We have what the ancients desired

Devotional for Saturday, October 23, 2010


Do we realize what we have? No, I mean do we really truly realize what we have? I know the unbeliever has no clue, and so I can’t hold them accountable, but all of us new creatures in Christ…do we not know that we have something so valuable, so special, so beautiful, a precious commodity worth going to the greatest lengths to have?

Yes, of course our salvation which gives us eternal life is the pearl of great price as Jesus mentioned in the parable while referring to the kingdom of heaven. But do we realize how much that salvation truly gave us? It gave us a connection to God. It made it possible to speak personally with Him. Before we were covered by the blood of Christ, there had to be so much work, so much sacrificing and still only the High Priest could get close to Him. But because of Jesus, we not only can draw close to Him, and speak personally to Him, but we can even expect an answer from Him. We can now go confidently before the throne of God and bring our requests to Him. Do we realize what we have being on this side of the cross?


For centuries, the children of Israel had to follow their system…their sacrificial system, but at least they had a promise that it wouldn’t always be that way. What about before the children of Israel? Were they just oblivious to the fact that they could not get close to God? Of course they weren’t. Even the most ancient of religions knew that they couldn’t get close to God so they would devise their own ideas of how to strive to please Him…or at least strive to please who they thought was a god or gods as evidenced in the many pagan religions.


However, there were those who knew of the one true God even before Abraham was called out. There were surely those who kept the knowledge of God after the dispersion at Babel. We at least know that Abraham brought tribute to Melchizedek who was a priest of God the Most High. But we also know of Job. Now, whether Job lived at the same time as Abraham or before him or even after, it doesn’t matter. What we do know is that he lived a long time ago and he was not a descendent of Abraham and therefore not of God’s chosen people to whom His Word would be revealed. Yet, he was called an upright man, and man of integrity who hated evil and was devoted to God.


So, he knew of the One True God, but did he realize that he couldn’t get close to him? Did he realize that man lived in hopeless separation from the Almighty? Did he understand that there would someday be a way to bridge that gap? Whether or not he understood that it would someday happen, he did long for it. In fact, he longed for it so badly that much of his lamenting sounds, dare I say, prophetic.


I see it first in chapter 7 where he longed for God to forgive all his sins and give him a clean slate. He longed for what we have. Then in chapter 9, he wished for an arbitrator, someone to come between him and God, so that he could bring his case before the Almighty. He longed for what we have. He’s so frustrated by chapter 13, that he said that he’d do it anyway. Without a mediator, he’d still attempt to go to God himself. He was determined to, but then he reminded himself that it’s not possible. He knows that God remained hidden and silent because of the list of sins going back to his youth.


But by chapter 14, he asked if there’s life after death, and he said that if there was, he’d suffer through anything for it. He desperately desired to live a life where God is a friend who watches over him and forgives his sins to the point of locking them away. He longed for what we have.


Then when he’s told by a so-called friend that his talk was ridiculous, that he was disrespecting God and trivializing the rituals of religion, he answered with another cry for what we have. He cried out for One who would represent mortals before God, for Someone in heaven who knew him inside and out, but yet could still clear his name. He cried out for a Champion, a Friend…Someone to stand up for him…Someone who would bridge that gap. He desperately longed for what we have.


He not only longed for it, but he believed that it was possible. He knew, as it states in chapter 19, that his Redeemer lives. And he knew that one day his Redeemer would take His stand on the earth. And when that day comes, Job said that he knows that he will get to see God with his own eyes.


We have so much. We’ve been given so much. I just don’t think we realize exactly how much we have. May be it takes seeing how desperately someone longed for what we have in order for us to realize how precious it is, how great it is, and just how much it’s worth. Job knew what he didn’t have, and oh how he longed for it! It makes me wish I could reach through the pages of scripture and pull him into this side of the cross so he could have what he needed during his time of misery. Well, it makes no difference for Job now, because he’s absent from his body and present with the Lord. He’s already with the living God. So, I suppose the best way to honor his story is to never forget exactly what we have.


In Job 16:19-22 (The Message) Job says…


"O Earth, don't cover up the wrong done to me! Don't muffle my cry! There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name—My Champion, my Friend, while I'm weeping my eyes out before God. I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor.


Amie Spruiell 10/22/2010