Sat.’s Devo - Job’s Problems; Paul’s Problems

Read: Job 4:1-7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27 Eliphaz was the first of Job’s three friends that spoke up. He believed that from his experience, men suffer because they have sinned in some way and since Job was definitely suffering, he must have sinned. Job would have been diagnosed with suicidal depression if he lived in our day. He would have been given an anti-depressant and been on clinical watch. But, he did take up for himself. He told Eliphaz to stop assuming his calamities were due to his sin. He accused Eliphaz of not helping him at all because he was afraid. He was afraid that Job might ask him to give him some money or to fight for him. He told his friend that all life is a struggle and everyone has something to complain about sometime in their life. Job ended by praying to God to remember him in his misery and give him some relief. He questioned if God was mad at him for some reason. There is not a one of us that can’t relate to Job and his questions about why this happened to him. It helps me to remember that trials come to everyone and sometimes it is because of a repercussion of something we have done, sometimes it is a lesson in life and sometimes it is just because we live in a fallen world where things are broken. We just have to trust that God is with us and will bring us through it, teach us life lessons, comfort us and rebuke us if we need that. The bottom line is that God is our good father who tenderly loves us and works everything for our good. In the letters of Paul, he is usually answering their questions and we only have his answers many times without knowing the question or the problem. The church in the Greek city of Corinth was so different from a Jewish city church. The Greeks worshipped many gods and many of their gods were women. Greek women were not oppressed like in Jewish communities. So when Greek women got saved, they were not the submissive women like the Jewish wives. They spoke up in church and were very vocal. Paul, being a Jew had a hard time with their strong woman culture. The churches were like day cares with very immature Christians. Those with the gift of prophesy thought they could interrupt the teaching and give their word from God or it might leave them. Paul wrote that the Spirit would remain with them. They could wait till the person speaking finished speaking before they gave their word. Since the women usually sat up in the balcony and the men on the bottom floor, they could not always hear what was being said so they would yell down to ask questions. Paul instructed them to stop yelling in church and just wait till they got home to ask their husbands any questions they might have. It was all to have a more peaceful, orderly service. (They obviously didn’t know about three songs, a sermon, and a prayer set-up.) Lol! Lord, give us your peace concerning things we do not understand and help us to have patience to wait for your deliverance.