Today's Devotion: Job 36:5-12
5 "God is mighty, but does not despise men;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.
7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings
and exalts them forever.
8 But if men are bound in chains,
held fast by cords of affliction,
9 he tells them what they have done—
that they have sinned arrogantly.
10 He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of their evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment.
12 But if they do not listen,
they will perish by the sword
and die without knowledge. (NIV)
taken from www.biblegateway.com
The text for today is a speech made by a young man named Elihu. He has been standing on the sidelines listening to Job and his three friends trying to make sense out of Job's situation. He said that he was waiting to speak until those older than he were finished. But now he can't keep silent because he has something that he thinks is important to say.
The verses above sound reasonable and wise when read alone. There are many religions that could easily say these are the basis of their teaching. If you do wrong, you will suffer. If you suffer, you must have done wrong. Turn back to God and everything will be joy and prosperity.
How quickly we judge the spiritual state of others! This young man has listened well to the teachings of the Torah, but he has not really paid attention to his own speech. A few verses later (v26) he says"How great is God -- beyond our understanding!" Yet Elihu seems to believe that he fully understands God and how He works. He's applied his learning to a limited human perception of how God acts.
How often do we take the limited knowledge we have of God and use it to justify or condemn others (or even ourselves)? Our feeble minds will attempt to find human logic in events and tragedies, but we only see what God allows us to see...or we may limit our sight to what fits into our concept of logic.
That is a major reason why the Jews did not accept Jesus. They had created a system of beliefs that 'proved' they were correct. They were looking for an earthly king, when instead God had much bigger plans. What are we missing today because it doesn't fit into our perception of life and God?
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