Job can’t sort out the present but he does accurately see
the future. His life is a misery and there
is no explanation for it. We’ve been
told at the outset that he was a righteous man and yet all the calamity that
can befall a man has happened to Job. His
friends have now come to make it worse by accusing him of sin, unconfessed,
hidden sin, that brought this on. He
knows that no one on earth will take his part and make his plea before the Lord
but in his pain he cries out that he knows that his redeemer lives. One day, even after Job’s own death, the case
will be made and he will have his vindication before the Lord. Job is thinking also of resurrection, he says
that in his flesh he will see God, even after “my skin has been destroyed.” Justice will ultimately prevail, even if it
seems to be delayed beyond hope.
Paul says the body, the flesh, is dead because of sin. We who have the Spirit, however, have life in
us because the Spirit is life and gives life.
It gives not only spiritual kind of life, though, the Spirit dwelling in
us gives life even to these mortal bodies.
We are not dualists, our bodies and souls are a unit. There is a battle for control within us
though between the body and the soul. We
must be attentive and obedient to the Spirit’s leadership but our bodies need
to be disciplined by us in order to bring their affections and desires in line
with the Spirit’s leading. Paul says
later that physical training is of some use to us, and inveighs against those
who would argue that the body doesn’t matter.
What is the witness of your body?
Does it tell that you are living by faith or fear? Does it say that you believe the body is a
temple of God or a slave to your appetites?
While this day may have been the Sabbath and the disciples
did no work on this day, it is unlikely that any of them rested. Their entire world had been turned upside
down yesterday. Everything they had come
to believe was wrong. It was quite
likely that they would have to get out of town, maybe not able to even go back
to Galilee. At best, they would be
pariahs, people to be ridiculed because they had believed a lie. Some would pity them, most would laugh at
them, some would hate them and want them killed as well. They couldn’t go back to the synagogue, would
never be at home again. Who could have
imagined the blazing joy that awaited them?
Rest, it’s what we can do today because of the resurrection.
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