Who is Job in the Bible? Why did he suffer so much?

Job suffered for one reason alone: his self-righteousness. He trusted in his works and his obedience as why bad things should not happen to him. His needless suffering mirrors the plight of many churchgoers and religious individuals today who endure some form of hardship or another due to self-righteousness aka trying to be good or godly (be like God) by human effort (the arm of flesh) at keeping the law (letter) which kills and is the knowledge of good and evil. Reminds one of a pair in Eden….

The entirety of the Old Testament, including the Book of Job, points to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The law which many presume to be able to obey is the knowledge of good and evil and the letter kills, just like the tree of the same name. See the forbidden fruit as a type of the law which many churchgoers are trying to use to make themselves godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG)-

"The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me…."

There's also 1 Corinthians 10 where God’s word tells us about the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness (emphasis on verse 6) -

"My dear fellow believers, you need to understand that all of our Jewish ancestors who walked through a wilderness long ago were under the glory cloud and passed through the waters of the sea on both sides. 2 They were all baptized into the cloud of glory, into the fellowship of Moses, and into the sea. 3 They all ate the same heavenly manna 4 and drank water from the same spiritual rock that traveled with them—and that Rock was Christ himself. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their dead bodies were scattered around the wilderness. 6 Now, all these things serve as types and pictures for us—lessons that teach us not to fail in the same way by callously craving worthless things."

For the Israelites whose bodies were scattered around the wilderness, their failure in craving “worthless things” refers to their consideration of their limited human might as what could get them settled in the promised land. They did not believe in the goodness of God who had given them the land; they wanted to take the land based on their own strength and preparedness to fight the giants within—

For us today, “worthless things” above are whatever self-produced righteous deeds or title to victory which man thinks he has in the bag and sees as why he should be able to displace “giants” of lack, stupid mistakes, addictions and other earthly ills that are still squatters on his inheritance in Christ, but which Christ has already defeated for us. Worthless things are whatever one thinks he can produce through his own human effort, morality or self-discipline; even that trust in self to earn the Salvation of God which made the Israelites refuse to take the promised land when God told them that He had given it to them. 

As He did the Promised Land to the Israelites, God offers eternal life in Christ Jesus to all as a free gift of Grace. But just like the unbelieving Israelites who saw the giants in the land as obstacles that they needed to get rid of by their own human strength, many churchgoers consider their “giants” of sins, addictions, lack of Bible reading, the generational curse and any other issue which many see as a hindrance to enjoying God's freely-given blessings in Christ. Such and are led to believe that they need to fortify themselves with weapons such as their own obedience, good works and 79 days of fasting in order to enjoy the goodness of God aka enter God’s freely-given Rest—

But Isaiah 64:6 tells us how God sees such self-produced righteousnesses (self-righteousness) which many religious folk depend on for being deemed good (like God) in place of Christ and His finished work, and bandy same works about as why God should bless, save and deliver—

“We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." Isaiah 64:6.

As it was with the bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness for the salvation of the Israelites from the sting of the fiery serpents (a type of the sin nature) and its deathly symptoms (a typology of acts of sin that lead to death,) the only thing that matters and saves from sin and death is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Recall that Christ Himself gives us this typology of the bronze serpent as a type of Himself in John 3, and uses this portion of Scripture to explain to us what it means to be born again and to believe in Him? Trying to be snakebite symptoms/sins-free by yourself aka law-keeping in order to be godly/whole like God means eyes off Christ lifted up; doing so cuts one off from Christ and makes of no effect His salvation from those symptoms of sins and their deathly consequence —

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.” Galatians 5:4.

The bronze serpent (a type of Christ) is of no effect in the lives of those who think that they can rid themselves of their sins (fiery serpents sting infection symptoms) and thus be made whole by human effort (the arm of flesh.) To be “born-again” is to forsake all (self-)righteousness and forever look to Christ lifted up as why we are made forever righteous and freed from sin and death.

In essence, the events of the Old Testament are types and pictures of Christ and our salvation in Him. In Luke 24, Christ teaches us to read the Old Testament by bringing Him out of ALL the Scriptures.

Enter Job:

Before calamity befell him, Job's life was focused on doing “good” works and being obedient to ensure that bad things didn’t happen to him. He believed his good works and obedience were what made him prosperous and kept his children alive and well. Job claimed the following as his resumé for the honour which he received from men and why he did not deserve to endure his suffering—

"For when an ear heard [my name mentioned], it called me happy and fortunate; And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly], 12 Because I rescued the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper. 13 “The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban! 15 “I was eyes to the blind And I was feet to the lame. 16 “I was a father to the needy; I investigated the case I did not know [and assured justice].” Job 29.

