Job 16:11 says, God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.  Job was feeling that if God was not directly behind his suffering that God had at best turned him over to the ungodly and wicked.  I believe that we could say that this was true, but not for the reasons that Job may have understood.  I believe that Job was saying that God had done this because He felt that Job was guilty of some great sin and was punishing Job.  We need to understand that as followers of Christ that if we are suffering in life and we are living for God as faithfully as we can that God is not going to cause the suffering, but He may allow the suffering to come.  We can never look at our relationship with God from our physical or material standing in the world.  Verse twelve adds, I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.  Job said that when he was at ease, his world was destroyed.  He had lost his wealth, his friends, his family and his health.  These were all blessings from God, and Job held God directly responsible for his lose of them.  When we, as followers of Christ become too at ease in the world, it is quite possible that our world can be shaken apart, but we need to make sure that we never become angry at God because of it.  Job felt that God was treating him unfairly, but we can be sure that God will never be unfair in His relationship with anyone, especially those His followers.  Verse thirteen continues, His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.  I believe that Job felt that God had in effect placed him in a place where everything and everyone seemed to be against him.  If we were to find ourselves in the same situation as Job, we might feel just as defeated as Job did.  Verse fourteen states, He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.  Job felt that God was continually punishing him and that he was helpless before God.  Though we are certainly helpless before God, once we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we can be just as certain that God is never going to set out to destroy us.  If trouble comes into our lives, we need to remain even more faithful to God.  Verse fifteen adds, I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.  I believe that Job was saying that he had repented and humbled himself before the world and God.  Even though Job knew he had done nothing to deserve what he saw as punishment from God, he did not stand in self-pride and defy God.  We should always be willing be the same way in our relationship to God.  In good times or bad, we need to humbly submit to God.  Verse sixteen continues, My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;  Job was truly heartbroken over his condition, because he felt separated from God.  I am sure the physical pain was great, but the spiritual pain was greater.  Verse seventeen says, Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.  Job said that his repentance and tears were not because he had done any injustice, but because he still realized his position in relationship to God.  Verse eighteen adds, O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.  I believe that Job was basically saying that nothing in the earth could point to injustice on his part.  He might never be seen as guiltless in this life, but that wasn't where his hope was.  Verse nineteen continues, Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.  Job knew that his ultimate judgment was not in this world and the things of this world, but in heaven, where he knew he had a witness to the fact that he had been true to his faith in God.  We as followers of Christ know that He is our witness in heaven, and that the judgment of this world does not matter.  Verse twenty states, My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.  We, like Job, may be scorned by our friends, but our repentant hearts must always cry out to God.  Verse twenty-one adds, O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!  We know that we have an Advocate with God if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Job was looking ahead to the coming of that Advocate, but we know that He has already come, and we can put our faith in Him.  Verse twenty-two continues, When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.  Job knew that his time on this earth was limited and that when he died he would never return again.  We do not come back as something or someone else.  When the body dies, the spirit returns to God forever.  We just need to realize that it doesn't matter if we have accepted Christ or not, the soul lives on.  The souls of the saved and the sinner will go to be judged by God.

Job 16:1 says, Then Job answered and said, After listening, Job now responds.  He did not feel the need, or at least give in to the urge, to interrupt.  Verse two adds, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.  Job certainly had a point here.  His friends were indeed miserable comforters.  Basically, everything they said pointed to Job being a hypocrite and a sinner.  If we go to some who is suffering today, especially a Christian, we need to hope that we will be better at comforting them.  We really need to pray that we won't go to them condemning them as hypocrites or sinners.  Verse three continues, Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?  Job asked his friends if there would ever be an end to their vein, or empty and meaningless, words.  Job recognized that there was no truth to their words.  I believe that he knew this because he knew that his relationship with God was true.  If we are going to recognize when people are not speaking the truth about God, we must first have a relationship with God.  Job also asked why they felt emboldened to speak to him this way.  I believe that Job knew that what they were saying was not based on God's authority, so he wondered why they felt that they should so boldly condemn him.  If someone comes to us today condemning our actions as being sinful, especially if it is based on material things, we need to ask them by what authority they feel free to speak.  If we know that we are in a right relationship with God, then no one else has the authority, or right, to question it.  Verse four states, I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul’s stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.  Job said that if the roles were reversed, he could speak to them as they did to him.  He did not say that he would, but only that he could.  We need to recognize that we have the ability to judge people based on what we see going on in their lives, but we need to pray that we don't judge them based erroneous knowledge of their relationship with God.  Verse five adds, But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.  Job told his friends that if he did speak to them if they were in his condition, that he would offer words of hope and encouragement to lessen their grief.  We need to feel the same way about those that we see in need.  As followers of Christ, we are not called to condemn, but to comfort and offer the hope of Christ to those we reach out to.  