A need for Hope

 

Job 17:1-16

 

“My spirit is broken.  My days are extinguished.  A graveyard awaits me.  Surely mockers surround me and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.  Make arrangements! Put up security for me.  Who else will be my sponsor?   You have closed their minds to understanding, therefore You will not honor them.   If a man informs on his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.  He has made me an object of scorn to the people; I have become a man people spit at.   My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.  The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are roused against the godless.  Yet the righteous person will hold to his way, and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger. But come back and try again, all of you.   I will not find a wise man among you.  My days have slipped by; my plans have been ruined, even the things dear to my heart.  They turned night into day and made light seem near in the face of darkness.  If I await Sheol as my home, spread out my bed in darkness,  and say to corruption: You are my father, and to the maggot: My mother or my sister, where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?  Will it go down to the gates of Sheol, or will we descend together to the dust?”

 

If you want to define what hopeless read Job’s words in chapter 17, with this very important exception; Job was still putting his hope in a Holy God.  Could it be that when all our dreams for our children end as Job’s did, it is easy to forget that a loving God who has all power allows it to happen?  It is beyond our ability to have an understanding of such a thing.  I wonder if Job knew what was taking place in heaven would it have made things easier; one will never know this side of heaven? 

 

My prayer is that you and I are led by the Spirit that lives in us to not Judge, for God has made that plain; Judge not so you will not be Judged.  Show mercy, show compassion, do not be led by your emotions, but led by the Spirit of God.  It seems Job understood that his friends could not understand the issues of such great loss.  Job believes that unless his case was settled, God would not be honored.

 

I’ve read in HCSB that Job is quoting an ancient proverb that a person who is paid to inform on a friend puts his children at risk.  Job believes his friends are seeking the favor of God by being a witness against Job and at the risk of bringing harm to their children.

 

I will not forget a day at the airport as Jan and I saw a fallen leader who had led a large company as its CEO was in line getting ready to go somewhere on Southwest Airlines.  As the leader of that very large company, he had a fleet of planes at his disposal and now he and his company were under investigation by the FBI.  I turned to Jan and said in a voice not of love, not compassion look there ______ and he is finding out how it is for us common folks.  The word was no more than out of my mouth when the Holy Spirit made it clear that was wrong.  I did not know the man, he did not know me, but I judged him, on emotion, not fact, not the truth, I came to the belief he was not guilty of what the FBI was saying, but guilty of not doing his job well.

 

In verse ten, Job is challenging his friends and anyone else to bring an argument against him in that the more they speak shows them to be unwise men.  I can only imagine Job’s plans and hopes are gone his dreams have come to an end.  Most of us have experienced our plans not working out, but very few of us can imagine Job’s troubles.

 

Job, now believes death is his future, that the grave is his resting place that the maggots are feeding on him or his mother or sister.  But God, my two favorite words; But God, had good plans for Job, we will see that later, and I hope you realize that the Father understands your every need, and He is a good Father who has good plans for you.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice