Page 98 - Job
P. 98

Bildad had said, God is discriminately righteous. Job says, no, he is not.
           Look at verse 17,

           “For  He  bruises  me  with  a  tempest.  And  multiplies  my  wounds
           without cause. He will not allow me to get my breath, but saturates
           me with bitterness. If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong
           one!”
           Is He trying to prove who is the strongest? He wins. I admit that.
           “And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him? Though I
           am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; though I am guiltless, He
           will declare me guilty. I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I
           despise my life.”
           Now watch. Here is where he refutes Bildad.
           “It  is  all  one;  therefore  I  say,  He  destroys  the  guiltless  and  the
           wicked. If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the
           innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covers
           the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?”

           It gets a lot hotter than this, but Job never strikes out more vehemently
           against Got than he does right here. He looks at God and declares, Bildad,
           you say He is righteous? You say He is discriminately righteous and just?
           Not as I see it. Job says, in verse 24,
           “The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.”

           As I see it, the earth is just one scene of injustice. The wicked, rule the
           earth.  Rather  than  rewarding  the  innocent,  I  think  He  punishes  the
           innocent and rewards the wicked. Then Job says, if there is a bias at all, I
           see  it  to  be  against  the  righteous  and  for  the  wicked.  Strong  language
           indeed.
           When we read the book of Job it is almost impossible to see how God
           looks  at  things.  The  New  Testament  says,  “You  have  heard  of  the
           patience of Job.” Isn’t that amazing? The New Testament uses Job as an
           illustration of patience. If it were not for the New Testament, you would
           never know he was patient. You sure do not find it in the book of Job.
           After this pathetic and desperate outburst, Job sort of sinks in exhaustion.
           There is a literary pause. He cools down, and he begins to speak in 9:25,
           “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no
           good. They slip by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops on its
           prey.”

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