When We Do Not Know Of That Which We Search…… We Roam.

Today we are going to focus on the last 6 verses in Job 3 from God’s Word translation. Verses 20 - 23 appear as thought Job asks 2 questions, however in truth they are rhetorical statements.   Given that Job has always been the one to “give answers” the poor guys probably does not know how to be vulnerable…..and appreciate receiving care. Or maybe it is simply that no one around was attempting to give him any care or compassion.   Have you ever experienced Job’s land of UZ?  Let’s look at these 6 verses and separate the truth from the fiction:

“Why give light to one in misery and life to those who find it so bitter, to those who long for death but it never comes – though they dig for it more than for buried treasure?”
“They are ecstatic, delighted to find the grave, Why give light to those whose paths have been hidden, to those whom God has fenced in ?”

As you all know by know one of my greatest praises to God is that I am forever grateful to live in the space this side of the cross.  Job did not have the bible in which God had someone record the scene in heaven so that he could understand what we know as the spiritual battle.  We also have the word of God which gave us the true knowledge so that we would not be mislead as Job was. 
For instance, why give light to one in misery?  We know that Christ is the truth, the way and the life.  The reason is so that we can find our way, see the light and have a reason for hope.  It is only through hope that misery flees.  Christ came to bind up the broken hearted and to set captives free.  His light shines on the darkness so that the darkness must flee.  He sends the comforter for misery and when someone finds comfort their bitterness or hardness softens.  It is then and only then that hope blossoms.
…..to those who long for death but it never comes – though they dig for it more than for buried treasure?'” :  We are promised that God does not cut our time short and that is another reason for our hope.  We are to search for Him, dig if you will, with all our heart, strength and soul. Although we know our desire is to find relief it comes from life, not death.  We cannot perceive that we are already dead and in this death there is only anguish.  The only relief from death is life.  Most people or at least those seeking are in fear of loss, death, finality.
We know that Satan is in Jobs head when we hear the perversion from these words: Why give light to those whose paths have been hidden, to those whom God has fenced in.  Sound familiar?  In Job, scene 1, satan answered the Lord with this statement:  “Haven’t  you put a protective fence around him, his home, and everything he has?”  Now we hear Job confessing that the protection of his Almighty is claustrophobic. 
The next three verses are very important in order for us to see the truth in what is taking place here:

• When my food is in front of me, I sigh
• I pour out my groaning like water
• What I fear most overtakes me
• what I dread happens to me
• I have no peace
• I have no quiet
• I have no rest

…….and trouble keeps coming!
The first thing we give thanks for to God is our daily bread.  We know we cannot live by bread alone, but from the very word of God.  Job is struggling with both here.  His gratitude, for the one thing God stated satan could not take away, his very life is more than flailing here.
“I pour out my groaning like water” – we discussed last week how an unclean spirit is seeking out a waterless place to rest.  These spirits in the past could not enter Job because he was water filled.  So they waited, provoked,tormented, abandoned, mocked and belittled Job till he did not have the strength left to fight them off - “What I fear most overtakes me!”
How awful, have you ever been there.  All you see is darkness, you feel it crushing in ………and you don’t have the in your heart and mind these wonderful words to help you persevere “We may be pressed on all sides but we are not crushed!”  So we see that they did come in and they found rest because Job didn’t have it any longer.  He had no peace and obviously their voices were disturbing his mind because he stated he had no quiet. 
This my friends sound like “Hell on Earth”.  And true to the rest of the verse from last week “the state of the man became worse than the first!”
Satan lost that first round, so he came back with 7 more powerful.  They were wicked unclean spirits.
These are the things I want you to think about then write your thoughts for us to discuss:
Satan had been circling Job as a lion studying his prey. Do you think he had a pack of demons surrounding Job as well?
Job had 7 sons we are told and three daughters.  His sons were the ones creating the parties and opening their doors to encourage others to join in.  All that Job had been blessed with was theirs and they were using this prosperity in ways that harmed Job’s peace, and ultimately his reputation.  Could they have been waterless places in which evil found a resting place?
For today, I thank God that we have His mercy, grace and written word in order that we may know all things in advance.  I pray that those of us in need of wisdom, that our spirit prospers even as our soul just as He has promised.  I ask that we all intercede for each other first and then make requests on our own behalf so that God may have a body to call his very own – complete in all ways.
In Christ,
Candace


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What Are You Clinging To?

We are not moving from this part of Job’s journey just yet.  We still have some examining to do …..there are still a few angles left unchecked.

Let’s read this from another translation, the NAS and I will emphasize a few things:

Job 2

AGAIN there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 

This does not sound as though Satan was excluded but it does elude that he was not sent an invite.  He was a party crasher!

And the Lord said to satan, “Have you considered My servant Job?  For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil.  And he STILL hold fast his integrity although YOU incited Me against him to ruin him WITHOUT CAUSE.

We see that satan did not speak first.  Which does not surprise me, every deceptive person speaks after they get what they came for.  I do love the way that the Lord made a public spectacle of satan offering Job up in character and hitting it home by stating “and He still holds fast his integrity”.  I admire how he is able to state the snare of satan and keep his cool.  Did you notice he didn’t get confrontational at all?  This is what I mean when I state “The truth does not have to be defended, it is simply the truth!”

God tells us not to enter into arguments with fools.  He tells us not to give pearls to swine.  But he does tell us to speak His truth to everyone.  He tells us that we are to hold others accountable but leave vengeance to Him and Him alone.  He promises that He is a just and loving God.  I believe Him what about you? 

Satan however is always going to act in line with his character so he has to incite God again stating:

Skin for skin!  Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.  However, put forth THY hand, NOW, and touch his bone…and his flesh…he WILL curse Thee….TO THY FACE!

He is saying come on God you know this will push him over the edge……test him…come on …..you know you want to do it.  Listen to his arrogance, it is despicable!  If he will treat the Lord God Almighty in this way you know he will not hold back any sucker punches with us! 

But “thank God” God is God.  He simply stated to satan:

Behold he is in YOUR power, only spare his life.

God reiterated that he did not have to do a thing, satan had the power if he could manipulate Job and He was not getting involved in acting so unloving toward someone He loved so.

Let’s look again now at what Job’s wife stated: 

Do you still hold fast your integrity?  Curse God and die!

What I find so15 fabulous here is how Satan had used his wife as a mouth piece, look how blatant he is.  The very thing that God said Job was holding fast to …..what was anchoring his steadfastness is what satan flung at him.  He is trying to push him like he did God by saying…..come on just drop your integrity in God, you know you want to …….it will feel SO good ……just this once ….what harm will it do……and your own flesh and blood the one you are united with in God is telling you to just forget about it!

I would like to end this today asking you to think about what it is you hold fast or cling to when the pressure is on and you are in crisis. Be careful that it is not a spouse, heavens knows they leave people all the time, they do not honor their commitments to God to love us and forsake others……till death do us part.  (Not to say that you should stay with someone who is abusive in any way, they were not honoring their commitment to God from the get go.  This is a generic statement at best okay…..) and we will get to the friends in a few days.  We should be clinging to our faith in the one who will never leave us nor forsake us.  Yet we are not to be islands.  We are to be interdependent, we speak of this all the time.

1 Corinthians 15:1,2

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain.

I pray that each of us receive the full measure of that which Christ died to afford us.  And I pray that we not weight the balances of our actions but in all ways look to Him who perfects us and disciplines us as loved children.

With the love of our Christ,

Candace