Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes
13 “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 “What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.3 “But I would speak to [a]the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.
4 “But you smear with lies;
You are all worthless physicians.
5 “O that you would be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6 “Please hear my argument
And listen to the contentions of my lips.
7 “Will you speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8 “Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9 “Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 “He will surely reprove you
If you secretly show partiality.
11 “Will not His [b]majesty terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?
12 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job was tired of listening to his “comforters”, and why not? They had misrepresented who God is, and told Job that all his suffering was because of some sins in his life. Now we’re all sinners, so if someone were to tell us that, maybe we’d believe them. But when you’re not sure about what someone is telling you, then it’s time to take it to God.
Job wanted to “argue” with God, and that’s not a bad place to go. As I’ve said before, God can handle your anger and frustration, and if you want to argue with someone, go to God. He has plenty of patience to handle it, even if you’re way off base. And if you are, He’ll set you straight, but he’ll do it with a lot more love and grace than Job’s friends.
There are a lot of half-truths flying around this world when it comes to God and who He is. How can we figure out the truth for sure? We need to get into God’s Word, start reading your Bible. If someone quotes a verse and it doesn’t sit well with your spirit, go read it. Find out the context, and see what God has to say for Himself. How do cults start? By taking a few verses from the Bible and twisting them to manipulate people.
So don’t be afraid to double-check what you hear with the Bible, the ultimate source of truth about God. Likewise, if someone says they have a message from God for you, and it doesn’t align with what you’ve already felt God was telling you, double-check it. Pray about it, and find out what God is really saying. Sometimes even well-meaning people will try to oversimplify who God is to make things easier to swallow, and they misrepresent God.
Seek Him and you will find him, and the best place to start is reading His Word and just talking to Him. Prayer isn’t some fancy ritual, it’s just talking to a friend, the best Friend you could ever have. Don’t take that for granted, as Jesus gave his life to give you access to the Father. So go boldly before Him and find out what God is saying in your life. He’s waiting to hear from you too, so go to him early and often.