S) "2 What a help you are to the weak!
How you have saved the arm without strength!
3 What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!
4 To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?"
Job 26:2-4 (NASB)
O) The Bible has no sarcasm font, but there are some spots where God's people got a little chippy, and this was one of them. Job, thoroughly offended by the presumptions of his friends, started with a sarcastic prose, making the point that his friends (specifically Bildad, here) were doing more harm than good.
A) The most compelling point Job makes in this chapter, I think, is the very last line above. Job's words remind me, that my words should help the weak, saving those who have lost strength, giving counsel to the unwise, and that my insights should actually help! But, the most important test, is for me to consider: whose spirit was expressed through me? Are my words, especially when I counsel (my wife, children, or anyone else), are my words directed by God's Spirit? Am I giving way to my own flesh? Am I being a mouthpiece, giving opportunity to the enemy, even? There is a heavy responsibility when counseling others. So, it is especially important that the counsel I give is biblically based, so that I am expressing the Spirit of God.
P) Father, You are the One who gives strength. You are the One who saves. You are the One who holds and gives wisdom. You are the insightful Provider! My strength or wisdom, whatever I could give to another person, is worthless. The counsel and help of man, and I am that man, is worthless. I don't want the responsibility of giving my own counsel to others, and I also don't want that for other people, because I know that it would be flawed at best, and damaging at worst. I only want to facilitate Your will. I want to be a conduit for Your Spirit, for Your counsel, and for Your will. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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