Job 23: God is Hidden

Job 23:13 "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases."

What happens when you know what God's commands are, and you bend over backwards to follow them? To not turn away to the right or to the left, as the Chronicles say, and then still fall under tragedy? Who is God to you then? Do you curse God and banish him from your thoughts? Or do you, like Job, continue to search for him? 

To the north, south, east and west, Job looks everywhere, but cannot enter God's dwelling place. Why would he want to? To get an answer for why God did what he did. Job wants to present his case, because he knows he is innocent. And at the same time Job wants satisfaction, he realizes that God "stands alone...He does whatever he pleases." I'm curious too. I want to know why God does the things he does. Why his divine judgment often differs so much from our own sense of what's right and wrong.

I find it interesting still that Job considers God a sort of adversary, but ultimately sees God as the one who will clear his name when all is said and done. What choice does he have? His friends will not have any part in that. But Job is less concerned with exonerating himself in front of his friends as he is with finding out just why God did what He did to him.

Job 22: Temanitis

Job 22:21 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you."

Eliphaz continues to hammer the point home that Job was wicked. And should Job submit to God, his prosperity will be restored.

We begin with the idea that God doesn't owe anyone anything. Agreed. But its injustice to apply this to Job. Job doesn't feel God owes him anything. Never did. Asks certain things of God. Wishes certain things from God, but never accuses God of not paying what Job is owed. God doesn't need man's righteousness. What little man's righteousness benefits God, so greatly does God's righteousness benefit man. 

Eliphaz then launches into accuser mode, pointing fingers at Job for ludicrous offenses that never happened. And Eliphaz had no basis for this attack. It was all very comical to read, if I didn't picture Job getting madder and madder and more and more offended. 

Then Eliphaz says to repent of these things.

This is the lynchpin of why Eliphaz's "wisdom" cannot be abided. We know Job did nothing to bring about his tragedy. But this is what Eliphaz believes about Job (and God, kinda), so the obverse must be true: Reaching out and forging a treaty with God will certainly restore the wealth and blessings Job enjoyed before. Eliphaz is in no position to make this promise.

I wonder if pagan culture was seeping in here. Where devotees would rise and fall and perceive punishment and blessing from their idols, based solely on their deeds. We've read with the kings and judges that God blessed the righteous and disciplined the wicked. Also, despite the wicked kings in the Davidic line, God kept his promise to David.

It looks like bad advice to tell someone who is suffering that they need to confess their sins to God, if the belief is that this suffering is a direct result of these sins.

Job 21: The Blessed Wicked

Job 21:7 "Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?"

Job demolishes Zophar's argument completely. And it's what I was thinking as I read chapter 20. "Well, Zophar, what about the wicked people that have it so well? HmmmMMM?" That's what Job says here. Those who turn away from God continue to dwell in beautiful homes, have lots of land and wealth and offspring. See any rap video for a modern day comparison.

And its not just a smug sense of satisfaction, they are merry. They sing joyfully. They enjoy their lives. To them, their lives are meaningful.

To them.

This is pretty damning. In verse 16, Job says that their prosperity is not in their own hands. Which is interesting. If no amount of good behavior can avert disaster, then what limit does God put on evil before he brings wrath? It's an interesting commentary on God's grace, and how he chooses to allot it. And I wonder also if it's so great to be wealthy and prosperous. Do these rich people turn away from God because they have this fulfillment in life? Or is that putting the cart before the horse?

Job 20: Zophar, Zo Bad

Job 20:29 "Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God."

Zophar, still offended, describes what he believes happens to wicked people in this chapter. It's all bad stuff, of course. Obviously, this is meant to describe Job, whatever it is he may have done. And since Job knows he has done nothing, and Zophar knows even less than that, you can't help but want to tell Zophar to cram it.

And as I read through all these things, I wondered: If all these horrible things happen to innocent people, what happens to the truly wicked? And does it matter? From the text, we know Job had absolutely no part of this wrongdoing as described by Zophar, but Zophar's like..."don't you know that this is why you are being punished?" And Job isn't even being punished.

I don't know how Job is putting up with this. I would have given up a long time ago.

Job 19: Job Rebuts

Job 19:27 "I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Job brushes aside Bildad's words as nothing, as effortlessly as flicking a booger off a windshield or something. He then relates his perceptions of what he believes God is doing to him. 

And I wonder, as Job does, just what is God doing right now. Is this silence part of another unrecorded deal struck with Satan to continue messing with Job? No response...darkness...a seige. These are the words Job uses to describe what God is doing to him. Some of that is right in a way.

The chapter ends with this weird little apocalyptic run of verses describing how Job will stand at the end and see God in his own flesh. Weird. Is it that someone else won't see God for him, but that Job will get his own peek? That no one else will see God the way Job sees God? He might be right on that one. 

What does this mean? He knows his redeemer lives. So Job still sees God as his ultimate redeemer and advocate, despite this current silence and onslaught? God is still someone to believe in despite this testing and this agonizing mystery. I'm not too sure I'd have a similar attitude, as I judge people based on how they treat me. I suppose.

