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.

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?