comfort” consists largely of urging Job to identify his sin and repent of it. These friends are negative examples of how to comfort those who are suffering.

The book illustrates that one does not need to fully understand God’s will in order to be faithful while suffering. Those who suffer need not be afraid to express to God their confusion and questions.

Purpose

The book of Job was written to those who struggle with the question of how God can be good when the world is filled with suffering.

The author does not provide a formal defense of God’s justice. Rather, as Job’s friends offer their inadequate answers, the author shows how their reasoning fails. Then, in chs. 38–41, the Lord speaks in his own defense, bringing Job to fuller understanding (ch. 42).

Even during his suffering and confusion, before God finally speaks, Job can triumphantly declare, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (19:25).

Outline

  1. Prologue: Job’s Character and the Circumstances of His Test (1:1–2:13)
  2. Dialogue: Job, His Suffering, and His Standing before God (3:1–42:6)
    1. Job: despair for the day of his birth (3:1–26)
    2. The friends and Job: can Job be right before God? (4:1–25:6)
      1. First cycle (4:1–14:22)
      2. Second cycle (15:1–21:34)
      3. Third cycle (22:1–25:6)
    3. Job: the power of God, place of wisdom, and path of integrity (26:1–31:40)
    4. Elihu: suffering as a discipline (32:1–37:24)
    5. Challenge: the Lord answers Job (38:1–42:6)
  3. Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job (42:7–17)
The Global Message of Job

The Global Message of Job

Universal Questions

With its story of one man’s life and suffering, the book of Job raises universal questions. Why do people suffer, especially godly people? Where is God in suffering? Can God be trusted amid suffering? Job’s friends try to answer such questions with superficial and simplistic solutions, eventually earning God’s rebuke (Job 42:7–9).

Ultimately we learn from Job that we can hope steadfastly in our sovereign God. Instead of providing easy answers to hard questions, this incomparably glorious, all-knowing, and almighty God presents to people in all places and in all times the simplest, most powerful, and most universal answer to these questions. God’s answer to human suffering has everything to do with his own infinite goodness and care for his creation.

Suffering in a Fallen World

In the life of Job we see the breadth and depth of human suffering. We see suffering in health (Job 2:7), suffering in the loss of property (1:14–17), and suffering in the tragic death of family members (1:18–19). In Job we also listen in on a discussion in the heavenly courtroom between God and Satan (1:6–12; 2:1–7), in which God delights in the upright life of Job. There we are given a window into the normally invisible reasons for our trials and suffering.

Sin and suffering. Suffering is universal, though the kind of suffering differs from circumstance to circumstance. Sometimes we suffer because of our own sin. There is no such thing as sin without consequences. Sometimes God himself directly chastises his people for their sins. However, Job’s friends are wrong to assume that his suffering is a direct result of disobedience (Job 8:4), and it would likewise be wrong to conclude that all or even most suffering in the world today is divine punishment for specific sins. The speeches of Eliphaz (chs. 4; 5; 15; 22), Bildad (chs. 8; 18; 25), and Zophar (chs. 11; 20) reflect such wrong assumptions.

Common suffering. Another type of suffering is what we might call “common suffering.” This is suffering that affects all people without distinction. It is simply the result of living in a fallen world. It includes health problems from colds to cancer. It includes bad weather, earthquakes, and typhoons. It includes financial struggles, and even death itself. Each tragic incident in Job’s life includes an element of this common suffering.

Godliness and suffering. Not only are godly people afflicted with suffering just as others are, but the godly experience some kinds of suffering due specifically to their godliness (Matt. 10:24–33; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim. 3:12). Faithfulness to Christ will bring insult and at times persecution—suffering that could be avoided if we were not disciples of Christ. We see this principle in Job, for it was precisely Job’s uprightness that prompted God to single him out to Satan and then led Satan to seek to afflict him (Job 1:8–12).

