January 29, 2019
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Reading along with us in Job? Here’s today’s reading:
Job 34 (ESV)
Then Elihu answered and said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
3 for the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose what is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,
and God has taken away my right;
6 in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression...Continue Reading
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For his eyes are on the ways of a man,
and he sees all his steps.
Still studying in James 5. “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
The KJV says, “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
Thinking about what it means to “stablish” your heart.
1 “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,
and he sees all his steps.
22 There is no gloom or deep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23 For God has no need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in judgment.
24 He shatters the mighty without investigation
and sets others in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from following him
and had no regard for any of his ways,
Elihu here brings Job to task about his opinion that God has set Himself against him and therefore it makes no difference to try to please Him. He defends God by declaring that God cannot do evil. James declares the same thing, that He cannot be tempted by evil. God did not need anyone’s permission to rule the earth and without His support man would perish. God is above all and He holds the only right to judge mankind and He observes the ways of man and does so without partiality. There is no place that we can escape Him and He is able to judge the deeds of the wicked. He is over all! So therefore how is it that Job can criticize God? How can He expect that God somehow is going to meet him on his terms. He points out quite possibly what some of us have observed of Job that he is prideful and is being rebellious in his response to God. Rebellion certainly runs deep in the hearts of man, and we are wise to recognize it for what it is and submit ourselves to His will regardless of what we are receiving from Him or from the circumstances of life.
Job 34:10-12 (ESV)
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. 11 For according to the work of a man he will repay him, and according to his ways he will make it befall him. 12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
Elihu’s primary argument is from the perspective of the character of God, that it is beyond the character of God to sin. This is a true statement for we know that God is holy and righteous.
• Elihu states that if God stopped being holy and righteous then the world would cease (Job 34:13-15)
• Elihu argues that man regards earthly kings and rulers as ‘righteous’, how much more is God who rules over everything. (Job 34:16-20) Today, at least in the American culture, we do not have this lofty view of our leaders.
• God knows all of the ways of man including those he tries to ‘hide’ in the darkness so that God righteously executes judgment without ‘investigation’ (Job 34:21-30)
• In light of this knowledge of God’s righteous judgment on the wicked; is anyone so bold to say that they have suffered unjustly? (Job 34:31-37)