[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (DRU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[2:42 pm, 01/01/2022] S.R: 𝕁𝕠𝕓 𝟙:𝟚𝟙
"He said, 'Naked I came from
my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD
has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.'"
The first chapter of the first
written book of the Bible deals with the most common experience of all people:
suffering. Well, Job chose to bless God!
We have two choices in suffering:
to bless God or to curse God.
Bless the Lord, O, my soul! 🎶
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟚:𝟙𝟚
"When they lifted up their
eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and
wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads
toward the sky."
Job's three friends have become a
proverb to ridicule useless friends. However, they were very good in the
beginning. I don't mean to suggest they became bad. Rather, I would like to say
that most probably they are as good as any good people around us. If we live in
their times, probably we would be reacting like them.
My takeaway from this verse and
this story is, at least let's imitate these 3 friends in their good conduct! 👍🙏
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟛:𝟙
"Afterward Job opened his
mouth and cursed the day of his birth."
Job would rather curse anything
related to him than curse God.
I have an old friend who had been
to great trouble and sorrow, when I inquired about his day-to-day life, he
said, "I have no complaints, only gratefulness to His grace upon
grace"
By, the mercies of God, I have
learned to say like that oftentimes! O, why would I curse my God who has never
erred me!? I stand with Polycarp and the psalmist to bless the Lord!
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟜:𝟜
"Your 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤
have helped the tottering to stand, And you have strengthened feeble
knees."
This was spoken of Job by his
friend (who had also become his accuser).
Let people say of me as it was said
of Job. I have not much money, nor much strength to help the weak, feeble, and
poor, but I have the word of God (the wisdom of God) to help them.
Job was a rich, powerful, and
influential man, but he was known for his "words"
Wow! Every one of us in this group
can be known for that as well because we read to know God's word! 😇
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟝:𝟙𝟟
"Behold, how happy is the man
whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."
This is a true statement but
unfortunately was irrelevant to Job because Job wasn't disciplined by God for
any of his sins.
However, I think, we would be
almost always right when we use this verse among us! 🙂
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟞:𝟚𝟜
"Teach me, and I will be
silent; And show me how I have erred."
Would we be like Job who doesn't
have anything shameful to hide, but asked to be examined to be better?
Our Lord Jesus went further. He
dared his haters to convict Him of any sins!
David experienced the joy of
salvation, the joy of life, the goodness of God when he let God examine him!
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟟:𝟙𝟞
"I waste away; I will not live
forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath."
Job was in pain, left alone by God,
wife, friends, and all!
Actually, life no matter what it
is, is short and has been wasted when it is not enjoying God.
There were times, like Job, when I
felt I was being left to waste my time, energy, and life, and wanted God to
leave me alone as He does with others! Not to live independently of God, but to
be not examined deeply, for who can stand His examination?
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟠:𝟛
"Does God pervert justice? Or
does the Almighty pervert what is right?"
These questions are framed in such
a way that the answer is an absolute "No!" It's not a question of
doubt. It's a question of affirmation! All questionings in trials and
temptations aren't bad.
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟡:𝟛𝟘-𝟛𝟙
"If I should wash myself with
snow And cleanse my hands with lye, Yet You would plunge me into the pit, And
my own clothes would abhor me."
Indeed, no matter how we strive to
be holy, there's still indwelling sin in us. Still, God calls us to be obsessed
with holiness. John Owen said that if the indwelling sin is not your greatest
burden in life, you aren't a Christian!
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟝
"If I am wicked, woe to me!
And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am sated with disgrace and
conscious of my misery."
This was the word of Job in
despair, but it's true. We dare not face the holy God without the person of
Christ, our mediator!
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟙𝟙:𝟙𝟟
"Your life would be brighter
than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning."
It wasn't for Job. These words were
so empty, so untrue to Job.
But no matter what, he chose to
trust God!
Let's not read Bible only to find the
motivation to live on. It may not mean what we think it means! But like Job,
whether we understand it or not, like it or not, we keep going on...
𝕁𝕠𝕓
𝟙𝟚:𝟛
"But I have intelligence as
well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as
these?"
Indeed, I know godly people who do
not speak like the world though they are very intelligent and even more
intelligent than those worldly guys who flaunt their intelligence.
As Isaiah and Paul said, "Let
him who boasts boast that he knows the Lord." Job knew God not just in
word, he experienced the awesomeness of God through his deep suffering!