Has God removed a blessing from your life? Think back to the time He first gave it to
you. How did you respond then? Make that ‘receiving response’ the pattern
for the way you respond now. In God’s
strength, Job did precisely that and so can you!
Three friends have come to the scene of Job’s plight. They sat silently for seven days and night
and observed Job’s suffering, and then in chapter 3 Job began a dialog that
leads us to believe that he was having a “pity party”.
His friends turned into self-appointed counselors. It is a rare and precious friend who knows
when to speak and when to keep quiet. A
well-intentioned word spoken to a bereaved HURTING individual at an
inappropriate moment can do more harm than good.
“Empathy is another’s pain in YOUR heart.”
Be prayerful about what you say. To us the presence, not the sage counsel of
visitors is the most meaningful. We
sense little value in attempts to theologize about the purpose of a particular
trial. The hurting person needs
encouragement for the immediate moment more than speculation about the past or
present.
Do you know someone who is undergoing a Job-like
experience? Don’t glibly tell them, I
understand when you really don’t.
Instead tell them, “I’m here and love you” (because you really do).
Discernment is critical when you approach someone who is suffering.
Unlike Job’s friends, we have the indwelling
Holy Spirit and God-given discernment.
"Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God's most effective tool for
the advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events that we
see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that launch us into periods of
intense spiritual growth. Once we begin to understand this, and accept it as a
spiritual fact of life, adversity becomes easier to bear." Charles Stanley
Round three of the debate between
Job and his friends about his predicament produces plenty of heat but sheds
very little light.
In chapter 22, Eliphaz’s
accusation is “You suffer for your sins!” What began as courteous dialogue now
turns into grave accusation. Though
there is not a shred of evidence to support Eliphaz’s charges, he insists that
what he says must be true to explain Job’s circumstances. But Job remains firm in his conviction that
he is innocent and God is trustworthy.
We have a great illustration in
the transforming of “raw materials”…iron, coal, and bauxite…into something
better, stronger, more useful, more beautiful.
What results are steel, diamonds, and aluminum. Heat, pressure, and time are all involved in
the transformation. Take away the
PROCESS and you also lose the PRODUCT!
In chapter 23, Job acknowledges
that God has put his faith in the furnace—not to ruin him, but to refine
him. Just as gold loses its impurities
and contaminants in a temperature of several thousand degrees, so Job declares
that “when He has examined me, He will pronounce me completely innocent…as pure
as solid gold.” Tested, purified, and
proven in character.
A suggestion: Read carefully I Peter 1:1-9 and then carry a
piece of aluminum in your pocket or purse as a reminder that the heat and
pressure you face today are God’s way of helping you reflect His glory
tomorrow.
In Ch. 23 Job answers Bildad: “I
long for God”, Chapter 24 “Where are You, God?”
Although Job did not see God when he searched, he learned much
better. God knew where Job was – in the
furnace. But it was a furnace of God’s
appointment, not because of Job’s sin; and God would use his affliction to
purify him and make him a better man. This is not the only answer to the
question, “Why do the righteous suffer?” but it is one of the best and it can
bring the sufferer encouragement.
Some people go into the furnace
of affliction and it burns them; others go in and the experience purifies
them. What makes the difference? THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WORD AND WILL OF
GOD!!! THEIR CHOICES!!!!! We can be nourished by the Word and submit to
the Lord’s will or we can resist God’s will and fail to feed on His truth. The choice determines: Refined or bitter?
Job’s underlying trust in God is nowhere more
visible than in 23:8-10 (READ) In his
search for answers, Job discovers that he “cannot find God.” But Job realizes the ultimate question is
not, ‘Can I see the invisible God’, but rather ‘Can I trust the invisible God?’
In Ch. 24 Job speaks of God
perplexing him and refers to injustices in the country, crimes in the city and
a curse on the wicked. When he finishes
this discourse, he says to his three critics, “Now, if what I have said is not
true, prove me wrong! V. 25. But they
never did.
