Poetry – Job 41-42

We finally come to the end of the book of Job.  While it has been challenge to read and write about it, I am sure that you, like me, have gained a deeper understanding of the trials of Job and what it means for us today.  Take a moment to think about what you have learned from Job in the past few months before reading today’s passage.

Bible Passage:  Job 41-42

Reading Chapter 41 is like reading the previous few chapters.  We just have no answer to God’s barrage of questions.  And indeed, when faced with all these unanswerable questions, Job in Chapter 42 realised his ignorance and repented in ‘dust and ashes’ (Job 42:6).

And we read the oft quoted response of Job that….

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.

Job 42:5

How about you?  Have you ever been puzzled over something difficult for a long time and suddenly, you have an ‘AHA!’ moment when you have a flash of insight.  You finally have closure over a problem and with it comes a sense of satisfaction.

Job’s moment of insight came after God’s relentless questions (from Job 38-41) of which he had no answer.  I do not think God purposely did that to humiliate Job but to reveal to him that in His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, God is ways are always the right ways … even if man does not understand.

It was when Job finally “saw” God that all things starts to make sense to him.  And he responded with absolute humility (Job 42:5-6) and sought God’s forgiveness.

Do We Really See God?

God is really amazing.

I am away in Hong Kong now as I am typing this.  And since this is the first time I have to spend a weekend over in Hong Kong, I have the opportunity to attend service at the Hong Kong Church at Fortress Hill.

I went there for Friday evening Sabbath service and my first surprise was to seeing Preacher Lin Shen Ming (who was in Singapore last year teaching Kong and Bi Wei).  Then as we were a few minutes into the service, I noticed a familiar figure walking quickly in.  Then another one… then another one.  They were are our 3 preachers to be who had just flown in from Taiwan!

They did not know I will be there.  Neither did I know they will be there even though I had just communicated with Bi Wei the day before I left for Hong Kong.  And actually, their original plan did not involve staying the weekend in Hong Kong but there they were.  It was as if God had specially arranged for them to meet me there and spend the Sabbath together.  And of course, the Hong Kong brethren took very good care of all of us (our expanding waistlines [except perhaps Kong’s because whatever he eats, he just does not seem to get fat] tells the story of their love).

And through the services we attended (even one funeral service!), the sharing sessions with the youths, the talks with members, and the time I had alone with our trainee preaches, I was truly edified and encouraged.

I seem to be digressing a bit but there is a point to this whole story… I promise you 🙂

Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets

Preacher Lin spoke on Friday evening a sermon about Jesus fulfilling the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17).  And he spoke about the great need for members to take an active interest in reading the Bible and praying in the Holy Spirit so that we can understand God’s will and His words.

• How can we see God if we do not read the Bible and know about Him?
• How can we know God if we just concentrate on reading the New Testament and not the Old?
• How can we know God if we do not pray in the Spirit and allow His Spirit to guide us?

We have heard that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets.  But do we really know why?  Do we really see Him in the Law and Prophets?  It begins by reading the Bible and praying diligently in the Spirit.

Encouraging in Truth

All the trainee preachers were arranged to speak on Saturday.  I missed Kong’s one as he spoke in another Church in Hong Kong for a Sabbath morning service that started at 9.00 am! (So none of us have an excuse for not turning up at 11 am for Sabbath morning service by saying it is too early.  And the amazing thing is that most of those members who attended the 9 am service also came for the Sabbath afternoon service).

But Bi Wei spoke on Sabbath morning about ‘Barnabas – The Son of Encouragement’.  And one of the key takeaways I had for that was in encouragement, we should always do it in the Truth.  He gave an example of a wife who spent hours slaving over kitchen to cook a meal for the husband.  But despite her best efforts, the meal still tasted awful.

The husband can respond by saying that it was the worst meal he ever tasted.

Of he could respond by saying that it was a great meal even though he does not enjoy it.  That would clearly be our response too isn’t it?

But he suggested the 3rd response which is – “The meal is not tasty… but I like it”.  And this is an encouragement with the truth in it.

When we give encouragement to others, do we see God in our answers?  Or do we speak according to our own wisdom and might?

Our Life and Sabbath

Tse Loong spoke in the afternoon on the above topic.  And has asked if we come to Church on the Sabbath with a sense of wonder and joy?

He posed 4 Questions about our life and said if we do not know the answers to these questions, then we have not lived a life of value.  And the questions are:

• Who Am I?
• Where Do I Come From?
• What Am I Doing Here?
• Where Will I Go?

Huh?  Pretty obvious questions isn’t it?  Should not these questions be posed to non believers?  Why is Tse Loong posing this for Christians and how does it link to the Sabbath?

I could not stop scribbling down the points as he spoke and it was as if my eyes were opened for the first time and I really saw what was missing in my understanding of Sabbath worship.  And I think I was not the only one because many members after the service also gave thanks to God for the encouragement.

Do we see really God in the Sabbath or are we just attending service because we are told to?

Testimonies

Meeting the Hong Kong members was very encouraging as a number of them was very keen to share testimonies of God’s grace for them.  It makes me wonder why this is so lacking in Singapore where members share freely about God’s grace for them.

There were a couple of sisters who came from Shenzhen.  One of them came to believe when she happened to meet one of our church sisters on one of her trips to Hong Kong.  She got along quite well with the sister and wanted to invite her for a meal.  But our sister told her that she was going to church and declined the invitation.  Instead, she invited her to church and she came.

And just like that… she felt that the teachings were good and she started attending regularly and got baptised.

Now, in her home in Shenzhen, she holds home fellowships and she invites her friends and business associates to attend them frequently.  And God’s grace is evident in that almost everytime there is a home fellowship at her home, someone receives the Holy Spirit!

They really see God because they act on His commission.

And Kong and Tse Loong shared with the Youths about why they came out as preachers.  You may know their testimonies already and I won’t repeat here.  But the key message of encouragement was this…

Sometimes we worry about too many things in considering whether we should do this or that for God.  We imagine that things are impossible and we cannot see how the door of grace will open for us. We want things to be settled in a certain way before we take our next step in serving God.

But the 3 trainee preachers all shared a common experience – when you take the step in faith to work for God, God will open doors in ways you could have never ever imagined.

They saw the grace of God when they decided to take the first step forward.

My AHA Moments…

All the above were my AHA moments.  While not as dramatic as Job’s, I do believe that through God’s great grace and love, He has chosen to teach me these valuable lessons over the weekend far away from home in ways I never could have imagined.

Do we really see God?  Or is our spiritual life just one of hearing only?  I think these are the questions we really have to ask ourselves and determine for ourselves.

Job found the answer through much tribulations.  Let us work together and pray for one another to all really know God.