Really? You did all of that in your own human effort (the arm of flesh), pre-revelation Job? Also see Job’s words which Elihu reminded him about in Job‬ 33‬:8‬-11‬ —

““Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words, saying, ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me. Yet He finds occasions against me, He counts me as His enemy; He puts my feet in the stocks, He watches all my paths.’”

Job really believed that he was righteous and that he did all of his good works and much more through his arm of flesh (human effort) which God's word says will fail. He even implied that God had wronged him! See this in his words in Job 19:5-6—

“You think you’re better than I am, using my humiliation as evidence of my sin. But it is God who has wronged me, capturing me in his net.”

Job justified himself by his law-full works and implied that God was unjust. Also recall Job’s words after his children died—

“And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”” Job‬ 1‬:21‬

Now this verse is often read at funerals where the death of even children is presented as “God’s will,” but the Lord did not take away as Job believed and spoke. Those were Job's own words and what he believed about God. The Bible recorded his words just as it recorded Peter's declaration that he would never deny Jesus, and Satan’s subtle words of deceit to Eve. In truth, the following reflects God's heart and thoughts towards all of humanity—

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter‬ 3‬:9‬

To digress a bit, see the Parable of the Lost Sheep for Christ’s interpretation of Repentance— it is not that “beating of the breast, wailing in regret for sins, promising not to do it again or else burn in hell” doctrine which many see as repentance. Repentance entails the sheep consenting to be carried all the way in the strength of Christ after being found by Grace Himself, Jesus Christ.

Back to Job thinking that the Lord took away from him— the Lord is not willing for any to perish so describing anydeath as “God’s will” is an outright lie. Also see His thoughts towards us—

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah‬ 29‬:11‬

God is the Righteous Judge. He cannot bend the law for anyone. Even we would be appalled if an earthly court judge bent the rules because his son was the guilty defendant in a trial. God knows that the law always condemns the best of us, for that is the purpose for which it was given— to show us all up as guilty:

"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:19-20.

Because He so loved us, He gave His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ to be our Advocate and to die the death that the law demands of all who are under it, for all have sinned. People suffer on “death row” and even perish because of pride in none good self for justification or acquittal: they “approach the bench” with their good works, obediences and fasts and expect an acquittal based on such menstrual rag works; any lawyer will tell you that to approach the bench to meet a judge directly, you need to literally turn your back on your Advocate— Jesus Christ—

Sheep that have gone astray are very religious people who are trying to present to God the Righteous Judge their own obediences, fasts and good works as their basis for justification and acceptance and so have turned their back on their God-given Advocate, for only in the Beloved are we accepted. But we tend to think of stray sheep as thieves or a pastor who ran off with his secretary— those sins or pitfalls are simply the result of the often very religious and “zealous for God” sheep going astray aka turning its back on Jesus by trying to offer God worthless obediences and fasts in exchange for His acquittal and His goodness. Such misdirected zealfor God which excludes Christ is why the world keeps on wondering why bad things that tend to death happen to “good people” who seem to spend their entire life “serving God,” much like the extremely religious and law-toting yet Christ-rejecting Pharisees.

Notice the judicial terms in bold above?

It’s a legal battle we’re in, our warfare. Job did not have an Advocate/Mediator, although he later wished for one as we will see shortly. Romans 10:1-5 addresses the critical issue of doing righteous deeds in order to be accepted, righteous or to “maintain salvation” — a deathly doctrine which is being passed off as Christianity in many places of worship today—

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. 4 For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.”

Trusting in one’s efforts at doing what the law commands as the means of getting right with God, escaping wrath or being deemed good (be like God), it is the antithesis of the message of Christ who says:

“There is none good but God.”

So, the Lord did not take away back then as Job said; neither does He take away now. Those were Job’s own words, and the Bible recorded his mistakes and mis-speaks. God wants none to perish. He gave His own beloved Son to die for us that we might live the abundant life. It is Satan who came to steal, kill and destroy. And in Job’s story, we see how Satan does so—

Before Satan can kill and destroy, he first has to steal the word which is Righteousness by Faith. Satan’s modus operandi hasn’t changed since Eden; Adam and Eve were created in God’s likeness— they were already like God as a gift. But they believed Satan’s subtle lies, thought of themselves as ungodly and started striving for that (godliness/to be like God who alone is Good) which they already were. Likewise churchgoers whom Christ died to freely give His righteousness as a gift but are striving to be deemed good (like God) by their efforts at keeping the letter (law) which kills and is the knowledge of good and evil.

