# Job 09 đ: Job Longs for a Mediator
[[đ Explore the Bible Books]]
[[-Job Overview]] | [[Job 08]] | [[Job 10]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Jobâs Reply to Bildad
[[#Verse 01.]]Â Then Job answered:
[[#Verse 02.]] âTruly, I know that this is so.
But how can a human be just before God?
[[#Verse 03.]] If someone wishes to contend with him,
he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.
[[#Verse 04.]] He is wise in heart and mighty in strengthâ
who has resisted him and remained safe?
[[#Verse 05.]]Â He who removes mountains suddenly,
who overturns them in his anger,
[[#Verse 06.]]Â he who shakes the earth out of its place
so that its pillars tremble,
[[#Verse 07.]] he who commands the sun, and it does not shine
and seals up the stars,
[[#Verse 08.]]Â he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads on the waves of the sea.
[[#Verse 09.]] He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
and the constellations of the southern sky;
[[#Verse 10.]]Â he does great and unsearchable things,
and wonderful things without number.
[[#Verse 11.]] If he passes by me, I cannot see him,
if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
[[#Verse 12.]] If he snatches away, who can turn him back?
Who dares to say to him, âWhat are you doing?â
[[#Verse 13.]]Â God does not restrain his anger;
under him the helpers of Rahab lie crushed.
### The Impossibility of Facing God in Court
[[#Verse 14.]] âHow much less, then, can I answer him
and choose my words to argue with him.
[[#Verse 15.]] Although I am innocent,
I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my judge for mercy.
[[#Verse 16.]]Â If I summoned him, and he answered me,
I would not believe
that he would be listening to my voiceâ
[[#Verse 17.]] he who crushes me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds for no reason.
[[#Verse 18.]] He does not allow me to recover my breath,
for he fills me with bitterness.
[[#Verse 19.]]Â If it is a matter of strength,
most certainly he is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice,
he will say, âWho will summon me?â
[[#Verse 20.]]Â Although I am innocent,
my mouth would condemn me,
although I am blameless,
it would declare me perverse.
[[#Verse 21.]] I am blameless. I do not know myself.
I despise my life.
### Accusation of Godâs Justice
[[#Verse 22.]] âIt is all one! That is why I say,
âHe destroys the blameless and the guilty.â
[[#Verse 23.]]Â If a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks at the despair of the innocent.
[[#Verse 24.]] If a land has been given
into the hand of a wicked man,
he covers the faces of its judges;
if it is not he, then who is it?
### Renewed Complaint
[[#Verse 25.]] âMy days are swifter than a runner,
they speed by without seeing happiness.
[[#Verse 26.]] They glide by like reed boats,
like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.
[[#Verse 27.]] If I say, âI will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression and be cheerful,â
[[#Verse 28.]] I dread all my sufferings,
for I know that you do not hold me blameless.
[[#Verse 29.]] If I am guilty, why then weary myself in vain?
[[#Verse 30.]]Â If I wash myself with snow-melt water,
and make my hands clean with lye,
[[#Verse 31.]]Â then you plunge me into a slimy pit
and my own clothes abhor me.
[[#Verse 32.]] For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.
[[#Verse 33.]] Nor is there an arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both,
[[#Verse 34.]] who would take his rod away from me
so that his terror would not make me afraid.
[[#Verse 35.]] Then would I speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me.
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
###### Verse 35.
## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Job agrees with the friends that God is just, but he feels no one could ever win a case against Him (9:2-3).
2. The language of chapter 9 is filled with legal terms like answer, contend, judge, and arbiter.
3. The Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades (9:9) are named again in 38:31-32 and in Amos 5:8.
4. Job says God treads on the waves of the sea (9:8). Jesus later walked on the sea (Mark 6:48-50).
5. Rahab (9:13) is a name for a chaos monster in Hebrew poetry and is also used as a poetic name for Egypt (Isaiah 30:7).
6. Job says his days are swifter than a runner and pass like papyrus boats and swooping eagles (9:25-26).
7. Papyrus boats were light, fast reed boats used on the Nile.
8. Washing with soap and lye (9:30) refers to ancient cleansing agents made from plants and minerals.
9. The word "arbiter" (9:33) refers to someone who settles a dispute between two parties.
10. Job feels that even if he washed himself clean, God would plunge him into a pit (9:30-31).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Mediator Job longed for. Job wished for an arbiter who could lay his hand on both God and man (9:33), and there is one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. Job asks how a person can be righteous before God (9:2). How does the gospel answer that question?
2. Job describes God's power over mountains, seas, and stars (9:5-10). How does God's greatness comfort us and humble us?
3. Job longs for an arbiter between himself and God (9:33). Why is that such a deep human need?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 2: Job asks how a mortal can be righteous before God.
- đ verses 8-10: God stretches out the heavens, made the constellations, and does great things beyond understanding.
- đ verse 33: Job wishes for an arbiter who could lay his hand on both of them.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[1 Timothy 02#Verse 05.|1 Timothy 2:5]] - One mediator between God and humanity.
- đ [[Hebrews 08#Verse 06.|Hebrews 8:6]] - Jesus, Mediator of a better covenant.
- đ [[Romans 03#Verse 23.|Romans 3:23-26]] - Justified freely by His grace.
- đ [[Amos 05#Verse 08.|Amos 5:8]] - The One who made the Pleiades and Orion.
- đ [[Mark 06#Verse 48.|Mark 6:48-50]] - Jesus walks on the sea.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Job 09 - SOAP|God Really Does Know Better]]
## đ Internal Notes