Thomas Aquinas Commentary Job 9:11-21

"Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive him not. Behold, he seizeth [the prey], who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou? God will not withdraw his anger; The helpers of Rahab do stoop under him. How much less shall I answer him, And choose out my words [to reason] with him? Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge. If I had called, and he had answered me, Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, And multiplieth my wounds without cause. He will not suffer me to take my breath, But filleth me with bitterness. If [we speak] of strength, lo, [he is] mighty! And if of justice, Who, [saith he], will summon me? Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me: Though I be perfect, it shall prove me perverse. I am perfect; I regard not myself; I despise my life." — Job 9:11-21 (ASV)

Since the blessed Job wished to affirm that he did not desire to argue with God, he first showed the depth of God's wisdom in natural things by using many examples. Now, however, he wishes to show the depth of divine wisdom in human affairs.

Note here that three things pertain to the one who governs human affairs:

1. He should administer the precepts of justice and other benefits to his subjects.
2. He should examine the actions of his subjects.
3. He should subject those he finds guilty to punishment.

In these three areas, Job shows the immense depth of divine power.

First, God provides His benefits to His subjects so profoundly and with such subtlety that His work cannot be understood even by those who receive them. Job addresses this theme when he continues, “Should he come near me, I will not see; if he withdraws, I will not know him.” In the Scriptures, God is said to draw near to a person when He bestows His benefits on them, whether by illuminating their intellect, stirring their love, or granting them any kind of good. Thus Isaiah says, “Our God Himself will come and save us” (Isaiah 35:4).

Conversely, God is said to withdraw from a person when He removes His gifts or His protection from them. Psalms 9 says, “Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you despise me in opportunities in trial?” (Psalms 9:22). It happens that God sometimes permits trials or even spiritual defects to occur for the sake of a person's salvation, as Romans says, “All things work together for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28). In this way, God comes to a person to bring about their salvation, and yet the person does not see Him because they cannot perceive His kindness.

On the other hand, God may not take away His obvious gifts from many people, and yet they use them for their own destruction. In this sense, God is said to go away from a person, yet the person does not understand that He is withdrawing. Therefore, the depth of divine wisdom appears in the administration of His gifts.

Second, the depth of divine wisdom is shown in the examination of human actions, because He scrutinizes them so sharply and effectively that no one can escape His examination through any kind of cunning. Job says this next: “If he suddenly interrogates someone, who will answer him?” God interrogates a person when He leads them to examine their conscience, either by inspiring them inwardly or by provoking them outwardly with rewards and punishments. As Psalm 10 says, “God interrogates the just and the unjust” (Psalms 10:6).

A person would answer God sufficiently only if nothing could be found in them that God could justly censure. This happens to no one in this life, as Proverbs says, “Who can say: My heart is clean; I am pure from sin!” (Proverbs 20:9). Job specifies, “If he suddenly interrogates someone,” because if a person is given time to respond, they can wash their sins away through repentance.

Sometimes a person is found to be negligent when examining the faults of others, fearing that their own faults will be examined by others in the same way. But God does not have this fear, so He does not become lenient in His examination. He has no superior who can judge His deeds, and so the question is added, “Who can say to him: Why are you doing this,” as a rebuke?

Third, the depth of divine wisdom is shown in the punishment of the guilty, because no cunning or power can escape God's vengeance, wherever a person may turn. As Psalm 139 says, “Where can I flee from your spirit, or where can I hide from your face?” (Psalms 139:7). Job addresses this theme, saying that God is one “whose anger no one can resist.” When Scripture attributes anger to God, it does not mean an emotion of the soul but rather His vengeance. Job proves this by saying, “Those who carry the earth bow down before him.”

“Those who carry the earth” refers to the heavenly spirits, through whose ministry God divinely brings about the good of the entire material universe, according to Augustine in De Trinitate III, 4. These heavenly spirits bow down before God because they obey Him in everything, as Psalm 103 says, “Bless the Lord, all you his angels, his ministers who do his will” (Psalms 103:20). Since the angels obey God, it is clear that the entire course of physical things, which is administered by the angels, is subject to the divine will. Therefore, no creature can help a person who is fleeing from divine vengeance. As Psalm 139 says, “If I climb the heavens, you are there; if I descend to hell, you are there” (Psalms 139:8), and even more clearly, the book of Wisdom states, “The whole universe will fight with him against the foolish” .

Alternatively, “those who carry the world” can be understood as the kings and princes of the earth who bow down before God, according to Proverbs: “Kings rule through me” (Proverbs 8:15). Since even kings themselves cannot resist divine anger, one can draw the same conclusion about lesser things from this greater example.

Therefore, after showing in many ways the immensity of divine power and the depth of divine wisdom, Job draws his proposed conclusion: that he does not intend to argue with God. He explains this when he asks, “Am I great enough to answer him,” that is, to answer the all-powerful and all-wise God when He interrogates me, “and to address him in my own words?” This means examining God's deeds and asking, “Why are you doing this?” (Job 9:12). It is as if to say, “I am not able to argue with God, for an argument consists of answering and raising objections.”

