Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Job 17-20
Job 17:9
The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.
Throughout the Bible there are many promises to righteous individuals who will not be moved. Job was in that place wherein many fall. But He didn’t. The insults, mocking, and provoking were so frequent and difficult to hear that Job asked his friends, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words. (19:2) Our hero stood strong though.
In today’s verse he may have been speaking about himself. He was righteous, he had clean hands and perhaps he was growing stronger and stronger in spite of his affliction. In some ways Job’s story reminds of another one that preachers have used throughout the years to encourage those who could not understand all that they were going through.
There was once a man who lived in a remote cabin far from civilization. Few visited this man; one reason was the hardship of getting to his cabin. For, in the pathway there was a huge boulder blocking the route to his door. It was difficult to go around the boulder because of various obstacles and hindrances. It couldn’t be walked over for it was a round boulder. One day, the Lord spoke to the man and told him to remove that huge stone deterrent. Upon which the man began in earnest. For years he tried to move it, he tried pushing, pulling, tried to use a fulcrum to budge it, tried to roll it, over and over again he tried. Every day for hours a day this man would work. He’d pray, think, study, and try new methods. Each time he would fail. After years of work the man became increasingly more disturbed, disappointed, and discouraged.
Finally, he spoke to God, relating the fact that he’d been a failure. He could not accomplish the task the Lord gave him, he even said that he had wasted his life trying. The Lord spoke to him a second time saying, “Do you see how strong your arms are? Have you noticed how strong your legs are, your core strength is as strong as any. You have creatively come up with new ways to try to accomplish an impossible task. You have been faithful even in the face of no fruit. Now, you are ready physically, intellectually, and spiritually for the true task I planned for your life.” From there the Lord told him of that difficult task of which the man was tremendously successful for many years.
You see, the righteous will hold to their way, they will not be moved. The one with clean hands will grow stronger and stronger for the task they will face. It reminds one of the words of King David when he proclaimed in Psalm 21:7, For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. A fact which Peter testified of in Acts 2:25.
Righteousness lends itself to being unmovable, always walking on that narrow way, and maintaining one’s life on the sure foundation of which Jesus spoke. Clean hands lead to more and more strength. Strength of character, motive, emotion, and even physical ability to withstand the insults, harsh words, false accusations and hardships that seem to always result from a clean life. Job was right. He was right then, and his words are right today.
Dr. William T. Howe
Commentaires