#643 Just Pray For Me

“How long will you say these things,

and the words of your mouth be a great wind?

3 Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

4 If your children have sinned against him,

he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

5 If you will seek God

and plead with the Almighty for mercy,

6 if you are pure and upright,

surely then he will rouse himself for you

and restore your rightful habitation.

7 And though your beginning was small,

your latter days will be very great.

8 “For inquire, please, of bygone ages,

and consider what the fathers have searched out.

9 For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,

for our days on earth are a shadow.

10 Will they not teach you and tell you

and utter words out of their understanding?

11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish where there is no water?

12 While yet in flower and not cut down,

they wither before any other plant.

13 Such are the paths of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless shall perish.

14 His confidence is severed,

and his trust is a spider's web.[a]

15 He leans against his house, but it does not stand;

he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.

16 He is a lush plant before the sun,

and his shoots spread over his garden.

17 His roots entwine the stone heap;

he looks upon a house of stones.

18 If he is destroyed from his place,

then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,

and out of the soil others will spring.

20 “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,

nor take the hand of evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with shouting.

22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” Job 8 ESV

"Job, you are full of hot air," the next friend affirming that Job's plight is his own making, and his grief is of no consequence. "Let me put this in context for you, Job, God doesn't make mistakes, He is just and does what is right. If you are in this present situation, it is because you have sinned against God." Well, God is just and He is within His right, on that much I agree with Bildad, but his logic also assumes that the greatness of the circumstance is in relation to the greatness of Job's sin. This is why debaters are poor comforters, they are listening, but only for what they will address next. They are listening, but so much caught up in the preparation of what their own words will be, how they will sound, that they are not hearing. We heard the dark conversation, the most frightening exchange that occurred before all of this, we know that God delighted in His servant Job. 

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways. 12Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.…1 Corinthians 13: 11-13

He takes a swipe at the loss of his children, like it is a small thing. If we all suffered so that we could appreciate the suffering of others, but no, the loss of my dog would be more than the loss of your child. We are disgusting creatures, ours is the only pain worthy of expression. Now in verse 5, this is a grand call, a righteous call by measure of the words. Seek God, pray Job, humble yourself and repent. Surely that is not bad advice, "humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." Job, just walk uprightly now, behave yourself man, whatever it is you did, confess and start doing the right thing. It is also prophetic, for God is always chastening His children, but not only that, Job is being set aside for great honor. He should seek the Lord for mercy for there is none in his present company. They should be leading Job in prayer, uttering what he may not have the strength or clarity to say. I remember when I was about 12 or 13 and went to the beach with some friends; I neglected to apply much sun screen and later fell asleep in the sun. It was truly painful, but I remember stopping at this old woman's house, where she had let us work and play on her goat farm. She saw me and very compassionately and carefully, removed my shirt, blended up fresh aloe and applied. This was soothing and the sort of thing that Job's friends could be good for, but they were more about their words now than his comfort. We are to tell the truth but in love, and we are to bear each other's burdens. Sometimes I can't hear you over the grumbling of my stomach.

Search history Job, what did the father's say, you know of the oral tradition, look back and you will verify my words. He then throws in a measure of humility, that he is not the ancestors, I am not Adam or Noah, for I was born yesterday compared to them and my days are like shadows. I think Bildad should take his own advice, look back at the time of the first murder, as some have pointed out. What was it that Abel did to deserve the wrath of Cain? He obeyed God, and honored Him in his sacrifice, a life for a life, and sin leads to death. Abel was the more righteous of the two, so was God unjust in not intervening, letting the blood of righteous Abel cry out? "Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?" Now he is a plant that requires a lot of water, it can't grow on dry ground, it only flourishes in plenty, and this is how he sees Job, you are a frail flower, easily blown over. You only liked God in times of plenty, so you never truly loved Him. This is your true self, you have fallen from grace for something that you did, and now God is warning you through drought and pain, and the enlightened words of your friends, repent of what you did. If you are blameless you wouldn't be here, for God will not reject a blameless man, so become blameless Job, then you may laugh again. It is still all cause and effect, and the one who claims it doesn't seem to acknowledge the original cause, that all men are bound by. He does not evaluate from the whole counsel of God, the stories of the ancients, the curse that all men are under, and that yes, God is just and righteous, so it is only by grace that any of us remain. They do not even begin to entertain the possibility that Job suffers unto righteousness, that there is this spiritual side that they cannot see, a place that requires faith to walk in. He cannot imagine that his friend will come to count this present suffering as mercy, his prior riches as nothing, his ignorance as time lost, and God's glory as gain.


