13 ¶
But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth,
even that he doeth. 14 For he performeth
the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. 15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when
I consider, I am afraid of him. 16 For
God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: 17 Because I was not cut off before the
darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
In the context
of God providing giving the believer righteousness as opposed to the believer’s
own sin James said;
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning.
In the context
of guarding sound doctrine Paul said;
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day,
and for ever.
God spoke
through Isaiah in expressing the very words that Job has put forward as He
spoke against worshipping man-made gods.
Isaiah 46:9
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else;
I am God, and there is none like me, 10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird
from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I
have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also
do it.
There are many
other verses in the Bible that speak of God’s steadfastness of purpose and of His
unchangeable will in regard to eternal decrees, things set in stone. We have to
remember always that Satan can do nothing to us without God’s permission.
Job
acknowledges that there is a level of determinism in his fate, that God has
appointed him to certain things. Something being appointed by God is mentioned
elsewhere. In a comparison with Christ’s one sacrifice for all sins Paul made
this statement;
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered
to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the
second time without sin unto salvation.
In reference to
the appointment of those who disobey God to stumble at His word Peter said;
1Peter 2:7
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head
of the corner, 8 And a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
And those who
believe and trust in Christ are appointed not to experience the Great
Tribulation;
1Thessalonians 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but
to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or
sleep, we should live together with him.
In reading verse
15 it is easy to be reminded of this verse in a psalm of Asaph.
Psalm 77:3
I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was
overwhelmed. Selah.
Job is in awe
of God and in fear of Him. God did not take Job from the living before giving
him a vision of the darkness in the misery he suffered.
Verse 16 made
me think of this verse in a psalm.
Psalm 88:16
Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
As for verse 17
there were others in the Bible who were spared the darkness that awaited those
who came after. In the following verse, Huldah the prophetess, the wife of a
man named Shallum, who (Huldah) resided at the college of prophets in Jerusalem,
preached this as part of a message to representatives sent to her from King
Josiah. In this passage she is speaking for God to the king.
2Kings 22:19
Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the
LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the
inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast
rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.
20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee
unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine
eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they
brought the king word again.
Also in Isaiah,
speaking on God’s behalf, he says;
Isaiah 57:1 ¶ The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it
to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous
is taken away from the evil to come.
Those of us who
have seen their own children die before them would wish that they themselves
had died before that happened. Job was not spared the misery of losing all his
children, all his wealth, and his health. He was not given that blessing, up to
this point, of going to the grave before experiencing his nightmares in the
flesh.
Some of you
have been spared his grief by God’s singular mercy. You have even seen your
children snatched from the jaws of death. Rejoice and be glad that you have
been spared the agony of seeing your child buried in the ground in front of
your eyes, of seeing them lying dead on a hospital gurney, of knowing you will
not hear them laugh again in this life, have children, or call your name again here
on earth. To have a huge rip in your soul that brings tears to your eyes
whenever you are reminded of what could have been or even what was is a vision
of darkness.
Job was not
spared and yet he, unlike most of us who have lost children, livelihood, and
health had done nothing wrong, had left nothing he knew to do out, and sacrificed
and, it is assumed, prayed often for his children.
And yet, all of
this came on him. Some of you will think you’ve been spared because you are so
good, so righteous, so faithful and obedient. But think about Job. Would you
not have everything in common with him except the grief and agony?
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