May 23, 2025
Does God Care About Me?
Job 16-18
Courtney Barsanti
Big Book Idea
We can't always fully understand what God is doing, but we can trust that He is good no matter what comes.
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 16-18
Chapter 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.
Chapter 17
Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope?
1
My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;
the graveyard is ready for me.
2
Surely there are mockers about me,
and my eye dwells on their provocation.
3
Lay down a pledge for me with you;
who is there who will put up security for me?
4
Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,
therefore you will not let them triumph.
5
He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—
the eyes of his children will fail.
6
He has made me a byword of the peoples,
and I am one before whom men spit.
7
My eye has grown dim from vexation,
and all my members are like a shadow.
8
The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.
9
Yet the righteous holds to his way,
and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
10
But you, come on again, all of you,
and I shall not find a wise man among you.
11
My days are past; my plans are broken off,
the desires of my heart.
12
They make night into day:
‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’
3
17:12
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
13
If I hope for Sheol as my house,
if I make my bed in darkness,
14
if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
15
where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
16
Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?”
4
17:16
Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust?
Chapter 18
Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2
“How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we will speak.
3
Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
4
You who tear yourself in your anger,
shall the earth be forsaken for you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
5
Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of his fire does not shine.
6
The light is dark in his tent,
and his lamp above him is put out.
7
His strong steps are shortened,
and his own schemes throw him down.
8
For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walks on its mesh.
9
A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare lays hold of him.
10
A rope is hidden for him in the ground,
a trap for him in the path.
11
Terrors frighten him on every side,
and chase him at his heels.
12
His strength is famished,
and calamity is ready for his stumbling.
13
It consumes the parts of his skin;
the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
14
He is torn from the tent in which he trusted
and is brought to the king of terrors.
15
In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
16
His roots dry up beneath,
and his branches wither above.
17
His memory perishes from the earth,
and he has no name in the street.
18
He is thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
19
He has no posterity or progeny among his people,
and no survivor where he used to live.
20
They of the west are appalled at his day,
and horror seizes them of the east.
21
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
such is the place of him who knows not God.”
Table of Contents
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
- Prologue: Job’s Character and the Circumstances of His Test (1:1–2:13)
- Dialogue: Job, His Suffering, and His Standing before God (3:1–42:6)
- Job: despair for the day of his birth (3:1–26)
- The friends and Job: can Job be right before God? (4:1–25:6)
- First cycle (4:1–14:22)
- Second cycle (15:1–21:34)
- Third cycle (22:1–25:6)
- Job: the power of God, place of wisdom, and path of integrity (26:1–31:40)
- Elihu: suffering as a discipline (32:1–37:24)
- Challenge: the Lord answers Job (38:1–42:6)
- Epilogue: The Vindication, Intercession, and Restoration of Job (42:7–17)
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.”
Fact: Elihu
Elihu is the only character in the book of Job with a Hebrew name.
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
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)
Job 16:12–14 Like a city invaded during war, Job feels that he has endured breach upon breach from God.
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.
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.
Job 16:16 deep darkness. Literally, “shadow of death.” Job’s gaunt eyes are those of a dying man.
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.
Job 17:5 Since vv. 1–4 are likely addressed to God, in v. 5 Job may be asking God to remember what his friends have done, or he may be warning the friends of the consequences of such actions, or both. Verse 5 may be quoting a proverb of the day, similar to other warnings in the OT against being a false witness (see Deut. 19:18–19; Prov. 19:5).
Job 16:1–17:16 Job responds again. He begins by pointing out that his friends have failed as comforters (16:2–5), even though comfort was their original purpose for coming to him (see 2:11). He then describes the seeming paradox of his situation: God is the one who has brought this suffering upon him, and although others take this as a sign of divine judgment, Job trusts that God will vindicate him (16:6–17:9). The friends’ condemnation of Job leaves death as his only hope, but to long for death is to give up any possibility of vindication and thus is no hope at all (17:10–16).
Job 17:10–16 In both lines of v. 12, Job appears to refer to the viewpoint of his friends. They have said that if Job would simply repent, God will restore him and turn his night into day (see 5:17–27; 8:5–7; 11:13–20). However, Job argues that accepting that way of thinking would be to make his bed in darkness (17:13). It would mean denying that God is both sovereign and just (and thus knows the truth). Job continues to hope (v. 15) that God will vindicate him.
Job 18:5–6 Bildad is likely responding to Job with the repeated images of the light of the wicked (flame, lamp) going dark (put out, does not shine). Job ought to take the “darkness” as a warning.
Job 18:7–10 Bildad uses the vocabulary of a trap (net, snare, rope) to argue that what Job describes as God breaking him apart (see 16:7–14) is better described as Job suffering the consequences of his own sin.
Job 18:11–14 Firstborn of death and king of terrors personifies the process and finality of death.
Job 18:1–21 Like Eliphaz, Bildad expressed his frustration (vv. 2–4): Who is Job to maintain his position and criticize the words of his friends? The remainder of Bildad’s response is a description of the destiny of the wicked (vv. 5–21).
Job 18:14–21 Bildad refers throughout these verses to the destruction of both the house and the household of the wicked (both of which Job has endured; 1:13–19) to assert that Job’s circumstances show he is one who knows not God (18:21).
Can I trust God's sovereignty when I don't see the wicked being punished?
Listen NowDive Deeper | Job 16-18
Job has always been my favorite book of the Bible because of the clarity it gives into God's character and the very real suffering we can feel despite walking with Him. Over the last two years, as my family has had many trials including cancer, suicide, and murder, I've often pondered, "Does God care about me?"
The Nelson Study Bible says, "We want an explanation for why God allows trials to happen to us. Job records the troubling questions, the terrifying doubts, and the very real anguish of a sufferer." One of the earliest of the books of the Bible to be written was recorded to help us see how to grieve, that God is all-powerful, and that He does, in fact, care.
As I've wrestled with wondering why some seem to be living such easy lives, wishing I could receive an answer to my "why" questions, and feeling like I'm owed an explanation, it's been easy to believe that God doesn't care. Otherwise, why would these things happen?
But through Job, I'm reminded that we cannot control how God chooses to bless some more than others and that we do not deserve even the gifts we have been given. It is only through Christ that the basis of our relationship is not retribution, but grace. We are not called to pay the penalty for our own sin, and we do not have an unsympathetic, unknowing, or unfeeling savior (Hebrews 4:15). While Job cries out for an intermediary (Job 16:19-21), we are blessed to have one in Christ.
I would still love an explanation for why I'm walking through this season, but I know that an answer is not promised. What is guaranteed is that we have a Savior that we can trust. While Satan can do nothing without God's permission (Job 1:12), we might not have our possessions and relationships restored on this side of heaven like Job's were. One day, however, we will be restored and experience all God has planned, without the impact of sin. In the meantime, we can cry out to a loving God and experience the hands and feet of His people, caring for us through our circumstances.
This month's memory verse
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
– Job 1:21b
Discussion Questions
1. Are you in a season of suffering? What are you going through?
2. How do you relate most to Job as he cries out to the Lord? Do you want an answer about why things are happening? Do you feel you are owed something based on your good morals or behavior? Or is it something else?
3. Do you trust the Lord with your suffering or do you have doubts? Do you trust that we have a loving, kind intermediary in Christ? Don't be afraid to tell God how you really feel, even if it's not the "right" answer.