Then he takes a dig at his friends, telling them they'll be under judgment too, so don't act like they know. You know?

Job 18: Bildad Rides Again

Job 18:5 "The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning."

Bildad steps back up to the plate and takes another whack at it. He, like Eliphaz takes offense at the idea that, "Hey, you might be stupid." And who wouldn't. Bildad follows Job's blustery example and goes off, explaining all these horrible things that happen to wicked men. Fear, desolation, isolation, loss, accusation, pain, want, hunger. So...can all these things happen in spite of a life of notable devotion to God? What does that say about God? What does it say about man's deeds?

Job 17: Job and God

Job 17:11 "My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart."

I get the feeling here that Job doesn't want to lose heart completely. He seems to be holding onto that last tiny wisp of hope.

Can you imagine the feeling Job must have, where you didn't do anything specifically to incur God's wrath, and tragedy befalls you? Then, because of the culture of the time, everyone around you wonders what horrible thing you must have done to incur this kind of wrath from God? This assumes God's retribution and discipline is measured out proportionally to the offense. And as we have seen, that's not necessarily the case. Probably never the case, in reality.

People strut by, judging him. Some pretend to care. Some offer advice without true empathy. Job realizes this, and I think people realize this more often than we think. 

These are the things that contribute to Job feeling like his life has come to an end. In a way, I wonder if this pain Job is suffering at the hands of those who mock him and reject him and ignore him is more intense and severe than the pain of the original loss of his family and possessions. Is that macabre? I'm just wondering...Job mourned in silence, and had the attitude of "the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away." Here, his life is over. 

Job 16: Reset

Job 16:16-17 "My face is red with weeping, deep shadows ring my eyes;my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure."

It took me a few times reading this chapter, I'll admit. I don't know why. The subject matter doesn't appear to be particularly difficult. Job's grieving. Sad. Challenging God. Upset with his friends. Lacing into his friends with a sharp tongue (and deservedly so).

But is it repetitive? I admit to being a bit bored. What more can I say?

I guess I can talk about the text in general. If I take it that this is scripture, and therefore important, what can I pull from how this book is written? Sure, there are lots of little bits here and there that detail a bit about God, His character...how He works. What man's perception is of him. Man's perception of the spirit world. 

I do not want to lose sight of what brought us to this point, and why Job is such a wreck. God stirred the pot with the spoon of Satan, and made one man's life miserable. On the outside, it seems petty. God sort of sits back on his throne, and allows this destruction to prove a point to a lesser being about how awesome He and His people are, right? Why does God need to prove anything to Satan? Is this God giving in to Satan? Did Satan trick God into letting him mess with one of God's most devoted followers? If what I have believed and learned about God all along is true, of course then, that's not the point. Perhaps Satan was the one dangling on the chain? 

It is Satan's modus operandi to mess with people relentlessly. And God's to protect so that these sorts of things don't happen, right?

But Job's perspective on who God is...his advocate. His maker...those don't seem to change. Job still sees God as on his side, despite these ways God has buffeted him.

I don't know.

Job 15: Eliph-Sass

Job 15:31 "Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return."

Eliphaz can't keep silent anymore. He's had enough of Job's bluster and sarcasm. And who wouldn't. When someone denigrates the advice and "wise council" you dish out, don't you want to respond? Eliphaz goes on the offensive, knowing that the only reason anyone goes through bogus stuff is because he has sinned.

Eliphaz is the one who claimed to have special revelation from God about these sorts of things, and it's comical and sad at the same time, because what Eliphaz advises here has absolutely nothing to do with what God is actually doing with Job.

Does God punish sin? Sure. Was Job there when God created everything? No. Is man pure? No, of course not. It is as though Job was eating a hot dog and Eliphaz hands him a spoon, because that's what one eats with. Completely spurious "help."

Job 14: Job's the Man

Job 14:12 "So man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep..."

Here's another interesting chapter that becomes a prayer from Job to God. And its really quite heartbreaking to read Job's agony. The words are amazing, and reveal quite a bit about man's relationship to God, in the sense of man's temporary jog through a generally meaningless life. God is described sort of as someone who has better things to do than worry about a man. Well, does he? Why would God, with the power to throw mountains into the sea, have any consciousness about man, powerless and meek...a non-issue in the grand scheme of things?

Verse 12 required some pause. What does it mean that till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep? Does this speak to some cataclysmic event at the end of time that will result in a resurrection? Seems to me. Also, man will not resurrect until this happens. How can Job say this? How does he know this?

Job, however, seems to speak of resurrection as an annoyance. As something not to be desired. I do like the idea of God counting Job's steps, but not holding his sin against him. How does that happen? How does that work?

Job 13: Job Aims Higher

Job 13: 15 "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."

In the last chapter, Job distanced himself from the advice of his friends, making it very clear he did not value what they were laying down. He knew, as we did, that he was guilty of nothing. And when one is set upon by God in spite of innocence, how could any one of us expect anything of substance from unbelieving, ignorant associates? Sure, in a context other than that of Job's, their advice may have been valid, as they said things that were true about God in the general sense. 

In chapter 13, however, Job tells his buddies that they have no more information than he (less, as Job knows his integrity is intact), and that he is going to take his case to God. He's gonna open an official inquiry.

Job doesn't take this plan lightly. He understands that going before God and questioning him is a grave undertaking. Terrifying, really. He doesn't know what exactly he will expect, other than perfection. This is why I absolutely love verse 15 here. He throws himself on God's mercy. He is going to go before the LORD. He understands that he most likely won't be able to stand. But its not a fear of an adversary. This is awe of someone who can oppose him...who can disagree with him, but still comepletely and unreservedly love him. How much does that happen? Is this the kind of God I serve?

Job 12: Job, Snap!

Job 12:9 "Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?"

Job has had enough of the condescension, and the (possibly) well-intentioned misfires from the people he calls his friends. He lets them have with a pretty significant bon mot. "Wisdom will die with you?" Wow. I'm filing that away for later use when I need to put someone in his place.

Job 12, is Job saying, "I knooooow." His friends did cover any new ground. They didn't discover any new species in their lectures to Job.

All that aside, Job correctly identifies God as the wheelman in what was happening to him. How could there be any other way? Job knew he was right before God. So he knew God was behind this. Why? That was the question, as opposed to whom. I take comfort that even in the not-knowing why, we can still know who. And if we know who, that's where peace can come from, albeit possibly a small amount.

Job 11: And Yet Zophar

Job 11:4-6 "You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides."

Zophar is next to take a whack at Job's problem. And whack he does. He rips Job for hiding his sin and proclaiming his innocence, when clearly God is punishing him for something. Just who does Job think he is fooling? It is arrogance that guides Zophar's assessment of Job's predicament.

He offers a description of God that mostly was already covered by Job himself in the previous chapter. I picture Job nodding and rolling his eyes, as I often do when be lectured about something about which I already know full well. Nobody is as wise as God. Right, we get it. True wisdom is realizing nobody is as wise as God, uh huh. 

If only Job would confess this sin that is burdening him, Zophar thinks. Does he really want to help Job, or is it more of an issue of coming out on top? Zophar feels he is wiser than Job, and that his rather generic advice is customized enough to Job's "problem." Which is likely the most unique problem in human history, considering all that brought him to this point. Zophar needs to consider Job's specific problem, and even then would likely never be able to pinpoint God as the fulcrum.

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.

Job 9: Poor Job

Job 9:27-28 "If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,' I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent."

I tremendously enjoyed reading Job's response to Bildad here. And it wasn't because I wanted to see Job mop the floor with him, because he really doesn't, although Bildad's points would be demolished by what Job is saying. Also, Job in his descriptions of the character of God, comes thisclose to nailing exaclty what God is doing. Wise and perceptive. This must be the Job described in the first chapter.

My enjoyment comes in learning about God from the words of Job. He realizes many things that come from opposing God, from questioning God. 

I especially like the line in verse 5. "He moves mountains without their knowing it." That is tremendous power, and so unlike me. So unlike humanity. Moving someone from their foundation is a violent upheaval. Also, it makes it seem like God is sometimes undetectable by those expecting that upheaval. The subtlety sometimes is what makes the biggest moves.

Verse 12 is equally wise. "Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" Job realizes he is in no position to question God's doings. Does he accept what God is doing? Not completely. He knows that he is being pressed by a relentless, eternally wise God.

Job 8: Bildad Points the Finger

Job 8:6 "if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place."

Bildad takes a different approach than Eliphaz. He comes out just short of accusing Job of sinning to deserve what God did to him. 

What probably hurt the most, and what made me say "oh, snap" was when Bildad blamed Job's children for what happened to them. Their death was a direct result of their sin. Which we know was untrue, but more importantly, we know Job sacrificed daily on their behalf. How that must have stung him! Tough love?

Bildad advises Job to confess this sin, whatever it may be, and then things will get better. Talk about the wrong thing to say at the wrong time. No one going through what Job is going through wants to hear anything about confessing a sin he didn't commit. Did Job wrack his brain during his week of mourning attempting to remember a sin he may have committed? Something that threw his relationship with God out of whack? Wrongful accusation is not fun.

But then Bildad goes into making promises for God, as Eliphaz did. What Bildad says about God isn't exactly wrong, as much as I know about God at this point, but it wasn't really pointed to Job's current situation.

Try again, Bildad.

Job 7: Insignificance

Job 7:17 "What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him?"

Job here seems like a big picture guy. He seems to realize his place in the grandest scheme of things. He recognizes several things. Life isn't that long. Life is already hard enough. Death is permanent. 

Why would God consider Job to mess with him? Job is very near nailing it here. God has allowed Satan to mess with him. Job, in his uprightness, has become the target. Job was the squeaky wheel in a sense. Job stood out in his righteousness. He seemed to catch special attention from God because of this. Which is a paradigm shift from what we typically think of God. What we stereotypically think of God. Do we not have the impression that it is our good deeds that bring about God's blessing? Reward, right? 

But God was not impressed by Job, I don't think. Nothing Job could have done would have impressed God. That would have been an emphasis on Job's own works, rather than God's choosing to bless Job. In the same way, God chose to upset Job's apple cart.

In all of Job's worrying about losing his integrity, he holds nothing back here. He is real before God, masking nothing. He doesn't claim to know what God is doing. He doesn't offer to explain it away. He doesn't seem to care about masking his anguish with a facade of stoicism. In realizing his own ignorance, Job maintains his integrity. Is Job whining? I could see an argument in that with some of the words recorded here. Without knowing Job's predicament, one could tack a sense of "stop picking on me" to his emoting. But Job didn't care how he looked before his friends, and before his God, and that's pretty heroic to me.

Job 6: Job-oo

Job 6:10 "Then I would still have this consolation—my joy in unrelenting pain—that I had not denied the words of the Holy One."

Job's reaction to Eliphaz's opening argument is intense.

The breakdown of it is that when things are ok, he has no reason to make a bunch of noise, so this isn't just some hissy fit Job is throwing. Got it. Doesn't want to eat, ok...depressed teenager vibe? Or does he refer to Eliphaz's advice? Not a fan. 

But I think I want to consider what he says about wanting God to crush him so that he wouldn't deny Him. In his anguish, Job still didn't want to curse God. So it would be easier for him to maintain his integrity if God just killed him right there. That is devotion. But God doesn't strike him down. God was already in the midst of making it hard for Job.

In verse 14, Job continues deconstructing his friends. Job compares himself to a caravan seeking water, disappointed to not find what they need. These are his friends. I'm sure Job hoped there would be an outside chance they'd offer some helpful advice, but none is to be heard just yet. Job doesn't ask for much, does he?

If they have something important or worthwhile to say, Job will listen. But he is pretty certain he will find no relief from his dishonest friends, from his fairweather friends.

Job lets his friends have it, which on the surface is somewhat disquieting. Were I Job, I'd probably sit in silence, or thank my friends politely for trying, even if I thought they weren't helping at all. But, thankfully, I've never gone through what Job is going through. God hasn't put me through a test this severe, at least that's my perception. So I can't say for certain how I'd really react. I would still have some sort of care about their feelings. Job, in his integrity, is fully honest with them, and they haven't been fully honest with him. At least Eliphaz, who is the only one we've heard so far. Job calls them out for not being sympathetic to him, for not being honest with him.

Job 5: Eliphaz-tronaut

Job 5:8 "But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him."

Eliphaz continues his speech to Job. The first few verses talk about trouble that has come to a person. Eliphaz doesn't specifically mention Job, but unsafe children...a stolen harvest...these are things that happened to Job. Which makes it kind of unsettling when Eliphaz mentions a fool being suddenly cursed. Was Job suddenly cursed, as Eliphaz says with some certainty? Not exactly.

Hey, Eliphaz seems to ask. Why don't you consult God about it? Lay your case before him. Seems like good advice, but practical? Not exactly. When we don't have any idea what God is doing, and it's painful, we want to know what the deal is. We have this idea of God, of how good we are as people, and think it insane that this good God would bring calamity on our innocent heads. Even that suggests that bad things only happen because of our behavior. A sense of self cannot be driven by our circumstances, because we are not our circumstances.

So to lay one's cause before God requires a man to know certain things about God. In verses 8 through 20, Eliphaz demonstrates his knowledge, his estimation of God. It seems to be a lot of God frustrating mans plans, and God putting man in his place, really just showing off his power.

It's good to be disciplined by God, but Eliphaz starts making promises on His behalf that may or may not be fulfilled, and place God under no obligation to fulfill them. Then to ask Job to apply these promises to himself...seems a bit presumptuous.

Job 4: Eliphaz Speaks Up

Job 4:17 "Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?"

Eliphaz is the first to venture his opinion. I suppose I can't really consider his speech here "scripture" in the traditional sense, as it is spoken just by some guy (albeit wise-sounding), not a priest or a prophet or anything. So anything he (or the other two) say should probably be taken with a grain of salt. We also need to keep in mind that we know why God allowed this to happen to Noah, and chances are good Job's friends won't nail it exactly, though they may touch on truths.

That said, what do you say to a guy who is mourning, cursing his birth, who no longer has family, whose wife is no option? He really has no one to go to. 

I guess he starts out kinda strong. Job's example did not go unnoticed. Also, of course someone struck with so much pain and discouragement is probably right to mourn. 

To make a claim that the innocent have never perished and the upright have never been destroyed is a bit shaky to me. Without getting into semantics about definitions of "innocent" and "upright," sure the upright have perished. Noah, for one. He didn't exactly end well, especially one of his sons.

To suggest that Job somehow is reaping what he sowed (v. 8), is false. Who can claim to know what others do in secret? Besides, this is something he claimed to have observed, thereby going on personal experience, not necessarily God's truth.

Then Eliphaz claims to have had a vision in which an angel tells him some stuff. His description of the vision is pretty intense, and a troubling read. He is asked if a mortal can be more righteous than God, which, of course he cannot. It is meant to put man in his obvious place. Man is dirt. But we already knew that (Ge. 2:4). His speech goes on in chapter 5.

Job 3: Cursing the Birthing

Job 3:1 "After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth."

Job finally speaks to his friends about his situation. What I have is written very poetically, in couplets. Every sentence seems to have two parts.

Job paints an extremely dark picture about the day of his birth, cursing it...wishing he could reverse it. He seems to want to hide it, to black it out. To obscure it. Everything he held dear was now destroyed, dead, or stolen away. It's just a whole lot of cursing.

Verse 8 is rather strange. "May those who curse days curse that day (the day of Job's birth), those who are ready to rouse Leviathan." Who are those who curse days? Whoever they are, they also apparently rouse Leviathan. Is it some sort of a mystical thing? And there's not really any definitive description of what Leviathan is. A large fish, mayhaps. Anyway.

Verse 14 suggests some knowledge or education about the afterlife. He says that were he stillborn he would rest with kings and counselors of earth, whose buildings lie in ruins...so those who were great in days longer ago than he. Also, this rest would be a place free from turmoil.

Verse 20-22 are really kind of depressing, suggesting God gives longer life to those who are in pain and misery, when the grave would be a relief, a treasure, a reward. Very morose. And I thought it was mostly teenagers who wish on themselves like this.

The concept of the hedge is brought up here, too. Where Satan declares that God has placed a hedge of protection around Job, Job sees a hedge of entrapment. The way is hidden, so how can Job find escape?

Job 2: A Second Test

Job 2:10 "He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."

A second time the angels present themselves to account, Satan reports he's been roaming around the earth, and God brings up Job's morality. I don't believe Satan had forgotten about Job, even though I don't know how long chapter two occurs after chapter one. 

"Skin for skin!" Satan says, suggesting that Job willingly abides the death of loved ones, as long as his own skin is preserved, which would be a pretty monstrous accusation. Satan tells God to strike Job's flesh and bones, and then we'll see who maintains his integrity.

Satan is described as afflicting Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Which had to be absolutely miserable. He scraped himself with broken pottery as he sat among the ashes (which suggests he was still mourning his sons and daughters). I suggested that God may have been the triggerman in chapter one, but perhaps he gave Satan power over the fire, the wind...the infection, etc. But the power still would have been God's.

Job's wife (who may have been spared death to further Job's affliction...I'm just sayin') is incredulous. "Curse God and die!" She submits to the suggestion box. Just what Job needed. Some encouraging words.

Job's rebuttal is part "Aaarrgghhh, I'm in pain," and "Let's be sensible." 

Again, a rather amazing and somewhat disturbing perspective. "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" What happens in a man's life, and I mean, what interaction with God happens to give such a seemingly third-person opinion? Who wouldn't still be shaking their fists and openly questioning God? The good is very easy to accept. The trouble? The evil? Harder to stomach, but it doesn't lessen God's nature in that He remains God. 

Then Job's three good friends arrive, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They come with the intentions to comfort Job, and sit down to mourn with him. I've heard of Eliphaz before. In Genesis 36, there's a genealogy, suggesting Teman was a grandson of Esau. That may help with placing Job in a timeline...around the time of the patriarchs.

Job 1: Job's First Test

Job 1:21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

This doesn't read like what I've been reading. It sounds a lot like a parable. A story. It doesn't read like a history book. Anyway, it is a story with a pretty incredible beginning. We are introduced to Job, who is described to be a lot like Noah...most notable for being upright and a God-fearing man. He was a rich man with a large family from the merry old land of Uz. 

Job would even make atonement sacrifices for his family after large feasts, just in case they debauched themselves, so they would be covered. Was this something God commanded? Could that substitutionary sacrifice work, for someone who's heart may or may not have been in the right place? Or was it Job's invention? I'm curious to know what God's thoughts on this were. It apparently wasn't a sin. I don't recall reading about it in my perusal of Leviticus or Deuteronomy. 

So one day, the angels come to present themselves before God. Apparently it's angel inspection time. Satan was one of them, and God asks what he's been doing. Satan was wandering the earth. Not heaven. Unless this angel inspection was somewhere other than heaven, I don't know. God informs Satan about how awesome Job is, upright and unlike anyone else on earth. Satan says, "Psshh...that's because you protect him and make him rich. Take it away and he'll curse you."  

God says, "It's on" giving Satan permission to mess with Job, but not to touch his life.

Notable here is the differing view of man that God and Satan have. God glories in Job's goodness. Satan cynically suspects its only because God made him rich, a dig at both Job and God. Also, it is God who allows Satan to do these things, and binds him against injuring Job himself, which, if God had to mention it, Satan most certainly would have. Satan can't just do what he wants.

So anyway, Job is hanging out when a servant runs up and tells him that the Sabeans (a people group...not like, "The Sabean Family") have carried off the oxen and donkeys, and murdered all but this one servant. That stinks. 

A second servant comes up and tells Job that the fire of God came down and burned up the sheep and the servants, sparing just this one. That's troubling. 

