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8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

² “How long will you say such things?
    Your words are a blustering wind.
³ Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
⁴ When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
⁵ But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead with the Almighty,
⁶ if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
    and restore you to your prosperous state.
⁷ Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous will your future be.

⁸ “Ask the former generation
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not instruct you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
¹¹ Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
    Can reeds thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.
¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
    so perishes the hope of the godless.
¹⁴ What they trust in is fragile^[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.
¹⁵ They lean on the web, but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.
¹⁶ They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots over the garden;
¹⁷ it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Surely its life withers away,
    and^[b] from the soil other plants grow.

In such times like this, we all need good friends like Bildad who advices his good friends who is having hard times. Job is in a very tough times now. Bildad shoots back to Job to correct him and to encourage him. I note something here. This is a very good account of a good and Godly advice to a grieving friend. This friend does not pretends to understand how Job feels, but still encourages him. In today's world, we actually just go straight to yes, i understand how you feel and we start to empathize with the person. But do we really know how does the person feel? No. We don't, in fact only God knows. Only God knows. He encourages Job by telling him that "if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the almighty" That's what he said. Today's people have knowledge, but unfortunately not wisdom. Wisdom is lost throughout the generations. We know so much today that i question if we really know anything. Do we know life? Do we know life as God intended to be? Do we know God? The most powerful move is that Bildad involved God in his advices. That is something that we all urban dwellers have to learn, stop being superficial and really build relationships, involve God.

Job is suffering

7 “Do not mortals have hard service on earth?
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?
² Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,
³ so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
⁴ When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
⁵ My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.

 This shows Job's inner thoughts at this moment. Job is really tired! He really tired that he is in such pain! He really acknowledges death now! This is the part that Job thinks that he is going to be taken by God one day and his pain will end. 

⁶ “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
    and they come to an end without hope.
⁷ Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
    my eyes will never see happiness again.
⁸ The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.
⁹ As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave does not return.
¹⁰ He will never come to his house again;
    his place will know him no more.

¹¹ “Therefore I will not keep silent;
    I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
    that you put me under guard?
¹³ When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,
¹⁴ even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions,
¹⁵ so that I prefer strangling and death,
    rather than this body of mine.
¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever.
    Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

He really scream out to God and tell him of his suffering, to the point that he despise life! Sometimes, we do that too when life is really tough. So, when life is really that tough, dont give up on life but speak to God! Job did not attempt to kill himself, he just lay his worries onto God! This is a huge test that Job is going through. If you are not tested through fire, what value will you have?


1 peter 1:7
These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold -- and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 

Crying out to God

² “If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!
³ It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.
⁴ The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
    my spirit drinks in their poison;
    God’s terrors are marshaled against me.
⁵ Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?
⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow^[a]?
⁷ I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,
⁹ that God would be willing to crush me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
¹⁰ Then I would still have this consolation—
    my joy in unrelenting pain—
    that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?
¹² Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Do I have any power to help myself,
    now that success has been driven from me?

He is in such suffering, so much suffering that he hopes for God to kill him. In all these, he still can recognize that it is God who gives and takes away. It is not people, him to take their own life. Life is precious. So how much do we recognize that. Life is precious before God.  We should treat all like as such. Even animals. i like very much that Job says:

Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?

This came from a man who had success. We are all in a world where we are finding success, but even the man who have great success recognize that success is not everything. God hold s the key to everything. everything. Becuase God hold the key to life. And everything is pointless without it. Thats it. Thats all. 

Eliphaz?