Job was full of self-righteous works to the extent of justifying himself by them and implying that God was unjust. Eventually, Job’s eyes were opened to see the truth, so much that he changed his way of thinking (repentance) to the extent of saying—

5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42.

very important the definition of “dust”— “apar” in Hebrew aka “debris, a heap of rubbish”. Job finally realized and agreed with God on the none good state of all of humanity.

He previously thought that his (self-)righteous works such as being "eyes to the blind" and assisting the poor mattered in the issue of his prosperity and God blessing him. He even looked for and received approval and testimony for his being a good/just person from man --

"And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly],"

But man does see as God sees. Christ tells us that such works which men hold in high esteem are an abomination to God:

“Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:14-15

Job justified himself— he listed his righteous deeds of the law as his defense for why he should not suffer! But—

“For no person will be justified [freed of guilt and declared righteous] in His sight by [trying to do] the works of the Law. For through the Law we become conscious of sin [and the recognition of sin directs us toward repentance, but provides no remedy for sin].” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭AMP‬‬

We also see a snapshot of Job's heart in chapter 1 where he thought that his sacrifices to God on behalf of his children after their birthday partying was what made God preserve them from danger. Isaiah 64:6 shows us what God really thinks of those self-produced righteous works which many churchgoers cling to as their title to God’s blessing, provision and deliverance—

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

Can flesh move without a skeleton? In reality, the only reason why Job was prosperous, protected and able to do all the things he boasted in is written for us and acknowledged by Satan as we see in the Accuser's words to God in the same book of Job:

“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land." Job 1:10.

Very significant is the word "hedge" in this passage. It is translated from the Hebrew word "suwk" which has the following meaning:

"to entwine, i.e. shut in (for formation, protection or restrain):—fence, (make an) hedge (up)."

Hold on to "restrain."

Job thought that his (self-)righteous works such as assisting poor people mattered in the issue his prosperity or being blessed. Like many churchgoers today and yours truly before Grace found and carried me, Job had no idea that it was because of God's restraint - the hedge of protection - that he could even begin to do any of the things that he boasted in.

Without that restraint of God’s mercy which God put in place for his preservation and prosperity, Job would have been enmeshed in sin and its wages; his suffering could have begun earlier and surely ended in death. So much to say here. God’s word addresses this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

24 “This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains man from devolving into committing heinous sins and let us rely on our human effort and will-power at keeping the law or doing good works to prove our faith or for whatever reason, like Peter who trusted himself before falling flat on his face three times, we would all devolve into terrible sin and see how utterly lacking in good we are of ourselves. Never trust yourself. Trust Christ.

Of himself, Job was a sinner through and through, unaware that his not devolving into heinous sins was the result of God’s restraining hand propping him up from expressing the symptoms of his humanity. He was destined to pay the wages of sin but for God’s mercy and grace which was the skeleton that propped him up to prosper and walk uprightly, and which he did not acknowledge, just like many churchgoers today. There is absolutely no good in man of himself, but just like Peter before his denials showed him up, many beg to disagree… to disagree with Christ who says “There is none good but God.”

Recall the Bible verse—

“By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

From the above, we see that committing acts of sin is not what makes a person a sinner. Adam's sin took care of that for all of his descendants, infecting all with the serpent's sting called the sin nature. The sin nature is like HIV. The fiery serpent’s sting or venom is a typology for the sin nature. Based on the vagaries of time and chance as well as Satan’s sifting as was the case with Peter who just knew that he could never deny Jesus, sinners will produce sins—

1. just as carriers of HIV will produce symptoms of their infection under adverse conditions;
2. just as a person born with genotype SS will experience the crises associated with the condition;
3. just as the Israelites who were infected with the serpent's sting were bound to produce symptoms that would eventually kill them if God had not provided the bronze serpent—a type of Christ.

Also recall the Bible verse — “And the LORD SENT fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”

Very important is the word “sent” above. Often we reason that God manufactured or imported fiery serpents from somewhere and ordered them to bite the Israelites to death as punishment for sins. Not so. The word “sent” is translated from the Hebrew word “šālaḥ“ which has the following outline of Biblical usage—

to send off or away or out or forth, dismiss, give over, cast out, to let go, set free, to let loose

In essence, the fiery serpents were always there to bite the Israelites to death because “all have sinned” and “the wages of sin is death”. They had no idea that it was God’s Hand of restraint that was preventing them from being bitten to death long before the incident occurred. We see the same execution of God’s restraining hand which shields man of himself from paying the wages of sin (death) via horrible calamities that lead to death in the life of pre-calamities Job. The only reason why Job was prosperous and protected is written for us and even acknowledged by Satan as we see in the Accuser's words to God in the same book of Job— the hedge (suwk in Hebrew aka “restraint”)—

“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land." Job 1:10.

