Tuesday, July 22, 2014

"The Foreshadowing - Job Part 2


    Before we begin to address the particulars of Job's vivid foreshadowing of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, allow me to set the stage with an anecdote from the past.  I once shared the theme of this series of message with a challenged young man who seemed to agree with my thesis.  "Ok, I see your point," he responded.  "But what about us?  What about me?  Isn't the book of Job really about the difficulties we face and how to deal with them?  What does it say to me about what I'm going through?"

    In his honest inquiry, the young man actually revealed the heart of his difficulty in dealing with the troubles he faced.  Indeed, we all want answers from God that pointedly address our personal issues.  He provides those, of course, but the truth of the matter is that God's help begins with directing our attention away from ourselves and unto the Lord Jesus.  "They looked unto Him, and were lightened" (Psalm 34:5).  Trouble always tempts us to follow the devilish and fleshly path of gazing upon and into ourselves rather than the outward, upward, and away gaze that provides God's deliverance (whether from or in our trial).  Discovering the Lord Jesus in Job illuminates our hearts with the Light that shines in darkness, encouraging us to access the power and enabling that always ensues when we "consider Him, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:3).  Certainly the young man I reference would find Scriptural truth regarding the particulars of his challenge and experience thereof.  However, only as He determined to see such light in context of the person and work of Christ would such illumination prove truly beneficial.  "I will look unto the Lord" (Micah 7:7).

    Whatever the nature or degree of our challenges, a fresh gaze upon our Savior provides the heart of encouragement, rest, and strength that enables us to endure, and to more than endure - "We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37).  The Lord Jesus is our Father's help and hope.  He serves as the supply to all need, the comfort in sorrow, the strength in weakness, the Dayspring in our darkness, and the Life of our life.  Having Him, we have all God has to give, and seeing Him, the Light shines upon paths we find our feet enabled to walk.  Long ago, a man named Job typified such Truth in order to direct our attention away from ourselves and unto our Hope…

"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
(Hebrews 12:2)

Weekly Memory Verse
   But this man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
(Hebrews 7:24-25)

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