Verse six continues, Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?  Job said that talking about and even just enduring the pain brought him no relief.  Things are easier to endure if there is hope that they are going to get better, but Job had no such hope.  Verse seven declares, But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.  Job still saw God as the direct cause of his problems, saying that He, or God, had made Job weary.  Job also said his friends had made him desolate, being condemned by them instead of being offered hope.  If someone today, especially a fellow believer, is feeling that somehow God has abandoned or is punishing them, we need to offer them encouragement and hope and not look for ways to question their faith.  Verse eight adds, And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.  Job said that his physical condition might seemingly bear witness against him, but he maintained that it did not mean that he was spiritually impure.  Not only should our friends not judge us based on our physical condition, neither should we judge ourselves based on physical, or material, things.  Our relationship with God, or the spiritual, is all that matters.  Verse nine continues, He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. I believe that Job felt that he was being torn apart by God's wrath on him.  He also felt that what his friends were doing was like gnashing at him in his misery.  Verse ten concludes, They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.  Job said that basically his friends were looking at him with reproach instead of empathy.  We need to be better friends to those around us who are suffering, looking to comfort and not to condemn.

Job 15:16 says, How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?  Eliphaz was continuing to point out how sinful people were.  God has created Adam and Eve as perfect, but they chose to give in to iniquity, and so had everyone since, except for Christ.  I don't believe that Eliphaz saw himself as abominable and filthy spiritually, but he certainly did see Job that way.  Verse seventeen adds, I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;  Eliphaz was saying that he had an insight into God's will and His working in the world that Job did not have.  We need to be wary of anyone who says that they have a special knowledge of God that other Christians cannot possess.  Verse eighteen continues, Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:  Eliphaz said that what he was saying was what wise men had always known.  We must remember once more that just because something has been taught for years does not make it true.  There have been many things done in the name of Christianity that were never based on God's word.  Verse nineteen states, Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.  This was another way of saying that those that follow God are blessed materially.  God gave His people a great land.  There was no need to fear the strangers around them, because God was the source of their strength.  We know that God does not just deal with His people materially, but that He deals with them spiritually.  Verse twenty adds, The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.  Eliphaz equates suffering with disobedience to God.  He was again equating material blessings with God's blessings.  We should be careful that we do not teach the same thing.  Verse twenty-one continues, A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.  Eliphaz states that the wicked will have their prosperity destroyed by God, and thus would imply that this is what happened to Job.  We cannot claim that material loss comes from a direct action of God.  Verse twenty-two says, He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.  I believe that Eliphz was saying that the sinner is without hope of being restored to prosperity, and that Job should accept this as his condition.  These next few verses speak of the condition of the sinners, those who do not follow God's will for their lives, or in some cases even acknowledge His existence.  Verse twenty-three adds, He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.  Though Eliphaz was making these statements based on material wealth, we can say that from a spiritual perspective that this is true.  Materialism will never satisfy the soul, and with God we wander in spiritual darkness.  Verse twenty-four continues, Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. Trouble and anguish will certainly make people afraid when they stand to be judged by God, but that does not mean that the wicked will always suffer defeat in this life.  Sometimes, the wicked do flourish.  Verse twenty-five states, For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.  There are people today, some very prosperous, who deny that God even exists or that He has any power in this world.  They may feel that they are stronger than God, but a rude awakening awaits them.
Verse twenty-six adds, He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:  Verse twenty-seven continues, Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.  I believe that Eliphaz was saying that those who do not follow God saw their riches as a sign that they were correct.  We can never base the truth of God's blessings on materialism.  Verses twenty-eight through thirty-three continue to express the idea that God will punish the wicked materially in this world.  Verse twenty-eight says, And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. Verse twenty-nine adds, He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.  Eliphaz was saying that the riches of the wicked would not endure long.  Verse thirty continues, 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.  We do know that those who do not follow God's will in their lives will ultimately be cast into darkness, but that does not mean that they will not prosper in this life.  Verse thirty-one states, Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.   Those who do not believe in God are certainly deceived, and what they believe in is certainly vanity, or nothing.  Verse thirty-two adds, It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.  Verse thirty-three continues, He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.  Ultimately, sinners will not prosper, but they may amass a lot of wealth in this life.  In the life to come though all that they have amassed will be shaken off.  Verse thirty-four says, For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.  Eliphaz had accused Job of hypocrisy, and I believe here that he was telling Job that Job should have expected this fate.  In verse thirty-five, Eliphaz adds, They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.  Eliphaz was still speaking about hypocrites in this verse.  Though this is true of the everlasting life that we await, it does not always work that way now.  Sometimes the wicked prosper and those faithful to God suffer.  We cannot judge a person's spiritual relationship with God by any material standard.

