Job 9 and 10 - IT’S NOT FAIR!

Job 9 and 10 - Is God Fair?

My grandson protested to his mother “IT’S NOT FAIR!” Of course he doesn’t know what “fair” is yet, but saying “It’s not fair!” somehow gives him a reaction and some leverage. Not with God however. We may be very unfair on this earth that we rob of justice, but we can’t accuse God of being unfair. He’s done everything possible to enable us to make choices that will make a difference on the earth and so many still reject Him.

If anyone had a right to think “It’s not fair!” it was Job. Job is in a lot of pain. I mean he is in a LOT OF PAIN! And his friends aren’t helping much. They keep encouraging him to repent, and Job is getting frustrated. He can see that to his knowledge He has done everything to keep his relationship with God right, but somehow he thinks he’s missed something.

I guess there are times when I wonder what God is doing. I know He is a loving God but sometimes, like my grandson, I say things like “It’s not fair!” And then I have to come to the conclusion that He knows better than I do, and I just have to trust Him. When I do, I find I have a lot more peace and can think through things much better. But how would I feel if I were in Job’s shoes? Suffering extreme pain and on the edge of death but not dying? Having friends around me who don’t have a clue what is going on but judge me and try to give me simple solutions that just don’t fit to the complex problems I have? They are right, up to a point, in principle, but they don’t know what they are talking about when it comes to what I am going through.

So Job says, “Yes, I know all this is true in principle. But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight? If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer Him even once in a thousand times? For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged Him successfully? ... If He snatches someone in death, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’ And God does not restrain His anger.

These are such good questions. “Who can be declared innocent in God’s sight?” (Job 9:2) The Bible says we can be declared FORGIVEN because of Christ paying the penalty for our sin, but I can’t recall we are ever declared to be innocent.

Job says, “God does not restrain His anger” (Job 9:13). Of course God doesn’t have to restrain His anger because He is the only One really able to be justly angry.

Job isn’t at all sure God will listen to Him, even when He prays because He thinks God is attacking Him. He can’t understand why. He hasn’t connected with the fact that it is Satan, not God who is attacking him. Nevertheless, God is allowing it to happen.

“For He attacks me with a storm and repeatedly wounds me without cause. He will not let me catch my breath, but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.”

“It’s not fair!”He is fed up with living at all. The way He sees it is that God destroys the blameless and the wicked, so what is the use of living. God seems to laugh at innocent people dying and seems to be blind to the fact that wicked people get away with things they do. God is unfair! We may at times make the same accusations against God. Look at Mugabe. Look at innocent children sold into slavery and brothels today. “It’s not fair!”

Job gives up. He is in too much pain to care about the reason why. He doesn’t care if he is innocent or guilty. It doesn’t