King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, January 06, 2022
Chapters: Job 4-7
Message: Light Them With Hope
Hello My Friend,
I worked my first shift at a convenience store, and at first, I was so nervous that I kept stumbling over myself, until I told myself to calm down and asked God to walk me through. I started out doing the task that the manager had given me, but as I saw a need I did it also without her even asking me to do it. When I told her what I did, she gave me this shocked look on her face as if she were in awe that I just did it without her asking. As she was leaving, she thanked me for my work and said she wished that all of the people from the company worked the way I did, meaning cared enough to make a difference. We, as Christians are here to shine the light of Christ through our actions, we can talk a good deed, but our actions are what actually fill the very need that all are goodhearted and moral people long for in this life, and that is hope of salvation, [Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. – 1 Thessalonians 5:5,8-9,11]
[Hope; A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.] Everyone has hope that something good will come out of pain and suffering and all the work that we do to make something attainable of this life that we are given. Sadly, that hope is often turned into hopelessness when all we receive are negative responses. As we continue reading through Job, his friends watched him as he laid there trying to figure out why he is still alive. The best thing they did was just sit there for a week and say nothing, but all that really did was stir up their minds with thoughts of why this did happen to Job. And they were not thoughts of comfort to say the least, in fact, they just knew that he must have had some kind of secret sinful life that no one knew about. The first friend to speak was Eliphaz.
[Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. – Job 4:1-8]
[it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.] Eliphaz is saying that all this time Job had been the model God fearing citizen that everyone looked up to, and now this has happened to show that he is guilty of something and now God is judging him for it. He goes on to say that the reason he knew this was because he had this spirit come up to him and tell him these things, [Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. – Job 4:12-17,20]
[Then a spirit passed before my face;] Remember, Satan is responsible for all of this, it would not be a surprise that he has his minions right there in the midst of them planting these thoughts in their head. Probably the biggest device that Satan uses to get us to doubt our salvation is to get us to believe that what our sin is too much for God to forgive, but there is no sin that God will never forgive, [This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. – 1 Timothy 1:15-16]
Now, there is one thing that God does do when He allows righteous suffering, and that is use it to reveal Christ to us and to the world as we endure it through Him. There are always people willing to help encourage us as we endure it, but what they end up being is discouraging rather than encouraging. Now, after all that accusing, Eliphaz goes on to give Job some encouragement that God will forgive him and stop all this if he would just confess his sin and understand that God did this for his own good.
[Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. – Job 5:1-2,8-11,17-19,27]
[and know thou it for thy good.] He is telling Job that God is giving him a well deserved punishment to draw out the sin that he has committed so he will not do it again, and if he would just confess it, then God will stop the judgment. I really hate when people say this, as though hurting someone is the answer to getting them to stop doing something. Yes, God does chasten us, and it is used to get us to repent of sin if we are knowingly doing something sinful, but God goes straight to the source of what the sin is, He does not drum up sin that is not there, [If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. – Psalms 44:20-21]
If we are honest with ourselves, God is more merciful with us than we deserve because we have gotten away with more things than we care to admit. Nevertheless, God knows our heart, our very intentions, and while it is truly better to suffer for righteousness rather than sin, the worse thing to do is add fuel to the fire of someone already hurting by putting these thoughts in their head of how much of a sinner they are. Now, Job responds, quite discouraged to say the least.
[But Job answered and said, Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat. Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. – Job 6:1-4,7-10]
[and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!] Job did not want to hear all this, he just wanted relief from his pain. At this point, he felt that his only hope was for God to take him away from all this and let him die. This reminds me of those hell, fire, and brimstone people out there standing on street corners, telling you that you are going to hell if you do not repent right now. Yes, people need to know that there is a hell and that our sin is what sends us there unless we receive Christ as our Saviour, but there is some empathy that needs to be considered when we do tell someone about Christ. And we must tell them the whole story, that once you are saved it is eternal, not that you must get saved every time you sin. Jesus died once to save us, and unless we understand that, then we are not saved, [And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. – Hebrews 9:27-28]
Job knew that he was a sinner, but he also knew that what he was going through was not a result of sin, he even goes on to say that he was the hope for those he helped, and never asked anything in return.
[To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. – Job 6:14-15,18,20-27]
[They were confounded because they had hoped;] Remember, we are the lights that shine Christ through both good, bad, and ugly times in our lives, but He shines even more through our suffering. Why? We are the hope that others who are suffering needs to see, [But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. – 1 Peter 3:15-17]
[and ye dig a pit for your friend.] This is how I get when I am going through something and people feel the need to help me out by criticizing me. There is absolutely no benefit to us or anyone to make ourselves into something that we are not. God knows the way that we take, if we are living our lives to please God, then it is not for others to question our righteousness as though we have something to hide because there is some affliction in our lives. We must understand that it is perfectly fine to talk to someone about sin, and give righteous judgment, it not fine to accuse and judge them, [Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. – John 7:24]
People are also quick to falsely accuse you, especially people who know and have been around you. I have to admit that while I am pretty optimistic, I get bothered by unsolicited advice. I know what I was taught, and what I ought to be doing, I respect their option, but who are they to tell me otherwise. The only hope Job sees right now is death, and while he really was not ready to die, since his friend basically tells him to take the punishment and like it, he contemplates the end of life itself.
[Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope. O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. – Job 7:1-3,6-9]
[Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?] Job realized something that we all realize at one point, life is, but a vapor, [Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. – James 4:14] He did not want his last days on earth to be pain, but he lost all hope with his friends there watching every move he made.
[Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. – Job 7:12-15,19-21]
[Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?] Eliphaz must have known Job for quite some time and seen how he was always helping people, how righteous he was, and his worth. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had doubts about his integrity, and this was the opportune time to call him out, he just knew he could not have been as righteous as he appeared. This is the typical response of Christians who are envious of others who seem to be blessed with more than them. I will tell you that God’s blessings come in all forms, and it not always wealth, in fact, the greatest blessings come through our afflictions, [For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:15-18]
[So that my soul chooseth strangling,] The suicide rate among Christians is astounding, much of this is due to the fact that they are being pressured to being a certain way by others, not necessarily God Himself. Remember, [Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. – Romans 14:13] We do not know what people are going through, and why they are going through it, even they do not sometimes. Therefore, as the saying goes, “If you do not have nothing nice to say, it is best to say nothing at all.” And the worse thing that we could ever do is try to encourage someone when we are discouraged ourselves, [But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. – 2 Corinthians 2:1-3]
Let Us Pray: God, I know how blessed I am and how much You have done for me since I put my faith and trust in Your Son as my Saviour. Yes, I have my ups and downs as I navigate through the life I once lived and move it aside as You give me new life. When I am being afflicted, it never fails that there is always someone telling me how bad I am and start to question my own credibility. And here You are using these things to grow my faith, and keep me faithful. Lord, You are my hope, in You I see the light through all my affliction, You are my strength, to endure every pain, trusting in Your promises. When I see others afflicted, let me not falsely accuse or judge them, rather be the light, hope, and encouragement they need through their distress. Forgive me for the times when I am discouraged and have been critical of others, and please let me refrain myself from speaking out. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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