Job's Three Questions Part-One

10/31/2011 8:42:36 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Three Painful Questions

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Job 9:1-10:22

                Message of the verses:  I will take this second main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on different days.  Today we will cover the first sub-point under this main point.

                “How can I be righteous before God”  Job 9:1-13:  “  1 ¶  Then Job answered, 2  "In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God? 3  "If one wished to dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times. 4  "Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm? 5  "It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; 6  Who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; 7  Who commands the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; 8  Who alone stretches out the heavens And tramples down the waves of the sea; 9  Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; 10  Who does great things, unfathomable, And wondrous works without number. 11  "Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him. 12  "Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ’What are You doing?’ 13  "God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab.”

                In his introduction to this second main point of chapter three Dr. Wiersbe points out that what is on Job’s mind is a legal trial, a trial in which he takes God to court.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that there are ten different words or phrases that show this to be true.  I will give these words and their meanings: 

1.       Contend = enter into litigation

2.      Answer = testify in court

3.      Judge = an opponent at lat, accuser

4.      Set a time = summon to court

5.      Daysman = an umpire, an arbitrator

6.      Reason = argue a case

7.      Order my cause = prepare my case

8.      Plead = Dispute in court

9.      Hear me = give me a legal hearing

10.  Adversary = accuser in court

We must keep in mind that these words are from the KJV of the Bible as that is the

Bible version that Dr. Wiersbe uses, however for the most part I use the NASB95 version of the Bible unless I identify any other version that I use.

                The three questions that we will be looking at over the next SD’s are “How can I be righteous before God?” “How can I meet God in court?” and “Why was I born?”  These three questions do connect, for Job is righteous, but he has to prove it, and so how can a mortal man prove he is righteous before God?  He must take God to court, but how can that happen?  So if God does not step in and defend Job as to being righteous before God then what is the purpose of all this suffering?  Why was Job born?

                Now we will look at that first question “How can I be righteous before God?”  Dr. Wiersbe points out that this is not a question about salvation (“How may I be justified?”) but about vindication (“How can I be declared innocent?”)  Job realizes and will find out later that if a man would take God to court that he would be unable to answer one question in a thousand, yet he feels that is the only way to prove that he is righteous before God.

                We see in this section some of the attributes of God, His wisdom and especially His power, for God has all wisdom and is all powerful, so why would anyone want to go to court against God who is all powerful and all wise?  God is so powerful that He can shake the earth at His will and so wise and powerful that He created not only the earth but the entire universe, including the stars.

                God is also invisible, so how could Job stop Him and give Him a summons to court?  It would be impossible for that to happen.  Now just in case someone is wondering about the term “Rahab” it is another mythological creature like “Yam” and also “Tannin” that is mentioned in the seventh chapter.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would suppose those in my thoughts at times that I would like to take God to court.  Since I live on the other side of the cross and have a completed Bible to read and study I do understand more things than Job did, and have the advantage of reading his story in the Bible.  There are still those times when I have to ask the question “Why,” even thought I know that I am to trust the Lord through all circumstances as He will work things out for my good and for His glory (Rom. 8:28).  I also know that God is compassionate and is merciful, and therefore He will help me through these difficult times that I go through, and for that I am very thankful.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.    Trust the Lord to see me through the tough times in life that they may bring glory to God.

2.    Continue to learn contentment.

10/31/2011 9:28:19 AM

Bildad Speeks

10/30/2011 9:19:03 AM

SPIRITIUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Logical Arguments

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Job 8:1-22

                Message of the verses:  Today’s SD begins the third chapter in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Job which he has entitled “The Discussion Continues.”  In order to understand the direction that he will take us as we study this section he gives a clue at the beginning of the chapter.  He writes “As the discussion continues, Bildad presents three logical arguments to prove Job is guilty; and Job counters with three painful question to help his friends understand how perplexed and tormented he really is.”  There is also a quote from John Wesley at the beginning of this chapter which says “You may be as orthodox as the devil, and as wicked.”