Devastating suffering. Job’s suffering is uniquely profound and painful. Some suffering, we learn, defies any category. We discover in Job that Satan has a hand in some of the suffering of God’s people (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7; compare 2 Cor. 12:1–10). But even such demonically instigated suffering is not outside of God’s sovereignty. Nor should our focus be on Satan when we suffer but rather on persisting in steadfast faith amid such God-ordained pain. At the very least a lesson to be learned from Job is that our vision and insight into suffering is severely limited. What is not limited, however, is God’s perfect understanding and sovereign control over every event in our lives. In the “Yahweh speeches” of Job (chs. 38–41), God does not engage Job in the details of his questions and complaints. Rather, God reminds Job that God is God and Job is not. God laid the foundation of the earth (38:4); he is God over the seas (38:8, 16), over the stars (38:31–33), and over every creature (39:1–30; 40:15–41:34).

A Global Message of Comfort and Hope

The almighty, all-good God. Despite its focus on challenges and sufferings, the book of Job speaks a message of great hope to the world. We live in a world longing for comfort and hope, and such hope is found in the sovereign God who sees, who is good, and who is faithful. We are not victims of random fate or uncontrolled circumstances. We are loved faithfully and passionately by a sovereign God who works all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). The suffering global church can take comfort amid suffering, knowing that God is pleased with our faithfulness to him, even as God expressed delight in “my servant Job” (Job 1:6–8; 2:3). James 5:11 reminds us that God will fulfill his good purposes and is indeed compassionate and merciful toward his people.

No neat formulas. Living an upright life of faith in God does not exempt us from suffering. This was the fundamental misunderstanding of Job’s friends (Job 8:6) and the reason that their “comfort” was so “miserable” (16:2). Indeed, in Job and in all of Scripture we see that suffering is a part of the experience of godly people, and that suffering is also a means for our sanctification. Suffering is a blessing as through it we learn that God’s ways and purposes are much greater than we can know (chs. 40–41). His purposes and faithfulness are much greater than the achievement of ease and a comfortable life; the global church must not make an idol out of worldly comfort and earthly abundance.

The sufferings of the Savior. Job confessed faith in the living Redeemer (Job 19:25). That Redeemer would one day come and suffer for us on a cross. Here we have yet another kind of suffering, the atoning sufferings of Christ. He suffered for our salvation, bearing the penalty for our sin. It is also our great privilege to share in his suffering (2 Cor. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:13). These are not the sufferings of health problems or bad weather or the consequences of our own folly. These are sufferings that flow from our union with and loyalty to Christ. There is a global attack on the righteous, but God will continue to provide sufficient grace to his people (2 Cor. 12:9).He will grow both his people and his kingdom through such suffering as it is endured in faith.

Our Intercession and Mission of Hope

Though God’s righteous anger burned against the three friends of Job, their folly was forgiven in response to the righteous intervention of Job’s prayers (Job 42:7–9). What then is the Christian response to those who suffer—and to those who cause suffering?

We are to intercede for the world, both in prayer and in life. We are to “comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:4). This comfort must find expression in our ministry and service to those in need both where we live as well as around the world—to orphans, widows, and all those who suffer.

This comfort is most gloriously and eternally known as the church ministers the gospel of new hope in Christ to the world—to the lost, to the downtrodden, and even to our enemies (Matt. 5:44). For the greatest suffering in this world is not the loss of property or even family; it is to be lost in sin, without the living Redeemer.

Proverbs Fact #1: Wisdom

Fact: Wisdom

Wisdom is a key term in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The word can mean “skilled at making sound decisions in life.” Proverbs 9:10 states that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

Job Fact #1: Comfort

Fact: Comfort

Comfort is a key word in the book of Job. When faced with personal tragedies, Job receives no comfort from his friends (16:2). But when God answers him (see chs. 38–41), he finds the comfort he needs.

Job Fact #7: Three cycles of conversations

Fact: Three cycles of conversations

The book of Job includes three cycles of conversations in which the friends of Job offer their comfort and advice, and then listen as Job responds. The first cycle covers chs. 4–14.

Job Fact #15: Elihu

Fact: Elihu

Elihu is the only character in the book of Job with a Hebrew name.

