Verses 1-6:
"Job continued speaking:
2 “I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
3 As long as I live,
while I have breath from God,
4 my lips will speak no evil,
and my tongue will speak no lies.
5 I will never concede that you are right;
I will defend my integrity until I die.
6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
My conscience is clear for as long as I live."
Talk about the character to stick by your position when you know that you're right and others are wrong! I think there are many Christians alive today that would do well to take notes and learn from Job's example here. There are too many Christians stepping down from their positions, just because our culture and society are putting pressure on us to change and become acceptable to them.
Verses 7-12:
my adversary like those who do evil.
8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off
and takes away their life?
9 Will God listen to their cry
when trouble comes upon them?
10 Can they take delight in the Almighty?
Can they call to God at any time?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.
12 But you have seen all this,
yet you say all these useless things to me."
We are immensely blessed to be adopted children of God! We still have our hope when we die, unlike the wicked and godless. Job explains to his friends that they have been 'blowing-hot-air' despite Job's attempts at teaching them about God's power.
Verses 13-23:
this is their inheritance from the Almighty.
14 They may have many children,
but the children will die in war or starve to death.
15 Those who survive will die of a plague,
and not even their widows will mourn them.
16 “Evil people may have piles of money
and may store away mounds of clothing.
17 But the righteous will wear that clothing,
and the innocent will divide that money.
18 The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,
as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.
19 The wicked go to bed rich
but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.
20 Terror overwhelms them like a flood,
and they are blown away in the storms of the night.
21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.
It sweeps them away.
22 It whirls down on them without mercy.
They struggle to flee from its power.
23 But everyone jeers at them
and mocks them."
Based upon what Job has to say here, who would ever want to stay wicked? It's something that has always baffled me. Granted these events don't always occur constantly to the wicked, but they do suffer because of the things that they are involved in that are opposed to God's desire for us. What do you guys see in this chapter?
"Father thank You for redeeming us! I pray that You are glorified in our lives! May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You! May we be strengthened by Your Spirit, so that we won't abandon our principles, but will stand tall and stand strong, resisting the temptation and the pressure to give in to society's demands and abandon the principles that You call us to stand for. I pray for this country, and that You would convict our leaders of things that are not pleasing to You. May You grant them grace and forgiveness, and guide them on a path that leads them to making more God-honoring decisions. I pray all of this in Jesus' name, amen."
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