You, however, smear me with lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!
Job 13:4
Job compared his three friends to physicians who did not know what they were doing. They were like eye surgeons trying to perform open-heart-surgery. Many of their ideas about God were true, but they did not apply to Job's situation. They were right to say that God is just. They were right to say God punishes sins. But they were wrong to assume that Job's suffering was a just punishment for his sin. They took a true principle and applied it wrongly, ignoring the vast differences in human circumstances. We must be careful and compassionate in how we apply Biblical condemnations to others; we must be slow to judge.
This reading is a reminder once again of God's sovereignty and the true meaning of faith. In this story, only God knew the whole story but the friends were quick to judge and put in their two cents. Only God sees the whole picture and knows the ending!
"Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 & 18
Keep reading -- 346 days left!
All footnotes taken from the Life Application Study Bible, NIV.
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