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901. Bible Study: Job 7 (Discernment, Negative Thoughts, Hope) · Faith by annm2705

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  Chapter 7 of Job Lord please open her eyes and ears as we
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  read through this and let us get a message from you and
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  understand this. We ask this in Jesus name Amen.
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  Chapter 7 of Job do not mortals have OK so this is Job talking
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  still continuation from chapter 3.
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  This is Job saying this, Do Do not mortals have hard service on
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  earth? Are not their days like those of
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  hired laborers? Like a slave longing for the
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  evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid?
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  So I have been allotted months of futility and nights of misery
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  have been assigned to me. When I lay down, I think, how
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  long before I get up? The night drags on.
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  I toss and turn until dawn. My body is clothed with worms
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  and scabs. My skin is broken and festering.
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  My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come
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  to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is
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  but a breath. My eyes will never see happiness
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  again. I want to pause right there
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  because this whole section verses 6 through 10 are just
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  continual negative thoughts. And I think about that.
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  I mean, obviously it's justified in the sense that Job has
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  horrible things happening to him and he's suffering.
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  So when you're suffering like that, you're like, how long is
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  this going to go? But this like desperation and
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  hopelessness. It's it seems to me, and we'll
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  get a little bit later in this chapter, seems to me these are
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  enemy influences and that there's some enemy of God, which
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  God did give Satan access to Job.
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  And this desperation and lack of hope may be inspired by the
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  enemy. So I'll continue reading this,
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  but this I'll start with six again, just about these negative
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  thoughts that he's having. My days are swifter than a
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  weaver's shuttle and they come to end without hope.
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  Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath.
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  My eyes will never see happiness again.
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  You know, he really doesn't know that because later on at the end
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  of the book, things are restored.
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  So what we might think never is going to get better could
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  actually get better with God because God does like doubly
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  restore. Continuing verse 8.
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  The eye that now sees me will see me no longer.
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  You will look for me, but I will be no more as a cloud vanishes
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  and is gone. So one who goes down to the
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  grave does not return. I'm going to pause there too,
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  because I don't know if Job knew about the resurrection.
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  Did Job know about the fact that we will be living and be doing
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  the things that we do on earth? The only difference is going to
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  be that sin and all evil will be gone from the presence there.
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  That's what people hope for and not hope, like I hope it
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  happens, but that's what people are positive, you know, like
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  true believers see that and know that and are confident in that.
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  And that's why true believers can endure things that many
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  people look and say, like, how can they be like that?
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  How can they have that positive attitude through what they're
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  going through? It's because of knowing God.
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  So let's see verse 10. He will never come to his house
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  again. His place will know him no more.
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  Therefore, I will not keep silent.
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  I will speak out in anguish of my spirit.
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  I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
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  Am I the sea or the monster of the deep that you put me
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  underground when I think my bed will comfort me and my couch
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  will ease my complaint? Even then, you frighten me with
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  dreams and terrify me with visions so that I prefer
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  strangling and death rather than this body of mine.
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  This is where I'm talking about the enemy coming in because God
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  would not be frightening him with dreams and terrifying him
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  with visions so that he prefers strangling and death.
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  That's the enemy. The enemy seeks to steal, kill
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  and destroy. So here I think Job doesn't
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  know, and we benefit from knowing what happened in
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  chapters 1 and 2. So Job doesn't know that Satan
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  is coming after him, but he's having dreams and visions.
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  So if we have dreams and visions and they are negative, they
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  aren't uplifting and building up and restoring, they could very
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  well be from the enemy. And I think those of us who have
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  dreams have to have a discernment about whether this
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  is from God or from the enemy. And we won't know for sure
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  unless it comes true. And then if it comes true, then
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  we'll know that it was from God and not the enemy.
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  I despise my life. I would not live forever.
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  Let me alone. My days have no meaning.
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  What is mankind that you make so much of them?
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  That you give them so much attention?
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  That you examine them every morning and test them every
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  moment? Will you never look away from me
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  or let me alone even for an instant?
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  If I have sinned, what have I done to you?
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  You who see everything we do? Why have you made me your
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  target? Have I become a burden to you?
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  Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins?
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  For I will soon lie down in the dust.
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  You will search for me, but I will be no more.
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  So Job is, you know he he should know God better.
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  Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins?
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  That should be a clue to us. If we don't have sin in our
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  life, if we are repentant to God and bad things are happening,
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  it's probably not God. If God gave this information,
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  whether it's just a parable, a made-up story that God gave, or
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  if it's actually really true, we don't know.
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  There's quite a bit of detail in here, but we don't know, I
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  guess, until some evidence comes up that shows us that the book
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  of Job was true. I think it's true.
