ELIHU: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON SUFFERING (7 OF 8)
Elihu: A New Perspective on Suffering (7 of 8)
Series: Job
Robert Dawson
Job 32
A Worship Leader was scheduled to sing at a local student event. As he was getting ready for the event, his 4-year-old daughter asked where he was going. He told her that he was going to sing for a bunch of kids at a church across town. His little girl asked to go so he brought her with him.
When they arrived at the church, she looked around at all the college aged kids and promptly tugged on her daddy's sleeve and snapped, ''Daddy, you said there would be kids here. Where are they?'' Her dad pointed around the room to the 50 or so students and said, ''There are kids all around you.'' She put her hands on her hips, furrowed her brow and in an exasperated tone said, ''Daddy! Those aren't kids! Those are baby sitters!'' (Stedman, pg. 39)
Perspective matters. How we see or choose to see something, is important. It changes things. As we continue our study in Job, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a different perspective, a new perspective a better perspective.
For 9 chapters Job's friends, those corrosive counselors, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, have bombarded us with a singular perspective on suffering, known as retributive justice which is a neatly packaged system that attempts to explain how God works and relates to this world, especially in the context of suffering. It's a very simple and unyielding system.
The unrighteous suffer.
The righteous are rewarded.
It's neat. It's clean but it is...
A theological paradigm devoid of Christ, redemption, mercy and grace.
A theological paradigm devoid of mystery. Everything that God did in relation to His creation could be explained by that unalterable worldview of reward and punishment.
This worldview caused them to attribute Job's great suffering to some flagrant and unrepentant past sin. They worked tirelessly to prove Job's suffering, the loss of his wealth, his reputation and his children, was his fault. ...
Series: Job
Robert Dawson
Job 32
A Worship Leader was scheduled to sing at a local student event. As he was getting ready for the event, his 4-year-old daughter asked where he was going. He told her that he was going to sing for a bunch of kids at a church across town. His little girl asked to go so he brought her with him.
When they arrived at the church, she looked around at all the college aged kids and promptly tugged on her daddy's sleeve and snapped, ''Daddy, you said there would be kids here. Where are they?'' Her dad pointed around the room to the 50 or so students and said, ''There are kids all around you.'' She put her hands on her hips, furrowed her brow and in an exasperated tone said, ''Daddy! Those aren't kids! Those are baby sitters!'' (Stedman, pg. 39)
Perspective matters. How we see or choose to see something, is important. It changes things. As we continue our study in Job, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a different perspective, a new perspective a better perspective.
For 9 chapters Job's friends, those corrosive counselors, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, have bombarded us with a singular perspective on suffering, known as retributive justice which is a neatly packaged system that attempts to explain how God works and relates to this world, especially in the context of suffering. It's a very simple and unyielding system.
The unrighteous suffer.
The righteous are rewarded.
It's neat. It's clean but it is...
A theological paradigm devoid of Christ, redemption, mercy and grace.
A theological paradigm devoid of mystery. Everything that God did in relation to His creation could be explained by that unalterable worldview of reward and punishment.
This worldview caused them to attribute Job's great suffering to some flagrant and unrepentant past sin. They worked tirelessly to prove Job's suffering, the loss of his wealth, his reputation and his children, was his fault. ...
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