Just as it was with all who were infected with the sting of the fiery serpents, all who are infected with the inherited sin nature will ultimately produce symptoms of their infection (acts of sin) and experience death preceded by its painful symptoms of earthly ills, so it is quite ridiculous for anyone to (as Job did) feel superior because they can still walk uprightly or because their snakebite symptoms (acts of sin) are less grievous than those of another.

The one who is standing uprightly or is not crippled by copious snakebite symptoms (acts of sin that lead to death), and attributes it to his self-brewed morality or his self-discipline, that one is as silly as an infected Israelite attributing his lack of grievous snakebite symptoms to his self-effort, and this attitude defined Job before the Lord opened his eyes to see that man of himself is nothing but a heap of rubbish; it is by His mercy are not consumed… consumed by sins and calamity.

All it takes for the inherited sinful nature to express its symptoms in its carriers is for Satan the Accuser aka prosecuting attorney to dial the case number of the self-trusting before God the Righteous Judge as he did the equally boastful Peter who had no idea that God’s mercy was the “skeleton” that was propping him up from devolving into the helpless mass of sins-ridden flesh that man is of himself;

Peter did the “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” thing: his Maker told him plainly that he would deny Him three times, but Peter thought he had superior knowledge, similar to churchgoers who think, “I could never do something like that” when Christ is saying “There is none good but God.” So let he who stands take heed… This is why Satan has to go about like. a roaring lion seeking whom to devour. He is looking for people who think that it is their being eyes to the blind, helping the poor, their ability to do the commands of the LAW and their good works matter in the scheme their salvation or are what define them as godly (like God). He knows this verse better than many—

“For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character].” Romans‬ 3‬:20‬ AMPC‬‬

Satan the Accuser is a lawyer. HaSatan literally means “prosecutor at law” in Hebrew. In Israel today, prosecuting attorneys are called HaSatan (the Satan). “Ha” is the definite article “the.” In the Bible verse “your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion,” the word “adversary” is translated from the Greek word “antidikos,” meaning “opponent in a lawsuit.”

Our warfare is a legal battle. The battleground for our warfare is the conscience or heart of which Proverbs says

“…for out of it proceeds the issues of life”

Satan has no power to arbitrarily slap the judgment of death and its symptoms of lack, wayward children or any of those curses in Deuteronomy 28 on anyone, just as an earthly lawyer cannot arbitrarily throw a criminal in prison. He can only charge one to the court of their conscience and accuse of law-breaking with the aim of getting a person to accept a guilty verdict. This is why Revelation 12:10 describes Satan thus—

“Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come—the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God CHARGES against them day and night, has been cast out!”

A PROSECUTOR CAN ONLY BRING CHARGES AGAINST THE ONE ON TRIAL. Only God the Righteous Judge can pronounce a verdict and based on the righteous requirements of it the law. What Job experienced was what all of mankind truly deserved: condemnation and the death sentence—

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans‬ 6‬:23‬

Once you believe that God gave His own beloved Son to die for you to make you righteous; once you have Christ as your Defense Lawyer/Advocate and Bearer of sins and you are no longer depending on your own “menstrual rag” works to get His goodness, God the Righteous Judge declares you "Not guilty!" See this in Romans 8:33–

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”

The Passion Tranalation puts it thus—

“Who then would dare to accuse those whom God has chosen in love to be his? God himself is the judge who has issued his final verdict over them—“Not guilty!”” Romans‬ 8:33‬ ‬‬

Notice the judicial terms? Our warfare is a legal battle where the condemned must pay the wages of sin— endure the same death sentence which Adam was conscripted to die after his disobedience which made all of his descendants sinners by default. But self-trusting Job had no idea that of himself, he was condemned…

The righteous and impartial Law decides who goes into the custody of sin and death and who has Life. And the only Way to Life is to have Jesus Christ as one’s MEDIATOR or Advocate and Bearer of Sin. (Hold on to Mediator- Job didn’t have one. He wished for one.)

In Christ, the Holy Spirit witnesses or testifies to the truth that God does not remember our sins and lawless deeds (Hebrews 10.) Jesus died for our acquittal—

26”…and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.” Romans 3

This is the crux of the gospel: 

Righteousness by faith

The law is not of faith. The law which many struggle to obey in order to be right with God and avert calamity as Job did, it is the launchpad for Satan’s fiery darts of charges or accusation.

