May 5 - Job 8-10
Bildad makes a short speech in response to what Job said. He seems to take the "cut and dried" approach. He tells Job, if his sons had sinned that is why God took them, and if Job was upright, God would prosper him. He states clearly that "God will not cast away the blameless, nor will he uphold evildoers."(8:20) That is true. However, he assumes that Job and his sons had sinned, which is not true. He is telling Job to repent, and everything will be alright. Job even agrees that his statement is true, but he still does not know "why", he does not know what caused God to allow this. Therefore, he can't repent. This teaches us that seldom are situations simple. The "cut and dried" position is usually too simple. As humans we can't see all of the circumstances, so we can't understand fully. Only God sees and knows all. If we take the simplistic approach like Bildad, we seem to be very uncaring to the person in pain. That is why this is not usually the right approach.
Job's response shows more of his pain and confusion because of his grief. He wants to talk to God, but he feels God is unapproachable. He would love to have a conversation with Him, but He is invisible. God seems very uncaring to Job at this point. Job says that "He destroys the blameless and the wicked."(9:22) Then, Job says that he has no mediator to stand between him and God, who can relate to both. In the end it is just the pain that matters to Job. Whether he is wicked or righteous, the pain is still great. Job's pain and helplessness are evident in his words. That is how someone feels in grief sometimes, but all of these feelings about God are not true. God is not unapproachable or distant. God is personal, and He does care. There is a mediator, Jesus Christ. Job will understand all of these things in time, but now the pain is causing him to say rash things, and the hurt is keeping him from seeing God.
The truth is that God has not destroyed Job. He was trying him. However, since Job could not see into the future, he thought his life was so destroyed he might as well die. This is not true. God can restore what He has taken away, and He can make our lives beautiful after a time of great pain and loss. We must trust in God's love and power, not in our own thoughts and emotions. This is one of the purposes of trials. They teach us to trust God. They show us that God knows what He is doing. The sooner we get to that place of trust, the better for us. It does not take the pain away completely, but it does make us have joy and peace in Him. That is what God wants for us. He knows the only way to create this in our lives is through times of trials.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 11-14.
Job's response shows more of his pain and confusion because of his grief. He wants to talk to God, but he feels God is unapproachable. He would love to have a conversation with Him, but He is invisible. God seems very uncaring to Job at this point. Job says that "He destroys the blameless and the wicked."(9:22) Then, Job says that he has no mediator to stand between him and God, who can relate to both. In the end it is just the pain that matters to Job. Whether he is wicked or righteous, the pain is still great. Job's pain and helplessness are evident in his words. That is how someone feels in grief sometimes, but all of these feelings about God are not true. God is not unapproachable or distant. God is personal, and He does care. There is a mediator, Jesus Christ. Job will understand all of these things in time, but now the pain is causing him to say rash things, and the hurt is keeping him from seeing God.
The truth is that God has not destroyed Job. He was trying him. However, since Job could not see into the future, he thought his life was so destroyed he might as well die. This is not true. God can restore what He has taken away, and He can make our lives beautiful after a time of great pain and loss. We must trust in God's love and power, not in our own thoughts and emotions. This is one of the purposes of trials. They teach us to trust God. They show us that God knows what He is doing. The sooner we get to that place of trust, the better for us. It does not take the pain away completely, but it does make us have joy and peace in Him. That is what God wants for us. He knows the only way to create this in our lives is through times of trials.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 11-14.