Originally posted: 8/21/2020

“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you,” (15:6).

Job’s counselors are so convinced he had it all wrong. Even more than wrong, now they have determined he’s full of hot air, irreverent, and guilty.

“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind?
³ “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
⁴ “Indeed, you do away with reverence
And hinder meditation before God,” (15:2-4).

And in every false accusation I was reminded of Someone else so Misjudged by the wisdom of man. The similarities are striking. Much in this chapter bears a likeness to what happened throughout the life of Christ, right up to the very end.

But because we know; because we were let in on the conversation, we know God’s judgment on Job. Just as we know His judgment on His Son.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8).

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, ²² who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; (1 Peter 2:22).

Consider Him, Misjudged

• He was Misjudged by the words He spoke.
  • “Indeed, you do away with reverence
    And hinder meditation before God.
    ⁵ “For your guilt teaches your mouth,
    And you choose the language of the crafty.
    ⁶ “Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
    And your own lips testify against you., (15:4-6).
    •  …“Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?” (Mark 14:61-63).

• He was Misjudged in His wisdom and understanding.
  • “Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
    And limit wisdom to yourself?
    ⁹ “What do you know that we do not know?
    What do you understand that we do not?” (15:8-9).
    • Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner,” (Luke 7:39).

• He was Misjudged as corrupt in God’s sight.
  • “Why does your heart carry you away?
    And why do your eyes flash,
    ¹³ That you should turn your spirit against God
    And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
    ¹⁴ “What is man, that he should be pure,
    Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
    ¹⁵ “Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,
    And the heavens are not pure in His sight;
    ¹⁶ How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
    Man, who drinks iniquity like water!” (15:12-16).
    • But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God, (John 5:17-19).

• He was Misjudged as wicked and arrogant.
  • “The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.
    ²¹ “Sounds of terror are in his ears;
    While at peace the destroyer comes upon him…
    ²⁴ “Distress and anguish terrify him,
    They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
    ²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
    And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty,” (15:20-21, 24-25).
    • The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ ⁵³ Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” (John 8:52-53).

• He was Misjudged as deserving death.
  • “He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
    And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
    ³⁰ “He will not escape from darkness;
    The flame will wither his shoots,
    And by the breath of His mouth he will go away,” (15:29-30).
    •  “You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death, (Mark 14:64).

• He was Misjudged as deceiving Himself.
  • “Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
    For emptiness will be his reward,” (15:31).
    • “I and the Father are one.”  ³¹ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. ³² Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³ The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God,” (John 10:30-33).

• He was Misjudged as being cast away from God
  • “It will be accomplished before his time,
    And his palm branch will not be green.
    ³³ “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
    And will cast off his flower like the olive tree,” (15:31-33).
    • “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God,’” (Matthew 27:42-43).

How do we respond to Him, Misjudged?

He was Misjudged as He walked as a man, and He is still Misjudged today, as man continues to judge Him according to the flesh.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh…” (John 8:12-15).

He is the Savior and the Light of the World. Admittedly, this is not a popular belief in today’s culture. And when we place our faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation and forgiveness of sins, we too will be Misjudged by a world at enmity with God. And some will Misjudge, like Job’s three friends, because they do not know Truth.

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me,” (John 15:18-21).

And as with Job’s story, we know what precipitated God’s ultimate purpose and conclusion in the life of Jesus, as well as His death and resurrection. The wisdom of the world will not eradicate God’s Truth. Although some will Misjudge Jesus and the reality of sin and the need for salvation, let us stand strong and defend His Truth; one day He will Judge the misjudgment of man.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves, (2 Peter 2:1).

When we place our faith for salvation in the precious blood of Jesus, we can fully trust Him to strengthen us daily, by the power of His Holy Spirit and the Truth of His Word, that we would not falter in believing Him Misjudged; fully convinced He is able to make us stand before Him on that day.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen, (Jude 1:24-45).

Let’s Grow Together!