In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing (Job 1:22).

Know then that God has wronged me
And has closed His net around me (Job 19:6).

Is it sin to ascribe wrongdoing to God? It is according to Job 1:22; however, the NASB reads a bit differently: "Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." 

Job had come to the end of himself, so that his spirit was broken, and he was simply awaiting death (Job 17:1). Added to this he had to suffer the remainder of his days being plagued by the mockery of his friends (Job 17:2). He had no sin to confess but knew his suffering was from the Lord. He could only conclude that God had "wronged" him. 

Did Job, then, sin against God by blaming God, by charging Him with wrongdoing against him? 

If this is true, then how can we explain God's twice declaring that, unlike his friends, what Job said about Him was right (Job 42:7,8). 

Job essentially said that God was causing him to suffer without "just" cause. God did it simply because He could. God certainly did not cause Job to suffer as punishment for sin. 

In a very tortuous manner Job was declaring the sovereignty of God, as he would declare later:

I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2). 

In Job, can we not get a glimpse of this very same sovereignty at work in the Person of Jesus? He too was righteous, far beyond what Job or any mere human could ever claim. Yet, God cause him to suffer the greatest injustice, not for His sins, for He had none, but for the sins of the world. 

Christ rose from the dead, bringing hope to all who trust in Him. Yes, our Redeemer lives! And so Job would prophetically declare this truth in the midst of his own experience of injustice and suffering:

I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
    with my own eyes—I, and not another.
    How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27).

Job may have been reeling from feelings of divine betrayal, yet He understood that God was his only hope. That is why He says elsewhere, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). Jesus, who declared, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?!" (Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1), also said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit" (Luke 23:46; Psalm 31:5). 

Dear friends, when we experience some feeling of injustice or betrayal, when we feel God does not seem to be "on our side," let us remember our forerunner, Jesus, who suffered the greatest injustice to keep us from our just punishment. Let us remember Job, who though he suffered injustice, still recognized the sovereignty of God and that God was indeed His only hope. This is wisdom, demonstrated by the two most upright men that ever lived. 

He is the Potter and we are the clay. As clay, we can do no better than to give ourselves wholly and completely into His hands. Our gratitude for His mercies and our trust in His gracious promises must not take away from our recognition of His sovereign freedom to do just as He pleases. He is God, and we are not. To Him alone be all the glory!

He has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
My relatives have failed,
And my intimate friends have forgotten me.
Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.
My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
Even young children despise me;
I rise up and they speak against me.
All my associates abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me (Job 19:13-19).

In the midst of Job's crises, no one wants to have anything to do with him. His acquaintances, relatives, and close friends ignore him. He has to beg for help from his own servants. His wife is embarassed by him, his brothers loathe him, and even young children taunt him. He has nowhere to turn for consolation.

As much as the book of Job may raise the question of why God might allow the righteous to suffer, it also reveals the outcome-based attitude and response of the people. When Job was blessed by God, everyone honored him. But when he was being scourged by God, everyone disdained him. This is even more clearly expressed in Job 29-30:

When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,
And put their hand on their mouth;
The voice of nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
When the ear heard, then it blessed me,
And when the eye saw, then it approved me (Job 29:7-11).

And now I am their taunting song;
Yes, I am their byword.
They abhor me, they keep far from me;
They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me (Job 30:9-11).

Fair-weather family, friends and society. That is what they were.

People want to associate with the successful. They will give money to those who do not need it but withhold it from those who really do. They do this because they think that whatever they give, they will receive something more in return, or else they think the rich are more honorable than a beggar and will put the money toward some noble enterprise.

Who wants to be around the sick? You might catch what they have. Unlesss, of course, you're the one that is sick. Who wants to be around the criminal serving time in prison. There is little advantage to you in such an association. Unless, of course, you're the one in prison. Who wants to take the time to help the foreigner, who doesn't know their way around this new country? Again, there is no benefit, unless you're that foreigner.

People only tend to serve, help, and show compassion to those people and situations, where they feel they can most benefit. But God says that believers should show compassion, even to those that God is judging. In fact, showing contempt for such people may even redirect God's wrath from them to you. 

This is how Jesus described the righteous:

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me... Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me (Matthew 25:35-36,40).

