By Them... I Mean You...

 

Job 34:23 For God has no need to consider a man further,
    that he should go before God in judgment.
24 He shatters the mighty without investigation
    and sets others in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
    he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
    in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from following him
    and had no regard for any of his ways,

We find here part of the response of Elihu to the conversation that had been taking place - in particular to Job's self-defense (and self-examination). He accuses Job of self-righteousness in a most piercing way - in the third person.  He talks about the wicked - "they" - as a way of insinuating that Job was wicked. In his mind, and words, Job had lost everything because he had turned away from God.  How often do we do this to people? Talk in generalities when we are trying to point the finger and keep ourselves from looking mean? This itself is very mean.

The Mediator

 Job 33:23 If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand,
    to declare to man what is right for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;
25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;
    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
    he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
27     He sings before men and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
    and my life shall look upon the light.’

In these chapters of Job, Elihu steps in to address Job and his three friends.  He rebukes the friends for their gruff way of "helping" Job, and He challenges Job as well. What is needed is a mediator - not only between Job and his friends, but Job and God. This mediator brings reconciliation and redemption. We all need this mediator. His name is Christ Jesus.

Thorough Self-Examination

 

Job 31:24 “If I have made gold my trust
    or called fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because my hand had found much,
26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
    or the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

As Job finished his response to his friends' critical examination, he goes through a long list of questions he had asked of himself, to see why all of his suffering had come upon him. He had left no leaf unturned. He considered how he had treated God, neighbors, business associates, the poor - even animals and the land. He still came up empty-handed, with nothing on his list to answer "why?" We should never depend fully on our own self-examination, but as Paul reminds the Corinthians: "Let every man examine himself." If we leave that out, we truly have become self-righteous.

Can We Hear Them Hurting?

 

Job 30:

25 Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?
    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came,
    and when I waited for light, darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
    days of affliction come to meet me.
28 I go about darkened, but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of jackals
    and a companion of ostriches.

As Job is giving his final statement to his friends, he tries to explain what is going on inside his heart and head.  He felt abandoned by those who should have been there for them.  So many people - within the Body of Christ - feel that way. They ask like the song: "Does anybody hear me?"  They get it that God's ways are not our ways; His time is not like ours; He can see the full picture.  But we cannot. Those around us, however, are in the same boat we are. They should understand, care, and continue to listen and comfort.

Where Does Wisdom Come from?

 

Job 28:23 “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

In the bantering back and forth between Job and his friends, Job's thoughts get deeper and clearer.  The questions becomes: Where does wisdom come from? Who has the clearest, most objective view? We cannot see it, but we can see the results of wisdom, and they all point back to God. He is the source of all wisdom.  We need to turn from all else and turn to Him.

God Will Be Your Gold...

 Job 22:3 If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;
    if you remove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in the dust,
    and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty
    and lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will pay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and light will shine on your ways.

As we look at the "advice" of Job's friends, we do find so much wisdom and truth we cannot ignore it.  Though Eliphaz is trying to defend God before Job (while saying God does not need to be defended), we do find so many golden nuggets of truth.  Many were not true of Job, but they are truths for all of us to consider: Put God before gold and He will be our gold. Make Him our delight and life will be a joy. You can't go wrong with that.

A Different View

 

Job 21:
22 Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full vigor, being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his pails full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of prosperity.
26 They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.

As Job responds to the critique of his friends, he raises the age-old question: "Why do the wicked prosper? We find David and others asking the same question. When we stand back and observe daily life it seems like those who do not fear the Lord often fare better: their business prospers, they appear healthy and happy, and when they die people sing their praises. It would appear to many that the wicked fare as well or even better than the righteous.  Obviously how one fares in this life by human standards is not the whole story.  Only God has the full view and complete story. This should prevent us from judging others like Job's friends did.