25 “Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
26 “They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on [l]its prey.
27 “Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’
28 I am afraid of all my pains,
I know that You will not acquit me.
29 “I am accounted wicked,
Why then should I toil in vain?
30 “If I should wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,
31 Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.
32 “For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,
That we may go to [m]court together.
33 “There is no umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 “Let Him remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.
35 “Then I would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
As Job continues, there is again a sense of hopelessness. Job contends that even if he washed with snow and used lye on his hands, he would be seen as guilty before God. And he’s right, because we can’t clean ourselves up good enough for God. Yet there is good news, because God calls us to come to Him just as we are.
Paul wrote that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Too often, we fall into the trap of Job and his friends, that so-called “good” or “righteous” people will get into Heaven. But that is missing the boat on two counts. First, the point was never to “get into Heaven” but rather our goal and our heart’s longing is to be restored to our Creator.
Second, there’s no such thing as a righteous person… apart from God’s intervention in their lives. We get “chicken and egg” syndrome when we try to be good enough for God, and far too often we try to fight the battle against sin and evil on our own. Quite frankly, it’s a battle that we cannot win. As Paul also wrote, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” so how then are we going to win such a fight with our own flesh and blood weapons?
Instead, we need to surrender our attempts to reach God on our own. Simply go to Him, just as you are, and give Him your whole life. God has something a bit better than snow and lye, bought and paid for with the precious blood of his son Jesus. God alone can cleanse you from unrighteousness, and He alone was the hope for Job in the middle of his struggle. Certainly, good deeds and righteousness will follow, but first make sure you have surrendered it all to the One who can make you whole again.