In today's section we read:
Bildad's first speech (God is just, therefore Job must have sinned) and Job's response (defends himself and appeals to God)
Zophar's first speech (tells Job to get rid of his sins) and Job's response (he wants to argue his case before God)
Eliphaz's second speech (the wise don't engage in empty chatter) and Job's response (still defends his innocence, looks for an advocate)
Bildad's second speech (the wicked will suffer a grizzly fate) and Job's response (Job states his faith in God until the end)
Zophar's second speech (the wicked will get their just deserts) and Job's reply (no-one can teach God a lesson)
Eliphaz's third speech (God is so great, we must submit to Him) and Job's response (why aren't the wicked punished?)
Some thoughts that struck me (although I will mainly just highlight the verses that stood out):
My general impression on reading this was the extent to which the language and imagery of Job (which is one of the oldest books of the Bible) are taken up in the Psalms. I heard Don Cole say that the three books which inform David's Psalms are Genesis, Deuteronomy and Job.
8:13-14 - relying on anything than God for our security is like leaning on a spider's web.
9:2 - I soooo know what Job means when he says "Yes, I know all this is true in principle". It is transforming head knowledge to personal heart experience that is so difficult.
9:10 - cf Is 55:10.
I disagree with 9:22-23. I know this is poetry, but if it were true, things would be very bleak indeed.
9:27-28 - pretence and putting on appearances may fool other people, but we don't deceive ourselves.
9:34 - Job's request has been answered in the form of Jesus, breaking down the barrier to God (Heb 9:15) and the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26). Also 16:19-21
10:10-12 - cf Ps 139:13
10:22 - compare this with Rev 21:23 "the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light"
11:7 - cf Deut 29:29
11:15-17 - cf Prov 4:18 " The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, / which shines ever brighter until the full light of day."
12:4 - "Yet my friends laugh at me, / for I call on God and expect an answer. / I am a just and blameless man, / yet they laugh at me." Also 16:10
12:17 - cf 1 Cor 1:18-25
13:3 - "As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. / I want to argue my case with God himself". And yet in 9:34, he was looking for a mediator between him and God.
13:15 - "God may kill me, but I have no other hope."
14:5 - cf Ps 90:12
14:17 - cf Deut 32:34
15:14 - Eliphaz repeats the argument he began with (4:18).
15:27 - "These heavy people are heavy and prosperous; / their waists bulge with fat" - presumably like King Eglon (Jdg 3:17)
16:12 - Job feels as if God is using him for target practice!!
17:3 - God is our only hope of vindication and justification
17:9 - "The righteous keep moving forward, / and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger." cf Ps 24:3-4
In the midst of all his wretchedness and the lack of comfort from his friends, Job comes out with the amazing statements of 19:25-27 "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, / and he will stand upon the earth at last. / And after my body has decayed, / yet in my body I will see God! / I will see him for myself. / Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. / I am overwhelmed at the thought!"
21:14-16 is such a true assessment of modern society - people tell God to go away and think that their success and wealth is nothing to do with Him.
Eliphaz starts his 3rd intervention with some good insights - 22:2-3 " Can a person do anything to help God? / Can even a wise person be helpful to him? / Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? / Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?" We often think that God needs us - but He doesn't. It is because of His love and His grace towards us that we can be part of His amazing plan.
22:12-14 - "God is so great - higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars". We can try to hide from Him, but it's impossible. Ps 139:7-12 takes us this point, but from God's viewpoint: "I can never escape from your Spirit! / I can never get away from your presence! / If I go up to heaven, you are there; / if I go down to the grave, you are there. / If I ride the wings of the morning, / if I dwell by the farthest oceans, / even there your hand will guide me, / and your strength will support me. / I could ask the darkness to hide me / and the light around me to become night— / but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. / To you the night shines as bright as day. / Darkness and light are the same to you.
22:21-23 - seems good, but we can easily assume that there is some form of mechanical, automatic transaction, which is not the case. We should turn back to God because we want *HIM*, not because we want success or wealth. 22:25 - "The Almighty himself will be your treasure. / He will be your precious silver!"
22:30 - Other people will be saved because Job has turned (back) to God. It is not just us who are helped by staying close to God, but others as well.
24:13 - cf Jn 3:20
It is interesting that most of the book is conversation about God, rather than conversation (prayer) with God, with the exception of the passages 13:20-28 and 17:3-4.
2 comments:
Reading this what struck me was that the fundamental assumption that following God meant that you would be prosperous and that not following God would mean destruction. While I think this is true in God's sense, it doesn't seem like it in human terms. Nebuchadnezzar was certainly no follower of God, yet God raised him up in order to achieve His purpose (punishing Judah for their sins). Similarly I suspect that many God fearing Jews (the remnant) were deported to Babylon, and I'm sure that they wondered why they were being punished, when they had followed God - but again, it is all part of a grander plan, and we can't see that plan when we focus just on what has happened to ourselves, we need the perspective of God to see the big picture. In the end though, even when the wicked prosper and the good suffer, God is still active and can use the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the good to achieve His holy ends (though it isn't much fun to be the good suffering, but even there God's grace is sufficient, if we turn to Him and rely on Him - easier said than done though...)
Mark
I can see where you're coming at with this, and I thonk it is such an easy trap to fall into that we view God as some sort of divine insurance policy that will pay out if only we do the right thing.
It's interesting that you metion Nebuchadnezzar. I thought of him when I read Job 12:24-25, "he strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards." Yet at the end of Daniel 4, he does become a worshipper of God -
" “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.
His rule is everlasting,
and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
among the angels of heaven
and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
‘What do you mean by doing these things?’
“When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.” (Dan 4:34-37)
I also had a slightly different take on the exil, and when people saew themselves in the bogger picture of God's plan. Looking at the response of Nehemiah, and also in Ezra, there is a clear sense that the judgement is on God's *people*, as much as on any individual. The Jews saw themselves as a special people, God's chosen nation, and there was no contradiction between that view and seeing evil-doers punished (Achan, Ahab and countless others further on in the alphabet!)
I find Ps 49 a good corrective on the fleeting nature of worldly wealth, and I like the way in Job we see that God has no need of anything from us, all wealth is his ultimately, and he is the lord of time.
I totally agree with your last point - easier said than done
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