Job 28

Then He saw wisdom and evaluated it. He set it in place and examined it thoroughly. And this is what He says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.'"

(Job 28:27-28)

I LOVE this chapter. It is totally unique in the book of Job, a real change of pace from the normal rhetoric of Job as he responds to his friends.

It begins with a description of how man has found ways to mine the earth for precious metals and stones… things the animals are unaware of things, things that men LIVE FOR. Job points out the great lengths men go to to get these things, and the innovative ways they have discovered as they attempt to extract them from the “roots of the earth”.

With all of this knowledge of how to mine for these precious metals, man knows nothing of how to discover wisdom. Job points out that all the gold in the world can do nothing for you when it comes to wanting to acquire wisdom. You can’t buy it, and men haven’t figured out how to dig it up. Even the formidable foes death and destruction have only heard rumors of wisdom and its whereabouts… it seems that God alone knows where wisdom resides.

God has not left man in a state of forever being unable to acquire wisdom… according to Job God told men where wisdom was to be found… ONLY IN FORSAKING EVIL AND LIVING IN THE FEAR OF GOD. According to Job, God had communicated this truth to men. If they would forsake evil and live in the fear of God, they would receive wisdom and real understanding in the areas of life, its purpose, and its mysteries.

This theme of real wisdom being attached to the “fear of God” appears all throughout the scriptures. Job is the first mention chronologically of this idea. Job was a contemporary of Abraham… so apparently this was a truth that God revealed long before He even sent us the ten commandments. Job reminded his friends of a truth we need to allow to mark our lives… real wisdom begins with a rejection of evil, and a firm resolve to live our lives in the fear of God. In other words, not being afraid of God, but being aware of who He is, what He requires, and how we relate to Him. Remember, He is God and you are not… LIVE LIKE IT, and you will be wise far beyond your years!

Job 27

There is a long pause between the last chapter and this one. It is as if Job waits to see if his “friends” have anything else to say. Once he realizes that they don’t, he goes on to explain 3 things:

1. He is innocent, and will never concede that they are right.

2. He is very aware of the fate of the hypocrite, and dreads being one… he is making it clear that hypocrisy is not something that exists in him.

3. He expresses that he DOES believe that the wicked will be judged… but he focuses on how the wicked will be EVENTUALLY brought low.

As we look at what Job says here in this passage, it brings up the concept of righteousness. We know that according to the scriptures “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory”, and “there is none righteous, no not one”. Is Job claiming sinlessness? Is he claiming to be righteous as God is righteous?

I don’t think this is what Job is saying. We need to remember what it was that Job’s friends were accusing him of. They were saying he was a WICKED man. We are all sinners, but do we all fall under the category of the wicked? Before Jesus came, men and women would live BY the law (at this point not even the Mosaic law, just the moral law written on their hearts, passed down over the generations) looking forward to a God who could save them. Job was a man of INTEGRITY. With Job, he had a “what you see is what you get” reputation. He wasn’t fake. He wasn’t phony. Job was not a hypocrite. According to the Lord he was BLAMELESS. This means that you could not accuse him of anything… nothing men threw at him would stick.

Imagine today that you fall ill with some crazy disease. Your friends start saying “maybe God is judging you for a hidden sin”. They say, “Maybe you stole a lot of money, maybe you killed someone, maybe you are an adulterer…” If you knew those things weren’t true then you could say, “What are you talking about! If you could talk to God you would know that these things are FALSE! I am blameless in these areas!”

The problem with Job is this: He is getting so adamant about these false accusations, that he is forgetting the fact that though he may be the most righteous man in the world, he is still a sinner. The way Job thinks things will go when he gets a chance to have a face to face with God are just plain wrong. Job, though he can express how holy God is, (like in the last chapter) has forgotten some of those things in practice.

Realize this: we don’t need to defend ourselves. Even if people come and levy all sorts of false accusations against us, we don’t have to respond. Why? Because the Lord is our defender. He will set the record straight. Just wait and see... God does just that between Job and his friends.

Chapter 26

From chapter 26 to 31 we have Job’s final words to his three friends. They have finished speaking now, and we will not hear from them again. It is clear that they still believe that Job is guilty of some wickedness, and are not ready to agree with him about his innocence. Chapter 26 starts with Job responding to Bildad. He basically says to him, “what you just said is true, but what does it have to do with what we are dealing with?” Job basically challenges Bildad and the others with the thought that they had done NOTHING to comfort or encourage him. There every word to him had been either accusatory or irrelevant.

Job spends the remainder of the chapter demonstrating that he is aware of the greatness of God and the smallness of man. He understands the principle completely, and has NEVER been arguing against it. Remember, Job is a suffering man who is just wondering why. He wants to ask the Lord why these things are happening to HIM, and why they are happening the way they are happening. Job will hear from the Lord soon enough.

What can we learn from this short chapter that is really just a response to Bildad? We can learn how not to be a Bildad. If you don’t know what to say to someone who is hurting, don’t SAY ANYTHING. Talk about the greatness of God and puniness of man won’t make them feel better. Theological debate won’t make them feel better. What a person who is hurting really needs is LOVE.

Job 25

Bildad speaks once again in this chapter, but this time he keeps things surprisingly brief.

It seems that he has in mind the first part of what Job says in chapter 23… the bit about arguing his case before the Lord.

Interestingly, what Bildad says here is completely true. It is an accurate description of God’s holiness, and just how far short we fall. However, I don’t think that Job was claiming sinlessness… instead; he was claiming that he hadn’t been committing any SECRET SINS, or living a HABITUALLY WICKED lifestyle. As far as Job could see, he could come up with no reason why he would be singled out for such awful suffering.

Having said this, I think there re a couple of things we can all benefit from in what Bildad has to say here. I think Bildad has 2 main thoughts:

1. We need to think HIGHLY of the Lord. It is so easy for us to forget just how holy, how “otherly” God is. As Hector has been pointing out lately, He is the only SELF-EXISTENT ONE. Ravi Zacharias, one of my favorite bible teachers often points out that our entire existence is DEPENDENT upon one thing or another. Oxygen, Water, Food… we have needs and if we don’t fulfill them we will die. Ultimately we must look to God to sustain us. We only live because He has given us life. God on the other hand is dependent upon nothing. His existence is eternal and unfaltering. We forget this sometimes. I think sometimes our lives communicate that we really believe that God was created for our pleasure… quite opposite of the truth. We could all use to step back and remember the greatness of our God.
2. Bildad also brings up the reality of who we are in light of God’s greatness, and how LITTLE we should really think of ourselves. He says that we are worms… Creatures that crawl through the dirt, creatures of very low esteem.

Bildad concludes that as worms we should realize that we CANNOT stand in the presence of God.

What Bildad didn’t know was that God was going to bridge the gap between His holiness and our sinfulness… God Himself would become a man… He would be a worm, like you and I.

Job 24

Job 24:12 The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

This is the challenge of every Christian going through a trial. How often do we yell, "Justice!" We look at all our righteousness compared to those around us and we wonder if God is even noticing. Job recognizes this. He claims God does not charge all these evildoers with any wrong.

Job is blind in one area and God is going to open his eyes. You see, the real story behind Job is, even in all our righteousness we fall short of the righteousness of God. We are in completely different classes of righteousness. Even if someone were to live the perfect life, without sin, they would not be self-existent. They would not be able to create something out of nothing. They would not be able to die and take away the sins of all people. Jesus was unique in the sense that, though He was a 100% man, He was also 100% God. He was able to say, "Before Abraham was, I AM." That is a righteousness that can only be spoken by God.

Job was a good man. However, his righteousness was at the same level of all those evils he was speaking of in this chapter. He falls far short. Apart from being imperfect, he also was not God. Therefore his righteousness was never going to be able to reach God's righteousness. Toward the end of Job we will see God reveal a bit of His righteousness towards Job. In doing this, Job's eyes are open to just how far he falls from the righteousness of God.

If you are out on an ego trip, or if you are struggling with the success of the wicked, read the last chapter's of Job. Pray that God will reveal a bit of His righteousness to you, that you may be humbled. Once humbled, God can work with you.

Job 23

Job 23:12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

Job's comeback for Eliphaz was short, but direct. In it, he claims to be innocent and also claims that if he were to find God, God would prove his innocence. In some cases, what Job says in this chapter is false. When Job does come before the Lord, his mouth is not filled with arguments but with awe and wonder. When Job does come before the Lord, instead of reasoning his innocence he sees himself as a sinner, guilty and worthy of death. Nevertheless, I am encouraged by the words highlighted above.

Job was bent on ollowing the Lord. He made an active decision every moment of his life that he would not turn his face from God. He says that he has "treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." If you are anything like me you love food. I think food is one of the Lord's greatest creations, and I think it signifies a lot to eat with someone. Even the Lord Jesus was to be remembered through a cracker and wine. Yet, imagine thirsting for God so much that between a decision to eat or spend time with Him, you would choose Him.

How important is God in your life? What are you willing to give up for Him? I pray that you hunger and thirst for the Bread of Life and for the Living Water. I hope you make the necessary sacrifice to make sure your spiritual health is well fed. I pray that, if placed in Job's shoes, we would all be able to make the same claim he made even after such tragedy had occured.

Job 22

Job 22:5-13 Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? (6) For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. (7) You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. (8) But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. (9) You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed. (10) Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, (11) Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you. (12) "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! (13) And you say, 'What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness?

Whoa. Eliphaz accuses Job of being a dishonerable man. He says Job is not blameless. He essentially calls Job an Atheist. He is accussing Job of not feeding the poor and helping his fellow man. Eliphaz is fully convinced that Job is in the wrong, and now he is accusing him of things he did not even do.

Compare what Eliphaz is saying with what God says in chapter 1. The contrast is startling. How can these people not see the righteouss man Job was when it was so clear and evident to God? In every story there seems to be that one faithful guy, there to help out his friend. Even in the Bible we see God sending Melchizedek into Abraham's life. We see God sending Jonathan to David. We see Jon the disciple being the man who stayed alongside Jesus, even to His death. However, ultimately we know even John ceased to believe that God would rise again. All this to say, Job was alone in all this. But Job had God.

