Monday, September 29, 2014

To Whom it Belongs

While many place the focus of the story of Job on the suffering he went through, and it is important, there does seem to be another facet of this story. What I was most intrigued by was the idea of authority. From the beginning of the book, when Satan is compelled to ask permission for Job's temptation, it is clear that the Lord God is in complete control. However, when Job's friends begin to blame his sufferings on his own actions, and restrict God to simply being the wrath dispenser when Job sins, that is when they are wrong. The main point of this book then, is found in chapter 41.
"Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine
This statement could be interpreted as a harsh one, especially following the monologue in the previous chapters, as an authoritative trump card, as God declares his own glory. However, I think that this is actually a relief to hear- the suffering in my life is not always a direct result of my own sin, because ultimately God has complete authority.
For those that know the Lord, this is comforting. He is in control of everything that happens in my life, and it happens for his glory.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, it's hard to trust in hardships when we can't even blame ourselves.

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