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Job 6 - Job's First Response to His Friends · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio. You are listening to The Bible Explained with
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  Speaker 1: Jen Kokel, a P40 Ministries podcast. Well, good morning, faithful listeners,
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  Speaker 1: and welcome to The Bible Explained with Jen Kokel. And
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  Speaker 1: that is me. It's nice to meet all of you
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  Speaker 1: new listeners. And for those of you who have been
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  Speaker 1: with me for some time, hopefully you have your delicious
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  Speaker 1: cup of coffee to share with me. because we are
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  Speaker 1: going to talk about Job chapter six. And this chapter
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  Speaker 1: is Job just laying it on his friends. He's got
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  Speaker 1: a lot to say to them, because don't forget what
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  Speaker 1: we've been covering. Eliphaz, one of Job's friends, had words
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  Speaker 1: and reasons for Job's suffering, most of which were untrue,
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  Speaker 1: by the way. And so Job is going to get
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  Speaker 1: into it today with his friends. So we're going to
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  Speaker 1: talk about this chapter. But before we do, make sure
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  Speaker 1: to grab your delicious cup of coffee or your cup
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  Speaker 1: of tea for you crazy tea drinkers. And I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to play this sponsored ad. And after that, we will
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  Speaker 1: be back to discuss Job chapter six. Now, if you
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  Speaker 1: haven't read the first few chapters of Job, I do
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  Speaker 1: recommend if you haven't yet, either going back a couple
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  Speaker 1: episodes and listening to those first, or better yet, reading
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  Speaker 1: them in your own personal Bible. So let's jump into
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  Speaker 1: Job chapter six. I'll be reading from the WEB version.
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  Speaker 1: And if you're able to read along with me, then
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  Speaker 1: please do so. If not, make sure to read it
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  Speaker 1: in your own personal time and take the words of
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  Speaker 1: the Bible first before you take my words. So let's
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  Speaker 1: read this chapter together. And I'll be reading as usual
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  Speaker 1: from the WEB or the World English Bible. Then Job answered, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: that my anguish were weighed and all my calamity laid
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  Speaker 1: in the balances. For now it would be heavier than
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  Speaker 1: the sand of the seas. Therefore my words have been rash.
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  Speaker 1: For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My
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  Speaker 1: spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set
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  Speaker 1: themselves in array against me. Does the wild donkey bray
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  Speaker 1: when he has grass? Or does the ox low over
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  Speaker 1: his fodder? Can that which has no flavor be eaten
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  Speaker 1: without salt? Or is there any taste in the white
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  Speaker 1: of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them. They
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  Speaker 1: are as loathsome food to me. Oh, that I might
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  Speaker 1: have my request, that God would grant the thing that
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  Speaker 1: I long for, even that it would please God to
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  Speaker 1: crush me and that he would let loose his hand
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  Speaker 1: and cut me off. Let it still be my consolation. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: let me exult in pain that doesn't spare, that I
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  Speaker 1: have not denied the words of the Holy One. What
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  Speaker 1: is my strength that I should wait? What is my
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  Speaker 1: end that I should be patient? Is my strength the
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  Speaker 1: strength of stones or is my flesh of bronze? Isn't
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  Speaker 1: it that I have no help in me? that wisdom
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  Speaker 1: is driven away from me. To him who is ready
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  Speaker 1: to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend, even
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  Speaker 1: to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My
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  Speaker 1: brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel
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  Speaker 1: of brooks that pass away, which are black by reason
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  Speaker 1: of the ice, in which the snow hides itself. In
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  Speaker 1: the dry season they vanish. When it is hot, they
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  Speaker 1: are consumed out of their place. The caravans that travel
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  Speaker 1: beside them turn away. They go up into the waste
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  Speaker 1: and perish. The companies of Sheba waited for them. They
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  Speaker 1: were distressed because they were confident. They came there and
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  Speaker 1: they were confounded. For now you are nothing. You see
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  Speaker 1: a terror and are afraid. Did I ever say give
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  Speaker 1: to me or offer a present for me from your
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  Speaker 1: substance or deliver me from an adversary's hand or redeem
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  Speaker 1: me from the hand of the oppressors? Teach me and
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  Speaker 1: I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand my error.
