Beloved, I am pleased to share with you today the above theme from Job 6:1-2 and following. Indeed, thisspeech of one of his friends gives rise to a response from Job. He feels that his excessive sorrow makes him utter “reckless words” (v. 3). Let us beware of what may escape us under the blow of excitement… or anger (Pr 29:20). “What is my end for me to wait?” asks Job in v. 11. “The perseverance of Job,” to which the epistle of James bears witness, had held firm only until the sixth trial. And before he could know “his end,” or rather the wonderful “end of the Lord” (his purpose) toward him, it was necessary precisely that this perseverance “accomplish his work” in him. It is the trial of faith that will produce it (James 1:2-4 and James 5:7-11). Like Job, we are always in a hurry to know the end of what happens to us. But God, in His wisdom, usually does not reveal it to us in advance, so as to teach us true perseverance, the one that does not need to understand in order to submit and rely on Him.
Job learned a first lesson, namely that there is no help in himself, that all ability is driven away from him (v. 13). It is a good thing to have understood that. And you don’t have to have gone through so many trials to be convinced. Let’s simply believe what God’s word tells us. He then replies to Eliphaz, but with deep pain: “Oh! if my sorrow was well weighed, and if all my calamity was put in the balance! For now it would weigh more than the sand of the seas; that is why my words are outraged; for the arrows of the Almighty are in me, their venom drinks my spirit; God’s fears line up in battle against me.”
Thus Job’s piety makes him recognize that not only had God to be in all his calamities, but that he was so; he was right to a certain extent. Job does not blame the Sabaeans or Chaldeans, nor lightning, hurricane, or ulcer, but he sees much further than the second causes. He was in the right, by involving God in the trial. However, he was mistaken, as we will see in the end, either by assuming that there was nothing to correct in the state of his soul, or by thinking that God could be something other than full of grace, while being faithful to him, something other than full of mercy, while remaining just. He ignored the power of evil and Satan, which God allows while limiting it. He did not firmly maintain, as he should have done, that it is in his love for his own that God allows them to go through suffering here on earth in particular.
We find, in the book of Job, a part of these exercises of the heart that this division of the Holy Book presents to us. These exercises are not joyful, but they are those of a heart which, crossing a world where the power of evil unfolds, and this without being dead as to the flesh, not having this divine science that the Gospel gives, not having died with Christ as for itself, not possessing the risen Christ, is not in a state to enjoy in peace, whatever his struggles, the fruit of God’s perfect love, but struggles with evil in the enjoyment of the one true good, even when he desires it; while, through these very revelations, the light of Christ illuminates these exercises, and the sympathy of his Spirit and the part He takes in them in grace are developed in a touching way. What we learn from them is who we are—not the sins we have committed. This was not the case with Job, but the soul itself is placed before God. In Job we see man put to the test, man, we can say, with the knowledge that we have now, renewed by grace, just and integral in his ways, tested to see if he can stand before God in the presence of the power of evil, if he can in himself have justice before God; and, on the other hand, the ways in which God probes hearts and places them in the consciousness of their true state before Him.
The worst to endure of all things is the sorrow that eats away at a man’s heart because no channel outside of oneself is provided for the burning flow of thought. Now that Eliphaz has spoken, Job has something to excite her, at least to resentment. The strength of his mind revives as he finds himself called to a battle of words. And how energetic he is! Eliphaz’s long speech seemed incoherent to us, without the backbone of a clear conviction, turning here and there in the hope of somehow making a happy success. But as soon as Job begins to speak, there is a coherence, a strong thought crossing the variety of expressions, the anxiety of instruction, the sense of perplexity and trouble. We immediately feel that we are in contact with a mind that no half-truth can satisfy, which will go with any difficulty whatsoever to the bottom of things.
People are inclined to praise a mind in peace, moving from one thought to another, content to “appreciate the things that others understand,” not afflicted by moral issues. But spirits enjoying such peace are to be praised only if the philosophy of life has been sought and tested, and if the great trust in God that resolves all doubt has been found. While life and providence, its own history and the history of the world present what seem to be contradictions, problems that confuse and disturb the soul, how can a healthy mind rest? Our intellectual powers are not given just so that we can enjoy them; they are given so that we can understand. A mind is hungry for knowledge, like a body of food, and can only be satisfied if reason and the truth of things are seen. You may object that some are not able to understand, that indeed divine providence, God’s great purposes, lie so far and so high beyond the ordinary human reach that they are incomprehensible to most of us. So what is the point of revelation? Is it simply given to lead us astray, to drag us into a quest that must ultimately leave many researchers dissatisfied, without light or hope? If so, the Bible mocks us, the prophets were deceivers, even Christ Himself is not found light of the world, but a dreamer who spoke of what can never be achieved.
