Job 29: 1 – 25
Lord, Where Are You?
1 Job further continued his discourse, and said: 2 “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; 3 When His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; 4 Just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; 6 When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! 7 “When I went out to the gate by the city, when I took my seat in the open square, 8 the young men saw me and hid, and the aged arose and stood; 9 The princes refrained from talking, and put their hand on their mouth; 10 The voice of nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me; 12 because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. 17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth. 18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. 19 My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. 20 My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’ 21 “Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. 22 After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. 24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners.
Have you ever asked, "God where are you?" I’ve been there and I know that Job has also as we see described here in this chapter. I do not know about you but there are times when we feel that God has abandoned us. When we were first saved we were on cloud nine. The Lord blew our minds as we saw situations after situations in which He did something spectacular for and through us. Now, it seems like He Isn’t around. We turn our thoughts inward to discover if we have done some sin that has caused Him to ignore us.
Can you glean from what we have just read that Job is at this place? It isn’t a good place to linger. I want to first start out by looking at someone who was favored by Almighty God because of his love for Him. Yet we find that even such a man whom it seems God had paid special attention to went through the same agony of feeling that God had abandoned him. Turn with me to Psalm 13.
1 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5 But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. 6 I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Our Precious Holy Spirit brings out three things that David displays as responses that we make in times like this. We first find David confused as he questions God in verses 1 and 2. Being in extreme turmoil David calls out to our Holy Father in verses 3 and 4 for answers. Then in verses 5 and 6 he concludes in a step of faith.
Four times David asks ‘How long?’It somehow feels like he is wailing. Have you ever experienced this intense anguish? These four cries of ‘how long’ put the point of God’s delay in four different categories. The first cry of ‘How long?” deals with God’s covenant Name. He asks, ‘How long Yahweh? Will You forget me forever?’ It seems as though God has forgotten me. It seems as though whatever trouble I’m in God not only isn’t answering my prayers but He Is also totally ignoring me. Have you ever felt this way?
We are not unique in experiencing this type of frustration and heartache. In the book of Isaiah chapter 49 we find a great passage that we need to hold on to when it appears that God has forsaken us.
14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you. 18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the LORD, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, and bind them on you as a bride does. 19 “For your waste and desolate places, and the land of your destruction, will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children you will have, after you have lost the others, will say again in your ears, ‘the place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.’ 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’ ” 22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; 23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of the righteous be delivered? 25 But thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children. 26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We have to remind ourselves as David had to do that God has not forgotten him. He always knows what is going on. He always remembers. In truth He Is delaying His response. He Is holding back from answering for a reason only He knows but remember that He Is not forgetting us.
Another of the ‘How long’s’ is relative to God hiding His face. Remember, the blessing that a priest would give to the people. We read in the book of Numbers chapter 6 this, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
We see here a request which the Lord approves of is His favor and attention. Does it not seem that both of these important things are gone from us? We wait and wait and wait and it seems like He Is
Another factor that we think about is in regarding God’s delay as verse 2 indicates. What is our natural response when God delays. He said to us to bring all our concerns and cares to Him. Now He does not respond at all so we take matters into our own hands. This problem is well given to us as a life example in the life of Saul. Look with me at the book of 1 Samuel chapter 13, “And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, ‘What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”
When God does not respond we kick into gear our plan B which I can say from personal experience. And if you have panicked like I have done you can readily say like me that my planning turned into a disaster. As the Psalmist says and is correct my plan B causes me more sorrow.
The fourth ‘how long’ brings up a good point. When our Holy God does not respond to us it will give our enemies to defeat us. They see that God Is not coming to our rescue so they move in for the kill. Satan and his group of fallen angels arouse human beings who are in their camp to step up their attacks. It’s like one wave after another with no let up. You want to fight back but you can’t. You are powerless. You just sit there and take the hits.
At this time we can quit and figure God doesn’t care about us anymore so why bother even trying to reach Him anymore or we can like David not walk away from God but keep calling out to God. This is where faith kicks into gear.
David again calls out to God to please pay attention to his prayers and to his situation. He is asking God, to look at him and his needs. He is saying that he is not going to do a plan B. And if he did he is going to confess that he was wrong to panic and not trust the Lord. He in all honesty is telling the Lord what He already knows and that is he can do nothing without God’s help and intervention.
He is asking the Lord to give him spiritual eyes to see what the reality in front of him does not show. He asks, Lord let me see You in the midst of this storm.’ I have personally experienced that when I am in stress I cannot see God presence in my situation. He often has been doing things but I do not recognize His hand of help. We get to the point that I look to the mountains from where my help will come and it isn’t coming. My despair is ‘Lord I am dying here! I need You badly. If You do not come and help me I am as good as dead.
We need to take this point to heart. Our enemies are God’s enemies. Why because you are God’s son or daughter. Remember when Paul when he was the enemy of God and was called Saul met ran into the Lord on his way to do harm to Christians in Damascus. “
1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
When the enemy in whatever form he masquerades in attacks us who are God’s kids, he is attacking our God. The honor and glory of God is at stake in our deliverance. David points out to our Lord about His honor being at stake in the outcome. He reminds the Lord that His enemies hate and attack him because he belongs to You.
David not like Peter steps out of the boat in faith. I love Peter’s response to the Lord describe in the Gospel of John chapter 6 when others had deserted Him. “But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Isn’t this where the rubber meets the road? When push comes to shove where else can we go or do? We have to stop and face a good reality that whether we live or die, it is all up to the Lord.
