Jan 10: Job 24-28

Jan 10, Job 24-28

Chapter 24. You can tell that Job is getting exhausted in this discourse. He persists in arguing about the injustice of evil people, which he is not. Job gives brief proverbs about rebels, murderers and thieves, insinuating that his friends are these…

Chapter 25. Bildad brings the final speech of the three ‘friends’. Reading it is reminiscent of a regurgitated meal that a mother bird gives to its young. These are very strong and infectious words, but they have the resemblance of a clinging gong - its just noise and Job is not buying it. I for one, am glad that Job is standing his ground. Sometimes we can get worn down when we have the same cycles of despair over and over. Stay strong like Job and don't give up when you know that you are right and that you are serving the true God in your convictions. 

Chapter 26. The next 5 chapters Job gets to talk about God and His power. Job also shares a lot of his wisdom. Job reveals here the mysteries of God, and the fact that all of these things happen in life without our influence or help. And again, it is God who sets the limits on all things, especially the divine. 

Chapter 27 is where Job still stands against his friends and holds true to his integrity. And he uses a lot of their words against them to indict them for the same charges that they had put against him…

Chapter 28. Where is wisdom? Where can we find it? Sure, we are good as humans when it comes to looking for diamonds and gold in the earth, but where can we find wisdom and understanding? Vs 28 reveals this truth and also Job’s heart -… “The fear of the Lord, now that is wisdom and to turn away from evil is understanding.” Not too complicated, but Job’s friends sure didn't get it and a lot of people don’t either. Do we get it? We will be wise if we fear the Lord. Fear as in reverence for God and reliance on God - not fear like being afraid of the dark. The idea is that you obey things that you fear Couple examples: If you fear being lonely, it drives you to people. If you fear failure, it drives you to success. We might not look at ‘fear’ in this aspect, but we should. To make it simple, ‘we fear the things we submit to.’ So with this in mind, to fear the Lord, is to submit and obey the Lord. And in reaction to this obeying and submitting, we turn from evil. Turn away from evil - flee from what will ensnare you and you will have understanding. God is calling us to a simple life of obedience, let’s not complicate it!

To sum it all up:

• God is all powerful and He is calling us to a very simple life of obedience through respecting Him and turning away from evil. Truth is, if you are having the right amount of respect for God, you will be turning from evil. A friend of ours sent us a quote last week from Leonard Ravenhill, “a sinning man will stop praying, and a praying man will stop sinning…” I like that - its simple and extremely profound at the same time.