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  Speaker 1: How forcible are words of uprightness. But your reproof, what
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  Speaker 1: does it reprove? Do you intend to reprove words, since
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  Speaker 1: the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: you would even cast lots for the fatherless and make
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  Speaker 1: merchandise of your friend. Now therefore be pleased to look
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  Speaker 1: at me, for surely I will not lie to your face.
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  Speaker 1: Please return, and let there be no injustice. Yes, return again.
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  Speaker 1: My cause is righteous. Is there injustice on my tongue?
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  Speaker 1: Can't my taste discern mischievous things? Based upon what we
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  Speaker 1: just read, You can definitely tell Job is not happy
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  Speaker 1: because in the last two chapters, Eliphaz was giving Job
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  Speaker 1: all of this nonsense talk about the nature of God.
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  Speaker 1: Eliphaz being so arrogant in his own knowledge and his
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  Speaker 1: own study, he truly believed he knew everything there was
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  Speaker 1: to know about God. He believed he knew what the
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  Speaker 1: cause of suffering was. And he kept telling Job, Job,
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  Speaker 1: there must have been something wrong that you did because
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  Speaker 1: God is angry. And he punishes people all the time
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  Speaker 1: and he finds no good in anybody. And because he
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  Speaker 1: finds no good, he's not going to find good in
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  Speaker 1: you either, unless you worship him. So he's like, Job,
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  Speaker 1: turn away from your sin and actually worship God. Seek
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  Speaker 1: after God and you will be blessed once again. So Eliphaz,
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  Speaker 1: of course, was thinking in a big circle that God
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  Speaker 1: is angry and finds no good, but he does find
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  Speaker 1: good as long as you worship him. So it really
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  Speaker 1: makes no sense what Eliphaz was saying. And Job caught
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  Speaker 1: on to this very quickly. So Job answers Eliphaz in
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  Speaker 1: verse two. Oh, that my anguish were weighed and that
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  Speaker 1: all my calamity was laid in the balances. For now
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  Speaker 1: it would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
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  Speaker 1: So he's like, you know what, you guys, I wish
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  Speaker 1: that you could physically see how much suffering I am
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  Speaker 1: going through right now. I wish I could lay out
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  Speaker 1: every single calamity that has happened to me on a
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  Speaker 1: scale so that you could see how bad my suffering
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  Speaker 1: actually is. Because if you saw it, you would know
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  Speaker 1: that it's heavier than all the sands of the seas.
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  Speaker 1: That is how much I am suffering here. But then
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  Speaker 1: in verse three, he says, therefore, my words have been rash.
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  Speaker 1: He's like, look, I admit that my first speech cursing
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  Speaker 1: the day of my birth was a little bit rash,
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  Speaker 1: but if you could see how much suffering I was
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  Speaker 1: going through, you would have a lot more compassion on
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  Speaker 1: my rash speech. And he continues for the arrows of
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  Speaker 1: the almighty are within me and my spirit drinks up
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  Speaker 1: their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in a
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  Speaker 1: ray against me. He's like, there's one thing you and
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  Speaker 1: I can agree on. that God is shooting poison arrows
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  Speaker 1: at me and that my spirit is drinking them up.
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  Speaker 1: And there's nothing I can do to remove the hand
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  Speaker 1: of God off of me. He's like, so we agree
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  Speaker 1: on that point. Does the wild donkey bray when he
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  Speaker 1: has grass or does the ox low over his fodder?
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  Speaker 1: He's like, look, do you guys really think that I'm
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  Speaker 1: just speaking all of this stuff because I'm not suffering?
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  Speaker 1: Does a donkey complain if he's got a field full
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  Speaker 1: of beautiful grass? Does an ox complain if he's got
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  Speaker 1: a pen full of fodder that he can eat? No,
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  Speaker 1: of course not. A donkey only complains when there is
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  Speaker 1: no grass and when he's starving and when he's suffering.
