Job picked up another pottery shard and scraped more dead skin off his leg. His friend ended his suggestion as to why Job found himself in this condition.
Job shook his head. “What good is your nonsense to me now. I know as much as you do. God is doing as He pleases. He doesn’t answer to anybody.
“I wish I had never been born. Then I wouldn’t be suffering like this now. I’ve done the best I can. I help widows and orphans. I feed the hungry with my own food.
“But how can a man stand before God? Who can answer Him one time out of a thousand? If I could stand before Him in court there is no one to be a mediator for us. Who can place a hand on us both and contend for me?
“Though He kills me I will still trust Him. He made me and knows my substance. He shall be my salvation. Please don’t be removed from me nor let me become to afraid to come to You.
“Then talk to me, or let me speak to You. But, You are a mystery to me. I can’t see You but I trust You. I know a redeemer lives for me. If only I could write my heart in a book for You to read.
“Oh that I could find Him to present my case. Would He listen? When I’m tested I shall come out as purer gold. Yet a whisper of Him who can hear. His thunder is too much for me.
“Where is wisdom found? You can’t buy it with any jewel or gold. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Avoiding evil is the start of understanding.
“My affliction makes me cry out to You but do You hear? You seem cruel to me now. How long will this last? I will not give into evil or lust. If I have done wrong to anyone let me know.”
A tornado appeared in front of Job and his friends. A voice came from the tempest. “Who is requesting a word with Me? I will question you to answer Me.
“Where were you when I made the earth? Do you know what I anchored its foundation to? Did you make the great seas and small lakes while giving them their boundaries?
“Do you know where light comes from, or darkness for that matter? Have you seen the warehouse of snow and ice? Do you know where every lightning bolt will go? Answer me now.”
Job put his hand over his mouth. “I am wretched. I cannot speak.”
God continued His case. “Prepare to answer me like a man. Do you know where the wild beasts give birth? Can you tame the behemoth or leviathan?…”
************
The book of Job is the strangest book in the Old Testament. Probably because it gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of heaven into the spiritual realm.
We see the relationship that God maintains with Satan. It’s a tension between good and evil that helps us understand how bad things happen to good people.
Job is this successful man in his ancient day. Livestock is the measure of wealth and he’s very rich. But he also has a fantastic relationship with God. He loves his neighbors, especially those who need help.
Then he looses everything, except his wife, in a matter of minutes. Soon after all that he develops skin ulcers that he scrapes off with broken bits of pottery.
Who wouldn’t question God and get depressed?
Some friends come along to help Job in his despair. They do well until they open their mouths. Their logic is skewed yet sound from their perspective. Perhaps a more spiritual perspective would have changed their reasoning.
As I re-read through this book a few things jumped out at me.
Job’s depression is understandable and causes him to jump all over the place in his relationship with God. Depression will mess with your thinking. What makes sense one day will be questioned the next. Allow people room to wander in their thoughts when the bottom drops out of their life.
Job’s relationship with God is strong but doesn’t stop the questioning. The question “WHY?” is a healthy one to ask. Even Jesus asked it while He hung on the cross. He knew the answer but He asked it anyway to show us that the Father can handle it. Ask the tough questions. You might not get the answers you’re looking for but ask them anyway.
Job ultimately knew he didn’t stand a chance against God in a courtroom setting. He mentions a crucial aspect of this when he says there’s no mediator between him and God. I’m so glad I live on this side of the cross because Jesus is now our mediator. When we couldn’t reach God He came down to us. The God/man became the sacrifice we need to bring everything to the Father now. Job didn’t have that luxury.
God is God and doesn’t answer to anybody. He never told Job about the encounter He had with the devil that led to Job’s condition. God simply stated His prominence over all and left it at that. Job covered his mouth to stay out of more trouble than he felt he was already in.
Bad things will happen to you. They happen to all of us.
People will walk out of your life.
Illness will come to you or a loved one.
Financial conditions can change in a heartbeat.
Remember that God is still in control and will work everything to your good.
That good will bring you closer to Him and make you more like Jesus.
That’s what this life is all about.
Job was doing everything right yet still found himself in misery.
His friends’ lives were nowhere as close to God yet they didn’t endure any of Job’s challenges.
God doesn’t work under any formula.
Stay close to God anyway.
He’s always in control.
I’ll see you later. Wade
