RTW January 23
Retaliating Rightly
“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.”
Job 15:2
My Takeaways
Something Old
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (ESV)
Matthew 12:34b
Wendy, make sure that you put the right stuff in, so the right stuff will come out.
Something New
How do I keep the wrong from rising up and from coming out?
- Put the right things in
- Pray for holy restraint (before restraint is needed)
- Practice the discipline
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. (NASB)
Proverbs 16:24
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (NIV)
Proverbs 15:1
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV)
Ephesians 4:29
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (MSG)
Ephesians 4:29
Something to Do
Monitor what I read, watch, and listen to.
Great lesson Wendy! love your advice to put the right things in and to pray for holy restraint- stay prayed up! Yes! there have been so many times that stuff just seems to bubble out of my mouth that shock even me! and I am left wondering- where did all of this come from? and I didn’t even realize this junk was in my thoughts! Lord forgive me!
My Takeaways:
So the debate or discussion continues. It’s getting ugly. Insults, rudeness, more intense, more threatening, and name calling. Job protests his innocence, but begins to lose hope in his desperate situation. His friends continue to be no comfort to him at all. Instead they condemmed him for causing his own grief. This reminds me so much of what happens to someone in the church who is going through difficulties. Our brothers and sisters in Christ should build them up and help them through the difficulty, but more often we do harm to them. Christians have a tendency to kill their wounded.
Something Old:
Job does not cave in. He continues to state his innocence. He wants a personal relationship with God. (Job 16:21) God anticipated the need of an advocate, and He has provided One in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1-2).
Something New: Job 17:10-14 Job understands the grave.
Something To Do: When my time on this earh is over I need to realize that death is not the end, its a new beginning. My soul will enjoy the rest, because this is God’s promise -this is The Good News. Everything I read in the Bible always comes back and points to Jesus. I must never forget God’s love for His people. When my father calls me home I’ll be ready and go willingly.
Interesting that Eliphaz speaks in similar terms as God does later….but although Job did not know why he was suffering he did know why he was not….he still insisted he was not guilty of some sin as his friends accused him of.
Something Old
It’s disturbing how the dialogue is deteriorating. The words are harsh and offensive and personal. The attacks intensify. I think about how often this happens in our lives when we are insistent upon convincing someone of something. Job’s friends seem driven to persuade him and I wonder if some of their desperation is due to their own doubts. When we are confident….we are much less inclined to force our opinion on others.
Something New
The length of Job’s suffering has always bothered me. It goes on and on and on….one would question….why so prolonged? Job did not turn on God as Satan had predicted. So why not restore him then? Evidently Job had more to learn. Some of what we see him learning is the transition from someone wishing he’d never been born….believing there is nothing beyond the grave to one who proclaims, “for I know that my Redeemer lives”….(Job 19:25-27). Job 16:19 seems to indicate that he now feels that he has some representation in Heaven…he must mean God, as the witness who will help him. It took time, (and suffering) to get to this place.
Something To Do
Job 15:10 seems to promote the conventional wisdom that age brings more knowledge and understanding. While this may often be true, it is not always so. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) Any who revere and follow God may acquire this wisdom…they do not need to wait to grow gray. I do not want to wait a minute longer to acquire the kind of wisdom that will bring me closer to Him.
Wendy – Loved, loved, loved today’s message! As much as Job is my least favorite book, I find it refreshing that even in Scripture, we find people acting like normal people. Psalm 141:3 is priceless and a verse that I indeed will memorize and pray over. Thanks for sharing it!