                Job is looking for comfort from his friends, but that will not happen, in fact Bildad as much as tells him that he is full of hot air (8:2).  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Bildad preached a sermon on God’s justice, and this text was taken from the ‘vision’ of Eliphaz: ‘Shall mortal man be more just than God’ (4:17). In defending God’s justice, Bildad presented three logical arguments.”

                “The character of God (Job 8:1-7):  “1 ¶  Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, 2  "How long will you say these things, And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind? 3  "Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? 4  "If your sons sinned against Him, Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression. 5  "If you would seek God And implore the compassion of the Almighty, 6  If you are pure and upright, Surely now He would rouse Himself for you And restore your righteous estate. 7 "Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will increase greatly.”

                In Job’s last talk he spoke of God doing these things that happened to him, and now Bildad tells Job that this is as much as blaspheming God as he begins his speech to Job.  Bildad asks “does God pervert justice or does the Almighty prevent what is right?”

                When you look at God you have to look at His attributes in order to understand who God is, and most people today only think of the love of God, while in the case of Bildad he was looking only at the Justice of God, and both ways are wrong, for we must understand both His love and His justice.  When we look at the cross we see God’s love, but we also see the justice of God as He takes His wrath out on the sinless Savior for those who would accept His forgiveness.  In the Old Testament times people were looking towards the cross and when Christ came and died there sins were completely forgiven.  We in the New Testament times look back to the cross seeing what Jesus Christ has done for us there, paying for our sins through His death, and satisfying an angry God so that we can be forgiven.  Then being raised from the dead to prove that God was satisfied with His sacrifice.

                Bildad even went so far in his speech to say that Job’s children sinned and that is why they were killed, and this must have been painful for Job to hear. 

                We seen in Job 8:6-7 that Bildad is using a ploy of Satan by saying that if you say you have not sinned why then has God taken everything away from you.  We will see in the future (Job 42:7-13) that Job will be assigned by God to pray for Bildad, and the rest of Job’s “friends,”

                “The wisdom of the past (Job 8:8-10):  “8 ¶  "Please inquire of past generations, And consider the things searched out by their fathers. 9  "For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow. 10  "Will they not teach you and tell you, And bring forth words from their minds?”

                Bildad is now going to talk about the past, and the wisdom that we can get from learning about the past, yet just because one looks at the past does not mean that they will not make the same mistakes of those in the past, for if they were wrong then they are still wrong today.  Dr. Wiersbe give a quote from Historian Jeroslav Pelikan who writes, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”  These words are true.

                We truly can learn from those in the past, but must be careful not to make the same mistakes of those in the past.  While living in Hawaii for eight months earlier this year we attended a church where the Pastor gave a message on the importance of having every age group in the church, and then went on to tell why all age groups were necessary.  I was waiting to hear what he was going to say about those in the age group that I am in, (Older people).  He said that we need the older people in the church so that we can learn from the mistakes that they have made and not make the same mistakes they have already made.  I felt that this was great wisdom on his part to say this, but there was a younger woman who began to laugh so loud and for so long that the Pastor had to tell her that this was not a funny issue, it was truth.  There are many in the Church today that go along with the woman who laughed.  There are many young Pastors that have no desire to have older people in the church where they serve and make it evident so that the older people are forced to leave.  This is a grave mistake on their part, one that they will have to answer to when they sit at the Judgment seat of Christ.

                In this section we do not see Bildad quoting from the ancients, for he knew that Job knew what he was talking about.  Bildad makes it clear to Job that he believed the ancients over his contemporaries. 

                The evidence in nature (Job 8:11-22):  “11  "Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the rushes grow without water? 12  "While it is still green and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant. 13  "So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish, 14  Whose confidence is fragile, And whose trust a spider’s web. 15  "He trusts in his house, but it does not stand; He holds fast to it, but it does not endure. 16  "He thrives before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden. 17  "His roots wrap around a rock pile, He grasps a house of stones. 18  "If he is removed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ’I never saw you.’ 19  "Behold, this is the joy of His way; And out of the dust others will spring.