A third servant runs up and reports that the Chaldeans came and stole the camels and murdered even more servants, sparing this one. That's infuriating.

A fourth servant arrives and reports that a mighty wind a-blew in and knocked out the four corners of the house Job's sons and daughters were partying in, and it collapsed on them and killed them all. That's horrifying.

Does Satan have the power over fire from heaven or the wind? Did Satan influence the Sabeans and the Chaldeans? I doubt it, this is probably more evil from God. And we've covered instances where God has used evil. This doesn't mean God is evil. But it was Satan's barbecue, so these things, Satan probably dreamed up, and told God what he wanted to see happen. Is that so absurd?

So...all this happens to me. I would freak out and be depressed. Would I curse God? I don't know. I'd have some serious questions for him, because I wouldn't know why this was happening. I wouldn't even think Satan was involved, and I would say, God, why are you doing this to me?

Job's perspective is grounded and sensible, without being emotionless. He recognized that all the things he had...that he owned, he had because of the LORD, so they were at his mercy to be taken away at anytime. Job probably doesn't have any misgivings that he earned any of this wealth. A person comes into the world with nothing, and that's all he has left when he leaves.

Est. 9: Kill With Joy

Esther 9:13 "'If it pleases the king,' Esther answered, 'give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on gallows.'"

So the Jews were able to overcome this edict, now that they were allowed to defend themselves. With Xerxes wrapped around Esther's finger, and with Mordecai growing in power, what did they have to fear? The Persians who would be killing them were extremely afraid of them. And perhaps this speaks back to why Haman wanted the Jews wiped out. Maybe it wasn't just because Mordecai infuriated him so. He feared the Jews, and his fear contributed to wanting them exterminated. It makes a little more sense, and makes Haman seem a bit less paranoid.

So not only do the Jews go to town on the thirteenth, Esther requests that the king give them the 14th to do this killing as well. The most troubling thing to me in this episode is that God isn't consulted in this. He is not mentioned anywhere in Esther approving this killing, especially, the second day of it. The terror fomented by Haman is visited twice on his own people. This seemed like vengeance for vengeance's sake. I wonder what the significance is of them not taking the plunder. Like was it symbolic of them just getting rid of a threat. They weren't there to be theives. This wasn't conquest, it was self-defense?

So to celebrate this killing...or...this liberation...it was time to party. The Jews begin a festival known as Purim. In verse 22, this commemorates "the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration." They observe it by feasting and giving gifts to the poor.

Est. 8: Jews Fight Back

Esther 8:11 "The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies."

So Haman's out of the picture. Which I thought would mean Xerxes would overturn the edict. That's just the way it is in every movie ever. The bad guy gets killed, and everything goes back to the way it was before he was in power. Not so here. Esther still has to go in and plead with Xerxes to put an end to Haman's evil plan. 

But he doesn't. I don't know why, and I'm not familiar with ancient Persian politics, but I would guess it was a sign of weakness and indecision to change one's mind on an issue. I can't imagine that happening today... So the one thing Xerxes can do is issue another edict. This one gave the Israelites in the land the ability to assemble and protect themselves when they were under attack. The day the attacks on the jews were set to begin was the 13th day of the 12th month...Adar. That was also the day the new edict said the Jews were allowed to defend themselves. Makes sense.

So the Jews rejoice, because God is on their side, and they won't be killed for absolutely no reason whatsoever other than Mordecai wouldn't bow to one nutjob. Whats interesting to note is that many people from other nationalities converted to Judaism because of this. They were so afraid of being killed by Jews, that they became Jews. I can't imagine another religious dynamic that works like this today.

Est. 7: How's Haman Hangin'?

Esther 7:10 "So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided."

Esther still hasn't told Xerxes about her request, and he's getting kind of impatient. This is obviously important to her. He must have been wondering what was taking so long for her to tell him. Man, I'd freak out. Can you imagine his initial thought when Esther finally tells him that her request is to simply spare her life (which she took into her hands by approaching the king in his court without previous appointment), and the lives of those of her people. 

Esther goes on to tell Xerxes that she and her people had been marked for annihilation. Slavery, meh, that's no cause to go before the king. 

Xerxes appears to have no clue who would do such a thing to his queen, despite having co-signed on Haman's genocide of the Jews. How often does he do this? I mean, really. Perhaps he didn't want to believe it was Haman, his trusted official. There had to be some other legislation pushed through that he missed or forgot about. But Esther tells him, yeah, it's Haman, who is sitting right there in front of them. 

Xerxes leaves in a huff, enraged probably.  He comes back just in time to see Haman falling on the couch with Esther to beg her for his life. It looks to Xerxes (who is not thinking rationally again) that Haman is in the midst of making a play for Esther. Yeah. In the middle of being sentenced to death. That Haman is a hound dog!  

So Haman is hanged on the gallows that were built for Mordecai. The innocent was spared, as the evil one was executed.