The weapons of Satan aka fiery darts of of the wicked one) as highlighted in 1 Corinthians 5 are those negative imaginations, thoughts and everything that tries to tell us that what God’s word says about us in Christ is not true aka “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”. They are designed to get many to approach God the Righteous Judge directly with their obediences and good works such as fasting for 59 days, all done to avert disaster. But that translates into turni ng one’s back on Jesus Christ who paid the price for our acquittal; it translates into accepting guilt for sins that Christ died to take away—

“For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law…” Romans 3:20

After charges are laid and guilt is ascertained in the courtroom of one’s conscience which it was in the case of Job who trusted in his own “I was eyes to the blind” dead works and who constantly “approached the bench” for salvation from the wages of sin with same, condemnation must follow, for none can be justified/acquitted by deeds of the law. And the condemned must face the sentence of death.

Like many churchgoers today, Job trusted in his works and obediences to get him an acquittal from experiencing the judgment that is the wages of sin — God so loved the world that He gave His own Son to be our Advocate/Lawyer and Bearer of sins. But many churchgoers “approach the bench” with their good works and sloppy or partial obedience and expect the Righteous Judge to waive the demands of the law (death) for them based on their own works— to do that (approach the bench) in a court of LAW, you need to literally turn your back on your Advocate!

The law is the only weapon in Satan's arsenal and it condemns the best of those who try to keep it aka depend on their works to get God to do anything for them; and no matter how good a person is, we all deserved to go to that Job kind of prison. All have sinned. James 2:10 says:

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all."

All are guilty by default. The only language that the law understands for Satan’s charges against anyone to fall flat is the blood of Jesus by which we are justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] before God the Righteous Judge -

"Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him." Romans 5:9.

Recall what it means to believe from Christ’s typology of Himself as the bronze serpent in John 3— none of self; all of Christ. Our warfare which Job fought with carnal/human effort-driven weapons of his own obedience and good works, is a legal battle. It is sad to see churchgoers trying to be free from demonic oppression, generational curse, poverty and Job-type calamity by fasting for 70 days or trying to be godly (be like God) by obeying the law in order to "not perish but have everlasting life." Christ says right after the popular John 3:16-

"Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God." John 3:18.

The MSG version explains it clearly

: "Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

Go to any court of law and see what happens to a person who has been condemned for a crime whose penalty is death. No matter what good he does after a guilty verdict is passed over him, he still has to die. And apart from Jesus Christ and Him crucified, all are condemned by the Law. Only in Christ is there no condemnation—

“Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. [John 3:18.] For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death.” Romans‬ 8‬:1‬-2‬ AMPC‬‬

To digress a bit, false doctrine teachers usually interpret “walking in the flesh" as wanting to commit usually sexual sins with reckless abandon. Not so! Walking in the flesh simply means trusting in one’s ability to keep the law for the attainment of godliness aka be like God. The word “flesh” is translated from the Greek root word “Sarx.” See its outline of Biblical usage below—

“the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God”;

4561 sarks properly, flesh ("carnal"), merely of human origin or empowerment. [4561 /sárks ("flesh") is not always evil in Scripture… is generally negative, referring to making decisions (actions) according to self – i.e. done apart from faith (independent from God's inworking). Thus what is "of the flesh(carnal)" is by definition displeasing to the Lord – even things that seem "respectable!"

In short, “carnal” or “ walking in the flesh” generally “relates to unaided human effort, i.e. decisions (actions) that originate from self or are empowered by self, including even things that seem respectable.”

“"Approaching the bench" to present God, the Righteous Judge, with human might/flesh-driven obediences, fasts, or donations in exchange for an acquittal or escape from the prison of death and its symptoms of earthly ills is the definition of turning one’s back on the Advocate provided by God—Jesus Christ. For their trust in their own works and not Christ’s finished work alone, such individuals are already condemned and in the prison of death, preceded by earthly ills like those that befell Job, where they are subject to prison wardens of poverty and demonic oppression. This is because they seek justification not by the blood of Jesus but by their own obediences and “good” works.

For the one who trusts in his own obediences to matter in the issue of his salvation so he is already condemned and under the death sentence, earthly ills such as oppression, lack, addiction, sickness and poverty are mere prison wardens. Trying to escape them by fasting and sowing seeds is akin to a prisoner at an impregnable prison trying to escape a warden's oppression by fasting or by being more obedient. Only by having Christ as our Advocate, Righteousness and Bearer of sins are we acquitted of guilt and freed from the prison of sin and death.

