Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say. ~Proverbs 24:7
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile. There is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one. Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord? There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. ~Psalm 14:1-6
The time will come when we will all be speechless when the true glory of God is revealed. All our whining on earth about our bad circumstances, all our justifications for our bad behaviors, will stick in our throats when we learn the truth of who we have been dealing with, who created us, how powerful He truly is, and in spite of all that, how much He loves us anyway.
That’s what happened to Job. I suspect that our experience won’t be much different. We all feel sorry for Job. We have great human sympathy and compassion for all he faced in such a short amount of time. We’re right with him as he begs for an advocate before God and endures the false accusations of his supposed friends. We can’t imagine enduring that much suffering. We reason that Job has a right to complain, especially since, by our standards, he was innocent.
He wasn’t being punished for doing something wrong or disobeying God. He was being tortured, basically, because God started bragging about him to satan, of all beings, who was more than eager to take the bait and try to prove God wrong. Worst of all, Job never learned why he was tormented so. He was never congratulated for a job well done.
Yet, when God confronted him with the proof of all His goodness and all His power, and Job faced the truth of who he is and who God is, he simply says: “I am unworthy–how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:4-5) Then, after God continues by plying more questions, to demonstrate that He has designed everything and no one has advised Him, Job replies once more: “I know that you can do all things. No plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, “Who is this that obscures My council without knowledge?” Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, “Listen now, and I will speak, I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 41:1-6)
Job saw himself as a silent fool before His God. I expect that it will be the same with us. “Wisdom is too high for a fool. In the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.” Silence may be the wisest thing that can be done. The gate of the city is where the elders would gather. It is the place where business was conducted.
For example, in the book of Ruth, the business between Boaz and the next of kin, concerning property and who would end up with Ruth, took place in the city gates. There were benches and a type of alcove area for congregating. Job’s whole drama may have taken place in the city gates, which would explain why there were so many bystanders.
So, a fool could easily be present, with his foolish opinions, that only he would consider wise. However, his character would be known by all of the others of the village and what he may have to say wouldn’t be given much weight. Thus, he would be wiser not to speak at all, if he knew that. None of us likes feeling foolish. We like to think that we know something, that we have something to contribute.
The fool says in his heart, “there is no God.” And yet, the time will come, when we are in the gates of heaven, can’t deny God then, and we will understand just how equal we are with one another before a Holy God. We will be surprised by the presence of some, because of our earthly opinions of them in the seen world, and we may miss some that we were sure would be there. We will all be on our knees, however as God begins to ply us with the same questions that He asked Job. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell Me, if you understand?” (Job 38:4)
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12) Now we may seek justification, but then, in His presence, we will seek only to praise our Lord and Savior and trust that He will take care of the rest.
Prayer: Dear Father, I take Job’s advice now and quiet my heart, to be still and know that You are God. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: I Can Only Imagine
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