Week 3 – Lessons from Job Cont’d
Day 2: Job’s Reasoning (part 1 – What Do We Believe About God?): Job 31:23
“For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.”
The reason for Job’s commitment to meeting the needs of the fatherless is two-fold. In today’s verse, we see the first reason in Job’s own words. He feared the Lord. In fact, he said destruction from God was a terror to him. That’s a strong dose of fear. But maybe not too strong when we consider the following admonitions from the Lord regarding the fatherless, the poor, the needy and the stranger:
“Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows and your children fatherless.” Exodus 22:22-24
“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge.” Deuteronomy 24:17
“Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.” Deuteronomy 27:19
God is serious about this matter. It only stands to reason that we should also be serious about it. In fact, at the end of Deuteronomy 27:19, the people were to, in essence, enter into an agreement with God concerning this command. He said, “If you pervert the judgment of the stranger the fatherless and the widow, you will be cursed.” They said, “Ok, we agree.” Sadly, few today see the importance with which the Lord looks upon this issue.
What we do is the worked out picture of what we believe.
Two Important Questions about what We Believe:
1. Do you believe God would really send this sort of judgment on people who did not carry out this command?
2. How does your position on that question affect your relationship to the fatherless?
If we don’t actually believe something, we aren’t likely to act on it. What we do is the worked out picture of what we believe. What do we believe about God? Do we belive that He is who He says He is? Do we believe that He will do what He says He will do? If we believe God will bless us for caring for the fatherless and will curse us for afflicting them, then we will behave accordingly. If we don’t…well, we will end up in a heap of trouble. …Don’t end up in a heap of trouble. Take God at His Word!
Up Next: Day 3: Job’s Reasoning (Part 2)
Follow us on Twitter @forbidthemnot or Facebook
[…] Up Next: Day 2: Job’s Reasoning (Part 1) […]