But for God's restraining hand (the hedge) preventing Satan from wielding the law and its righteous requirements concerning the sinner (death) over many churchgoers whi, like pre-calamity Job, believe their obediences, good works or monetary gifts to the poor and other such acts are what makes them good with God even by an inch, many would be experiencing Job's situation today. I'm not knocking sowing seeds and fasting. The motive behind these works is crucial. It is a dead work if one believes these activities will nudge God into protecting or providing for them—as futile as Job thinking his children would not die if he made sacrifices on their behalf.

Job thought that he was "good" when God's Word Himself says— “There is none good but God.”

Beloved, God's merciful and restraining hand is the only thing standing between the one who trusts in himself the tiniest bit and experiencing the fiery darts of accusation or charges which Satan the Accuser launched at Job after the hedge was (I believe partially) removed. Without God’s restraining hand, all of Job's already unnecessary attempts at preserving the lives of his children by his strength, his being "eyes to the blind" and helping the poor would be absolutely impossible. Yet many boast in these same works today.

Like Job before God opened his eyes, some even present such works (e.g. I fasted for 70 days and prayed for 24 hours) as their right to an acquittal when bad things begin to happen to them. So much to say here. Paul addressed this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

All have sinned and the wages of sin is death. Now Bible “death” is not just about breathing one's last. Death in the Bible is translated from the Greek word “Thanatos”which has the following outline of Biblical usage—:

1. the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell
2. the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell
3. in the widest sense, death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell

Recall that Adam did not breathe his last breath after the death sentence was pronounced upon him— the death that is the wages of sin is a process that begins with guilt from sin and condemnation of which there is none for all who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1.) Then comes “death sentence begun” or “death row” in the form of fear (of judgment for sins committed,) stress, depression, silly mistakes, oppression, plenty work and little to show for it, lack, sickness, discontent and every earthly ill that is as a result of Adam’s disobedience. Physical death and the second death in hell follow after these symptoms of death. Satan is the god of this world— as he did Eve and consequently Adam, he is still still deceiving many into trusting in human effort (the arm of flesh) for the attainment of godliness (be like God) through the use of the law which kills and is the knowledge of good and evil like the tree of the same name. The (legal) system of the world mirrors that of the law of sin and death. Christ died all aspects of that death which the law demanded of us all that we might have life and have it more abundantly, beloved. And He died that death once for all— understand that no matter how vile or how plenteous your sins are, you can only die for your sin once; Hebrews 9 tells us:

"27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. ..."

It is appointed for man to die once. Jesus died that death for you and I once. Believer, Jesus is not going to come and die again or demand payment for sins that you might commit in the future. Our entire lifetime of sins - past, present and future - have been fully paid by Him. Once. And His resurrection is the divine receipt that our sin-debt has been paid in full. In Him, we have been acquitted or absolved of all guilt. No more death sentence for the believer. Forever. Hence Romans 4:25–

"”Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God].” Romans‬ 4‬:25‬

This is Grace- undeserved, unearned unmerited favour. We do not deserve it. We can never earn it. It is a gift. To the self-righteous, this truth of God’s written word is license to sin. But according to God’s WIsdom which is foolishness to human logic, acknowledging that God sees us as righteous despite our sins, and receiving His abundance of Grace for every weakness and His gift of righteousness, that is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death, including death’s symptoms of earthly ills, and only through because of Jesus Christ—

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

In essence, sickness, lack, depression, stupid mistakes, low IQ/EQ, working so hard and having so little to show for it- all these things are "death sentence begun" - man's destiny by default which God's hedge/restraining hand is preventing many people from experiencing and which many churchgoers and non-believers think that they are not experiencing because of their smarts and non-existent good.

Should God lift His restraining hand - the hedge - which restrains man from devolving into committing heinous sins and paying the wages of sin as He briefly lifted His restraint with Job; should Satan the Accuser or prosecutor at law bring charges against such and that one attempts to free himself from the custody of the earthly ills that he experiences during his trial with even an atom of own works such as fasting for 70 days or going the way of Judas who tried to restore himself after the fiery darts of accusation pricked his conscience, that one can expect a slice or more of Job's terrible experience no matter his fasts and seeds. I believe that this is why the world keeps on asking-

“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

In reality,—

“There is none good but God.” 

This is the word of Christ. Anyone who thinks they have a bit of good in them or believes that some sins are beneath them is like the God-challenging pre-denials Peter, unaware that God’s restraining hand is the only thing standing between them and them committing the worst of sins. That trust in self is what gives Satan the opportunity to sift a person like wheat, testing the good they claim to have when Christ says otherwise.

