11/8/2011 9:32:20 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: God judges the wicked
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Job 15:17-35
Message of the verses: “17 ¶ "I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare; 18 What wise men have told, And have not concealed from their fathers, 19 To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them. 20 "The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. 21 "Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. 22 "He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword. 23 "He wanders about for food, saying, ’Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. 24 "Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack, 25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. 26 "He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield. 27 "For he has covered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh. 28 "He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins. 29 "He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend down to the ground. 30 "He will not escape from darkness; The flame will wither his shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. 31 "Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward. 32 "It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green. 33 "He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree. 34 "For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt. 35 "They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception.’”
In the speech that Eliphaz made to Job the first time back in chapter five his spoke of the blessing of God (Job 5:17-26), but now he speaks of the judgments of God. Eliphaz gets his “wisdom” from the ancients and this is what is called tradition, and tradition is not always right for all we have to do is look at the NT to find out what Jesus said about the traditions of the Pharisees.
When to take a look at how Eliphaz describes a wicked man in these verses you find out that he is talking about Job. Again we can see that these men are ruthless in their attacks on Job, and forgot all about giving sympathy to Job, which is what he needs at this time. It would have been better for them to just sit and listen to Job talk, for that would have made him feel better, but these men are adding insults to Job’s injuries.
34 The godless are fruitless—a barren crew; a life built on bribes goes up in smoke. 35 They have sex with sin and give birth to evil. Their lives are wombs for breeding deceit." This is Job 15:34-35 as found in the “Message”, and it give on a better idea of the great insult that Eliphaz is giving to Job, for he is telling Job that it was because of his sin that all of the things that came upon him happened, and not only that but that Job had sit around and hatched this plan of sin and it caused the death of his family along with the physical pain that Job was in at this time.
Eliphaz, along with the other two are calling Job a hypocrite, but Job denies this accusation and argued that neither God nor his friends could prove it true.
Eliphaz’s idea about the wicked always being judged while on this earth is not true, for there are wicked men who never seem to be judged while on this earth, and there are godly men who never seem to get anything but suffering and pain. However the wicked will eventually receive judgment and the righteousness will be rewarded in the next life. 25 ‘"’\But Abraham said, ’Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.’” This verse comes from the sixteenth chapter of Luke and it sums up what I have written above.
In the book of Matthew chapter six and verses two, five, and sixteen Jesus says that “they have their reward.” Dr. Wiersbe writes “The greatest judgment God could send to the wicked in this life would be to let them have their own way…. The only heaven the godless will know is the enjoyment they have on earth in this life, and God is willing for them to have it. The only suffering the godly will experience is in this life, for in heaven there will be no pain or tears. Furthermore, the suffering that God’s people experience now is working for them and will one day lead to glory (1Peter 1:6-8; 5:10; 2Cor. 4:16-18; Romans 8:18). Eliphaz and his friends had the situation all confused.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Peter writes that a believer can suffer from doing wrong, such as breaking the law of the land. Believers can also suffer from doing right and this is the kind of suffering that brings glory to God, for our example is the Lord Jesus Christ. If a believe is to suffer it is best to suffer for doing right.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Give myself to the Lord for worship and for service this day and trust that the Lord will see me through any troubles that come my way that they will bring honor and glory to Him.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
11/8/2011 10:14:15 AM
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