    “20 ¶  "Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, Nor will He support the evildoers. 21  "He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with shouting. 22  "Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.’”

                To better understand this section Dr. Wiersbe writes, “In this ‘wisdom poem,’ Bildad may have summarized some of the sayings of the ancients as he argued from the law of ‘cause and effect.’  If this law applies in nature, why not in human life as well.”

                If we take the illustration of the papyrus plant and know that if it does not have water then it will die.  In the same way Job was withering and dying, so there had to be a cause for why this was happening to Job, and it must have been that Job sinned to cause this to happen to him.

                Bildad moves to a spider’s web and asks if you lean on it will you not fall.  In the same way Job was leaning on his life that he had not sinned to cause all of this trouble, and according to Bildad he will fall.

                The last example is from the garden, and if you pull up a plant, no matter how luxuriant it may be it will eventually die.  Job’s root system has something wrong with it and because of that he will soon die, according to Bildad.  Bildad was saying that God had pulled up Job, like a plant because it was faulty and now he would die.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When the pilgrims were leaving for the New World John Robinson said to them this important truth that I want to learn and make it my spiritual meaning for today’s SD:  “The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word.”  I believe that he was saying to them that through their adventure they were going to learn new truths from God’s Word.  As I got through life I want to learn new Truth’s from God’s Word too.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.    Continue to learn from the Word of God each day.

2.    Continue to learn contentment.

10/30/2011 10:22:18 AM    

Job's Responce Part 2

10/29/2011 10:24:29 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Job’s Response

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Job 6-7

                Message of the verses:  I will try and finish this section in Today’s SD.  We will be looking at the seventh chapter of Job.

                Job’s appeal to the Lord (Job 7):  “1 ¶  "Is not man forced to labor on earth, And are not his days like the days of a hired man? 2  "As a slave who pants for the shade, And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages, 3  So am I allotted months of vanity, And nights of trouble are appointed me. 4  "When I lie down I say, ’When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn. 5  "My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and runs. 6  "My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And come to an end without hope.

    “7 ¶  "Remember that my life is but breath; My eye will not again see good. 8  "The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be. 9  "When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up. 10  "He will not return again to his house, Nor will his place know him anymore. 11  "Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12  "Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me? 13  "If I say, ’My bed will comfort me, My couch will ease my complaint,’ 14  Then You frighten me with dreams And terrify me by visions; 15  So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains. 16  "I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

    “17 ¶  "What is man that You magnify him, And that You are concerned about him, 18  That You examine him every morning And try him every moment? 19  "Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? 20  "Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? 21  "Why then do You not pardon my transgression And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be.’”

                Job first speaks to the Lord about the futility of life in this first part of chapter seven.  He uses some word pictures to describe how futile life is, like being forced to work on the earth and working all day to receive his wages.  At least these people had some hope, but Job does not seem to have any hope at all.

                Next he speaks of how short life really is, for he says his life is like a weaver’s shuttle which moves very swiftly.  He speaks of never seeing good again, for he is at this point in his life very bitter, and one can understand his bitterness, for Job reports that God was treating him like a dangerous monster that had to be watched every minute (Job 7:11-12).

There was no way that Job could escape God (V-20).  Also in this verse Job asks

God has set him as His target.  Job felt that it was the Lord who was responsible for all of the awful things that happened to Job.  Job could not sleep because God was scaring him in his dreams.