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  Speaker 1: And the same goes for the ox. So he's like,
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  Speaker 1: do you guys think really that I am not suffering
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  Speaker 1: right here? That I have no reason to complain? Because
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  Speaker 1: that's kind of what Eliphaz sort of was saying to
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  Speaker 1: Job as well. And that's something I didn't really catch
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  Speaker 1: on about until Job said it right here, that Eliphaz
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  Speaker 1: kept telling Job, just perk up, Job. You know, you
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  Speaker 1: are sitting in the ashes right now. You must be
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  Speaker 1: joyful because happy is the one who God reprimands. So
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  Speaker 1: without saying it, Eliphaz was essentially implying that Job kind
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  Speaker 1: of needed to get over it, that God was just
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  Speaker 1: going to do whatever he was going to do. And
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  Speaker 1: it was probably Job's fault and that Job really has
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  Speaker 1: no reason to complain because he brought all this suffering
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  Speaker 1: on himself for whatever sin he committed, which of course
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  Speaker 1: we know that Job didn't commit a sin for any
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  Speaker 1: of this to happen. And that obviously offends Job. He's like,
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  Speaker 1: do you really think that I have no reason to
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  Speaker 1: complain right here? Doesn't a wild donkey even complain when
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  Speaker 1: there is no food for him to find? Clearly something
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  Speaker 1: is going on in my life that I have a
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  Speaker 1: reason to complain about. And then he compares Eliphaz's words
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  Speaker 1: to food right here, specifically contaminated, disgusting, saltless food. He
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  Speaker 1: says in verse six, Can that which has no flavor
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  Speaker 1: be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in
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  Speaker 1: the white of an egg? My soul refuses to touch them,
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  Speaker 1: and they are loathsome food to me. So without directing
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  Speaker 1: this to Eliphaz specifically, he says, yeah, that entire speech
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  Speaker 1: you just gave me is disgusting. Just as I wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: want to eat tasteless, slimy food that has no salt
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  Speaker 1: on it, I don't want to hear the garbage that
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  Speaker 1: you're laying at my feet. And now Job switches his
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  Speaker 1: attention from his friends back on to God, and he
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  Speaker 1: appeals to God. Oh, that I might have my request,
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  Speaker 1: that God would grant the thing that I long for,
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  Speaker 1: even that it would please God to crush me, that
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  Speaker 1: he would let loose his hand on me and cut
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  Speaker 1: me off. Let it still be my consolation. Yes, let
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  Speaker 1: me exalt in the pain that doesn't spare, that I
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  Speaker 1: have not denied the words of the Holy One. He's like, God,
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  Speaker 1: just please give me what I want. This one last thing,
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  Speaker 1: even if it gives me excruciating pain for your hand
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  Speaker 1: to fully crush me. He's asking God to kill him. God,
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  Speaker 1: just kill me now. That's all I'm asking for. Just
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  Speaker 1: cut my life off completely. Don't let me go through
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  Speaker 1: this misery any longer. I hate this. I just want
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  Speaker 1: to die. And I can imagine that Job might have
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  Speaker 1: been wondering why he wasn't dying. Because remember, in the
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  Speaker 1: second chapter, even his wife thought that Job was dying,
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  Speaker 1: because Job was going through some sort of really serious
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  Speaker 1: disease at this point in time that was covering his
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  Speaker 1: body like head to toe with these painful blisters and sores.
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  Speaker 1: And it could be that his strength really was gone,
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  Speaker 1: both from his misery and from whatever disease he was
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  Speaker 1: carrying right now. And already a week has gone by
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  Speaker 1: where his friends were just sitting with him in the
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  Speaker 1: ashes and mourning with him. But I can imagine that
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  Speaker 1: Job's like, what is with this constant misery and pain
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  Speaker 1: that that God is just torturing me with, like God
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  Speaker 1: just kill me already. But here's what Job doesn't understand,
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  Speaker 1: that God was not going to take Job's life. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: we know that because that's what God said to Satan.
