Eliphaz continues his first speech with a more personal allusion to Job’s suffering, even speaking rather plainly, of Job’s deceased children! He recommends that Job inquire of God and accept His correction. His suggestion is that Job needs to repent and when restored to right relationship, God will become his defender. He suggests that if Job was indeed righteous as he had appeared to be, God would not have punished him. It is true that God cannot countenance evil. There will be Judgment Day and sin will be punished. However, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His Promise (of coming judgment), as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (II Peter 3:9) God loves all those He has created. Hell is not meant for humans, but for satan and his demons. The only people who will be in hell are those who have chosen it by refusing The Salvation paid for with The Blood of Jesus Christ, The sinless Son of The Living God! Elizaphaz does have a strong grip on God’s Principle of sowing and reaping. Dr. Charles Stanley points out the properties of sowing and reaping thus, “We reap what we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow”. From a careless life we cannot expect good fruit! It is right to remember these things, but it is a fearsome matter to presume that we know the cause of someone else’s suffering. If we only learn one thing from all of the situation and suffering of Job, I believe we must fix firmly in our minds that God is Sovereign and His Ways are not our ways! God did not cause Job’s suffering, as Eliphaz presumes. For His Own Glory, He permitted satan to afflict Job for a season. God does not send evil to His children. What we know is what He has told us in His Holy Word. “The LORD hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17) Because we are submitted to His Sovereignty, we accept God’s rescue however it comes, and whenever it comes. Job will be restored, rescued, in God’s Perfect Timing. And so will you, beloved. Fling yourself into The Everlasting Arms of your Heavenly Father. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Trust Him! Let Him bind up your broken heart and give you a new song to sing. Over and over we are commanded to “sing to The Lord”. Worship and praise are warfare. Like Job, we have a real enemy, an accuser, who will rob you of joy and peace and confidence in God’s Love and forgiveness of confessed sin. Sing praises to your God and feel your joy in Him restored as you sing of His Greatness! It will make all the difference both in you and in your victory over the enemy of your soul. “Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you? Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them. The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth. But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire. If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to Him. He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields. He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer. He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed. He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted. They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night. He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful. And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut. “But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of The Almighty when you sin. For though He wounds, He also bandages. He strikes, but His Hands also heal. From six disasters He will rescue you; even in the seventh, He will keep you from evil. He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war. You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you. You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you. You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing. You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass! You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time! “We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.” (Job 5)
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 12:41:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015