12. Discredit

 

Hymns: RHC 195, O Love Divine, 387 I Need Thee Every Hour, 358 What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Job 4:1-6

^KJV Job 4:1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? ³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. ⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. ⁶Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

DISCREDIT

OUTLINE

1. Using Sarcasm to hurt (v1-6)

INTRODUCTION

Here begin the three cycles of speeches between Job and his friends. The first cycle is from chapters 4-14 in response to Job’s first speech in chapter 3.

Eliphaz is the most senior among Job’s three friends, he speaks first. He represents the three, notice in Job 42:7 that God singled out Eliphaz as the leader of the three for rebuke, Job 42:7 “And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.” We can see that Job is the only true theologian in this book.

His friends speak a semblance of the truth but denying the power thereof, they misapplied theology to their shame and deeply hurting, adding more afflictions to Job. They were miserable comforters. It would have been better if they had remained silent.

(1) Using Sarcasm to hurt (v1-6)

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? ³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. ⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 

 Eliphaz began by discrediting Job’s past piety as hypocrisy, “You comforted others but now look at you, do you not know wallow in self-pity too?”

Is this how we would address a friend who is deeply afflicted? Should we be judging his motive before God when we do not know for certain the situation? We do not read hearts. Can we not give the afflicted the benefit of the doubt? Must we be so quick to condemn?

In fact, 4:1-4, speaks well of Job’s testimony before he was afflicted. He upholds the falling and strengthens the faint hearted.

William MacDonald said well, “Eliphaz says in effect, “You helped others (’Your words have kept men on their feet’ 4:4, James Moffatt), but now you cannot help yourself.” These words are reminiscent of Christ’s mockers at the Crucifixion: Matthew 27:36-41.

³⁶ And sitting down they watched him there; ³⁷ And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸ Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. ³⁹ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, ⁴⁰And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest itin three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. ⁴¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

Matthew 27:42-43 He saved others; himself he cannot save.If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

“He Trusted in God” summarized the life of Jesus Christ on earth. Sent by the Father from heaven, He entered human history for the sole purpose of saving men and women perishing in their sins to the eternal punishment of hell fire. Jesus was unflinching in His mission. Although there will come with it, great suffering, He endured them all for our sake. What great love is demonstrated for Jesus to willingly give His life to be crucified on the cross!

It was His love for Me that nailed Him on the tree to die such agony for all my sin.

For my own guilt and blame the great Redeemer came willing to bear the shame of all my sin.

O What a Savior is mine! In Him God’s mercies combine, His love can never decline. And He loves me!

To Calvary’s hill one day, The Lord was led away, None else the price could pay for all my sin.

He on the cross was slain, yielding His life in pain, He felt the bitter stain, of all my sin.

Was ever love so strong, was ever crime so wrong, When Jesus suffered long for all my sin.

He saw my greatest need, became my friend indeed, Thru Him I have been freed, of all my sin.

He submitted Himself fully to do the Father’s will amidst pain and suffering. What great love He manifested. How this Man Jesus – “Trusted in God”, let God save Him from the cross, let Him save Himself from the cross.

This was Job’s lot too when Eliphaz began his speech.

The reason he gives for this is Job’s self-righteousness. [MacDonald]

You recall our Lord’s words upon the cross, “My God, My God, why has Thou Forsaken Me?”

 Matthew 27:46-51 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Does God abandonment His children? In life, there are times when God allows us to go through such heavy affliction we feel as if God has abandoned us in those moments of pain and suffering. When the burden becomes so heavy, so real and literal we feel ourselves alone in our affliction. A sense of abandonment can come upon us that cause us to struggle to keep faith and continue to trust God.

To cry out in our pain, “Lord, how long?”, “How long wilt thou forget me?” Forever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? This was the cry of the psalmist David in Psalm 13 until he stilled his heart to come to God in prayer seeking the mercy of God and received it when God assured his heart that he is not alone in His struggle, God’s mercy will be with him:

Psalm 13:5-6 (KJV) ⁵ But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. ⁶ I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

His problem is not solved yet but he understood by faith that God will help him. He was willing to trust God’s mercy and God’s joy came and overwhelmed him and he was able to praise God.

God has not abandoned him. In the heaviness of the trial, he felt forsaken. He had to assure his heart through prayer and God’s promises that God is still with him.

And the reason why God will not abandon His children is that His Son has won the battle over sin to secure our salvation for all eternity when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

God does not abandon His children. When He saves us, we are saved and “safe” and “secured” for all eternity. Why do I have such confidence to make such a statement? This is because the Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ secured our salvation when He took upon Himself the full weight of all our sins on the cross.

When Jesus Christ went to the cross, He was our sin-bearer.

“Him who knew no sin, God hath made to be sin for us. And my sin, your sin, their sin, our sin was placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is holy. God cannot look upon sin. God the Father turns His eyes, His face from sin as His Son bore them all.

1 John 1:5 (KJV) ⁵ This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

There is a deep mystery in our Lord’s words here “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It was not just the bodily anguish but the real pressure of His soul bearing the enormous burden for sins. He was our Substitute for sin.

Jesus Christ was suffering the penalty for sin. And if a person is not saved, he is God-forsaken forever in hellfire. But for all who accepts Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for sins finds reconciliation with God. You who trust in Jesus Christ will never be abandoned because of what Jesus did for you on the cross.

⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

His sorrow was so aggravated that it finally gave expression to these words “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Our Lord was quoting the Scriptures in Psalm 22:1 written 800 years before His birth that foretold His agony upon the cross. These words were uttered not as a testimony to Himself but as a fulfilment of Scriptures. Also, I believe it was a prayer, a prayer unto God.

The Scripture was fulfilled that He would bore out sins on the cross. And our Saviour, even in His deepest agony and humiliation, does not waiver but persevered to carry our sins looking to God.

The Saviour’s cry is not against God but to God. He made a double effort to draw near to God.

Philippians 2:8 (KJV) ⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Our Lord was fully conscious what He was doing upon the cross by His outcry. It was not a cry of the Saviour questioning God but the terribleness of divine wrath and the unimaginable pain of the abandonment of the Father’s fellowship cries out for an explanation. Does He not know the answer? He speaks of the terrible nature of sin how it causes separation.

Christianity is a relationship, a relationship between God and men. Sin is a broken relationship. This broken relationship was mended when Christ’s bore the penalty for sin, to mend that broken relationship.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

What must be our response when we learn that our Lord had to go through the outer darkness, the agonies of hell and separation from God on our behalf? We are to mediate on what He did for us and contemplate of His amazing love.

Romans 5:6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

It will cause us to have a grateful heart to love our Lord and the people around us.

It was a fulfilment of Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

It must also to give great comfort and refuge for believing sinner. It must cause us to hate sin for all the agony it has cost our Saviour to purchase our redemption. And it must give us a glimpse of the final judgement. Jesus will return as Judge, He shall judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31).