“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6, ESV).
Once again Job responds, this time addressing charges brought by Bildad. He begins by rejecting the childhood claim, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” No, says Job, “you torment my soul, and break me in pieces with words” (Job 19:2). While physical violence should be decried, many a person has been damaged far more deeply by words than blows. Yet Job feels even more keenly his treatment at the hand of God than by the tongues of men. “You exalt yourselves against me, and plead my disgrace against me…God has wronged me, and has surrounded me with His net” (vv 5-6). What is it that makes Heaven’s dealings more severe? There’s no response! “If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard.” And his treatment doesn’t seem fair: “If I cry aloud, there is no justice” (v 7). Nor does there seem to be a way out: “He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass.” And there’s no light at the end of the tunnel: “He has set darkness in my paths” (v 8). But more, along with every other loss he’s endured, the Lord has removed his human dignity: “He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head” (v 9). But the list of grievances continues. God’s attacks have been “on every side,” leaving his hope uprooted (v 10). Being the object of “His wrath against me,” he says, I feel like I’m on His enemies’ list (v 11). What’s the missing piece in all of this? Both Job and his friends are looking only for justice in life. But the world doesn’t operate according to God’s justice alone. It’s in sync with His many attributes—His wisdom, mercy, grace, and love. What Job thinks is ruining him is actually remaking him. The blows of the hammer tell that construction is underway.