365 Reflections

Job 38:1–3 (ESV) Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Why does God show up to Job "out of the whirlwind"? He could have come any number of ways. The NIV calls it a "storm" and the Message version says, "violent storm". What is the point here? I think it's pretty simple. We have a God in heaven that will embrace the storm for us and with us. And his storm was far more violent than Job's.  No matter what you're facing today, I can guarantee this - Christ knows what it's like and has been through it already. The storm of the cross was agony and separation. The storm of Christ's cup of suffering endured the wrath of God for you and for me. Second, the Lord speaks out of the "whirlwind" because the breath of God shaped the heavens.  Psalm 33:6 (ESV) By the word of the ...

Elihu heads into the final stretch of his speech to Job in Job 36. I love how he has defended God every step of the way. While Job has only concerned himself with his plight, Elihu is setting the stage for the dramatic entrance of God.  Job 36:5 (ESV) “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. Job has been concerned primarily with one thing, what he's done to deserve this punishment. As with most people, Job has dwelt only on the personal realities of his experiences. He's questioned why God is punishing him while letting the wicked "go free." I don't judge him at all, I would have fared far worse. But Elihu introduces something interesting to Job in verse 16.  Job 36:16 (ESV) He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness. In the New Living Translation: Job 36:16–17 (NLT) “God is leading you away from danger, Job, to a place f...

Elihu continues to answer Job in chapter 34.  Job 34:7-9 (ESV) What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water, 8 who travels in company with evildoers and walks with wicked men? 9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God.’ He first sounds a lot like the three friends with a twinge of condescension for these are familiar attacks on Job. But his words are taken to a far different conclusion. Where Job's three friends assumed his guilt brought just condemnation, Elihu turns a corner and defends the awesome "otherness" of God.  Job 34:12–15 (ESV) Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. 13 Who gave him charge over the earth, and who laid on him the whole world? 14 If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, 15 all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. Elihu makes the case for the sovereign wisdom of God. No one put God in charge. H...

Many times we let what people say about us really stick. Especially in times of hardship. That's what happens to Job in Job 30. He spent the previous chapter reminiscing about the glory days of his past. Now in chapter 30, he's talking about the devastating effects his suffering has had on his standing in the community.  Job 30:1 (ESV) “But now they laugh at me, men who are younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. I would say that Job has sort of backtracked here. He's no longer interested in a response from God. He's looking at the response of people. This is a fool's errand in so many ways. People are never the proper barometer of our life. So what that they laugh? Their laughter betrays their ignorance. They have no idea that God was bragging about Job's righteous ways - that there was none like him in all the Earth (Job 1:8). He continues later: Job 30:8–11 (ESV) A senseless, a nameless brood, they have been whi...

Sometimes we just want to go back in time, don't we? Especially when life is hard. That's where Job arrives in chapter 29. He looks with longing on the days of old and desires to return. Who can blame him? Nothing good has transpired since the beginning of this story. Brutal loss, tortuous suffering, and endless unsolicited and unwise counsel have been his experience for long enough to make him cry out in anguish for the better days of old.  Job 29:2–5 (ESV) “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me, 3 when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness, 4 as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, 5 when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me,... One thing you will see is that in the English translation of this chapter is how few sentences there are. Job expounds in long sentences recounting the glory of his former years.  He speaks of the leadership role in hi...

There's a skill we often lack in the Christian world. Here it is - to speak truthfully about life, to describe honestly what's going on in our hearts and minds, and to express it audibly. There tends to be a superficiality to our faith that fails to let the sufferers cry, the sinful confess, and the one in misfortune express his frustrations with God. We expect people to be quiet and go to church far too much. We do so in defiance of the model laid out for us in the scriptures time and again and most notably with Job.  Job has held on now for 25 chapters of harassing speech from his friends. You have to imagine that they have only added salt to the wounds of his heart from all the trouble life has given him. But now after three cycles of conversations with them, Job has not given in. You have to credit him with either a strong sense of stubbornness or a very strong sense of conviction about his perspective on life. I give him the latter. Job knows his suffering is uncalled for ...

