May
the mumbling commence!
Perhaps
it took a while for Job’s words about the unjust seeming to flourish to sink in, but now
two of Job’s friends vehemently deny this assumption. Read the words of Eliphaz and Bildad that
describe wicked men below:
Though his face is
covered with fat
and his waist bulges
with flesh,
he will inhabit
ruined towns
and
houses where no one lives,
houses
crumbling to rubble.
He will no longer
be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor
will his possessions spread over the land.
He will not escape
the darkness;
a
flame will wither his shoots,
and
the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
Let him not
deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he
will get nothing in return. (Eliphaz; Job 15:27-31)
He is torn from the security of his tent
and
marched off to the king of terrors.
Fire
resides in his tent;
burning
sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
His
roots dry up below
and
his branches wither above.
The memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name in the land.
He
is driven from light to darkness
and
is banished from the world. (Bildad; Job 18:14-18)
These
friends tell Job that the appearance of security and healthy roundness of
wicked people are but a mirage. They
will get their just desserts in the end.
Ruin and rubble await the wicked – even as they cling to worthless
idols. Darkness will envelop the wicked. Even the name and memory of the wicked will
vanish from the earth. We may not think
twice about these things – a name and memory – but they were vital to the
thoughts of the Hebrew people. To die
and not have your name carried on by your offspring was pure degradation. To not be remembered made life seem
futile. Can you imagine living a life a
having zero impact on the people you knew the best?
But would these words help Job, comfort
him? Job, as many people who are in pain
and questioning God, was living in the moment of his suffering. Job did not wish to hear about some distant
shining future. He wanted answers for
his situation from God. In Job 17:2, Job
called them miserable comforters. Does misery
love company? Maybe if company could
either join the misery or explain it and put it to an end. What did Job feel he needed? He says it plainly in the passage below from
chapter 17:
Even now my witness is in
heaven;
my advocate
is on high.
My intercessor
is my friend
as my eyes pour out
tears to God;
on behalf of a
man he pleads with God
as
a man pleads for his friend. (Verses
19-21)
Job
did not need affirmation that the wicked suffer or that the righteous would be
vindicated. He did not need friends who
would lay blanket accusations at his feet to explain away his sufferings. Job needed a witness in heaven that would be
a true friend – one who would plead his case and assume his innocence rather
than his guilt. Job needed someone to
stand by his side and plead as only a friend could. He wanted restored relationship with
God. His assumed relationship with God
when things were good was fine, but now that hard times had hit he needed a
little more tangible proof in his life.
And
he is sure this advocate exists. So am
I. It is no one other than Jesus, our
Great High Priest – as the letter to the Hebrews states. This passage is a great reminder for all who
are suffering that Jesus is always there for us – and especially in times of
suffering. This reminder is what we need
when we suffer and question God – a reminder that God reached out and chose to
suffer so that He would better understand suffering and temptations.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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