Job 6:5 – Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?

Hello readers, back in Job today. Eliphaz… I’ve got good reason to complain! What I’m saying is justified. This is what Job was saying here. We always feel like we’ve got good reasons for the many complaints that we have. Just before this verse, Job had said in Job 6:2 – Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! Job said this because he wasn’t satisfied with Eliphaz’s input into the situation. Eliphaz was the first friend to speak to Job… and he poured out his wisdom. But Job didn’t find answers in Eliphaz’s answer. People have lots of answers… but they don’t actually have the answers. And Job’s saying hey, there’s a good reason I’ve said what I’ve said. Job felt justified in his complaint. Do you have good reason to complain? Do you have good reason for what injustices you’re pinning on God? Do you have good reason for your self pity, for your justifications, for your excuses? Will you ultimately have good reason to complain if you go to hell and unrepentant, unbelieving Christ rejecting sinner?

Job draws on a couple examples in nature to say, hey Eliphaz, I’ve got good reason to complain. There’s a good reason I’m saying what I’m saying. There is of course so many things to learn from Job was saying. But today… the question is… do you have reason to complain? And will you have reason to complain when you stand before God? We are very quick to complain. Of course we know Job actually had a fair bit to complain about (or at least so we think, and we can definitely sympathize with where he was at). He was really struggling with the inequities and injustices of life which he was experiencing first hand. His friends said, Job this is happening to you because you’ve done something wrong and you deserve it, so get right with God and it’ll go back to normal. But that kind of rationale doesn’t sit well with Job, that prosperity gospel like attitude. In fact, he’d been doing so well, that’s why this was happening! So their answers were more baseless accusations than answers.

In real life, I’ve spoken to people who believe very strongly in the law of reaping and sowing and “karma”… but there’s heaps of bad things happening to those who don’t deserve it, and there’s heaps of good happening to bad people. That’s tough to digest aye. And so we wonder… what the heck is God up to? Eliphaz put forth his wisdom which seemed alright at face value… but then Job thinks about the Sabeans who stole his cattle are fine and thriving and going about their usual activity getting by, he sees all the injustices and inequalities and imbalances of life around him… and Job comes to the conclusion that what Eliphaz is saying is really rubbish!But Job himself still doesn’t have an answer… Job knows God is so great and sovereign and perfect… but then all this goes on unchecked… so what kind of a God is God? Maybe you don’t know God as well as you convince yourself that you do.

Today we are talking about a good reason to complain. Do you have good reason to complain to God about the hand you’ve been dealt? Boy some people get dealt really rough hands right… didn’t Joseph in the Bible? Didn’t Daniel? It doesn’t take much to dredge out our complaints. All our issues with God and others come flooding out. We have at least a complaint about every person we know. We have to watch we aren’t just complainers… often our complaints are so stupid. Job was handling something he felt he didn’t deserve, and we can often cop the rough end of the stick too in life. One of the things with walking by faith is we don’t see the whole picture, and so in looking at something with our finite view and understanding, we can come to some very wrong conclusions. Job had done right… and now this. That’s life… you do right, and bam, bad happens to you… while the bad get away with anything. That’s worth complaining to God about right? How often all our prayer to God is about me, me, me. Prayer time is really just a list of grievances and demands. God do this for me, God do that for me. We are such selfish creatures. I’ve got good reason to complain, well that’s our first problem… the me, myself and I part. We can live with such tunnel vision of advancing myself and my cause. What really matters, WHO really matters… is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Job’s saying … I’ve got good reason to complain. This ain’t fair. I’m not saying anything that isn’t true. Life was absolutely rotten for Job, he couldn’t see a way out of it, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. If he felt he deserved it he would’ve kept his mouth shut, but he didn’t… so he didn’t. He felt justified in complaining, Eliphaz sure hadn’t solved the situation. Vain is the help of man, we always should turn to God and his word for the answers. Job called on two examples in nature. Animals don’t tend to complain when they’re fed. We’ve got animals at our place, and they aren’t happy when they’re hungry, but when you feed them… they’re in a good place. They’re satisfied, they shut up. Job’s saying that’s him, he’s complaining, he’s mooing, he’s baaing… because he isn’t getting a good deal here. There are many people going through life that would feel they have real reason to complain and blame God. People love their complaints so much, they wouldn’t want them to go away. That’d mean their excuse that they use to justify their live would be gone. Job was in an even worse spot, he’d done right and look where it got him! Talk about a trial of Job’s faith going on here, talk about a trying of his intentions and motives and heart… he still served the God who has completely obliterated him… though he slay me, yet will I trust him.

