Job reminisces about the days when God watched over him. During these times he walked in God's light and he could make his way through the darkness. He was in his prime when God's intimate friendship blessed him and his household.
I like this phrase... intimate friendship. I rarely hear anyone describe God's relationship with man by calling it intimate. But Job was among the blessed to experience such a thing. He knew God intimately and that is why he knows that he is not a wicked man. This is why he is so adamant about who he is... although his friends think so differently.
Job says his path was drenched with cream. What a visual! Is this lush or what? He says that the rock poured out streams of olive oil. God let Job live with an abundance... olive oil flowing... means a steady stream of food and other necessity that flowed from the earth.
Job says that he used to sit in the public square and the young men would step aside when they saw him. The old men would rise to their feet. The chief men would not speak and the nobles were hushed. People spoke well of him he says. Why? Because he did a lot of good like rescuing the poor when they cried for help. He was a father to the needy and took up the case of the stranger. There is a long list of all of the good he provided to a lot of people.
He thought he would die in his own house and that his days would be as numerous as the grains of sand. He thought his roots would reach the water and the dew would stay on his branches all night long. He thought that his glory would not fade and the bow would always be new in his hand.
Job would counsel people and they listened. After he spoke, they would not speak any more. His words fell gently on their ears. They waited for Job like waiting for showers and they drank in his words like the morning spring. When he smiled, he said, they scarcely believed it. He was like a chief to them.
The Tides Turn
Now, these very young men mock him. These are the very one whose fathers he would not put with his sheep dogs. In other words, Job did not think too highly of them because they seemed to be wicked. He called them thieves and said they were banished from society. Now they mock him in song. He is now a byword and they detest him. They keep their distance. They don't hesitate to spit in his face. God has now unstrung Job's bow.
Job says that tribes attack; they lay snares for his feet and they build a siege ramps against him. They break up his road and they come at him like a gaping breach. Terrors overwhelm Job. His dignity is driven away like the wind.
Now his life ebbs away. Suffering grips him. Night pierces his bones and the gnawing pains never go away. God binds him like the neck of his garment and throws Job in the mud. He is reduced to dust and ashes. God is bringing him down to death.
Once again, Job talks about the good things he has done but even with this, evil comes. He looked for light and darkness came. He goes around blackened but it is not from the sun. He stands in the assembly and cries for help. He is a brother of jackals and he hangs with the owls. His lyre or instrument is tuned to mourn and his pipe for wailing. Job sounds like he is at the end of his rope.
Once again, Job talks about the good things he has done but even with this, evil comes. He looked for light and darkness came. He goes around blackened but it is not from the sun. He stands in the assembly and cries for help. He is a brother of jackals and he hangs with the owls. His lyre or instrument is tuned to mourn and his pipe for wailing. Job sounds like he is at the end of his rope.
His Final Words
In Job chapter 31, Job gives a heartfelt and emotional speech on his innocence. He starts off talking about his covenant with his eyes. He has not let them wander and look at a young woman. He goes through a list of things that he has not done to offend God.
He says that God sees his ways and counts his steps. In other words he's basically saying that God has kept up with him and knows his heart. And actually, he's right. In the beginning of Job, God says that his servant Job is upright. But unfortunately Job does not know that God has said this about him. It seems that he has convinced himself that his suffering is God's doing. He falsely accuses God of making his life miserable.
If
Job goes on to say that if he has hurried after deceit then let God judge him with honest scales. When he does, he will know that I am blameless. This may not make sense but I love Job's confidence in what he does and does not do. He actually pays attention to himself and his thoughts. He knows his heart and he knows he longs to be in fellowship with God. He doesn't second-guess his blamelessness. I think this is rare to find today.
Then he says that if I have ever been enticed by a woman, then left my wife grind another man's grain and sleep with another man. Job speaks with great confidence. If he denied justice to any of his male or female servants, then what would God do with him, he asks. If he denied the poor or the widows; if he kept his bread from the fatherless; if he saw someone without clothes to warm them and didn't offer the fleece from his sheep; if he had raised his hands against the fatherless in court; then let my arm fall from its socket.