There are things that are beyond us; but exact or definitive knowledge of them is not necessary. Within my reach and within my reach through nature and religion, through the Bible and the Son of God, are the principles I need to satisfy the hunger of my soul. And in any sane mind, there will be a desire for truth that, often baffled, will continue until understanding comes. Our thinking dwelling on life and all its varied experiences – sadness and fear, misery and hope, love threatened by death but inextinguishable, exultation of duty, disconcerting ambition, unforeseen peril and unexpected deliverance – our thought, “with these elements of life, will not rest in the idea that everything is due to chance or blind forces, that evolution can never be followed intelligently. The modern atheist or agnostic falls into the very error for which he rebuked faith when he contemptuously commands us to get rid of the hope of understanding the world and the Power that rules it, when he invites us to remember our limitations and to deal with things that were within our reach. Religion was taunted with the paralyzing faculties of man and refusing full play to his mental activity.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your bestunderstanding.
Job’s reply: he feels betrayed by his friends:
- Discontent, men’s complaints to God
Jb 10.1 My soul is disgusted with life! I will give effect to my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. Jb 23:2 Even now my complaint is a revolt, but suffering stifles my sighs. Ps 55.3 Listen to me, and answer me! I wander here and there in my sorrow and restless, Ps 77:4 I remember God, and I groan; I meditate, and my mind is dejected. -Pause.
- Afflictions, come from God
Dt 8:5 Recognize in your heart that Jehovah your God chastises you as a man chastises his child. Rt 1:20 She said to them: Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has filled me with bitterness. Ps 66:11 You have brought us into the net, You have placed a heavy burden on our loins, Ps 102:10-11 I eat dust instead of bread, And I mix tears with my drink, 11 Because of your anger and fury; For you lifted me up and threw me away.
- Arrows of God, figuratively speaking
2 S 22:15 He threw arrows and scattered my enemies, Lightning, and routed them. Ps 7:14 He directs murderous features at him, He makes his arrows burning. Ps 18:15 He threw his arrows and scattered my enemies, He multiplied the thunderbolts and routed them. Ps 77:18 The clouds poured water in torrents, Thunder sounded in the clouds, And your arrows flew from all sides.
- Spiritual Discernment
1 Kings 3:9 Therefore, grant your servant an intelligent heart to judge your people, to discern good from evil! For who could judge your people, this people so numerous? Isaiah 11:3 He will breathe the fear of the Lord; He will not judge on appearance, He will not pronounce on hearsay. 1 Cor 2:14 But the animal man does not receive things from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because it is spiritually that they are judged. Hb 5:14 But solid food is for men made, for those whose judgment is exercised by usage to discern what is right and what is evil.
From all of the above, we note that Job had to learn all these lessons in a practical way, so that, at first glance, his very piety made the difficulty greater for him, in that it made him attribute everything to God, without considering his ways and purpose. Also, how useless seemed to him the crushing blows that had fallen on him, so fast and so numerous! How do you reconcile all these things? He was sure that God is just and holy and that He must be good, true and faithful; however, it was on his part that all these miseries had fallen upon him, a saint! The difficulty was all the more terrible for Job because he was at that moment under the weight of these anxieties, and not in the condition of a man who could think about it calmly, after having been delivered from them. How different is the thing for the one who reads the complete solution in the book of God! We must remember this when we consider this subject. This is an important point to remember, as he pondered what wasin Job’s answer, and hearing him express in his despair the desire that God entrench him, especially since he encountered only disappointment on the part of his brethren; so he compares himself to a caravan dying of thirst near the parched bed of the torrents after which she had sighed. He does not reject the reprehension, but the words of his friends are only an erroneous refutation of his own. They had in no way grasped his case. So Job is only still expressing the desire to die; he even goes so far as to reproach God, but quickly admits his fault and implores his forgiveness, while wishing for death. The book of Job offers us the example of the relationship with God of a pious man outside Israel and, no doubt, before this people appeared on the scene. We see how God works for good towards men in this evil world; but, as a result, this book clearly becomes a type of Israel. The ways of God, as presented to us in Job, are fully manifested in the history of this people. And it is worth noting that when Job practically feels the impossibility of man being righteous before God (Job 9:2, 30, 31), he complains of being in terror and of having no arbiter between God and him (vs. 33:34). Elihu, who places himself on this ground in the place of God, does not expose redemption, but God’s government and chastisement (chapters 33, 36). This is how God often acts with man. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom as I walk in your ways.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Why suffering? (Job 7)
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.