- Job challenges his friend to tell him what he’s done wrong.
- Job also levies this threat, “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.”
- The friend is trying to be helpful. Job isn’t seeing it as kindness to tell a man beaten down he’s a sinner.
- Let’s think about this a minute and look at Jesus.
- Jesus healed everyone who came to Him. He knew the blessings and the curses. He knew what was behind all those sickness and diseases. Sometimes the problem wasn’t a result of sin at all. God was just to get glory from it! Sometimes He knew exactly what sin they had committed.
- He doesn’t mention their sin. Just once is it recorded that after he healed someone he told them to sin no more so nothing worse happens. He doesn’t say or do anything about the man’s sin before He heals him.
- Jesus acted in compassion. He taught them to obey the law of love, but he didn’t use the moment of healing to do it. He taught the crowds, but he touched each one individually who came to Him.
- Think about the kindness in how Jesus treated these people. He knew their sin. It wasn’t a hindrance to compassion.
- We are never to harden our hearts to the needy because of our presumption of their sin.
- Even if we know of their sin and choices that led them to the situation, none of that precludes kindness and compassion.
- Job is still blameless in God’s eyes through all this, but Job’s not perfect in all he says and does. God will give Job a lesson at the end of the story.
- That’s the blessing of the cross of Christ. We can be wrong and blameless. We can’t confess sin we don’t know is there, and Jesus’ blood covers unintentional sins.
