God in a Box
Marty Grubbs • 16-May-2021
Senior Pastor Marty Grubbs continued teaching from the book of Job in chapters 20-26. Job’s friends, who had an empathetic response earlier and sat with Job in his grief, have returned to “help” him with their advice and counsel. Their religion, or understanding of it, was one based on following laws, and when someone was experiencing hardship, the answer must have been disobedience and punishment from God. This is a very Pharisaic and legalistic point of view. This could be described as Orthodoxy without true godliness, judgmental, rigid, proud. An outward rightness that can lead to an inward wrongness. Job’s friends were convinced his problems were a result of his own sin, and wanted to help him understand that and confess what he’d done. Their pride made knowledge and information the goal, and compassion was hard to find. Grace was not mentioned or granted, mercy was withheld, and judgment covered Job and only added to his misery.
His friends have earned descriptive titles over the years:
Zophar the Zealous – There’s an answer for everything (Job 21 and 22)
Eliphaz the Elegant – You have hidden motives (Job 22)
Bildad the Brutal – People are maggots, mere worms (Job 25)
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