Bildad’s speech in Ch. 25 is the
shortest in the book and focuses on God’s power and justice. Bildad’s words did not come from God…they
were his words and that’s why they did Job no good. It is disturbing to see how Job’s friends
speak so knowingly about God when in the end, God revealed that they really
didn’t know what they were talking about.
Too often, those who say the most about God know the least about God.
Even long-winded debaters
eventually run out of arguments, and such is the case with the three
friends. Chapter 25…Bildad only
underscores what he considers that crucial issue of Job’s case. Moral man is defenseless to stand before a
just God. Therefore, Job’s distress,
must be due to a breach of God’s righteous demands. Though Job agrees with the premise, he stands
firm that Bildad’s conclusion is false.
By painting a sweeping picture of God’s majesty and power in creation,
he shows what folly it is to expect mortal man to discern ad understand God’s
ways. (26:14)
Job’s lengthy Reply: Ch. 26 God is Great – Job acknowledges God’s
power. Ch. 27 God is Just – Job felt that the Lord
was not treating him fairly v. 2. Job
declared that, as long as he lived, he would defend himself and maintain his
integrity. He would not live just to
please His friends or to bribe God into restoring his fortunes. [Our prayers: Do we attempt to manipulate the LORD when we pray?
Saying one thing, thinking another…Oh, foolish
ones!!!] Job had to live with his
conscience no matter v. 6 what his friends said or his God did to him. Job teaches a lesson v. 11-23 … he describes
God’s judgment of the wicked. On the day
when God vindicates Job, this is what will happen to his enemies.
Ch.28 God is Wise!!!
“Human wisdom comes from reason;
Godly wisdom comes from revelation.”
When Zophar chooses not to
respond in turn, Job speaks to all three men about God’s wisdom.
Mankind has accomplished
incredible feats in the last century. We
have put men on the moon, spanned continents by spersonic and
telecommunications and isolated causes and cures for diseases that used to kill
millions. Our search for new knowledge
has pushed us to the highest mountain peak and the deepest ocean gorge.
But for all the knowledge and
achievement, we have yet to discover a source of wisdom on earth that can pull
all the pieces of life together.
But though men can do all these
things, they don’t know where to find wisdom and understanding. They not only don’t know how to get it, but in
fact, it is not to be found among the living.” 28: 12-13. Only in God will man find life’s answers. “Look, to fear the Lord is true wisdom v.
28. Man can discover many treasures for
himself, others can only be found in God.
Charles Spurgeon said “Wisdom is
the right use of knowledge…to know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the
greater fools for it. There is no fool
so great a fool as the knowing fool. But
to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
Job gives three answers to his
question, “Where shall wisdom be found?”
1. You cannot mine wisdom
18:1-11 2. You cannot buy wisdom v. 12-19 3.
Wisdom comes only from God v. 20-28 (emphasis v. 28)
Select a question you are
wrestling with that defies human explanation, Make it a personal project to
find all that God has said on the subject in His Word…that is where wisdom is
found.
1.
Have a
reverent and respectful attitude toward God, which also involves an humble
attitude toward ourselves. Personal
pride is the greatest barrier to spiritual wisdom.
2.
Ask God
for wisdom James 1:5 and make diligent use of the means He gives us for
securing His wisdom especially knowing and doing the Word of God Matt
7:21-29. Don’t merely study, but obey
what God tells us to do.
3.
Fellowship
with other believers in the church and share with one another – we can learn
wisdom.
4.
Reading
the best books can also help us grow in wisdom and understanding.
5.
****most
important…focus on Christ for He is our wisdom I Cor. 1:24, Col. 2:3.
The better we know Christ and the
more we become like Him, the more we will walk in wisdom and understand the
will of the Lord. We must allow the Holy
Spirit to open the eyes of our heart so we can see the LORD in His Word and
understand more of the riches we have in Christ. Eph. 1:15-23.
Job’s speech is not yet
finished. In the next three chapters
which we cover next week, Job will review his life and then challenge God to
either vindicate him or judge him. That
will end the debate and usher in two new participants – Elihu and the
Lord.
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