“I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.” (Job 10:2)
I don’t think there is anyone who is not familiar with Job’s life. The devil is allowed to test his righteousness. His friends come to him, but instead of comforting him, they accuse him. And though he laments his birth and the terrible turn of events in his life, he never curses God. He doesn’t understand why all this has happened to him. And in the verse of our study, he pleads with God not to condemn him and to show him where he has gone wrong.
In those days it was believed that any bad thing that happened was caused by wrongdoing as Job’s friends accused him. As far as Job was aware, he did everything that was required and felt in his heart he had been righteous. In his statement in verse two of chapter 10, he is beginning to think there is some transgression in his life he is not aware of and says, show me why you are rebuking me.
In the New Testament and new covenant of Jesus, our relationship with the Lord is different. Jesus has taken our sin, the punishment for sin and our death to the cross. (1 Peter 2:24) There is no more punishment for sin here on earth. Jesus has taken it all. And it was sufficient for everyone who ever lived, lives or will live. So why is there so much misery in the world? Although there is no more punishment for sin here on earth, there is still misery in the world. It’s caused by the consequences of sin, wrongdoing and wrong choices. There is still sin in the world. People still sin, even Christians. Sin is death, death of life, death of hope, death of peace and death of joy.
God doesn’t give out punishment for sin yet because of Jesus. We are in a dispensation or time of grace because of Jesus. Grace, the undeserved favor of God. He is patient with the world in this time, allowing for His grace to bring us to repentance. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2Peter 3:9-10) When the Lord comes again, then He will punish those who didn’t repent. (A side note: This is not the rapture. Jesus doesn’t set foot on earth at the rapture. His believers will meet Him in the air. 1Thesalonians 4:16,17) And the misery of the world is increasing as sin is increasing. But the grace of God is abundantly more. “Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” (Romans 5:20) (...a side note about the law-It pointed out sin.) The Lord told Paul that His grace was sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
While God’s promises are true, for us and not against us, yes and amen, Christians are not exempt from the consequences of sin, wrongdoing and wrong choices, ours or someone else’s. For instance, if you smoke, your chances of getting cancer are the same as everyone’s. The wrong choice equals the consequence. If you steal or kill, your chances of being caught and going to jail are the same as everyone. These are ridiculous examples, but they make the point. Even if we walk with the Lord, our sin, wrongdoing and wrong choices will have the same consequences as everyone’s. Lack of exercise and a bad diet will lead to sickness. God doesn’t give us the disease. It’s a consequence. But there is a difference when it comes to sicknesses. God never said we wouldn’t get sick. He said He would heal us from our diseases. Now that is a promise. (1Peter 2:24)
Then there is misery that comes from just living in this sinful world. We cannot walk around like it will never touch us. But God is with us. (Matthew 28:20) We have the promise of His protection. (2Thesalonians 3:3) He’s assigned angels to minister to us. (Hebrews 1:13,14) And we must use wisdom and have that fellowship with the Holy Spirit abiding in us. (2Corinthians 13:14) He will teach us, guide us and lead us. (John 16:13) But many times we just live like we own ourselves and can do whatever we want and go wherever we want. But if we consult with the Holy Spirit, He will keep us out of a lot of misery we might walk into.
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