You Stop Being a Blessing When You Do THIS

Job 15:1-16    Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 15:1-16.  Let’s go!

Job 15:4-9 (NIV) 
⁴  But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God.
⁵  Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
⁶  Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.
⁷  “Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸  Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
⁹  What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?

On verses 1-16:  Even after Job has lost virtually everything and has told his friends exactly what he needs from them – he needs them to shut up and just listen to him (Job 13:5-6) – Eliphaz cannot help himself.  Eliphaz insists on speaking up one more time.  With even more vitriol and accusation on his tongue than before, Eliphaz accuses Job of being foolish (v2-3), undevoted to God (v4), sinful (v5), self-condemning (v6), prideful and arrogant (v7-9), ungrateful to God (v11), rageful (v12-13), vile and corrupt (v14-16).

Evidently Eliphaz has forgotten his original purpose for coming to see Job in the first place: to comfort him.  Now Eliphaz has allowed his emotions to get the best of him and is now quarreling with a grieving man.

What can we learn from this?  When we allow our emotions to get the best of us, we stop being a blessing and end up get into unnecessary quarrels.  It’s no wonder the Bible warns us repeatedly against losing our cool and being quarrelsome with others.  For example:

Proverbs 26:21 (NLT2) 
²¹  A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.

Proverbs 21:19 (NIV) 
¹⁹  Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.

Proverbs 21:9 and 25:24 (NIV) 
²⁴  Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

2 Timothy 2:24 (NIV) 
²⁴  And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me that I stop being a blessing when I let my emotions get the best of me.  Holy Spirit come and fill me today.  I pray that I would be well-tempered and self-controlled, that I would avoid unnecessary quarrels with those around me.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!