Gary Gleans

Job has finished his arguments and is seems that Job’s three friends have given up on convincing him of his wrong doing, but now we are introduced to Elihu, Job’s fourth friend who apparently has been sitting quietly this entire time because he is the youngest.  However, he is now ready to speak and we will spend the next several chapters hearing what he has been storing up all of this time.  There is both wisdom and folly in silence.  It is wise to listen before we speak but it is folly to sit and seethe in anger instead of speaking.  There appears to be a portion of both wisdom and folly in Elihu; as I suspect there most likely is in all of us.  Balance is important to find in these issues. ELIHU WAITS IN SILENCE: We say that silence is golden, and sometimes it truly is.  There are times when we need to learn to just wait in silence, listen in silence and simply “be there” to provide comfort and companionship to those who are hurting.  Elihu also demonstrates respect in the fact

Job makes one final plea that summarizes his view of his situation.  He recognizes that sin is justly punished and he is ready to accept any just punishment for his transgressions.  However, Job’s conscience is clear before both God and man.  He does not know of any blatant sins in his life that would justify the current judgment from God that he has had to endure.  In this Chapter Job goes through a set of hypothetical situations where he simply states that if he had committed a wide variety of sinful actions or attitudes he would readily accept his current judgments as being just.  However, he is not at all aware of any of these sins being present in his life.  Job’s list of hypothetical sins provides us with a very good summary of the areas of our lives that we need to practice vigilance.  These are the areas of sinfulness that tend to capture the hearts of men and bring the wrath of God down upon us. LUST FOR WOMEN: Job knows the weakness of men and their tendency to lust afte

Job has discussed how he used to be respected and honored in the previous chapter.  Now he contrasts that with his present reality where he is scorned and rejected by those who once sought him out for wisdom.  Job has had a complete reversal in fortunes.  He went from riches to rags, from being surrounded by family to being alone and from healthy to sick.  However, perhaps the greatest difficulty he faced through this time of testing and trials was the loss of respect that he suffered from the people around him.  It is hard to go from being respected to being ridiculed, but that was Job’s reality.  That coupled with the fact that Job felt abandoned by God truly left him in a state of desperation.  JOB FEELS RIDICULED BY MEN: As a respected elder in the community, Job was used to being treated with honor.  The young and the old would stop and listen to him or come to him for advice.  Now all of that respect and honor is gone.  He has become a mockery before these men.  Nobody wants

Job continues to speak and is now looking back to the past before he had been afflicted.  He remembers the position that he held, the influence that he had and the respect that others showed to him.  Those days are very hard for him to remember right now because they seem so long ago; as if they were a part of a different lifetime.  As he looks back upon the past he can find no reason that would justify his current circumstances.  He had been greatly blessed but now he was greatly oppressed and he cannot figure out why.  So now he looks back and remembers with longing and wishes that he could have what he used to have. JOB REMEMBERS THE RECOGNITION THAT HE ONCE ENJOYED: There was a time, only a few short period ago, that Job was one of the most recognized men in his community.  He felt as if he was under the special care and protection of God.  His family was secure; he occupied a place of influence and honor within the community.  Both the young and the old recognized His dignity

Wisdom is the greatest commodity on the face of the earth.  It is more valuable than any of the natural resources that this planet can produce.  However, like most things of value, it is very difficult to find or obtain.  The only true source of wisdom is God.  All wisdom originates with Him.  Unfortunately, most men do not consider wisdom to be their priority.  They value riches as being more precious than wisdom and will go to extreme measures in order to be able to find riches.  Job had great riches but lost them all.  However, wisdom is not something that can be robbed.  Job’s greatest desire in the face of this torment is to gain an understanding about what is going on.  Job’s desire is for wisdom. WISDOM IS HIGH IN VALUE: There are many precious things on this earth that attract the attention and affections of men.  Gold, silver and precious stones are objects of great value that motivate men to make great sacrifice in order to be able to obtain.  Men move from one side of t