There will come events in your life which will smack you in the face and essentially say, "Welcome to reality." It will be discouraging and perhaps, like Job, you will feel all alone. My one encouragment to you is to always turn to the Lord. He is your very best friend and He will never dissappoint you. Your classmates, friends, coworkers, parents, and fellow Christians will all dissappoint you. God will not. As always, I would encourage you to read the last chapter of Job as you read each of these chapters. Look at the result. Job is restored, but more importantly, he draws closer to Jesus. May that be the end result of your lonely trials. May the Lord make you whole, and may He draw you closer and closer each and every day.

Job 21

Job 21:34 How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?"

To be a good friend you have to be dedicated to the Lord. Job's friends did not know the Lord like Job knew the Lord. Through the discussions in Job we see that Job had a supernatural understanding of who God was. This came simply by spending time with the Lord. He began to understand Him, and because of which, he would not curse the name of the Lord.

Job;s wife told him to curse God and quit. Job's friends are telling Job that he is a sinner and has earned this wrath. Job, however, only begins to talk about the questions that were always in his heart. He sees the wicked grow old, prosper, and live live that appear to be happy. He recognizes his own suffering. He has legitimate questions, and the last verse expresses exactly what he needed. Job needed a godly friend.

We all suffer through tough times. We need godly friends to help point us toward Jesus. We all wonder what God is doing up there. We need godly friends to remind us about the sovereignty of God. The beautiful thing is, God is willing to be this friend. He will allow us to be trialed and He will comfort us through it.

Think about someone who is suffering today, whether spiritually, physically, or emotionally. Instead of trying to fix their problems with your own answers, ask the Lord how you can be a friend to them.

Job 20

Job 20:28-29 The increase of his house will depart, And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath. (29) This is the portion from God for a wicked man, The heritage appointed to him by God."

There is one thing about the response of Job's friends which annoy me beyond all other. Job's friends are not listening to the heart of what Job is saying. They are simply listening to the words that come out, and waiting to lay their own wisdom down.

Sometimes people are like a search page, like Google for instance. When you talk to them, they sit, waiting for key words that they might make an assumption about what your are saying. Job's friends did not like the fact that Job was making himself sound like the good guy. Well, the fact is Job was the good guy, and if they listened to what Job was saying they would realize it. Instead, they hear Job say words that counter there thinking, and this raises a red flag in them. Rather than think about what he was saying, they ambush him with more foolish talk.

Gang, there are people out there who will not listen to the heart of the matter. They would rather listen to keywords, like a search page, rather than the complete thought. They would rather mull over one thing you say, rather than what you are trying to say. These people come when you are down. Their concern is not to raise you up, but to prove their point. Live wisely. FInd your hope in God not in man. Job had to endure these false allegations. Soemtimes we will too.

Job 19

Job 19:25-27 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; (26) And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, (27) Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Even in the midst of such trouble there is this hope deep in Job that is revealed here. It is the hope that is in all of us. Job, through the divine understanding of the Lord, realized there was a Redeemer. His name is Jesus. He realized that, though everything was being stripped from Him, there was one who could give it all back. He knew that he would see the Lord.

Hope is a powerful thing. Often times we see movies where, because of one's hope this person is able to overcome the greatest odds. As Christians we are able to put our hope is something so much greater. We have hope in a Rdeemer. The idea is that, whatever we do to mess up our lives, the Redeemer can fix. He provides a second, third, and fourth chance. He allows us to change our lives no matter what we have done. He allows us to live life with a greater hope than this world has ever seen.

As Christians, we often do not show that this hope is even real in our lives. Consider how much hope has been granted to you because you have a Redeemer. Thank God for it and allow the hope and joy to change the way you live today.

Chapter 18

They will say, 'This was the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God.'"

(Job 18:21)

No wonder Job is getting so exasperated, these guys are like a giant one string guitar, and the song they sing has one verse “The wicked will be judged, and the righteous will be vindicated”. This principle isn’t FALSE; it is true in the ETERNAL SCHEME OF THINGS. But as far as life on earth goes, it doesn’t always work out this way. It is true, the wicked WILL be judged one day, and the Righteous WILL be blessed one day… But this doesn’t mean that when we see a person suffering they are wicked, and when we see a person being blessed they are righteous.

I hope that if we see a home that has burnt to the ground, we don’t respond like this… “This is the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God”. There are segments of the church that act like this. They talk as if any sickness or suffering ONLY comes as a result of a major lack of faith. On the contrary, we see here that Job was suffering BECAUSE he was a man of faith. He was going through all of this because God was demonstrating HIS OWN RIGGHTEOUSNESS in the heavenly realms.

Whether we like it or not, the universe is locked in a cosmic battle between good and evil, and that battle often takes place in the hearts and lives of BELIEVERS. We need to remember the way that Job begins when we go through difficulty… we never know what is taking place in the spiritual realm as we go about our lives. All that Jesus asks is that we be FAITHFUL. In good or bad, we just keep trusting HIM.

Chapter 17

"My spirit is crushed, and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me.

(Job 17:1)

My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart's desires are broken.

(Job 17:11)

Listen to the cry of Job here. He is a broken man, a man who has completely lost hope, a man who needs to be reminded of the HOPE THAT HEAVEN HOLDS!

