Day 008 (Job 17-20) - Year 7

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Yesterday, as we finished our reading, Job was calling his friends miserable comforters.

Today, he continues talking to them, and he opens by saying, My spirit is broken.

I just feel for him.

I've been there.

There were times when Job and Lamentations were the only books of Scripture I wanted to read.

I felt known by Job.

In chapter 18, Bildad speaks again.

You probably remember Bildad as bad friend number two.

He's the one who told Job that he needed to repent.

So now he's doubling down, just like Eliphaz did yesterday, with reminders that God punishes the wicked.

This is a catch-22 because it not only means Job's suffering was punishment for his wickedness, but also that if he doesn't change his ways, more punishment is coming for him.

But I love Job's reply in chapter 19.

He continues to point to God's role and rescue in his troubles.

He says things like, He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, and He has set darkness upon my paths.

These sound like really hard things to say about God, and yet, in 1925, Job says, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.

This quote isn't just hopeful on Job's part, It's actually prophetic.

It points not only to the first coming of Christ, which for us has already happened, but also to the second coming of Christ, which is yet to come.

At the last, he will stand upon the earth.

We're not to the last yet, but Zechariah 14:3 tells us more about Christ's return, and Revelation chapter 5, verse 10 and chapter 20, verse 6 point to a future time when Christ will reign on earth.

Even in his darkest moments, Job points out eternal truths about God.

In chapter 20, Zophar, bad friend number three, speaks again.

He claims a spirit spoke to him, and he believes it was a word from God.

The same thing happened a few days ago when we read about the first time Eliphaz spoke in 4, 12 through 16.

Eliphaz said, A word was brought to me stealthily.

My ear received the whisper of it.

A spirit glided past my face, the hair of my flesh stood up.

There was silence.

Then I heard a voice.

Sophar and Eliphaz presumably do this to add more weight to their words and force Job to listen and comply.

But here's what's interesting to me.

This spirit or spirits that they're referencing in chapter 4 and chapter 20, they never identify themselves.

Scripture doesn't tell us who those spirits are.

Hold on to that thought as we continue reading because there might be some conclusions you could reach about who this spirit was or spirits were.

One of the things that's important for us to do is to weigh carefully where the Word of God intersects with our own thoughts.

For instance, I want to be really careful to separate out my own opinions of things from what Scripture is actually teaching.

At some point, you're likely going to disagree with one of my opinions.

That's a good thing.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to agree with anything I say apart from scripture.

Are there times when God speaks to us?

I believe God's Spirit does give impressions to His children.

After all, one of His names is Guide.

But I'm always aiming to be careful with how I relay that information.

Saying, God told me X carries a lot of certainty with it.

I'd be more likely to say it this way.

I feel like God was saying X, or I feel like God was impressing this on my heart.

I'm also really careful not to ask God to tell me what He is going to do or reveal the future to me.

Few things have gotten me into greater confusion and error than that.

Probably because asking those questions is like my own subtle attempt to control my future and not have to trust God, which really gives an opportunity for me to hear my flesh speak more loudly than God.

But back to Job.

Remember how I told you I thought Job's friends might have been jealous of him?

That last part of Zophar's speech today reinforces that whole idea for me, because in chapter 20, verses 12 through 29, it seems like Zophar is accusing Job of being greedy and selfish.

He says things like, he has crushed and abandoned the poor, he seized seized a house that he did not build, he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.

That sounds terrible, but we have to weigh Zovar's words about Job against God's words about Job, and we see they don't align.

These passages with Job's friends are the ones I usually reference when I'm urging people not to take scripture out of context.

Because if you were to pull some of their quotes out of this section, you would think Job was wicked.

Are the statements in scripture?

Yes, and scripture is God's word.

But this particular passage is a personal quote within God's word.

It's God quoting someone else.

We have to pay close attention to context or we'll miss what's actually being communicated to us by God.

What was your God shot for today's reading?

The attribute of God I saw portrayed in today's reading was when Job said, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

This not only says a lot about Job that he could believe this in the midst of his struggle, but it says a lot about God.

First, we see God's relationship with Job even on his worst days.

Job doesn't just call God a Redeemer or the Redeemer, but my Redeemer.

It's personal, it's intimate.

Second, we see that God is a Redeemer.

To redeem means to buy back.

Job has hope that this isn't the end of his story, even if it's the end of his life.

Job trusts that God will redeem this somehow.

Third, we see that God is alive.

My Redeemer lives.

So many of Job's loved ones had passed away, but not God.

He knows that God is still with him and he will be forever.

At the last, he will stand upon the earth.

I hope I have this kind of trust in God when trouble inevitably comes my way again.

And storing up these truths about him like we're doing as we read right now is one way to make sure our feet are on solid ground when the storms come because he is the solid ground and he's where the joy is.

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