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11-23-14. Job 38:1-2. Is Our Self-righteousness Obscuring The Plans of God?

Is Our Self-righteousness Obscuring The Plans of God?

Job 38:2-3                            Kevin E. Jesmer 11-23-14

pharisee

Our self righteousness can obscure the plans of God that the people so desperately need to see. God is challenging someone in Job 38:2-3. He speaks out of a storm at some very startled people, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” Job probably forgot all about his pain for a moment. The question is, who is God talking to, Job or Job’s friends?

First, let’s think about Job. In Job 31:35-37, Job said, “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing. 36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown. 37 I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.— “ Job really wanted to plead his case before God. Job didn’t have all the answers, but God saw his heart and actually thought that Job was right and spoke the truth about him. Look at verse 42:7, “After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” Based on this verse, I feel that Job’s friends were the target of God’s words.

God felt that Job’s friends were obscuring God’s plans without knowledge. These friends thought they were so “right”. They were almost the epitome of self righteousness. They talked and talked, thoroughly convinced that their conclusions about God and Job was correct. But God said they were wrong. He told them that they were obscuring his plans without knowledge.

We need to be very careful. We tend to think that we are always right. We have a propensity to self righteousness. It is our natural tendency in this fallen world. It is like Adam and Eve making leaves to cover themselves. (Gen 3:7) Our self righteousness is linked to not being able to see Jesus in his holiness and being blind to our own sinfulness. It is like having a plank in our eye. (Matt 7:4) Self righteousness convinces us to think that our world view is correct. I have heard that it takes the listening of 40 to 60 stories before we start to change our world view. But it actually requires a miracle of God to change our world view, and embrace Jesus’ world view. It is called being, “born again”. John 3:3 reads, “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.’”

There are many dangers of holding onto our self righteousness. Whole books are written on the subject, but from this passage, God says that the self righteousness of the three friends obscured God’s plans. How they represented God and explained the reason of Job’s suffering, obscured the plans of God. The definition of obscure is “To make dim, indistinct, or impossible to see.” (https://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search) God’s plans are redemptive. He does not want one person to perish but all to be saved. The reason for Job’s suffering was redemptive. But the three friends were making God’s plans impossible for others to see. They were hindering the plans of God.

How is it possible to teach others the knowledge of God and not obscure his plans with our own self righteous tendencies? First, we need to confess that there is no one who is good but God alone. (Mark 10:18) Be humble to acknowledge that our own view point is wrong and Jesus’ view point is right. We need to stick to the Bible and not just teach our own ideas. What is truth? God’s word is truth. (John 17:17) Stick to the Bible. We need to humble ourselves and let God be God. Get out of the way so that God’s plans are not obscured.  Depend on the Holy Spirit to impress his truth on other peoples’ hearts. (Jer 31:31-34) It is possible that God will help some of our hearers to be born again and see the kingdom of God. Maybe some of our listeners will come to understand God’s plans and come to Jesus and be saved.




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