Job Feels Insulted
19 Then Job [a]responded,
2 “How long will you torment [b]me
And crush me with words?
3 “These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me.
4 “Even if I have truly erred,
My error lodges with me.
5 “If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me
And prove my disgrace to me,
6 Know then that God has wronged me
And has closed His net around me.
Everything Is against Him
7 “Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8 “He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put darkness on my paths.
9 “He has stripped my honor from me
And removed the crown from my head.
10 “He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 “He has also kindled His anger against me
And considered me as His enemy.
12 “His troops come together,
And build up their [c]way against me
And camp around my tent.
Job points something out early in this passage that many of us would do well to learn from. He feels that his “friends” have exalted themselves by pointing out his disgrace and his sin. Too often, we are tempted to think, “well, at least I don’t sin like so and so…” or “I really am doing quite good compared to whats-his-name…” One error is all it takes to stain our lives with disobedience, and we all have sinned multiple times against our Creator.
We cannot justify ourselves by comparison, as the Bible says elsewhere, “all our righteousness is as filthy rags.” Instead, we need a Savior, who we have in Jesus, to cleanse us from all our guilt and shame. There is no comparison needed, as God offers forgiveness and grace to all of us, no matter what we have done. Though Job felt like even God was against him, it is the enemy of our souls who points the finger and accuses us. He would like nothing better than for us to wallow in our sin, to feel like we’re damaged goods and could not possibly be loved by a Holy God.
But that same God raised Jesus from the dead after paying the ultimate price. He paid the price so that each of us could be set free from the accusations of Satan. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When we cry out to God for salvation, He will freely give it, with no guilt or shame attached.