                Job will end this chapter with a request for forgiveness as seen in verses 20-21.  This was not a confession of sin to the Lord that Job was making, for Job was still maintaining his integrity.  Job was asking God to deal with parts of his life that he knew nothing about (Psalm 19:12-14). “12  Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. 13  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. 14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

                Job was silent after this and next we will look at Bildad the Shuhite who will give a brief theological lecture on the justice of God.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I suppose it is good from time to time to talk to the Lord like Job has in this section, for the Lord can handle it without a problem.  There are times in one’s life that they need to get something off of their chest, and that seems to be what Job was doing.  Job was going through some very terrible times, and he did not realize why he was going through them.  Those who read the book realize why Job was going through this, but Job and his friends did not.  When I go through tough times I am not always privileged to understand why either and that is why I can get upset about it, but in my heart I know that God is working things out for my good and for His glory, and that surely does comfort me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.    Continue to learn contentment from the things that are going on in my life at this time.

10/29/2011 10:54:50 AM

Job's Responce Part One

10/28/2011 8:32:24 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Job’s response

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  Job 6-7

                Message of the verses:  Today’s SD is broken up into two parts as it follows the sixth and seventh chapters of Job.  We will take them one at a time.  In this section we will see Job appealing to his friends to understand the plight that he is in and have a little sympathy for him and then Job will appeal to the Lord to lighten his suffering.

                Job’s appeal to his friends(Job 6):  1 ¶  Then Job answered, 2  "Oh that my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my calamity! 3  "For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; Therefore my words have been rash. 4  "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, Their poison my spirit drinks; The terrors of God are arrayed against me. 5  "Does the wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his fodder? 6  "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? 7  "My soul refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.

    8 ¶  "Oh that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my longing! 9  "Would that God were willing to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off! 10  "But it is still my consolation, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11  "What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure? 12  "Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze? 13  "Is it that my help is not within me, And that deliverance is driven from me?

    14 ¶  "For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty. 15  "My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which vanish, 16  Which are turbid because of ice And into which the snow melts. 17  "When they become waterless, they are silent, When it is hot, they vanish from their place. 18  "The paths of their course wind along, They go up into nothing and perish. 19  "The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them. 20  "They were disappointed for they had trusted, They came there and were confounded. 21  "Indeed, you have now become such, You see a terror and are afraid.

    22 ¶  "Have I said, ’Give me something,’ Or, ’Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’ 23  Or, ’Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’ Or, ’Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’? 24  "Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred. 25  "How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove? 26  "Do you intend to reprove my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind? 27  "You would even cast lots for the orphans And barter over your friend. 28  "Now please look at me, And see if I lie to your face. 29  "Desist now, let there be no injustice; Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it. 30  "Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern calamities?

                It is interesting that Job is actually addressing all three of these “friends” even though Eliphaz was the only one who spoke, for Job must have sensed that all of them agreed that his plight was due to sin in his life.  We can learn from a child who described sympathy as “your pain in my heart.”

                These three friends of Job could not feel the heaviness of his suffering that is described in verses one through three.  His friends could not understand or feel the bitterness of his suffering as seen in verses four through seven.  It is because Job did not understand what was really going on that he thought that God had put a target on him and was shooting those poison arrows at him that he describes in verses for through seven.  These poison arrows were making Job’s spirit bitter.  If perhaps Job’s “friends” could have given him a bit of encouragement then his spirit would not be as bitter, but they were not about to do that.  When job described the two animals who were looking for food he was describing the bitterness in his heart that needed to be feed by love from his friends.

                We see in verses eight through thirteen that Job wants his friends to feel the hopelessness that he felt in the situation that he was in.  People who suffer for long periods of time lose hope of the future, and that is what Job was experiencing at this point. 

                Job felt useless, for hopelessness can lead to uselessness and the desire to go on living.  Job asked God to take his life in the following verses:  Job 3:20-23; 6:8-9; 7:15-16; 10:18-19; 14:13.  When one looks at what was happening to Job one can truly understand his desire to die, and yet Job carried on through all of his sufferings and through all of the bad company that he faced with his “friends,” so we see that Job had little to look forward to each morning when he woke up. 