Job Fact #8: Sackcloth

Fact: Sackcloth

Sackcloth (16:15) was an outward sign of grieving. It was a coarse fabric used for grain sacks. It was very uncomfortable to wear and thus showed that the person was truly grieving. It was also worn to show repentance.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar

After the Lord allowed Satan to afflict Job, three of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to comfort him. However, all three wrongly assumed that Job’s suffering was the result of some hidden sin. Each man urged Job to repent so that God would have mercy on him. But Job insisted that he was innocent. Although it is true that some suffering is a result of sin, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar oversimplified this truth. They believed that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing, which was not the case for Job. The wrong actions of Job’s three friends should remind believers today to be wise and sensitive when dealing with people in distress. The Lord rebuked Job’s three friends and instructed Job to pray for them. (Job 42:7–9)

Study Notes

Job 16:8 To counter Eliphaz’s description of the “fat” wicked person (15:27), Job points to his own shriveled and shrunken state. It testifies that God’s hand is against him, but not that he is guilty (16:17).

Study Notes

Job 16:12–14 Like a city invaded during war, Job feels that he has endured breach upon breach from God.

Study Notes

Job 16:15 sewed sackcloth upon my skin. Job’s constant grief is like a coarse cloth stitched to his skin, a reality of unending pain. laid my strength in the dust. Literally, “buried my horn in the ground.” The horn of an animal represents strength, power, and nobility. Every indication of dignity and worth has been taken from Job.

Job Fact #8: Sackcloth

Fact: Sackcloth

Sackcloth (16:15) was an outward sign of grieving. It was a coarse fabric used for grain sacks. It was very uncomfortable to wear and thus showed that the person was truly grieving. It was also worn to show repentance.

Study Notes

Job 16:16 deep darkness. Literally, “shadow of death.” Job’s gaunt eyes are those of a dying man.

Study Notes

Job 16:19 witness . . . in heaven. Job either believes he already has an advocate in heaven or that God will eventually see he is blameless and declare him innocent. See 9:33; 19:25.

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Dive Deeper | Job 16

In really painful and heavy seasons, have you ever found yourself wishing you had a flipbook to get a glimpse of how it will all play out? To know it will all be okay, since you hear nothing but radio silence from the Lord?

Sometimes, the most gracious thing the Lord can do is to not allow us the luxury of knowing a painful situation's purpose. Why? So that His strength would be perfected in us, and we would work out the muscle of unwavering trust in Him (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). As discouraging as it can be to journey through suffering and a season of unanswered questions, we, as believers in the goodness of God, can surely trust His heart, even when we cannot trace His hand (Isaiah 43:19).

As we read Job 16, Job's feelings of isolation, rejection, and accusation amid such suffering seem to be utterly defeating. Despite the harsh words of his friends, we see Job testify to the character of God. He knows that God is just and all-knowing and that one day He surely will vindicate him. Job's faith in pain is grounded on the conviction of who God is, and Job reigns victoriously over the persuasion efforts of his friends. 

God has continuously revealed throughout time that He deeply cares for His children. It is out of God's love for us that He can use pain and suffering to:

  • conform us to the image of Christ; 
  • allow us to find the Truth to guard our heart;
  • draw us nearer to Him with attentive ears;
  • strengthen our conviction that He is in control, and we are not.

We know God is not in the business of wasting anything and will go to extraordinary lengths to shape and mold us to make us look more like Christ. James 1:2-4 tells us that at the end of steadfastness, "[Y]ou may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." The good news is that facing trials and allowing them to refine our lives will be met with perfection when Jesus returns! Praise be to Him!

This month's memory verse

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

– Galatians 5:22-23

Discussion Questions

1. How have you seen the Lord open doors for new ministry, adventure, and opportunity in life, coming out of painful seasons?

2. Read Romans 8:18-24. How can these verses challenge your view of God's heart and will for you? 

3. Who in your life is walking through a painful season that you can be praying for? How can you care for them in the short and long term?

