Job 11 & 12: He Increaseth The Nations
Verse of the Day: (12:23) He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.
1. Iniquity (11:1-20)
And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. (11:6)
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Instead of encouraging Job, all his friends including Zophar were judging him, and telling him not to justify himself for his iniquities, and kept persuading him to confess and repent of his sins, and to truly get right with God. Zophar even went to the extent of telling Job not to be self-righteous and proud, and that his tragic loss could be even worse. It must have grieved and hurt Job very much as his friends not only did not comfort him, but they hurt him with allegations that he had sinned against God. Let us thus be sensitive when dealing with or counselling people who have lost their loved ones as we need to empathise with them, and be careful with our words, and be silent, and just be with them, and praying for them. (James 3:1-12)
2. Inferior (12:1-8)
But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? (12:3)
Though Job knew that God was omnipotent, omniscience and omnipresent, and that God knew that he did not commit any known sins, yet he wondered as to why He allowed these crises to befall him. This was why Job answered Zophar that he was not inferior to him. Indeed, we are all sinners saved only by God’s grace, and no one or church is superior or inferior to anyone or church as we are all His people. Let us therefore fully trust and obey God knowing He knows best what is best for us. (2 Corinthians 12:1-13)
3. Increaseth (12:9-25)
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? (12:9)
Job knew that only God had the answers to all his crises as His hand was in control of everything. God creates the earth and every living thing including man made in His image, and He can give and also take away our very lives. God also gives and takes away the power of leaders of all nations. Today, as we witness the trade war of 2 superpowers – America and China – and the threats and effects of global warming, we can conclude that God allows these crises and challenges to remind us that our lives are like vapours, and that we must repent our sins, and receive Jesus, the Son of God, as our personal Saviour. Let us thus believe in Jesus as He must increase in our hearts, and we must decrease, and one day we shall have a heaven to gain, and a hell to shun. (John 3:25-36)
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to submit to You as You are in control of everything.
