The Best Lesson from the Book of Job

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

Job 11:13 “Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, 14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, 15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. 16 You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.

This text shown above are the words of Zophar, who was one of the guys trying to counsel Job in his time of testing. This is a good and accurate statement in its own right, but it is always important to read the Book of Job in context.

The book of Job is full of rants, reasons and relentless speculations. It is difficult to sort out the sanity from the insanity!  Words and phrases that sounded like solid doctrine were sometimes later contradicted or refuted. Everyone of us can "wax eloquent" from time to time, even when what we say carries no authority. This why we must take statements from the Book of Job with several grains of salt.

God listened to everyone's opining and pontificating, and then began to respond:

Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man;I will question you, and you shall answer Me. 4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding…"

At the end of the book, God rebuked everyone for presuming to possess wisdom and insight that was His alone. This is the best lesson from the Book of Job.