36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,…Romans 8: 36-38

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#642 The Worm

“Has not man a hard service on earth,

and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?

2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,

and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,

3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,

and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’

But the night is long,

and I am full of tossing till the dawn.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;

my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle

and come to their end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is a breath;

my eye will never again see good.

8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;

while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.

9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,

so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;

10 he returns no more to his house,

nor does his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,

that you set a guard over me?

13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

my couch will ease my complaint,’

14 then you scare me with dreams

and terrify me with visions,

15 so that I would choose strangling

and death rather than my bones.

16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

17 What is man, that you make so much of him,

and that you set your heart on him,

18 visit him every morning

and test him every moment?

19 How long will you not look away from me,

nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?

20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?

Why have you made me your mark?

Why have I become a burden to you?

21 Why do you not pardon my transgression

and take away my iniquity?

For now I shall lie in the earth;

you will seek me, but I shall not be.” Job 7 ESV

Some commentators and translations communicate the hard work and service to be a comparison of Job's present state to that of being drafted into a horrible war. I have not asked to be here, nor did I ask to be born. He has already expressed, in his grief, the desire for that day to be blotted out. It feels like slavery, and he desires the shade of rest, the calm of sleep, but instead he has insomnia most the time. When he does finally drift off from shear exhaustion, it is a restless sleep, filled with nightmares and torment. Mostly he lays waiting for the night to be over. He is a zombie, a living corpse, full of maggots and skin that dries and cracks, oozing once again. Anyone who has ever had insomnia knows the agony of the clock, it is mocking, ticking away and making you count the minutes, saying to yourself, if I fall asleep now then I shall have this much rest. Later you look at the clock and say, now this much, and on and on. He loathes his life and for that we cannot slight him because it is in pain without rest. What can you say to him that will help? Swifter than a weavers shuttle, as it runs out of thread, there is no more hope of the day, time flies even when you are not having fun, but the night lies. It comes on cool, promising relief, but only terror of the mind and stiffness of the body, the wanting of the warmth of the sun.

In verse 11 he describes a pain that goes beyond worm, deeper than the muscle, separating soul and marrow. His spirit aches, and all he can do is cry up, because here, on this plane, he sees no relief from men. They could only kill him or say stupid things, but oh, if we ever came to this point over the disappointment of our sins. He feels the attentive eye of God, but not the shadow of His wings. Am I this great monster that you must guard me so? What is more scary, me or the lion, me or the bear? I will tell you Job, you are a man and men are so much more frightening than the sea, the monster, the lion or the bear. If you really want to know, men fail everyday at seeing the image of God in their fellow man. If God was not mindful of us then we would have destroyed each other long ago, at Babel, but here we are because God is mindful of men. In ways this foreshadows the cross, but while Job would have God look away, that is when Christ cries out, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sebachthani?" 

If I sin, then what is it, I am sorry, I won't do it again, why won't you forgive me? In every age there seems to be a few men that will stand and preach the word of God, even under great pressure, like C.H. Spurgeon, as he stood and tried to call the church back to the glory of God. Look what he says of this chapter below:

Once more, we benefit from knowing the story-behind-the-story, which Job and his friends do not know at this point in the narrative. Job believed that God was against him and was punishing him, but it wasn’t true. “Job was not being punished; he was being honored. God was giving to him a name like that of the great ones of the earth. The Lord was lifting him up, promoting him, putting him into the front rank, making a great saint of him, causing him to become one of the fathers and patterns in the ancient Church of God. He was really doing for Job such extraordinarily good things that you or I, in looking back upon his whole history, might well say, ‘I would be quite content to take Job’s afflictions if I might also have Job’s grace, and Job’s place in the Church of God.’” (Spurgeon)

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#641 Too Easy

“Oh that my vexation were weighed,

and all my calamity laid in the balances!

3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;

therefore my words have been rash.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5 Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,

or the ox low over his fodder?

6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,

or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?[a]

7 My appetite refuses to touch them;

they are as food that is loathsome to me.[b]

8 “Oh that I might have my request,

and that God would fulfill my hope,

9 that it would please God to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 This would be my comfort;

I would even exult[c] in pain unsparing,

for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should be patient?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?

13 Have I any help in me,

when resource is driven from me?

