The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-07-04

GCLDEN 1EAl-lQ all lilIS JOD SilIlGu
not, nor charged God foolishly.-Job 1:22.
Poetry has in all ages been the
language of the soul. Feelings be-
You'd the reach of the choicest prose
seem to pour forth unhindered
through the poetic channel That is
one reason why Christian people find
such a response in their own souls
as they read the magnificent poetry
of the Bible. For the next three
months we are to be privileged to
carry on a study of the poets of the
Bible. None of us should miss
single lesson.
The book of Job deals with and
solves the fundamental problem,
what is the meaning of the suffer-
ing of the righteous?" Our first les
son presents Satan as the great adj
versary and accuser of man, and
reveals that man may successfully
resist him by faith in God.
/. Satanic Accusation wv. 1-5).
The lesson opens with a scene in
heaven, where the angelic beings
present themselves to give an &C
count of their activities. Satan, too,
is there as the adversary and accus-
err of mems souls. He had already,
by Gods permission and as a test
of Jobs faith, destroyed all of Jobs
property and taken from him his
family (see Job 1:14-19), but he had
not destroyed Jobs trust in God
Q:2D.
Now Satan had a new charge;
namely, that Job could bear the loss
Of his children and his riches, but if
God would permit his own body to
be afflicted, he would deny God. 1t
is the familiar refuge of those who
would lie about the servants of God
to say, "He is in it for what he gets
out of it." Those who use that lie
do we'll to recognize the originator
of their calumny; they are working
with Satan when they thus hinder
the Lords work.
II. Spiritual Integrity wv. 6-1O).
The trial of Job was most severe,
for only his life was spared. His
affliction was evidently not only that
Of boils on his skin (Which would
have been bad eEough), but a sys-
temic condition which made his
whole body sick and made him so
repulsive as to be unfit to live with
other people (see Job 7:1-5, IA, Is;
1853; 19:17-20).
Not only did he suffer physically
within an inch of his life, but he was
subjected to the mental and spiritual
torture of having the one who should
have stood by him-his wife-urge
him to renounce his faith in God and
die. Many who have borne excru-
ciating physical pain have broken
down under spiritual cruelty, but
Job still maintained his integrity.
Why God permitted him to suffer
he did not yet understand, but he
knew God and he was willing to take
from His hand evil as well as good
". 10) as long as His heavenly
Father was in control. What a tes-
timony
III. Sympathetic Friendship wv.
lib.
His wife and neighbors had aban-
doned Job, and even the children of
the street despised him (19:18), but
he did have three friends. Thank
God for friendship-not the fair
weather kind, but the type that
stands by in the hour of trouble.
These friends apparently came from
"a distance wv. II, 12) and at some
'~ss Sacrifice of time, effort and money.
w. Friendship that doesn't cost any
e-thing usually doesn't amount to
! anything.
Note the intelligent and sympa-
thetic manner in which they shared
his sorrow. They were themselves
sorrowful w. 12) and they sat with
him, not saying a word. In the hour
of deepest need words are futile
and often only add to the sorrow,
but how much it means in such an
hour to have someone who will ST.
lently, and yet sympathetically,
stand by. One could wish that his
friends had continued as they began
and not later have spoiled their
comfort by many important sound
ing but foolish words which the Lord
had to condemn in the serious words
found in Job 42:7, 8.
We shall see the answer to the
question regarding suffering in our
lesson for July 81 as being that man
might be brought to really know God
and to see himself in the light of
Gods holiness. Thus, by victory
through testing, man proves to him
self and to his fellow men that God
is worthy of our fullest confidence,
that faith in Him will bring us
through the deepest darkness and
the seVereSt trial.
Roots of Evil
To abolish evil its roots must be
dug I'D and expoSed in the SUNLIGHT