- The third friend speaks and expounds scripture after scripture. Job is a beautiful book. I see Psalms and Isaiah in today’s reading. I’m sure there is more. If it was written long before those books as some speculate, it’s very prophetic. These are God’s words.
- So, why are they missing it?
- Everything this friend says is true.
- It will all prove true for Job. It just doesn’t look that way at the moment. He’s missing some understanding of the ways of God. God’s understanding is unsearchable. None of us understands everything about God and why He does what.
- Job thinks he is without any guilt. He is missing something of the nature of man. Not one of us is righteous. He does right. He offers sacrifices, but he’s not perfect. He’s not God.
- Maybe this friend does it get wrong in one place. He basically says a stupid man can never get understanding. All humans are stupid. We all lack understanding, or did until God gave us the understanding we have.
- How does the stupid man get understanding? Through the fear of the Lord.
- Job could use a little fear of the Lord right now. So could his friends. So could the church and the nations today.
- I pray for the fear of the Lord to return to the church. We need understanding. We need knowledge. The people are dying for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). They can get knowledge through the fear of the Lord.
- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Without it, we haven’t even begun. The church exists mostly on the edge of “almost.” They haven’t really even come into the knowledge of God.
- Job and his friends have a lot of knowledge of God. They just don’t know it all. Neither do we. That’s why our posture in suffering isn’t “know-it-all;” it’s humility.
- We humble ourselves under God’s hand; we know He is good in what’s happening; we look to Him for comfort, peace, and love; we wait in hope.