Words of Life?
Then Job responded, “How long will you torment me and crush me with words?” Job 19:1-2 NASB
Crush – “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” Perhaps Job’s friends needed to listen to Peter. They came to “comfort” Job but they ended up breaking him to pieces with their words. The Hebrew verb daka means “to break down, to crush, to beat down, to oppress.” Any one of these meanings probably fits Job’s response. We need to listen to Job’s complaint because far too often we speak like Bildad or Eliphaz instead of Yeshua.
My daughter has returned from an extended missions experience in Zambia. She followed that tour of duty with a weekend conference. The emphasis of the conference was evangelism. Get the message out! Bring the lost to Jesus! Get people saved! Those are usually the themes at such events, and there is no harm in concern for the ones who have not yet heard of the compassionate Messiah. But I wonder if Job, disguised as one of those “lost souls,” wouldn’t raise the same objection to our typical methods of evangelism. The only universal human language is the language of pain. If we don’t enter into the pain of another, we really have nothing much to say to them even if our words contain the truth. Bildad and Eliphaz didn’t intend to beat down their friend Job, but they didn’t put themselves in his shoes. They stood apart, offering theological wisdom and conviction. Job didn’t need to be convicted. He needed to be comforted. Perhaps what he needed most was the gospel of silence; that hand holding identification that lets me weep with the afflicted, wrestle with their sorrow and confusion, and bear their burdens.
Peter replied, “You have words of eternal life.” Why did he say that? Was that a declaration of Yeshua’s excellent exegesis or theological acumen? Hardly! It is far more likely that Peter’s remark is a reflection on the compassion of his Lord. Jesus actually cared about the suffering, the poor and the lost. He did something for them. It would be a useful exercise to count how many times Yeshua acted with compassion toward another person without asking that person to accept Him as savior. Perhaps actions really do speak louder than words.
I wonder if our preoccupation with the “truth” (being correct) has diverted us from the real truth of compassionate silence. I wonder if we are far more comfortable with soul winning than we are with crying. I wonder if our lack of tears is really a sign of lack of the Spirit. It’s apparent that Yeshua did not need a crusade to attract those who needed Him. All He did was care for them – and they came by the hundreds. I wonder if our greatest enemy to evangelism isn’t efficiency as a replacement for empathy.
Topical Index: crush, daka, evangelism, Job 19:-12
Good morning Skip,
The book of Job is a wonderfully perplexing book, and it has rocked me for years! The three friends were quiet for the first seven days and night, other then their weeping and tears; Job 2:11-13. After this though they brought much grief to Job with their many words. I can attest to the frustration of many words by others during the time of sorrow/joy and loss. This happened after my first wife went to sleep and continued her journey with God. On the other hand, at a different time of my life when I was a teenager, I lost my grandparents and one aunt in a car accident twenty minutes from our home. This was a time of many tears with my dad and not a lot of words from others.
Grief can be a crazy thing and we all deal with it in different and unique ways. Some of the things I have learned as a sufferer and the desired response of others on the journey back to life. 1. Financial assistance. 2. If not taking care of before hand, help with funeral arrangements. 3. In some cases, help with moving from one location to another. 4. Give space to the mourner. 5. Embracing and weeping with the mourner. 6. Learning to listen without a lot of feedback. 7. Just being there for him or her. 8. A timely word in season. 9. Professional help/ perhaps short term medication. 10. Long term walking out with him/her on the journey to well-being. 11. We do not want to be forgotten or the one who went to be with God. Mourner=family, him/her=family. I know this list does not fit every situation and a lot more added. Please forgive me if I have used up too much space here. I know Skip that your readership is very diverse and with lot of life experience. So……. I am probably not saying anything that a lot of them don’t already know.
Yet, perhaps there are few who can take value from what was posted here. I was a young man when my journey ended with my first wife. The body of Messiah failed and missed me and my daughter in some ways, as I am sure I did them. I hate death, and I long for the day when the last enemy of God will be destroyed. 1Corinthians 15:26. Until then may we learn to weep with those who weep, and demonstrate simple, concrete, and practical loving Jesus Ways to others who are hurting. In His Care. Brian
Shalom Skip,
Thanks for teaching and for allowing me to ramble on. I wrote earlier, I know this list does not fit every situation and a lot more added. Should have dictated, this list is not comprehensive, and a lot more could be added. Shalom.
I totally agree. I think there is maybe an overemphasis today on obtaining intellectual assent to the facts of the gospel, and not nearly enough on connecting with the person and not being overly aggressive in our evangelism. If we don’t show compassion, listen, and do good works, why should people listen to what we say? As I read the scriptures, I see that although head knowledge of the gospel is important, it seems that a repentant and believing heart is much more important.
I think that one reason I like dogs is that they will sit and just be a presence when I am hurting. I remember a time, years ago, when stationed in Frankfurt Germany, I was “dog sitting” a big lover dog named Happy. I was sitting on the floor of a large carpeted area, looking over the paperwork that represented total frustration. I was at an extreemly low point. Happy sat beside me, worked his head into my lap and just stayed there. I could cry and that was okay with him. What a comfort he was to me. At that point, I did not need a lecture and he did not give me one. Job would have liked Happy too.
Goodmorning everybody. I heard this yesterday. God is love. And we are to become more like God every day. So if I could see God, I could say – there goes Love. So then, if people see me, can they say – there goes love? It really got me thinking on how I conduct myself and what words do I speak.
“If we don’t enter into the pain of another, we really have nothing much to say to them even if our words contain the truth.”
Job’s own words are some of my favorites in the Bible:
Job 19:19 All my dearest friends recoil from me in horror (or so it feels)
Job 19:21 Pity me my friends, for the hand of God has struck me.
Job 19:23 Ah, would these words of mine were written down,
Job 19:23 inscribed on some monument
Job 19:24 with iron chisel and engraving tool
Job 19:24 cut into the rock for ever.
Someone asked if bringing a person to salvation is not the most compassionate act we can perform. I replied:
Yes, for sure. But how we assist in the process (since we do not actually accomplish it) must, I believe, be based on true compassion unmotivated by personal concern for accomplishment. The avenue to salvation is most often paved with suffering.