Job 9 and 10 is Job’s response to his friend’s criticism. He recognizes God’s power and greatness. He realizes that he is no match for God. While he doesn’t understand why God is doing this to him he fears confronting God with his innocence because God can find it to be sin. He is afraid to tell God that he has been unfair.

He says that there is no umpire between them to mediate. Job states that if God would guarantee that he would not be punished for just confronting God then he would tell God that he is not guilty. He would recognize that God has been merciful in the past and wonders why He now is hurting him.

The line about the umpire is an interesting one. In fact we have an “umpire” in Jesus Christ. He is our Mediator. He is the one who speaks on our behalf before God. He is the one who makes it possible for us to pray directly to God without fear.

In Luke 16 Jesus confronts the Pharisees and their love of money and adoration. He warns those listening that they must put God first in their lives.

Jesus tells a story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man ate well while the poor man starved at his gate. When they both died the rich man went to hell and the poor man went to heaven. The rich man sees Abraham in heaven and him to send the poor man to help him. Abraham says that because the rich man lived so well and didn’t help others he was doomed to his fate. The poor man was being comforted because he had suffered so much in life. The rich man asks Abraham to go to his house and warn his relatives but Abraham says they have the law and the prophets so they should know better. The rich man says that if someone came back from the dead they would listen to him, but Abraham replies that if they haven’t listened to the scriptures they will not listen to someone who has come back to life.

We have the scriptures to be our guide. They are there for us all the time. It is up to us to read and follow them.