Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 38-42.

When God first speaks to Job in this passage, He points out how limited human knowledge of the world and the universe is.  The first monologue attributed to God asks the question, “How can we judge God’s actions when there is so much that we know nothing about?”  Then in His second monologue, God points out, that on the scale of the universe, humans lack the power to truly change things.  Together, these two things demonstrate that our finite existence leaves us unable to understand how or why God acts as He does.  Job had sought God, now when he had found Him, or, perhaps I should say, when he was found by Him, Job recognized that his claim that God had been unjust was sinful and repented before the awesomeness of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

I have written that we should take note that, unlike Job’s other three friends, Elihu is not reprimanded by God at the end of this book.  But in today’s passage Elihu says some things which seem to be more or less the arguments the other three made for which God reprimanded them.  On the one hand, Elihu calls out Job for saying that God denies him justice, but on the other hand, he also seems to follow the others in assuming that Job’s suffering is evidence of Job’s wrongdoing.  Elihu also tells us that it is unthinkable that God would pervert justice because it is God who defines justice.  He tells us that God has no need to run inquiries where He investigates what people have done because He already knows all of their actions and motives.  We cannot hide anything from God, who shows no partiality.  He does not favor the rich, or the politically connected.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 22-28.

I am always horrified by the accusations Eliphaz makes against Job at the beginning of this passage.  He specifically accuses Job of horrible sins.  Up until this point Job’s friends have merely said that Job’s suffering must be the result of some horrible sin which Job has committed, but have refrained from speculating as to what that sin was.  Here, Eliphaz says that Job must be guilty of these specific sins since he was suffering as he was.  What horrifies me is that Eliphaz is spelling out what the other two were thinking all along even though they had not witnessed Job committing these sins. Nevertheless, they were convinced that he was guilty of them.  Making this assumption is every bit as great of a sin as the sins they accused Job of committing.  It is one thing to look at the sins we have seen someone commit and draw a connection between those sins and the suffering which they experience (and even that has problems in that it might lead us to not have compassion for their suffering) and quite another to project back from their suffering to sins which we believe them to have committed because they are suffering.  The first might be acceptable under some circumstances, but the latter is always putting ourselves in the place of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 16-21.

As I have read the Book of Job time and again in order to write this blog each year I have become convinced that it is only toward the end of this passage that Job begins to say things for which God rebukes him at the end of the book.  In his first two monologues in today’s passage, Job acknowledges that he has an intercessor/advocate who stands before God pleading his case.  The following statement from the first of Job’s three monologues in this passage expresses the great hope which all Christians have in Christ:

Even now my witness is in heaven;

  my advocate is on high.

My intercessor is my friend
    as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a man he pleads with God
    as one pleads for a friend.

I know that my redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
    with my own eyes—I, and not another.

It is only after Zophar once more makes the claim that the wicked always suffer upon this earth that Job points out that this is not the case.  Sometimes, often times, it seems as if the wicked do not suffer in this life at all.  Perhaps the thing we can most do to comfort ourselves about the wicked who seem to live a life of ease with no concerns is remember, that for them the promise that they will see God with their own eyes is not something which gives joy.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 11-15.

I struggle with what to write about today’s passage.  Sometimes it feels like the Book of Job uses more words to make its point than necessary.  However, in part that is because we oversimplify the point this book is making.  The writer actually makes a very nuanced and complex point.  In today’s passage, Job’s friends essentially say that those who devote their hearts and lives to God, and only those who do so, will be wealthy and happy.  They say that the wicked are constantly tormented, and subject to sudden disasters, while the righteous never suffer such things.  Therefore, they say, we can conclude that anyone who is tormented, or subject to sudden disasters, is wicked., and those who are financially secure with stable lives must be righteous.  Job, on the other hand, expresses his desire to stand before God to be judged.  It is important to remember that at the end of the book when God speaks, while He admonishes Job for challenging His justice,  He calls upon Job’s friends to ask Job to pray for them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 6-10.