Sometimes, even if a person is not powerful or wise, they are not afraid to argue with a judge because of the confidence of their conscience. But Job excludes this reason for disputing with God, saying, “Even if I were somewhat just, I could not answer him at all.” He could not defend his own justice while God examines him, but would instead plead with his Judge, asking not for justice, but for mercy.

He says pointedly, “Even if I were somewhat just,” using these words to show the uncertainty of human justice. As Saint Paul says, “I have nothing on my conscience, but I am not justified in this” (1 Corinthians 4:4). To show that human justice is insignificant and imperfect when measured against God's examination of it, he quotes Isaiah, saying that in God's sight, “All our just deeds are like polluted cloth” (Isaiah 64:6).

Job shows the result of his prayer for pardon when he says, “If I appeal to him and he hears my call, I would not believe that he would hear my words” (Job 9:16). God sometimes answers a person’s prayer not according to their desire, but according to what is truly for their benefit. For example, a doctor does not grant the plea of a sick patient who asks to have bitter medicine taken away. By not removing the remedy he knows will bring health, the doctor still hears the true need behind the patient's plea, because he brings about the health that the sick person greatly desires.

Similarly, God does not take away trials from a person in their midst, even though they pray for mercy, because He knows that trials are useful for their final salvation. Thus, although God truly hears them, the person in the midst of suffering does not believe they are heard. Job shows why he would not believe he is heard when he says, “For in the storm, he will wear me away.” As is his custom, he then explains the metaphor, saying, “and even multiply wounds without cause” (Job 9:17). To be “worn away” is to have one’s wounds—that is, one’s trials—multiplied.

This wearing away happens in “the storm,” in a terrifying darkness, and is “without cause”—that is, for a reason that is not clear or understood by the person who is afflicted. If an afflicted person understood why God was afflicting them and that the afflictions were useful for their salvation, they would clearly believe their prayer had been heard. But because they do not understand this, they do not believe their prayer has been heard. So they suffer not only outwardly but also inwardly, like a sick person who, not knowing that a bitter medicine will make them healthy, would suffer not only from the bad taste but also in their spirit.

Job continues, “He will not permit my spirit to rest,” for a spirit can rest even while the flesh is afflicted if there is hope for an end to the affliction, according to what the Lord teaches in Matthew: “Blessed are you when they utter evil against you,” and later, “Rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12). So when Job is struck down outwardly and does not rest inwardly, God “fills me with bitterness” (Job 9:18), both inwardly and outwardly.

Note that in the verse, “If I appealed to him and he hears my call...” (Job 9:16), Job has clearly explained what he said earlier in a more metaphorical way: “Should he come near me, I will not see” (Job 9:11). One should observe that, almost always in the speeches of Job, things said metaphorically are clarified in the text that follows. What he had said earlier in a brief and summary way, “Am I great enough to answer him” (Job 9:14), he now explains more extensively, giving the reason why he does not answer but instead pleads with his Judge for mercy.

A person might answer a judge boldly for two reasons. First, if the judge is weak and cannot compel the subject. Job shows this is not the case here, saying, “If it be a question of strength, he is the strongest” (Job 9:19), meaning God's strength to compel His subjects exceeds all other strength. Second, a person might respond boldly to a judge because they have confidence in their case, perhaps because they have many witnesses to testify on their behalf. But Job shows this is also not the case, saying, “if correctness of judgment” is required for someone to be absolved by having many witnesses, “no one dares to bear witness on my behalf” (Job 9:19). Indeed, the human intellect cannot conceive that a person's justice could be greater than the truth of God that contradicts it.

Sometimes, however, even if a person has no other witnesses, they are still confident in their case because they trust the testimony of their own conscience. Yet even the witness of conscience cannot prevail for people against God's contrary accusation. Job shows this in several stages, as the testimony of conscience has three levels:

1. The highest level is when one's conscience testifies that one is righteous, as Romans says, “The spirit himself renders testimony to our spirit that we are sons of God” (Romans 8:16). But this witness cannot stand against divine censure. Therefore, Job says, “If I should want to justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me” (Job 9:20). That is, if I want to say that I am just when God is objecting that I am unjust, my own words would make me worthy of condemnation for blasphemy.
2. The second level is when someone, though not presuming to be righteous, still does not find fault with themselves in their conscience for any sin, as 1 Corinthians says, “My conscience convicts me of nothing” (1 Corinthians 4:4). But this witness cannot stand against God either, and so Job says, “if I show myself innocent, he will prove me wicked” (Job 9:20). That is, if I want to show that I am without sin, He will reveal sins of which I am not conscious to myself or others. For Psalm 18 says, “Who understands his crimes?” (Psalms 18:13).
3. The third level is when someone, though inwardly conscious of sin, still assumes they had no evil intention or did not act from malice and deceit, but from ignorance or weakness. But this testimony also cannot stand for a person against God. So Job says, “If I am simple,” that is, without the deceit and duplicity of a corrupt intention, “my soul will not know this” (Job 9:21). For a person is unable to discern the fluid movement of their own affections, both because of its variation and the mixing and impulse of many passions. Because of this, Jeremiah says, “The heart of man is wicked and inscrutable. Who will understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

It is because of this ignorance about such things that a person knows neither themselves nor their own state, and life becomes wearisome even for the righteous. So Job concludes, “and I will be weary of life” (Job 9:21).