January 28, Day 28 – Sighing, Crying, and Dying

Job 4-7;

Psalm 17:1-5; Matthew 19:1-15

"Flying Sparks" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Ink & Watercolor on Paper

Yesterday, we introduced the book of Job with some thoughts about the truth of the universal system that God – in His wisdom and His economy – has determined for the operation of our world.  We pointed out that trouble and suffering are products of bad decision making and its consequences that God allows but does not ordain.  In God’s economy, the curse of the cross precedes the celebration of the crown.  In Job 1-3 we saw Satan’s accusation of Job, “a blameless and upright man” (cf., 1:8), and God’s permission to allow Satan to test Job.  We might summarize Job’s life with the words “sighing, crying, and dying.”  Job lost everything except his wife, and after all their collective losses, Mrs. Job was also ready to throw in the towel (cf., Job 2:9).  Although Job rebuked her, I can say with definition that he was clearly fortunate that he didn’t lose her as well.  A little like Job, I also lost everything except my wife – to Hurricane Camille – in 1969.  Then, a time came in 2021 when I retained everything else but lost my wife.  May I say to you that, for me, the former event was more preferable than the latter.

Here, in Job 2:7, we see that some consequences affect otherwise innocent people.  God allowed these things to happen to Job, but through it all, Job gave glory to God.  In the end, Job is vindicated, and God still gets the glory.  Job’s three friends came “to comfort him” (2:11).  However, they condemn Job as a sinner – which, in their minds – explains Job’s suffering (cf., 5:27, ff), – but their thoughts contradict God’s Word.  Any explanation that contradicts God’s Word is false.  Although Eliphaz states much that is true, his harsh thoughts are misdirected because they are shared in the wrong context and with the wrong spirit.  God desires empathy, comfort, and tenderness.  Job’s words in 7:7-10 ring true and accurately for me:  “I know that my Redeemer lives … and that I myself will see Him” (Job 19:25-27).  Unfortunately, Job’s friends do not really grasp the depth of his suffering, and sadly, Job allows their thoughts to influence his own.  In the face of grief, the best sympathy is simply quiet, non-verbal presence.

In Psalm 17:1-5, we encounter David crying out to the LORD.  Like David, I often cry out, “Hear my prayer, O Lord!”  I desperately do not want to stumble in my Christian walk, and yet, we all falter because, as Jesus said in Matthew 19, our “hearts are hard” (verse 8).  We must constantly guard ourselves against this condition, and the only appropriate guard for us is to “cry out” and to spend time with God in His Word and in prayer.

In Matthew 19:1-15, again we see the Pharisees coming “to test” Jesus (verse 3) – this time, on the issue of divorce.  Jesus presents them with a compassionate answer that relates to God’s ideal for marriage on the one hand, contrasted by the “hardness” of our hearts on the other.  Here, Jesus reveals to us the true human condition – we have hearts that have grown hard.  “It was not this way from the beginning” (verse 8).  Interestingly, no young couple ever stands at the altar to proclaim their wedding vows – with the intention of divorcing each other later on.  For whatever reason, men and women – not God – are the culprits who make things difficult for themselves.  “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given” (verse 11).  With God’s help, we can make anything work.