27/1/18 – Job 4, Job 5, Job 6, Job 7 Matthew 19:1-15 Psalm 17:1-5

Job 4:3-6

Think how you have instructed many,

how you have strengthened feeble hands.

Your words have supported those who stumbled;

you have strengthened faltering knees.

But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;

it strikes you, and you are dismayed.

Should not your piety be your confidence

and your blameless ways your hope?

Sometimes when people are trying to help, they do anything but. The friends of Job are a prime example. Eliphaz is trying – he cares for Job, he speaks tenderly to him. But it’s not how you say it that can have the impact – when what you are saying is so off base.

Job had clearly taught many people in the past. And sadly, those who teach aren’t given much sympathy when they struggle. Essentially he’s saying – “You’ve taught others Job, so you buck up!” Not helpful.

Actually he goes farther than that – he says people don’t suffer without reason – so Job must have done something wrong.

That kind of help doesn’t help. Not only did Eliphaz make Job feel worse, he was wrong. He was making assumptions. Don’t assume that you know why someone is suffering, but listen to them and be there for them. A hug from Eliphaz would have been so much better than opening his mouth.

Job 7:6-7

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

and they come to an end without hope.

Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;

my eyes will never see happiness again.

It’s worth mentioning here – Job was entirely wrong in every single part of this quote.

It seems bleak but it’s from the perspective of one who has not got to the end of the story yet.

He thought his days would come to end end without hope. Wrong! He thought his eyes would never see happiness again. Wrong!

Intel you see the whole thing in perspective you can’t lose hope. It’s like watching the film “It’s a wonderful life”. For 3/4 of that film the title seems ironic. Because it’s a bleak affair. But when you get to see the perspective of the whole story – it’s heartwarming.

When we go through hard times we can’t see the end. But in faith we can keep hope alive and know good days are coming.

Mat 10:10-11

The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.

Ok, so Jesus gives a very direct teaching on divorce here. That it must only be permitted on the grounds of sexual immorality. The allowing of divorce by Moses has because of the hardness of people’s hearts, but is not the way it was meant to be.

And who says’ that this teaching is so hard that it’s better for a man not to marry? It’s not the Pharisees who asked the original question – but the disciples!!! They are the ones struggling with Jesus’ answer! And we know at least one of them was already married!!!! (Unless Peter decided to have a mother in law without having a wife)

It’s a hard teaching. Jesus says as much, not everyone can receive this. But Marriage is a sacred and special thing – two people becoming one. It’s not something to end lightly. It’s not something to give up “for any reason” which is what the Pharisees were getting at – a woman could be divorced back then and left impoverished for very little reason.

Jesus is saying that your wife – your marriage is far more important than that. Husbands – your wife is not someone you own or can dispose with as you see fit. You become one flesh. You are one. She is a part of you. Respect her and love her as such.

Ps 17:15

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

There are people who will do whatever they can to win and be happy right now. They have no pity, they are like eager young lions.

But David knew that the Lord would arise. There will be a day of reckoning. In a dark word, there is so much hope. And when all is said and done, there is coming a day where we will behold his face in riotousness. We will see Him face to face. And when we see Him we shall become like HIm.

No hardship now can compare to that.