Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
2  He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3  And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?
4  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5  Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6  Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.

There is so much in the book of Job that refutes the lies of the Charismatic movement. Job was a faithful man of God. Job was facing some real challenges in life. He problems were not due to a lack of faith. He was a true man of God, walking in the fear of the Lord. The Charismatics do not live in the fear of the Lord. I would rather live in the fear of the Lord than in the lies of the Charismatics.
In chapter 14 Job reminds us that our life on earth is short. Our life on this earth is not guaranteed to be physically pleasant. There are many troubles that we can face. It has nothing to do with a lack of faith. There are many examples in the Bible of God-fearing people who have suffered greatly at the hands of wicked people. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. He was a faithful servant of God and he suffered greatly at the hands of wicked fellow Jews. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, suffered greatly at the hands of wicked fellow Jews. The apostle Paul and other apostles also suffered at the hands of wicked religious people.
The book of Job shows us that the enemy of our souls is the devil. He works in the hearts of lost people to attack those who dare to obey God and get saved and then testify of His grace and goodness. It is not logical to fight against that which is the greatest blessing a person could ever know, and yet that is the reality. Most people fight against the truth and choose to follow a lie instead. They do not care that they will spend eternity in hell. Some will mock at that and make fun of those who would warn them of this truth. Many lost people have convinced themselves that they can make up their own way to heaven and it will work.
During the past three years we have witnessed great oppression in Canada and across the world. The governments mandated the poison shots and then demanded a special passport that would prove you had the shots. If you did not show your passport you could lose your job or you would be denied entry into certain places. Some people replicated those passports and some were caught and they were in big trouble as a result of that.
It is interesting that strict rules needed to be followed for this hoax, but yet entry into heaven is left to the whims and wishes of the individual. Of course those who are saved know this will not work. Heaven is God’s dwelling place. He dictates who enters and who does not. No thief or robber will enter that place. The earth is the Lord’s as well, but He has given man permission to abuse it for a time if he so chooses. He holds man accountable, but He allows man to be greedy and selfish for the short time he lives here. However, heaven is only for those who are born again according to God’s well-defined way.
Job described man’s coming into this earth as a flower. It is a shame that so many adults see children as an unnecessary burden. Many will go and have their child murdered rather than learn to love them as God intended.
Job knew that man is soon cut down. We often hear of a certain person who dies too soon. My wife and I just celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. Those 49 years have gone by quickly. We do not know how many more years we will have, but they have been a blessing. During that time God gave us three children. Based on the years we have been married, our children are all in their 40’s. That time has gone by quickly as well. Much has happened in those few short years. We have been given much opportunity to learn to know the true God and serve Him. He is faithful all the time. We are not always faithful to Him.
Job noted that this life is like a shadow. A shadow only lasts for a certain time. If it turns cloudy the shadow is gone. When darkness comes the shadow is gone. Children many times are amazed by their shadow. They try to catch it or jump on it. They learn over time how the shadow is formed, etc. The shadow is a picture of the brevity of our lives.
In verse 3 Job wondered why God would judge him when his life was so fragile anyway. Job’s life was so short. He could not understand why God would not just let him live out his days in peace. Job again showed that he assumed that God was causing his trouble. He would soon find out differently. In the meantime, he was making life much more difficult for himself by taking a wrong approach to the God whom he feared.
In verse 4 Job understood that he was born a sinful creature. He understood that his parents were also sinners. How could he possibly be born holy under such circumstances. He seemed to assume that God expected sinless perfection from him even though he was born a sinner. He had allowed his mind to develop some bad theology due to his circumstances.
It is important for us to understand that we do not develop theology on our circumstances. God’s Word is truth. We take God’s Word and we let His Word show us what is going on at any particular moment in time. His Word reveals we are born as lost sinners. His Word reveals the only way a person can be saved and justified before God. His Word reveals how we must live if we are a true child of God. His mercy and grace are always there to bless and direct His child. He is not a mean and ruthless God. Job did not have any good friends to help him evaluate what was happening in his life properly. The three men who came to “help” him were a burden, not a help. In Job’s desire to defend himself before them, he was drawing some wrong conclusions.
Job was asking God to leave him alone for the few short years that he had. He just wanted to finish out his days like a hireling and then die. Job actually knew better than to ask for that, but he was frustrated with his lot in life. He needed God to guide and comfort him. He could have used some good friends to counsel him in the right way. We can learn, that if we are saved, God is always with us. We may not always have a good Christian friend at hand. We always have God at hand. His child is always in His hand. We can pray to Him and we can trust in His Word. Even when the way seems cloudy, we know that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. He will always lead us the right way. It is so very important to be grounded in the Word of God. We are living in a time where the local church is being abandoned by too many professing Christians. Isolation is the ground for bad theology. Biblical separation is important and necessary. However, when we separate ourselves from a true local church, we are looking for trouble, and we will find it as well.
As we continue this study, we can learn that if we are saved, we have a loving and righteous heavenly Father. We do not ever want to be out of His hand. We want His blessings. We need to allow Him to define those blessings for us. The difficulties we face are there to sharpen us. They are there to make us better followers of His. We learn that as we study the Bible. If we neglect that study, we too will develop distorted ideas about God and we too will make life much more difficult for ourselves than need be.

Psalm 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Pastor Bartel