Job was just like any of us. And he was complaining… he said he would pour out his complaint and be justified in doing so. He wanted God to hear his complaint, he wanted a conversation with God. But you know what our complaint really is? We think we know better than God. We find fault in God. That’s this world. Dissatisfied with God just like Cain was. Nup, I want to do it my way, my way’s better, my way is more right. This world is dissatisfied with Jesus Christ. Job wanted satisfaction, he wanted answers. He didn’t find it in Eliphaz’s speech. After Eliphaz had responded to Job’s bemoaning of life, Job is like, I wish there was someone who could really understand and judge what is going on. Why do we ever look for the answers is man? Why do we ever point each other to man? How unsatisfactory is the judgement of man! We like to justify ourselves, and be justified by other men… but there is only one who is Just… the Just One that Stephen spoke of in Acts 7. When we complain, it is because we aren’t satisfied, we are unhappy. That’s not a good state to be in. Are you like this towards God? You’ve got a complaint? And Job wallowed in this state for a while, but while he was there, there was no rest. He found out he didn’t know God like he thought he did. How often we think we’ve got God pegged, but we have no real idea who he truly is. He’s not the God you’ve made up in your mind conformable to you. People all round the world think they know God, but you may find out in the Bible that he’s not who you think he is.

Look, in these blogs it could seem like I’m being tough on Job. But I’m not, he really was in a tough spot in his life, asking questions that we ourselves would ask. He felt he had good reason to complain. And Eliphaz’s answer caused him to say so… if Eliphaz had had a bit more wisdom, Job would’ve been able to accept faithful words. And Job was suffering for doing right… not wrong… and that’s tough. There are many people in the Bible who suffered, Jesus the ultimate example, for doing right. What was his crime… always telling the truth and loving the world and coming to save sinners?The Bible says when we have a complaint like Job had to consider someone… guess who… Hebrews 12:3 – For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. You know, we all have complaints, but before being mired in complaints, consider Jesus Christ. He took our sin for us. He was unjustly accused, tried and crucified… when he had done no wrong. He came to his own, people who professed to love him… and they rejected him. You know, our complaints start to fade away when we get our perspective, our focus right. It’s not to downplay the pains and travails of life, they are with us until we leave this world… but for our complaints, this is what we need, this is who we need. Hebrews 12:2 – Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let’s relate this to our lives today. In your life situation… is there a really good reason for your complaint? Do you have a problem with who God is, with what God requires of you. Be careful what you pin on God… the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom for a reason… you’re dealing with God, who is the Almighty. Are you more right than him? Do you have good reason to complain? If you are blessed with health, with the Bible, with light, with freedom, with a roof over your head, with food on your table… do you really have good reason to complain? In addition, we can attribute many things to God which aren’t his fault… but ours. We live in a sin cursed world of man’s making. We all complain so much, remember how they always complained to Moses. If a farmyard animal bellows to be fed… well has God not fed us what we need? He’s given us his word… that’s our food. Yet you still bellow? He’s given you the opportunity to be forgiven, to be right with him, to have an eternal hope and future. Is that not enough? Still got complaints? Hey, Job went through unimaginable times, but by the time he was done, he shut up and repented when he saw God. He wasn’t complaining at the end. Look at your life today. God holds out the gift of salvation through believing in his Son, Jesus Christ… and you reject it? Will you be able to complain in hell? God’s given you what you need to get saved. Life can be tough, and life can be rough, but God does want what’s best for you, even while you don’t know what’s best for you. You know what Jesus said? He said he is the bread of heaven… he’s the food we need, he’s the food that will end our complaints.

Blog Bible Christian Faith God Heaven Holy Spirit Jesus Religion Saved Truth