Do TROUBLES originate from our PAST SINS only?

 

May 25 Bible Reading: Job Chapters 4-6

Do TROUBLES originate from our PAST SINS only? 

"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes; in seven no evil shall touch you.” (Words of Eliphaz to Job in 5:17-19)

After sitting silent for seven days and nights, Job opened his mouth and started out by publicly cursing the day of his birth (Job 3:1). This reaction to his suffering is the same that Jeremiah also would emulate later (Jer. 20:14–18). Job intensified his anguish by wishing that he would be born dead in his mother’s womb (Job 3:11). To have been stillborn at birth would have been better (Job 3:11–19). Since that option was impossible, Job finally longed for death (Job 3:20–26).

Job’s first respondent, Eliphaz, was from Teman in the Arabian Desert (see Job 2:11; 6:19). He first rebuked Job for his lack of composure in difficulty, especially since Job himself had comforted others in similar circumstances (4:1–4). But he then drove straight to the heart of the issue: No one ever suffered or died prematurely without sin having brought it on. Job therefore must have sinned (Job 4:5–11). Sinners suffer because they sin; to say otherwise is to assert that God is not just (Job 4:12–21).

Continuing his charge against Job, Eliphaz became more personal in his accusations. He had seen people who started out well but their world came crashing down later because of their sin. They suffered calamities similar to those of Job, which could not be attributed to “bad luck” or external causes. This is definitely God’s judgment for sin in Job’s life (Job 5:1–7). The only solution for Job, Eliphaz said, was for him to turn back to God (Job 5:8–16). What God did in Job’s case, Eliphaz implied, was to bring suffering into his life as an alarm to help him come to grips with the reality of his sin. If Job would make things right with God, he would once more enjoy the blessing of many children and abundant riches (Job 5:17–27).

The question before us is this - do our troubles originate from past sins only? The answer is a resounding “NO”. We know that Job was a righteous man as asserted in Job 1:1 and Ezekiel 14:14, 20. His troubles were NOT as a result of his past sins.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also answers this question very clearly as seen in the passage below: "There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:1-5).

Let us always remember that our troubles DO NOT originate from our past sins ONLY…!!!