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.