AWAKE BIBLE IN A YEAR JANUARY 27
Read Job 22-24
Eliphaz states there must be something Job has done to affront God. He must have mishandled his position of power, and his sin must be great.
You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry. Job 22:7
We may be tempted like Eliphaz to surmise a cause and effect, but in the face of injustice and suffering, there is no cause for the effect.
Job 23 begins with a heavy expression of grief. As we read it we see for Job this is not a lack of trust in God’s character, nor is it anywhere near a lack of faith. It’s honesty. It’s more of a friend asking where are you?
Grief can lead us to a longing for God’s nearness not to mention his eternal rule and righteousness. Injustice longs for the JUST.
Job knows that he may not know where God is right now, but God knows where he is.
Job struggles here with the overwhelming feelings of God’s absence in the face of his pain and torment. And he questions, ‘where can I go to stand before God?’
His reply in 24 calls our attention to others suffering injustice as well.
There is something about injustice that is a hard one to answer. The perplexing trial causes the afflicted to say, ‘where is God?’
When we suffer injustice Job suggests we are being tested.
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
Job 23:10 NIV
Eliphaz means ‘my God is [fine] gold’ in Hebrew. The irony is not missed as Job maintains his standing in the face of the accusations from Eliphaz. I will come forth as gold.
