January 13, 2022 - Job 21-23

Why does it appear that good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? Do the wicked and the immoral truly achieve the level of greatness that appearances lead us to believe? There are many that still ask these questions and it causes some to lose faith and make poor decisions.

Eliphaz cannot perceive God allowing this pain and injury to happen to a just and godly man and therefore assumes Job has unconfessed sin. The insinuation of Job being out of fellowship and having hidden sin in his life persists in the dialogue between the two men. Job's friend continues to harass and bring accusations against the logic and rhetoric of Job's contentions of innocence.

Concluding it was futile to debate the innocence of his position, Job turns his thoughts toward presenting his case to God if allowed to speak face to face. In a statement that has galvanized many believers through the years, Job proclaims his assurance and faith. "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandments of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (23:10-12).

Job clung to the inescapable reality that despite darkness, despair, depression, and abandonment by friends and family, he would stubbornly cling to the Lord. The terror of the Lord was greater for him than all the horrifying events of the darkness. What terrifies us most? Men's hostility, insults and rejection or God's presence? When the darkness settles upon you, remember Job's words, "... And the Almighty terrifies me; because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, and He did not hide deep darkness from my face" (23:16b-17). It is in these times you can embrace the darkness because you know the Light!