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  Speaker 1: He said, Satan, you can take away Job's health, but
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  Speaker 1: you are not to kill him. Job might think he's dying.
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  Speaker 1: His wife might think he's dying. His friends might think
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  Speaker 1: he's dying. But God had a different plan for Job
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  Speaker 1: and Job was not going to die. And I think
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  Speaker 1: that's something that a lot of Christians can kind of
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  Speaker 1: get sucked into where we truly believe we know the
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  Speaker 1: plan of God in our lives. We think we have
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  Speaker 1: everything figured out and God just has a totally different
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  Speaker 1: plan in store for us. And sometimes we don't see
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  Speaker 1: it until after all of it is over. So Job
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  Speaker 1: doesn't understand why he's still alive, why he's still suffering.
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  Speaker 1: But I really like what Job says right here in
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  Speaker 1: verse 10. He says, let it still be my consolation. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: let me exalt in the pain that doesn't spare that
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  Speaker 1: I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
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  Speaker 1: If you turn to the AMP version and read the
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  Speaker 1: exact same verse, it says, then I would still have
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  Speaker 1: consolation and I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain
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  Speaker 1: that I have not denied or hidden the words of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy One. He's like, even if God crushing me
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  Speaker 1: right now was immeasurable pain, I would still take comfort
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  Speaker 1: in the fact that that I have not denied or
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  Speaker 1: hidden the words of God. The reason I wanted to
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  Speaker 1: read from the AMP version is because it's the only
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  Speaker 1: version I could find that added the word hidden right there.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm not sure why the other versions aren't using
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  Speaker 1: that word because that is what the literal Hebrew word means.
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  Speaker 1: Job takes comfort in the fact that he has not
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  Speaker 1: hidden the words of the Holy One. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: Job actually considers it a sin, against God if you
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  Speaker 1: hide his words, meaning if you refuse to speak about
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  Speaker 1: Yahweh because you are ashamed of what you believe in.
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  Speaker 1: Job considers that a sin. And he's like, I have
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  Speaker 1: not done that. I am a very devout Yahweh follower.
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  Speaker 1: And I tell people that I am a Yahweh follower.
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  Speaker 1: I tell people that I believe strongly in God. I
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  Speaker 1: don't even hide those things away. So even that is
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  Speaker 1: not a sin that I have committed against God. So
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  Speaker 1: I think Job is doing two things. I think he's
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  Speaker 1: trying to maybe piece together what Eliphaz is saying. Is
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  Speaker 1: there some sort of sin that he committed that might
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  Speaker 1: have caused God to do this to him? But I
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  Speaker 1: also think that Job is reminding his friends of how
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  Speaker 1: much of a Yahweh follower he was and how he
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  Speaker 1: hasn't committed any sins. In fact, if you jump down
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  Speaker 1: to verse 24, Job tells his friends, teach me and
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  Speaker 1: I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand my error.
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  Speaker 1: So he's like, if you can think of something that
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  Speaker 1: I have done to not believe in God, then tell me,
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  Speaker 1: teach me about it. I would love to know it
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  Speaker 1: because if you do, then I will accept what you're saying.
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  Speaker 1: But I haven't sinned and you guys can't even think
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  Speaker 1: of a sin that I've done. You're not giving me
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  Speaker 1: any good information. And now in verse 11, I think
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  Speaker 1: he's directing this to Eliphaz's speech in Job chapter 4 specifically,
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  Speaker 1: because he says, He's responding specifically, I think, to what
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  Speaker 1: Eliphaz says in Job 4, 5, and 6. Quote, But
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  Speaker 1: now it has come to you and you faint. It
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  Speaker 1: touches you and you're troubled. Isn't your piety your confidence?