Job 15:1 says, Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,  Job may have thought that he had quieted the accusations made by his friends, but he hadn't.  Eliphaz, who had earlier implied that Job might have been hiding some unknown sin, says here that basically he knew Job was guilty of sin, especially hypocrisy.  We may think that our friends will really listen to us with an open mind, but often they may have already condemned us as hypocrites even before hearing what we have to say.  If we challenge what they believe to be the truth, they may become even more vocal in pronouncing condemnation on us.  Verse two adds, Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?  Eliphaz was basically using rhetorical questions to attempt to show Job how wrong he was.  Eliphaz had noted that Job was known for being wise before all the sufferings came upon him, so now he was asking how a wise man like Job could proclaim such empty words.  Eliphaz said Job's defense of himself was just empty air.  Those who have already made up their minds about anything will often refuse to listen to anyone who disagrees with them.  Verse three continues, Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?  Eliphaz was basically asking Job if he thought presenting his defense would accomplish anything, since Eliphaz saw Job's speeches to be of no value.  Eliphaz truly believed that he knew more about the will of God than Job did.  We need to be certain that what we proclaim as God's word really is His word, and if anyone becomes upset by what we say, we still need to stand firm in our faith.  Though Eliphaz was firm in his beliefs, his beliefs were not based on a true understanding of God. Verse four states, Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.  Eliphaz accused Job of no longer fearing, or being in awe of, God.  Once more, Eliphaz was assuming to know more about Job's relationship with God than Job himself did.  He was basically saying that Job was being hypocritical about claiming that he had done nothing to bring this suffering on himself.  Verse five adds, For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.  Instead of being convinced by Job's words, Eliphaz said that what Job had just been saying was uttered in iniquity and was an attempt to prove his innocence by crafty words, or made up defences.  When someone disagrees with us about what God's word teaches, we cannot assume that we are right and they are wrong.  We need to go back to the source, to God Himself, and pray that He will show us the truth.  Eliphaz was so certain that he was right that he became his own proof.  He did not want to honestly consider what Job had been saying.  Verse six continues, Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.  Eliphaz basically accused Job of lying, or at best presenting ideas that were not true even if not deliberately.  This assumed that Eliphaz knew more about God and His will than Job did. We must be careful to not assume that our own thoughts and ideas are God's thoughts, especially when dealing with another Christian.  Verse seven asks, Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?  I believe that Eliphaz was asking Job if he had lived long enough that he had a closer relationship with God than anyone else, as did Adam before sin came into the relationship.  Verse eight adds, Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?  This is a continuation of the same idea.  Eliphaz was asking Job if he thought he had heard some secret of God and that he had kept that wisdom to himself.  Though we would do well to question someone who professes a belief about God that we do not agree with, we should not do it with derision of their beliefs as Eliphaz was here.  Verse nine continues, What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?  Job had disagreed with his three friends, and here was asked how he thought he knew more about God than the three of them did.  The numbers who believe something does not always make it right.  Sometimes we simply have to stand firm in our faith in God no matter how many people may say we are wrong, but we must be sure that what we believe is really the truth of God.  Verse ten says, With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.  Eliphaz told Job that there were older and wiser men who agreed with them, and that simply by the fact that they were older they knew more.  Just because a person has been a follower of Christ longer than someone else does not mean that they have a greater knowledge of God.  Often throughout history there have been great numbers of Christians who followed the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God.  Verse eleven add, Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?  I believe that Eliphaz was basically asking Job if he was allowing some secret sin to keep him from the consolation of God.  Verse twelve continues, Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,  Eliphaz continued to question Job's relationship with God, asking why he allowed his heart to turn him away from God as he winked at, or discounted his unconfessed sins.  Eliphaz was still equating physical suffering with the spiritual relationship one has with God, but we know we cannot do this.  Sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.  Verse thirteen states, That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?  Eliphaz said that Job had turned against God in his spirit and was speaking against God with the words that he proclaimed.  Verse fourteen adds, What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?  These are very good questions that we need to ask today, but not for the purpose of declaring that we have a greater understanding of God than someone else may have.  These questions applied to Eliphaz as well as to Job, but I don't believe that Eliphaz saw it that way.  Verse fifteen continues, Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.  Eliphaz states that God does not put His faith in His people to always do the right thing.  We know that Christ was the only One who God could put His faith in to bring deliverance to the world.  Many of the angels had rebelled and people had sinned, so a Redeemer was necessary.

