Read: Job 4:1-7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27
In the days of Job the general thought was that calamity was due to guilt. Job’s first friend to speak was Eliphaz the Temanite. Eliphaz means “my God has refined as gold”. He was the mildest of Job’s friends. He did understand that the man that God corrects is blessed. God will bind up our wounds and heal us.
Eliphaz told Job that if he was him, he would appeal to God and present his case before the Lord. He believed that God did miracles and would do one for Job if he asked.
Job’s response was that God was against him so there was no hope for him. (It was the opposite of ‘if God be for me who can be against me.). Job spent the rest of his words explaining his woeful lot.
Paul had just explained how important it was to prophesy because it benefited the church but he wanted to set things straight about speaking in tongues. He was not saying that it was not a valid and important gift because he exercised it daily. He was only referring to the ministry when he said he would rather prophesy. Tongues were to the believer since they are supernatural and can’t be understood by the unbeliever. Prophecy speaks straight to the heart so it can be a vital witnessing tool.
In church, it was normal to have tongues given and someone interpret them. God chooses the simple things to confound the wise. He uses tongues to bypass our logic and speak to our spirit. It takes faith to believe in things that don’t make sense to our natural minds and tongues is one of those things.
Lord, open our hearts to believe past our natural minds.
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