Author: Rick Henderson

Re:Verse passage – Job 32:1-10; 33:2-4, 22-30; 35:9-10; 37:14-24 (day seven)

Although there are things I would correct in Elihu’s theology, I find myself drawn to several character traits that I believe would do us well to replicate when we find ourselves in the position to give advice.

1. He was patient. “Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he.” (32:4) Even though he knew the advice Job was receiving was inaccurate, He waited his turn.
2. He kept his focus heavenward. “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men.” (33:29) Everything that Elihu focused on revolved around God and spiritual concerns.
3. He was ready to be challenged. “Refute me if you can; Array yourselves before me, take your stand.” (33:5) He was confident enough that he was in the right mindset (heavenward). He was also humble enough (patient) to allow Job to have a rebuttal if Job could refute his claims.

What I see today is a lot of people rushing to share their unwarranted advice. I see people leaning more on feelings than on spiritual truth. I see people unwilling to hear out the other side and be challenged. Want to know someone else who epitomizes these three traits? You might find Him in John 8:1-11.

Re:Verse passage – Job 19:20-27 (day seven)

I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. vs 20b

I was “today” years old when I realized this idiom was from Job. As with other popular lines found in the Bible, this phrase has become a part of our cultural vernacular. In Job’s instance, he might have literally escaped by the skin of his teeth (his gums were likely the only part of his body that escaped affliction), but when we use this phrase today, we are referring to barely managing to do something. “He passed his exam by the skin of his teeth.”

For how many of us is this more than vernacular? We find ourselves moving so fast from one project to the next that we do barely enough get by. When this rhythm becomes the norm, it begins to bleed into our spiritual walk. We do barely enough to check our boxes and move on to the next thing. God promises so much more to us when we put in the intentional effort to abide with Him. Don’t just try to get through it by the skin of your teeth, dwell in and with Him, and watch what He does when you put in the work to abide. John 15:1-11

Re:Verse passage – Job 19:13-19 (day seven)

All my associates abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me. vs 19

Can you remember the first time you were ever rejected or your first breakup? Maybe you never had to experience relationship heartbreak, but I am sure you had a friend who abandoned you, or a job you were fired from, or an application that was turned away. Rejection is inevitable.

No matter how long ago any of those events were for you, the pain of the moment stays with you. “Studies show that the same areas of the brain become activated when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain” (Psychology Today). Rejection hurts. This pain of rejection escalates our loneliness. Not only was Job alone, but he had been despised and rejected by all his friends and family. Sound like someone else you know?

He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isaiah 53:3a (ESV)

Jesus knows your pain. He wants to comfort you even when you feel like the world has turned against you. You are not alone!

Re:Verse passage – Job 13:15-16; 14:1-2, 14-17 (day seven)

This also will be my salvation,
For a godless person cannot come before His presence. Job 13:16

This is our salvation. Our Savior was “born of a woman.” He came to walk in our shoes. He came to feel our pain and agony. He came to live our life. Yet, He came to die our death. He came to us so that we could come to Him:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

This is our salvation. Our Savior “does not observe [our] sin” because He became it. He became our darkest secrets. He became deepest regrets. He became the very thing we hate. He became sin so we could become like Him:

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor 5:21

This is our salvation. The stone is rolled away. He conquered sin and grave. He lives so that we can “live again.” This is our salvation.

Re:Verse passage – Job 9:32-35 (day seven)

If you haven’t read the entire context of our passage, go and start at the beginning of chapter 9 and read through the end.  Look at how he began this poem. It is clear that Job has a very healthy fear of the Lord. The first 24 verses are all about God. Here are a few of my favorites:

“It is God who removes the mountains”

“It is He who shakes the earth from its place”

“It is He who does great things, the unfathomable”

Do you start your pryers like this? Most of us don’t. We tend to cut to the chase and thank God for what He has done, or we skip straight to supplication and ask Him to do things for us. Starting with praise or adoration isn’t for God, it is for us. Spending time telling God who He is to us, helps our heart and minds understand more clearly the gravity of the thanks and requests that we are bringing to Him. Give it a try. Spend the next few minutes just filling in this sentence; God, You are _________.

Re:Verse passage – Job 7:1-21 (day seven)

Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me? vs 12

Why is Job written primarily in poetry as opposed to narrative? Poetry tells a story that narrative cannot. Narrative is fact. Poetry shows us emotions. It becomes a bottomless pit of creativity as each line of the poem takes on its own image that can have a multitude of meanings. Here for example, Job asks God if he is the sea. Why? Because Job feels in this moment “that his suffering is disproportionate to the weight of his being” (ESV Study Bible). He feels that God has given him a burden that is too big for a human to carry. Job is single handedly refuting the modern catchphrase (not from scripture) that says, “God won’t give you more than you can handle?” He feels in this moment that God has given him more than he can handle. He is able to communicate all those feelings to us by simply drawing out a metaphor in one line of one verse of one chapter of his entire lament. Isn’t poetry beautiful?

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:11-13, 22:5-6, 9-11 (day seven)

When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him. vs 12

What caused Job to become unrecognizable? We immediately go to verse 7 and blame it on the boils (he was covered from head to toe), but it is probably more than even that. Have you ever walked with someone through an extended season of extreme stress or trauma? This type of emotion takes a toll on the body. Just look at inauguration pictures of presidents compared to their exit. Look at a youth minister before and after an all night lock-in. The weight of stress takes a toll just as much physically as it does emotionally. It is a burden that is being carried even if it is not immediately visible.

How do we help our friends who are carrying immense burdens? How do we find relief for the burdens we are carrying? The apostle Paul says it well in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. ” We need friends to come along side us. We need to come along side our friends. No one was made to walk through trials alone. We are Better Together!

Re:Verse passage – Job 2:1-10, 3:11, 20-26 (day seven)

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:13-22 (day seven)

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. vs 21b

The year is 1873. Horatio Spafford decides it is time for his family to take a vacation. After all, it has been a rough two year span. In 1871 they lost a son to scarlet fever, and shortly after that, the Chicago fire wiped out much of the family business. Upon departure for the vacation, Horatio gets called back to the office, but he insists that his family continue to set sail for Europe. He would catch the next boat and meet them there…

Imagine the feeling when he receives the telegram stating there was an accident. Then another saying only his wife survived, his four remaining children did not. Imagine the feeling days later as he sailed over the exact spot his children died. Satan probably thought, “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Vs 11

Instead, Mr. Spafford wrote the lyrics:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Mr. Spafford learned well from Job. When we hit rock bottom, Satan expects us to curse God. Job blessed the Lord. Mr. Spafford said “It is Well.” What will your response be when you hit rock bottom?

Re:Verse passage – Job 1:1-12 (day seven)

Satan lost from the very beginning of this story (and the beginning of time too). It is evident that a sovereign God knows how this is all going to play out. Why else would He put Job up to this challenge? He knows how it will play out. He knows how Job will react. He knows Satan will lose. Satan thinks that the only reason Job follows God is because of His personal success:

“Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” vs 10

What Satan does not seem to realize (and what we will see over the next 13 weeks) is that the storms of this life often seem to bring us closer to God. When things are going well it becomes easy to take personal credit for the success. You are comfortable in thinking you have control and do not need God, but in the storms, you become dependent on God because you realize you were never in control in the first place. God is in control. Satan lost!