Job continues to defend his integrity, but he also talks about the plight of the wicked.  In many ways it seems that his friend’s words have rubbed off on him in that what he says is basically the same thing that they have been saying all along.  The difference is that he is not including himself as one suffering because of wickedness.  Even though he has suffered the plight that he describes as that of the wicked; he continues to insist that he has been honest and righteous.  It seems as if Job is demonstrating that he agrees with the evaluation of his friends to a certain point and he wants to assure them that he understands their argument; while at the same time, he wants to continue to defend his own integrity.  Job’s adversity seems to be building an even deeper character in his life and we can begin to sense that his heart is opening up to whatever God might be doing in his life. JOB COMMENDS HIS INTEGRITY: Job seems to be moving away from his response to Bildad and now seem

God is transcendent.  He is above us and His ways are so much higher and greater than we are able to fully comprehend.  There is so much about God that is unexplainable to us.  His power and might are without limit.  Job demonstrates that he understands the greatness of God, but he is critical of Bildad for not having given help, counsel and strength to him in his time of need.  Both Job and Bildad are making correct statements about God.  However, Job questions how this truth is supposed to be of help to him in his time of misery.  Job demonstrates that he knows about the greatness of God; but still he suffers and has no answers as to why he has been afflicted.  We must learn to be able to apply our knowledge of God to the reality of our lives and use truth to bring comfort to those who are in need. JOB DENIES BILDAD’S WISDOM: Job does not disagree with Bildad’s statements about the greatness of God or the lowliness of man.  Job’s problem with Bildad’s comments is that they simpl

Self-esteem is considered to be a virtue that we are all encouraged to pursue and build into the lives of our children today.  Apparently, Bidad was never taught this view.  His words in this brief chapter reveal that he had a very high “God-esteem” instead of being concerned about the promotion of self.  Job has just finished complaining about God’s failure to judge evil and the suffering of the righteous.  Bildad gives us all a great reminder of who God is and where we all stand in light of His majesty.  He communicates two very basic but important truths. GOD IS GREAT: Bildad begins by exalting the greatness of God.  He is above us and above all.  His power is limitless.  He is completely pure and His holiness causes all of creation to dim and fade away by comparison.  We may not always understand God and His dealings with us, but we must always remember that He is right.  There is no shadow upon God and His ways are not up for debate, they are simply always right.  God is to b

Things are not always as they seem to be and they are not always how we expect them to be.  We would expect that the wicked would suffer and that the godly would be prosperous.  This is the premise that has guided the thinking of Job’s friends.  However Job insists on the fact that he is a godly man and yet he is suffering greatly.  In this chapter Job takes up the other side of the argument and states that the wicked are often prosperous.  To Job is seems that the deeds of the wicked are ignored by God and they continue to multiply their wickedness without consequence.  This is where Job is mistaken and things are not as they seem.  There are consequences to wickedness, but they are not always immediate.  We must learn to patiently await the work of the Lord to be complete.  He truly is a just Judge and in time He will make all things right. JOB COMPLAINS ABOUT THE WEALTH OF THE WICKED: Job points out how there are people who oppress others that are less fortunate than themselves

Job does not bother to respond to the latest of his friend’s speeches; he simply sets forth the feelings of his heart.  Job seems to gain a little bit of perspective here as he considers his situation and what God might be doing.  He is wise not to try to answer the accusations that were made against him.  He is also very blunt about his feelings but he is confident that he has not sinned against the Lord.  I think that the Lord is pleased when we open our hearts before Him and are simply “real” with Him.  He knows our hearts and we must be careful not to be hypocritical before Him and pretend that everything is fine on the outside when we are truly conflicted in our hearts. JOB DECLARES HIS COMPLAINT AGAINST GOD: Job’s principle complaint against God is that he simply cannot “find Him.”  He has looked north, south, east, west, up, down, left and right all to no avail as he simply cannot seem to find Him to be able to pour his heart out before him and defend himself.  Job feels li