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  Speaker 1: And isn't the integrity of your ways your hope? Now,
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  Speaker 1: we already talked about that last week. But there is
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  Speaker 1: one thing that I caught later on that I didn't
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  Speaker 1: catch when I was first talking about it. Verse 6,
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  Speaker 1: Eliphaz tells Job that his piety and his integrity should
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  Speaker 1: be his hope. Now that's another untruth that Eliphaz speaks
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  Speaker 1: because our hope cannot be in ourselves and in the
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  Speaker 1: good things that we do. In fact, we just talked
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  Speaker 1: about that in 2 Peter. We just mentioned how there
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  Speaker 1: are so many virtues that we can do, but if
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  Speaker 1: we don't accept the invitation from God to believe in him,
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  Speaker 1: there is no virtue on the planet that can save us.
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  Speaker 1: Only God himself can save. So our hope cannot be
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  Speaker 1: in our own virtue, which is kind of what Eliphaz
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  Speaker 1: is telling Job right here. And Job responds specifically to
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  Speaker 1: that statement. He says, is my strength, the strength of stones,
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  Speaker 1: is my flesh made of bronze? Isn't it that I
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  Speaker 1: have no help in me and that my wisdom is
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  Speaker 1: driven away from me? He's like, Eliphaz, I can't hope
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  Speaker 1: in myself. Do you think that I am made of
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  Speaker 1: stones or that my skin is made of bronze? Look
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  Speaker 1: at me. What hope do I have in myself? I
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  Speaker 1: can't find hope there. And Job is alluding to the
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  Speaker 1: fact that we truly cannot hope in anything except God himself.
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  Speaker 1: Lamentations chapter 3 verses 16 through 24 says the exact
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  Speaker 1: same thing. This is Jeremiah speaking as he's watching Israel
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  Speaker 1: be completely destroyed by the Babylonians. And he speaks this
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  Speaker 1: about God. Starting in verse 16. He has broken my
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  Speaker 1: teeth with gravel. He has trampled me in the dust.
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  Speaker 1: I have been deprived of peace. I have forgotten what
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  Speaker 1: prosperity is. So I say, my splendor is gone and
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  Speaker 1: all that I hoped from the Lord. I remember my
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  Speaker 1: affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I
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  Speaker 1: well remember them and my soul is downcast within me.
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  Speaker 1: Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
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  Speaker 1: Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed.
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  Speaker 1: for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
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  Speaker 1: Great is your faithfulness. So I say to myself, the
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  Speaker 1: Lord is my portion, and therefore I will wait for him.
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  Speaker 1: So now in verses 14 through 23, he says, to
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  Speaker 1: him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown
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  Speaker 1: from his friend, even him who forsakes the fear of
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  Speaker 1: the Almighty. My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
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  Speaker 1: as the channel of brooks that pass away. So he
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  Speaker 1: says to his friends, he's like, yeah, you guys kind
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  Speaker 1: of suck as friends. He's like, look, if somebody is fainting,
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  Speaker 1: should a friend not help him up? Even if somebody
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  Speaker 1: refuses to fear the Almighty, should you not help that friend?
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  Speaker 1: And he compares his friends to this deceitful brook that
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  Speaker 1: depending on the season, it's either there or it's gone.
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  Speaker 1: And there's like no telling when you're going to find
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  Speaker 1: it or when you won't find it. So in other words,
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  Speaker 1: they're unreliable. Their words are unreliable. Their friendship is unreliable.
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  Speaker 1: Just as this brook that people look for, one minute
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  Speaker 1: it's there, the next it's gone. And I think that
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  Speaker 1: describes Job's friends perfectly. Because for the first week, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: they were pretty good friends, right? They came and visited Job.
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  Speaker 1: They offered him comfort through their tears and through their
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  Speaker 1: mourning with him. And they sat still and quietly with
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  Speaker 1: him for seven days. But then they started to speak.
