Job 15:14: “What is man, that he could be pure? / And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?”

December 10th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Job’s comforters had been taking turns hurling insults at him; and in chapter 15, Eliphaz became the chief spokesman again. He had been polite the first time he spoke to Job in chapter 4, but in this chapter he seems angry and to consider Job’s words deceitful and irreverent. In the first 13 verses, Eliphaz attacked Job with questions probably meant to hurt and overwhelm him into silence. However, he did ask 2 interesting questions.

“What is man, that he could be pure?” Man’s sinfulness before God is the ultimate problem facing the entire human race. The New Testament also confirms this: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The second question further echoes man’s lack of righteousness: “And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?” But this question also points to God’s solution. There needed to be one man, born of woman, who was righteous so that through Him, a way could be made for sinful humanity to have a relationship with the holy God. All of creation was waiting for such a Man. God the Son became the first and only righteous man, born of a woman. And the death of this perfect God/man built the bridge needed for our salvation. We cannot add anything to the cross. To try to do so is to say that God did not do enough, that the cross was not sufficient.

I love the story of a man in England who put his Rolls Royce on a boat and went across to the continent for a holiday. While driving around Europe, something happened to the motor of his car. He cabled the Rolls-Royce people back in England: “I’m having trouble with my car; what do you suggest I do?” They immediately flew a new motor and 2 mechanics over to him! The mechanics repaired the car, replacing the entire engine; and then flew back to England, leaving the man to continue his holiday. After the man returned home, he wondered, “How much is this going to cost me?” He wrote Rolls Royce a letter asking how much he owed them. He received a reply from the office that read: “Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce.” Jesus Christ’s purity, righteousness, and finished work, completely covers us. When God looks at us through Him, He says to us: “There is no record against you.” If Jesus has finished the work, what need is there for our puny additions? It is a difficult thing to bring proud hearts to rest upon Jesus for righteousness. God humbles our pride by calling us, completely apart from any righteousness of our own, to Jesus for justification.

“Thank You, LORD, that You give the gift of righteousness to us when we humble ourselves and repent.”

=============================================================

Job 15 KJV

¹ Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, ² Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?  ³ Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? ⁴ Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.   ⁵ For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.  ⁶ Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. ⁷ Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? ⁸ Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? ⁹ What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? ¹⁰ With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. ¹¹ Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? ¹² Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, ¹³ That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? ¹⁴ What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ¹⁵ Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. ¹⁶ How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? ¹⁷ I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; ¹⁸ Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: ¹⁹ Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. ²⁰ The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. ²¹ A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.  ²²He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. ²³ He wandereth abroad for bread, saying , Where is it ? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. ²⁴ Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. ²⁵ For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. ²⁶ He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: ²⁷ Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. ²⁸ And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. ²⁹ He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. ³⁰ He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. ³¹ Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. ³² It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.  ³³ He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. ³⁴ For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. ³⁵ They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.