and stretch out your hands to him,
if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear."
Job 11:13-15
Since I have read the book of Job before I know that God allowed Satan to inflict great loss and pain on Job from reading the first two chapters. I also know from reading the last five chapters that Job's friends got it wrong and that God did use Job's awful losses to reveal himself to Job, and his friends.
In chapter 11 Zophar approached the situation from his finite and limited perspective. He drew upon the prevailing belief that misfortune was a result of sin. Because of his finite understanding of spiritual warfare as seen from God's perspective, Zophar could only see Job's sin as the cause of his misfortunes. Because of this his advice, or counsel, was that Job needed to repent. He was wrong. Wrong enough to make God angry (Job 42:7).
I think this is a sober reminder that I only see what I can see. My perspective is finite and limited. I need to humbly seek God for his understanding and wisdom. How many beliefs do we have that are based upon our limited and finite understanding of God. We have the Bible that teaches us the truth about God. It also teaches us to humbly approach things. Job and his friends learned that God is Sovereign, absolutely.
Father, help us to humbly wait upon you and seek your counsel, especially your word, as we seek the truth. Thank you, Lord Jesus, because you are the Truth. Praise be to you in us today!
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