Day 6: God of all comfort
The Lord… said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has. So now… go to My servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly…” So Eliphaz… Bildad… and Zophar… did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer (Job 42:7,8,9).
Hallowed God, holy and mighty, all else pales against, bows before, and defers to Your unspeakable majesty. In Your presence, humanity is "undone" (Isaiah 6:5).
For Job this meant a complete retraction of all the questions, complaints, laments, protests, and objections that had seemed so reasonable, so justified in the face of his extreme suffering and grief: “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know… My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3, 5-6).
Yet, although You reproved Job for obscuring Your plans with words without knowledge (Job 38:1, 42:3), it was against his friends that You were angry, clearly stating the reason, "because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as My servant Job has" (Job 42:7). You showed them their error and presumption, and You connected their forgiveness to intercession from Job.
Father, who is like You? Who else could teach, instruct, correct, forgive and resolve with perfect justice, wisdom, compassion, and love?
To Job You gave a glimpse into the thunder of Your power (Job 26:14), holding ajar for one brief moment the portal to Your immensity, infinity, justice, character, and wisdom (Job 38-42). And in that moment as Job understood that God has no need to vindicate or justify Himself before anyone or anything in creation, You vindicated Job before his friends.
In a single directive to Job to pray for his miserable comforters (Job 16:2) You addressed pride and arrogance, self-righteousness and insensitivity, pain and injustice. You brought about redress and restoration through reproof and humbling, repentance and cleansing. And You ultimately brought healing and vindication.
Help us Lord, not to miss the many lessons You leave us here. Teach us to know above all that You are God— that Your unfathomable wisdom reigns even in the "whys" of our struggles and our griefs, our troubles and our distresses.
And when others are hurting, help us not to speak error in pride and presumption. Silence in us the miserable impulses of self-righteousness, judgment, and cruel assumptions. Keep us from thoughtless platitudes and empty words.
O Father, You are the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). Teach us how to minister true comfort with love and listening, kindness and compassion.
Comments