Monday, October 30, 2017

Job 10:1 says, My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.  Even though he was weary to his soul, Job said that he would not complain that God was unjust but that he would place his complaint and bitterness on himself.  He had just stated that he could not stand justified before God without a Mediator, but he could make his complaint known at least to those around him and to himself.  If we complain that God is treating us unfairly, we can really only complain to those around us looking for their understanding and maybe our own.  We cannot truthfully blame God for treating us unjustly.  Verse two adds, I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.  Job said when he spoke to God, he would ask God to not condemn him and to show him what he had done to cause all this suffering.  If we are suffering, we may feel the need to question God if we feel that He is the source of our suffering, and we don't know why He is punishing us.  Even so, we must realize that God is not the source of evil in the world, and if we are suffering, we do not need to blame God.  Just as God allowed Job's faith to be tested, He will allow our faith to be tested today.  We can be certain that God will not just arbitrarily bring suffering into our lives. Verse three continues, Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?  I believe that Job was basically asking if it was a good thing for God to despise someone that He had created.  Job may have despised his life and even have wished that he had never been born, but he was asking God how He could despise His creation.  We know that in the Garden, when God created man, He pronounced him very good.  Job was asking how God could now despise His creation.  We know that it is sin that God despises and not mankind.  We also know that suffering comes from the evil in the world and not from an arbitrary act of God. Verse four asks, Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?  Job recognized that God was much more than just another man.  God is not limited by physical constraints as are people.  Verse five adds, Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,  Job was still asking rhetorical questions.  He knew that God was eternal, just as he knew God was not limited in understanding the true nature of a person.  We may fool the world today by either our words or actions, but we will never fool God.  Verse six continues, That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?  Job was basically asking God, Who sees all and knows all, if He was searching for some sin Job had committed.  We know that God does not really have to search us to find out if we have sinned.  I believe that sin in the life of anyone, especially a Christian, stands out like a beacon before God.  We do not have to basically challenge God to find sin in our lives.  Verse seven declares, Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.  I believe that in effect Job was saying that God was punishing him without him doing anything to deserve punishment.  Job may have been held up by God for his righteousness, but Job failed to remain in a right relationship with God when he began to question God.  We are called to put our faith in God, no matter what happens in life and should never question His love for us.  Job said that there was none to deliver him out of the suffering that he felt was coming from God, but we know today that we have a Mediator in Christ, just as Job did.  We must remember that Christ died for all sins for all time.  Verse eight adds, Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.  Job was telling God that He had created him but was now destroying him.  In effect, I believe that Job was saying that God was to blame if he sinned.  God created Job, so Job's sins should ultimately be God's fault.  We know that we cannot blame God for the sin in the world.  Sin is the fault of man's rebellion against God, and if we attempt to blame God for sin in our lives, then we truly are guilty of sin.

No comments:

Post a Comment