October 19
Lesson 7
I WILL CALL ON GOD
DEVOTIONAL READING: Jeremiah 14:14–22
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Job 5, 24; Psalm 55:12–23
JOB 24:1, 9–12, 19–25
1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow
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22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
KEY VERSE
As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
—Psalm 55:16
SUSTAINING HOPE
Unit 2: Dark Nights of the Soul
LESSONS 5–8
LESSON AIMS
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Summarize Job’s view of reality regarding the existence of evil.
2. Compare and contrast the evils Job observed in his day with the evils of today.
3. Prepare an answer to the common question, “If God exists and is good, then why is there so much evil in the world?”
LESSON OUTLINE
Introduction
A. The Problem of Evil
B. Lesson Background
I. Injustice Thrives (JOB 24:1, 9–12)
A. Job’s Question (v. 1)
B. Wicked Oppression (vv. 9–12)
Helpless Observers
II. Justice Prevails (JOB 24:19–25)
A. Destiny of the Wicked (vv. 19, 20)
Getting Away with Murder?
B. Intervention of God (vv. 21–24)
C. Challenge to Friends (v. 25)
Conclusion
A. Untamed God
B. Prayer
C. Thought to Remember
HOW TO SAY IT
Bildad
Bill-dad.
Demjanjuk
Dem-yan-yuk.
Eliphaz
El-ih-faz.
theodicy
the-ah-duh-see (the as in thief ).
Zophar
Zo-far
Introduction
A. The Problem of Evil
Theodicy is a technical term that means “defense of God’s goodness and power in view of the existence of evil.” For some, this definition brings up a logical dilemma that keeps them from placing faith in the God of Scripture. According to this dilemma, skeptics say that there are three statements that cannot all be true at the same time:
- God is good,
- God is all-powerful, and evil exists.
- Skeptics say that it’s a case of “you can pick any two to be true, but not all three.”
This line of thought allows the skeptic to propose that (1) if evil exists and God is good, then God is not powerful enough to do anything about the evil or else He would; or (2) if God is all-powerful and evil prevails, then it means that God must not be good, or else He would use His power to end evil; or (3) if God is both good and all-powerful, then evil must not really exist—it’s an illusion.
Let’s take for granted that evil does indeed exist; it is not a figment of our imagination. Must we then choose between Proposal 1 and Proposal 2? It seems as though something has to give.
Christian thinkers have long wrestled with questions of theodicy and have suggested various answers. The book of Job is a valuable resource in this regard. In last week’s lesson, we saw Job wrestling with the issue of the suffering of innocent people. This week he ponders the issue of the prosperity of the wicked.
B. Lesson Background
The background of this week’s lesson is the same as last week’s, so that information need not be repeated here. We can add that in the interim between Job 19 (last week) and Job 24 (this week), Job has undergone two more rounds of counseling—one by Zophar (chap. 20) and one by Eliphaz (chap. 22).
The friends’ counsel did not comfort Job. They said he was guilty of wrongdoing that deserved to be punished. They accused him of pride in being unwilling to confess his guilt. They called him to heed time-tested wisdom, to repent of evil, and get right with God so that God could prosper him again.
Zophar seems to have taken the response in Job 19:28, 29 as a personal insult (20:3). In turn, Job viewed Zophar’s rejoinder as mockery (21:3) and falsehood (21:34). When it was Eliphaz’s turn, he accused Job of great wickedness (22:5–9), the cure being repentance (22:21–30).
In reaction, Job expressed his wish to gain access to God’s presence so he (Job) could plead his case and be acquitted (Job 23:3–7). Job then confessed that it was impossible to do so (23:8, 9) and that he was powerless to do anything about God’s plans for him (23:13, 14). Today’s text offers us another part of Job’s reaction.
Nugent, John et al. “I Will Call on God.” The KJV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2014–2015. Ed. Ronald L. Nickelson & Jonathan Underwood. Vol. 62. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2014. 58–59. Print.
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