What do you think you know?

“If you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, then the Almighty will be your gold.” (Job 22:24-25 ESV)

The Book of Job is one of my favorite books in the Bible because it contains so many lessons. When we look at Job, we see Satan's subordination to God—something many prosperity preachers get wrong. We see steadfast faith in God. We see those of faith turn away from God, an actual situation that sometimes occurs even today, and we read of God's love.

Eliphaz, a friend of Job, had come to be with Him while Satan was testing Job; he spoke the words in today’s scripture. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were in sackcloth and ashes with Job for seven days. Then they began to speak.

What Eliphaz had spoken is true; would you not agree? I often write of Christ as a treasure, and when we treasure God above all things, in our satisfaction in God, God is most glorified. But this statement enraged God. Why would this very true statement enrage God? Because Eliphaz spoke it to indict Job. When we read the discourses between Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, we see that in the minds of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, someone who is faithful and devoted to God and one who suffers cannot be one in the same person. They spoke to Job as if he was sinning against God when He was not. Do not get me wrong, for Job had spoken words that angered God, and God made Job keenly aware of it, but nonetheless, Job had passed the test as God knew He would.  

What should we take away from this? Well, the book is about the accusations of Satan. It is about a man who cleaves to God and is in between God and Satan. Satan believes that Job is faithful to God only because God gives Him things: children, livestock, wealth, and so on. But Satan is wrong. Satan wrongly accused Job. Not only was he wrongly accused by Satan, but his friends as well. Job’s wife had turned from God. He lost ten children in one day, yet Job remained devoted to God.

When we or someone we know is in a period of trials, most of the time, we or they believe it is because of our sin. This belief is not always true, and we must remember that. Righteous people do experience trials. The Christian life is full of trials; most of the time, it is not out of sin. It may be a cross we must carry. It may be the wrongful accusations of Satan. It may simply be God’s sovereign will. The last thing we or anyone else need is to be wrongfully accused by our brethren, those who love us, our friends.

God rebuked Job for his comments, but ultimately, Job remained devoted to God. God rebuked Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar because they had spoken wrongfully of God. God was not happy and set them straight. We do not want to be like the three. We cannot understand God’s sovereign will, God’s plan for us and others, and when we try to interpret or assume what God’s will is, we are doomed to fail and should expect a rebuke for our sins.

Understand this: a bad thing only happened to a good person once, which was Christ’s passion. And while all have sinned, not everything that happens is punishment. Just because someone is going through trouble and trials does not mean it is a punishment. Be supportive, not judgmental or condemning. We, instead, should pray for mercy and grace. We pray that the sovereign will of God will be brought to fruition. Do not be like Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Be like Christ, pray, console with love, and serve those in need.

Peace and Grace!