Job 9:13-24

The arbitrary actions of God 9:13-24

Rahab (lit. pride, Job 9:13) was a name ancient Near Easterners used to describe a mythical sea monster that was symbolic of evil. Such a monster, also called Leviathan (Job 7:12), was a major character in the creation legends of several ancient Near Eastern peoples, including the Mesopotamians and the Canaanites. The Israelites also referred to Egypt as Rahab because of its similarity to this monster (cf. Job 26:12; Psalms 87:4; Psalms 89:10; Isaiah 30:7; Isaiah 51:9).

"Far from being arrogant, Job is subdued, even to the point of self-loathing (Job 9:21 b)." [Note: Andersen, p. 148.]

Job came to the point of concluding that it did not matter whether he was innocent since God destroys both the guiltless, like himself, and the wicked (Job 9:22). Further evidences of His injustice include the facts that innocent people die in plagues (Job 9:23) and the wicked prosper in the earth (Job 9:24).

". . . in Exodus 23:8 bribery is condemned because it covers the eyes of officials so that they cannot see where justice lies. Job here says it is God who blinds the judges to the truth. All the injustice that prevails in the world is laid at his door." [Note: Rowley, pp. 80-81.]

Job rebutted his friends’ contention that God consistently blesses the good and blasts the evil with examples that he drew from life generally, not just from his own experiences. [Note: See James L. Crenshaw, "Popular Questioning of the Justice of God in Ancient Israel," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 82:3 (1970):380-95.] In this he showed sensitivity to Bildad’s respect for tradition.

"The friends had condemned Job that God might be righteous-according to their standard. Job, defending himself against their unjustified insinuations, is driven to condemn God that he himself might be righteous (cf. Job 40:8)." [Note: Kline, p. 470.]