TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
Are You Having A Jōb Moment?
Part 4
February 24, 2019
Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1JOHN 1:9: If we confess our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
Have you ever heard the old saying: “A friend in need is a friend in deed?” Friendship is one of the greatest blessings in our lives. But Who is the Greatest Friend anyone could ever have? He is a “Friend in deed” not because He is in need but because we are! That’s grace: He does all the work and we get all the benefits. Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote: Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family. (PROV 18:24 The Message Bible). Of course, Solomon was writing about God!
Jesus said: “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.” (JOH 15:11-15 The Message Bible) Will you remember that Jesus is your Friend when you have a Job moment? How about when your friend is having one?
Job had three friends whose names were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They were friends “in deed” because they all travelled to be there for him when he first got those boils all over him: Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great. (JOB 2:11-13) Job’s three friends’ best ministry to him took place during the first seven days when they mourned and said nothing. That’s an important lesson in the Bible. You should keep your mouth shut if your words will destroy a friendship: A person without self-control [who can’t keep his/her mouth shut] is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out. (PROV 25:28 The Message Bible)
Satan really went after Job with Evidence Testing when he brought in these three so-called friends. But each of them played an important part in the testing. Each came to see Job to help him in his time of trouble, staying with him for seven days and seven nights (seven is God’s Perfect Number). But they had all decided that Job must have brought all of this on himself. They believed that Job must have committed some sin which made God discipline him. They also believed it might have been payback from God for something Job had done. In any case, they believed that the only way out was for Job to “get right” with God. Now, mind you, God Himself said of Job: “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.” (JOB 1:8 The Message Bible)
As a Christian in the Church-Age, you should never speculate as to what another believer is going through. Only God knows if He’s testing a member of His Royal Family or whether He’s disciplining one of us. It’s really none of anyone’s business. It’s between God and the believer. And that’s how it was for Job, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. No one should ever question what God is doing because He’s God!!
When the three friends finally opened their mouths, they hurt Job even more than he already had been. Eliphaz was the first one to open his big mouth: “Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn? The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in. I’ve seen it myself—seen fools putting down roots, and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed. Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them. Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests, cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all, insatiable for everything they have. Don’t blame fate when things go wrong— trouble doesn’t come from nowhere. It’s human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward. (JOB 5: 1-7 The Message Bible) Remember, at this point, it had only been a few days since Job had learned he had lost all of his children. Eliphaz’s response shows a complete lack of regard for Job who had been a great father. Can you imagine the added heartache these words brought to him?
Bildad is the next “friend” who spoke up: “How can you keep on talking like this? You’re talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that. Does God mess up? Does God Almighty ever get things backward? It’s plain that your children sinned against him— otherwise, why would God have punished them? Here’s what you must do—and don’t put it off any longer: Get down on your knees before God Almighty. If you’re as innocent and upright as you say, it’s not too late—he’ll come running; he’ll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes. Even though you’re not much right now, you’ll end up better than ever.” (JOB 8:1-7 The Message Bible) Can you believe what he’s saying about GOD?!! Can you imagine how hateful these words would have been to Job’s grief-stricken heart? Bildad believed that everything that was going wrong in Job’s life was his own fault and he wanted him to stop complaining and accept what was happening to him. Bildad really rubbed it in when he blamed all of this on Job’s children sinning. Since we know the truth behind what Job is going through, it really proves that we should ignore what man has to say to about us. Paul the apostle wrote: Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (GAL 1:10 New International Version) Look at ISA 2:22: Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?
We should put our faith in God for everything in our lives. We have to trust Him and claim His Promise that He is always faithful to us. ALWAYS…
Bildad wants Job to admit that he has sinned and beg God to stop because he has no clue that Job is being given the chance to glorify God in this testing. He’s insisting that it’s all about discipline and that Job has to confess his sins. DUHHHHH!! Foolishly, Bildad is guessing that Job has turned away from God. He thinks he knows all about Job’s relationship with God. NOT! The truth is that Job is a much greater believer than Bildad. But Bildad doesn’t know this and in his ignorance, he calls Job godless and carnal. LOL! If he only knew what God thinks of Job! Do you see how wrong it is to judge other believers’ relationships with God?
Bildad believes the root of Job’s problem is that he is too materialistic. He believes that Job’s prosperity – his riches and successes — have caused him to neglect God. He doesn’t understand that this is CRAZY! With a friend like Bildad, who needs enemies? Job needed impersonal, unconditional love from his friends. What he got was criticism, judgment and useless advice!
{to be continued}