                We now see that in verses 14-30 that courageously Job pointed out the ineffectiveness of his friend’s ministry to him.  Job did not give up on the fact that he had not sinned to cause the problem that he was facing at this time, and this took a great deal of courage just to get up each morning to face what these men would say to him.

                When you read about the dry brooks that Job speaks of in verse fifteen Job is describing the uselessness of the counsel that he is receiving from his friends, for they should have been like ragging rivers full of sympathy for him. 

                Job’s appeal for his friends to teach him (v-24) and look upon him (v28) were not happening.  Dr. Wiersbe describes them as similar to the priest and the Levite walking on the other side of the road and not stopping to help the fallen Samaritan, they were their but they were not there. 

                Job ends this portion of his speaking to his friends with an appeal for them to reconsider his plight and to love him as they should.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In order for a person to have sympathy for another person the first thing they need is to love them, and then they need to set self aside and concentrate on showing the love and sympathy that the person is needing in order to minister to them in the way God did for us by sending His Son to die in our place.  Someone once said that the middle letter in sin is I.  I have to agree with that statement, and remember to have the “I” set aside in order to minister to the hurting people around me.

                We will take up chapter seven on the next Spiritual Diary.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.    Like Job’s friends I need to learn more about sympathy for others, and not care about any points that I want to make, but just love those who need to be loved.

2.    Continue to learn contentment.

10/28/2011 9:25:28 AM   

Eliphaz's Rebuke

10/27/2011 6:55:19 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  Eliphaz’s Rebuke

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                     Reference:  Job 4-5

                Message of the verses:  I realize that this is a lot of Scripture to comment on and so I will go as far as I can go in this SD. 

                Dr. Wiersbe entitles this second chapter of his commentary on Job “Discussion Begins,” and in his introduction to the chapter he writes the following, “A wise counselor and comforter must listen with the heart and respond to feelings as well as to words.  You do not hear a broken heart with logic; you heal a broken heart with love.  Yes, you must speak the truth; but be sure to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).”

                “His approach (Job 4:1-4)” is the first sub-point in today’s SD:  “1 ¶  Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, 2  "If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking? 3  "Behold you have admonished many, And you have strengthened weak hands. 4  "Your words have helped the tottering to stand, And you have strengthened feeble knees.”

                Eliphaz begins his speech to Job in what seems to be the right way, but in reality he was feeding him honey before he began his harsh and bitter words to him.  He did give a complement to Job saying that in the past Job’s words have helped those who were hurting, and one would expect that Eliphaz’s words would do the same for Job, but they won’t, however one gets the feeling that he thinks they will.

                His accusation (Job 4:5-11):  “5  "But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are dismayed. 6  "Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

    7 ¶  "Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed? 8  "According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it. 9  "By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they come to an end. 10  "The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11  "The lion perishes for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.”

                Well the niceness did not last long as Eliphaz begins his assaults on Job asking him to be able to take what he had dished out to those he was trying to help.  He was saying that you can dish it out but you can’t take it.

                Eliphaz is saying that only those who do well are blessed by God, and those who do wrong receive his punishment, and so Job must have been doing something terribly wrong to be in the mess that he finds himself in now.  According to Eliphaz the storms can come in slowly, (V-8) or they can come in rapidly (Vs-9-11).

                This quote from Dr. Wiersbe that I am about to write is something that one must realize in order to understand the book of Job.  “Most people will agree that ultimately God blesses the righteous, His own people, and judges the wicked; but that is not the question discussed in Job.  It is not the ultimate but the immediate about which Job and his three friends are concerned, and not only they but also David (Ps. 37), Asaph (Ps. 73), and even the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 12:1-6).  

                His arguments (Job 4:12-5:7):  “12 ¶  "Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13  "Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14  Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake. 15  "Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. 16  "It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 17  ’Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18  ’He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error. 19  ’How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 20  ’Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever. 21  ’Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’

    “1 ¶  "Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? 2  "For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple. 3  "I have seen the foolish taking root, And I cursed his abode immediately. 4  "His sons are far from safety, They are even oppressed in the gate, And there is no deliverer. 5  "His harvest the hungry devour And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

    “6 ¶  "For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble sprout from the ground, 7  For man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward.”

