What Are You Inferring?

 Job 20:26 Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
    a fire not fanned will devour him;
    what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
    and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The possessions of his house will be carried away,
    dragged off in the day of God's wrath.
29 This is the wicked man's portion from God,
    the heritage decreed for him by God.”

As Job's friends continued their attack on him, Zophar gives a long list of things the wicked man can expect, showing that his choices lead to ultimate destruction of him and everything he has. He does not say "You, Job, deserve this." But in context is that not what he is inferring.  His line of reasoning is that the wicked lose everything, therefore, since Job has lost everything, he must be wicked. Once again, as we talk with others going through struggle and loss, do we give them the idea they are getting what they deserve, or are our attitudes and words such that we emphasize grace: God giving what we don't deserve?

Engraved in Rock

 

Job 19

23 “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

Job had been through the wringer - both with every disaster that came in his life, and with they doubtful response of his "friends." Yet, at the end of it all, he did cling to his faith in God, His Redeemer.  He was sure that at the end of it all he would stand before God, Who would deal with him justly. He was so sure, these things were engraved in the rock forever. Are you that sure and secure in God and your relationship with Him? What disasters, calamities, or even "acts of God," have come your way and still your faith stands? Do you know your Redeemer lives and that He will be there for you all the way to the end?

Getting What He Deserves?

Job 15:25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,
26 running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist
28 and has lived in desolate cities, in houses that none should inhabit,
    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;
30 he will not depart from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots,
    and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.

As the friends of Job seek to "comfort" and counsel him, Eliphaz jumps in with a stinging accusation: The problem is that Job does not fear God. He pictures Job as a rebellious and self-righteous arrogant man who is simply getting what he deserves.  How often do our minds go that way: looking at people going through hard times and coming up with reasons why they deserve it? That is not the way we should think or talk - even if there is some truth to it. We are to want what is best for them. Notice, as well, a tinge of jealously on the part of Eliphaz, as he talks about the fat on the face and waist of Job.  Had he been hoping something like this would happen to Job to bring him down?

We Really Need to Talk...

 

Job 13:22 Then call, and I will answer;
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and my sins?
    Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why do you hide your face
    and count me as your enemy?
25 Will you frighten a driven leaf
    and pursue dry chaff?
26 For you write bitter things against me
    and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.

As Job continues to struggle, and his friends try to "help," he still wrestles with his situation and with God.  He feels like there is this barrier between himself and God. He really wants to know what is wrong. Job is our example to be sure. We never want to get to the point that we are so self-assured and self-righteous as to think we are beyond correction. He really wanted to have this conversation with God and get to the truth, not just yell at God. May that be our perspective: "God, we really need to talk. Do you want to go first, or me?"

The Arbiter

 

Job 9:25 “My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’
28 I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned; why then do I labor in vain?

30 If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,

31 yet you will plunge me into a pit, and my own clothes will abhor me.

32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. 33 There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.

As Job wrestled with his predicament, he felt helpless. There was no just "putting on a happy face" and get over it. He realized that his complaint was against God and he was "out of His league." He needed an arbiter, someone who would go between and bring things to a resolution. Eventually, Job came to see that God was not against Him, but actually on his side. We all need The Arbiter, Jesus Christ as our Advocate. As God and Man, He can and does bring the resolution we need. Life IS worth it. We can go on. God is not done with us yet. 

Honest Conversation

 

Job 6:24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
    make me understand how I have gone astray.
25 How forceful are upright words!
    But what does reproof from you reprove?
26 Do you think that you can reprove words,
    when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
27 You would even cast lots over the fatherless,
    and bargain over your friend."

Job's friends had offered what they thought was a fair evaluation of Job's situation. He responded to them that they did not really understand his plight.  From his perspective, God had not been fair. But he is willing to listen to his friends, only he wants them to have compassion and not self-righteousness.  They were being heartless and insensitive in both what they were saying and how they were saying it. 

Helping a friend through a hard time is not always easy.  We want to help them see the picture clearly and objectively, but we also need to be willing to listen compassionately and with the fulness of the character of God in view. It is hard. It takes time. (The book of Job is a long conversation.) But true friends to that.

Finishing Well...

 

Job 5:24 You shall know that your tent is at peace,
    and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
    and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
    like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27 Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
    Hear, and know it for your good.”

The "advice" of Job's friends is often scrutinized for being heartless, but what we see here is an honest discourse to help a friend work through his grief.  As his friends wind down their first address, they wrap up with the words above.  This does truly describe what we all might hope to find at the end of this life: peace, and heirs to continue on with what we have tried to do in life.  They are encouraging Job to not give God a bad rap for the life He has given, but to reorient his life to make the best of what he still has left. Job's life was not over.  Goodness was still possible. There is light at the end of the tunnel.  Go ehead and finish well.