Job 14:13 says, O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!  I believe that Job was asking God to let his body die, or hide him in the grave, until God's wrath had passed and then at the appointed time to restore him.  Job did not believe that all of life ended at death, but that the soul lived on.  He also believed that at the appointed time the soul would be returned to the body.  He also believed that God's wrath was not forever.  We know that through Christ we will one day, a day appointed by God, be resurrected and free from the wrath of God. Those who do not accept Christ as their Savior and Lord will not be so fortunate, as they will face God's wrath, or judgment.  Verse fourteen adds, If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. As followers of Christ, we can answer that question with a resounding yes.  Job was still looking ahead to the coming Messiah, but I believe he had faith in Him as evidenced by his saying he would await his days until the change came.  I cannot tell you what the resurrected body will look like, but I can say that it will be perfect.  Verse fifteen continues, Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.  Job believed that beyond the grave that one day God would call him again.  This is the hope and the certainty that we have in Christ.  The grave is but a transition point from this earthly life to the everlasting one to come.  Verse sixteen states, For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?  Our days on this earth are indeed numbered, no matter how long we may live.  Job asked if God watched over his sins.  We know that God does know all our sins, but also that through Christ He forgives all of them.  Verse seventeen adds, My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.  Job knew that when God forgave him for his sins that God sealed them away.  We today say more accurately that our sins are washed away.  The good news is that God remembers them no more.  Verse eighteen continues, And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.  Job said that even the mountains would not endure forever.  We hear of avalanches and landslides today and know the truth of this statement.  God created man to have dominion over and care for the world, but often the greed of mankind causes even the mountains to crumble.  Though Job was speaking of natural occurrences, we cannot discount our part in the destruction of the earth.  Verse nineteen says, The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.  I believe that Job was saying that floods not only washed away the mountains, but they also washed away the crops that people planted.  When our crops, our source of food, are destroyed, we may lose hope.  To answer Job's question of where our hope is, it should still be in God.  Unlike material things, our faith in God should remain when all else fails.  Verse twenty adds, Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.  Job declared the truth of the relationship between God and people.  Every person will be changed by death or in the twinkling of an eye at Christ's return, but God is the same forever.  Verse twenty-one continues, His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.  Once we die and pass from this world, we no longer know of the success or failure of our children.  Verse twenty-two concludes, But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.  Job could have been speaking of our children suffering when we die, but I believe that he was also saying that they will have their own struggles in life. There is no generation that is or will be exempt from the sufferings caused by sin.

Job 14:1 says, Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.  A person's time here on earth is indeed short and often filled with trouble, as Job stated here.  This should not cause the Christian to be filled with despair though.  Since people are born with an everlasting soul, they should not allow the physical or material things of this world, even life itself, to become the determining factor of their relationship with God.  Verse two adds, He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.  Job said that this life came and went quickly, like a flower that is cut down.  The flower may be beautiful, but once it is cut, it begins to die.  I believe Job was saying that no matter how successful a person's life might be, from the day they are born they are moving toward the death of this physical body. Verse three continues, And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?  Job saw his life as fleeting, and asked if God was watching him and bringing His judgment on Job.  We know that God does indeed watch everyone and that He will indeed ultimately judge all for their sins.  The only hope for not bearing the penalty for those sins is through faith in Christ.  Verse four asks, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.  Job was still looking at a person's physical life, and in his present condition he felt unclean and unable to be redeemed.  Job said that there was no one who could redeem a person who was unclean, but we know there is One Who not only can but does redeem all those who put their faith in Him, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse five adds, Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;   I believe that Job was saying that as mortal beings, we are not going to live forever.  Our days are indeed numbered.  From the moment of birth, this physical body is on its way to its inevitable conclusion, which is death.  We do not need to despair because of this, though, because the spirit of people is everlasting.  Verse six continues, Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.  I believe that Job was asking that God allow a person to die, or as he said to rest, once they had completed their task here on earth.  We need to remember that Job felt that he had no more purpose in life, and that having accomplished all that he could do, he was ready to rest in death. Verse seven states, For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Verse eight adds, Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;  Verse nine continues, Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.  As Job said, a tree can be cut down to a stump and still have the possibility of living again as long as there is a good root structure and water.  If you have ever tried to cut down certain plants to get rid of them, then you know this truth too well.  Verse ten states, But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?  Job said that when a man, or woman, dies, this is not the case.  They are not going to come back to this life once the spirit, the everlasting soul, has departed them.  Verse eleven adds, As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:  Job stated that this was a certainty.  Verse twelve continues, So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.  Job said that until the heavens pass away that this body, once laid down in death, would live no more.  We know that when Christ returns that the body will be resurrected new and glorious, but until then it will not return.

