Today's Reading:

Job 22
Job 23
Job 24

 

Job 23:14 “God carries out His decree against me, and many such plans He still has in store.”   God has bigger plans for us than we can see, Job trusted in God’s predetermined plans when life was overwhelming and painful. God is a just judge at the appointed time- His time, not our time. Remember in Genesis 18, Abraham bargained with God to spare the city of Sodom if 10 could be found righteous or even just one righteous man. The difference was in the divine interaction: Job wanted a singular divine will, while Genesis highlights God’s willingness to listen to human intercession and potentially alter His judgment based on the righteousness of the city. God has supreme sovereignty, but He is also merciful.  If God’s absolute sovereignty means He has ultimate control over all events, including suffering (like to Job), how does mercy allow for genuine human free will and the ability to influence those outcomes through prayer and moral action? 

 

Eliphaz, Friend #1 had his third speech. He harshly accused Job because he felt God did not punish the innocent.  Eliphaz listed the wickedness that Job must have done such as exploiting the poor, withholding water and bread from those who were thirsty or hungry, sending widows away empty-handed and/or oppressing debtors. Like a billionaire slumlord leaving the people naked. Eliphaz urged Job to repent and submit to God and promised he would see restoration and success in what Job does by this humble action. Eliphaz assumed that there was immediate suffering for sin, and immediate blessings for righteousness. Eliphaz basically told Job that bad things like Job's pain and losses only happened as direct punishment for big sin- no innocent person would suffer that much. 

 

Job responded to Eliphaz declaring that if he could just find God’s dwelling, then he could consider what God would say to him, but Job would establish his innocence before God, seeking out a fair trial because Job has kept to God’s ways. Yet Job felt God was hidden and unreachable. Job had faith in knowing that God would refine him like gold, in purifying him and not destroying him (23:10). 

  “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread” (23:12). Job declared his commitment to God’s commands, His words were more than food, they were spiritual sustenance. He continued asking why was judgment time not a set of specific times? It was absurd that the wicked flourished. God would allow those mighty and powerful to think they were secure, but He was keen in watching them and would judge the wicked in His own way. Job then listed the bad things that had happened throughout time like murders, thieves, adulterers, and oppression of the poor.  The wicked only operated at night, in the dark, hating the light (truth). They thought no one saw and challenged God’s lack of divine justice as they thrived when not punished. This troubled Job as it seemed evil was going unchecked, but he knew God’s “eyes were on their ways” (24:23). Job countered Eliphaz’s claim of instant retribution with God allowing massive injustice to continue unchecked for now and that the evil could prosper and the innocent suffer. Job said the rampant injustice was so extreme, had Eliphaz even bothered to pay attention to what was going on around them. Job had a mic-drop moment where he challenged his friends in (24:25) who would step up to say he was lying about how the wicked do flourish and the innocent suffer. He knew his friends could not refute him as what he described was what they saw every day. Are we today the same evil that scrolls past the world’s agony with full bellies and deaf hearts? 

Today's Discussion question: 

God has supreme sovereignty; He has the ultimate control over everything, including suffering (like to Job) but, He is also merciful. How does God’s mercy allow for genuine human free will, choices, and the ability to influence those outcomes through prayer and moral action? 
Are we today the same “evil” that scrolls past the world’s agony with full bellies and deaf hearts? 

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