Fri.’s Devo - Hope

Read: Job 8:1-11:20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 21:28-29
Bildad has such a strong doctrine of God’s judgment that he tells Job that his children got what they deserved, but that there was still hope for him. (How Job took that is beyond me.) He goes on to say that no one has hope if they forget God. God would never reject a man who was blameless, so Job must have something that he has done to deserve this calamity.
Job’s response was very merciful. He agreed that no man can be blameless before God because God’s wisdom is profoundly above man’s. He went on praise God’s wisdom, his power, and his sovereignty over the earth. He agreed that he was not innocent before God, because no man could be. He didn’t even believe that God would listen to his plight and there was no way he would be proclaimed innocent before a holy God. He wished there was an advocate that understood man’s frailty and could speak up for him. If he could speak to God, he would plead with him not to condemn him and ask him what his charges were because he didn’t know what they were. He wonders why God created him, only to destroy him.
This was when Zophar decided he needed to respond. He was not going to let Job get away with saying he didn’t know his sin. He wished God would speak because then God would tell him his sin. He pleaded with Job to admit his sin so he could be saved and “rest in safety”, unafraid. Then he threw in the fact that the eyes of the wicked would fail and escape would elude them. In other words, they have no hope. He wanted Job to know that if Job continued believing he had done nothing to deserve what had happened to him then there was no hope for him.
Jesus was the answer to Job’s desire for an advocate. God sent Jesus to become a man so that he would experience the weaknesses and temptations of man. He brought flesh to God and was our bridge to God. The power of the gospel was the resurrection of Christ. Paul explained that sin came through man, Adam, so a man had to take it away. Jesus was that man. Jesus died and was resurrected destroying our last enemy which was death.
Lord, thank you that you are our advocate to the Father. Thank you that your blood covered our sin and we are hidden in you. We praise you because you are the resurrection and the life.