Last week we started looking at some final lessons from Job 42.
We noticed how God speaks to us each individually about our sins and circumstances, but that he is under no obligation to explain how he deals with us because he is Almighty God. We also noticed how God does not 'gossip' about our affairs to others, or about others to us.
But our second lesson from this chapter is to notice that there are times when he speaks to us of others, so that we might help them, pray for them, or warn them.
We see this indirectly in verse 8 when God tells Job's friends to take animals to Job for a sin offering, which Job was to offer as a sacrifice and pray on their behalf. This would have meant Job being aware of what God had said to them.
In other cases in the Bible we see God speak more directly to somebody about someone else.
For example, God told a Christian called Ananias to go and help a man called Paul (originally called Saul, Acts 9). He is to pray for Paul and by faith heal his sudden blindness.
Even though Paul had been doing exceedingly cruel things to Christians, God doesn't discuss this with Ananias. When Ananias brings it up - because he is actually rather concerned about going to see this man, of whom he has heard such bad things - God just reassures him that Paul is a chosen disciple, who will have to suffer much for Jesus. He doesn't discuss Paul's sins with Ananias. Ananias' role is to go and pray with and heal Paul.
On another occasion many, many years earlier God had determined to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because they were so sinful, but because he loves Abraham, who is later called the friend of God, he shares with him that he is going to destroy these cities.
Now Abraham has family in Sodom, and when he finds out that it is all to be destroyed, he and God don't have a gossip session about their sins - the effect is that Abraham very reverently prays to God to spare the cities, even if there are only 50 righteous people there, or even only 40 - or 30 - or 20 or 10.
Then there is the time that God speaks to Moses about the sins of the Israelites, whom Moses is guiding to the Promised Land after their dramatic escape from Egypt.
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God is so angry with their sins - their stubborn rebellion in not treating him as the one true God, worshipping man made idols, continuously complaining about the journey, their hunger, their thirst and basically not trusting God - that God tells Moses he wants to destroy them all.
The effect - Moses prostrates himself before God, not eating and drinking for 6 weeks (miraculously kept alive), praying for the Israelites, asking God to forgive them (Deuteronomy 9, Exodus 31).
And so, to return to Job, we see the same pattern.
God tells Job's friend Eliphaz, that he was angry with him and the other two friends. God says he won't accept them - even if they were to come to him and offer sacrifices (in the way God had set out that man could approach God ) - they were in danger of God dealing with them as they deserved.
But God says he will accept their sacrifices if Job, his servant, who he approved of, was to pray for them.
This speaks to us of how we should react when we do hear of others' concerns, whether directly from them, from God or through gossip. We are to follow the guidance set out in the New Testament - to pray, to bear their burdens with them, to go to them and help them.
But this brings me onto the third thought that came to mind -
Job, in his praying for his friends is 'interceding' on their behalf.
We might wonder why Job was approved of - after all hadn't he been sinful in his self-righteousness? But God looks on our hearts - God knew that Job loved and feared God. God knew that Job was trusting that God had provided a redeemer for him and that he would see him at the end of time.
Job already had a personal relationship with God and tried to life his live in a God honouring and glorifying way. So, when Job shows that he too is still a sinner by accusing God of wronging him, God speaks to him with rebuke, but not anger.
But his friends were in danger of God's wrath. And yet, even here, don't we see God's kindness?- he says he will accept them if Job prays for them.
Job is an imperfect example of our perfect intercessor, Jesus.
God's children are forgiven and accepted by God because of Jesus. Hear the intercession Jesus makes before he dies, for not just his disciples but us too:
"Neither pray I for these (the disciples) alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us..." (John 17;20-21).
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Photo by Stacey Franco on Unsplash
Listen to Jesus' intercessory prayer even as he was being crucified, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
And hear these beautiful words in Romans 8:34, that Jesus is alive, that he lives today, that right now he is making intercession for his children to God.
How wonderful, that even before we know it, as we continually sin, Jesus is interceding for his children that they might be forgiven.
Dear friend, do you have sins which you are ashamed of?
Do you fear the wrath of God and feel you are unacceptable in his sight?
Come to this blessed Jesus and ask him to pray for you to his Father in heaven, that you might be washed, accepted, made clean and pure, that you might be forgiven, for Jesus' sake.
To be finalised in the new year, God Willing.
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