JOB'S PAIN TURNS TO SELF-PITY
Job continues to talk as if he could be given audience from God:
"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges You have against me. Does it please You to oppress me, to spurn the work of Your hands, while You smile on the schemes of the wicked? Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as a mortal sees? Are Your days like those of a mortal or Your years like those of a man, that You must search out my faults and probe after my sin--though You know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from Your hand?
Your hands shaped me and made me. Will You now turn and destroy me? Remember that You molded me like clay. Will You now turn me to dust again? Did You not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? YOU GAVE ME LIFE AND SHOWED ME KINDNESS, AND IN YOUR PROVIDENCE WATCHED OVER MY SPIRIT.
But this is what You concealed in Your heart, and I know that this was in Your mind: If I sinned, You would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. If I am guilty--woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction. If I hold my head high, You stalk me like a lion and again display Your awesome power against me. You bring new witnesses against me and increase Your anger toward me; Your forces come against me wave upon wave.
Why then did You bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."
LIVE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE COMMENTARY
Job began to wallow in self-pity. When we face baffling affliction, our pain lures us toward feeling sorry for ourselves. At this point we are only one step from self-righteousness, where we keep track of life's injustices and say, "Look what happened to me; how unfair it is!" We may feel like blaming God. Remember that life's trials, whether allowed by God or sent by God, can be the means for development and refinement. When facing trials, ask, "What can I learn and how can I grow?" rather than "Who did this to me and how can I get out of it?"
In frustration, Job jumped to the false conclusion that God was out to get him. Wrong assumptions lead to wrong conclusions. We dare not take our limited experiences and jump to conclusion about life in general. If you find yourself doubting God, remember that you don't have all the facts. God wants only the very best for your life. Many people endure great pain, but ultimately they find some greater good came from it. When you're struggling, don't assume the worst.
Job was expressing the view of death common in Old Testament times, that the dead went to a joyless, dark place. There was no punishment or reward there, and no escape from it.
MY THOUGHTS
Raising children, you never wait to punish them for wrong doing. If you do, they have difficulty connecting the offense to the punishment. Imagine if you waited ten or fifteen years and then one day, just came in and punished them without telling them why. Sometimes, we feel God is doing something like that. Instead of a "lightening bolt" when we offend, we experience loss at a later time. "Well, what did I do to deserve this?" Right?
The problem is that we cannot see what is going on in Heaven. We have to trust God and continue to live in a way that we hope positively reflects Jesus.
You can also follow me at http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com/, http://omashealth.blogspot.com/, and http://omaslife.blogspot.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment