Ps. 111: God is Good

Psalm 111:9 "He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name. "

The 111th Psalm serves as a reminder to the reader how great and praiseworthy God is. There are lots of adjectives here that describe the things God is or has done:

Great
Delightful
Glorious
Majestic
Righteous
Forever
Powerful
Faithful
Just
Trustworthy
Redeeming
Holy
Awesome

That just about says it. And the things we take for granted, His provisions, and His creation, are the things that say the most about his power...the things that are the most amazing about God. Phenomenal cosmic powers...but remembers our itty bitty living space.

I love it.

Ps. 84: Better Is One Day

Psalm 84:14 "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

The 84th Psalm extols the wonder and ultimate joy it is to dwell in the house of God. Besides being the obvious inspiration for Matt Redman's ubiquitous late-90's tune, it really shows how God's house can be everywhere. The sparrow finds rest. The sparrow. A common bird. Yet this bird has a place near God's altar. All creation, and I presume the illustration is for all people, is important to God.

The sons of Korah write that their soul faints to be in the house of God. Other than to be with my wife, I can't think of anything else my soul faints for. O, that the house of God would be so critical to my own personal strength and sanity.

We have a section about a pilgrimage passing through the valley of Baca, which I hear tell is sorrow or tears. So much so that pools are formed. I'm not entirely sure what is meant by going from strength to strength til each appears before God in Zion. Perhaps they are encouraged and strengthened? Appearing before God sounds as though there is some final accounting before God. And the strength gained through adversity is the strength that will keep one through the judgement?

Job 40: Who is Man, Anyway?

Job 40:8 "Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"

God continues his answer to Job, asking for Job to answer his answer. And I love Job here. He knows already he has no place to question the almighty. Job's like "Uh...I got nothing to say. I'm done speaking.  Go on."

I don't know if God has ever spoken to Job. Has he? It is not recorded anywhere, and Job doesn't make any reference to having heard God speak to him audibly like this. So this in itself could be completely overwhelming to him. Possibly, it was rare that it happened anyway. I cannot imagine how small and insignificant Job must have felt as each word rained down on top him. This was the intent. "Brace yourself like a man," God says in verse 7. God was not fooling around. 

Verse 8 goes on to be what I consider the linchpin of this entire episode. If Job's line of questioning was to be in any way validated, it would indicate that someone was in the wrong. And Job did nothing wrong to deserve what happened to him. Where does this cast the blame? On a perfectly perfect God. If Job was to be justified, God would be condemned, and overall, would cease to be God, nevermind the powers and authority described through verse 14.

The last half of the chapter describes various aspects of the behemoth, and could conceivably be a continuation of chapter 40. This is the only place in the Bible (at least my NIV), where behemoth is mentioned. There are numerous theories as to what behemoth refers to. An elephant, a hippopotamus, a dinosaur? The descriptions in verses 15-24 could point to any of those. All we can really know from the text is that it is a big, bulky, docile animal. It eats plants. It is sturdy enough not to be moved or panicked by storms. It may not do any good to think about if any of these animals are native to Job's land, since God could describe anything, anywhere He wants. 

Its an interesting debate, to be sure, borne out of curiosity, but I don't want to miss out on the bigger point. There are things in this world that cannot be understood, influenced, or contained, and in a way, the behemoth passage is a microcosm of that. God has taken great care...unimaginable, unfathomable care to create this creature, and to contend with it, or fully understand it is impossible.

As an aside, I am increasingly becoming a fan of William Blake's rather unsettling artwork, and his interpretation is extraordinary.

Job 10: What God Did

Job 10:18 "Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me."

Job continues his agonized prayer in chapter ten. He speaks directly to God. Just about every statement talks about what God did, and ends with what Job wishes God would have done. Job's language continues to be very desparate.

What God created, Job wants destroyed, essentially. What was made to be great is now dead, in Job's opinion.

I want to say, "What is with this guy?" all the while knowing I will (hopefully) never go through what Job has gone through. Job has these moments of lucidity, where he's so close to having a good thought, rationalizing what God has done. But then Job plummets into despair, hating his life. Not hating God though. Some of the things he says about God could read as a praise song, were they not in context of Job's pain.

I don't know what else I can say. Job had his family taken away, he is in agony and grief, and he doesn't know what God is doing. But he does know God is sovereign.