Still Not Able To Find A Few Good Men

“And the Lord said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:1-2 ESV)

It has been years since I have seen the movie “A Few Good Men.” I do not remember the plot all that well, and can not recall why Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) was brought up for charges. What I do remember is that is was a huge deal for Tom Cruise to even bring up a charge against the Colonel. The courtroom scene will probably go down in history as one of the most memorable and powerful scenes to have ever hit the big screen. “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!” The movie I thought did a wonderful job of showing the care needed for a faultfinder to bring a charge against a person in high authority. In the end, the Colonial was found to be guilty, and the playboy lawyer was found to be the savior. And in this sense, the parallel to Job breaks down completly. But there are some important similarities.

Job has suffered an incredible amount of pain and loss. In the midst of all the accusations his friends have brought against him, Job has stated multiple times that he was innocent and undeserving of such treatment. He even mentioned that he wanted to stand before God and present his case against him. He wanted to place God in the dock and question him, much like Tom Cruise did to Colonel Jessep.

God has spent the last two chapters humbling Job under the might of his eternal wisdom and knowledge. He now stands up, places himself in the dock and challenges Job to present his case. He sees Job’s challenges as contending, arguing, and attempting to find a fault in the one who is faultless. It is obvious that God does not like to be challenged, much like Colonel Jessep.

We have been wadding through many larger decisions as a family. I may discuss them here at a later date. What I know about these types of decisions is that it can be easy to try and find a fault with the timing with which God decides to answer. I can become impatient to hear a response from heaven, and might even desire to seat the Lord in the dock and question him. I see afresh this morning that God is not pleased by such questions and I must do as Job does in the following verses and lay my hand upon my mouth.

Have you implicitly or explicitly attempted to bring a charge against the Lord for any reason? If so, he see’s this as “contending with the Almighty,” and you as a faultfinder. We must all repent by placing our hands upon our mouth and trust upon Jesus, the one who was condemned in our place but “opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)