His spirit had been CRUSHED

The desires of his heart had been BROKEN

His hope had DISAPPEARED

His life was nearly SNUFFED OUT

The grave was ready to SWALLOW HIM UP

His days were OVER

If life on earth is all that there is, then Job would be left with no options. BUT THERE IS MORE THAN JUST THIS LIFE! Job’s hope had disappeared because it was a hope that was founded on the TEMPORAL things of this world. We have a HOPE that is heavenly, a hope that promises to act as an ANCHOR FOR OUR SOULS, keeping us in the presence of God. This hope is the hope of ETERNAL LIFE, The promise that what we see isn’t all that we get, and that there is more to life than this. It is the hope that though this body might die, WE WILL NEVER DIE!

As Christians we may go through TREMENDOUSLY DIFFICULT TIMES, but Paul tells us in 2^nd Corinthians that those times are NOTHING when compared to the GLORY that waits in heaven. He tells us that though our outer man decay, our INNER MAN is being RENEWED day by day.

Right now, Job can’t see beyond his present circumstances, but a time is coming when it all will change… God is NOT done with Job, though Job feels abandoned.

Job 16

Then Job spoke again: "I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are! Won't you ever stop blowing hot air? What makes you keep on talking? I could say the same things if you were in my place. I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you. But if it were me, I would encourage you. I would try to take away your grief. Instead, I suffer if I defend myself, and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.

(Job 16:1-6)

Suffering has an interesting way of changing how we view others who are suffering. Maybe before this, Job would have dealt with the sufferings of others differently. Maybe he even had a view like his friends; that only wicked people suffer. Now that he was in the midst of suffering himself, he says that he would encourage a suffering friend, and atempt to relieve some of that individual’s grief.

Jesus is the best and most unique friend that we have. Listen to these verses:

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.

Because of the way that Jesus suffered, He can relate to us better than anyone else… If we find ourselves going through difficult times, we need to realize that we have in Jesus someone who knows exactly what it is like to suffer.

Beyond this, if we truly want to be “like Jesus”, then we will thank God for those difficult times we have, for they will enable us to offer comfort and hope to others who are suffering!

Job 15

Here in chapter 15, we see Eliphaz pick up the same argument he used during the first round of exchanges with Job. Once again he is arguing that the wicked suffer in this life, not the righteous. He is more direct, and honestly, more angry sounding this time. He even begins his assault by accusing Job of a few things:

1. Job has no fear or reverence for God
2. Job is controlled by his sin, and is being willfully deceptive, covering up the wickedness in his life
3. He can no longer reason, his ability to think has been destroyed
4. He has turned against God

Once again, we see that Eliphaz speaks from a place of comfort, not going through what Job is going through, he concludes that Job must be guilty of some HEINOUS sin. The problem with Eliphaz is that the world he thinks he lives in and the world he really lives in aren’t the same place. In Eliphaz’s world, if you do wrong punishment comes swiftly, and if you do good reward follows. There is no injustice, the good men are blessed and the evil men are cursed. To Eliphaz, anyone suffering like Job has obviously gotten what was coming to them.

The world isn’t like that, and the reason is simple. SIN. Just three little letters, but they massively changed the world from the glorious masterpiece God created into what we see today. Today innocent children are born with AIDS, women kill there unborn babies for convenience sake, holy men are abused and trampled down by the world while unrighteous men are exalted and made to prosper. WHY? Because this world is under the control of Satan, who loves to Kill, Steal, and Destroy. Though it is true that nothing happens that God doesn’t allow to happen, it is also true that this world looks nothing like what God wants it to. Because he loves us, He allows us to make our own choices, and sometimes those chooses hurt others. Sin doesn’t take place in a vacuum. It is true that Job’s suffering was a by-product of SIN… just not the kind of personal wickedness his friends thought. There is no force on earth more destructive than sin. That is why GOD HATES IT.

Eliphaz is right about some things, but he is dead wrong in thinking that suffering only affects the “wicked”. It rains on the just and the unjust alike. His accusations are baseless and his views are totally faulty… but they are the logical by-products of his presupposed ideas of how things worked. Lets learn a lesson here… don’t think you have it all figured out. There are times when the best thing we can say is, “I don’t know what is happening”. Guess what… God always knows!

Job 14

Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death. You would call and I would answer, and You would yearn for me, Your handiwork.

(Job 14:14-15)

Job asks the rhetorical question, “Can the dead live again?” He talks about the green shoot that can grow out of a dead tree, the promise of life still there in the midst of death, but as far as he can observe, it is not so with man. He compares man to a river that is dried up, seemingly gone and soon forgotten. From his perspective, death is the end. Yet we see within him the hope for something more, the longing for eternity.

Solomon told us that the Lord placed eternity in the heart of every man. That is why each one of is not satisfied with the thought of “ceasing to exist”. It is unsettling at best, and for most of us the notion of “non-existence” is extremely frightening. This is because when we were created, “non-existence” was not part of what we were “programmed” with. We were designed to live forever. This is what causes Job in the middle of his response to his friends to stop and say, “Is there life beyond the grave? Do we live again after we die?” We know the answer to this question is yes! Jesus rose from the dead, and all who are alive in Christ will live eternally!

