Job 42: Restoration Job

Job 42:5 "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."

Now comes the task of replying to God. Which can only be a reply of humility. How could Job stand? He probably didn't realize what he was suggesting, when he desired an answer from God. Was this simple curiosity? Who was Job to expect or ever dare think God would give him the answer he agonized to receive? And God never answers Job, or is not recorded as doing so. Job makes the connection that he is nobody in the God scheme of things. 

His statement in verse 5 is parallel to my endeavor with this blog. I've heard many things in my church, from mentors, pastors and teachers. Now I am beginning to see God. And that is something that I have needed. Not to discount the shaping and teaching of those who have gone ahead of me and done their studies, that's valuable and I am thankful. But all of those would be glad to know I had followed behind them through the word, for it's not enough to hear.

Job gets a the storybook ending, and all the plotlines are tied up. What happened to his misguided friends? Job offered sacrifices for them, as he had for his sons and daughters.

What happened to Job's reputation? Fully restored. They came and comforted and consoled him over what God had done, and even gave him some bling.

And Job's family and possessions? Fully restored and then some. He started with seven sons and three daughters. Finished with seven sons and three daughters. He even lived long enough to see his great-grandchildren. 7000 sheep before, 14000 sheep after. 3000 camels before, 6000 camels after. 500 yoke of oxen before, 1000 after. And so on. I don't know why God didn't give him 14 sons and 6 daughters. Maybe that was too much for his wife(wives) to handle. What? Can't God be pragmatic sometimes? His daughters were granted an inheritance in the land, too. Which was weird, remember the story of Zelophehad's daughters? 

I guess this is probably the heaviest reading so far. Numbers was rather slow, and the recap of the Chronicles took some time, but the subject matter and the theological issues brought up in Job demanded some extra thought and muddling through. It was a lot to think about. Did I see a bit of myself in Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar? I must admit that I did. But I'm not going to take it too hard. I don't know a Job, but if I do meet one, I will do my best not to wax philosophic and theologic. It didn't help Job any when they did it, and I can't imagine its what a suffering person needs. He just needs someone there to listen and love on him. 

I especially loved God's replies in the latter chapters. I learned a lot about creation, and the care that went into, and goes into it. Very interesting read. Do I think it really happened? That there was actually a historical guy named Job? I don't know. I'm not a historian. Do the lessons remain? Absolutely.

Job 31: What Job Didn't

Job 31:28 "then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high."

There's been lots of talk about what Job did. First off, there is wild speculation from Job's associates about what he must have done to invoke what they perceive is God's discipline. Secondly, and a couple chapters ago, Job describes the things he did to demonstrate his righteous life, whether to God, to his friends, or even maybe to himself. 

Here in chapter 31, Job goes into great detail describing the things he is not guilty of. With every action Job recuses himself of doing, he seems to describe why he didn't do these things, and it comes down to a respect for God's splendor and general awesomeness. To a lesser extent, it was to guard his reputation and his conscience.

God will vindicate him at the end of all this business. Job seems to have his hands spread wide as if to say, "I have nothing to hide. Examine my deeds." He's not merely bragging. But who among us hasn't been falsely accused of something, and it comes as great surprise. You know you aren't guilty of the deed in question, but you have no way of disproving the charges. In fact, there is what your accusers consider greater evidence that proves it. Now you understand Job's predicament.

Job 30: Job's Class Struggle

Job 30:20 "I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me."

This was a humiliating experience for Job. After enumerating his various good deeds, and very nearly entering the realm of self-righteous pride, he considers what has happened to him since then. Men he considered beneath him mock him. I wonder if this is a sin for Job? To consider himself better than someone? And then this comeuppance hits fast and hard? We know it was for no deed Job did that brought this tragedy upon him. That's a pretty heavy dose of humble pie.

Verse 20 is rather heartbreaking to me. Isn't God the one promoting Himself as the refuge? The strength...a place to run to for safety? Consider the covenant he made with Israel. Why would God be silent now? Why would God just "look at" Job, when Job cries out for deliverance? Is this still the test? We haven't heard from heaven since the beginning, so I don't know if the dialogue is still going on between God and Satan. 

What if it's something like this:

Satan: "OK, I took his family and his house, and he's sick and diseased, but he will curse you if his friends mistreat him."

God: "OK, make his friends jerks."
Satan: "All right, I made his friends jerks, but surely he will curse you if people spread false rumors about him and his righteousness."

We don't know if that's happening. Maybe it is. I don't know.

Job 29: Previous Job Experience

Job 29:4 "Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house..."

I picture Job wondering aloud here. I don't see Job as a bragger. He had no need to boast about his good works. Nor does this sound like him trying to explain away Eliphaz's baseless charges from chapter 22. He legitimately appears to try to go over who he was, and the things he did in his life previous to this. He doesn't seem to want to show God up by claiming his innocence. 

He describes what his life was like before tragedy fell upon him. He describes God's friendship as intimate. Can you imagine what it's like to have an intimate friendship with God? Not just to have a relationship with God. An intimate friendship. The one you turn to first with good news or bad. The one you confide in first. The one you trust the most, among all your friends. 

Job was wealthy. He was respected. He was never in need. He had all the cream and olive oil a man could ever want.

But it wasn't just about what Job had. He lists his forays into social justice, being helpful to the infirmed, the orphans, the aliens, the needy. He was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. Is there any reason he can't be this again? Probably not, but the society would not give him the same respect, because they, like Job's friends, probably assume Job lost his wealth and family because of unconfessed sin. 

And it would have been easy to put on this public display of confession before God, but it wouldn't have been genuine. It would have satisfied the hearts of men, to some extent, but it also would have fueled the gossip fires. Damned if he do, damned if he don't.

Job 27: The Temporal Wicked

Job 27:8 "For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?"

Job continues his jibber jabber. He continues to defend himself in front of a hostile jury, and before a silent God. 

There has been much discussion about the wicked. How they have their property and families taken, and how they have no hope. Whether or not Job should be counted among them. What we can tell from Job is that their deeds have no certain bearing on how luxuriously they live their lives. The comfort they experience in their lives is never related to how good...how "righteous" they are. God appears to have no formula for rewarding goodness and obedience with riches.

There is an understanding that God's justice isn't always manifested while a man is alive, roaming the earth. Job appears to accept this. Is it satisfactory to Job? I guess. Does he like it? No. He is intellectually honest with his feelings, but still realizes that God is going to do his thing no matter what.

Job 26: Bildad Gets Jobbed

Job 26:14 "And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

Job rebukes Bildad. His response is along the lines of "No poop, Sherlock." (This being a Bible site.) Bildad's mastery of the obvious does not slip by Job. Of course God is powerful, awesome, and amazing.

I don't know what Job means by saying Rahab in verse 12 (also mentioned in chapter 9). Some research uncovered that Rahab is apparently the name of a sea monster. I don't know if Job is referring to a local tradition, or if he really thinks Rahab is real. 

This is presumably not the same Rahab who helped the spies escape Jericho in Joshua 2. She was not a sea monster.

Anyway, I like to have this notion of God that Job offers in verse 14. We can behold all these incomprehensible powers and amazing attributes of God, but these are still mere whispers of his power. Which is pretty amazing. I can imagine a lot.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.