Job goes on to talk more about his good deeds in Job 31, including-

25 “Did not I weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my heart grieved for the poor and needy? 26 But when I looked for good, then evil came to me; and when I waited for light, there came darkness."

In essence, Job expected God to bless and preserve him because of the "good" things he did, not realizing that it was because God blessed him and kept him from experiencing what he truly deserved that he could walk uprightly or do any of those good things. The blessing comes first…

After Job listed his good works as his defense for why he should not face his trial, essentially challenging God, God responded with a series of questions and statements showing Job how utterly wrong he was in his thinking. In Job 40:14, He said to Job:

"[If you can do all this, Job, proving yourself of divine might] then will I [God] praise you also [and acknowledge that] your own right hand can save you."

Another version says: "If you can do that, then I Myself will praise you, because you are strong enough to save yourself."

In essence, man's right hand to save himself with his works is useless. The arm of flesh (human strength at being anything at all) will fail. And Job had a change of heart. He said of our Lord God:

"I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You. 6 Therefore I loathe [my words] and abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes."

May the Lord open our eyes to see the utter rottenness and helplessness of the flesh/humanity, also known as human strength. May we recognize that it is because of God’s mercy, His hedge, and His restraining hand that we are not consumed by sin and its wages (death and its symptoms of "death begun," such as poverty and all the terrible things Job experienced), and not because of our useless, flesh-driven attempts at being godly (being like God) or the so-called "good" works many rely on to try to get God to bless, dismiss Satan's charges, or be saved from wrath.

Recall that Job did not have a Mediator? Elihu, the only one who spoke with wisdom among the four who visited him during his travails said to him—

“Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. “If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’; His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness.” Job‬ 33‬:22‬-26‬

Job also prayed the following prayer in the midst of his suffering-

33 “If only there were someone to MEDIATE between us, someone to bring us together, 34 someone to remove God’s rod from me, so that His terror would frighten me no more. 35 Then I would speak up without fear of Him,but as it now stands with me, I cannot." Job 9

Job did not have that "Someone" or Mediator to be his ransom and save him from the wrath of the law which was the destiny of all mankind, no matter how good or sinless one tried to be. But believer in Christ, we do have that Someone whom Job longed for. The one who has removed God’s rod from us, because God so loved us. His name is Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2 tells us-

5 “For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 Who gave Himself as a ransom for all [people, a fact that was] attested to at the right and proper time."

Beloved of God, in Christ, you and I have much more than God's restraining hand or His hedge that prevents us from experiencing the wages of sin as Job did in the midst of his suffering. This is our inheritance in Christ— our loving God gave up His own Son to be our Mediator:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

God is a just God and cannot sweep sin under the carpet. All have sinned. What we all deserved was the fate of Job and worse, unto death and death in hell- no matter how good we were or tried to be. It is His restraining hand that keeps man from collapsing into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself so none can take credit for being a good person.

Because of what God has done, we who believe Jesus Christ can NEVER experience wrath. Only by the blood of Jesus are we 100% free from the guilt for sin which Satan uses to unleash the righteous demands of the law for sins (wrath) on man as he did Job. See this in Roman's 5:9-

"Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him." Romans 5:9.

Beloved, let's take our blessed brains church: if we have no sins, why would we need salvation from wrath? If we have no sins, why would we need to be declared free of the guilt of sin by the blood of Jesus? Only the one who has sins needs saving from guilt and wrath. Wrath entails every earthly ill such as lack and depression as well as death in hell. In Christ, God sees us as righteous, "even though we are guilty of many sins." --

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins." Romans 5:16.

This truth (God's word!) is very hard to accept for those who still rely on their own ability to even take a single step and have not yet grasped that it is God's hedge—His restraining hand—that keeps them from experiencing what Job went through. It is also difficult for those who have not yet abhorred themselves, as Job did when his spiritual eyes were opened to his own uncleanness despite his many good works, or as Paul did when he declared, "In my flesh dwells no good thing." Such individuals often view God’s Way of Salvation (Grace) as a license to sin and persist in their prideful reliance on human strength to attain godliness (to be like God), despite the Word Himself declaring to us, "There is none good but God."

Beloved, let us avoid this error. According to the Wisdom of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man’s, we get to live in triumph over sin and death (and the "death begun" that Job experienced) only by receiving His abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ—

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17.

