Eliphaz acknowledges Job has been a friend and instructor,
an encourager and a teacher to many. He
has feared God and been a man of integrity.
In all these statements we get a picture of Job as an upright man,
blameless and yet also a man who is not only a private man, a rugged
individualist, but a man who shares freely and who we would be proud to know
and to emulate. But, Eliphaz says, I got
a word, a little whisper that just blew past me that reminded me that no one is
truly righteous. I recall that even the
angels aren't perfect. Obviously what
Eliphaz is saying here is that Job can't truly uphold his own righteousness, he
isn't the exception in the universe to the rule of sinfulness. While there is a truth there, there is also a
false implication. That false
implication or application is that there is a correspondence between sin and
suffering. There is, but sin is the
cause ultimately of all suffering, we aren't necessarily punished for our sins
as Eliphaz insinuates Job must be. We
live in a world broken by sin and thus characterized by suffering.
How quickly the opinions change. The people in Nazareth hear Jesus teach
powerfully and see, or at least know about, the works of healing He has done and
are amazed and marvel at these things.
Then, however, they remember what they know, that they know His family,
He is nobody, where does He get off thinking He is someone? They have evidence that He is indeed special,
they haven't heard such a teacher or seen such miracles, they acknowledge that
as true, but they can't get past what they know. Did they not also know the story of His
conception and birth? Did they simply
not believe Mary's story? While they are
astonished at Him, He marvels at their unbelief. Maybe the people in Jerusalem and Judea were
right about the people of Nazareth after all, nothing good can come from
there. Familiarity has indeed bred
contempt.
Aren't you glad there is a sovereign God? I am happy to know there is one who sits on
the throne in heaven and that one day His kingdom will be established and those
who believe will enjoy that kingdom forever.
When I think about the suffering of a Job, the search for explanations
for suffering, and the reality that things aren't the way they ought to be,
when I see the rejection of the only good and righteous man who ever lived, I
need to know that there is hope. I need
to know that ultimately this travail will end and that we will see the world we
believe should be, a world not broken by sin, a world of neither sorrow nor
sighing, a world where we all bow down and worship the King of kings and Lord
of lords and celebrate His greatness and His goodness.
No comments:
Post a Comment