February 12, 2011

Job 11
It is easy to latch on to one aspect of the Glory of God and think that you now understand how that applies to every aspect of life. Zophar thought that. He has some very astute understanding of the glory of God, and yet he has completely misapplied it in relation to Job. Look at some of Zophar's statements:
1. “God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.“ That is a statement that is partially true of everyone. If the Lord exacted justice immediately, then we would all be instantly killed. However, it is His mercy that holds off His justice giving us time to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
2. “Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven—what can you do?” He is dead on center with this statement. We cannot find the limits of the Almighty. We will be forever learning more about God and never have learned everything because He is infinite. By definition finite creatures like ourselves will never be able to understand the infinite being. But how does that prove that Job is being punished for something He did wrong? It doesn’t; Zophar has misapplied the truth.
3. “If He passes by . . . then who can hinder Him?” Again Zophar is dead on center. No finite creature could ever hinder the infinite being! But how does that prove Job’s guilt?
4. “But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!” True the eyes of the wicked will fail. All of us will die. There is no escaping death except that the return of Jesus should happen before our time to die. Is the hope of the wicked loss of life? Jesus said, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
This we learn about the glory of God from Zophar. It is His mercy that keeps me alive. Illness is not necessarily the direct punishment of God. God has no limits. I will be forever learning about what He is like. I cannot hinder His ultimate purpose. I can hinder His purpose in my own life but not His ultimate purpose. I have one hope, to lose myself in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john