Job 25-28

Job

25:1-27:6  -  Job’s ‘comforters’ are no friends to him. They fail to discern the presence and purpose of God in Job’s life. Job responds to them with biting sarcasm - ‘How you have helped him who has no power! How you have saved the arm that has no strength!’ (26:2). They’re hopeless - no help to him at all! Why is their advice so useless? Job challenges them, ‘With whose help have you uttered words, and whose spirit has come forth from you?’ (26:4). Their words do not come from the Spirit of the Lord. They come from Satan. They are his servants. He is using them. He is speaking through them. They are part of his evil plot to destroy Job. No wonder their words are so useless! There is no way the servants of Satan will ever help us to love the Lord better. We need the Word of the Lord spoken in the power of His Spirit.

27:7-28:28  -  ‘The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding’ (28:28). True wisdom is centred on Christ. He is ‘our wisdom’. He is ‘the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:30,24). True wisdom leads us to put our faith in Christ. Through ‘the Holy Scriptures’, we receive the wisdom which leads us to receive ‘salvation through faith in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom leads us to become ‘mature in Christ’, living a Christ-like life: ‘The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good deeds, straightforward and sincere’ (Colossians 1:28;  James 3:17).  True wisdom gives glory to Christ. Our ‘faith’ does ‘not rest in the wisdom of men’. It rests ‘in the power of God’. ‘Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 2:5; 1:31).