Eliphaz comes back against Job with various accusations against him.  He seems to have a fundamental need to accuse Job and is trying to convince him to admit his wrong doing and repent.  He is right in his belief that repentance is the solution to sin as it leads to confession and a change in direction.  However he is wrong about the blanket statements that he makes about Job and about God in general. ELIPHAZ CONDEMNS JOB’S BEHAVIOR: Finally Eliphaz gives a long list of the transgressions Job has committed.  This is exactly the kind of confrontation that needs to be made of Job, if it is true.  However, Eliphaz has not seen any of this behavior.  He is simply listing a group of common offense against God of which he presumes Job is guilty.  He forms his statement in such a way that they appear to be facts that he has observed; when in reality they should have been stated as questions designed to cause Job to search his past actions to see if perhaps they might be true.  The same

Job responds to the argument that those who suffer are wicked and godless by arguing just the opposite.  He points out that the wicked and godless often do not suffer at all.  He points out that many of the wicked live in peace for very long lives and with great prosperity.  There is danger in exaggeration.  Zolphar exaggerated when he said that it is only the wicked who suffer.  Now Job is exaggerating when he says that the wicked never suffer.  These overstatements make it easy for the two sides to point out the error in the statements and so disregard the truth in what the other is saying.  Balance is a very hard but very important quality for which all of us should strive.  Instead Job makes two basic overstatements. THE WICKED LIVE LONG: Job points to the many godless and wicked people who have lived long and peaceful lives.  They grow old and give no thought to God because they have no need of God.  They don’t suffer from illnesses and it seems as if God simply chooses to ig

Zophar takes up the response to Job this time.  Job has continued to insist that his troubles spring from God’s striving with him and not because of a judgment of this sin.  An image of God inflicting this kind of pain on an “innocent” person simply does not fit within the theological perspective of most of us.  We can hardly blame Job’s friends for their belief because, if we are honest, we would all likely have the same position.  We have been given the privilege of seeing behind the scenes, so we know that this is about a challenge of God’s children by Satan.  We must remember that neither Job nor his friends have this information.  Zophar is out to prove two statements. JOB IS WICKED AND GODLESS: None of Job’s friends have pointed out a specific sin to Job.  However, they are constantly calling him a sinner.  While they are right in stating that Job is a sinner, just like all of us; they are wrong in relating Job’s suffering to his sin.   Zophar goes a step further and by not

Job responds to his friend’s condemnation by repeating the desperation of his state and then pleading with his friends to have mercy upon him and stop with their constant accusations but then he ends this chapter with a look at the Lord.  Job’s circumstances have not changed and his attitude has not changed very much either but at least in this defense he demonstrates that he still has an eternal hope in the Lord and that he sees Him as his Redeemer.  No matter what we might face in this life and how much pain the Lord may allow us to bear, it is a blessing to know that we have a Redeemer in the person of Christ who has redeemed us with His own blood and that He lives today representing us before the Father.  He is the source of eternal hope no matter how difficult our circumstances may become.  JOB LAMENTS HIS FATE: Job once again repeats the desperation of his suffering.  He has lost everything, his body is wasting away and all those around him look on him with disdain.  His fam

Bildad takes up the chance to speak once again and makes it clear that he considers Job’s circumstances to be proof that he is wicked. He never comes right out and says that he believes Job to be wicked but in describing the plight of the wicked he describes Job’s life very accurately.  He is offended that Job has not been convinced by their words and by Job’s criticism of their counsel. He feels like Job is calling them stupid and Job feels like they are calling him wicked.  One thing that is interesting to observe in this back and forth argument is that Job is constantly asking the Lord “why?” while his friends are constantly striving to explain what God is doing.  It is a dangerous game to try to claim understanding of the motives of God.  We must be honest and humble enough to admit that we do not always know what God is doing nor why He is doing what He is doing.  Bildad tries to convince Job of his wickedness by pointing out two “truths” about the wicked that happen to describe

Job has lost all hope for his life and has simply gone into the depths of despair.  He can see no point in going on because he cannot make sense of the circumstances that he is facing.  In his mind the righteous should experience peace and security while the unrighteous should suffer.  Since he cannot be convicted of unrighteousness he cannot see a way to hope.  He knows that he could repent and be restored if he could see his sin.  But since he cannot repent of unknown sin he cannot find hope for restoration.  This is the problem with a faith that is based upon circumstances.  We must be careful not to over simplify our lives and the circumstances that we may be called upon to face. JOB HAS LOST HOPE IN HIS FRIENDS: Job had hoped that he could find comfort, counsel and even some financial help from his friends.  Instead he has found constant condemnation and accusation as they have sought to convince him of his own guilt.  His disappointment in their response to him has furthered