For us, we can be ASSURED of eternal life, and thus have what Job desired; “hope through all our years of struggle, a reason to eagerly await the release of death”. For those who know that eternal life is real, death is not the “end”, it is really the beginning of all we were meant to be.

Notice, Job attaches a sense of real deep relationship to this ASSURANCE of eternal life. When we have that hope, it puts us in a place where we can HEAR God’s voice and respond… a place where we are aware of our position as the handiwork of God, and aware of His love and desire for us. My friends don’t forget how important it is that we remember heaven and the hope it brings. It keeps our perspective right and our relationship with God ALIVE!

Job 13

But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom!

(Job 13:3-5)

Job says here that the wisest thing his friends could do was just stop talking. They had “forged lies”… in other words they had crafted there own story about why Job was dealing with this, and they had presented that as reality. They were like doctors that couldn’t do anything to help the patient.

As Job sits surrounded by these guys, he says that what he really wants is to speak with God; he wants to argue his case before God and prove that he is innocent. I don’t think Job realizes what he is asking for. I don’t think ANY of his arguments would mean ANYTHING when he was confronted by God in all of His holiness.

I’ve often heard people say “I’m gonna ask God about this or that when I get to heaven”. Sometimes they say it with a “what is God thinking” kind of attitude, as if they know better what should be going on. When these people stand before God, I don’t think they will be saying much of anything… I think they will worship Him. When Job finally does stand before God, He doesn’t defend himself… he listens, and then he humbles himself and repents.

There is a song we sometimes sing at church; its words are an adaption of a passage in Ecclesiastes. I think it communicates some important truths about how to deal with this sort of thing. It goes,

You are God in heaven

And here am I on earth

So I’ll let my words be few

Jesus I am so in love with You

And I’ll stand in awe of You

I’ll stand in awe of You

I’ll let my words be few

Jesus I am so in love with You

When we go through difficult times, we need to remember that we are here on earth, and our perspective is limited. God however, is the God of HEAVEN AND EARTH, and He sees everything, and does everything for a reason. As a result, we should let our words be few. Whether in Job’s shoes, or the shoes of Job’s friends, it is wise to stand back and let the Lord work. Don’t try and explain it, analyze it, defend it, or deny it… trust that God knows what He is doing.

Job 12

People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.

(Job 12:5)

Here we see Job’s response to his third friend, Zophar. Job tells him that there is really no difference between Job and the others. They are all sinners, and they are all equal. Job just happens to be the one suffering right now, so he makes an easy target for these guys.

Job describes these guys and their behavior like this: You’re at ease and I am in trouble; so you mock me. He goes on and says that they are like people who push someone down when they are stumbling. Imagine how you would feel if you tripped and as you tried to regain your balance your friend pushed you to the ground. It’s a bit like our expression “kicking them when they are down”.

The Bible tells us that we should “Raise up the hands that are hanging down and strengthen the feeble knees”. It also says that if a “brother is overtaken in a fault, those who are spiritual should RESTORE such a one in a spirit of GENTLENESS”. There is no gentleness here from Jobs friends, and no restoration. Instead of strengthening him and raising him up, they pile burdens on him and weigh him down.

May verse 5 not be true of our lives… may we love and encourage those experiencing trouble while we are at rest. May we offer a helping hand to those who stumble. May all that we do be done in LOVE.

Job11

Job 11:20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!"

Another one of Job's friends steps in. Some of his speech sounds right, but notice that he speaks as though he himself were above the laws he speaks of. Finally, the true heart of the matter comes out in the end. Job has been thrown into the "wicked" category, and therefore loss of life is only the inevitable.

There are Christians out there who forget where they came from. Even if you grew up in a Christian home and have not had a "major" sin, it is good to remember that your flesh is just as wicked's as everybody elses. What a beautiful thing to live in humility. What a beautiful thing to live like a servant. Jesus did. He had the right to parade His perfection, but instead, he bore our sins. Remember, Christian, the only difference between us and the world is Jesus. We do not boast anything of ourselves!

Judge not. Examine yourself. Speak to God and consider where you came from. We have all this because of Jesus. To Him be the glory forever and ever!

Job 10

Job 10:22 A land as dark as darkness itself, As the shadow of death, without any order, Where even the light is like darkness.' "

Job has had it. He is depressed. He is worn out. He is tired of living. Mr. Dotson made a good point yesterday when he was teaching the Jr. High. The one thing that makes us different from everything else is that God specifically breathed life into us. Were it not for God we would cease to exist.I think everybody reaches a point in their life where the question living. It seems that evrything is going against them. Life is no longer fun and you feel like you are in everybody's way. God tells us what the best antidepresent is, "A joyful heart is good medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones." True happiness is found one place only and that is in Jesus Christ. Too often we spend our time thinking and praying about how Jesus could make us happy rather than just being happy with Him. Have you ever just told the Lord that you are content with just having Him?

"Rejoice in the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever!" Take a moment to thank God for everything He is in your life. It is the best cure for feeling down.

Job 9

Job 9:32-33 "For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. (33) Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.

Job has just been told to be blameless. He was told that the tragedy which happens before him is because of sin not dealt with. As a response, Job protects his innocense while telling of the true problem. The problem: God is not man and there is no mediator between God and man.