                I suppose that when one reads the first part of his argument which can be described as his experience, that one will wonder where this vision came from.  He does not go into a lot of detail about the vision, only that he saw it.  Did it come from the Lord?  Perhaps it came from having some bad food before he went to bed that night.  Perhaps it came from a demon.  I am not saying that it was not real to Eliphaz, but am only saying that the source of the vision is not given.

                Eliphaz is asking the question can a man ever be righteous enough before God, but again did these words come from the Lord, for usually in the OT when a prophet has something that he says that comes from the Lord he will begin with “Thus says the Lord,” and this does not happen here.

                The second part of his argument is based on Eliphaz’s experience that is found in 5:1-7.  Eliphaz argues that he has seen men prosper even when they are sinners, but that then they will be judged by the Lord.  I wonder what Job was thinking when he heard this accusation, for if Job did sin that could have been the cause of the killing of all of his children, yet we have already seen that this is not case. 

                There have been others who speak of these kinds of things, like Asaph does in Psalm 73.  There are some sinful people who seem to get along fine for a long time and even die at an old age in a wealthy state.  There are some who are punished early on in life for their wrong doing.  Sometimes these people will come to know the Lord because of the trouble that they find themselves in.  God knows the hearts of all people and will do what is just and right to all people, so what Eliphaz is saying is not always the case.  However in verses six and seven he does seem to say that all men are born sinners even though it is hard to see that when a little baby is born.  Our sixth grandchild was born this past Tuesday, and one has a hard time believing that he was born with the nature of Adam, but that is surely the case.

                His appeal (Job 5:8-16):  “8  "But as for me, I would seek God, And I would place my cause before God; 9  Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number. 10  "He gives rain on the earth And sends water on the fields, 11  So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety. 12  "He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success. 13  "He captures the wise by their own shrewdness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted. 14  "By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night. 15  "But He saves from the sword of their mouth, And the poor from the hand of the mighty. 16  "So the helpless has hope, And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.”

                Eliphaz is actually telling Job that because God is merciful that he ought to confess his sins before the Lord and then God will heal him.  Job must have done something very wrong in order to have this much trouble come upon him.

                His assurance (Job 5:17-27):  “17 ¶  "Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18  "For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. 19  "From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you. 20  "In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. 21  "You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes. 22  "You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of wild beasts. 23  "For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. 24  "You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your abode and fear no loss. 25  "You will know also that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth. 26  "You will come to the grave in full vigor, Like the stacking of grain in its season. 27  "Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.’”

                Eliphaz is tell Job to make a deal with the Lord and then He will make all well again, but that is exactly what Satan wanted Job to do for remember what Satan said earlier, “Does Job fear God for nothing?...Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.” (Job 1:9; 2:4 NIV).  Job was not about to confess a sin that he did not commit.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The part at the beginning of this SD is something that I needed to hear, and that is when speaking to people who are hurting it is best not to try and solve their problems, but just have a listening ear and a loving heart.  By God’s grace I will do that from now on.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

           

1.    Have a listening ear and a loving heart when talking to people who are hurting.

2.    Put on the spiritual armor:  The belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; the shoes of the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit.

3.    Continue to learn contentment in life.

4.    Trust the Lord with the doctor’s appointment that I have this morning, trusting that the Lord will guide me along the right path.

10/27/2011 8:10:13 AM

Job's Three Friends

10/26/2011 9:44:53 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

                Today’s Spiritual Diary will be a bit different because there is something that needs to be written about before we procede with the next chapter of Job, and that is to understand a bit more about the three men who came to visit Job after all of the things that happened to him.  I mentioned yesterday that this was the way that I wanted to do this, and the reason is the Dr. Wiersbe took the time to give an account of these men in his commentary on Job, and also because it seems that this is a logical step in order to understand the book of Job.  I am going to do something the perhaps I have never done before when writing a Spiritual Diary, and that is copy what Dr. Wiersbe said in a section, that is all of it, however I believe that this is the best way to cover this important subject.

