Category: Job

Job 42:1-2 Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”

Several things strike me in this last chapter of Job. 1. Job did not get his answers, but he is more than ok with the comfort of God’s presence. 2. Job gains some wisdom on just how limited his perspective is and how unequipped he is to judge God’s actions. 3. God forgives Job for his arrogance and restores to him more than he lost originally, but the restoration doesn’t happen until after Job’s friends have repented and Job has prayed for them.  

Job 42:3 “You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”

If I had to sum up the lessons from this book, I would say: 1. Humility is important. 2. Perspective is important. 3. Right or restored relationships are important. 4. We won’t always have the answers we seek, but God is with us. Always. Even when we don’t understand. 

Job 42:5-6 “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the surety that You are with us, even when we can’t feel Your presence. After chapters and chapters of discord among the friends, thank You for the restoration of that relationship as well. Thank You for the lessons and observations of this chapter. Thank You for drawing me closer. Amen.

Job 42:7-8 After the LORD had said these things to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken with the truth about me as my servant Job has…..My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly….”

Have a blessed day.

Job 41:1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?”

Again I am left wondering why this line of argument drones on so long. Didn’t God prove His All Powerful point in the last chapter? What have we to learn here? I am also unhappy with commentary’s handling of this chapter, which basically explains every reference and then concludes that God can’t be explained. (Do they see the irony there?)

Job 41:10 “No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against Me?”

I’m also not happy with commentary’s insistence that it is important that God did not explain the reason for Job’s suffering, saying that if He had, Job could not serve as “continuing comfort and inspiration and example to those who suffer without explanation.” Frankly, I don’t think Job cares about serving as inspiration, and I don’t think God’s purpose has anything to do with the greater good. This is a suffering man, trying to make peace with a God who allows his suffering for seemingly no reason. This is Job’s “do I trust that He is sovereign and loving and present, even when life stinks” moment. This is deeply personal.

Job 41:11 “Who has a claim against Me that I must pay? Everything under Heaven belongs to Me.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the sense to know that I don’t know what I don’t know. Thank You for the ability to look for deeper meaning when I don’t understand. Thank You for caring on a deeply personal level. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 41:12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 40:1-2 The LORD said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him!”

This chapter doesn’t feel good at all. It doesn’t feel loving or holy or redemptive. The argument-averse part of me is retreating to a corner to cower as God lambasts Job for his arrogance. However, that narrative does not fit what I know of my Maker. God delights in our humility, not our humiliation. 

Job 40:3-5 Then Job answered the LORD: “I am unworthy—how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.”

God, in this chapter, is establishing His sovereignty. He is reminding Job of who He, God, is and who he, Job, is in relation. Unfortunately for my WHY-driven mind, there are no answers. “God is God,” and Job is not God. Making peace with that fact seems key.

Job 40:6-7 “Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that we don’t always get answers but that we do get Your presence, Your sovereignty, Your love. Teach me to make peace with the fact that You are God and I am not and there are things that I will never understand. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 40:8 “Would you discredit My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?”

Have a blessed day.

Job 38:1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm….

The first thing I glean from this verse is that God is present. Job has felt separated from Him since everything went wrong in the early chapters. Commentary seems to indicate that God came in the storm. But I’ve maintained throughout that God is with us always—even when things go horribly wrong, even when we can’t feel Him, even when nothing makes sense. God speaks here in verse one because He is with Job and has been through it all.

Job 38:2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?”

The English Standard Version translates this verse as “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?” Modern sensibilities regard ignorant as an insult, though here it simply means someone who does not know. Commentary suggests that God is being almost playful in His chastisement. I don’t quite see that, but, given all I know about how God feels about Job from the early chapters, I don’t think God is lambasting him here with the intent of humiliation. He wants Job to understand that he, Job, doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

Job 38:3 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for Your loving patience with us when we are in pain, fear, or doubt. We don’t understand Your ways, Lord. Thank You for Your fierce love and compassion, even through our questioning. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 34:5 “Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God denies me justice.’”

Elihu has his mind made up about Job’s guilt, Job’s fault in why he has lost so much and why his life is falling apart. Elihu is convinced that he is correct in his assessment of the situation and in his pronouncement of Job’s guilt. Elihu chooses only Job’s words that will help Elihu prove his theory, and he twists those words to make them fit what he sees as the truth. His speech here isn’t accurate nor is it helpful.

Job 34:6 “‘Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’”

Once again I find myself having to resist the urge to condemn Elihu instead of learning from his error in judgement. I think of situations where I have mentally supplied reasons for another person’s actions and condemned that person in my mind, never stopping to consider “What if I’m wrong?” I’ve been mental judge and jury without ever bringing compassion into the equation. Jesus, help me.

Job 34:7-8 “Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water? He keeps company with evildoers; he associates with the wicked.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the eyes of hope and compassion with which I am reading Job. Reading Job in this light truly draws me closer to You, for which I am eternally grateful. Draw me closer still. Amen.

Job 34:9 “For he says, ‘There is no profit in trying to please God.’”

Have a blessed day.

Job 33:1 “But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.”

As I was reading this second chapter of Elihu’s long, wordy speech, Shakespeare’s Macbeth came to mind, specifically the soliloquy in Act 5, scene 5, “…It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” This feeling was further enhanced by commentary, which called Elihu “an astonishingly pompous little windbag.” 

Job 33:31 “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.”

But I am left trying to read a deeper significance into this chapter, into young, wordy, self-assured Elihu. What’s his purpose? What are we supposed to learn from him? Is he a cautionary tale about not being too full of yourself, about not inserting yourself into someone else’s misery and trying to “save” them? Is he a reminder that even though we may think we know, we must always be mindful that God’s ways are not our ways and we must proceed with caution as we seek to be compassionate and not condemning?

Job 33:32 “If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. I know that if I set my heart and mind to You, I can always leave Your word a little closer to You than I started. Draw me to You. Help me, always, to treat others with the compassion with which You treat me. Amen.

Job 33:33 “But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Have a blessed day.