What a problem indeed. If we were to live near perfect lives there would still be this tremendous gap between us and God. You see, God is self-existing. He is so far beyond us in everything that though we live with all righteousness a human can live with, He still requires more. The fact is, God is on a level beyond us. The only possible way for us to have true fellowship with Him would be to find a bridge from human limitations to God-like self existence. This could not be done by the law. It could only be done by the man, Christ Jesus.

You see, Jesus' blood wiped out our sin once and for all. It did not temporarily cover our sins like the law did. Jesus' blood also raised our status from a finite being to an eternal one. Jesus' gift is specified numerous places as being "eternal life." Because of this great Mediator we can now present our righteousness (which is from Jesus as well) on an eternal level, rather than a finite one. Job, though blameless, could not transcend into eternal because Jesus had not yet come.

Be grateful for Jesus in everything you do. It is because of Him that we can come before the eternal.

Job 8

Job 8:20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.

We have an interesting chapter here. The general consensus seems to be that bad things are happening to Job because he did something wrong. His friend, Bildad, explains his case before Job. Unlike the other friends, Bildad offers a glimmer of hope for Job. He tells Job simply to stop being a hypocrite, to be blameless, to repent, and God will restore him. The problem with this advice can be seen very easily.

Bildad told Job to be blameless, and one day, he would be able to laugh again. The problem is, Bildad was not blameless himself. In fact, Bildad, not being blameless also made him a hypocrite. We can all walk up to someone and say, "Be blameless and God will bless you." The fact is, our blessing is found in the grace of God rather than the righteousness of God. Our relationship begins first with God's grace, and only then can we experience His righteousness. To try to experience God's righteousness without grace is surely to condemn yourself to death. Only through the blood of Jesus can one have relationship with the Almighty. The blood of Jesus is grace poured out upon us.

Sure, Job could probably repent about a thing or two, but so could Bildad. There was a far greater thing happening here and that thing was God's plan. Soon and very soon, God's grace would prevail.

Job 7

Job 7:20 Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

Job was not perfect. We see here his lack of faith. He never cursed God, as Satan said he would, but he did question God. In this chapter, Job is assuming that he will die soon. In his wretched state he look up to the Lord and asks, "why?"

Trials and tribulation are meant to draw us closer to Jesus. I think it is important to read the last chapter of Job before reading the rest of it. Job 42:6 says, "Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." Wow. If any man had the right to complain it was Job. Yet we see that at the end of his trial he recognizes the Lord God and recognizes his own feebleness and his eyes are opened upon the eternal rather than the temporary. He then sees that, despite living pretty righteously himself, nothing compares to the glory of God. Job asks "why?" The answer is simple. Whatever we have we do not deserve. If we could look upon Jesus and see His glory we would repent on dust and ashes.

Maybe today you feel like you are in the crosshairs. Maybe you feel like the target of all of God's tests. Remember, God is holy. We do not deserve what has been given to us. God will not test us beyond what we can handle. He is going to test us that we may draw closer to Him. An if you have to, ask, "Why?" but expect a life changing answer from the Lord.

Job 6

At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

(Job 6:10)

Job now has a chance to reply to the first arguments of his friend Eliphaz. He admits that his words in chapter 3 were spoken “impulsively”, (you know, all that talk about wishing he was never born) but says that if they truly understood how heavy this burden was, they would be more understanding. Job’s impulsive response was not sin, it was the honest cry of a man who was suffering… from his perspective, it didn’t make sense. Now he points out that God IS involved in the difficult circumstances he is facing, but it doesn’t in any way prove he is guilty of any heinous secret sin like Eliphaz insinuated.

At this point Job compares these friends to a river that is swollen in the spring with the runoff of winter, banks flooded; the promise of life spilling over its borders. The summer comes, and in the heat he remembers the river, and he goes there for relief, only to find it is all dried up, offering nothing of what it had once promised. Put yourself in Job’s shoes for a moment… His friends come, they sit with him, they mourn with him; he feels that they may have the supply, the relief that he is looking for. Comfort, encouragement and refreshment; these are the things Job desires from his friends, and they seem to be overflowing the banks with these things as they wait with Job. Now that Eliphaz has opened his mouth, it is clear he has none of this to offer, rather than sharing Job’s burden, he is adding to it!

Job begs them to tell him what he has done wrong, what this awful sin is… and no one can! They just seem to think it must be there! Job begs them to stop assuming he is guilty and as friends, who know him to be an honest man, believe him when he says he is innocent. According to this chapter, the only comfort Job had was that he had been faithful to believe the words of God!

Take a lesson from Job here. If you ever find yourself in a situation where all those you looked to for help, for comfort, and for encouragement have let you down; don’t give up hope. God is faithful, you can take refuge in him, and be comforted by the fact that He will never leave you nor forsake you… just keep clinging to Him.

On the other side, don’t be like Job’s friends. Don’t le the rivers of living water that God wants to supply through you dry up when your friends need it most. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that LOVE BELIEVES THE BEST. In Job’s case, his friends were assuming the worst, and that isn’t love! Believe the best about one another, encourage one another, and bear one another’s burdens. There is a place for addressing sin or other issues in each others lives, but it must always be done in love.

