Job 15
Jobs friends insist that the torment he is enduring is the direct result of the anger and wrath of God because of Job’s great sins; whatever they may be. Let’s pretend that Eliphaz is correct in his speech to Job. What does his world look like from Job 15:20-35
The wicked man travails [Tribulation or agony; anguish] with pain all his days, even the number of years that are
laid up for the oppressor. A sound of terrors is in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him. He
doesn't believe that he shall return out of darkness, He is waited for by the sword. He wanders abroad for bread,
saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. Distress and anguish make him afraid;
They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. Because he has stretched out his hand against God, And
behaves himself proudly against the Almighty; He runs at him with a stiff neck, With the thick shields of his
bucklers; Because he has covered his face with his fatness, And gathered fat on his loins. He has lived in desolate
cities, In houses which no one inhabited, Which were ready to become heaps. He shall not be rich, neither shall his
substance continue, Neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness;
The flame shall dry up his branches, By the breath of God's mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in emptiness,
deceiving himself; For emptiness shall be his reward. It shall be accomplished before his time. His branch shall not
be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive tree. For the
company of the godless shall be barren, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery. They conceive mischief, and
bring forth iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit."
I don’t know about you but that does not sound at all like an enjoyable life to me. Does He want us to live that sort of life? Should we expect to be filled with terror and torment? Should we wander about aimlessly waiting for death? Those are not the promises that the God I believe in makes. My God promises an abundant life. My God promises that He has a plan for me and that His plan does not include terror or torment or harm but prosperity and hope and a future. My God promises that His grace is sufficient and that He will supply all of my needs. My God promises that by seeking Him He will give me the desires of my heart. My God promises that He will open the floodgates of Heaven and pour me out so much blessing that I will not have room for it. My God promises that He will protect me even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Eliphaz and I have the same God. How can that be? I think the answer is in how he see God as a provider. He promises that He will provide our every need and want if we lean into and on Him. How can that not be enough? I'm tired of hearing people say that God brought me into this or He is testing me with this trial. GOD doesn't do that. God gives His children good and perfect gifts. Not pain, or doubt, or divorce, or addiction or any of the other CRAP that Satan tells us He gives. God only has has two options when He deals with us. Bless or not bless. He's just not in the bring hardship into your life business. After all, if God wanted you to have problems in your life He wouldn't have told you to get rid of them. That is a big, big, BIG key for Spiritual Warfare. If there is something bad in your life and you want to fight the spirit that put it there....... you had better know who it's really from. I mean how can you successfully fight if you are believing that you have to attack your own teammates?
The wicked man travails [Tribulation or agony; anguish] with pain all his days, even the number of years that are
laid up for the oppressor. A sound of terrors is in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him. He
doesn't believe that he shall return out of darkness, He is waited for by the sword. He wanders abroad for bread,
saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. Distress and anguish make him afraid;
They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. Because he has stretched out his hand against God, And
behaves himself proudly against the Almighty; He runs at him with a stiff neck, With the thick shields of his
bucklers; Because he has covered his face with his fatness, And gathered fat on his loins. He has lived in desolate
cities, In houses which no one inhabited, Which were ready to become heaps. He shall not be rich, neither shall his
substance continue, Neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness;
The flame shall dry up his branches, By the breath of God's mouth shall he go away. Let him not trust in emptiness,
deceiving himself; For emptiness shall be his reward. It shall be accomplished before his time. His branch shall not
be green. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive tree. For the
company of the godless shall be barren, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery. They conceive mischief, and
bring forth iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit."
I don’t know about you but that does not sound at all like an enjoyable life to me. Does He want us to live that sort of life? Should we expect to be filled with terror and torment? Should we wander about aimlessly waiting for death? Those are not the promises that the God I believe in makes. My God promises an abundant life. My God promises that He has a plan for me and that His plan does not include terror or torment or harm but prosperity and hope and a future. My God promises that His grace is sufficient and that He will supply all of my needs. My God promises that by seeking Him He will give me the desires of my heart. My God promises that He will open the floodgates of Heaven and pour me out so much blessing that I will not have room for it. My God promises that He will protect me even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Eliphaz and I have the same God. How can that be? I think the answer is in how he see God as a provider. He promises that He will provide our every need and want if we lean into and on Him. How can that not be enough? I'm tired of hearing people say that God brought me into this or He is testing me with this trial. GOD doesn't do that. God gives His children good and perfect gifts. Not pain, or doubt, or divorce, or addiction or any of the other CRAP that Satan tells us He gives. God only has has two options when He deals with us. Bless or not bless. He's just not in the bring hardship into your life business. After all, if God wanted you to have problems in your life He wouldn't have told you to get rid of them. That is a big, big, BIG key for Spiritual Warfare. If there is something bad in your life and you want to fight the spirit that put it there....... you had better know who it's really from. I mean how can you successfully fight if you are believing that you have to attack your own teammates?