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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Job 7
Funny, how short-sighted humans are by nature. We tend to think that whatever circumstance we’re in is going to last forever. Good times lull us into negligent complacency and hard times into hopeless despair. Job was actually very diligent in his good times. He was very intentional about seeking God and shunning evil. When things got hard, though, human nature stepped in just a little. In his complaint to God, Job said, “My eye will never again see anything good.” (Job 7:7b). The misery was more than he thought he could stand, and he saw death as his only way out.
I always think of the apostle Paul when I read about Job. Paul endured his great suffering by keeping His eye on God’s promises and by encouraging others, even in the midst of his own struggles. Of course, Paul knew the reason for his suffering, while Job did not. But somehow, I think part of the purpose of Job’s story is to show us that suffering in this life is certain, and that the reason for the suffering doesn’t matter. Our response to it should be the same. Like Paul, we need to remember that God has promised an end. Furthermore, the end He promises to the faithful will exponentially surpass the worst this life can throw at us.
As hard as it is, we can’t believe the lie that we will never see good again. All this is easy to say while I sit in my comfort. Not so easy to do, however, from a position such as Job’s. Which, again, is why it’s so important for us to help each other endure.
Job 8-9
Bildad stated a lot of truths about God. However, he failed to apply those truths from the right focal point. He said, “Does the Almighty pervert what is right?” (Job 8:3b). It was a rhetorical question, because the obvious answer is no. His error, then, was in assuming that he knew what was right. Job’s claim of suffering without reason did not fit into Bildad’s definition of what was right, so he concluded that Job was in the wrong.
Job actually agreed with what Bildad said about God. Except, perhaps the part about his own restoration. But Job knew that he had done nothing to warrant his suffering. He knew because he had been very intentional with his life. So the only conclusion Job could reach was that God simply didn’t care.
There is a lot we know about God, but there is as much or more that we can’t even begin to understand. As important as it is for us to remember that our days are numbered, it is even more so to recognize that God’s are not. God is not a time-bound being. Thus, it is incorrect for us to apply our time-based understanding to Him. Which means that things are not always what they seem to us. Bildad‘s inability to understand how suffering in innocence could be right, did not make it a perversion of justice on God’s part. Nor did Job’s unwarranted suffering contradict the character of our loving, caring God. Our lack of understanding does not change who God is.
The truth is that this life is corrupted. The innocent suffer, the wicked prevail. However it is also true that God is righteous and just, loving and kind, and He cares very deeply for each one of us. How do we reconcile that? I say that God allows these seeming perversions of justice precisely because He does care. If the wicked did not prevail and the innocent did not suffer, Jesus never would have been hung on that cross. It is through Jesus’ innocent suffering that we, who deserved judgment, received mercy instead. So yes, we, too, must endure a time where things don’t seem right. Bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, and we sometimes wonder if God cares at all. The answer is yes, He does. But His primary concern is with our eternal outcome, not our fleeting, momentary comfort.