THIS WEEK’S READINGS

Jan 11: Job 29-31
Jan 12: Job 32-34
Jan 13: Job 35-37
Jan 14: Job 38-39
Jan 15: Job 40-42
Jan 16: Gen 12-15
Jan 17: Gen 16-18
Jan 18: Gen 19-21

NOTES ON JOB 29-42

·         If you have wearied of the speeches in Job, take heart – they are coming to an end!  Chapters 29-31 give Job’s final defense.  Don’t miss his passionate plea at the end of chapter 31 where he lists all the sins his “friends” have accused him of, and reclaims his innocence.

·         Elihu, who speaks in chapters 32-37, is a bit puzzling to me.  He isn’t mentioned in the beginning of the book (2:11) with the others who came to visit Job.  Neither does Job or God respond to him or mention him or his arguments at the end of the book.

·         One thing we learn about Elihu is that he is a distant relative of Abraham, because he is descended from Buz (see Genesis 22:21).  This is one clue that we place the book of Job during the time of the patriarchs.

·         Elihu believes righteous people can suffer – that God can use suffering in our lives.  In this he disagrees with the first three “friends,” but he also believes that Job’s self-defense misses the point.

·         God never explains to Job why good people suffer – or even what happened between God and Satan at the beginning of the book that led to Job’s suffering.  God simply asserts his wisdom and power, asking for Job (and us) to trust him about what we don’t know.  Job humbly agrees that he had tried to understand more than humans can know.

NOTES ON GENESIS 12-18

·         If you were with us in the Bible overview Wednesday night, you know that Genesis 12 starts the primary story line of the whole Bible.  Genesis 1-11 are introductory, prologue.

·         What God promises to Abram in chapters 12, 15, and 17 requires the remainder of the Bible to unpack.  God will make of Abram a great nation, Israel – their story is the rest of the Old Testament.  Through Abram’s seed, Jesus, all nations of the earth will be blessed – that’s the New Testament.

·         Click here for sermons from my blog on Abraham – preached last summer.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

I couldn’t help but think of a chapter in “The Shack” as I read the closing chapters of Job. 

Earlier in the book, Job had demanded an audience with God.  “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling!  I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments” (23:3-4).

Be careful what you wish for.

In “The Shack,” the novel by Paul Young in which the main character, Mack, experiences an unspeakable tragedy, the demand is similar.  So is the result.

Mack screams in chapter 11, “Yes, God is to blame!”  Then he is invited to judge God.  It’s something humans are always trying to do.

But Mack learns, as Job does, that putting God on trial for negligence in light of human suffering, doesn’t turn out as we imagine.   Have you ever had one of those conversations where you were so sure you were right until you actually heard the “other side” of the argument?  In “The Shack,” Mack hears, “You humans demanded your independence, and now you’re angry with the one who loved you enough to give it to you.”

As for Job, he can only cover his mouth and admit, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (42:3).

The amazing things is that 4,000 years (give or take a few) after Job, there are plenty of humans who still believe they could do a better job than the Creator in running the world if given the chance.

Fat chance.