In
yesterday’s blog Zophar accused Job of being a hypocrite because
he had exploited the poor and
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violently taken away a house he did not build. In other words, Job allegedly foreclosed on
the property of some poor property owner and that “ungodly act” is the reason
God punished Job so severely. As a
general rule foreclosures are related to the borrower’s inability to meet their
financial obligations (regardless of the reason). Who is this alleged poor person anyway? Was he there to testify against Job or is
this something Zophar heard? Is a
Christian lender obligated to ignore the debt of a borrower because of their
faith? Zophar’s accusations are
completely unfounded and he is clearly grasping for straws to insinuate that
Job’s punishment is fair based upon his actions is outrageous.
At
the conclusion of yesterday’s blog, the point about evil and
righteous people suffering and prospering was raised passionately in hopes that
we would wake up from the myth that the righteous suffer for wrong doing. NO ONE (i.e. preacher, teacher, apostle,
bishop, professor, theologian, seasoned church mother and/or lay person) can
say with certainty why the righteous suffer.
We can certainly give our opinions, but that ain't the gospel
truth. Given that we cannot be certain
of the cause but understanding it [suffering] will happen, not just once but at
multiple intervals throughout our lives and without warning I might add, we
would do well to accept the unexplained suffering as a necessary process in
life. If I accept this fact beforehand, resolve
ourselves that the “why” as important as we try to make it out to be and decide
we won’t focus on the length of time we are suffering, we will save ourselves a
lifetime of agony.
Yea, and all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12
For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2
Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)
Moment:
an indefinitely short period of time; instant; the present time or any
other particular time; a definite period or stage, as in a course of events;
juncture.
Tania
Not Tanya moment. Self-inflicted
suffering is different. For
example: A surveillance camera records
me robbing a liquor store and a bystander captures my specialized BUGGOD
license plates on their cell phone peeling out the parking lot and the people pick
me up at home, that’s self-inflicted suffering and I deserve what I get for
being so stupid and disobedient. I
should have at least had sense enough to remove the plates from my car or use
an untraceable bicycle. But, if I fully repent
because I am sorry for my actions, not because I got caught (and there is a big
difference); God will absolutely forgive me AND I believe he will turn the
situation around for my good. I will
have to suffer the consequences but he will give me the grace to do so and/or
he may allow me to find favor with the “judicial system” so that they are not
as harsh as they could be.
We
are clear by now that Job’s suffering was not self-inflicted, it was
God-inflicted. Let’s continue:
Chapter
21: Job is understandably irritated with
the Three Amigos due to their continued accusations but also because he is
looking for sympathy and understanding that the Amigos are not willing to give
because of their self-imposed beliefs that Job is a wicked, ungodly man. He asks repeatedly for them to "point out my wickedness," but they don’t
because they can’t. He argues about the
perceived benefits of the wicked: long life, witnessing the success of their
children, prosperous business, enjoying their grandchildren play carefree, never
having to fear the discipline of God, they die of natural causes, etc. The wicked see no point in serving God
because they “have everything”. It may
seem that God is showing favor to the wicked but who are we to tell God when
and how to punish someone? And who says
the wicked are really enjoying all their “stuff”? Our perceptions of their happiness do not
equal the truth and getting “by” doesn't mean getting “away”.
Chapter
22: Eliphaz attacks Job for a third time.
Does anyone besides me see this as an unfair fight, it is after all
three healthy men against one weak, broken, half-dead man. Nothing about Eliphaz’ accusations are really
different except this. He points out
that Job was not hospitable at some point in his life and that makes him a
wicked, ungodly man. While it may not
seem like much to us during that time period not only was being inhospitable considered
rude, it was actually considered a great wickedness if you didn’t: offer to help
to a neighbor, offer food and/or beverages, clothing to those in need, aid to
the fatherless and/or widows. One of the
travesties about our culture and the digital age is that we are self-absorbed,
it’s all about me, me and I; what makes me feel good; what I want to do when I
want to do it regardless to whether it inconveniences someone else or not.
Chapter
23: Job’s response to Eliphaz was: “You
know, to be perfectly honest, what's happened to
me is even worse than I'm
complaining. I'm not even really
complaining a full measure for what I'm really feeling. You tell me to find God
and be at peace. Well how about this,
can you tell me where he is, ‘cause I can’t find him?” Job was looking in the wrong place and with
the wrong attitude.
In
closing, deep within the heart of every logical thinking human being there is a
desire, search and/or quest for God because we were created to worship him, to
have a relationship with him. It’s not
that people are not seeking and searching for God (that peace that is
unquenchable), it’s that they are searching in the wrong places – money,
things, people, positions, power, etc. The
only thing that will satisfy the emptiness they are trying to fill is having an
intimate relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, period, end of
story put an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence.
I’m
out of time, we’ll have to pick it up tomorrow.
In
His New Excellence,
Tania
Not Tanya
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