¹⁷ “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
    so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.^[a]
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
    he injures, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six calamities he will rescue you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.
²⁰ In famine he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
²¹ You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
    and need not fear when destruction comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and famine,
    and need not fear the wild animals.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure;
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
²⁵ You will know that your children will be many,
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor,
    like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷ “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

Eliphaz is trying very hard to encourage Job! This passage encouraged me, so I hope it encourages you too! God corrects, so when God corrects you, dont say what?! A lot of us treat God as a genie. What we want, we ask then we get. And our relationship stops there. God has standards and when we dont meet his heavenly standard He can discipline us. Take the discipline, correct yourself and go on! Dont be stuck, rejecting His correction or unable to take His correction... Thank God, correct it and go! He is a God of healer, though He can put you in situations that harm you. Just like in this case with Job. He puts you through tests, but never let you die. Like Job, God puts Job to the test but prevents the Devil from killing Job. The time will come when God restores what Job deserves in God's eyes. With God behind you, you will always be fine, becuase the Heavenly Father is behind you!. So would you want to build a relationship with Him? Eliphaz said all these encouraging words to Job. Job is in a tough time and of course these words are most important in these dark times.

“Call if you will, but who will answer you?
    To which of the holy ones will you turn?
² Resentment kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.
³ I myself have seen a fool taking root,
    but suddenly his house was cursed.
⁴ His children are far from safety,
    crushed in court without a defender.
⁵ The hungry consume his harvest,
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶ For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
⁷ Yet man is born to trouble
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.
⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
    miracles that cannot be counted.
¹⁰ He provides rain for the earth;
    he sends water on the countryside.
¹¹ The lowly he sets on high,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
¹⁴ Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.
¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.

 Eliphaz tells Job to pray to God! This is Eliphaz's way of telling Job to tell this to God as he thought that his suffering is unjustified! Job was a Godly man and did not do anything wrong before God, he was implying that he was not justified to be treated like this. But what does he know? Can he say that this treatment was unfair? No! God is God. He decides, how can use our human judgment to reason and justify what God did? We cant. We can pray and intercede for God's mighty hand to move, but the truth is simple. He has the final say. In darkness, will you trust God? We can say yes now, but the truth will emerge when the darkness comes.

Eliphaz replies

 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?
³ Think how you have instructed many,
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.
⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled;
    you have strengthened faltering knees.
⁵ But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
    it strikes you, and you are dismayed.
⁶ Should not your piety be your confidence
    and your blameless ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?
⁸ As I have observed, those who plow evil
    and those who sow trouble reap it.
⁹ At the breath of God they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.
¹⁰ The lions may roar and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
¹¹ The lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Eliphaz is a odd person. Here he praises Job for " who being innocent, has ever perished? He also encourages Job to regain his confidence and hope. At the breath of God they perish, at the blast of his anger they are no more. God is powerful, He just have to blast anger and thats it, people are no more. His is really right to say this:
“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?

But it is not the time that we can comment on it! The time is up to God! God can change the timing as his pleases. God had a choice a choice to stop evil, but He did not, so are we going to blame and curse God for that?

This passage gives testimony

3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ² He said:

³ “May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’
⁴ That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
⁵ May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
⁶ That night—may thick darkness seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.
⁷ May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy be heard in it.
⁸ May those who curse days^[a] curse that day,
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
⁹ May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,
¹⁰ for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

This passages really tells us what we must be ready to receive. We must be prepared to receive both good and evil from the Lord. The extent of suffering of Job must be so great that he cursed the day of his birth. That was not Godly, but regardless, he did not curse God. He cursed the day of his birth. Even though this is not very serious, it is still not the best thing. In this situation, would we just curse God? It seems like something we can do easily. Just curse God and die. End of suffering. Regardless, we live and die for Christ. He lived for Christ. He wanted to die to end his suffering because he was cursing the day of his birth. In out living, dare to take up the cross. In our death, align to Christ.

I like the book of Job. First of all, its like Star Wars. Theres like a prologue before it starts! Which is cool! :D now for the real story!

2 On another day the angels^[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
³ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
⁴ “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵ But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
⁶ The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”
⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. ⁸ Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
⁹ His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”
¹⁰ He replied, “You are talking like a foolish^[b] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

¹¹ When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. ¹² When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. ¹³ Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

When i first read this passage, i wondered: satan can stand before God's presence??! How is that possible? satan was sinful but God hates sin. And why is Satan in heaven talking to God, in His presence?? It turns out that Satan was summoned and He does not have free access to heaven. Just like other instances where man was summoned before God to make an account of themselves, God was calling the fallen angel to account. 