Job responds to the latest accusations from Eliphaz in much the same way that he has responded in the past.  He continues to repeat the same arguments in hopes that his friends will finally listen and understand.  It seems as if he is searching for understanding through his words.  We may have the tendency to need to talk through a situation in order to try to gain perspective and understanding of the situation.  Job longs for understanding and is not at all satisfied by the speeches of his friends so he talks through the situation time and time again.  The truth is that we might be better off simply being silent before the Lord.  However, it is very difficult to do that in the face of great suffering and God is able to bear our endless questions and requests. JOB COMPLAINS ABOUT HIS COUNSELORS: Job just wishes that someone could understand him and give him comfort and companionship in his time of suffering instead of condemnation.  Job says that he too could use words of condemna

Eliphaz once again takes his turn at replying to Job and rebuking him for his words and accusing him of bringing this travesty upon himself.  He is correct in pointing out the arrogance in Job’s words.  However, he is wrong about his assumptions about the cause of Job’s sufferings.  There are simply too many words spoken in this book.  It is very hard to keep silent in certain circumstances and we often feel the need to correct error when we hear it.  Both Job and his friends are guilty of feeling like they must respond to and correct each other’s errors and wrong thinking.  In reality, they would have been better off simply staying silent.  There is wisdom in being able to hold one’s tongue even when errors are being made.  If the hearer is not prepared to listen, a wise man will not waste his time talking. ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF LACKING WISDOM: Eliphaz has listened to and analyzed Job’s words and has decided that Job’s words lack wisdom and fear of the Lord.  He is right; Job’s

Job continues his speech and simply opens his heart and says exactly what he is feeling and thinking to the Lord.  His misery has become so great that he can no longer contain his thoughts.  It is easy to pick apart Job’s words and to examine his theology as well as his anthropology and find fault.  However, my children are all living and I enjoy very good health.  I am not saying that difficult circumstances exempt us from error, what I am saying is that I don’t think I am qualified to be critical of Job in these circumstances.  What we must all realize is that we are all very susceptible to these same wrong beliefs.  Our hearts are made of the same stuff and we are very likely to allow these same errors to creep into our thinking in the face of suffering.  We would do well to guard our hearts from these thoughts. WE MUST PROTECT OUR HEARTS FROM HOPELESSNESS: Job has become hopeless because of the intense suffering he has faced.  We must remember that Job did not benefit from the

Job longs for answers from God.  He wants to hear from God about his plight and he wants his friends to be silent.  There are many times in our lives when we think that we know what we need and what we want.  We are often convinced that we know what is best for us and we do not understand what God is doing.  Job wants either vindication or communication but he is only getting suffering and silence from God.  We must remember that God does not owe us explanations; but that we owe Him faithfulness not matter what circumstances we may face.  However, we can learn much from Job’s openness before the Lord.  He does not feel the need to hide his thoughts or pretend that everything is fine.  His heart is open before the Lord and he pleads with God for understanding and clarity.  God is pleased when we call out to Him and He is honored by our honesty.  Job’s heart longs for two things from the Lord. JOB WANTS REASONS: He has been hearing reasons from his friends but their explanations do

Job responds once again to his friend’s accusations by proclaiming what he knows to be true about God as well.  I find it interesting that Job does not get into the game of revenge or striking out against these guys personally.  He uses a little sarcasm when he assures them that all the wisdom of the world would die with them, but he makes it clear that he too has an understanding about God and His dealings with men.  I think Job’s main point in this chapter is to simply point out that God is ultimately responsible for what happened.  Job points to God’s sovereign control over the universe and simply points out that God has the power to do whatever He wants with whomever He wants independently of what that person has done or the office that person occupies.  In essence Job is pointing out that God controls the affairs of man and not the other way around.  Man is not able to manipulate God and should not attempt to do so.  Job uses two basic arguments to prove his point. GOD IS SOV

