Saturday, October 19, 2002
Dear Family:
Why is it when the going gets tough or when our enterprises fail or our faith is put to the test we immediately begin to question why God does not support us in all our endeavors? We tend to use Job as physical evidence against God for our calamity or failures. Why does God not automatically come bail me out when I get stuck in the mud or things are not going the way I think they should? Why doesn't He let me see the future and take away my fear and uncertainty? I think the answer is pretty simple. Not consoling or comforting, but simple.
While my enterprises may be just what God has planned for me, He may also have tasks planned for me as well. It may be necessary for me to go through some training before I am qualified to carry out a particular assignment. In Job 40 we see an exchange between God and Job. God has been witnessing the exchanges between Job and his friends and has had just about all he can stand. Their piety has become sickening. His friends say there has to be something wrong with you (Job) for God to do all these bad things to you. Job is continually saying, "I am holy and sinless; I know what God wants of me and I'm doing it. There is no reason for God to do this to me." Not once did Job or his friends say let's pray to God and ask Him to reveal His truth and purpose to us. No! They thought they had all the answers. Piety! They were so full of themselves they could not have seen God if He had stood before them. They missed it. So God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind.
Job 40:1-13 1 The LORD said to Job: 2 "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!" 3 Then Job answered the LORD: 4 "I am unworthy-- how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. 5 I spoke once, but I have no answer-- twice, but I will say no more."
God says, okay mister proud, pious man, if you are so smart correct me. Tell me what I am and have done wrong or could do better. But Job in his piousness says, "Oh I could not begin to do that. How could I possibly reply to you?" This must have pushed God's hot button for now he answers Job out of a storm. Before, He spoke from just a whirlwind but now He is speaking from a storm.
6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: 7 "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 8 "Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? 9 Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his? 10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. 11 Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, 12 look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand. 13 Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. (NIV)
God has just pointed out one of the truths we fail to see in ourselves. "Would you condemn me to justify yourself?" That is exactly what we do when we are impatient. We want to run ahead of God and then try to get Him to endorse our activity rather than waiting for Him to reveal and guide us to the successful conclusion. We should at these times stop, get on our knees before Him and ask Him to mold us, make us and teach us to be what we have to be to complete the assignment. God always expects us to do only what we know to do and depend on Him for the rest. It is hard for us to believe that He knows better than we do. God knows what to do and when to do it.
Now look at Job's response to God.
Job 42:1-9 1 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 Listen, please, and let me speak; you said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' 5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
Job finally got it. "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." God had let Satan have his way with Job. God did this in order to glorify Himself before Satan and Job's friends. At the same time, God wanted to make Job a greater pillar in the foundation of His plan for the universe. But the greatest thing is that Job has now seen God, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." This is what God wanted. He wanted Job to know him personally. Now look at what God does with Job. God elevates Job to a priestly status and his friends have to sacrifice to him and get their forgiveness from him. Job's piety is gone and he is truly holy and saintly.
Two words are used in verse nine about Job, "for the LORD had accepted Job." These two words, 'eth- and paniym have such tremendous, deep, personal meaning that we cannot begin to express their true meaning. They are beyond our ability to translate. Now, look at what happened. God speaks to Job's friends and even they hear Him. Had it not been for Job's trials, they would never have come this close to God. Their piety is gone and replaced with a real relationship with God. It is all about that deeply private, interpersonal relationship between the individual and God. It is not our religious appearance or our outward ritualism that is important, it is our relaxed intimate relationship with God that matters.
7 And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. 8 "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job.(NKJ)
God knows where we are in our relationship with Him and with the world. He knows where we need to be in our development to carry out the task before us. So, He has to mold us into what we must be to meet the challenge. When we can pray the prayer, "Heavenly Father, how my heart desires to hear you with the ear and see you with the eye. Let me know you heart to heart. Make me acceptable as you did Job," and then thank him for answering that prayer, then we are where He wants us to be.
Love ya,
Dad, Dad2, Mr. T and Chuck
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