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  But whether or not he was a real person or whether it was just
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  something that was revealed by God, but it certainly had a
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  purpose to reveal the enemy, to reveal the plots of the enemy,
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  and to give us discernment. What, you know, like God will
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  put pressure on us. He'll let the enemy have access
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  to us when we sin because that's rebellion against God.
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  But if we don't have any sin that we've, you know, we've
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  repented of whatever sin comes to mind, and we do that
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  regularly. I think this is something that a
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  lot of people miss is that we regularly need to repent of our
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  sins. If, if the Holy Spirit brings
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  something to mind that we've done as an offense to God, we
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  need to get that out of our life because sin separates us from
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  God. So we have a life, you know,
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  when you become a believer and don't want to be a hypocrite and
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  actually you want to live a Christian life that involves
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  daily examination of self. I mean, just that we, you know,
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  we ask God, you know, bring to mind anything that I'm doing
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  that is offensive to you that you want to refine and make
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  holy, because that's what the Holy Spirit does.
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  He refines us and makes us holy, makes us more like the image of
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  God. When we allow him to do that,
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  that's what will happen. And when we come into agreement
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  with him, that's what not by our own power, but by the power of
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  the Holy Spirit, this change happens.
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  And anyway, I'm wondering about about Job and not knowing that
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  God Forgives when we ask for forgiveness and he pardons us.
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  So we he should know or maybe not at this point, but because
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  this was maybe new, this was the first time being tested
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  happened. Or maybe, you know, he didn't
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  have the book of Job to read. So if he was a real person and
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  but God is revealing this to all of us, so then we can know that
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  if we've if we're in a good relationship with God and if
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  we've repented of our sins, God Forgives us.
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  So if bad things are happening to us, it could be it's, you
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  know, it's more than likely because history repeats or
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  rhymes. It's more than likely as a
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  result of what we learned in Job, it's more than likely an
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  enemy attack. And then how do we resist the
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  enemy? The Bible tells us just that.
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  Resist him and he will flee. And if we praise God, if we
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  worship God, I mean, the enemy seeks to separate us from God.
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  So if we just do the opposite of what the enemy's trying to get
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  us to do, the enemy wants to take our life.
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  You know, remember, the enemy wants to steal, kill and
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  destroy. So if we stand strong against
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  that and give God praise in all circumstances, this makes sense.
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  Now give God praise in all circumstances.
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  The enemies, you know, if he can't budget us to reject God,
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  you think he's going to waste a lot of time there?
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  He's going to move on to somebody else because why would
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  he keep doing something to somebody that you know, isn't,
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  is, is resisting him? Like here we see that Job is
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  kind of falling to this. He's thinking that God is doing
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  all this now. God is allowing it, but he's
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  allowing it for a reason and, and allowing the enemy access.
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  And it's kind of interesting. I wasn't thinking about this
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  earlier, but I actually had a conversation with someone today
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  about Job, and we'll see later on in the books that Job has
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  some pride. So Job was very righteous and we
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  know that God hates pride, so that may be why God allowed
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  Satan to test Job. So maybe it really was because
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  of some something in Job that he didn't see and he had to go
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  through this suffering to recognize this.
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  We'll see that in later chapters.
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  But that was kind of an eye opening revelation to me because
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  God didn't really say that. He didn't tell Satan that there
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  was anything wrong with Job. He said he was a righteous 1.
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  And so God allowed it. But God also knows all of our
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  thoughts and maybe he didn't, you know, let Satan in on what
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  God was thinking about Job. Like maybe Job was getting
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  prideful because of all the blessings that he received from
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  God. And so God thought, OK, let's
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  test Job because I have been doing all these things to him
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  and see, you know what happens. We don't know God's thoughts,
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  but that's another perspective of what God could have been
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  doing at that time. So anyway, just something to
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  think about. So I'll go through the questions
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  and answers for Chapter 7. How is life like slavery?
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  This is another word picture. Job wanted his suffering to end.
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  He was comparing his desire for the end of his suffering to the
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  longing of a slave or servant for the end of the work day or
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  better still for payday. A troubled life is like slavery
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  because there seems to be no escape and the end is nowhere.
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  Insight What kind of disease did Job have?
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  We don't know Job's actual ailment, but his sores may have
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  been boils, painful bacteria, infections of the skin which
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  attracted parasites. What is a weaver's shuttle?
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  This is an instrument used with a loom to weave the cross or
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  wolf threads of a piece of fabric between the warp threads
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  held lengthwise in the loom. The speed with which a Weaver
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  throws the shuttle from one side to the other is a striking
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  illustration of the brevity of life.
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  Interesting. Had Job given up hope?
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  Job looked to death as his hope for relief from the pain and
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  suffering. In his despair.
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  He saw no other basis for hope in this life.
