“Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake.”
Job 6:29
God is not unjust in our sufferings, but often other people are. Many of us have felt the sting of injustice. We are falsely accused or maligned. We’re punished unlawfully. Such matters weigh heavily upon us, especially if we are not eventually vindicated.
Job’s friends initially did the right thing by sitting with him in mourning after his calamity. But once they began to speak, and it all went downhill. The last thing we need in our suffering is self-righteousness, but that’s what Job faced. In essence, he was told that since God is not unjust, Job must have deserved the suffering that had come about. Job was already lying in the dust— how much lower could they make him feel? Truly, with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Job replies that they forsake the fear of the Almighty and are treacherous friends (see 6:14-15). Such despicable treatment also is seen in the man born blind in John 9:1-12. Who was to blame for his suffering—he or his parents? Jesus replied that it was in order that the works of God might be revealed. Rest in that blessed reality.
Job’s friends initially did the right thing by sitting with him in mourning after his calamity. But once they began to speak, and it all went downhill. The last thing we need in our suffering is self-righteousness, but that’s what Job faced. In essence, he was told that since God is not unjust, Job must have deserved the suffering that had come about. Job was already lying in the dust— how much lower could they make him feel? Truly, with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Job replies that they forsake the fear of the Almighty and are treacherous friends (see 6:14-15). Such despicable treatment also is seen in the man born blind in John 9:1-12. Who was to blame for his suffering—he or his parents? Jesus replied that it was in order that the works of God might be revealed. Rest in that blessed reality.
Scripture Focus
Job 6
Insight
Who can give back your lost name or lost time after it has been taken from you? Jesus can.
Bible In A Year
- 2 Chronicles 25-26
- Psalm 20
- Matthew 27