I will come forth as gold
Job 23:10-12 - Even when God seems to be silent, our obedience speaks louder than our circumstances.
Job replying to Eliphaz the Temanite. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”
Job 23:10-12 NIV
I have to admit to a certain reluctance to get excited about the Book of Job. We see a righteous man being tested by God at the suggestion of Satan, and between the long speeches of Job’s friends (who are sure that Job has done something to invoke God’s wrath), the descriptions of his suffering, and the rather lengthy defenses of God by Job, it is a somewhat depressing book. If you’ve never read the Book of Job in the Old Testament of the Bible before, here’s a short summary from Wikipedia:
Job is a wealthy God-fearing man with a comfortable life and a large family. God discusses Job’s piety with a character called the adversary (הַשָּׂטָן, haśśāṭān, lit. ‘the adversary’; i.e. “the satan”). The adversary rebukes God, stating that Job would turn away from God if he were to lose everything within his possession. God decides to test that theory by allowing the adversary to inflict pain on Job. Job is tested through extreme suffering, including the loss of his wealth, children, and health, yet he maintains his piety while challenging the justice of God. Job defends himself against his unsympathetic friends, whom God admonishes. The dialogues explore human frailty and the inaccessibility of divine wisdom, culminating in God highlighting His omnipotence and Job confessing his limited understanding. Job’s fortunes and family are restored in the epilogue.
Job 23 is one of Job’s replies to his friends, in this case Eliphaz the Temanite. In these two verses, Job is giving his testimony to those friends, and it is coming from the depths of horrible suffering. Job has been stripped of his health, his family, and his possessions, but he clings to one truth — he has always walked faithfully with God. When he says “when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold”, Job is not speaking from arrogant pride. Job is just reminding his friends that even in dire circumstances such as the ones he is suffering through, God knows what He is doing and He is a firm foundation upon which to stand.
Charles Spurgeon used the metaphor of refining gold in this commentary found on Enduring Word:
“It looks very hard to believe that a child of God should be tried by the loss of his Father’s presence, and yet should come forth uninjured by the trial. Yet no gold is ever injured in the fire. Stoke the furnace as much as you may, let the blast be as strong as you will, thrust the ingot into the very center of the white heat, let it lie in the very heart of the flame; pile on more fuel, let another blast torment the coals till they become most vehement with heat, yet the gold is losing nothing, it may even be gaining.”
When Job says “My feet have closely followed his steps,” it invokes the image of a traveler treading in the footprints of one who is walking before him so that he doesn’t wander off course. Even in the current chaos that Job’s life has fallen to, his faith keeps to God’s trail.
Job’s next words are beautiful: “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” Bread and other food can only keep our bodies nourished; God’s Word sustains our souls. Job mirrors what was said in Deuteronomy 8:3, “… man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” These words are so important that Jesus referred to them in Matthew 4:4 as well!
Once again from Spurgeon:
“Then note, that what God had spoken to him he treasured up. He says in the Hebrew that he had hid God’s word more than ever he had hidden his necessary food. They had to hide grain away in those days to guard it from wandering Arabs. Job had been more careful to store up God’s word than to store up his wheat and his barley; more anxious to preserve the memory of what God had spoken than to garner his harvests. Do you treasure up what God has spoken?”
During times of personal trials and suffering, we may sometimes feel that God is far away. Job was enduring horrible suffering, but he knew that his anchor was to be found in following God’s steps, valuing His Word, and trusting in His unseen presence. Even when God seems to be silent, our obedience speaks louder than our circumstances.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, may I learn to walk in Your footsteps every day and never turn aside from Your ways. Teach me to treasure Your Word more than my daily bread, so when the inevitable times of trial come I may not only remain steadfast in my faith, but grow in my love for You. May my life always reflect obedience to Your commandments, even in uncertain and unclear times. AMEN.