Now, while a case might be made for a larger application to all people by virtue of anyone and everyone being a potential believer, it appears that Jesus' emphasis here is on believers ("these brothers of Mine"). Believers should show their fellow believers in the faith this kind of compassion and concern, for this is the kind of example Jesus set, and by this means all people would know that they were disciples of Christ.

When Jesus washed the disciples feet, He was setting an example to them, that they should do so to one another (cf. John 13:14-15). He also commanded them, 

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).

Paul reiterates this in Romans 12,

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation (Romans 12:14-16).

Friends, these "one another" passages teach us how we ought to love another. In Job's day, he was a believer, but his fellow believers estranged themselves from him, even when he had committed no sin to deserve such treatment. They ignored him and disdained his suffering without having all the facts. They presumed guilt rather than showing compassion.

Friends, let us not be this way to one another. Let us be generous with one another. Let us be compassionate to one another, especially when one of our fellow brothers and sisters are suffering or in need.

As I write this comment, I am convicted because of my lack of generosity toward my brothers in need. Am I so wise, resourceful and responsible, that the same hardship might not also come upon me? Who am I to stand in judgment of them, thinking that I would not be as foolish or irresponsible as they were to fall into such distress? Shouldn't I bless since I am blessed and give help since I've been helped by the Lord?

Jesus said that we have a powerful witness when we sacrificially love another, for this is how He loved us. Praise God that He did not evaulate whether we deserved such love or not, for I am certain that if He did, none of us would have passed the test.

Job just wants God to leave him alone, but yet he doesn't. He knows who God is. Neither does he really understand God's character. The same rain falls on the just and unjust and the trials that Job has gone through are no more than any other man. Job's friends are still arguing that Job has sinned, but they are just speaking from what they know, which is that God punishes evil and blesses the righteous. But the Bible says that what we go through is meant to strengthen us. We are meant to draw closer to God, no matter the circumstances. That is why we go through things in this life. To find God in each circumstance and to lean on God in each circumstance. If I had gone through what Job was going through, would I have refused to sin with my lips? Would I want to curse God and die? I don't know. In every circumstance, though, I am supposed to find God. Would I look for God? I don't know that either. I pray I would.

“Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
²² Why do you pursue me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

 It is not I who must say, "you're worng and experience its consequence!" but God who sits on the throne of judgement. When I was reading these verses, I felt like Job was throwing those words directly at my heart. The pang of guilt stabbed my conscience like a surgeon's scalpel. My strong conviction that mankind's wretchedness needs to be felt deeply by every believer who wants to know the love of Christ has gone overboard to a degree where I've taken Holy Spirit's place who only has the power to convict people's heart. I pray again to God for His caring heart to His children.

Friends, once again we read these surprising words, "God has wronged me...though I call for help, there is no justice" (Job 19:5-7). He seems to be accusing God of wrongdoing and injustice. This is Job speaking in what he calls his "disgrace" (Job 19:5). As for those who would discover Job's sin, perhaps it would be in these kinds of words. When Job finally encounters God, and Job repents (Job 42:5-6), perhaps he has words like these in mind when repenting. Yet, even here it will not be long before he is once again expressing his hope in God (Job 19:25-27):

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;

 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
 That in my flesh I shall see God,

 Whom I shall see for myself,
 And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
 How my heart yearns within me!

Job's complaint and resolution is very much like that of Asaph in Psalm 73. In that psalm Asaph complains about the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. As he gives full vent to his complaint and even brings God's goodness into question, he nevertheless concludes that his only hope is in God (Psalm 73:25-26):

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

What do we learn from this? Our easy or difficult circumstances do not affect the reality of God. Poverty and prosperity should have no bearing on our trust and obedience to God. In other words, the measure of our devotion to God should not be determined by the benefits we receive from Him. Even if there were no benefits and every day on earth was a living hell, we should still love and serve Him. For He alone is God. There is no hope apart from Him. If He chooses to play the merciless despot in our lives, then our best response is to faithfully serve this merciless despot. Still, praise God, though He sometimes seems "terrible" in our eyes and experience, especially when He is testing us, He is by nature merciful, compassionate, loving, gentle and kind. And there is no greater expression of this than in His giving the life of His only Son on our behalf, so that we can one day enjoy the full wonder and perfection of His glorious Presence forever.