Page 85 - Reading Job to Know God

personal advice. Here is what I would do. I would seek God. I would
place my cause before God. And then in verse 17,
“Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise
the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He
wounds, and His hands also heal.”
What he is saying is, Job, you are being reproved. You are being
chastened for sin. If I were you I would just seek God, and I would repent
of that sin. And then God would bless. Look how he describes the life of
benediction. Glance at the verses, and I will state the principles. If you did
this Job, if you would just repent. Verse 19, you would have a life free
from trouble. Verse 20, you would be safe from famine and war. Verse
21, you would be fearless of the tongues of men and of violence. Verse
22, you would have joy in the midst of your troubles. Verse 23, you
would have peace with everything and everyone. Verse 24, you would
have security. Verse 25, you would have prosperity. Verse 26, you would
have strength in your old age. Verse 27, try it and see.
But as you might expect, Job was deeply wounded by the insinuations of
Eliphaz. Words like impatient, wicked, fool, lion, schemer, cunning, all of
those insinuations he knew were applied to him. Beside those physical
agonies of Job, he had a deep hunger. He wanted his soul satisfied. Job
did not have the foggiest idea what was going on in his life, but he knew
Eliphaz was wrong. For seven days three of his best friends sat there in
silence. Did not say a word. He thought they were sympathetic. He
thought that they were friendly, that they would understand. And after
seven days he fully expected them to understand. And so he began to
lament and to cry and to wail. He let loose because he was among
friends. He poured out his heart because he felt accepted.
He would not cry out to anyone. He would not cry out to his wife. He told
her in chapter 2:10, “You speak as one of the foolish women.” “Shall we
indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” He would not
even tell her. But these men sat for seven days, and he said, “My friends,
they will understand”. And then an agony erupted from his soul and he
poured out his spirit before them. And he thought they would understand
as he vented his heart. They had misinterpreted his agony, his crying, his
wailing. And so Job answers now in chapter 6 and 7.
Let me give you the facts of Job’s reply, and then let me show you how he
answered Eliphaz at least in two particulars. Job’s reply is also in three
parts. Let me give you a simple outline. In chapter 6:1-13, he says you
did not understand why I cried; let me explain. He gives an explanation of
his crying. Chapter 6:14-30, he tells how disappointed he is over his three
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