Scripture Nugget2.2.2017
Scripture Read Job 9-10
Nugget Job 9:20-24, 33, 10:2-9
“Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse. I am blameless; I do not know myself; I loathe my life. It is all one; therefore, I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the eyes of its judges – if it is not he, who then is it? …. There is no (if only there were an) umpire between us, who might lay his hand on us both. …. I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me. Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked? Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as humans see? Are your days like the days of mortals, or your years like human years, that you seek out my iniquity and search for my sin, although you know that I am not guilty, and there is no one to deliver out of your hand? Your hands fashioned and made me; and now you turn and destroy me. Remember that you fashioned me like clay; and will you turn me to dust again?’
Devotional thought: Remembering, “There once was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. …. The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like hi on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.’ (Job 1:1,8) So Job’s calling himself blameless isn’t false pride, but does help set up and fuel the struggle, the internal battle he is wrestling with as he sorts out what in the world has happened to him and his family and why? Simultaneously Job is discussing/arguing with and conversing with himself, God and his friends who have come to “help”. It is a multi-dimensional conversation, obviously a hard one to keep up with. Let’s be honest with ourselves, we’ve all been there as we grow in our relationship with God; and if we haven’t, we ought to. Job lives on a different side of the cross of crucifixion than we do. This contributes to his struggle. We have the blessed opportunity to know Jesus, the Son of God, who lived and breathed a fully human life, just as we do, we know he was tempted to sin, but never did and that he is the umpire Job wishes existed in v 9:33. Job knows God, and is highly regarded by God as seen in the very first chapter. But his experience with God is as Father; Job hasn’t encountered the Son (not on the scale of those of us blessed to live on this Resurrection side of the cross) and so lacks an ability to be shown sin in his life and know assuredly that forgiveness is available. The struggle of being a blameless sinner is real. It is only by allowing/asking God to revealing sin in our life, that we may then admit, confess, turn from and be corrected of our sin. In the process so we learn what it means to become the holy people that God created us to be. Having Jesus, the Son of God, as a mediator makes this process much easier to comprehend. Jesus was with Job too, Job just lived on a different side of the cross than we. Now today, take a look around at the people you encounter, how many of them don’t know about life on this side of the cross? Who among them struggles with self-esteem issues because they don’t know the Umpire, the Mediator, the Forgiver of sins?