Job 5

"We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself."

(Job 5:27)

The experts have spoken. They have done all of their research, made their conclusions, and presented their case. Now they are appealing to Job to take this counsel they have given and apply it to his own life. Guess what? Sometimes the experts are WRONG!

In our world we are often told to listen to the EXPERT in a given field. We have experts on just about everything these days, even experts on certain pieces of software or video games! In this situation with Job, the question we need to ask is this; where are these guys getting their info? When it comes to things of the spirit, questions of morality and truth; it is essential that we get our information from the Lord, not just from what we observe around us. In the world around us we see things as they are as a result of SIN and its devastating effect. When we go to the Lord, we can see things as they OUGHT to be, we can here from Him how things really work, and what He really wants.

In our context here, Eliphaz has continued his argument with Job. He begins this portion of it by talking about the “fool”, and how the “fool” can appear to be fine, successful, and even wise for a time, but the Lord will judge him eventually. These talks about the “fool” are veiled references to Job, saying he was living wickedly, and has finally been exposed. Now he is being urged to repent, and Eliphaz is telling him AGAIN that righteous people don’t have these kinds of things happen to them. In fact, he says that if a man repents and lives righteously, he will:

• Never experience famine
• Be protected from death
• Be protected from war
• Rocks won’t fall on you
• Animals won’t eat you
• Your home will be safe
• None of your stuff will be stolen
• You’ll have a big healthy family
• You’ll die at a good old age

My question is this: how would the early church respond to this list? They were martyred, beaten, died young, had there things taken… they were poor, lived hard lives and faced evil persecution… and God says He took each one of them home because the world was not worthy of them! God CAN do the things in that list, but it has nothing to do with a man’s righteousness. I have seen many unrighteous men with everything in that list, but they lack things far more important… Love, Joy, Peace; The hope of eternity, the assurance of their place in God’s kingdom. I have also seen many righteous men with few or none of the things in that list… but they have Love, Joy, and Peace… They have the assurance of salvation and hope in the return of Christ... This world isn’t their home, and they look for a reward not here, but in heaven.

Eliphaz is right, Job was a sinner… but so was Eliphaz. The events in Job’s life SHOULD cause Job to do some soul-searching, but they DON’T automatically mean that Job had major life-dominating sin to deal with. Job was good man according to God, tested BECAUSE God new that his faithfulness was unshakeable. The Bible tells us that our speech should be “always with grace, seasoned with salt”. Eliphaz however, poured a salt shaker on Job and then added some cayenne pepper for good measure. Friends, don’t try and be “experts” like Eliphaz. We don’t need any more “experts”. Be messengers of the love of God!

Job 4

Here in chapter 4 we see one of Job’s friends speak for the first time. The basic gist of his message is this: I’ve never seen a righteous man suffer this way, but wicked men often suffer this way. In other words, “Job, you’re a hypocrite, you act righteous but there is obviously something you aren’t telling us”. In the mind of Eliphaz, there is no way that Job is suffering as an innocent man. Therefore, rather than offering Job comfort or consolation, it seems that his goal is to elicit a confession.

His second step in doing this is to share a personal experience… and it’s a bit of a weird one. A whisper, a secret word, a vision in the night… A spirit passes before him, fear and trembling come upon him, his bones shake, his hair stands on end. – Let’s pause here for a second… why do you think Eliphaz is giving all of this detail? I think it is for effect. He thinks that by sharing this crazy experience it will PROVE that what he has to say is from the Lord! I get nervous when I hear someone claim that “the Lord told me” this or that. I get nervous when people allow weird experiences like this one Eliphaz tells us about dictate the decisions they make in life. The heart is deceitful… If we need to hear from God on a matter, the place that has the final word is the WORD OF GOD!

When Eliphaz actually shares what the Spirit in the vision told him, it is a true statement. “Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?” The obvious answer to these 2 rhetorical questions is NO. We are all sinners! We have all fallen short of God’s glory… and truly, because of this we have to face the consequences. As the Bible states the “wages of sin is death”.

This however, is not the point Eliphaz is trying to make. He is saying, “Job, this didn’t happen to you for no reason. If you are suffering like this, you cannot be innocent. No man can be more just than God, so God in His justice is punishing you for your sins.” In this we see the major problem Eliphaz has. In his world, suffering = divine punishment. There is no other explanation he can see, and therefore, rather than comfort his friend, he wants to force him to confess.

Does suffering really equal punishment from God? Is there no other explanation for the horrible things that go on in the world around us? Is the only answer “God is angry”? This much we do know:
1. SIN, ever since the fall has caused massive amounts of suffering, both direct and indirect. This is a natural result, not the judgment of God.
2. The devil is the one that is looking to “kill, steal, and destroy”.
3. This whole ordeal with Job is about more than just Job and God. It is about the challenge Satan has issued, it is about the goodness of God and whether or not He is really worthy of worship. Job’s life is a cosmic object lesson.
When we have friends that are hurting, we need to be careful that we don’t act like Eliphaz did here. Don’t assume when you see someone suffering that they are in the situation they are in because they are truly awful. We are all sinners. We all make bad choices. The Bible says that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Whatever the reason for the persons suffering happens to be, whether it is self-inflicted or totally out of their hands, it provides us with an opportunity to ENCOURAGE them. We can remind them that GOD LOVES THEM, and that HE WANTS THEM TO DRAW NEAR TO HIM. We are not called to be the investigation team that discovers the “reason” behind the suffering. If Job’s case is any indication, we cannot do that because here on earth we will never have all the information.

