“Those
who plow evil and those who sow trouble, reap it.” (v.8)
You’ve
probably heard people say, “Well, they only got what they deserved!” or “What
goes around, comes around!.” Common sense suggests that there’s a cause and
effect relationship between people’s actions and the events that occur in their
life. To some extent this is true--after all, we read in Galatians 6:7, “A man
reaps what he sows.” The problem is that this principle cannot be applied
blindly to every person or to every situation.
This
is exactly what’s wrong with the approach of the first of Job’s friends,
Eliphaz. For him, it’s clear why Job suffered: Job must have sinned. In the
ancient world, most people believed that suffering was due to sin, in the same
way that material abundance confirmed that a person was good.
Suffering,
according to Eliphaz’s experience, was always the result of God's judgment of
sin. His conclusion was that Job was no exception to this rule and was being
punished for some sin he had committed. If this were true, why did David suffer
as he did before he became king? And what about our Savior
Himself? He did not sin. In fact, He could not sin. And yet He suffered.
No.
Eliphaz’s conclusions were all wrong. The rain falls on the just and the
unjust. Bad things do happen to good people. Suffering is not always related to
sin in our lives, but is related to a sinful world. A world fallen from God’s
plan and purpose, waiting to be reclaimed by its creator.
Yes
a man reaps what he sows, and when Job finally comes through this great trial
(none of which was brought on by his own hand), he will be handsomely rewarded
for his steadfast love of God.
The
Truth: “Behold, I
have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of
affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10)