14 “He who withholds[d] kindness from a friend

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15 My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,

as torrential streams that pass away,

16 which are dark with ice,

and where the snow hides itself.

17 When they melt, they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18 The caravans turn aside from their course;

they go up into the waste and perish.

19 The caravans of Tema look,

the travelers of Sheba hope.

20 They are ashamed because they were confident;

they come there and are disappointed.

21 For you have now become nothing;

you see my calamity and are afraid.

22 Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?

Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?

23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand’?

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;

make me understand how I have gone astray.

25 How forceful are upright words!

But what does reproof from you reprove?

26 Do you think that you can reprove words,

when the speech of a despairing man is wind?

27 You would even cast lots over the fatherless,

and bargain over your friend.

28 “But now, be pleased to look at me,

for I will not lie to your face.

29 Please turn; let no injustice be done.

Turn now; my vindication is at stake.

30 Is there any injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? Job 6 ESV

Oh that I could explain this in a way that you could understand. If only you understood my pain, the immensity of it, that you could walk in my shoes. If you could feel what I feel, you would know that it is not just the torment of the boils, the endless itching, burning pain. No, my soul, my inner being is vexed in a way I cannot explain nor can you imagine. I hurt so because God's arrows are in me, and there is no other way to see so many calamities at once then that God has loosed the arrows. Whether by the devil's hand or His own, nothing is without God's permission or outside of His sovereignty. Yes, my words were rash, but surely as the water boils, the steam forms and then the kettle sings. I thought I was amongst my friends when I cried out, when I released. Like the donkey without grass or the cow without fodder, I find no relief and cry out of my emptiness. Your words are not the words of a friend, they are without salt, and you thought to bring in light but there is no oil in your lamp. I spoke from my grief, begging your comfort, wanting your compassion, not your clichés.

I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees.
49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.

50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

51 The arrogant mock me unmercifully, but I do not turn from your law.

52 I remember, LORD, your ancient laws, and I find comfort in them. Psalm 119: 48-52

 In verse 8, he again welcomes death, but not at his own hand, however agonizing this is, he does not curse God nor does he claim his life out of God's hand. The words of his friend have only added to his torment and he would rather die than go on. You may mock him if you think you are such a hard stoic, that you would never want their pity, but the man who has never wanted such, has probably never needed it, or would have already ended his own life. I know the argument on the other side as well and would agree, that the one who frames himself for pity sake mocks those who have real need. Job deserves their pity, but has only received his friend's call to repent based upon his poor analysis of Job's situation. He calls them fair weather friends, comparing them to a snow fed stream. It is a steady source of water in time of abundance, but under the summer's heat, those that turn away to find it, perish from thirst when all they find is dry sand. These are men of great means, and he has asked them for nothing but compassion. They shined when they were silent, but now the poorest leper would be a better companion than these. 

You rebuke the words I said in desperation, and you do it with words that don't apply. Speak the truth in love, enlighten me and I will listen, but your words are tasteless. They are clichés having no end or foundation.                         

8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. 9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.…Colossians 2: 8-9

Job ask them to look him in the face, no hit and run, no saying what you want to be true because you are scared. No saying what you would like to believe because it makes it easier on you, look in my eyes, what has come out of my mouth that explains the breadth of all this? Tell me, what have I done? What would I not do to undo this?

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#640 Sparks Fly

“Call out now;

Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

4 His sons are far from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5 Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

[a]Taking it even from the thorns,

[b]And a snare snatches their [c]substance.

6 For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

7 Yet man is born to trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

8 “But as for me, I would seek God,

And to God I would commit my cause—

9 Who does great things, and unsearchable,

Marvelous things without number.

10 He gives rain on the earth,

And sends waters on the fields.

11 He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.

13 He catches the wise in their own craftiness,

And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime,

And grope at noontime as in the night.

15 But He saves the needy from the sword,

From the mouth of the mighty,

And from their hand.

16 So the poor have hope,

And injustice shuts her mouth.

17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;

Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

18 For He bruises, but He binds up;

He wounds, but His hands make whole.

19 He shall deliver you in six troubles,

Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

20 In famine He shall redeem you from death,

And in war from the [e]power of the sword.

21 You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

22 You shall laugh at destruction and famine,

And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23 For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

24 You shall know that your tent is in peace;

You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.

25 You shall also know that your descendants shall be many,

And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

26 You shall come to the grave at a full age,

As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

27 Behold, this we have searched out;

It is true.

