In his fifth speech, as he answers Eliphaz, Job charges his friends with being “miserable comforters” and indeed they were. It seems from what we know of his character, that he spoke truly when he said that if the tables had been turned, and one of the friends who criticized him was in his state, “I would surely encourage you”. One really great thing I am learning from Job and I hope you are noticing it too, is that he pays little attention to his critics and much more attention to addressing God. He knows if there is any help, any comfort to be had it will come from The GOD of ALL COMFORT. If he had had our Bible, Job could have found solace in Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Corinth. “All praise to God, The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ.” (II Corinthians 1:3-5) In many of his speeches, Job says things that are astonishing. In this one, he speaks with strong conviction of an advocate on high. “My advocate is there on high. My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God. I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.” Thousands of years before Jesus was born, people who loved God knew they needed a Messiah. We are blessed beyond measure to know Jesus, to know God’s great love for us, because of the sinless life of Jesus sacrificed for our sins! How glad faithful Job must have been when He saw The Lord and realized His plan for mankind. Perhaps like me, you are occasionally inclined to take this all for granted. I have gone to church all my life and heard over and over what a hymn from my childhood called “the old old story”. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus revealed to her that He was The long anticipated Messiah. He also answered her questions about worship. He said, “The time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship The Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24) God is unimpressed with our religious forms. He knows our hearts. No matter how much effort you give to your appearance, or affect, He wants your truthful worship; your acknowledgement of His sovereign goodness. He is LORD! By His own testimony, He is GOD, and there is NO OTHER! He is due what He requires. Come clean. He knows even the number of hairs on your head. He certainly knows your inmost thoughts. Last night while we were still deconstructing football games, 60 Pakistani Christians were martyred outside their church by a suicide bomber as they left worship and were headed to distribute food to the hungry. Their belief in God cost them their lives. What is it worth to us? “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. “O God, You have ground me down and devastated my family. As if to prove I have sinned, You’ve reduced me to skin and bones. My gaunt flesh testifies against me. God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps His teeth at me and pierces me with His eyes. People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me. God has handed me over to sinners. He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked. I was living quietly until He shattered me. He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces. Then he set me up as His target, and now His archers surround me. His arrows pierce me without mercy. The ground is wet with my blood. Again and again He smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior. “I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust. My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes. Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure. O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf. Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high. My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God. I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends. For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.” (Job 16)
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 13:50:05 +0000
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