Zophar now takes the floor to share his perspective on Job’s situation.  He scolds Job for claiming to be righteous and for complaining about his circumstance.  In his opening statement he claims that Job deserves worse suffering than he already has.  I have a hard time imagining how Job’s suffering could grow worse, but Zophar was convinced that Job deserved all that he was suffering and more.  The reality is that Zophar is absolutely correct.  Job did deserve much worse than he was suffering because he was a sinner just like every single one of us.  Job deserved to spend an eternity separated from God and suffering in hell.  That is what each of us deserves.  However, we serve a God who does not deal with us based on what we deserve but based on His mercy and grace.  Zophar was not theologically wrong, but he certainly said the wrong thing at the wrong time.  What he fails to mention was that he was in the same boat as Job and that he too was deserving of suffering worse than Job’s.

“Why?” is always one of the first and biggest questions that we have when we face suffering or hardship in our lives.  Job is no different.  He has examined his life and been very contentious about his walk with God and service before God.  He had been extremely blessed and then; all of the sudden, without reason, Job has been destroyed.  He cannot see anything that would merit this judgment in his life so he simply begs to know why all of this has happened to him.  The reality of Job’s situation and ours is that we will very rarely ever know why we will face the suffering and the circumstances of life that we do not enjoy or appreciate.  God does not owe us explanations.  We must simply believe that He is truly in control and that He is leading us through the circumstances that surround our lives in such a way that it will ultimately bring the most glory to His holy name.  Job is in the depths of despair; his mind is filled with doubt, his body is writhing with pain and his heat is f

Dear Readers, I am sorry that I have not been able to post on the blog this last week.  I have been traveling on the Amazon and have been without access to the internet.  I meant to let you know this ahead of time but ran out of time before my flight.  You know how these things are.  You will find Job 8 and 9 underneath this note and I will post Job 10 and 11 tomorrow.  However next week I will, once again, be speaking at a retreat for missionaries serving on the Amazon so will not have connection with the internet until Friday of next week when I will post what I write during the week.  Thanks for reading and for your patience with my schedule.  God bless! Gary

Job answers Bildad by agreeing with the majority of what he said but taking issue with the accusation of his personal guilt.  Job’s language is deep and beautiful but it is full of pain and sorrow.  He describes himself and God in accurate terms but his attitude in light of what he says about God is not consistent.  Job recognizes that there is a great chasm between himself and God and that God does not owe him an explanation.  Job would love to be able to have a justification for his pain from God but he recognizes that he has no right or ability to expect such treatment from God.  Job is hopeless because he feels that he has no ability to gain an understanding of his circumstance from God and because he has no expectation that his circumstance will somehow get better apart from death.  Job is focusing on only one aspect of God and has forgotten that God is also love, grace and mercy.  Job’s argument here has two basic themes that keep repeating themselves. JOB DEFENDS HIS FAULTL

It is dangerous for us to presume that we know the heart and motives of God and the reasons for His dealings with men.  Bildad, the second of Job’s friends to speak, presumes that he knows exactly what God is doing and even why he is doing it.  He considers what he knows about God and then observes the circumstances of Job and then presumes that Job and his family must have sinned against God in order to bring about this calamity.  Once again, much of what Bildad says is excellent theology and great anthropology.  The only problem with his speech is that he presumes Job’s guilt based on results and not on actual observed sinful practice.  We must learn to stop assuming that present circumstances are a result of either condemnation or approval of God.  There are many who suffer but have God’s approval.  There are many who prosper that stand condemned before God.  God is just and He will justly judge all of mankind and He will then dispense the just retribution or reward.  However, His

Job continues his speech only he changes his attention from defending himself before the accusation from Eliphaz to questioning God directly.  Job has lost hope and cannot understand why he has been singled out for this excruciating pain on every level of his life.  His focus is on himself and his own insignificance.  He is not attacking God or accusing God of being unjust but is simply longing for his life to come to an end so that he can stop suffering.  He cannot justify his own suffering in his mind.  He is not aware of sin in his heart that would warrant this type of suffering.  He knows God to be a forgiving God and so this pain without relief does not make sense to him and he wants to find relief.  We always need to remember that God and His ways will not always make sense to us.  He is over us and His ways are not readily discernible to us. JOB SEEKS FOR RELIEF FROM SUFFERING THROUGH DEATH: Job’s hope has long been spent and he has reached the end of his ability to cope wi