In many ways the Book of Job illustrates that sometimes the best thing you can do to comfort a friend who is suffering is to merely sit there and listen to them.  In his first two monologues Job expresses his desire for an end to his suffering, he asks for death rather than to continue suffering (it just occurred to me that the Book of Job may be a case study against assisted suicide).  In the second monologue which starts today’s passage, Job seeks death because if he were to die at this point he could be sure that he had not denied God, which would give him consolation and even joy.  But Job’s friends, in their effort to help him, accuse him of wickedness.  In a way, they are taking from him his one remaining comfort.  In their effort to find a way to help him, Job’s friends actually lead him into the sin of questioning God’s justice (perhaps sin is too strong of a word here, but God does call Job out for questioning Him at the end of the Book).  So, let us seek to remain faithful to God, even when we face suffering, and let us seek to not make the mistake which Job’s friends made of accusing our friends of sin when they suffer.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 1-5.

I am not sure if I have ever thought about the first point I want to write about today.  When God held up Job as blameless and upright, Satan belittled Job’s dedication to doing right by claiming it was purely self-serving.  Satan claimed that Job only shunned evil because God had blessed him with material wealth, that if God withdrew that blessing Job would curse God.  When God pointed out to Satan that Job was still blameless and upright after God had allowed Satan to take everything from him, Satan moved the goalposts by claiming that Job would curse God if he lost his health.  This illustrates something Satan, and those who serve him, will often do, claim that the righteous only do good out of selfish interest, and when evidence has been provided that their original accusation was unfounded make a new accusation requiring further proof.

Having commented on that I want to look at Job’s response to the troubles which came upon him.  When he lost everything, including his children, instead of bemoaning his fate Job praised God and acknowledged that everything he had lost had been a gift from God in the first place.  And then when he had lost his health, Job stated that we should accept God’s plan, whether it led to good things for us or bad.  So, let us follow Job’s good example and praise God, even when things go against us, and recognize His greatness even when our health is failing us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 38-42.

In today’s passage God responds to Job’s demands for a hearing before Him in two parts.  It will help us to understand the lesson here if we realize that Job’s complaints can be boiled down to, “If I were God, I would do things differently.”  In His first response God asks Job about his knowledge of things which God has done in the past and over which God exercises control.  This first portion teaches us that we do not, can not, know enough to second guess God in a useful way: we do not know enough to know that things would be, could be, better if they were done differently.  In His second response to Job God asks Job about his power to do things.  This second portion teaches us that we are not powerful enough to understand what would happen if God used His power in the way we think we would if we had that power.  Ultimately, we, with our finite minds and abilities will be unable to comprehend the reasons why God has done some of the things He has done in His infinite knowledge and wisdom.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 34-37.

I am somewhat confused with what to make of today’s passage.  On the one hand, we have Elihu speaking, who is not mentioned at the end of the book among Job’s friends when God condemns them.  On the other hand, he makes a strawman argument against Job: he says that Job made arguments which he did not make.  Nevertheless, Elihu says some insightful things.  Elihu tells us that our sins do not harm God, and He gains nothing from our acts of righteousness.  The standards which God establishes are for the benefit of mankind, not Himself.  This is one of the most important insights which we can have.  When we sin, we harm ourselves and others.  When we do good, we benefit ourselves and others.  God’s Laws are not arbitrary.  Let us follow them so that we can experience the joy God intends for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Job 29-33.

Elihu responds to Job in today’s passage, he is the only one of Job’s friends whom God does not condemn when He finally speaks.  Also, Elihu is not mentioned at the beginning of the book when Job’s other friends are introduced.  This, and some stylistic differences, have led some scholars to conclude that Elihu’s portion is a later addition to the Book of Job.  We should certainly be aware of the possibility that what Elihu said was added by a later scribe.  Nevertheless, there are a couple of things in what Elihu says to which we should pay attention.  Elihu starts out by telling Job that he, Elihu, was no better than Job, that Job should not fear him.  Elihu made clear that he did not think he was better than Job, and that none of what either of them said would change that. Elihu also challenges Job’s contention that God does not speak.  We, as human beings, often miss what God has to say, but that does not mean the He does not speak to us.  Elihu is right, God is not silent.  If we will buy open our ears, we will hear what He has to say.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.