Today's Reading: Job 40 - 42
Passage(s):
Job 42:1
"I know that you can do all things,
no plan of yours can be thwarted.
My ears heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Resting Place:
In the end, God never directly answers Job's questions. He does, however, restore Job's possessions and bless him again with more children.
In His speech to Job, God lays out His greatness and basically says, 'who can question me, since they would be incapable of understanding my ways'.
In the verse quoted above, Job seems to accept this resolution as he says: 'my ears heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.'
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
30 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 38 - 39
Passage(s):
Job 38: 2 - 5
Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
Where were you when I laid the earth's
foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know!
Resting Place:
Finally! God responds to Job. Not with answers....with questions! In a striking litany of His providence, God lists His limitless powers of creation, forming each into a question that asks, "can you do this?" Which has the effect of suggesting that God's ways are beyond the comprehension of man, because God sees the big picture, while we see the smaller version before our limited eyes.
Cold comfort in our time of sorrow.....but tomorrow, we'll see what Job has to say.
Passage(s):
Job 38: 2 - 5
Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
Where were you when I laid the earth's
foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know!
Resting Place:
Finally! God responds to Job. Not with answers....with questions! In a striking litany of His providence, God lists His limitless powers of creation, forming each into a question that asks, "can you do this?" Which has the effect of suggesting that God's ways are beyond the comprehension of man, because God sees the big picture, while we see the smaller version before our limited eyes.
Cold comfort in our time of sorrow.....but tomorrow, we'll see what Job has to say.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
29 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 35 - 37
Passage(s):
Job 37:22-24
Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness,
he does not oppress.
Therefore, men revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the
wise in heart?
Resting Place:
When I read this passage, my first thought was how lucky we are to know Jesus, who walked among us here on Earth, who was so much more approachable.
And yet, I have also experienced Job's feeling of God's distance from us....that cold absence, when in the midst of some sorrow, I wonder if God hears me when I cry.
Passage(s):
Job 37:22-24
Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness,
he does not oppress.
Therefore, men revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the
wise in heart?
Resting Place:
When I read this passage, my first thought was how lucky we are to know Jesus, who walked among us here on Earth, who was so much more approachable.
And yet, I have also experienced Job's feeling of God's distance from us....that cold absence, when in the midst of some sorrow, I wonder if God hears me when I cry.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
24 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 22-24
Passage(s):
Job 22: 21 - 29
Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty you will be restored;
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
Resting Place:
Passage(s):
Job 22: 21 - 29
Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty you will be restored;
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
Resting Place:
Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
These two verses speak to me particularly this morning, because this firm faith is something I am struggling with. Like Job, I am searching for evidence that these things are true. I am sowing the seeds, but not yet seeing the fruits of my labor.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
23 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 20-21
Passage(s):
Job 21: 29 - 34
Have you paid no regard to their accounts-
that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from the day of wrath?
Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what he has done?
He is carried to the grave
and watch is kept over his tomb.
The soil in the valley is sweet to him
all men follow after him,
and a countless throng goes
before him.
Resting Place:
In today's reading, Job posits the eternal conundrum: why does God allow evil people to prosper, and allow good people to suffer? Like the old Billy Joel song "Only the good die young".
In today's reading there is no response to this question, but by the end of the Book of Job, we will have a response from God.
Passage(s):
Job 21: 29 - 34
Have you paid no regard to their accounts-
that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from the day of wrath?
Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what he has done?
He is carried to the grave
and watch is kept over his tomb.
The soil in the valley is sweet to him
all men follow after him,
and a countless throng goes
before him.
Resting Place:
In today's reading, Job posits the eternal conundrum: why does God allow evil people to prosper, and allow good people to suffer? Like the old Billy Joel song "Only the good die young".
In today's reading there is no response to this question, but by the end of the Book of Job, we will have a response from God.
Monday, May 21, 2012
21 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 15 - 17
Passage(s):
Job 17: 15
where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
Resting Place:
Todays readings continued the debate about the relationship between man and God. But these words from Job struck me as the most poignant and timeless.
'where is my hope?'
Isn't that the essentail bottom line in the relationship between man and God? Ultimately, we rely on the belief that God is the Hope that sustains us when everything else falls away.
Passage(s):
Job 17: 15
where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?
Resting Place:
Todays readings continued the debate about the relationship between man and God. But these words from Job struck me as the most poignant and timeless.
'where is my hope?'
Isn't that the essentail bottom line in the relationship between man and God? Ultimately, we rely on the belief that God is the Hope that sustains us when everything else falls away.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
17 May 2012
Today's Reading: Job 4 - 7
Passage(s):
Here are some of my favorite passages:
Job's friend Eliphaz speaks:
4:4-6 Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. But now trouble come to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you and you are dismayed. Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless way your hope?
4:8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
5:8 But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
5:15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
Then Job replies:
6:2 If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas- no wonder my words have been impetuous.
6:11 What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?
Resting Place:
Passage(s):
Here are some of my favorite passages:
Job's friend Eliphaz speaks:
4:4-6 Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. But now trouble come to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you and you are dismayed. Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless way your hope?
4:8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it.
5:8 But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
5:15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
Then Job replies:
6:2 If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas- no wonder my words have been impetuous.
6:11 What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?
Resting Place:
Yesterday's reading established the premise for the Book of Job and introduced the main players, e.g. Job and behind the scenes, God.
Today we begin the several chapters which comprise a long debate between Job and three of his friends about the relationship between man and God, and the role of sin and the right to redemption.
This is not light reading and the debates that make up each chapter would be welcome in any philosophy class.
And yet, what occurs to me is that this is also a great foundation that will eventually point to the need for our salvation through Jesus Christ.
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