Today's Reading:

Job 6
Job 7
Job 8
Job 9

 
Biblically, mercy is the God of wonder holding back the judgement we have earned, while grace is the God of light pouring out blessings we could never deserve. Mercy is the quiet “no” spoken from heaven when we should be crushed , and grace is the lavish “yes” that floods our darkness with favor we did not earn. In Job’s story, mercy is the unseen line that God draws in the sand- “You may touch his body, but you may not take his life,” shielding Job from the full storm of chaos when justice alone would have let it swallow him whole. Grace is seen through God’s restoration at the end of the book, restoring Job’s fortunes and honor. Job never did prove his case, yet God withheld full judgement. We deserve neither the mercy that spares nor the grace that restores, but in Christ, the God of wonder and light gives us both, freely and without earning. 

Chapter 6 starts out with Job’s turn to respond to Eliphaz’s speech about God having the right to punish humans due to sin. Job defended himself without cursing God, calling his friends unreliable and cruel while maintaining his innocence. Job agreed that God was judging him, “The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison”, stating that the arrows of God’s judgment were quick and wound deep with God’s wrath. What Job states is that his friends have unjustly accused him of sinning, he switched then to plead to God , asking why God can’t just remove him as a target and forgive him if he had sinned.  

Bildad, friend #2, was impatient with Job and blatantly told him he was evil and he must have done horrible sin to have the wrath placed on him. If only Job would repent, then God would give him a blessing of mercy. We must wonder about Job’s friends’ intentions at this point as two of them have accused him of sin. Are they helping and giving sound advice? While we are privy to God’s own words that Job was righteous, had we not known this, would we also be condemning Job. Job’s friends did not truly know what was in his heart, yet, they felt there must be some sin, therefore God was correcting Job for it. Job still maintained his innocence, even asking his friends if they were trying to “correct what he says” (6:25). Job begged his friends to understand that life was hard, and he wanted to comprehend just as we all want to understand trials and beg God for mercy during suffering. Our circumstances and issues are not always a result of our choices; sometimes the world has fallen from grace and other times, people’s sins land on us. Pain is not always judgement. “How can a mortal ever win an argument with God?” While He is mighty, His heart is set on us. Job wants to be able to stand before God and claim his innocence, he felt that he was right in his convictions but knows that he would never be able to stand in front of God and prove it. Who is able to fight the One who made the universe? Job is filled with a mixture of frustration and awe. When there is no way to prove you are right, you can still cry out to the God who is bigger than the stars, as He loves you and in His presence is where real hope starts. 

Today's Discussion question: 

Job felt like his friends’ words were empty and not helpful in his pain. Have you ever felt let down by people trying to “comfort” you during tough times- what does real, helpful support look like? 

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