Job 27:7 - Meaning and Application

After Job had solemnly said that he was upright, he added this to clear himself further, he showed how much he feared being found a hypocrite.

He says how deeply the thought troubled him, because he saw the condition of a hypocrite and a wicked person as the most miserable one possible (Job 27:7). “Let my enemy be like the wicked,” he says, using a proverb much like this one, “May the dream be for those who hate you” (Dan 4:19). Job was so far from excusing any wicked way in himself, or flattering himself about it, that if he were allowed to wish the worst possible fate on his worst enemy, he would wish him the lot of a wicked person, knowing that nothing worse could be wished. This does not mean we may wish anyone to be wicked, or treat anyone as wicked who is not. Rather, we should be ready to choose any outward hardship, even poverty, exile, or slavery, rather than the condition of the wicked, no matter how much outward success they seem to have.

He then gives the reasons for this.

The first reason is that the hypocrite’s hope will not end well (Job 27:8). Bildad had said this already (Job 8:13, Job 8:14), and Zophar had said it too (Job 11:20), and Job agrees with them here. He speaks of the death of the hypocrite’s hope with the same certainty they had shown. This fits his purpose well, because it gives another reason why he would not let go of his integrity. The thought of the miserable end of wicked people, especially hypocrites, should move us to be honest and upright, because without that we are lost forever. It should also lead us to want clear proof that we are upright, because how can we be at peace if the biggest matter of all is uncertain? Job’s friends had tried to persuade him that all his hope was only the hope of a hypocrite (Job 4:6). Job answers, in effect, “No, I would not, for anything, build on such a weak foundation. What is the hope of the hypocrite?”

There is, first, the hypocrite who is deceived. He has gain, and he has hope, and that is his bright side. It is true that hypocrisy can bring gain. It may win praise from people and the riches of this world. Jehu gained a kingdom through hypocrisy, and the Pharisees gained many widows’ houses. On that gain he builds his hope, such as it is. He thinks he is in good shape for the life to come because things go well for him in this life, and he congratulates himself in his own way.

Then there is the hypocrite who is undeceived. In the end he will see that he has been badly cheated. God will take away his soul, against his will (Luke 12:20). God, as Judge, takes it away to decide its eternal state. Then the hypocrite falls into the hands of the living God, to be dealt with at once. What will his hope be then? It will prove to be vanity and a lie. It will help him nothing. He must leave behind the riches of this world, which he trusted in (Psalm 49:17). He will also miss the happiness of the world to come, which he hoped for. He thought he would go to heaven, but he will be shamefully disappointed. He may point to his outward profession, his privileges, and his actions, but all those excuses will be dismissed as empty. The answer will be, “Depart from me, I do not know you.” So, in the end, a formal hypocrite, with all his gains and all his hopes, will be miserable when he dies.

The second reason is that the hypocrite’s prayer will not be heard (Job 27:9). Will God hear his cry when trouble comes? No, he will not. It cannot be expected. If true repentance comes, God will hear and accept the person (Isaiah 1:18). But if the person stays unrepentant and unchanged, he should not expect favor from God. Trouble will surely come. Troubles in this world often surprise people who feel safest in their ease. At the very least, death will come, and with it trouble, because he must leave the world and everything he enjoys in it. The great day of judgment will come too, and fear will overtake the hypocrites (Isaiah 33:14).

Then he will cry out to God and pray, and pray hard. People who ignored God in prosperity, either not praying at all or praying carelessly, will turn to him in trouble and cry out earnestly. But will God hear then? In the troubles of this life, God has already told us that he does not hear the prayers of those who cling to sin in their hearts (Psalm 66:19) and set up idols there (Ezekiel 14:4), or of those who turn away from hearing the law (Proverbs 28:9). “Go to the gods you have served” (Judges 10:14). In the judgment to come, it is certain that God will not hear the cry of those who lived and died in hypocrisy. Their sorrowful complaints will go unpitied. “I will laugh at your calamity.” Their urgent pleas will be rejected, and their arguments will not stand. Justice cannot be bribed, and a final sentence cannot be reversed. See (Matthew 7:22, Matthew 7:23; Luke 13:26), and the case of the foolish virgins (Matthew 25:11).

The third reason is that the hypocrite’s religion is neither pleasant nor steady (Job 27:10). Will he take delight in the Almighty? No, not at any time, because he delights more in worldly gain and bodily pleasure than in God. Especially in trouble, he will not delight in God. Will he always call on God? No. In prosperity, he will not call on God, but ignore him. In hardship, he will not call on God either, but curse him. He grows tired of religion when he gets no benefit from it, or when it seems dangerous.

Those are hypocrites who, though they profess religion, do not enjoy it and do not keep at it. They see religion as a burden and a tiresome task. They make use of it only when it serves their purpose, then lay it aside when it does. They will call on God while it is fashionable, or while the feeling of devotion lasts, but stop when they are with different company, or when the feeling passes. The reason hypocrites do not keep going in religion is that they do not delight in it. Those who do not delight in the Almighty will not always call on him. The more comfort we find in our religion, the more closely we will hold to it. Those who have no delight in God are easily drawn off by the pleasures of this world, and so they leave religion. They are also easily broken down by the troubles of this life, and so they give up calling on God.