One really has to be confident in what they do and think to make a declaration like that before God. And Job was the one who could do it.
Then Job switches reels and talks about having someone else other than God sitting on the throne of his heart. He says if he has even pay homage to the sun or the moon with a kiss; then he would have to be judged for his sins. Job did not put his enemies down or turned away strangers.
If he had kept a sin in his heart and hid his guilt to please a crowd… at this moment Joe stops speaking and wishes that he really had someone to hear him. Here, he seems to be overwhelmed with emotion. It is interesting, that as I read this I wish that I could reach out to Job and say, it's okay. Job now lets his defense rest. He would like to see his indictment in writing. Let God come forth and speak.
My thoughts
Job's speech is moving. It amazes me that while he is in an emaciated state his mind and thoughts are sharp. Here is another thing that is emphasized even greater then in the earlier chapters. Job shows us what devotion really is. Truly there is nothing that he allows to get in his way of being in relationship with God. In loss, pain, and people who ridicule him; he remains strong in his relationship and devotion to God.
I'm guessing that these are the kinds of people that God needs to have been the church today. If he did, we would turn the world upside down. But we are distracted by the glitter of this world and we often fall short in many things. Loving God unconditionally, serving him, giving our all to him, and suffering for his name are areas where we fall short. But not Job. Not Job.
That's it for today.
He says that God sees his ways and counts his steps. In other words he's basically saying that God has kept up with him and knows his heart. And actually, he's right. In the beginning of Job, God says that his servant Job is upright. But unfortunately Job does not know that God has said this about him. It seems that he has convinced himself that his suffering is God's doing. He falsely accuses God of making his life miserable.
If
Job goes on to say that if he has hurried after deceit then let God judge him with honest scales. When he does, he will know that I am blameless. This may not make sense but I love Job's confidence in what he does and does not do. He actually pays attention to himself and his thoughts. He knows his heart and he knows he longs to be in fellowship with God. He doesn't second-guess his blamelessness. I think this is rare to find today.
Then he says that if I have ever been enticed by a woman, then left my wife grind another man's grain and sleep with another man. Job speaks with great confidence. If he denied justice to any of his male or female servants, then what would God do with him, he asks. If he denied the poor or the widows; if he kept his bread from the fatherless; if he saw someone without clothes to warm them and didn't offer the fleece from his sheep; if he had raised his hands against the fatherless in court; then let my arm fall from its socket.
One really has to be confident in what they do and think to make a declaration like that before God. And Job was the one who could do it.
Then Job switches reels and talks about having someone else other than God sitting on the throne of his heart. He says if he has even pay homage to the sun or the moon with a kiss; then he would have to be judged for his sins. Job did not put his enemies down or turned away strangers.
If he had kept a sin in his heart and hid his guilt to please a crowd… at this moment Joe stops speaking and wishes that he really had someone to hear him. Here, he seems to be overwhelmed with emotion. It is interesting, that as I read this I wish that I could reach out to Job and say, it's okay. Job now lets his defense rest. He would like to see his indictment in writing. Let God come forth and speak.
My thoughts
Job's speech is moving. It amazes me that while he is in an emaciated state his mind and thoughts are sharp. Here is another thing that is emphasized even greater then in the earlier chapters. Job shows us what devotion really is. Truly there is nothing that he allows to get in his way of being in relationship with God. In loss, pain, and people who ridicule him; he remains strong in his relationship and devotion to God.
I'm guessing that these are the kinds of people that God needs to have been the church today. If he did, we would turn the world upside down. But we are distracted by the glitter of this world and we often fall short in many things. Loving God unconditionally, serving him, giving our all to him, and suffering for his name are areas where we fall short. But not Job. Not Job.
That's it for today.
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