This blog is following Tara-Leigh Cobble on The Bible Recap (TBR) Podcast, which takes a chronological approach and places Job between the flood and Abraham. For further information, see thebiblerecap.com.
God Speaks
Job Seeks God for Relief From Pain
Verse of the Day: I ask along with Job, “But how can a mortal be righteous before God?” Job 9:2 NIV
TBR Day 005: Job 6-9
Job 6-9 source BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Job 6-9:
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.
Job 6
1. God knows who is guilty in a particular situation or who is not.
2. People, like Job, who feel the weight of their painful circumstances often are disappointed in the responses of their friends and family members. Even God seems silent.
Job 7
1. Even when God seems silent, distant, or oppressive, He is still lovingly watching over all humanity in general and individuals like Job in particular.
2. People in Job’s situation should not keep silent but express their anguish and misery to God.
Job 8
1. Bildad was right in what he said about God rescuing and restoring people who turn to Him and strive to live rightly, but he was wrong to assume that Job and his children were being punished for their sins.
2. People who forget God will (in His time) wither away, be cut down, be clothed with shame, and see what they trusted in destroyed.
Job 9
1. God did come as a man with whom Job could argue his case in court–Jesus.
2. As Job asserted, no ordinary human being can be declared innocent before God or challenge Him successfully.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Job 6-9?
Dear all-knowing, all-just, and all-loving LORD God, thank You for knowing who is guilty in a particular situation and who is truly innocent and being falsely accused. Thank You, Jesus, for the fact that although You were totally innocent, You died in the place of all guilty sinners. May people, like Job, who feel the weight of their painful circumstances and are disappointed in the responses of their friends and family members, turn to You, LORD. O God do not be silent. Cause people who are suffering to know that even when You seem silent, distant, or oppressive, You are still lovingly watching over them as individuals. May they not keep silent but express their anguish and misery to You, loving Father God. Bildad was right when he said that You rescue and restore whoever turns to You. Holy Spirit, help us all to strive to live rightly. Only those who refuse to turn to Christ, their Rescuer, will be punished for their sins. These people who forget (dismiss or discount) You will (in Your time, O God) wither away, be cut down, be clothed with shame, and see what they have trusted in be destroyed. LORD God, You did come as a man with whom Job, or anyone else, could argue his case in court–Jesus. I assert along with Job, “No ordinary human being can be declared innocent before God or challenge Him successfully.” Jesus, the perfect God-Man, is our only advocate and hope. May You receive glory forever, LORD. 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 6-9? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will thank God that He sees and knows all things, especially if people are guilty or not and how to punish or comfort them.
- I will open up and talk through a troubling situation with God and at least one other trustworthy person.
- I will take courage (from the Holy Spirit) and speak up for God, His people, and His ways, both with people I know and with strangers I meet, at least three times this week.
- I will pray for God to rescue and restore people who are being held hostage by evil but who, in their hearts, are crying out to Him.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.