THE SAME IN GOD'S SIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know. I waited while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching for words, I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments.  Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not a man, refute him.’ But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.”

“They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have failed them. Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand there with no reply? I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know. For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.  I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. I will show no partiality, nor will I flatter anyone; for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.”

“But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue. My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Answer me then, if you can; stand up and argue your case before me. I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you.”

Job 32:10-22, 33:1-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It seems like we spend a lot of life either being sized up or sizing up ourselves against others. Although man and woman was created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27), today we look at one another in many other images. We gauge people by size and weight. We gauge people by gender, male or female. We gauge people by ethnicity and skin color. We gauge people by their socioeconomic standing. We gauge people by age. And sometimes, we gauge people by a combination of these ways and a multitude of others.

Indeed, there are many ways that the world offers (and we choose) to assess one another, and as an often evil by product, discriminate against one another.

Consider what happened in Job’s case. Once an outstanding respected leader in the community when he was in good health, he now is despised and rejected, treated as an outsider and outcast by the same people just because he is afflicted with sores all over his body. Job was the same man he was before but his outward appearance changed the way people viewed him and thus treated him.

I remember a time in my life when I was turned on just because I was in a relationship with a woman of a different color. What was different about me after I entered into the relationship than before? I was the same man and in love with a woman who would become my wife of now nearly 20 years. And yet, I was excommunicated for a time, shunned for who I was relating myself to. What made the person judging me better than I was because they were married to a person of the same color?

Maybe you have had experiences where you were unfairly categorized and mistreated in life. Judged and pushed into the fringes by those who saw themselves superior to you in some way.

We get a sense that the young man Elihu sort of felt like that. We are introduced to him at the beginning of Job, Chapter 32, and we discover he is a man much younger than Job and his three friends and remained silent through all the verbal jabbing that took place during the exchanges in respect to the elders who were speaking. Scripture tells us that Elihu was angered by Job’s words because he spoke them to justify himself and not God – and he was angry with the friends for their inability to refute and correct Job.

And so as Chapter 32 continues, Elihu, the angry young man, is ready to speak with words given to him through the Holy Spirit within him and the breath of God which has given him understanding (Job 32:8) and the ability to speak with the same sense of wisdom that an older person might.

Notice where Elihu starts in our passage by saying he would not rehash the same words spoken to Job by the three friends.

Why?

Because it isn’t personal with Elihu. He says as much when he states, “Job has not marshaled his words against me.” Indeed, Job’s words, when not attacking the words of his friends, had been directed toward God and his yearning for an end to what he perceived to be unjust acts against him. You’ll remember that Job wished for an opportunity to come before God and argue his case with the hope that the verdict God imposed might be changed with Job acquitted and returned to the life he had before being plunged into the suffering he was enduring.  

And so Elihu prepares to speak to Job, not because he has anything personal against him but because he feels Job’s words toward God have been inappropriate. But before he begins his discourse, Elihu wasn’t finished making a few more key points – important points for us to ponder.

Elihu has already reminded us that the Holy Spirit can speak through anyone. Age nor any other factor is a discriminator. The Lord can speak wisdom, truth, and understanding through anyone. In addition to this, we find these other critical fundamental truths:

1. “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Go back to Genesis. God not only created us in His own image but consider how we were made. For this amazing, omnipotent God formed man from dust, literally breathing life into his nostrils and making him a living being (Genesis 2:7). Since then, it has been that same Spirit of God who has formed us and breathed us into life. And He still provides every breath we take and every beat of our heart, all by His grace, mercy, and love.

2. “I too am a piece of clay.”

The actual Hebrew word for clay was translated as dust in describing how man was formed in Genesis, Chapter 2. This made God the first potter in the scriptures, the Master Potter who has formed and shaped mankind ever since. We are all symbolically clay that God is trying to shape and form into the vessel He wants us to be, a vessel that will be useful in containing and pouring out His Spirit in accordance with His word, will, and way. And even when we become broken, God, the Master Potter, takes us back up into His hands and begins to mold and shape us once again.  

Elihu saw himself as no better or different from Job because he realized who he was in the hands of his Maker and Creator – clay being formed and reformed to God’s special purpose. God expects us to see ourselves likewise.

3. “I am the same as you in God’s sight.”

Elihu again wants to make it clear that although he may have some critical things to say, it isn’t because he views himself as any better than Job or his friends. God sees us all the same, no matter what might seem to make us different.

How are we seen?

As one of His precious children who He made and loves so dearly - and – as a sinner who fails to be obedient to His word, will, and way. No one is ever too far from His love, grace, mercy, and pardon – and - no one is free from sin.

These two truths collide in the way of Jesus Christ, our Savior – the One who most perfectly reveals God’s love, grace and mercy toward us - and - the only One who can bring us pardon with the Father and free us from the penalty of our sins.

Indeed, despite what the world would have us believe, we are all the same in God’s sight.

Do you see yourself this way – equally loved and equally in need of grace, mercy and salvation through Christ Jesus?

My prayer is that we all will and experience the fullest blessings of the Lord who created us, breathed His life into us and still sustains us this very moment, seeing us all the same – precious and priceless in His sight.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com