Job 34

“For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.” (Job 34:3, NKJV)

Last night my wife and I enjoyed a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant. We tried several new dishes, going on a culinary adventure. We usually order different items so we can sample each other’s food. Everything we tasted we liked. But other times we taste things that we don’t like.

As the young Elihu continues his discourse, he tells Job and his three friends to listen to his words. He will take them on a word-tasting adventure. They had been listening to Job. Were his words palatable? Job had said, “I am righteous, but God has taken away my justice” (v. 5). Was this true? Can anyone really be righteous before the LORD? Would the Judge of all the earth actually deprive Job of justice? Now Elihu asks them to test his words. Are they right or wrong?

We must all carefully test words. Jesus said that in the last days false prophets and false teachers will abound. People will not endure sound doctrine but will gather for themselves teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). How can we discern the difference between worthy and worthless words?

First, we must test all things with the Word of God. A new teaching may sound interesting, tickle the ears, and excite the imagination. But as Greg Laurie says, “If it is new it is not true, and if it is true it is not new.”

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV)

God gives to us His Word as the standard of righteousness, truth and justice. We must compare everything we hear with the Scriptures.

Second, we must rely upon the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” (John 16:13, NLT)

In this present age of deception with increasing signs indicating the soon return of Jesus Christ, we must rely upon the Holy Spirit to steer us clear from error and warn us about the things to come. We must trust in Him to guide us into all truth and prepare us to meet Christ.

Words can heal and strengthen; words can deceive and destroy. May God help us to taste them well!