The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
Please read and meditate on the 4th
Chapter of the Book of Job along with your study of this devotion.
Job 4
King James
Version (KJV)
4 Then Eliphaz the
Temanite answered and said,
2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt
thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and
thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was
falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou
faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy
hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished,
being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow
iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, and by
the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of
the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,
and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me,
and mine ear received a little thereof.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the
night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which
made all my bones to shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the
hair of my flesh stood up:
16 It stood still, but I could not discern
the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard
a voice, saying,
17 Shall mortal man be more just than God?
shall a man be more pure than his maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants;
and his angels he charged with folly:
19 How much less in them that dwell in
houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the
moth?
20 They are destroyed from morning to
evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21 Doth
not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
Every
Commentary and every Devotion is the product of a man’s mind hopefully informed
of the Holy Ghost. Men are not infallible in their understanding, but God’s
Word is totally free of error. It is only our interpretation of the Word that
may err. We are best advised to confirm all things uttered by a minister or
fellow Christian by the Light of that Word.
As stated earlier, the three friends of Job allow him the privilege of speaking
first after a seven-day attendance with him. Job speaks, and in the speaking,
does that which he has not done up to the previous time, he questions God and
His Providence. He bemoans the life God has given him even though that life,
for at least 98% of his existence, has been full of wealth and blessings. Now
God has allowed His servant, Job, to be tested for the sake of a testimony to
all of us of God’s sure Providence; but Job has been spoiled by God’s love and
provision. He is unable to withstand even a short season of misery without
questioning God. Now the senior member of the three, Eliphaz, will utter his
¡®opinion’ of the matter.
A true friend will not omit telling you the whole truth as he sees it, even if
that truth is painful to bear. Unfortunately, too often, that truth may be
contrived by the imagination and not real. Eliphaz, the Temanite, prefaces his
remarks with the rhetorical notice that Job may be grieved by his words, but
his friend cannot forestay his advice and counsel which Eliphaz believes to be
true and efficacious for the ears of Job. What a friend believes about God and
what is true, may not always be in concord. Too often the gentle nudge of a friend
is received as a dart of fire by it object. I detest compliments that begin
well but are punctuated by a great ¡®BUT’. 3 Behold, thou hast
instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4 Thy words
have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble
knees. 5 BUT now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it
toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6 Is not this thy fear, thy
confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? (Job 4:3-6) “Yes,
Job”, Eliphaz says, “though you serve well, you cannot take the same fare when
you are served.” His friend intimates that the hope, the confidence, and
righteousness of Job have not been sufficient to see him through this testing.
But the outward appearance is never the full revelation of the heart: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
In the mind of the world, bad things come to pass as a result of bad behavior.
That world cannot accept the simple grace, and testing of God. All is quite
simple to the world. If we suffer, it is because we DESERVE to suffer. If we
are wealthy, it is because we are deserving of that wealth. God would seem to
have little to do with blessings and trials, all is based upon the accidents of
birth and success. That is the great lesson of Job, that our hard times and
adversities of life are not a measure of our security in God. Quite often, as
with Job, it is just the opposite!
Eliphaz will now make a mixture of truth with presumption: 7 Remember,
I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut
off? 8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness,
reap the same. (Job 4:7-8) Whoever perished being innocent? Has Eliphaz
gone through life with his eyes closed? Would he consider the murdered baby
from its mother’s womb to be guilty? His premise is wrong though a portion of
his argument is correct sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea
8:7) This is an example that men can argue the same verse of the Bible and
arrive at different conclusions due to a lack of deeper understanding of the
Word.
Eliphaz further attempts to draw the conclusion that God is ANGRY at Job and,
therefore, has sent this trouble upon him. But God is not angry with Job. God
considers Job blameless! Eliphaz was not present at the Heavenly Council where
Satan was granted his license to pain Job. A good rule for the theologian
is to speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the Bible remains
silent.
The account of Eliphaz concerning a presumed vision: 12 Now a thing
was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. 13 In
thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was
before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 17 Shall
mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with
folly: 19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose
foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? 20 They are
destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding
it. 21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even
without wisdom. (Job 4:12-21) IT must be considered that either this
vision, though remarkable for its truth, did not come from God; or the
understanding of Eliphaz in its application to Job’s circumstances is off a
bit. The Lord does not deliver visions to every common observer and, when He
does, He always identifies Himself or His Angel: They have seen
vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent
them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying
divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
(Ezek 13:6-7) Practically all of the vision of Eliphaz can be discovered at
some point in Holy Scripture. We must bear in mind that there are too many
today who may mix truth with some extra-biblical vision from God to suit their
own interests or opinions. Eliphaz is perhaps an innocent example of the
devious example of false prophets we see in our day, herein is a great truth: 19 How
much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the
dust, which are crushed before the moth? We do dwell in houses of
clay (bodies of clay) and these houses of clay in the Middle East are easily
washed away by the over-flowing waters of the seasonal wadies. Our bodies are
easily washed away by the waters of time and fortune; however, the conclusion
Eliphaz draws in the 20th verse (They are destroyed
from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it)
stands in great error when compared with the death of God’s saints. God regards
not only the death of His saints, but also their tears. He regards, as well,
the tears of Job. What Eliphaz does not recognize, and cannot accept, is that Job
is a righteous man. His hurt and pain does not come from God but from Satan. To
Eliphaz, any other conclusion would be unjust, but God dispenses His mercies,
not in an instant of time, but over the whole scope of time¡¦and then eternity
itself. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth
such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but
the LORD delivereth him out of them all. (Psalms 34:18-19) Please
observe the double truth of this Psalm: 1) the righteous may suffer a broken
heart and shall surely suffer afflictions. And 2) though the Lord may not
shelter us from every affliction, He does surely delivers His people from all
of them. Please rest your heart on that promise until the next time.
