In Order. Leave Me Alone
January 8, 2017. Job 17 – 20.
How Job is feeling now:
17:1 “I am sick and near to death; the grave is ready to receive me. 2 I am surrounded by mockers. I see them everywhere.”
6 “He has made me a mockery among the people; they spit in my face. 7 My eyes are dim with weeping and I am but a shadow of my former self.”
8 “…Yet, finally, the innocent shall come out on top, above the godless; 9 the righteous shall move onward and forward; those with pure hearts shall become stronger and stronger.”
10 “As for you—all of you please go away; for I do not find a wise man among you. 11 My good days are in the past. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken”. (TLB)
What Job’s friends are saying about him now:
18:5 “The truth remains that if you do not prosper, it is because you are wicked.” (TLB)
How others are making Job feel now:
19:2 “How long are you going to trouble me, and try to break me with your words?”
7 “ I scream for help and no one hears me. I shriek, but get no justice.”
14 “My relatives have failed me; my friends have all forsaken me.”
19 “My best friends abhor me. Those I loved have turned against me.” (TLB)
We keep reading about this man's life and it just is not getting better for this poor guy. Ever screamed out – “just leave me alone!”? Or felt like your screams for help went unheard? So how do you find order in your mind, heart, and life when the pain is so overwhelming?
The answer is that you put your focus in the same place that Job did during these unjust attacks and extreme suffering:
The truth Job focuses on now:
19:25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and that he will stand upon the earth at last. 26 And I know that after this body has decayed, this body shall see God. 27 Then he will be on my side! Yes, I shall see him, not as a stranger, but as a friend! What a glorious hope!” (TLB)
Remember yesterday’s peek into this masterpiece that God is creating? We saw a foreshadowing of the suffering of Jesus Christ. If you were to read Mark chapter 14, 15 and 16 here is what you would see: Mark 14 – all of Christ’s disciples betray and abandon Him. Mark 15 – Christ is falsely accused, found guilty and crucified. Mark 16 – Christ is resurrected, new life! He lives!
And that is exactly what gets Job through this ordeal, he knows that his Redeemer lives and one day he will see Him face to face as a friend. It will be worth it all. God did not forget about His Son when He was abandoned, or when He hung on the cross, nor when He was in the tomb. God has not forgotten about you. Your Redeemer lives. Have faith, He will put everything in order.
(Scripture emphasis added by author.)