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  Does God send nightmares? The Bible speaks of God's
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  occasional use of dreams to communicate messages.
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  Nightmares are another matter. Perhaps this is meant to be
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  understood figuratively as one of several ways Joe's expressed
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  his view that God was responsible for his suffering.
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  Job may also have been communicating that even his
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  sleep was filled with pain and terror.
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  I, on the other hand, think that this was the enemy because we
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  know that the God gave the let the allowed the enemy to have
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  access to Job. And I do believe that some of
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  these dreams that are threatening and scary are from
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  evil. So that's just my opinion, and I
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  guess it's contrary to what the study Bible says.
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  Can someone who trusts in God really get as discouraged as Job
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  was? Yes, even those with great faith
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  have moments of despair. Moses wanted to die in Numbers
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  Chapter 11, as did Elijah in First Kings chapter 19, and
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  Jeremiah wished he had never been born in Jeremiah 20.
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  Job wanted release from his suffering.
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  Does God continually test us? No, at least not in the
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  unmerciful sense that Joe was implying here.
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  We should remember that these are words of a deeply despondent
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  man, one who saw death as preferable to life.
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  Those whom God delivers from the depths of despair see things
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  differently than those who have yet to experience such valleys
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  in life. As to the purpose of being
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  tested, there's an article about that which I will read.
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  So one last question, and then we'll read the article about why
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  did testing come to Job. So this other question is, why
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  wouldn't Job receive any assurance of forgiveness?
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  Job had no external physical evidence that his life was
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  approved by God. According to the views of the
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  day, he was continually being judged.
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  So it seemed that not only was he guilty of sin, but his
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  sacrifices and prayers had also amounted to nothing.
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  So there's something else that I think we should remember that's
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  in Scripture, that God hears the prayers of the righteous.
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  And so we should know that if we, if nothing comes to mind
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  when we ask God to reveal to us any unrepentant sin that we need
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  to repent of and nothing at all comes to mind, there's no guilt.
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  Then if if that's the way we are, then we should know that
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  God is hearing our prayers. And God, he wants us to get
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  close to us, to him. He wants us to repent.
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  So don't you think that God will reveal what is not in alignment
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  with God because he wants that relationship.
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  So if we ask God, God show me or bring to mind whatever thing I'm
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  doing in my life that you are not happy with so that I may
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  address it, God will do that. He will bring it to your
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  thoughts. And I've said this before, but
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  you know, as much as we hate guilt, I think guilt is actually
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  good because it's actually, perhaps it's the Holy Spirit
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  actually making us look at something we don't want to look
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  at. But if we address it, then we
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  can get it out of our life. And it's, it just feels so much
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  freer when you get rid of that stuff that you feel guilty
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  about. And, and I, I believe God does
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  that for us. So if you don't like feeling
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  guilty, turn it over to God and ask God to change that aspect of
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  your life. That's happened to me and he's
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  done it. So anyway, let's get to the last
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  question and then we'll wrap it up.
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  Why did testing come to Job? There is no single simple
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  explanation for why believers undergo suffering, but the Bible
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  offers several reasons. First, testing strengthens our
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  character, James says The testing of your faith produces
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  perseverance. That's found in James chapter
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  one, verse 3. Painful situations produce
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  character the same way regular exercise builds muscle tone.
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  Peter adds that testing proves our faith is genuine.
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  And that's in first Peter 17. When the when the heat is on, we
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  reveal who we actually are and what we truly believe.
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  Peter also suggests that this testing of faith gives honor to
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  God. Remaining faithful despite
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  prolonged agony testifies to others how much we value and
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  trust God. Job notes that testing can rid
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  our lives of unrefined qualities.
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  Job chapter 23, verse 10. Much the way a blast furnace
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  brings out impurities on in metals, testing removes sinful
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  attitudes in us and we come forth as gold.
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  The writer of Hebrews says the testing proves believers are
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  God's children. Hebrews chapter 12 six through
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  8. Every wise parent disciplines a
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  child in love to help the child develop.
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  When God brings testing, it reminds us that we are his
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  children. Isn't that beautiful?
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  Why did testing come to Job? It never occurred to Job that
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  God was allowing the testing because He was pleased with Job.
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  Have you considered this is a quote?
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  Have you considered my servant Job?
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  There is no one on earth like him That was in Job chapter one
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  verse 8. There may be no reason behind
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  our testing other than that God is pleased with us.
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  He may want to reveal Himself to us and others through such
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  tests. So that gives an idea.
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  So I hope you well, thank you for listening to this podcast.
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  If you're not subscribed, please do so if you want to stay in a
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  chapter a day and also share this with someone if you think
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  it could help someone. And hope you have a wonderful
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  weekend celebrating the resurrection of Christ.