As Job starts this long response to his human accusers which begins with chapter 12, he demonstrates his frustration. We might perhaps say of the 21st century church, some of his words, “People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.” Don’t we isolate and fail to respond to those who would ask for help or appreciate encouragement? Is the proffered help of a “wicked sinner” rebuffed or ignored? Don’t we isolate those who disappoint us in their overt Christian walk? Sometimes we even dare to talk about them! This isn’t the way that Jesus treated sinners. He loved them. He came specifically to die for them. The self righteous hardly seem to think that Jesus’ extravagant sacrifice was required for them. In Matthew 7:1-2, the piercing Words of Jesus warn us, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” Job points out that all of nature is a witness to the Power and Wisdom of God. “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; He brings light to the deepest gloom.” In Revelation 2, God tells the hard working, sin hating, doctrine loving, persecuted church of Ephesus, “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to Me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” “One of them (the Pharisees), an expert in religious law, tried to trap Him (Jesus) with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘You must love The Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”(Matthew 22:35-40) Let us repent of our failure to love God with our whole beings as He both deserves and commands; as well as our failure to love others as He has commanded, and become a people after His Own Heart, as He intended. Think about it! “Then Job spoke again: ‘You people really know everything, don’t you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you! Well, I know a few things myself— and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety—though God keeps them in His Power. “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you. For they all know that my disaster has come from The Hand of The Lord. For the life of every living thing is in His Hand, and the breath of every human being. The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods. Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old. But true Wisdom and Power are found in God; counsel and understanding are His. What He destroys cannot be rebuilt. When He puts someone in prison, there is no escape. If He holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If He releases the waters, they flood the earth. Yes, Strength and Wisdom are His; deceivers and deceived are both in His Power. He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. He leads priests away, stripped of status; He overthrows those with long years in power. He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; He brings light to the deepest gloom. He builds up nations, and He destroys them. He expands nations, and He abandons them. He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.” (Job 12)
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:48:09 +0000
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