Job now takes the stage to defend himself against the accusations of Eliphaz.  He has been accused of being a sinner and not trusting the Lord without any specific accusation of sin in his life.  He has been presumed to be guilty of sin simply based on the circumstances of his life.  Job is not ready to take this accusation sitting down so he sets out to defend himself.  His words are harsh and dripping with pain, but are so eloquently spoken.  The poetry of this book is astounding and is a literary gem.  The content is disturbing and can be confusing but it is rich in vocabulary and imagery.  Perhaps one of the greatest lessons that we can take away from this book is simply to recognize that we do not always need to defend ourselves.  I think that Job would have been much better off had he just heard his friends out without feeling need to make personal defense of his actions.  His friends could have obviously learned to speak less as well and I think that all involved would have bee

Eliphaz continues his speech to Job in an effort to convince Job to recognize and confess his sin and see the error of his way.  There is much that he says that is very true and is sound teaching that all of us should know and understand.  The problem with what Eliphaz is saying is that he is implying through his speech that Job is in some way not doing or believing these truths.  His statements are true; but they are being misapplied to the life of Job in these circumstances.  He has made presumptions about Job based, not on observation of sin in Job’s life, but based on the circumstances that Job is facing.  We are a results oriented people and so it is easy for us to presume the unfavorable results are due to poor character and that favorable results are due to poor character.  We must stop judging one another based on circumstance or results but on the character that we observe in one another’s lives. ELIPHAZ ACCUSES JOB OF IDOLATRY: Eliphaz is very correct in asserting that t

Our observations of life and the events that happen on the earth have a tendency to shape our thinking and our theology.  Sometimes that theology born out of our own experience and observation is not very good theology.  Job broke the silence to express his wish that he had never been born because his current pain is so exceedingly great.  Eliphaz is the first one of his friends to speak up in response to Job.  However, his words are not word of comfort to Job; rather they are words that reflect a theology based on experience and observation. ELIPHAZ CRITICIZES JOB’S ATTITUDE: Job has been used of God to teach many men about the ways of God.  He has been a stellar illustration of God’s character and a faithful communicator of God’s Word to the people around him.  However, now that he is in such pain he wishes he were dead.  Eliphaz is accusing Job of lacking patience and being a hypocrite for not practicing what he has preached for so many years.  Job has obviously lost hope in hi

I think all of us have many questions that we would love to be able to ask God.  Having answers to some of those questions will be one of the delights of heaven.  Job certainly has a ton of questions that He would love to have answered.  Having questions for God is much different than questioning the attributes of God.  Job is not doubting God as he opens this dialogue with his friends; he is simply questioning God about his own personal plight.  Job is clearly at the breaking point and beyond.  There are times when we hurt and cannot understand the plight of our lives because we cannot see it from God’s perspective.  During these times I think that we should feel free to do as Job did and pour out our hearts before the Lord.  He is big enough to handle our questions and I believe He prefers our honest despair over our phony faith. JOB DESPISES THE DAY OF HIS BIRTH: Job is in such great pain on every level of his life that he wishes that he had never been born.  He curses the day

Adversity is a test of our character and demonstrates who and what we are before the Lord.  Job and his wife have suffered great loss within their family and face an adversity that few others have even come close to experiencing.  As readers, we are given insight as to what is truly going on behind the scene in the throne room of heaven.  We understand that all of this adversity is being permitted by God in order to demonstrate His glory and the faithfulness of Job, his follower.  Job and his wife do not have this information.  Even so, Job remains steadfast in his commitment to the Lord and continues to worship Him.  We must not allow our worship of God to become conditional upon the blessings of God.  We worship Him because of who He is; not because of what He has done for us.  God calls us to be thankful for His blessings but not to base our worship on the blessings He grants. JOB IS CONFRONTED WITH MORE PAIN: Once again Satan comes before God and God brags about Job’s faithful