Job 17:7-9

7 Mine eye [`ayin] also is dim [kahah] by reason of sorrow [ka`ac], and all my members [yatsur] are as a shadow [tsel].

8 Upright [yashar] men shall be astonied [shamem] at this, and the innocent [naqiy] shall stir up [`uwr] himself against the hypocrite [chaneph].

9 The righteous [tsaddiyq] also shall hold ['achaz] on his way [derek], and he that hath clean [tahowr] hands [yad] shall be [yacaph] stronger and stronger ['omets]. KJV-Interlinear

7 'My eye has also grown dim because of grief, And all my members are as a shadow. 8 'The upright shall be appalled at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. 9 'Nevertheless the righteous shall hold to his way, And he who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger. NASB

Job is a type, by which we are able to see a picture of Christ as He hung on the Cross.

Beat down, depleted, to the lowest point of human existence, Job was ravaged by disease and should have been the recipient of empathy and care, but instead became the target of derision, gossip, hate, and sarcasm.

By grief and sorrow, Job did not feel sorry for himself, but felt dismayed that such good friends, or from those who should have been good friends, he received nothing in the form of friendship, but instead received betrayal of friendship.

Job was accused of things of which he was not guilty. He was accused of being a hypocrite. He was accused of being an enemy of truth and of God.

And in fact it was his accusers who were the hypocrites laying charge after charge with no basis if fact, with no evidence to support their accusations, with only their feelings, and logic, and subjective conclusions.

They sought to elevate themselves in their own eyes, and seized upon the opportunity of Jobs misery to promote themselves.

In our studies of Christ we saw similar attitudes displayed by the masses. In the face of the most wonderful miracles, where disease, and injury, and handicaps of all sorts were cured, healed, and functions restored, Christ received not worship and adoration, but suspicion and jealousy, and hate.

All could have come to Christ to receive everything good, but so many chose to spit, and ridicule in participation with the torments He was subjected to by the spiritually negative mob of His day. He is still rejected even in or current generation and has been in all generations of human history.

Christs' grief and sorrow comes in the form of disappointment that so many, in view of so much good, still reject good and choose evil.

The upright refers to anyone who is positive toward Bible doctrine and who are advancing in their spiritual lives.

Through doctrine comes truth, and through truth comes discernment and understanding of just how stupid and foolish all negative people really are. The realities of this world give rise to astonishment as to just how dumb humanity really is. It makes one wonder just how humanity has been able to survive all of these centuries.

And there are plenty of examples of cultures, of pioneers, of groups who have set off into the new world, or into some undiscovered frontier, and have failed because they were not sufficiently supplied.

And yet Adam and Eve survived, and Noah and his three sons along with their respective wives, all survived and they had no home world, no home country, no economies to look to for support or retreat.

The grace provision of God alone, has kept humanity on the face of this earth. The grace provision of God alone is what keeps you here too.

No person has the talent, the ability, the innovation, the insight, or the wherewithal to sustain himself for even one moment, without some outside and superior help.

Those who come to the recognition and understanding of just how reality works, stir themselves up to keep in the Word so that they do not lose track of God, of life, and of their real purpose.

Regardless of how difficult life becomes for the righteous (the positive believer), he understands that it is God who controls his life, not circumstances. They realize that it is Gods purpose, for whatever reason, that permits hardships to befall them. They realize that their life will be far better in the long term, than those lives of all who are negative.

The burdens of truth are infinitely superior to all of the combined benefits of evil.

Satan is the author of evil. And even though none of us will ever see Satan during our lifetime, we will certainly encounter the pattern of his purpose from the many evils and difficulties that occur in this world.

The sorrows of the spiritual life reap confidence and blessings beyond imagination. The blessings of evil, reap failure, and loss, and a separation from everything good.

Now is the time to post a prayer.