The book of Job, like all scripture, was written for our admonition. And like the entire Bible, it reveals God, …who is pure light, who is love, who is nothing but good.When I read the Word, I’m primarily looking for two things:
First, I want to KNOW God. Yes, I know Him, but I have a consuming desire to know every little thing about Him. I love Him, and He loves me. And the more I understand who He is, and what He’s like, the more I understand who I am, because I’m His son. I’ve had His nature in me, ever since I was born again, when I was born of God, and He became my Father. Now, I want to be His spittin’ image in every way that others can see.
Second, I seek to know what He wants me to DO. A lot of that becomes very clear when I KNOW God. When I know how He works, thinks, & feels, then I can just let His nature rule my life, and guide me in my personal situation. But I also want to hear His commandments, His warnings, His instructions, His wisdom.With that in my heart, I have seen a couple of really plain, easy to understand admonitions in Job, right on the surface, without even digging into any big questions or revelations.
It’s God – the justifier, vs. Satan – the accuser. The book starts right off with God bragging on Job, …the God that knew every little flaw and weakness and lack of understanding in Job’s life, even called him “perfect”. (Whenever we see or use that word, “perfect”, we need to be careful that we define it the way God defines it, …nothing more, nothing less.) God is “justifying” Job, according to Job’s FAITH. There never has been, and never will be, justification in God’s sight in any other way. Yes, we’re called to be perfect, but that can never happen separate from justification by faith. That is one of the basic questions through this whole episode: Can Job justify himself? Can ANY man be justified at all? But finally, GOD is justified, AND the justifier. (See Romans 3:26)
Then Satan, the father of lies, says, “Does Job fear God for naught?” Essentially, he’s saying, “Sure, Job fears God, and does good, and hates evil. But his heart is wrong. It’s only because you’ve blessed him. If he lost that blessing, he would curse you to your face.” Notice that it’s FALSE accusations about Job’s heart and motives, and FALSE accusations about what Job supposedly WOULD do, …not anything Job HAD done. Even Satan was not about to call God a liar to His face. And he cannot condemn that child whom God justifies. (See Romans 8:33-34)
So here comes the admonition that guides me whenever I think about a brother. Will I be like God, and seek a way to bring justification and life to that brother? (Not justify sin, but that that person would be right with God.) Or will I take Satan’s side, and make accusations against a brother’s very heart, and why he does what he does? Or worse yet, to look at someone who’s greatly blessed, anointed, and used by God, and question what he supposedly would do if he didn’t have it so good, and suggest that there’s some evil in him that might not be apparent? The accuser of the brethren will do that even when there is no specific sin he can point at. When there IS sin, look out! There’s no shutting him up.
I know there’s sin and hypocrisy out there, some blatant and willful, …some in ignorance. I don’t even like to hear the facts of the sin someone has committed, …but when I hear accusations about a brother’s heart or motives, I shudder. We all should. Even more so, when we hear insinuations, or “evil surmisings” that question the motives of someone who’s doing the work of God, alarm bells should go off.
Sure, God can reveal even the thoughts and intentions of a person’s heart to His servants, but He’ll also instruct them what to do with that information. It will be for life, not death. I’m honestly more interested in knowing God’s heart toward that person, than knowing that person’s heart.
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