11/1/2011 6:22:53 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Three Painful Questions PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Job 9:1-10:22
Message of the verses: It should be noted that all of the background material for this SD is written in yesterday’s SD.
“How can I meet God in court?” (Job 9:14-35): “14 ¶ "How then can I answer Him, And choose my words before Him? 15 "For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my judge. 16 "If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice. 17 "For He bruises me with a tempest And multiplies my wounds without cause. 18 "He will not allow me to get my breath, But saturates me with bitterness. 19 "If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him? 20 "Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty. 21 "I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I despise my life.
“ 22 ¶ "It is all one; therefore I say, ’He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’ 23 "If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent. 24 "The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
“25 ¶ "Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. 26 "They slip by like reed boats, Like an eagle that swoops on its prey. 27 "Though I say, ’I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’ 28 I am afraid of all my pains, I know that You will not acquit me. 29 "I am accounted wicked, Why then should I toil in vain? 30 "If I should wash myself with snow And cleanse my hands with lye, 31 Yet You would plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would abhor me. 32 "For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court together. 33 "There is no umpire between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both. 34 "Let Him remove His rod from me, And let not dread of Him terrify me. 35 "Then I would speak and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.”
Job seems to have a problem here, for his desire is to take God to court, but if God would accept the summons from Job to go to court then what would Job say to him or do? Job answers the questions here.
“(1) ‘If God came, what would I say?’ (vv.14-19).” Job would not be able answer God for he realizes the power of God, and therefore would not be able to answer any questions that God would ask him. In chapters 38-41 Job will find out that this is correct, for God will ask him seventy-seven questions and Job will not be able to answer Him, and so he shuts his mouth before God.
“(2) ‘If I could declare my innocence, what then?’ (vv.20-24)” Job does not understand God like he thinks he does, for Job is actually accusing God of being unjust. Job has seen the godly go before an unjust judge and found guilty, and the ungodly go before a just judge and be found guilty. Both Bildad and Eliphaz have said that the wicked are punished by God but not the righteous.
“(3) ‘If I try to be happy, what good will that do?’ (vv. 25-31)” I think that one of the points that we find here is evident throughout most of the book of Job, and that is that Job believes that God is against him. Job knows in his heart that his life is fading away quickly, and describes that in this section. Job knows in his heart that if he forgot his pain and smile, and put on new clothes that it would not help him. Job believes that anything that he does will be nullified in heaven, so putting on a happy face would do him no good.
“(4) ‘If only I had a mediator!’ (vv. 32-35)” Job says that he needs a mediator to go between God and him, and thus represent him before God. It would be a long time in history before that Mediator would come, but He would come and He would be both God and man, for God became man in the person of Jesus Christ and He is our legal representative before God.
There is one more question that Job asks and we will take that up in the next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I must admit that there are times when I seem to act like Job, especially in times of crisis, when I wonder what God is up to in my life, and why I have to go through some of the problems that I am going through, and yet I have the Holy Spirit living in me to guide and to direct me, and to convict me of any sin so that I can have fellowship with God. I also have the complete Bible before me that tells me that there are times when I will experience troubles, for Jesus Christ did while He was upon this earth, and therefore as His follower I can expect the same, but I am to be of good cheer, for the life that I am living here on earth is just the proving ground for real life that will be experienced in heaven. The life that I live here is the testing ground for what I will be doing in heaven. I need to keep all of this in mind as I go about life on planet earth.
1. Romans 8:28.
2. Philippians 4:11b.
3. Proverbs 3:5-6.
4. Ephesians 6:10-18.
5. 1Corinthians 10:13.
11/1/2011 7:05:03 AM
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