Est. 6: Mordecai's Honor

Esther 6:11 "So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'"

So King Xerxes is laying there in bed and he can't sleep. Just as we go flip on the TV or the radio or something, he needed some sort of a distraction, so he has his chronicles read to him...the things that happened during his reign. I usually listen to a radio to fall asleep, because I can't stand total silence. Maybe this is something I have in common with a king! Pretty sweet.

So anyway, the reader gets to the part where Mordecai narcs on the two guys who were conspiring against Xerxes. Suddenly it strikes him. I imagine he sits straight up in his enormous bed and wonders aloud, "What...how have we recognized Mordecai for this?" Saving the life was a pretty big deal. "Nothing has been done for Mordecai." Well, now they have to figure out some stuff to do for Mordecai. Someone important would have to give him some advice. He notices Haman in the court. Xerxes probably thinks Haman can give him some good advice on how to honor someone.

Haman, who is there ironically to discuss Mordecai's death, had just had the gallows erected for that purpose. Amazing.

Xerxes' conversation with Haman from this point on reminds me of an episode of "I Love Lucy." One character is talking about something, while the second character thinks that first character is talking about something else. Xerxes questions Haman, asking, "What's to be done with someone who the king delights to honor?" Haman, flattered and presuming it is he, not Mordecai, the king delights to honor, wracks his brain trying to think of the most amazing way ever for the king to honor someone. One by one, Haman throws out honor after honor, including dressing the honoree in royal robes, parading him around town, and proclaiming aloud, "See how the king honors those who he delights in."

Can you imagine the deflation and the feeling of utter worthlessness Haman must have felt when the king instructed him to go do this with Mordecai the Jew? The same Mordecai who aggravated him for no real good reason constantly, just a refusal to honor him? The same Mordecai who Haman spent all evening building gallows for?

So there was Haman, parading Mordecai all over town, honoring him with a king's honor instead of hanging him from the gallows. 

Haman presumed too much. Here God preserved Mordecai. Mordecai who had received little or no honor at the time he had saved the king, patiently waited until God timed it to reward him. And in a really ironic, painful-to-the-other-guy way. Gloryhounds will get their comeuppance. And those who wait will receive their reward.

And Haman barely has time to go cry to his wife and friends before the eunuchs come and haul him off to Esther's banquet. It had to be piling on for Haman at this point, as his friends told him there was no standing up to jews. They have their special God in charge of them. He was as good as dead. 

Est. 5: Queen Requ-Esther

Esther 5:8 "If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question."

The plan is underway. Esther was finally convinced by Mordecai to grow a pair, and she courageously appears before King Xerxes. From what we have seen with how Xerxes dealt with Vashti, Xerxes was a moody guy, and there was probably no way to tell just how he would react to seeing Esther in his court unannounced and without appointment. He could have offed her at his whim. But he did not. He extended the scepter of welcome, which was the signal of like, "Ah, cool. It's ok for you to be here. Let's chat about whatever."

Esther has a request for the king, but she doesn't tell him what it is. She asks to throw a banquet to ask both Xerxes and Haman together. Not suspicious. She doesn't tell the king what the request is, choosing to wait until the following day at the banquet to unveil her request. The king must have been pretty pleased with his bride, as he was willing to grant up to half the kingdom to Esther. Which is probably a lot. I'm not as familiar with the socio-political climate of ancient Persia as I should be, so I don't know how much power women are given, and what their standing is.

Haman is pretty proud of himself and is riding pretty high in the saddle, having been personally singled out by the queen to have a banquet thrown for him. And who wouldn't be. He was into power. He was driven. Now he's going to have this event in his honor. 

Then he sees Mordecai by the king's gate again.

Since Mordecai refuses to bow or rise or bow and rise for Haman, Haman got super mad. But he showed some restraint, and, fuming, went on his way. Boasting to his friends and wife about how he is being given this banquet, he still can't get over Mordecai's disrespect. Zeresh and his friends, who are all about answers, tell him to build a gallows 75 feet high, have Mordecai hanged on it, and then go about his business with the banquet. Yeah, a hanging of a civilian. That will throw the fear into the people, and if they don't respect him after that...well...at least he'll have plenty of business for that 75-foot gallows.

Mordecai assumes God will deliver Israel from this plot. He doesn't know exactly how, but Esther is one vessel that can be used. He puts his hope in the promises God made to Israel, so how could Israel be wiped out. Despite his mourning over the decree, I'm sure Mordecai had joy about who his God is. And God could have poured fire down on Xerxes, and God could have done what he did with the armies of Israel's enemies, throwing confusion into them, and have them slash and impale each other. Or God could reach down, use a person out of nowhere, and make something awesome happen. 

We'll see.

Est. 4: Esther Will Help

Esther 4:14 "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Xerxes' annihilation edict is troubling to the Jews. Understatement of the year. Kingdomwide the Jews are mourning and wearing sackcloth and ashes. (By the way, this appears to be the first book where "Jews" is substituted widely for "Israelites." Ezra had a couple "Jews," but moreso in Esther.) Mordecai is one of them, and he wanders about wailing loudly. The Jews could still go out in public because there was a date set for the annihilation. Haman expected to be able to wipe out an entire race in one day, apparently.