Job 25:1–6 (ESV) Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise? 4 How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? 5 Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; 6 how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!” I put the entirety of Bildad's final accusation against Job here because of its brevity and to celebrate this as the final word from the three horrible friends who have not changed in the least as they have sat and mourned with their "friend" in his dire situation.  Some people are all theology and no heart. Job's three friends fit that bill exactly. When I first read Bildad's final speech here in Job 25 I thought, "This guy sounds like a die-hard reformed theologian." He's speaking hard-line "total depravity...

The friends of Job are horrible listeners. They blindly follow only what they assume to be true about justice. God punishes the wicked, all suffering is in response to wickedness, therefore repent and seek God's mercy. These simple ideas and conclusions are coming apart as Job continues to defend himself in the face of their attacks.  Zophar only speaks twice in this book and he's learned nothing through these events. He uses his second speech to reiterate his assumptions of the destiny of the wicked. They will suffer and they will fail.  Job 20:27–29 (ESV) The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. 28 The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. 29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God.” What makes Job hard to read in this middle section is that much of what the friends say is true about the common fate of men who rebel against God. But Job is the enigma. ...

The book of Job is hard to get through at times. It's full of personal attacks and false accusations and then rebuttals from Job for the lion's share of the story. YET, and this has happened repeatedly already, there are some of the most wonderful phrases of the Bible found in its pages. Consider this one from Job 19. Job 19:25–27 (ESV)  For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! This is perhaps the greatest statement of faith in the Bible. Job is utterly desperate, downtrodden, and defeated by the events of his life. But here he still holds on to the promise of God's redeeming plan for mankind. Yes, the devil had his way with him (although Job thinks it's God), but Job's faith will not waver in the ultimate plan God has for his life. And without Job...

Job 18:1–4 (ESV)  Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 “How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak. 3 Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight? 4 You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place? It's Bildad's turn to come at Job for the second round. His speech is short, to the point, and wrong. He firmly attacks Job as among those whose own evil comes back on their heads.  Job 18:5–6 (ESV) “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine. 6 The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out. On and on he goes for the rest of the chapter to make one simple point - Job's wickedness is to blame for Job's suffering. It's a simple conclusion for a man who does not speak the truth nor sit to hear it. He's too busy accusing to hear what Job is saying.  Putting yourself in Bildad's position is imp...

Job continues his speech in chapter 17 by appealing to God for his cause in the face of these accusers who have leveled him with wrongdoing.  Job 17:3 (ESV) “Lay down a pledge for me with you; who is there who will put up security for me? In the NLT it's clearer: Job 17:3 (NLT) “You must defend my innocence, O God, since no one else will stand up for me. And the reason Job goes to God is because he has learned the true reality of his "comforters". They are not for him or with him in this suffering. They are eager to blame him and ridicule him for their own self-glorification.  Job 17:4–5 (NLT) You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph. 5 They betray their friends for their own advantage , so let their children faint with hunger. Job concludes later in the chapter: Job 17:10–12 (NLT) “As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won’t find a wise man among you. 11 My days are over. My hopes have disappeared. My heart...

When friends let Job down, he doesn't turn from God. That's perhaps one of the special skills Job possesses that many professing Christians do not. I have heard many people talk about the harm they have suffered at the hands of other humans being the reason they do not believe in God. Most notably, I have heard many claim their unbelief is justified because of the ill-treatment they have received or experienced at the hands of other professing Christians.  Why don't these people ever read the Bible?  Job has been viciously attacked by professing believers at every turn in the midst of his misery and pain. Instead of concern, prayer, and ministry, he has received accusation, animosity and superiority. YET, there is no breaking his steadfast trust in God's ultimate redemption. Consider how he ends his response to Eliphaz's second speech: Job 16:19–22 (NLT) Even now my witness is in heaven. My advocate is there on high. 20 My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears ...

As Job continues his speech in Job 13 he calls on his friends to be silent and stop speaking for God so that he can have a direct word with Him alone. This is the true means of getting through suffering. Take your case not to men but to God! Job 13:13–14 (ESV) “Let me have silence, and I will speak, and let come on me what may. 14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand? What Job does is what we should do when life is spinning out of control. Talk to the Lord. Complain if necessary. He will not be surprised by your words or feelings for He already knows them. But when you complain, remember to complain in hope! Job 13:15 (ESV) Though He slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. What a marvelous phrase. Job will trust in the Lord even if the Lord should destroy him. However, we should note the Hebrew is ambiguous and could render two very different statements. The alternative is: "if He slay me, I have no hope.” The point Job mak...