Job 3

Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties? I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes."

(Job 3:23-26)

After a week of sitting in silence with his buddies, Job finally opens his mouth to speak. In a very poetic and dramatic way, he basically says he wishes he were never born, and sort of begins to question God as to why He would let him live, seeing as his life seemed to have NO PURPOSE. The last thing Job has to say is what is quoted above. He asks a question, “Why is life given to those who have no future?”

From Job’s limited perspective, HE HAD NO FUTURE, as far as he could tell he was a man that God had surrounded with difficulties, and he wished he was dead. Imagine what it must have been like to be in Job’s shoes… you had a killer life, and in an instant everything you loved was taken away. Then, you were attacked by this wretched disease that covered your body in painful boils. I can see how he felt useless, and like his life lacked any real purpose.

We got to see the secret of what is going on behind the scenes in the 1^st 2 chapters. God is doing a great work through these circumstances… Though Job may be surrounded by difficulties THE LORD IS WITH HIM. What Job doesn’t know at this point is that God has a GREAT FUTURE for him… He has plans Job knows nothing about.

There are no mistakes with God. Everything He does has a purpose, and nothing happens without a reason. Sometimes you might feel like you are a waste of space, like your life is meaningless. God never feels this way. A life full of meaning and purpose waits for all who will trust themselves fully into the hands of God.

Job 2

There are so many things we could talk about in this chapter… It is seriously loaded with great lessons. We could probably get 4 or 5 Bible studies out of it. But instead of doing that, we will just focus on THE MAIN THING. As we study the book of Job, we need to stay focused on the main point of what is happening… That main point is simple: God is using Job as an object lesson in the heavenly realms, proving that love for God doesn’t just come as a response to God giving us good stuff, or keeping us in good health. This lesson is HUGE in the kingdom of heaven, and it is what we need to remember as we study the story of Job.

One super important thing to remember is that Job had NO IDEA that his life was being used this way. He didn’t know what was going on in heaven, what Satan had accused God of, or what God was showing Satan with his life. In the same way, we really don’t know how God is using our lives beyond what we can see in the here and now. We go through difficult circumstances and challenging situations, and often wonder, “God where are You?” We need to remember that things go on in the heavenlies that we know nothing about. I often remind myself that what you see isn’t always what you get. God is at work BEHIND THE SCENES, BEYOND THE CURRENT SITUATION. We often can’t see past our little universe, but God sees EVERYTHING AT ONCE!

In this chapter we find Job still praising God after losing EVERYTHING except his nagging wife. Satan says, “That’s all good God, but just watch what happens if Job loses his health”! God replies, “If you wanna try it, go ahead and try it, Job will remain faithful”. The next morning Job wakes up to find himself covered in painful boils. His wife tells him, “Quit acting holy, God obviously is punishing you… just curse him and die”! If my wife said that to me I would be really sad! Job responds wisely and says, “Don’t be a fool! God sends good and bad things our way, we shouldn’t question them, we should just accept them”. WHAT A GREAT ATTITUDE! Whether good or bad, we need to trust God in ALL that goes on in our lives!

A final note: In our study on Job, we will be pointing out a lot of the BAD things that Job’s friends do and say. I think it is only fair to point out the WONDERFUL things they do here for there friend.
1. When they hear Job is suffering they COME TO WHERE HE IS. – What do you do when your friends face tragedy? Do you come to there side to bless and encourage them?
2. For a whole week they kept their mouths shut! – Sometimes when someone is hurting, the best thing we can do for them is just be there. No words, No attempts to explain what we think happened, just being a friend. Going a whole week like this is pretty amazing, for that I say “good job” to Job’s crew.

New Year Resolution - The Return of 3 Year Bible

As you faithful readers have probably noticed, I have not been as committed to the blog as I should be. I will not lie, it is a tremendous responsibility to write one of these everyday. I will not lie again, I feel more spurred to write these when I know somebody is reading them than when I do not. The combination of my recent illness, the Christmas buzz, and other events in my life have caused me to push aside 3yearBible. No longer! I am not a fan of resolutions because they often are nothing more than a change of words rather than a change of heart. Nevertheless, I come to you a a brother in the Lord to hold me accountable. 3yearBible was originally written because Jr. and Sr. Highers had approached Tommy and I and asked us to do something to keep you guys accountable. Well, now we ask you do the same. We are entering a whole lot of fun books with significant meaning to them. First we enter Job. Please jump back in, especially if you are looking for Bible reading accountability. Nevertheless, the Lord is blessing those of you who have continued your devotions on your own, and that is the meaning of a true devotion. With that, may our devotion be more devoted.

WE'RE BACK!

Hey Friends, Hector and I took a break for the last week or so as we celebrated Christmas and the New Year! Things should be back to normal now... you can expect to see a post everyday.