Hear it, and know for yourself.” Job 5 NKJV

Cry out, ask anyone of consequence, wisdom, and they will tell you the same thing I am telling you, Job. Wrath and envy do not spare the foolish and the simple, much less you, who when we read the preceding chapters, is considered wise. There is the implication in verse 4 that his sons have died for such reasons, and the use of the word gate implies the place of judiciary settlement. This is where issues were brought, contracts resolved, accusations made. This, in Eliphaz's mind is happening to Job on such a grand scale so it be public, to show God's judgment against him.

Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, fto perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were gat the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, Ruth 4: 10-11

There is no one to deliver your children because they are without excuse. Affliction doesn't come from nowhere, and trouble doesn't spring from the ground. Again, we are back to reaping what has been sewn, and to him, the proof that they have sewn is that they reap. The proof of what they have sewn is in what they harvested, death unto death, wrath and pestilence. Man is born to trouble and sin, as the sparks fly upward. The wording used here is "sons of Resheph", the arrow, the bolt and I think signifies in the context, a report. They go up and accuse, and the wrath of God comes down on the accused. To Eliphaz it is all simply cause and effect; there is always a searchable answer that must fit inside the framework of his system. It does not allow for a God Who is unfathomable, things that cannot be comprehended here, or the conversation that he did not hear. 

If it were me, I would seek God, and this is good general advice again, but as he goes on and from what he has said prior, it is also the accusation that he has not sought God. If you would just humble yourself, then the boils would go away. If you repent of your sin, God will give you a million dollars, and you can stop hurting. Smick says it well,

ii. “These lines are a fine example of hymn genre in OT poetry. A similar creedal hymn appears in Isaiah 44:24-28. That is why the apostle Paul could cite a line from Job 5:13 in 1 Corinthians 3:19: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness.’ But in Eliphaz’s case what is absolutely true is misapplied – the sick forum is not the place for theological strictures that may turn out to do more harm than good… Great truths misapplied only hurt more those who are already hurting.” (Smick)

Call out to God, who even helps the needy, come clean and he will help you. The paradox here is that he says God protects the needy from the very thing he is doing to his poor friend. The tongue is sharper than any two edged sword, and every word he says under the assumption of Job's sin is coercion to a false confession. 

Starting in verse 17 he pushes the sword in deeper and applies pressure with yet another good general rule, "a wise man takes correction." Now this is the truth, the saying is good, if only it had the strength of being relevant to this man. It assumes he is holding back from God, yet he is holding on to God with every last fiber of his broken being. I think his friend means well, and this is again from experience, but we make so many truths vane when we pull them out of context. Job, if you take God's correction, admitting your sin and repent, then He will remove all slander and if this is what his friends were saying imagine the gossip of those who envied him. It is a sad truth, that men will enjoy watching you fall, that they will spin some story to the reason, citing poetic justice and cheering revenge. The truth will not get in their way for they don't know what it is. He can't see the bigger picture, so he transforms great truths into clichés and applies them without knowledge. Job, if you do all these things then it is guaranteed that you shall see a ripe old age, and your sons didn't because of their sin, because of their pride they were taken, and because of yours you still sit here in the ashes. 

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. 19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.…James 1: 18-20

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#639 As It Is In Heaven

“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

3 Surely you have instructed many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you have strengthened the [a]feeble knees;

5 But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;

It touches you, and you are troubled.

6 Is not your reverence your confidence?

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

8 Even as I have seen,

Those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

9 By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11 The old lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13 In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

16 It stood still,

But I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence;

Then I heard a voice saying:

17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 If He puts no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

20 They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

21 Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’ Job 4 NKJV

Can I say something? I don't think Job is of a mind to protest here, in fact, Eliphaz has sat here silently with him for 7 days. At this point, if I were Job, I would not want just anyone's words, but would not care where the truth came from or by who, but please tell me the truth. Job is at a loss to understand this, so by all means, if you have a lamp then shine it over here. He reminds Job of his own wisdom, that he has given much instruction that has helped many who listened. So now, here you are, practice what you preach. Now this is all without the knowledge of the conversation that has occurred in heaven. We should not be men of just words, but also of action, fair enough, good general advice, and one must always have a duck's back when receiving counsel, some things are ignorant but not of ill intent.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6

