Theological Commentary: Click Here
I can truly identify
with chapters like this one. Job has his
foot in the righteous camp; he also has his foot in the short-sighted human
camp. He is a typical representative of
humanity.
When I say
that he has his foot in the righteous camp, I am speaking about the verses
where he asks God why God is contending with him. We know that Job is righteous. We know that this calamity is not upon Job
because of some great sinfulness within Job.
It’s natural for Job to question why he seems to have come under divine
scrutiny.
It’s also
righteous for Job to remember that it is God who created him. God is the one who made bone and wrapped it
in sinew. He is the source of life and
love. It is good for Job to remember
these things in the midst of his turmoil.
That being
said, we can learn from Job’s humanity as well.
Job seems to be impatient and short-sighted. After all, Job is not being accused by God. Job is being accused by Satan. God is capable of delivering Job and He will
deliver him. We need to learn to be
patient in our suffering. Suffering is
never fun, but when we have faith and remember the salvation of God, we can
endure it.
This is one
of the big recurring themes in the book of Job, and it is a theme that I think
gives the book of Job its unique place in God’s Word. Suffering is not meant to be enjoyed, but it
is meant to be endured through faith. Suffering
is a time when our faith is tested.
Suffering is a time when our character shines through the
brightest. It’s hard to get it
completely right as a human being, as we see here in Job. When we do get it right, though, suffering
gives us one of the greatest testimonies of character that we can ever expect
to bear.
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