Job 12:2–4 (ESV) “No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? 4 I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock. Joe's response at the end of the first cycle of conversation with his less-than-desirable friends is to call them out for their lack of understanding. I appreciate this about Job. He doesn't simply just listen to his friends or those who claim to be wise. And I would suggest to every Christian - do likewise! The New Testament tells us to live with discernment over what we hear: 1 John 4:1 (ESV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. John makes clear, there is no shortage of bad/false spiritual messages in the world. So it is our job to test them against Scripture, t...

Of the three friends and "comforters" in Job's life, Zophar is the worst. He does nothing but scolds Job as he talks. There is no compassion in his voice. There is no allowance at all for Job to be right. And his speech is poisonous to the soul of one who is suffering.  Zophar represents many in the Christian world and we must be mindful that they do not all come out straightforwardly mean as Zophar does. Sometimes they come in the veiled animosity of "faith" positive people.    Let me explain.  Zophar is utterly convinced Job is getting what he deserves and that all his trouble is overdue medicine for his crimes. He insults and accuses Job throughout his speech. Job 11:2–4 (ESV) “Should a multitude of words go unanswered, and a man full of talk be judged right? 3 Should your babble silence men, and when you mock, shall no one shame you? 4 For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God’s eyes.’ As I said, many in the Christian world are like him but n...

Job waffles throughout the book in his response to the suffering. In Job 9 he was eager for someone to mediate his issues with God. Now in chapter 10 he's ready to die again as he was in Job 3. This is the trouble with suffering, it births emotional swings of massive proportions.  Take note of his recounting of the goodness of God in his life: Job 10:8–12 (ESV) Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. 9 Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? 11 You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. 12 You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. Job recalls that all he is and all he has is from God. Yet, inwardly, his heart is sure that God did all this to set him up for ultimate suffering in taking it all away.  Job 10:13 (ESV) Yet these things you hid in your heart; I know th...

Job 8:3–7 (ESV) Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 4 If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 5 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 6 if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. 7 And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. It's amazing how fast these consoling friends turn into the worst people in Job's life. Now Bildad's first speech comes to us with an accusation that Job's children sinned and God judged them. Then he seems completely out of touch when he considers Job's beginning "small" (See verse 7). A quick glance back to the first chapter and description of Job reminds us that he was great in the land and that he regularly offered sacrifices for the sins his children "may" have committed. But Bildad encapsulates the truth that real...

Job 7:7–11 (ESV) “Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good. 8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone. 9 As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up; 10 he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore. 11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. One thing Job does immediately after hearing from his first friend is simply this - he brings his complaint to God. Notice the reasoning in verse 7. He tells God to remember his life is short and he believes he won't see good again. And so he has nothing to lose. He then proceeds to voice his complaint to the Lord.  I think if we learned to do this, the world would be a far better place. Instead of broadcasting our hurts on social media, instead of talking about this with 5 or 6 friends, instead of desperately trying to...

It's one thing to suffer traumatic experiences, it's another to have your friends bloviate about why it's your fault. Job has had to see his possessions destroyed, his children killed, his health deteriorate, his wife despise him and now he sits in ashes, covered with soars. When the first friend proposed uttering a word to Job, he went off for 2 chapters. We will learn from these men far more about how to NOT be someone's friend.  And Job picks up this idea quickly. Job 6:14–17 (ESV) “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15 My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away, 16 which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself. 17 When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place. I love the NIV's phrasing for verse 15: Job 6:15 (NIV) But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow What is an intermittent stream? look at ...

Forgive the snarky title, but it's very true. Theological study is never simple. Why? Because life is complicated and God is beyond our knowledge. We can only see dimly, as Paul says.  When Job's first friend speaks after a 7-day silence vigil we says the following: Job 4:1–2 (ESV) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking? Notice the phrase, "a word". Because he will venture far more than that. He will speak for two chapters. And his theology of suffering is so simple, you get a bit nauseated as he speaks.  He begins: Job 4:7 (ESV) “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? He's going in for the kill off the top. He wants to cast the blame squarely where he believes it lies - at Job's feet. Job is suffering because Job sinned. Now Eliphaz has watched Job's life for years. He's seen this man speak for others and live piou...