Job 19:28-29

28 But ye should say ['amar], Why persecute [radaph] we him, seeing the root [sheresh] of the matter [dabar] is found [matsa'] in me?

29 Be ye afraid [guwr] of the sword [chereb]: for wrath [chemah] bringeth the punishments [`avon] of [paniym] the sword [chereb], that ye may know [yada`] there is a judgment [diyn] [diyn]. KJV-Interlinear

28 'If you say, 'How shall we persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find?' 29 'Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.' NASB

Job yearns for the next life. And, even though he has had great prosperity in his current life, and even though he is currently under great suffering, he does not see God at fault.

Nor does he see his former prosperity as something better than the next life, nor does he consider his current suffering as a reason to become bitter.

Job now warns his friends, and you and me, of the great potential for error in our lives, if we disregard Gods Word in our life, and pursue our own agenda.

There is more to life than what meets our five senses, our intellect, and even our logic. The spiritual side of life is beyond our capability, and the only way we have access to it, is through our consistent fellowship status, through our daily study, and through our application of what we learn to our daily life.

Your current physical or temporal life will last you only a few decades at best. Your spiritual side of life will go on forever. Obviously, your spiritual side of life is the greater of the two. Those who pursue their temporal life to the exclusion of their spiritual side, are fools.

So, when you do anything in life, consider your reasons for doing whatever it is that you do. There are repercussions for everything you do in life.

Jobs warning here is with regard to the sword of God, the judgment of God. His warning here is to us all, but specifically to his three friends, and to whomever else might be present during this conversation between the four men.

Here the sword means the glow of the sword. The sword is for judgment, but it is also the repercussion for sin in any form. One does not have to be a criminal in order to risk Gods judgment, nor even an unbeliever.

The glow is a reference to all sins - sins of thought or mental sins, sins of the tongue such as gossip and maligning, or overt sins such as theft, murder, and so forth. All categories of failure in truth are included, whether little white lies or genocidal atrocities.

So, the question we should all ask ourselves when we do anything is, 'Why are we doing this? The failure, our failure, is within ourselves, not elsewhere.'

And yet too often we disregard God in our life. Celebrities want fame, politicians want power. People are driven by their ego, and we the masses become the peasant slaves to their whims, while at the same time everyone becomes a slave to their indifference toward truth.

We become trapped by our limited view of life, our five senses, logic, or intellect, and that is our greatest threat and danger from life.

There is a judgment, but we forget or disregard that truth. Studying the Bible just seems like a waste of time.

And yet we see new life being born and old life dying, all around, and we still don't take life seriously. We just cruise along in our little bubble of opinions and beliefs, setting our own goals, or comfortable in our own lifestyle, and pretending that, that, what we see and hear and think around us, is all there is to life. After all, whoever read the Bible and then received a paycheck from heaven in the mail the next day (instant reward)?

If Jobs words could be written down, carved in stone for all time, so that everyone would have the opportunity to read them, and learn their wisdom, then perhaps others would be able to avoid the trials which Job had to endure.

As for unbelievers, there is one who endured great suffering so that everyone who believes in Him, in Jesus Christ, would not face eternal horror. As for believers, for those who have believed in Jesus Christ, there is one who has endured great suffering such that we can all learn from his life, and avoid bitterness, and preserve hope in a life which is infinitely greater than this one, regardless of our circumstances.

There is a judgment at the end of human history.

For unbelievers it will be eternal pain and suffering beyond anything one can imagine.

For believers there will be an evaluation, an evaluation of your spiritual life, or lack of it. And what is at stake are your eternal blessings, blessings which are far more valuable than all of the accumulated wealth in all of human history, just for you. And each person has that potential in blessings waiting for them in heaven.

But, is this real in our minds? Is this something we take seriously? Are we listening? Are we learning? Do we review our spiritual checklist (which we put together a long time ago) and comply with every item on the list?

Or do we read the words, just filling time, politely agree or disagree, and then promptly forget them until tomorrow night, or until the next holiday? What is it that we ask ourselves regarding our spiritual life, or do we ask anything? Do we care? Is our belief and commitment to our attitudes, greater than any of these Bible words?

Are we so stubborn that humility and submitting ourselves to Gods principles are beneath our dignity?

Now is the time to post a prayer.