Job's Pity Party

Job's friends have a few off-base things to say in today's reading, i.e. "your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved", but also some good wisdom. Bildad says "He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy" which reminds me of the verse (that I can quote but not reference), "weeping endures for a night but joy cometh in the morning". And Zophar says, "if only you would prepare your heart and lift your hands to Him in prayer!" and "Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty? Such knowledge is higher than the heavens- and who are you?" These are great spiritual truths. But Job is too busy feeling sorry for myself, and frankly I don't blame him, to process any of what they say. God seems remote and arbitrary to Job, and Job feels powerless and unmotivated to approach God. But in the middle of his long-winded pity-party, Job makes an absolutely profound statement. It just leaps off the page!

"God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial. If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together. The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment. Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength."

IF ONLY THERE WERE A MEDIATOR.... His name is Jesus! And we no longer live in terror of punishment because Jesus has already taken it! And we can speak to Him without fear because Jesus is the "friend who sticks closer than a brother"! These are things that could not be done in our own strength. The people of the Old Testament tried in vain to be holy and worthy to approach God. But it is not humanly possible to do so. We have to ride the coat-tails of the One who is strong enough to shoulder our sins and burdens.

Tomorrow's reading: Job 12-14