An Answer for Job (2)
Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; Romans 8:33 NASB
Justifies – Paul pens the Greek verb dikaióō, “to justify.” We often find the term in religious circles. But what does it really mean? How can “justify” help us resolve Job’s situation?
The Concept of Law in the OT. This concept influenced all social relationships so strongly that it affected theological reflection on the fellowship between God and man. Law is the basis of the OT view of God, and the religious use of legal concepts helps in turn to ethicize the law. . . 2. It is a basic tenet in the OT that God posits law and is bound to it. Recognition of this is a unifying factor in Israel’s faith. All law comes from God, and hence God’s authority extends to all Israel’s historical relationships. God’s law is an order of life that cannot be changed or challenged. It is righteous because he is righteous. His ways are right; they thus give us life and security. He is a righteous ruler and judge, as shown already in the victory celebrated in Judg. 5:11. His righteousness extends to other nations, so that order is seen in the world. The righteous can thus appeal to him with confidence when they are the victims of hostility and oppression (Ps. 5:8).
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- God’s righteousness is not just static but dynamic. He establishes as righteous those who seek his righteousness. The righteous, then, are those who show fidelity to God’s command (Hab 2:4) and whom God vindicates against their enemies. This vindication may not be synonymous with success. Misfortunes suggest at times that God’s judgment means condemnation. Refuge must then be sought in God. But even from this place of refuge a sense of right may be discerned in God (Ps. 62:7ff.). The torment of doubting God’s righteousness constitutes the grief of Job. We have to be able to take God’s right for granted in his dealings with us, even if it must sometimes be projected into a higher sphere than that of human understanding.[1]
Notice Quell’s comment: “God’s law is an order of life that cannot be changed or challenged. It is righteous because he is righteous. His ways are right; they thus give us life and security.” The foundation of Job’s faithfulness is secured in his unwavering pursuit of God. This allows Job to claim, as Quell notes, “The righteous, then, are those who show fidelity to God’s command . . .”
Quell suggests that Job is tormented by doubting God’s righteousness, but I think this is mistaken. Doubt is not the issue. If it were, Job would not be able to declare his trust even if God kills him. Job does not doubt. He never lets go of God. His question is one of motivation, not cognition. It is “why,” not “who.”
This is Paul’s reply to Job’s concern. God is the one who justifies. If Job’s life is in conformity to the revealed Law, then the issue at hand is not some hidden sin. Rather, it is a question about purpose, and that is an inquiry into the mind of the divine. We don’t have to take God’s “right for granted.” We can ask. We just have to be prepared for the answer.
Topical Index: justify, dikaióō, doubt, motive, Romans 8:33
[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 168). W.B. Eerdmans.
“Job does not doubt. He never lets go of God. His question is one of motivation, not cognition. It is ‘why,’ not ‘who.’”
“This is Paul’s reply to Job’s concern. God is the one who justifies. If Job’s life is in conformity to the revealed Law, then the issue at hand is not some hidden sin. Rather, it is a question about purpose, and that is an inquiry into the mind of the divine. We don’t have to take God’s ‘right for granted.’ We can ask. We just have to be prepared for the answer.”
Emet!
“But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. Now the spiritual person discerns all things, but he himself is judged by no one. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord; who has advised him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
This reminds me of my military training… when there were frequent “times of suffering” enforced upon the entire unit for the act(s) of one individual. One had to have the mind that it was for the good of all that each was suffering… regardless that it was the offense of but one individual that had brought the necessity of correction upon all. In short, one had to assume the mindset of the unit’s command in order to provide no mind toward the experience of affliction.