Job 33:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In a figurative sense, they often address both hot conditions with heat and cold conditions with cold; similarly, cold may be treated with heat, and heat with cold. Thus, our Divine Physician, descending from on high and witnessing our great affliction, presents remedies that are both analogous and contrasting. He came to us not solely as a man but uniquely as the only one without sin to those steeped in sin. He shares our human nature, yet is distinct in the perfection of His righteousness. Only God can transform sinful humanity. This was imperative so that He, the healer, might become visible to us, correcting our sinful state by providing a model for us to emulate. However, God cannot be seen by man in His divine essence; thus, He took on humanity to make Himself perceptible. The holy and invisible God manifested His visibility through human form, so that by sharing in our nature, He could impart His holiness to us. United with our condition in genuine nature, He had the power to eradicate our malady.

For when the Lord assumed human flesh, He did not carry our guilt or punishment as a necessary component for atonement—being untouched by sin, He was not ensnared in our state of guilt, and chose to endure death voluntarily. It is rightly observed that what the angel communicates is “one of many things” since there has been no other like Him in birth or in His death and resurrection. He was conceived, not through natural means, but by the Holy Spirit overshadowing His mother Lk. 1:35. When He was born, His mother’s womb remained untouched and pure. Yet we all face death when we reject Him, as we are bound by our sinful nature and unable to settle the debt of sin. He alone, devoid of sin, remains innocent and unencumbered by punishment. Nevertheless, surpassing this reality, He took upon Himself our guilt, and with great compassion, bore our punishment—just as He declares, I have power to lay down my life and to take it up again Jn. 10:18, affirming earlier, No one takes it from Me; I lay it down of my own accord. Furthermore, He rose again, uniquely among men, for our resurrection will only occur at the end of time, while His was accomplished on the third day. We will be resurrected by Him, whereas He rose by His own divine authority, needing no external aid. His resurrection, distinct from ours, indicates that we will not be able to resurrect ourselves as He did. Being mere mortals, we require assistance from above; yet He, as God, exhibited His omnipotence in His resurrection, in conjunction with the Father and the Holy Spirit, though He alone in human form experienced death. Despite truly being born, dying, and rising again, He differentiates from us by the magnitude of His power while aligning with us in the truth of His human experience. The Messenger, then, speaks of one thing out of many. Although He consistently surpasses us in His works through His immeasurable might, during His earthly existence, He remained fundamentally the same as us in nature.

He intercedes for us before the Father as He embodies the same nature we possess. The essence of His intercession lies in His manifestation in our human nature for our benefit. When He refers to “one thing out of many,” it is significant that He can indeed indicate the righteous path. Had He not assumed human likeness, no man could stand before God. By graciously taking upon Himself our infirmities Hebrews 2:16-17, He reveals the righteous path. This tragic condition tainted all of humanity with sin from the dawn of existence Gen. 3:3. None could stand before God untainted; hence all shared equal guilt from the same origin. Consequently, the only begotten Son of the Father came to us, assuming our nature without sin. It was essential that He, capable of interceding for sinners, be free from sin, for it would be impossible for Him to bear the guilt of others while holding His own. Thus, by assuming our nature, He distinctly manifested the way of righteousness. As He intercedes for sinners, He stands as a righteous individual who is deserving of granting pardon to others. Therefore, it is fittingly stated: He shall have mercy on him and say, Deliver him from death; I have found a way to appease him Job 33:24.

The Messenger, serving as the mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, extends mercy to humanity by assuming human form. Through His compassion, He appeals to the Father on behalf of the individual whose sins He is atoning for: Deliver him from death. As previously noted, His request to spare from decay is inextricably linked to His embodiment of humanity. To this flesh He accepted, He granted liberation through His redemptive act. This liberation of the body is indeed for our benefit, constrained by our own failings to a state of decay. Concerning the mighty Redeemer, it is stated, If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed Jn. 8:36. In speaking of humanity’s liberation, it is stated that he shall be freed from decay. It was noted before that his soul draws near to decay. As if indicating that he must recognize his frailty and acknowledge his closeness to decay to avoid plunging into the death of sin. He will draw nearer to decay if he erroneously believes he can escape it through personal strength. It is through humility before his decay that he can be mercifully rescued from it; the more he admits his weakness, the stronger he will be against the temptations he faces. For one who elevates himself above his true state burdens himself with pride and sinks lower into sin, distancing himself from the true exalted One; Luke 14:11. In thinking himself superior, he descends further into despair, as the prophet asked the self-exalting soul, Who do you think you are? Come down and lie among the uncircumcised Ezekiel 32:19. Anyone who fails to acknowledge the shame of his weakness while deluding himself through arrogance regarding his strength descends further into destruction, drawn down by the very traits he believed elevated him. He goes down and mingles with the uncircumcised, perishing eternally alongside other sinners. Therefore, when one confesses his proximity to decay with humility, it is rightly proclaimed, Deliver him from decay, ensuring that he distances himself from punishment so long as he does not avert his gaze from his transgressions. Yet, since no one holds sufficient merit to reconcile us with the Lord, the Only-Begotten of the Father donned the guise of our frail condition, appearing solely to intercede for sinners.

The Messenger thus, speaking on behalf of this redeemed individual, rightly asserts, I have discovered a way to bring him back to favor. As if the Mediator between God and man declared: There was no one righteous to stand before God as an effective intercessor for humanity, I became a man to achieve atonement for mankind; in assuming a human form, I found a just way to reconcile him. Therefore, as the Lord bore the afflictions of our punishment in His death, He nullified our decay in His resurrection, and the Messenger speaks tenderly about the sufferings of our mortal existence, expressing compassion, saying, His flesh is consumed by affliction; let him return to the vigor of his youth Job 33:25.

When He observes man's tendency to stray, He sends warnings through dreams or afflictions, yet He also shows compassion, rewarding a person when they are restored to righteousness. Elius addresses Job, but receiving no response, he once more seeks his attention.