Job 2:11-13 (ESV)
[11]
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him,
they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite,
and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show
him sympathy and comfort him. [12] And when they saw him from a distance, they
did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore
their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. [13] And they sat
with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to
him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
This
was a lengthy affliction that Job experienced. His friends came from a
distance. “They made an appointment together” (Job 2:11b). It would have taken
some time for word to get to them about Job’s condition. It would have taken
some time for messengers to travel between them setting up the appointment or
agreed upon time to visit. It would have taken some time for them to travel to
see Job. Once they were there, they sat with him for seven days without
speaking. This was no short affliction that Job experienced.
When
I am hungry, I get grouchy. When I am nauseous, I wish that God would just take
me home. Let’s be honest, physical infirmity affects our whole being. Yet here
is Job, having lost everything he owned, having lost his family, and now having
lost his health. His response is, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we
not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). “In all this,” the text says, “Job did not sin
with his lips” (Job 2:10).
2
Corinthians 10:5b instructs believers to “take every thought captive to obey
Christ.” One online source lists 35 verses on controlling your tongue. Psalms
34:12-13 says, “What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he
may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.”
Proverbs 21:23 says, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out
of trouble.” James 3 warns about the importance of taming the tongue. “For we
all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is
a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body” (James 3:2 ESV). For all
Job’s afflictions, “Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).
Sometimes
we think that honesty means saying whatever thoughts come to mind. But that is
not honesty. It is foolishness. As believers we are to bring every thought
under the control of the Holy Spirit. As believers we are to guard every word
that comes out of our mouth. We are to speak words of comfort, encouragement,
and peace. We are to turn our eyes upward, fixing our eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:2).
We are to “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against
himself, so that (we) do not grow weary or fainthearted” (Heb 12:3).
By
the grace of God, and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, physical
affliction and infirmity ought to move us deeper in dependence. Too often,
however, we allow the darkness to descend, and we embrace hopelessness and
despair. In those times may God remind us of the integrity of Job who, even
when his wife encouraged him to curse God and die, chose the high road and did
not sin with his lips. In those time may God remind us of the example of
Christ, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” In those dark
times let us resolve to take captive our thoughts and turn our eyes upon Jesus.
Turn Your Eyes
Upon Jesus[1]
O soul are you
weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free:
[Chorus]
Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
[1]
Songwriters: DAVID HAMILTON, HELEN HOWARTH
LEMMEL, © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, For
non-commercial use only.
Comments
Post a Comment