Job 5:20-22

20 In famine [ra`ab] he shall redeem [padah] thee from death [maveth]: and in war [milchamah] from the power [yad] of the sword [chereb].

21 Thou shalt be hid [chaba'] from the scourge [showt] of the tongue [lashown]: neither shalt thou be afraid [yare'] of destruction [shod] when it cometh [bow'].

22 At destruction [shod] and famine [kaphan] thou shalt laugh [sachaq]: neither shalt thou be afraid [yare'] of the beasts [chay] of the earth ['erets]. KJV-Interlinear

20 'In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword. 21 'You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, Neither will you be afraid of violence when it comes. 22 'You will laugh at violence and famine, Neither will you be afraid of wild beasts. NASB

The prerequisite for receiving security from God, is your having a deep and abiding respect for Him, His Word, and His plan for humanity as well as His plan for your personal life.

If you lack any of these, then by your indifference or defiance against His will, you elect to align yourself with the powers of the world. The jungle in effect. And the laws of the jungle care for no one. Not even you, no matter who you are.

Famine, war, slander, destruction or ruin, and wild beasts or natural disasters, these five things all rank right up there with some of the most, if not the most, severe problems that anyone could have in their life.

When they occur, you generally have no control over them. No control over their origin, nor over their duration.

Famine, either man-made due to war, or politics, or through poor weather, are beyond all of the common mans control.

Some of the worst recorded famines in history, besides those mentioned in the Bible, are the Egyptian famine in 1000 A.D., the famines in India in the eleventh, sixteenth, and nineteenth centuries, the great famine of Europe in the fourteenth century, the Irish Potato famine in the mid 1800's, the Russian famine of Stalin in the early 1930's, the Chinese famine begun by the policies of Mao in the late 1950's and the many famines of Africa due primarily to the political and military unrest there.

In these and probably many more, millions of people died from starvation due to the lack of food because of crop failures year after year. One of the more notable famines in Egypt was that which occurred around 1000 A.D. when years of famine drove people to cannibalism. Death occurred because of starvation, disease and massive violent crime.

The world has an extensive history of wars. In war death is obvious, but perhaps not so obvious are the crimes, which generally accompany war. Crimes such as rape, slavery, torture, mass executions, and so forth.

Eliphaz also mentions slander, and the sins of the tongue are among the seven worst of the sins listed in the Bible. By the tongue, people can destroy ones reputation and with it your life. Whether lies, or truths it doesn't matter. There will always be a listening audience for the latest gossip. And if you live in an area where you can be reasonable well known, then your options for a life, for business, for work of any kind, become extremely limited.

The world is unforgiving when it thinks it has something on you.

Destruction and wild beasts are broader terms, which refer to the ruin or devastation of ones life by means of a variety of events that can occur. Financial ruin can occur when a job is lost, when health diminishes, when an accident occurs, when there is an economic downturn, when storms strike, and so forth.

In all of these broad categories of problems, anyone alive can be a victim. Post world war one saw hyper-inflation in Germany. In the 1930's, we saw a massive depression where twenty-five percent of the work force was unemployed. Just two years ago a massive tsunami in Indonesia took over 200,000 lives.

No one is beyond the reach of economics, of the weather, of any form of natural disaster, or even a common accident. Eliphaz covers all of the possibilities that can bring threats into ones life.

But, he also points out that anyone who turns his life to God, can escape these troubles.

And just what does that mean? Can all of the problems of the world be prevented from striking the positive believer?

No. That is not what Eliphaz is saying.

This is the devils world. Any attack against you, you being a believer in Christ, means that the attacks are against God. You just happen to be in the line of fire.

God will step in and provide you adequate provision such that the sting of those troubles will not harm you. You will know that there will be a deliverance, a solution, a way out of the trouble.

To unbelievers or even to believers who happen to have turned negative toward God, then the jungle has power over them. They have nowhere to turn for help.

In mild troubles we all have mommies, doctors, attorneys, and insurance, families, friends, and such things to turn to, but when the troubles become overwhelming, then there is no one to turn to, and that is where the differences begin between those who lack God in their lives, and those who are pursuing God and their spiritual lives.

In your spiritual life, be disinterested, indifferent, apathetic, don't believe any of this Bible stuff, and you will find out the hard way, just what kind of a fool you really are.

In your spiritual life, pursue God, and Christ, and doctrine, with a greater passion than you could have for any other thing in life, making your spiritual life your greatest possession, and you will one day look back on your life, and realize the miracles that God works through you many times over throughout your life.

When troubles strike, you will 'smile' at them just as you would smile at a child when he or she comes crying to you with their life shattering bruise on the knee, or when a teenager's life is soooo over with a boyfriend, girlfriend breakup.

As an adult, you have been there and seen it all. The problems of life are no greater than those of a child as far as God is concerned. They are nothing because Jesus Christ controls history, and in Him, your life is totally secure regardless of your situation.

Previous Page

Table of Contents

Donation

Next Page

Now is the time to post a prayer.