A.W. Pink

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

Job here corrects himself. In the beginning of the chapter, we find him saying, “Even today is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning” (23:1-2). Poor Job felt that his lot was unbearable. But he recovers himself. He checks his hasty outburst and revises his impetuous¹ decision. How often we all have to correct ourselves! Only One has ever walked this earth Who never had occasion to do so.

Job here comforts himself. He could not fathom the mysteries of providence,² but God knew the way he took. Job had diligently sought the calming presence of God, but for a time in vain. “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him” (23:8-9). But he consoled himself with this blessed fact: “Though I cannot see God, what is a thousand times better, He can see me.” “He knoweth” —[the] One above is neither unmindful nor indifferent to our lot. If He notices the fall of a sparrow, if He counts the hairs of our heads, of course, “He knows” the way that I take.

Job here enunciates a noble view of life. How splendidly optimistic he was! He did not allow his afflictions to turn him into a skeptic. He did not permit the sore trials and troubles through which he was passing to overwhelm him. He looked at the bright side of the dark cloud—God’s side, hidden from sense and reason. He took a long view of life. He looked beyond the immediate “fiery trials” and said that the outcome would be gold refined.

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold.” Three great truths are expressed here. Let us briefly consider each separately.

1. Divine knowledge pf my life: “He knoweth the way that I take.” The omniscience³ of God is one of the wondrous attributes of Deity. “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21). “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Pro 15:3). Spurgeon⁴ said, “One of the greatest tests of experimental religion is, What is my relationship to God’s omniscience?” What is your relationship to it, dear reader? How does it affect you? Does it distress or comfort you? Do you shrink from the thought of God knowing all about your way—perhaps, a lying, selfish, hypocritical way? To the sinner, this is a terrible thought. He denies it, or if not, he seeks to forget it. But to the Christian, here is real comfort. How cheering to remember that my Father knows all about my trials, my difficulties, my sorrows, my efforts to glorify Him. Precious truth for those in Christ, harrowing⁵ thought for all out of Christ, that the way I am taking is fully known to and observed by God.

“He knoweth the way that I take.” Men did not know the way that Job took. He was grievously misunderstood, and for one with a sensitive temperament to be misunderstood is a sore trial. His very friends thought he was a hypocrite. They believed he was a great sinner and being punished by God. Job knew that he was an unworthy saint, but not a hypocrite. He appealed against their censorious⁶ verdict. “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold.” Here is instruction for us when [we are] like circumstanced. Fellow believers, your fellow men, yes, and your fellow Christians, may misunderstand you and misinterpret God’s dealing with you; but console yourself with the blessed fact that the omniscient One knoweth.

“He knoweth the way that I take.” In the fullest sense of the word, Job himself did not know the way that he took, nor do any of us. Life is profoundly mysterious, and the passing of the years offers no solution. Nor does philosophizing help us. Human volition⁷ is a strange enigma.⁸ Consciousness bears witness that we are more than automatons.⁹ We exercise the power of choice in every move we make. Yet it is plain that our freedom is not absolute. There are forces brought to bear upon us, both good and evil, which are beyond our power to resist. Both heredity and environment exercise powerful influences upon us. Our surroundings and circumstances are factors that cannot be ignored. And what of providence, which “shapes our destinies”? Ah, how little do we know the way that we “take.” Said the prophet, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer 10:23). Here we enter the realm of mystery, and it is idle to deny it. Better far to acknowledge with the wise man, “Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” (Pro 20:24).

In the narrower sense of the term, Job did know the way that he took. What that “way” was he tells us in the next two verses. “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:11-12). The way Job chose was the best way, the scriptural way, God’s way—“his way.”

What do you think of that way, dear reader? Was it not a grand selection? Ah, not only “patient,” but wise Job! Have you made a similar choice? Can you say, “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined” (23:11)? If you can, praise Him for His enabling grace. If you cannot, confess with shame your failure to appropriate His allsufficient grace. Get down on your knees at once, and unbosom¹⁰ yourself to God. Hide and keep back nothing. Remember it is written, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jo 1:9). Does not verse 12 explain your failure, my failure, dear reader? Is it not because we have not trembled before God’s commandments and because we have so lightly esteemed His Word that we have “declined” from His way? Then let us, even now and daily, seek grace from on high to heed His commandments and hide His Word in our hearts.

“He knoweth the way that I take.” Which way are you taking—the narrow way that leadeth unto life or the broad road that leadeth to destruction? Make certain on this point, dear friend. Scripture declares, “So every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom 14:12). But you need not be deceived or uncertain. The Lord declared, “I am the way” (Joh 14:6).

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1. impetuous – acting without thought or care; acting in an impulsive manner.
2. providence – “What are God’s works of providence? A: God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His
creatures and all their actions.” (Spurgeon’s Catechism, Q. 11)
3. omniscience – the state of possessing all knowledge.
4. Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) – influential Baptist preacher.
5. harrowing – extremely distressing.
6. censorious – severely or harshly critical.
7. volition – the ability to make conscious choices or decisions.
8. enigma – something that is mysterious or difficult to understand.
9. automatons – robots that, without thinking, mechanically perform the will of another.
10. unbosom – bring out from the heart; give vent to; reveal one’s thoughts or secrets.

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A.W. Pink (1886-1952): Pastor, itinerate Bible teacher, author of Studies in the Scriptures and many books; born in Nottingham, England, immigrated to the U.S., and later returned to his homeland in 1934.

Published with permission by Chapel Library