Without faith there is no pleasing God. He has a unique way of stretching our faith and trust. David searches his past experiences and draws a conclusion. He has made a mental list of all the times God has rescued him. In all truth God had delivered him 100 %. He has done the same for you and me hasn’t He? How old are you. Stop and take your own inventory. In truth has God really ever let you down? Do we somehow think that God has rescued you in the past but this time your own your own.
Can you count on God? Unlike us, God know what will happen tomorrow, next week, next year and so on. He tells us, “I Am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning.” He knows all things. He knows what will occur in your life and can be there for you, if you have included Him in your life. He tells us that He can be ‘our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble.’ But we must make a sincere effort to seek Him. He says, ‘you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’”
Reality tells u that we will experience problems in life. However, if we go through tthem while knowing God, we can react to them with a different perspective and with a strength that is not our own. No problem has the capacity to be insurmountable to God. Hi Is bigger than all the problems that can hit us, and we are not left alone to deal with them.
Scripture teaches us that ‘The Lord Is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him and The Lord Is near to all who call on Him , to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.’ He will care for you as no one else does or can.
Let’s take a look and see Job’s remarks
1 Job further continued his discourse, and said: 2 “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; 3 When His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; 4 Just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; 6 When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!
Reflecting upon the good things that God has done for us is a good thing. It does somewhat ease the burden that we are presently going through. Job remembered God’s personal display of blessings. I remember a song that I enjoyed called ‘It’s a beautiful morning’ by the group the ‘Little Rascals’. Nothing beats a beautiful morning where you can get up early and sit outside without a coat with a nice cup of coffee. The sun is shining and the sky is blue. You just admire The Creator God. Job wished that he were in as good a frame of spirit as he was then.
He thought about his early adult life when he was a dad enjoying the fruits of his labor. He thought about the fun times he experienced with his kids running around the house. This is the sad experience that as we get older that we hate. At least I hate and that is called the empty nest syndrome. You never realize the enjoyment you have just having the kids at home. Now that they are moved out the house isn’t the same.
7 “When I went out to the gate by the city, when I took my seat in the open square, 8 the young men saw me and hid, and the aged arose and stood; 9 The princes refrained from talking, and put their hand on their mouth; 10 The voice of nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me; 12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. 17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.
Job goes on to remember that he was ‘somebody’. People took notice whenever he was in their presence. It reminds me of a movie that I liked. It was called Joe Somebody. Joe Scheffer played by Tim Allen who is a recently divorced single parent, and a talented audio/visual specialist at STARKe Pharmaceuticals, his place of employment. One day Joe pulls into the parking lot at work to find his co-worker Mark McKinney parking in a spot that has been reserved for those who have worked for the company for 10 years. However, McKinney has only worked there for 7 years. When Joe confronts McKinney about this, McKinney assaults him in front of his young daughter Natalie. Joe falls into a state of depression until Meg Harper, the Wellness Coordinator at STARKe, accidentally ignites a fuse in him when, in a fit of frustration, she asks Joe, "What do you want?" Joe is suddenly stirred to action by this question, and decides he wants a rematch to reclaim his dignity and self-respect, which he felt McKinney took from him.
After issuing the challenge to McKinney, Joe begins to find himself becoming very popular around the office for his bravery. Meg and Natalie, however, do not feel fighting McKinney will solve anything, and both attempt to tell Joe as much, to no avail. Joe seeks out the aid of an ex movie star-turned-martial arts instructor named Chuck Scarett who is played by Jim Belushi to teach him to defend himself. Things seem to finally be going right for Joe, as he has begun to see Meg and has even been given a promotion at work he had been hoping for. When Meg realizes Jeremy, a colleague she works closely with for the company (who also happens to be attracted to her), only gave Joe a non-existing position at the office to prevent him from suing the company, she resigns in fear that she might one day have to demote or even fire Joe. Meg again tries to persuade Joe not to fight McKinney, and finally gives him an ultimatum: if he does not call off the fight with McKinney, their relationship is over.
The day of the fight, Joe makes it all the way to the school where the brawl is to take place. However, he finally realizes it would be immature to fight, and not worth the price he would have to pay. When Joe tells McKinney and his other co-workers the fight is off, McKinney offers him an apology, which Joe accepts. Joe then goes and makes up with Meg for not understanding her reasoning before. Love wins out in the end.
18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand. 19 My root is spread out to the waters, and the dew lies all night on my branch. 20 My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’ 21 “Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence for my counsel. 22 After my words they did not speak again, and my speech settled on them as dew. 23 They waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. 24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts mourners
When God Is active in your life it seems that everything you do and experience is good. Our Lord promised His people Israel these types of blessings if they remained faithful to Him. Look with me at His promises and see if these things occur in your life. We read in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28
1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: 3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
You should note that the remaining verses of this chapter go on to speak about the curses that will be as a result of disobedience. An easy way to think of these horrible actions would be to just think of the opposite that the first fourteen blessing verses speak about.
Now, a thought which should be circulating in your minds is this, ‘Then how come if I am, like Job, walking in obedience to God’s ways, getting all these horrible problems happening in my life? I should be getting blessed not reaping terrible things. My answer for you then is that these difficulties which you are now personally experiencing are because God has allowed it for a reason on He knows. Since you and I know that our Precious Creator is a Good and Holy God He has something up that if for your growth or benefit down the road.
I know we all say then to this, ‘how long’? Lord are you going to allow this to happen to me? Remember, He Is never late in His deliverance. He has proven over and over His Faithfulness. I think you can agree with this remark.