                “You will be spending a good deal of time with Job’s three friends, so you had better get acquainted with them.

                “All three of the men were old (Job 32:6), older than Job (15:10), but we assume that Eliphaz was the oldest.  He is named first (2:11), he spoke first, and the Lord seems to have accepted him as the elder member of the trio (42:7).  He was associated with Teman, a place known for its wisdom (Jeremiah49:7).  Eliphaz based his speeches on two things:  his own observation of life (‘I have seen’—Job 4:8; 5:3, 27 NASB), and a frightening personal experience he had one night (4:12-21).  Eliphaz put great faith in tradition (15:18-19), and the God he worshiped was an inflexible Lawgiver.  ‘Who ever perished being innocent?’  he asked (4:7); and a host of martyrs could have answered, ‘We have!’  (And what about our Lord Jesus Christ?)  Eliphaz had rigid theology that left little room for the grace of God.

                “Bildad must have been the second oldest of the three since he is named second and spoke after Eliphaz.  In a word, Bildad was a legalist.  His life—text was, ‘Behold, God was not cast away a perfect man, neither will He help the evildoers’ (8:20).  He could quote ancient proverbs, and like Eliphaz, he had great respect for tradition.  For some reason, Bildad was sure that Job’s children died because they also were sinners (v.4).  The man seemed to have no feeling for his hurting friend.

                “Zophar  was the youngest of the three and surely the most dogmatic.  He speaks like a schoolmaster addressing a group of ignorant freshmen.  ‘Know this!’  is his unfeeling approach (11:6; 20:4).  He is merciless and tells Job that God was giving him far less than he deserved for his sins! (11:6)  His key text is, ‘Knowest thou not this of old…that the triumphing of wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment’  (20:4-5)  Interestingly enough, Zophar speaks to Job only twice.  Either he decided he was unable to answer Job’s arguments or felt that it was a waste of time trying to help Job.

                “All three men said some good and true things, as well as some foolish things; but they were of no help to Job because their viewpoint was too narrow.  Their theology was not vital and vibrant but dead and rigid, and the God they tried to deferent was small enough to be understood and explained.  These men perfectly illustrate Dorothy Sayers’ statement ‘There’s nothing you can’t prove if your outlook is  only sufficiently limited.’

                “Why would three men speak to their friends as these men spoke to Job?  Why were they so angry?  There is a hint of and answer in Job’s words, ‘Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid’ (6:21, NIV).  The three men were afraid that the same calamities would come to them!  Therefore, they had to defend their basic premise that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked.  As long as they were ‘righteous,’ nothing evil could happen to them in this life.

                “Fear and anger often go together.  By maintaining his integrity and refusing to say he had sinned, Job undermined the theology of his friends and robbed them of their peace and confidence; and this made them angry.  God used Job to destroy their shallow theology and challenge them to go deeper into the heart and mind of God.  Alas, they preferred the superficial and safe to the profound and mysterious.

                “Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have many disciples today.  Whenever you meet a person who feels compelled to explain everything, who has a pat answer for every question and a fixed formula for solving every problem, you are back at the ash heap with Job’s three friends.  When that happens, remember the words of Swiss psychologist Paul Tournier:  ‘We are nearly always longing for an easy religion, easy to understand and easy to follow; a religion with no mystery, no insoluble problems, no snags; a religion that would allow us to escape from our miserable human condition; a religion in which contact with God spares us all strife, and uncertainty, all suffering and all doubts; in short, a religion without the Cross.’

                “We wonder how Job’s three friends would have explained the Cross to the two Emmaus disciples!  (Luke 24:13ff).  Let’s listen in on the first round of speeches.” 

10/26/2011 10:23:04 AM