Tues.’s Devo - Job’s Confidence

Read: Job 4:1-7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 21:27 Eliphaz answered Job. Job and his friends were the philosophers of their day. They were considered the wise men who understood more than most. He began by building up Job and remembering all the good Job had done in the past. He had encouraged others, strengthened the weak and been strong, but now that disaster had fallen on him, he had fallen apart. Eliphaz observed that evil comes to those who do evil, so Job must have done something to deserve what happened to him. *** He reminded Job that God’s angels even sinned and had to be punished by God, so why would he think he was any better. If he were Job, he would go before God and present his case to him because God is merciful to sinners. *** Job should consider it all joy to be corrected by God. Though God’s discipline hurts, it only lasts a little while, if you repent. *** Job answered Eliphaz. He tried to paint a picture of how defeated and devastated he felt. He needed comfort, not a pointing finger. He accused Eliphaz of accusing him without any fear of God. He assumed Job had done something wrong when he hadn’t. Job had searched his heart and gone over his ways and there was nothing he had done deserving of this. He knew that people are not perfect and he wasn’t saying he was, he just knew he had not sinned against God. *** This is the conflict of the law against grace. Even in many of our churches today, they want to make you feel like the sinner, when we are the righteousness of God in Christ. They heap on condemnation when all that does is make us powerless to fight our real enemy which isn’t ourselves, but Satan. It will never be our self-righteousness that gets us into right standing with God, it is our total dependence on his blood to make us righteous. *** Paul told them to be innocent when it came to evil but to be mature when it came to things of God and the Spirit. Speaking in the tongues shows unbelievers that the power of God is supernatural. Prophecy speaks to the believer to encourage them. Prophecy reveals the secrets of men’s hearts and puts the fear of God in the one being prophesied to. Everyone has something to share - a song, a word, a teaching. If they are in a meeting and one speaks aloud in tongues, then someone should be there to interpret it. *** They were new in all of this so Paul instructed them that if someone spoke out in a tongue, they should wait for the interpretation of that tongue before anyone spoke out in another tongue. They should limit it to about three messages so it can be soaked up by the people listening. *** Corinthians was a Greek city where women were used to being in charge. They had the order of family turned upside down so Paul was trying to help them right this. He asked that their women be silent and let the men rise up to be the head of the church like God meant it to be. They could talk about any questions they had when they got home. Paul was teaching them to be husband and wives like God wanted them to be. He was encouraging a better relationship for them. *** Lord, thank you that you have solved the sin issue once and for all through the blood of your son. Help us to realize the power of that blood that took our sin and guilt away. May we walk boldly in your righteousness, loving your more than our lives.