Jan 7: Job 14-16

Jan 7, Job 14-16

Chapter 14. Job continues on with his laments (passionate expression of grief) and points out that no man/mortal can pass the limits set by God. Can we focus in on one verse here? Verse 5 sets up a very important mind frame for us. That mans days are numbered and that God is in control of the appointed time that He has for each one of us. This is very anti-cultural. We are taught that if you eat right, have good genetics, and don't get ebola that you will live a long and happy life. But that isn't the case with this one verse. Our days our numbered by God. That might discourage you. But instead, it is suppose to be a great comfort to us, knowing that God has everything in His hands. This chapter really belongs at a funeral. But, Job challenges us here to think long and hard about the realities of this world. Life is short and can be very hard, especially from where Job stands. Some say that Job is mourning deeply at this point, and I would agree. You can be sure of this: we live in a fallen world but we serve a risen Savior. So there is hope. 

Chapter 15, is back to the guy who had the vision, the ‘old wise ’ Eliphaz. He is set out again to condemn Job by accusing him of sin rather than wisdom, and accusing him of having no fear of God because he hasn't repented yet, as Eliphaz's false beliefs state that only those whom God hates have trouble, therefore Job must have done something wrong (Which we learn is not true from this story...). Is this a false belief that you have believed in? That when bad things happen to people, they must be bad? Here, Karma is defrocked and the truth is the opposite. Good earthly things sometimes happen to bad people. And sometimes bad earthy things happen to good people. This is another ironic chapter where the speaker should be speaking to himself. Now he maligns Job and goes beyond calling him a sinner, now he says that Job is a defiant, proud, and a wicked man. Job was right, his friends are withholding kindness from him (Job 6:14) and are themselves acting wickedly. For our own lives, if we are to walk a season of suffering with someone, we need to approach it with humility and compassion - the exact opposite of what Job’s ‘friends’ are doing. A good definition of humility is considering others greater than yourself, and showing it and realizing that something else might be going on, not just the consequences of sin, but the heartaches of life. I am guilty recently, of lacking humility when I was walking through a season of struggle with a good friend of mine. Sometimes I can be too direct/harsh with people instead of giving them the time to work through it and leave the direction and healing up to the Holy Spirit. I can obviously be there for them, but to approach it with humility should be my aim and all of our aims. For the truth about this chapter is clear. Eliphaz assumes that he knows Job's heart. But the truth is that no man really knows a man's heart, only the One True God knows.

Chapter 16 is a continuation of Job’s laments, but he calls out his ‘friends’ for being miserable comforters - ironic that they originally came to comfort him (Job 2:11)! Physically, he is emaciated because of his health and his mourning. His dignity is gone and he feels as though God has completely left him. The book of Job gives us a raw insight into what it means to experience suffering at tremendous levels, and gives us the liberty to come to God as we are sometimes - broken, hurt, isolated, and full of despair. Job expresses his feelings and comes to the conclusion that he feels like God is against him verses 9-16 and goes into dramatic expression of how it feels. But we learn through this that it is not only alright, but desired to be honest and expressive to God, verse 20,  when we are in the circumstances that we are in. Thankfully for Job (and for us), the book does not end here. 

To sum it all up:

•You can be sure of this: we live in a fallen world but we serve a risen Savior. What does this mean? It means that although we can have terrible pain and suffering in this world. There is a God out there. The God of the Bible, that not only cares about our sufferings but also came to save us and give us hope.

•When you are suffering, surround yourself with people who are obedient to God, humble in their approach, and want to see you triumph with the strength of Jesus Christ. Don't surround yourself with friends like 'Job's friends' who sound a little right, but are dead wrong. And more importantly, don't be like Job’s ‘friends’ - you won’t be their friends for long and God (as you shall see at the end of the book) will not be mocked, which means God sees all and doesn't just sit back and have no authority in the matter.

•Sometimes life is full of suffering. You might be thinking, "How can an all loving God let all this bad stuff happen to Job and than sit and watch Job emotionally suffer like this?" But maybe in asking a question like this, we are showing our human state that sees things only in the physical and present state. We need to understand that God doesn't do something for nothing; and for no purpose. If the story of Job has helped anyone in the comfort of any hardships in this life of humans since the time of his life, I am sure Job would have not only accepted the hard life but saw the greatness of getting through it. But most importantly, we will later see revealed that Job didn't go through anything that Jesus, Himself (Who is God), didn't later do for us on this Earth, which we will take a look at later in the New Testament. Take comfort in knowing that there is hope. That God is real and the Bible is Truth.