Wednesday, September 11
Read Job 7
Think About It:
- In verses 1-5 Job describes his suffering, both physical and emotional. He relates how he thought he could escape his suffering through sleep, but instead of rest, he found further torment. In what ways do people try to ease their pain or escape suffering? What solution do you use?
- Job believed that God was against him and was punishing him, but it wasn’t true. God had such confidence in Job that He allowed the enemy to test Job’s faith. “Job was not being punished; he was being honored. God was giving to him a name like that of the great ones of the earth. The Lord was lifting him up, promoting him, putting him into the front rank, making a great saint of him, causing him to become one of the fathers and patterns in the ancient Church of God. He was really doing for Job such extraordinarily good things that you or I, in looking back upon his whole history, might well say, ‘I would be quite content to take Job’s afflictions if I might also have Job’s grace, and Job’s place in the Church of God’” (Charles Spurgeon). What do you think of Spurgeon’s assessment? Would you be content to suffer extraordinary loss and hardship as Job did in order to be known as a person of extraordinary grace and to be held up as an example of a person of great faith?
- “All Job has known about God he still believes. But God’s inexplicable ways have his mind perplexed to the breaking-point. Job is in the right; but he does not know that God is watching with silent compassion and admiration until the test is fully done and it is time to state His approval publicly (Job 42:8)” (Francis I. Andersen). We have the benefit of knowing that God is watching our world and watching us with compassion and admiration when we choose to trust Him in our darkest times. We have the benefit of knowing that God wants the best for us, even though life doesn’t always turn out the way we would like it to be. Does knowing this truth about God make loss, pain, difficulties, grief, betrayal and the torment of the enemy any easier to bear? Why or why not?
Family Time:
- Reading this passage can be extremely difficult because one may question how Job could dare talk to God in this way. However, in verse 42:7, it is not Job that the Lord scolds for speaking wrongly, but Eliphaz! Really think on this! Think again! God is God and we must be in constant communication with him to be able to know His will.
- Many times we think “we know” what is right or what God wants or why God is allowing a trial in someone’s life. Job 7 reminds us to be careful. Guard our tongue, cast away judgment and instead be encouragers. It also reminds us that honesty with God is okay. He already knows our heart.