Job 13:13 says, Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.  Job wanted to have his say, then he was content to submit to the will of God.  If we are suffering in life, we may want to voice our concerns, to those around us or to God.  I don't believe there is anything wrong with this, as long as we willingly submit to God's will, no matter the outcome.  Verse fourteen adds, Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?  Job said his suffering was so great that he basically felt like chewing his flesh to get relief.  Hopefully, we will never find ourselves that desperate, but if we were to, then we still need to put our faith in God.  Verse fifteen continues, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.  Job said his faith in God would not fail, even if he died.  This tells us that Job did not consider physical death as the end of life.  When Job said that he would maintain his ways before God, I believe he meant the way that he had lived his life.  Job was not saying that he would stand un-condemned by his own goodness, but that he had honestly attempted to live by his faith in God.  Verse sixteen declares, He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.  Job was once again looking beyond this life and saying that God would provide Job's salvation in the life to come.  Job also answered his friends claims that he was a hypocrite by reminding them that a hypocrite could not stand before God.  If we serve God only for material reasons, and not from a spiritual relationship with Him, then we ultimately will be proven to be a hypocrite, and we will not be able to stand before God.  Verse seventeen adds, Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.  Job was once more asking his friends to really understand what he was saying.  If we come into a situation with preconceived ideas, then sometimes it is very hard to hear what is being said to us.  Verse eighteen continues, Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.  Job said he had presented his case, so to speak, and that he knew one day he would be justified.  This was not because of self-righteousness, but because of the righteous of God.  We can only stand justified before God because He has redeemed us through Christ.  Verse nineteen states, Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.  I believe that Job was looking for any of his friends to stand by him in what he was saying.  It may be that in life we sometimes can find no one to stand by us as we live by faith in God, but if we do not proclaim His truth, then we might as well give up the ghost, as Job said.  Verse twenty adds, Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.  Job only asked two things of God, and neither had to do with material things.  When we stand before God, there will be nothing material that matters, but only the spiritual things.  Verse twenty-one continues, Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.  Job asked God to not abandon him and to not make him be afraid of God.  We know that as followers of Christ God will never abandon us nor should we ever be afraid of God.  Though we may hear the expression that God is out to get you, He is really only ever out to redeem and sustain us.  Verse twenty-two says, Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.  Job wanted to communicate with God, to once again feel that closeness.  When we are in distress, that is what we need more than anything, that communication with God.  We can be sure that God hears us.  Verse twenty-three adds, How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.  Job was once more asking that God reveal his sin if he was guilty of sin.  Job knew that his three friends could not tell him how he had sinned, but if he had sinned, only God could tell him how he had.  Sin is always between God and an individual, an no one else can truly determine if another individual is guilty of sin or not, especially based on material things.  Verse twenty-four continues, Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?  Job was still feeling abandoned by God and given over to God's enemy.  I guess in material terms we could say that was true, but spiritually God was still with Job.  Verse twenty-five asks, Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?  I believe Job was saying he felt lifeless and without direction and wondered how long God would allow him to continue in this state.  Verse twenty-six adds, For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.  Job felt that God was treating him badly and spoke of the inequities of his youth.  Job did not claim to have always been perfect, but I believe that he felt that his youthful iniquities had been forgiven.  We can be certain that once our sins are forgiven that God will not bring them up again.  Verse twenty-seven continues, Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.  I believe that Job was saying that God had imprisoned him in a worthless state, with his body being eaten away.  We have to acknowledge that even if life seems hopeless, as followers of Christ we will never be without hope.