In summary, Job’s suffering which many churchgoers are experiencing in varying degrees today, it was the result of the foolishness of man— Galatians describes foolishness as trying to be made perfect by human effort after beginning in the Spirit. Job was full of dead works— works done in order to merit or earn God’s blessings, protection and His Salvation in general which is a gift of Grace— undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. But such works cannot secure acquittal from judgment or justify anyone in God’s sight. But for God’s merciful and restraining hand, its doers would have been long dead.

Those (dead) works eventually cause one to become frustrated, angry and fatigued, especially when that one sees that even people who are not doing so much and are not even that religious seem to have it easier in life, like Naaman and the widow of Zarephath whom God bypassed the whole of religious and law-full Israel to bless, save and deliver. And so, doers of such works begin to fret against the Lord as did Job, the older brother of the prodigal son, Cain and Martha. God’s word addresses this issue in Proverbs‬ 19:3–

“The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord.”

Understand that the above verse is a proverb? A riddle or an enigma, the words of the wise and their dark sayings— not to be taken at face value alone? Man interprets “foolish" as being stupid, silly, idiotic or lacking in the ability to reason properly. Not so the Word of God whose ways and thoughts are higher than man’s. Scripture always interprets Scripture. We see the definition of “the foolish” and even being under an evil spell (or “bewitched” in some Bible versions) according to God’s estimation in Galatians 3--

"Oh, FOOLISH Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How FOOLISH can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?"

We see in the above verses that the definition of foolishness of man which subverts his way and makes him fret against the Lord (I don’t deserve this, etc) as did the following—

1. Job who thought God had wronged him and that such calamity should not befall somebody like him
2. Cain who became indignant at God’s acceptance of Abel’s seemingly simple offering of a lamb and His rejection of his own laboriously-gathered offering, not realising that only the blood of the Lamb matters; only in the Beloved are we accepted
3. Martha who got so frustrated trying to provide for Jesus while her sister just “lazed” at Jesus feet that she blamed both her sister and her Saviour in one fell swoop
4. the Jews who put Jesus out of their synagogue and tried to kill him after Jesus’ reference to Naaman’s healing and the provision of food to Jezebel’s home town girl (the widow of Zarephath of the region of Sidon) when Jezebel the daughter of the king of Sidon was the cause of the famine in the land! And this when there were many widows and lepers in Israel! God bypassed these people whose life was all about obeying the law in order to be godly (be like God) and saved people whom they saw as godless heathens
5. many in the church today who think that God recognizes anything apart from Jesus Christ and Him crucified in granting His salvation to anyone; even the "FOOLISH woman" who tears her house down with her own HANDS (the arm of flesh or human effort,) in that popular verse from Proverbs, it is the churchgoer, male or female, who, having being blessed with all things in Christ attempts to maintain or perfect himself using human effort/arm of flesh aka her own hands. Hence:

"The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands." Proverbs 14:1.

Proverbs‬ 17:3‬ says:‬‬

“In the same way that gold and silver are refined by fire, the Lord purifies your heart by the tests and trials of life.”

And what does the Lord purify our hearts from? The same things He purified Peter’s heart from through his trial, and Job’s as well—arrogance, superiority, and pride in self— thinking that man can produce even a bit of good (be like God) through his own strength.

Satan designs those trials for our destruction, hoping man will ignore the Good News of Righteousness by Faith after he falls flat his face and sins like Peter with his denials; Satan wants man to seek justification or acquittal before God by doing what the law commands, just as Judas did after he realised his sin. Satan knows that this seeking of justification or restoration by human effort (the arm of flesh) is the way to heap condemnation on the doer of such works— the law condemns the best of those who try to get right with God by it and the condemned by law must die. This is why many churchgoers who are trying to right themselves with God or be godly by themselves experience depression, suicidal thoughts and even death, just as Judas did. There is nothing new under the sun.

Thankfully, as He did in the life of Peter who saw his utter weakness to keep the law, and trusted in Christ alone for restoration after his denials (he didn’t go to the Pharisees to correct his lie or to try to make things right,) for those of us who trust in Christ, God uses our trials and failures to reveal our utter weakness of ourselves to us and to strengthen our trust in Him, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 10—

12 “So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your pride becomes your downfall. 13 We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously." (TPT)

Christ Himself is the Way of escape. As it was with Job, what needless pain many religious folk bear due to trust in self (human effort/the arm of flesh) for the attainment of godliness. Only by forsaking our silly efforts to save ourselves from sin and death (Thanatos, a process including lack and every single earthly ill) with our own obediences and trusting wholly Christ as our Righteousness and Strength, only so are we saved.

When your believing is right, right living will follow.