Esther, who may not be getting it, sends some clothes to Mordecai to wear so he could enter the city gate (a no-no in sackcloth). He refused, so Esther sends a eunuch to go see what's wrong with Mordecai. I said, to see what's wrong with Mordecai. Esther did not get the "Wipe Out the Jews" memo. The queen. Maybe it was not her business what was going on. Maybe she was just a figurehead. But she was completely in the dark that her people were going to be destroyed. What was she doing? Where was she? Did Xerxes hide it intentionally, or did Esther choose not to concern herself with the day-to-day goings on in the kingdom?

Anyway, Mordecai sends her the edict, and begs her to ask for mercy and plead with the king for his people. Esther responds with concern for her own life, "I'll get killed if I go before the king without invitation." Hey, way to be selfless, Esther.

Mordecai gets her on board, because Esther is dead anyway if they find out she's a Jew. And maybe this messenger, Hathach, read the messages. So he would know. Mordecai issues a pretty intense challenge. Esther is on the throne for a reason. Perhaps it was for this time, where she could aid in the deliverance of her people. She needed to take a stand, because if the plan moves forward, she'd be killed almost certainly, and deliverance would come from somewhere, someone else. 

Whoa! Talk about taking Esther down a peg. Mordecai believes in his God to deliver His people. Esther has an opportunity here to do something great. And if not she, than someone else. Esther accepts the challenge, and plans to go before the king.

Est. 3: Haman's Jewnocide

Esther 3:13 "Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and little children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods."

So Xerxes promotes this guy Haman, giving him the highest position of the nobles in all the land. I don't know if it was because Haman was the guy who hung the conspirators or whatever, or if he was involved at all. Xerxes also issues a decree that everyone had to bow to Haman. I find it somewhat interesting that with credit given Mordecai for uncovering the plot, the king doesn't give Mordecai the same sort of honor. Mordecai ends up being the one guy who refuses to bow to Haman. Of course this doesn't go over well with Haman. 

It wasn't enough to just want to kill Mordecai for his shows of disrespect, Haman seizes this opportunity to blame the Jews nationwide for being a people who refuse to obey the kings laws...they have these weird customs, and apparently only worship one God. A God who is no king of men. Haman isn't recorded as telling Xerxes that he is referring to the Jews. But insubordination of anyone is enough to freak Xerxes out to the point that he gives carte blanche to Haman to eliminate this threat completely. 

I don't know how sneaky Haman is being, but it appears he is not being fully honest with Xerxes, who, until this point doesn't appear to have any specific beef with the Jews. We do know that Mordecai believes that Esther would be distasteful to Xerxes for being a Jew, but that probably wouldn't be cause to ride along with genocidal plans.

So the plot goes forward, and dispatches are sent out under Xerxes' name to annihilate anyone of Jewish ancestry and to plunder their land. Celebrating their plans, Xerxes and Haman sit down to drink. I didn't know why the last verse mentions the city of Susa was "bewildered," but I think its probably because they don't know why they now have to kill their Jewish neighbors and take their stuff. That would be kind of weird. It would be hard for me to kill my neighbor just because the leader now tells me too. Meh, when in Persia...

Est. 2: Esther's The One

Esther 2:15 "When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her."

Xerxes wanted the most beautiful, hottest best virgin ever. He was the king, and he could make that type of proclamation. He was replacing Vashti, who was quite the prize pig herself apparently, but she was expendable because she made the king mad. What beautiful young virgin out there wouldn't want to be the king's next slampiece? 

So this search takes about 4 years before a woman named Hadassah, or Esther, is uncovered (I know...I'd go with "Esther," too). She was being raised as a daughter by her cousin, Mordecai, since her parents died. I don't know if Mordecai put Esther up to this, or if she was just found by Xerxes' Virgin Patrol, but the bottom line is, she was totally hot, and she fit all the criteria to go into Xerxes Hot Virgin Finishing School, which was six months of oil of myrrh treatments, and six months of perfumes and cosmetics. They were going to make her even more beautiful, since Photoshop wasn't around at that time. Well, maybe 1.0 was.

Esther was forbidden by Mordecai to reveal her Jewish ancestry. No reason is given for this in scripture, but I imagine Xerxes probably wanted to preserve his race. Plus he probably wouldn't want to give a position of that kind of power and respect to a Jew.

Esther won the favor of those eunuchs that were in charge of the Hot Virgin Finishing School. Probably because she wasn't a diva, like I'd imagine most women were who were continually told they were hot stuff all their lives and then had a chance to compete to be queen. I'd rather be a eunuch than be in charge of that group of women. 

The king finally sees her, and knows right away that she is the one. Yep, based on looks. So he crowns her and throws a banquet in her honor.

But all is not well in Susa. Mordecai, who sat at the king's gate to try to talk to Esther whenever he could overheard a plot to kill Xerxes hatched by two of his officials. Mordecai told Esther who told Xerxes what she heard from Mordecai, and the two officials were hanged. Mordecai must be up for a big promotion!