comfort

Miserable comforters

Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, came to show him sympathy and comfort him (Job 2:11), but they thought Job’s suffering was punishment for sin (note on Job 11:1). The things that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar said to Job caused him to lash out against his friends (Job 16:11-17) and to declare, “miserable comforters are you all” (Job 16:2). The Hebrew word that is translated comforters, nacham (naw-khamˊ) is properly translated as “to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console” (H 5162). Nacham is also translated as to repent. “To repent means to make a strong turning to a new course of action. The emphasis is on turning to a positive course of action, not turning from a less desirable course. Comfort is derived from ‘com’ (with) and ‘fort’ (strength). Hence, when one repents, he exerts strength to change, to re-grasp the situation, and exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action. The stress is not upon new information or new facts which cause the change as it is upon the visible action taken.” The reason why Job said his friends were miserable comforters was because they were telling him things he already knew (Job 12:3; 13:2). Job’s friends weren’t helping him turn to a new course of action but were increasing his emotional grief and the brokenness in his heart (Job 9:28).

David wrote about a similar situation in his life in Psalm 69. David began this psalm by crying out to God for relief from his suffering. David cried, “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink deep into the mire, where there is no foothold; I have come to the deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God” (Psalm 69:1-3). David went on to say:

You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
    and for comforters, but I found none. (Psalm 69:19-20)

The verse that follows these, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” (Psalm 69:21) pertains to Jesus Christ. All four of the gospels state that Jesus was given sour wine to drink while he was hanging on the cross (Matthew 27:48; Luke 23:36; John 19:29), although Mark refers to it as “wine mixed with myrrh” (Mark 15:23). John tells us that this was done to fulfill Scripture and occurred just before Jesus said, “’It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

It says in Hebrews 4:15 that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus knew that his disciples would struggle at times to make sense of what they were going through in their lives and would need help fulfilling the assignment of spreading his gospel throughout the world (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus told his disciples that they would be given “another Comforter” (John 14:16, KJV) that would dwell within them and would be in them (John 14:17). Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:25-26, KJV).

Jesus implied that he was his disciples’ Comforter when he told them he would give them another Comforter (John 14:16, KJV). Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach his disciples all things and would bring to their remembrance all that he said to them (John 14:26). Jesus spoke words of comfort to his followers throughout his three-year ministry. Jesus’ words were comfort to the disciples because they helped them to re-grasp the situation, and to exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action (H5162), which was to turn the world upside down with the message of the gospel (Acts 17:6). The Greek word that is translated gospel in Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 24:14 and 26:13, euaggelion (yoo-ang-ghelˊ-ee-on) means “a good message” (G2098). When the disciples preached the gospel in the book of Acts, it was identified as euaggelizo (yoo-ang-ghel-idˊ-zo) or “to announce good news” (Acts 8:12, 35; 10:36; 13:32; 14:15). It says in Hebrews 4:3 that the works of the gospel “were finished from the foundation of the world, but “those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:6). Disobedience means to disbelieve or “not to allow oneself to be persuaded or believe” (G544).

Job tried to convince his friends that they were wrong about his situation, but they would not be persuaded. These miserable comforters continued to berate Job until the LORD stepped in and “answered Job out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1). Chapters 38-42 of Job “record more than seventy questions that God asked Job. These questions were not given to answer the mystery of Job’s suffering or to vindicate God himself. They were intended to help Job realize that God’s ways are higher than man’s ways and that he is worthy of complete trust even in the most desperate of circumstances” (note on Job 38:1-42:6). Following the LORD’s discourse, Job concluded, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). The Hebrew word nacham, which was translated comforters in Job 16:2, is translated here as repent, indicating that the LORD was successful in his effort to comfort Job.

A new world order

Looking past the captivity of Judah, Isaiah saw a time when God’s people would be transformed into heroes of faith. God was going to take the nation of Israel in a new direction, one that would require his people to re-grasp the situation and exert an effort to do the opposite of what came natural to them. In order to demonstrate the eternal nature of his kingdom, God intended to let Jerusalem be destroyed and rebuilt in a whole new fashion.

Isaiah introduced a new world order that would be based on repentance. He began his message by stating, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God” (Isaiah 40:1). The Hebrew word translated comfort, nâcham (naw – kham´) means to sigh or to be sorry (5162). Nacham is translated as both comfort and repent with regards to a turning point in a person’s life. The first mention of this word is in Genesis 5:29 where Noah is listed as the son of Lamech. It says, “And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.”

It could be said that comfort or repentance is the sign of a new beginning, a fresh start in life. Isaiah linked this new beginning to the point in time when God’s punishment of Jerusalem was finished. Isaiah stated, “Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:2). Immediately following this statement, Isaiah established Jerusalem’s new beginning as the launch of the Messiah’s ministry on earth (Isaiah 40:3).

John the Baptist quoted Isaiah 40:3 when he declared Jesus to be the Messiah. It says in Matthew 3:1-3:

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

John’s reference to repentance was intended to convey the idea that individual action was necessary to become a member of God’s kingdom. God’s work was no longer about saving the nation of Israel as a whole, but about the individual people of God turning to him in order to receive salvation.

The new world order that Jesus came to establish was based on a personal relationship with God. Prior to Jesus’ arrival on earth, no one had seen God face to face. Isaiah revealed that the LORD would come to his people and be seen not only by then, but by everyone (Isaiah 40:5). The evidence that God was present would be a supernatural power that would enable those with faith to exercise divine strength to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of God’s divine kingdom. Isaiah said about believers, “But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Behold, I do a new thing

The natural response to death is grief, but in some cases, the result of death is repentance. The word repent or nâcham (naw – kham´) in Hebrew can mean comfort as well as comforter. “Comfort is derived from ‘com’ (with) and ‘fort’ (strength). Hence, when one repents, he exerts strength to change, to re-grasp the situation, and exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action” (5162).

