By Dave Fergus (Deacon @ GCF)
"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
He speaks to them in their affliction.
He is wooing you from the jaws of distress
to a spacious place free from restriction
to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.”
to a spacious place free from restriction
to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.”
Job 36:15-16
In this verse, who suffers and who is this addressed to? It is addressed to ‘those’ who suffer. It is not necessarily all humans on earth, but ‘those’ who suffer. Since this entreaty is addressed to Job in his affliction, ‘those’ definitely includes Job in his singular, particular and familial circumstances which were very tragic. But this message is generally applicable to all who read this, and it could be any kind of suffering or affliction. It could be a tragedy affecting whole segments of people, or a private grief known only to one or a few.
What does He (God) do? He speaks to them in their affliction. He delivers in their suffering by using the suffering to speak to them. He speaks using adversity. The adversity and suffering IS his speech and deliverance. This is a revolutionary concept for some, including Job.
In Job 37:5-7 Elihu states “God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways…so that all men may know His work, He stops every man from His labor.” Whether the adversity comes from a severe weather event or from cancer or from a global pandemic, God wants man to know His work. With some people the only thing that gets their attention is something that is so big, so beyond their normal, that it halts them in their tracks.
As a little bit of a side trail and food for thought: what if as our high-tech society has gained so much more control of their lives with technology and learning, it takes a bigger and bigger disruption to get our attention. This reminds me of a verse about birth pains (Matthew 24:8)
Now back to our text, in the ESV, the end of verse 15 says it a little differently “He opens their ears by adversity.” This translation of that verse makes me think of Job 37:13. “He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water His earth and show His love”. This verse demonstrates to me that one catastrophe (small in scope within a family or church or on a global scale) can be used by God to “open our ears” in different ways for the various people affected by it. God’s speech to me will be different than God’s speech to you in the same event or circumstance. He loves the billions of people on this planet so much that He speaks to our hearts and minds in just the way we need to hear it. This idea sets us up now to hear the message in the second verse of the text (Job 36:16)
He is “wooing” us, or as the ESV puts it, “allured” us. God’s speech is gentle and alluring and enticing (in the midst of what could be construed as very harsh action by God to get our attention). Certainly tornados, floods, cancer, or a pandemic seem absolutely uncaring and unloving on the surface. We think, like Job, that this or that disruptive circumstance is punishment rather than speech. We may even think it undeserved punishment that's totally unfair!
As a little bit of a side trail and food for thought: what if as our high-tech society has gained so much more control of their lives with technology and learning, it takes a bigger and bigger disruption to get our attention. This reminds me of a verse about birth pains (Matthew 24:8)
Now back to our text, in the ESV, the end of verse 15 says it a little differently “He opens their ears by adversity.” This translation of that verse makes me think of Job 37:13. “He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water His earth and show His love”. This verse demonstrates to me that one catastrophe (small in scope within a family or church or on a global scale) can be used by God to “open our ears” in different ways for the various people affected by it. God’s speech to me will be different than God’s speech to you in the same event or circumstance. He loves the billions of people on this planet so much that He speaks to our hearts and minds in just the way we need to hear it. This idea sets us up now to hear the message in the second verse of the text (Job 36:16)
He is “wooing” us, or as the ESV puts it, “allured” us. God’s speech is gentle and alluring and enticing (in the midst of what could be construed as very harsh action by God to get our attention). Certainly tornados, floods, cancer, or a pandemic seem absolutely uncaring and unloving on the surface. We think, like Job, that this or that disruptive circumstance is punishment rather than speech. We may even think it undeserved punishment that's totally unfair!
The first 30 chapters of Job is a record of Job essentially saying that his affliction is not fair because he can’t think of anything he has done to deserve such harsh circumstances. And Job’s three friends are probing to find the hidden or unconfessed sin that brought on his affliction. But our friend Elihu in Job 34:14-15, early in his discourse, puts the kibosh on that by pointing out a deeper theology that “if it were His intention and He withdrew His spirit and breath, all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust.”
