"Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or by speeches with which he can do no good?" (Job 15:3)
Eliphaz should have taken his own, ...."talk-speeches," advice. My question today of the Job Discourse is: What good did 36 and one half chapters of, "talk-speeches," do any of them?
"Talk-speeches." Sundays for many is a, "talk-speeches," day. Even the humanists increase talk traffic on television and radio on Sundays. As Followers of Jesus Christ, we talk our faith; we talk encouragement, we talk teaching, as indeed we should. Bible faith, however, is not primarily a talk faith; it is a do faith. If our talk is, "speech[] with which he can do no good", it is just, "noisy gong or a clanging symbol."
Hebrews 11:1, in the Interlinear Greek says, "Now faith is...the proof." Notice that, "Proof," is not faith. "Faith is...the proof." Thomas said, "Unless I see..." But Biblical Faith is not found in a test tube. It is acceptance. One of the dictionary's definitions of "accept" is, "To endure without protest or reaction." This is what is referred to in the Bible as, "the Faith of Jesus." Perhaps the greatest "proof" of Job's faith is found in Job 2 after his wife said that he should just give up, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks."
You may be surrounded today with such people at work, school, even family. Just remember; when they rail on you, as Jobs accusers railed on him, they are speaking only as, "one of the foolish...."
Father, in Jesus' Name, may my talk be only that which produces doing. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