There are several instances in the Bible where it says that God repented. In Exodus 32:14 it says “And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” Repentance is necessary for change to occur. There has to be an intentional effort to change and therefore, motivation is a key ingredient in the process. Death is an effective motivator because it stirs up our emotions and causes us to see that things don’t always work out as we expect them to.

The primary message that preceded Jesus’ ministry was delivered by John the Baptist who said, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Many people repented and were baptized by John in the Jordan river, but the real change, the transformation of the world didn’t begin until after Jesus’ death. The death of Jesus brought deep grief to his disciples and most of his followers went into hiding for fear that they might be killed too, until Jesus’ resurrection. When Mary and the others went to the tomb and saw that it was empty, they were comforted, they gained strength and were willing to come out in the open again.

The only instance recorded of God’s people repenting in the Old Testament of the Bible is in Judges 21:13 where it says “And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.” When Jesus died, there was a breach in the family line of the Messiah. Jesus had no descendants and therefore, had no way to pass on his inheritance. The inheritance of the Israelites was intended to be perpetual, so to cut off a tribe or a family line was the equivalent to destroying the title deed to a property, there was no way to transfer or pass along ownership to anyone else.

In order to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, the Israelites took virgins and gave them to 600 men that had fled into the wilderness during a battle that wiped out every other person in the tribe of Benjamin. This act made it possible for the small band of survivors to start over and rebuild their cities. “And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel” (Judges 21:17).

The key to repentance is that some visible action is taken for the purpose of turning from a less desirable course to a more positive course. Many people think of repentance as merely turning away from sin or being sorry for something that you have done. After Jesus’ death, his disciples no doubt felt a tremendous amount of grief and were probably very sorry that they had abandoned him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but there was no actual repentance until they came out of hiding and began to preach the gospel.

The disciples felt that Jesus had abandoned them, that they would never see him again. At the end of the last supper, Jesus said to his disciples, “Verily I say unto you, I will not drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). The disciples knew they would be reunited with Jesus in Heaven, but what they didn’t understand was that the kingdom of God would be established on Earth after Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus did not have to appear to his disciples to show them evidence of his resurrection. The work of the Holy Spirit was to convict and convince Believers that Jesus was alive. Saul of Tarsus had an encounter with the LORD after he had risen into Heaven. The only reason Jesus could have had for spending 40 days on Earth after his resurrection was to comfort his disciples. Jesus repented by taking action to bring the disciples out of hiding and restore their confidence in him.

If Jesus had died, been resurrected, and gone straight to Heaven, I don’t think God’s kingdom would have been established as God wanted it to. The disciples and others may have made it to Heaven, but It was Jesus’ act of repentance that made it possible for the disciples to continue his work and transform the world. Jesus had to change the course of events for God’s kingdom to be established on Earth as it already was in Heaven.

Repentance does not lead to our salvation, it leads to the salvation of others. God’s kingdom is made up of people that have experienced transformational change in their lives. Many times people claim to be saved and yet there is no evidence of repentance, nothing is different in their lives. Even the disciples went back to their old lives, they were fishing when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection.

It says in Romans 2:4 that it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance and in Romans 2:6 that God will render to every man according to his deeds. I believe the deeds spoken of here are deeds of repentance, the comfort we give to others that results in a change to the course of their lives.

In essence, repentance means to turn things around by doing the opposite of what is expected. Instead of taking a life, you save it, instead of keeping something for yourself, you give it away, instead of punishing someone that has hurt you, you reward him with kindness. Repentance is essential for salvation and must precede it because the turning of events is what makes it possible for there to be a different outcome.

Rather than turning in any direction, repentance focuses on the turning from a less desirable course to a more positive one. It is intended to correct or improve things not to make them worse. Sometimes repentance involves going against the tide in order to reach a destination that would not be arrived at unless an intentional effort was put forth to get there.

I think it is a mistake to assume that we are only responsible for correcting our own mistakes. Jesus died or the sins of others. I believe repentance is meant to correct the mistakes of others. I see Jesus’ death on the cross as an act of repentance to save the world from destruction. His resurrection and return to Earth to fellowship with his disciples was an act of repentance on the part of his Father who would otherwise have welcomed him home immediately after his death on the cross. God’s last act of repentance will be when he welcomes each of us into his kingdom that has sinned against him and his son Jesus.

In the parable of the vinedresser, Jesus tells the story of men who are given the responsibility of caring for another man’s vineyard. When the owner sends his servants to collect the fruit of his vineyard, the men beat the servants and refuse to give the owner the fruit that belongs to him. Finally, the owner sends his son thinking the men will respect him. “But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours” (Luke 20:14). At the end of the story, Jesus asks the question, “What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?” (Luke 20:15).

Satan’s intent in putting Jesus to death was to take away his inheritance, but like the Israelites when the children of Benjamin were killed in battle, God made a way for Jesus’ inheritance to be restored to the rightful owners. The kingdom of God is among us. We who have been chosen and adopted into the family of Jesus Christ are joint heirs with him, the evidence of which is that we have the Holy Spirit living inside us.

Jesus told his disciples that his Father would give them another Comforter, “that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit gives us divine strength and enables us to transform not only our lives, but the lives of others. Repentance is the method through which that change comes and the first step in the process is to give God what he already rightfully owns, our lives.