God holds the universe and our lives together out of mercy and grace. All good and even bad circumstances are proof of God’s love, mercy, and grace. And this is true for all (general providence) but especially for His sheep whom He calls His own (special providence).
What is God wooing and alluring us out of? He is wooing us out of the jaws of distress. These jaws can seem mighty big and strong in the midst of the storm. Sometimes out of fear, we actually contribute to making those jaws bigger and stronger than they are. Dr. Henry Cloud calls this “learned helplessness.” But God is calling us to take our heads out of the lion’s mouth. Wooing implies not just enticing us away from something, but to something.
What is God calling us to find in Him? “A spacious place, free from restriction, to the comfort of your (our own) table laden with choice food.” This says to me that in the midst of suffering and adversity, we can commune with God as if we are with him in paradise. Note that this provision is put on your (our own) table. This provision is given us within our circumstances. We are not called out of this world, but to live within it at peace with him as our shepherd and as his ambassador to those around us.
What is God wooing and alluring us out of? He is wooing us out of the jaws of distress. These jaws can seem mighty big and strong in the midst of the storm. Sometimes out of fear, we actually contribute to making those jaws bigger and stronger than they are. Dr. Henry Cloud calls this “learned helplessness.” But God is calling us to take our heads out of the lion’s mouth. Wooing implies not just enticing us away from something, but to something.
What is God calling us to find in Him? “A spacious place, free from restriction, to the comfort of your (our own) table laden with choice food.” This says to me that in the midst of suffering and adversity, we can commune with God as if we are with him in paradise. Note that this provision is put on your (our own) table. This provision is given us within our circumstances. We are not called out of this world, but to live within it at peace with him as our shepherd and as his ambassador to those around us.
What is this choice food he promises us? First and most important it is fellowship with him! As I leave my morning devotional time to live the rest of my day as His Ambassador, filled up with his guidance and direction, I take His yoke upon me that is easy and light. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 28:18-20).
So, in conclusion, God speaks in various ways.
1. “All scripture is god-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). He speaks through the Scripture.
2. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4). He speaks through the book of creation. After Elihu’s entreaty, Job was ready to listen to God, and God answered Job in chapters 38-39 by pointing to His sovereignty over creation, which is so much bigger and intricate than Job. By the way, notice that God never did tell Job ‘why’. God’s answer to ‘why’ was essentially ‘Look at my creation, and know that you can trust me.’
3. “He speaks to them in their affliction [NIV]. He opens their ears by adversity [ESV]” (Job 36:15b). He speaks to us in our affliction and by adversity. Trials and tribulation ARE his speech to us. He demonstrates his love for us by speaking to us in all these ways, including affliction and adversity.
Do we truly believe that adversity and affliction is God speaking to us? Can we hear him wooing us out of the jaws of distress to our table filled with the abundance of fellowship with him? Or do we think that adversity and affliction is just something happening to us by the some bad luck of the draw? Can you believe that the God and Creator of the universe cares enough about you to speak to you BY adversity? If so, you have joined with the saints of old.
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, and speak to me!
So, in conclusion, God speaks in various ways.
1. “All scripture is god-breathed…” (2 Timothy 3:16). He speaks through the Scripture.
2. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4). He speaks through the book of creation. After Elihu’s entreaty, Job was ready to listen to God, and God answered Job in chapters 38-39 by pointing to His sovereignty over creation, which is so much bigger and intricate than Job. By the way, notice that God never did tell Job ‘why’. God’s answer to ‘why’ was essentially ‘Look at my creation, and know that you can trust me.’
3. “He speaks to them in their affliction [NIV]. He opens their ears by adversity [ESV]” (Job 36:15b). He speaks to us in our affliction and by adversity. Trials and tribulation ARE his speech to us. He demonstrates his love for us by speaking to us in all these ways, including affliction and adversity.
Do we truly believe that adversity and affliction is God speaking to us? Can we hear him wooing us out of the jaws of distress to our table filled with the abundance of fellowship with him? Or do we think that adversity and affliction is just something happening to us by the some bad luck of the draw? Can you believe that the God and Creator of the universe cares enough about you to speak to you BY adversity? If so, you have joined with the saints of old.
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, and speak to me!
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