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  Speaker 1: And the second they opened their mouths, that is when
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  Speaker 1: they became unreliable. Now, you might be like, well, Jen,
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  Speaker 1: only Eliphaz has spoken so far. So how can Job
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  Speaker 1: say this about all three friends? Well, most likely because
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  Speaker 1: Eliphaz was considered the wisest and probably the oldest of
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  Speaker 1: Job's three friends, that Eliphaz was actually speaking for the
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  Speaker 1: other two men. Don't forget in Job chapter two, they
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  Speaker 1: made a concerted effort together to come and talk with
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  Speaker 1: Job and to comfort him. So they probably were all
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  Speaker 1: in agreement about the thing that Eliphaz was saying. And
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  Speaker 1: in fact, Eliphaz does give credit actually to the other
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: two men that were there. In the previous chapter in
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: verse 27, he says, behold, we have researched it and
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: it is so. Hear it and know it for your good.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: So Eliphaz kind of does say, yeah, all of us
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: are in agreement over this Job and you need to
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: listen to us because we know what we're talking about.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: We've researched this. We've gone to school for this. We
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: know all about this kind of suffering that you're going through,
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: which is probably the reason why Job is addressing all
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: three friends and not just Eliphaz here. Now, Job's speech
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: comes to a head in verse 21. After comparing his
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: friends to an unreliable brook, he says, for now you
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: are nothing. You see a terror and you're afraid. He's like,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: you guys don't know what you're talking about because you've
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: come to me. You see this terror that's on me.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: And Job could have been referring to the way he
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: looked as well. Don't forget, he looked bad. He looked
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: so bad. His friends couldn't recognize him from a distance. Now,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: Job also could have been talking about the spirit that
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Eliphaz saw. Remember, a couple chapters ago, Eliphaz was like,
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: I saw this secret spirit in the middle of the night,
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: and I was terrified of it. And my hair stood
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: on end. And this spirit told me all sorts of
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: wonderful secret knowledge about God, but I could not discern
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: what the spirit was. You know, a million red flags there.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: But Eliphaz was trusting in the words of this spirit.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: And He was terrified of the words of this spirit.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: And so it could be that Job is also maybe
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: referring to that as well, that you are afraid and
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: willing to listen to a terror instead of the truth.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: And then he says in verses 22 and 23, did
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: I ever say, give to me or offer a present
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: for me from your substance or deliver me from the
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: adversary's hand or redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: He's like, did I ever ask you guys for a
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: single solitary red cent once in your entire lives? No,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: I've never asked you for anything. But now I ask
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: you for the most simple thing that you come and
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: you give me comfort and words of encouragement and you
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: can't even do that. I've never asked you for anything.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: I ask you for this. And now in verse 24,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: teach me and I will hold my peace. Cause me
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: to understand my error. How forcible are words of uprightness.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: But your reproof, what does it reprove? He's like, you're
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: approving me over literally nothing because there's nothing I've done.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: You can reprove me all you want, but it's just
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: adding insult to the injury that I already have because
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: you're approving me for something I did not do. And man,
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: isn't that the most irritating thing? Like if people misunderstand
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: you and reprove you for something that you did not do.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: This actually just happened to my sister recently. My sister
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: and my niece were involved in this program for violin lessons.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: And one of the little girls ended up hurting my
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: niece pretty badly. In fact, the girl poked my niece
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: in the eye with the bow for the violin. And
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: there was a big scratch down my niece's eye. And
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: so my sister had to take my niece to the
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: eye doctor to make sure that everything was okay. And
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: my sister happened to see the little girl hurt. and
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: the parent in the library. And if you know anything
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: about my sister, she's been on the podcast before. She
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: is genuinely the most non-confrontational, sweetest person you will ever meet.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: But my sister went up and talked to the mom
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: and was like, hey, you know, like I had to
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: take my daughter to the eye doctor and You know,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: that wasn't very good. So if you could just make
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: sure this doesn't happen in the future, like just make
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: sure your daughter is, you know, more careful with the
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: bow and everything like that, that would be really, really good. Well, anyway,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: that parent ended up calling the facility and complaining about
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: my sister for talking to her in the library. And
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: the school yelled at my sister and said, it is
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: against policy for you to talk to any other parent
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: about any problem that any kid goes through. And my
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: sister was like, excuse me? What right do you have
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: to say what conversations I can have outside of your facility?