In verse seven we see better where this is going, it is going to rely heavily upon a general principle, that you reap what you sew. It has been the speaker's experience, and it is a good concept in general, if I plant corn, I reap corn. If I sew discourse and speak evil, then I should expect the same, or what fruit relates. It is your karma they say, whoever they are. He thinks the sun is rising with his argument, but it has really stood still and stayed upon that darkest hour of the night. It is not only late but the clouds have moved in, and the only moon or stars are all from his memory, and he moves forward with these. Job, when has this ever happened to an innocent man? Isn't it that simple, that you stuck yourself inside a hornet's nest and got stung? This is the breath of God, His righteous judgment against you, you have done something wrong. Eliphaz later states that a man cannot be more righteous than God, that He even accuses His fallen angels, yet he presents here, in darkness, a works based belief. I know there is a Creator, as do the demons. I know he is righteous, and you are not. I believe in karma, and this must be yours, but does this template of religious conviction hold up? No, because it implies more than this, "that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." It acknowledges that, yet with a "but". If you are suffering, diseased, poor, it is because of more than the fallen nature of man, it can be for no other reason than a curse upon your personal sin. There is no room here for "all things work together for good, to them that love God." 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

They cannot wrap their heads around God being fair and doing this to a righteous man; they cannot grasp that Job is horizontally, quite possibly, a more righteous man than they, yet suffering like this. It goes against their dogmas, their science, that Theology that says, if I do this than God must do that. He even states can a man be more righteous than God, more pure than his Maker? Apply that, not just to Job but in the light of this:

As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.…Ephesians 2:1-2

This is the way you entered the world, "in sin my mother conceived me." The Bible also makes it abundantly clear that the wages of sin is death. So how are you alive under the same principles that you apply to your friend Job? Do you really want karma, are you that arrogant? Be as mad at me as you like, but I will say it again, God only owes us death on the basis of His Holiness. If it is true that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, then He has never owed us life at all, and whether rich or poor, sick or strong, it is all to His good will and purpose. I cannot look at a man who is bound to a wheel chair and say, oh, thou who must have sinned so much more than I, what a pity. Your life cannot possibly be worth as much as mine, or you would be healthy, wealthy and wise like me. I am the more righteous, look at what I have. 

in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,9not by works, so that no one can boast.…Ephesians 2: 7-9

Eliphaz keeps going, and in this culture they put a lot of weight on things that cannot always carry them. He had a dream, and this somehow adds to his worldly logic, the mystical and spiritual. He had a dream. Now before I go on painting too kind a picture of myself and my own philosophies throughout the years, some confession of past blunders may be helpful to someone else. My wife and children laugh at me when I tell these stories, they are not the most photogenic portraits of sound doctrine or reason, but I have my past. I remember a period in my life when I experimented with other forms of religion, other types of "Christianity", and the quotation marks may be a little harsh, but I say it in my own humility about those errors. I started hanging out with a group of young people who believed differently than the people I went to church with, and they were all about dreams, prophecies, words and not so interested in Scripture or study. They were exiting, fun, very nice people and you always had someone to hang out with and something to go and do. Faith was brought up a lot, but it was more of a movement, a power, something you conjured up to get God to do something on your behalf. One day people they were telling you God had a special calling on your life, you need to go be a missionary here. You need to teach this class. Take this job. One night I had two different prophets tell me that I was supposed to marry this girl from our group, fortunately neither one of us took it too seriously. During that same week another girl I did not know from there called and told me that God had told her she was supposed to be with me, and then when I went back to that church the next weekend, yet another girl said the same thing. "Wow God, make up your mind." It started to become suspect to me, but sadly it should have been suspect when they had very little use for God's word and faith became no longer the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, but rather they needed to see everything. They wanted a crystal ball, and they sounded more like my worldly friends who talked to mediums, went to Unity Church and believed almost anything. So your a prophet Eliphaz, you had a dream, you are a wise man? Job would have probably been more impressed, but for one thing, he could not think of this sin for which Eliphaz accused him without proof. The basis of your argument is that in order for me to be going through this there is an absolute law that states it is always because of wrong doing.  I think my friends meant well when I was young, they wanted me to be rich, to find love and to them that was happiness and religion. I think Eliphaz is sincere in this as well, but he is sincerely wrong. Again, no one knows the back story here, so none of them can provide a full illumination. It's okay to give advice, but don't assume that you are the origin and oracle of all truth. Your feelings, emotions, wants, desires, even your experiences need to be held up against the Word of God and prayer. If they don't match up, then choose the Word of God. 

Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 1 Corinthians 6:3

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1: 1-2

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4

Lord, let me keep that in mind, that those that come to me preaching what my flesh already seeks, are not turning my heart towards eternal blessings. Let Your honor and Your glory fill my cup to overflowing. Thank you for the gift of Your Son, everything else is more than I ever needed. 

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#638 Happy Birthday

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job spoke, and said:

3 “May the day perish on which I was born,

And the night in which it was said,

‘A male child is conceived.’

4 May that day be darkness;

May God above not seek it,

Nor the light shine upon it.

5 May darkness and the shadow of death claim it;

May a cloud settle on it;

May the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 As for that night, may darkness seize it;

May it not rejoice among the days of the year,

May it not come into the number of the months.

7 Oh, may that night be barren!

May no joyful shout come into it!

8 May those curse it who curse the day,

Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.

9 May the stars of its morning be dark;

May it look for light, but have none,

And not see the dawning of the day;

10 Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb,

Nor hide sorrow from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not die at birth?

Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?

12 Why did the knees receive me?

Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet,

I would have been asleep;

Then I would have been at rest

14 With kings and counselors of the earth,

Who built ruins for themselves,

15 Or with princes who had gold,

Who filled their houses with silver;

16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,

Like infants who never saw light?

17 There the wicked cease from troubling,

And there the weary are at rest.

18 There the prisoners rest together;

They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.

19 The small and great are there,

And the servant is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,

And life to the bitter of soul,

21 Who long for death, but it does not come,

And search for it more than hidden treasures;

22 Who rejoice exceedingly,

And are glad when they can find the grave?

23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,

And whom God has hedged in?

24 For my sighing comes before I eat,

And my groanings pour out like water.

25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,

And what I dreaded has happened to me.

26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;

I have no rest, for trouble comes.” Job 3 NKJV

"After this" - well you need to read what happened in the chapters before. After losing his children, his servants, his herds, his health, and his wife telling him to curse God and die, after sitting here for seven days, covered in boils, silent in the ashes, he now waxes poetic. He is not a cigar store Indian, he did not lose his voice, but only held it in. He is confused and shaken for sure, and though he has been quiet for seven days, he is not without thought or emotion. His whole existence is upside down, nothing makes sense anymore. This is not the whining of some emo song about a girl and unrequited love. This is not the loss of a promotion, the family pet, a spot on the basketball team, or any of the other things that would shatter us and cause men to curse God in our day. He is going to air what he thinks about what he believes to be true, from the dark that he is in, the despair of his soul.

Through verse 10 he agonizingly curses his own birth; he wishes that he was never born. After this, all this, and pondering it for seven days, he says it a dozen ways, and it is poetry, lines repeating themes, begging the reader acknowledge, "what else, what could be better than not knowing this, even if that meant knowing nothing else?" He has been born though, and he is here in this moment also telling us something of the state of his beliefs, the early traditions. Remember, his candle is a small one, he is not you, reading the story about Job, and he is ignorant of the conversations that occurred between God and Satan. He may not know of Enoch not seeing death, he is before the time of Elijah's fiery chariot, and looking at the dead all he sees is quiet and peace, the dead don't complain as far as he can tell. It looks to him a state of nothingness, no pain, no anguish. When we read down further, in verse 13, he holds his birthday candle out for us to see as well, look, I would be asleep, at peace and rest. But then look back to verse 8, let it be a curse, who would ever wish this on anyone. Don't stir up a hornet's nest, don't poke the bear, but this is far worse, a dragon, maybe a dinosaur, why would you release the Kraken, wake a disaster you cannot tame? He didn't understand to be absent from the body is to be present from the Lord. He didn't know that there was something worse than all of this, that for a believer, what he knew now was the only hell he would ever know. The worse part of his time here would evaporate in the light of eternity, oh how silly I sounded back then. 

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.…Luke 13: 27-29

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, [a]let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:3-4

We speak of what we do not know, from our feelings we think we produce an argument that is better than the facts. In our silence we told the most truth, and how many times do I wish I would have held my tongue, reigned in my emotions. Who knows more or better than God? I have assumed so much but here it is, a little more light, and we shall see what else Job thought he knew, or me or you. He cursed his life, his birth, his conception. God knew you in your mother's womb, this is not a surprise to Him. For all that Job will say, in ignorance, in pain and grieving, he will not curse God. 

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Matthew 27: 45-46

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