God was testing Job. He handed satan the right of torturing Job. God was confident of Job that he would not curse God. Of course that was what happened. I like Job's reply when his wife told him to curse God and die. His answer? You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble? 

Are we ready to accept both good and trouble from God? Are we?? Can we? Would we? Or would we fall away?

Job?

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

⁴ His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.
⁶ One day the angels^[a] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan^[b] also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
¹² The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
¹³ One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”
²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.^[c]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Being stripped of everything, Job did not curse God, but he trusted Him with all His heart. When God gives to us, we praise. But when God takes away, do we still praise?? People are so materialistic and practical.They will love you when they can get some benefits from you and shun you when you need help.
People may treat people like this, but do we treat God in this way? When God gives us something awesome, like a new house, healing, wealth, success, everything we can praise God with all the loud symbols. But true worship, the truth in our hearts will be revealed not when God blesses us, but when God takes away our privileges.  Do we curse God? Do we question God? Do we still recognize that He is LORD of all? Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked i will depart. There is no difference. Men are the same before the Lord, only people assign price, status to people. God looks st the heart. Either one's heart is with God or not. In a night, Job lost everything, he did not curse God but praised Him. He trusted Him. Do I?

Recently i did not score as well as i thought i would have in NUS, but I know my Lord is greater than anything. I have been prompted to read this chapter in Job and mediate on it. He is the provider of my life. He takes away and He gives. In the end, i live because of His grace. Every day's beginning is a day that BELONGS to the Lord. Each day does not belong to us but to the LORD. Same for the things that we are in stewardship of. Lord can give and can take away. Trust in His plans for me and thats what i will do. 

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.

God controls all

I just want to take some time to reflect on the past week and the things that God have done. Last week i had mid-terms. I found that i was not in form any more. After 2 years in the army, i found that my brain had degenerated. Like, it was not as sharp, agile and versatile as ever. I had a GPA to maintain. I was incredibly stressed. When i mean incredibly, i mean incredibly. I need to maintain a GPA of 4.25, but i found that it was tough. It was long since i did questions in an exam setting. I was very stressed and told God. He told me not to worry and He have put me in a place, here not to fail but to EXCEL. He assured me that i will pull through, more than pull through. I was reminded of the dream that God put in me, the dream to become a researcher. A world class researcher, a scientist who made real advancement in the field. If God gave me this scholarship and this place in the Uni, He can take away. The will is His. Even if the Devil wanted to take away, and God wanted to keep it there, there is nothing that can stop God. He is the giver of life. He gives and takes, He is a sovereign God. He reminded me of the verse:

Matthew 6:33
³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Because i am His son, His children. If he clothe the fields, why would he let me fall? God told me to have faith in the valley. I really felt that i was in the valley.

I just want to thank God for the things He have done. Regardless whatever happens to my results/anything I will praise His name, for I know 

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I just want to encourage anyone reading this, 

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Trust in Him. For

Proverbs 16:1
We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

We only make plans, but the Lord decides to give and to take away. Trust in Him and follow Him regardless of the circumstance for whatever you are in, He has given enough strength to go through. 

AMEN AND AMEN!

SFB

God spoke to me about this sermon before BRX introduced this! God spoke to me clearly about stealing and the things that i was doing was wrong. Well, torrenting. Torrenting digital media is very common now a days. So common in the developed world that i should not ask if you torrent, but if u do not torrent. I was one of them. Then God told me to this simple fact. This is a commandment in my 10 commandments and i said it. So if I believe in God and His word is true, then I should not steal. But i was stealing. So what does it sat about me? I dont steal in the real life but on the virtual world? I steal when no one is watching? So i am more afraid of the physical consequences of stealing than fear of God. In other words, i do not really believe in God/His word. Then i realized that this was something that was stopping me from growing deeper with Him. Since then, all my software and digital media is original, i paid for every single one of them. From the sermon, i learnt that stealing occurs in other forms like time and environment and our future environment. All these that we need to be really careful and aware, but it slips out of our mind easily and we find tons of excuses. Stealing is not right and regardless how one argues it it is wrong.