“Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. Something was standing still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mankind be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; And He accuses His angels of error. How much more those who live in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unregarded, they perish forever. Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’” Job 4:15-21 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/job.4.15-21.NASB2020
What does it take to know who is speaking to us spiritually? The character of the one speaking. If God is speaking then we will come to know His character, if not God, a demon, then that character will come forth. The Bible has been given to us so that we can know His character and His will. Ignorance of the Bible leads to false assumptions about God. These assumptions are then turned into beliefs that shape our behavior, some of which we even foolishly share with others. Knowing the Scripture allows us to know the One True God and His enemy who comes to accuse us and to deceive us about the one true God. This is what happened to Job’s friend, he recognized a spirit but it was not God. It was the enemy accusing men, belittling men, making Eliphaz believe evil about men and God. He did not know that God made us in His image. He did not know God came to earth as one of us to rescue us all from the power of sin and death and its eternal consequences. He did not know of the hope and the future the One True God has promised those who love Him and walk in His ways. Knowing God determines our understanding of ourselves and our universe. Without giving ourselves to the Scriptures for study, learning and adherence, we open ourselves to all sorts of ideas, beliefs and eventually behaviors, that are the antithesis of Who God really is and thus our own destruction now and, in the age to come.