4. Are you living your life knowing and believing God loves you? If not, how would doing so change things?

5. What is an attribute of God you have seen in the midst of a hard season in your life or someone else's? How has this impacted your view of Him?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

GJ

greg jones

Good morning Payton. I like this from your deeper dive. “God has continuously revealed throughout time that He deeply cares for His children. It is out of God's love for us that He can use pain and suffering to: • conform us to the image of Christ; •allow us to find the Truth to guard our heart; •draw us nearer to Him with attentive ears; •strengthen our conviction that He is in control, and we are not.” I could testify to that experience. This part I don’t really hear in the book of Job. “Despite the harsh words of his friends, we see Job testify to the character of God. He knows that God is just and all-knowing and that one day He surely will vindicate him.” The argument Job’s friends seem to keep making—since God is just and all-knowing Job is deserving of what he is experiencing. Job actually has some pretty harsh words about God’s character in this chapter. Job feels if he can have an audience before God he can absolutely vindicate himself before God (Job 13:18-28). I keep in mind that in the first two chapters a euphemism of the Hebrew word to bless is used for the word curse. I hear Job being pretty mad at God. And the more he expresses that anger the more it bothers his friends. Knowing how the story ends God’s not going to exactly answer Job while saying the nice things we’re saying about him. But he is going to say Job spoke rightly about him while his friends did not. In those senses I read Job as an inspired curveball to what I’m expecting the Bible to say. BTW I really liked this, “Sometimes, the most gracious thing the Lord can do is to not allow us the luxury of knowing a painful situation's purpose. Why? So that His strength would be perfected in us, and we would work out the muscle of unwavering trust in Him (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).” Really enjoyed your deeper dive. Thank you.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Payton! Boy, is today's chapter a perfect illustration of God being misunderstood and judged, or what??!!! Job hurled accusation after complaint about how God was being unfair and mean to him, and in every single jab he was actually describing Satan's nefarious attacks. It wasn't God's doing at all. I am reminded of something hugely insightful my husband received when he was suddenly, and with zero preparation, appointed president of Probe Ministries: "Leadership means two things: conflict, and the right to be misunderstood." Boy howdy is that ever true. Especially the misunderstanding part. God knows all about being misunderstood. Like in today's chapter.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. The Lord calms me and helps me be true to the gifts He gave me. The Lord helps me choose how to approach life and how to participate in life. 2. The verses are straightforward and truthful. The verses encourage me to think about God. 3. My dad is getting a few “breaks” in his job which are good, but he still has a lot of work ahead of him. I am understanding that his work is important and needs to get done. I am understanding that my mom is with him and supports him. I pray for my dad (and my mom) to use the hearts God gave them because they end up producing great results. I trust them to do their best. 4. I live life knowing and believing God loves me because of what I learn from listening to sermons, from reading the Bible, from serving at church, and from applying what I learn from all of it in daily life. 5. God’s strength, consistency, and kindness shine through in hard seasons. God definitely is a person I can count on and speak to for advice and suggestions. Payton - Thank you for sharing your ideas. You make an excellent point in saying, “Sometimes, the most gracious thing the Lord can do is to not allow us the luxury of knowing a painful situation's purpose. Why? So that His strength would be perfected in us, and we would work out the muscle of unwavering trust in Him (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). This is a little investment with a great return.
MS

Michael Scaman

Job is screaming for empathy from somewhere, anywhere. A poem as if by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and author of "Man's Search for Meaning." might go like this: Echoes of Suffering In the depths of despair, I find my voice, A silent scream in a world devoid of choice. Like Job, I wander, burdened and alone, In search of empathy, a truth yet unknown. Miserable comforters, hear my silent plea, In the vast expanse where anguish meets the sea. Shall windy words and hollow gestures suffice, To ease the pain that cuts like ice? In the silence of suffering, my spirit cries out, Torn and shattered, beyond any doubt. With sackcloth upon my skin, I bear my grief, A testament to pain, beyond belief. No violence in my hands, yet my soul bleeds, In the shadowed valleys where sorrow leads. Earth, cover not my blood, let my plea be heard, In the vast expanse, where empathy is stirred. For even now, a witness stands above, In realms where compassion and mercy rove. In the chambers of heaven, my story is known, A plea for empathy, in a world overthrown. So I pour my tears to the silent sky, In search of meaning, as the days go by. For when suffering grips with its relentless hold, May empathy be our guiding light, strong and bold. In the echoes of suffering, we find our voice, A silent plea in a world where hearts rejoice. In our shared cries, may empathy be found, A beacon of hope, on which we're bound.