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: That is crazy. And literally everybody in the family, me,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: my husband, my mom, we all advised Jamie to pull
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: my niece out of that program because that is... 100% unacceptable.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: And that is exactly what my sister ended up doing.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: But is it not the most frustrating thing when somebody
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: claims you are doing something wrong or that you are
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: sinning when that was not your intention at all and
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: when you didn't do something wrong and when you didn't sin?
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: And that's what Job is asking his friends. Tell me
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: what my error is. If you can even think of one,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: tell me. Do you intend, verse 26, to reprove my words?
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: since the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind. Yes,
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: you would even cast lots for the fatherless and make
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: merchandise of your friend. Now, therefore, be pleased to look
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: at me, for surely I will not lie to your face.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: So during this entire time, it sounds like Job's friends
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: weren't even looking at him, either because of how hideous
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: he looked to them or because they felt a little
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: bit of shame over what Job was saying. But he's like,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: look at me in my face. You are treating my
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: words as if they're nothing but wind, as if they
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: don't deserve any kind of credence whatsoever. Please return, in
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: verse 29, let there be no injustice. Yes, return again.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: My cause is righteous. Is there any injustice in my tongue?
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Can't my taste discern mischievous things? He's like, go away.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Just return where you came from. Go away. Is there
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: really any injustice in what I am saying? And aren't
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: I smart enough to determine... to discern mischievous things. Job
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: had discernment, whereas Eliphaz did not. Job could see that
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: whatever Eliphaz was listening to was not the truth. I
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: can discern something mischievous, and that is what is going
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: on with you guys right here. But Job is going
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: to continue in the next chapter. He is not done
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: addressing his friends over this. And you know what? I
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: don't think there was anything wrong with what Job was
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: saying here. He might have been a little bit harsh,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: but Can you imagine going through the kind of misery
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: and torment that you were going through? Say that you
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: were lying on your deathbed and everybody else in your
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: family had also died and your friends came to you
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: and were like, yeah, you definitely did something to make
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: God angry, but he's always angry. So there's really nothing
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: you can do about it. But you need to be
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: joyful because if you just do good things again, all
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: of this misery would just go away. Like if your
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: friends advised you like that, would you not be, I think,
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: even harsher than what Job says? Like at the end there,
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: he's like, please return again. I'd be like, get out
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: of here. Get your butt out that door and go
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: home and don't ever talk to me again. There'd be
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: no please in any of that. So Job is certainly
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: a more upright man. That is for sure. So faithful listeners,
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I have one last
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: closing point after this last sponsored ad. You know, some
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: people really do have the gift of compassion. I'm not
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: going to lie. Sometimes I struggle with it. I tend
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: to be more like Eliphaz, where I kind of believe
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: that the suffering in the world is often caused by
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: people's own stupidity. And I'm kind of ashamed to admit
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: that now that we've been going over how bad Eliphaz is,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: but I'm just being real with you guys. Compassion and
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: mercy are definitely virtues that all Christians could probably do
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: more of. So we can start with Somebody that we
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: know in our lives, somebody that is hurting. And we
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: definitely know somebody like that. We definitely know somebody who
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: is going through it right now. So how can we
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: today show comfort and encouragement to that person who is struggling?
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: We can start by praying for them. We can also
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: maybe send them an encouraging text or a Bible verse
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: or just something to brighten their day. Just something to
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: tell them we are there for them. and that we care.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: And that being said, if any of you faithful listeners
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: have a prayer request that you would like me to
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: pray for, then contact me and I will write you
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: down on my little sticky note and I will stick
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: you on my monitor so that I can pray for
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: you throughout the week. Faithful listeners have a fantastic and
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: lovely rest of your day. See you guys tomorrow for
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: Second Peter. Until then, happy listening and God bless. I
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: just want to take a second to thank the team
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: at Life Audio for their partnership with me on the
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Bible Explained podcast. In fact, if you go to lifeaudio.com,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.