34 consecutive days of pondering Job. I don’t actually know if anyone else is still reading these. 🙂
In New Zealand, today is our first day of life under Level 3. Full Lockdown is over, for now. Many are returning to some kind of work, yet there are many who are still working from home or are home from school or Uni. We are still quite restricted when it comes to social interaction. All of our church meetings and activities will still be online, at least for two more weeks.
In chapter 34 of Job, Elihu continues his speech. He calls on others to listen to his words. He will specifically address Job’s assertion that he is in the right and yet all of this suffering has come to him and no one has believed him when he has defended his reputation.
From verses 10 to 34, Elihu steps up to argue for God’s justice. God can never do that which is wicked. God can never be unjust in any way. This is most certainly true, of course.
The problem with Elihu’s line of argument is that he does not seem to have a category for God to be good and in His goodness to justly and Sovereignly bring trials and suffering into the life of one of His children, not in response to personal sin but to purify them and mould them into His likeness.
In seeking to defend God’s justice, he makes essentially the same assertion as Job’s other counsellors – Job must be guilty of sin, even rebellion against God’s discipline.
As we’ve seen and said many times. Job is a sinner. He never claims to be otherwise. He has not always responded well to the suffering God has brought into his life, this is true.
Yet, we know from chapters 1 & 2, God did not bring this suffering into Job’s life because of some specific sin.
God is just. It is not unjust for a good God, by the use of His formative discipline, to cut away the dross of corruption that still resides in our hearts and make us more fit for His glory.
God is so big He cannot fit int our heads and this is very good news for if He could, he would be like us and if He were like us we would be utterly ruined.
Indeed we need to be more like Him.
The great news of the Gospel is that God is determined to make us more like Him and has provided all we need through Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, our sacrifice and substitute.
As we look to the cross of Christ we see all of the attributes of God meeting perfectly to display His majestic glory. Justice, mercy, love and grace (and more) do not contradict one another and stand in conflict but in perfect harmony to display His glory and to accomplish all that is good for His people.
Soli Deo Gloria
Items to focus your faith: