Job 22-24 Eliphaz Conducts A Trial

Job sat on the ash heap and listened to his friends lie about him,” my commentary began.  “Eliphaz made three serious accusations against Job:  he is a sinner, he is hiding his sins, and he must confess his sins and repent before God can help him.”

“The highest reward for a faithful life is not what you get for it but what you become by it … Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men.  Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow weak, and at last some crisis shows what we have become.”

Submitting to God means “to stop fighting God and accept His terms of peace.  It also means to listen to His Word and obey what God says.  A sinner must put away sin and make God his greatest treasure; he must pray and seek God’s face.”

“When we get to the end of this book, we will discover that it is Eliphaz and his two friends who are out of fellowship with God.  They will need job to intercede for them so they can be restored.”

Job had three bitter complaints:  “God is hiding form me; God is frightening me; and God perplexes me … It’s one thing to submit to God when you can see His face and hear His voice in His Word.  But when, like Job, you are in darkness and pain, it is easy to fall apart and become frightened and wonder what will happen next.”

Today’s focus?  “The God of Israel, the Savior, is sometimes a God that hides Himself, but never a God that absents Himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance.”  (Matthew Henry)

Father, when situations make it hard for me to see You, let me never doubt Your love.  When I’m in the furnace, remind me that You keep Your eye on the clock and Your hand on the thermostat!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford