When they
saw him [Jōb] from a distance, they could hardly
recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and
sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven
days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great
his suffering was. Job 2:12,13 (NIV)
Job (Jōb) was a righteous man who it is believed lived before the time of Abraham. The biblical book that bears his name tells of the catastrophes and suffering Satan brought upon this godly man and his family.
When Job’s
friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar learned of his plight they dropped
everything and went to comfort him. In the course of the story, their “comfort”
quickly turned to judgement, saying the reasons for his calamities were due to
his many sins and arrogance. In reality his sufferings were things he held no
control over (Job 1:10-12). The three friends meant well and began well, but
throughout their visit the wisest thing they did was sit in silence with him
for 7 days and nights.
The Jewish
people have a custom when bereaved or devastated, called Sitting Shiva. Shiva
(shib’ȃh) is the Hebrew word for seven and seems to
parallel the Book of Job. In Shiva, a Jewish household opens to visitors
(usually for a 3-day period), under a set of certain protocols, where family
and community can come and pay their respects. As a people, we more often than
not, are uncomfortable with those who suffer and in not knowing what to say
will offer comments that are gratuitous, insulting, and can be calloused to
their pain. Sitting Shiva means that listening and support more often than not
supersedes talk. Sometimes just a simple hug, a meeting of the eyes that says
“I see and sense your pain, and I’m here to support you,” is adequate.
Sometimes silence is enough said.
You may be
in a world of hurt right now and no one has called on you except your own types
of Job’s comforters. Most all of us have been there at one time or
another.
Christ Jesus
is sitting Shiva with you. He’s got your hand in His and He’s looking
eye-to-eye with you in your pain, giving you His support. He is perfectly aware
of that throbbing heartache, that relentless pit in the stomach and that band
of tightness that plays on your every breath. He watches every tear that falls, on your face and in your heart, and
has known from eternity past, the darkness you will face in this, the
valley of your struggle.
Let me encourage
you that God in His silence does not mean God in His absence. If all you’re
hearing is silence it doesn’t mean the Lord doesn’t care. It means He’s Sitting
Shiva with you, His beloved Child. He’s there. He knows. He cares. Meanwhile,
when all you hear is silence, be assured, He’s at the right hand of the Father,
pleading your case! He intercedes for you, as your personal advocate.
(Romans 8:34).
Silence may
be golden, but the Word of the Lord is His bond. All His words are trustworthy
and true. He offers you His peace in the quietness of His presence, with a
tender and calming touch. He sits Shiva with you. And that silence, Beloved,
speaks volumes.
Ken
