Wednesday, November 22, 2023
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. 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.
Job 16:1-21
There is so much pathos and meaning
of life in the Book of Job, it could hardly be exhausted in months of study;
perhaps years; maybe only when, in Heaven, we have One who can unveil for us
the depth of Job’s sorrow, confusion, and grief.
This chapter is the fifth time Job
answers his friends. They have been
trying to get their suffering friend to see how he must have sinned really-big,
and really-dark to get God that ticked-off.
Job’s children were all dead, his riches gone, his livestock and goods
carried off by robbers and thieves. The
icing on the cake is painful boils covering Job’s body, and his wife has
suggested suicide would be better.
Most studies of Job focus on this
calamity of a good man suffering utter loss.
And there’s nothing wrong with picking it apart in the search for meaning,
purpose, and order in human existence.
God created us with a brain to figure these things out! But there is one connection we must never
miss. Given the total unravelling of a
good man’s life, what can we say about God’s purpose in allowing all that? Simply put, all of what happened to Job helps
us understand life’s rain, good or horrible, falls on the just and the unjust,
and is an example, which Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10[1]
that leads to Job’s conclusion:
I need someone to mediate between God
and me, as a person mediates between friends.
Job 16:1-21
Job was hurting, and he knew God
permitted everything that happened to him.
He knew, as good a life as he’d led, and as holy as he tried to be, his
efforts just weren’t enough. Whatever
troubles anyone on earth could experience, Job was not exempt; he needed a
mediator, an advocate to plead his case before God.
My dear children, I am writing this
to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who
pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly
righteous. 1 John 2:1
For You Today
You may be on the verge of following
Mrs. Job’s advice to her husband, or maybe you’ve suffered little in life…yet! Whether you are there now, and down to your
last shred of hope, or leading a joy-filled, even carefree life, remember this,
and count on it…you do have someone who will love you. His name is Jesus.
There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons
in the Rocky Road library.
Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com
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Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT©
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