God Speaks
Job’s Closing Arguments: Life Before and After Spiritual Attack
Verse of the Day: “Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, ” (Job 29:4 NIV)
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Watch TBR Day 011 Job 29-31
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Job 29-31:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Chapters 29-31 of the book of Job is viewed in this blog as Job’s review of his situation. His response is seen as the earthly perspective of anyone who has tried to live for God in their own human strength but has been harassed by Satan (and his forces), God’s enemy and theirs.
Job 29
Job recalled and longed for the days gone by when he was blessed by God and in turn blessed others. He had an intimate friendship with God. His children were gathered around him, and he was very prosperous. His public leadership was greatly respected. He was well spoken of and rescued the poor. He was righteous, just, and aided people with disabilities. He assisted the disadvantaged, snatching them from the grasp of the wicked. He thought that even in his death, after a long, fruitful life, he would refresh and shelter others. People paid attention when he spoke, drinking in his words and basking in his approval. People looked to him for advice, leadership, and comfort.
Job 30
In contrast, now Job is mocked by ne’er-do-wells who have been driven from human society. Nameless, worthless fools and outcasts from society taunt him, despise him, and spit in his face. They block his way at every turn and seek to destroy his honor and prosperity. Depression haunts him day and night along with his pain. It appears that even God is against Job. Yet he turns and cries out to this seemingly unresponsive God whom he views as shaking him by the collar. To Job, God seems to be cruelly persecuting him and sending him to his death, the eventual end of all life. He looks for good and light but finds only evil and darkness. He looks for human help and comfort but finds only wild animals, fever, and mournful music.
Job 31
In this part of his speech, like a good defense attorney, Job gives his responses to a series of possible charges against him and how they should be punished if they were true, which in his case they are not. He was committed not to lust, not to lie, not to cheat or mistreat his servants, not to abuse or neglect the poor and needy, not be enticed to worship other ‘gods’ (money or nature as examples), not to gloat or rejoice over disaster on his enemies, not to cover up any guilt or to fear what other people think, and not to steal or murder. Job was committed to all this so that he could stand as a prince before God.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Job 29-31?
O LORD God, it is only by Your mercy, grace and love that Job was able to experience the blessings He had earlier in his life. Thank You for using Job to bless others as well. You were so pleased by him that, as chapter one showed, You commended him to Satan. It was You who gave Satan permission to tempt, trouble, and torment Job. You knew that he would pass the test and remain steadfast in his trust in You. Satan then did his best (worst), using people and circumstances to get Job down physically, financially, emotionally, mentally, and socially; however, Job continued to maintain that You were a person with whom he could be reason and to whom he could appeal. He asserted that You are the ultimate judge before whom he could plead his case, and that You would declare him innocent. He affirmed that the guilty should be punished but that he had lived in such a way that he was not one of them. There were no Ten Commandments or laws of Moses for Job to obey or break, yet Job had lived them out. Jesus had not yet come to die and remove sin, but Job knew He would come and stand upon the earth. You, Holy Spirit, had not yet come to indwell him and enable him, yet Job lived rightly related to You and to other human beings, and he interceded for his family to do the same. Job set an excellent example of how we bring You glory, LORD. May we follow it. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Job 29-31? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will write an account of how God has blessed me and used me to bless other people in my lifetime.
- I will make a list of sins that I have committed that God has forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross, writing over them in red ink, “Covered and removed by the blood of Jesus.”
- I will ask other people I know to join me in the above activities.
- Together with these others, I will praise God for all that He is and has done.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.