Lately, Ive noticed a pretty disturbing dynamic. If, in response to anybodys situation of dire distress, a Christian dares to empathetically exhort that person to believe for a healing or deliverance from Jesus, then scowling skeptics rush in and condemn that person as being one of Jobs friends. This shows a humongous ignorance of the Job story. Whatever else Job might mean, the one thing it CANT be suggesting is that we are fools whenever we exhort others to trust God for deliverance. So many people quote the Book of Job for certain propositions. But, truth be told, many of these people have never actually READ the book in its entirety. This leads to many distortions. For instance, Jobs friends are often cited as being heartless and clueless idiots whose bottom line to Job is that he just needs to have more faith and he would be healed. That is simply not true. First, advising Job to trust God for his healing was NOT the essence of their BAD advice. They WERENT tenderly, empathetically, and prayerfully exhorting Job to believe for healing. Rather, they WERE criticizing and condemning him to stop his complaining and admit his guilt in deserving all his destructions at Gods judging hand. Second, not ALL of Jobs friends gave bad counsel. Three did. One didnt. His friend Elihu gave wonderful counsel. Amazingly, only ONE person in the whole Book of Job came away unscathed as a true prophet of Gods nature. The only person who actually spoke righteously in the first 40 chapters was Jobs friend Elihu. He was the youngest of all who spoke. He was the last to speak. He was the only speaker God never rebuked as wrong. In fact, his great speech in Chapters 32-37 prophetically ushered in the presence of the Lord in Chapter 38. This is what a prophetic utterance should do ---- connect the audience with the manifest presence of God. In this regard, Elihu is an Old Testament TYPE of Christ, a revealer of the Fatherss true nature to all the confused religious mindsets of the day. Before we look at the heart of what Elihu said, it worthwhile to note the bottom lines of both Job and his three friends ---- Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Their counsel was NOT that Job needed to have more faith. Their counsel to Job was that HE was to blame for the evil that came his way. Job just needed to own up to his own sin and take Gods medicine like a man. Its very simple really. Jobs three friends all believed Job DESERVED the afflictions God sent BECAUSE of various theological reasons. God, so they said, was right to oppress Job, either because of Jobs open or hidden sins. God, they believed, would not have sent wrath unless it was deserved on some level. The fact that God sent it meant that Job deserved it, regardless of how righteous Jobs life appeared to be on the surface. In contrast, Jobs main argument was that he didnt deserve the destructions that came. He believed himself to be righteous and undeserving of the afflictions he suffered during this period. Most scholars believe that the whole book of Job took place over a nine month period of time. The bottom line of Jobs three friends was that Job deserved his suffering, NOT that He needed to trust God for his healing. The bottom line of Job was that he didnt deserve his sufferings. BUT, in contrast, the bottom line of Elihu was simply this ---- Touching the Almighty... He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: HE DOES NOT AFFLICT. Job 37:23. Job and his three friends focused on whether or not man deserved the suffering that comes in life. Elihu, however, focused solely on the GOODNESS of God. Not every thing Elihu said is perfect New Testament theology, but he largely focused on the key point ---- God is good, God is powerful, God is merciful and God is fair. Elihu tenderly noted, But none sayeth, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night? His point was that everybody was so busy either complaining or explaining Jobs life away, that nobody was actually seeking the Lords good presence to set all things right. His theology was simply that GOD DOES NOT AFFLICT! This same dynamic occurred in John chapter 9 concerning the man born blind. The crowd was all about assigning blame for the poor man’s suffering. They wanted Jesus to enter their discussion by getting Him to assign blame for the man’s blindness to EITHER the man’s own sin or that of his parents. Jesus refused. Instead, He deflected the issue to God. His response was basically (in the original Greek), “Neither is responsible for this, nonetheless LET the glory of God be revealed!” Elihu did the exact same thing. How different our lives would be if we did the same thing. So, being a friend of Job doesnt mean you are giving wrong or foolhardy advice at all. Just make sure you are a true friend like Elihu, and not a theologically shallow friend like the other three. Dont let scowling scoffers deter you from ministering life and hope to the afflicted. Be empathetic, be tender, be relational for sure. But, also be ready to minster the hope for healing, a hope which Jesus called the childrens bread. Clutch this Scripture at your core. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power : who went about doing good , and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him. Acts 10:38.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:59:31 +0000
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