A Work in Progress….

Job 28:11 But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?

According to commentary, there is much disagreement about this chapter and whether it is really Job or perhaps the storyteller inserting himself into the story. Personally, I could totally see this as Job. He has railed against God and argued with his “friends” for chapter upon chapter. His life is still in shambles. Nothing makes sense. I could see a more subdued reflection here.

Job 28:14 The deep says, “It’s not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”

I could see an emotionally exhausted Job (and anger can definitely exhaust a person) contemplating the nature of wisdom. It can be hard to find (Job’s friends proved that). It can be expensive (Job’s losses prove that). It can be elusive (Job’s continued mental struggle shows that). Job has maintained throughout that God could help him make sense of this senselessness. This chapter seems to support that.

Job 28:15 It cannot be bought for the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. We don’t know what we don’t know. Forgive us. We rail against You and others in an attempt to makes sense of the senseless. Forgive us. May we follow Job’s example of clinging to You—Your truth, Your wisdom, Your sovereignty—no matter what. May we face the trials of life with a grace that can only come from You. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 28:23 God understands the way to it and He alone knows where it dwells….

Have a blessed day.

Job 27:1-2 And Job continued his discourse: “As surely as God loves, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter….”

After twenty seven chapters, Job still knows his own heart. He will not admit to something he has not done. The “friends” (who seem more like antagonists at this point because of their insistence that he must have some secret, unconfessed sin to bring all this on him) will not convince him otherwise.

Job 27:3-4 “…as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not say anything wicked and my tongue will not utter lies.”

At this point, I really admire Job’s confidence in his own mind and heart. If I put myself in his shoes, sitting in ashes, scraping sores off my skin, my “friends” are hounding me, insisting that all that I’ve lost is because of unconfessed sin that, if I would confess and repent, God would turn His face toward me again, I seriously think I might have convinced myself by now that they must be right. What other explanation could there be? But not Job. He knows his heart. He knows his mind. He doesn’t know why he’s suffering, but he knows God understands and he knows he needs to draw closer to God.

Job 27:5 “I will never admit you are right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for this chapter and for the book of Job. Help me not to be swayed by the voices of this world. Help me to know my own heart. Help me to seek, to trust, and to listen to only You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 27:6 “I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.”

Have a blessed day.

Job 26:1-3 Then Job replied: “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!”

Job, clearly, has had enough. The beginning of this chapter, ostensibly a response to Bildad, is dripping with sarcasm and seems squarely aimed at all three “friends” and their “wisdom.” They aren’t helpful. At. All. He’s through with them and their rubbish advice.

Job 26:13 “By His breath the skies became fair; His hand pierced the gliding serpent.”

In this same passage, Job continues to exalt God, His sovereignty and  majesty. God is able to see all, know all, contain all, even things we can’t wrap our heads around. Verse 14 seems to reinforce that ultimate hope in God’s goodness and sovereignty in Job’s life that we have seen throughout. Job seems to be saying, “The things that we know of God show that He is the ruler of the universe, and these things are but the ‘outer fringes of His works.’” The implication is that God is still sovereign in Job’s life, too. Even now.

Job 26:14a “And these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him!”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the example of Job’s faith in You and his honesty with You in his suffering. Thank You for the reminder that You are in control, even when everything seems to be spinning out of control. Help me to cling to You always. Grant me Your hope and peace. Amen.

Job 26:14b “…Who then can understand the thunder of His power?”

Have a blessed day.

Job 25:1-2 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes order in the heights of heaven.”

These six verses are the sum total of Job 25, Bildad’s last speech and the last time we hear from the three “friends.” One commentator calls it a “disgusting and hopeless note” on which to end the friends’ dialogue. Ending with comparisons like maggot and worm to humans, it certainly doesn’t qualify as cheerful. And I’m left wondering why.

Job 25:3 “Can His forces be numbered? On whom does His light not rise?”

Why is this argument still going on between Job and his friends? Why is Job still wallowing in his misery, railing at God over the unfairness? Truthfully, why hasn’t God, the ultimate parent, just jerked a knot in everyone and put a stop to the whole sorry affair? Perhaps it is because there are things beyond our comprehension to understand? Perhaps we have to get to the end of ourselves, our arguments and excuses, before we can clearly hear our Maker’s voice?

Job 25:4 “How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?”

Lord, I don’t understand. And when I don’t understand, I tend to wallow and rail, overthink, over analyze, over share. I want life to make sense, so I try to shove it in neat little boxes of understanding. Forgive me, Lord. Help me to lean into You and to trust You. Always. Help me to accept that there are things I will never understand on this side of the veil, and that’s ok because You are sovereign. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 25:5-6 “If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in His eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!”

Have a blessed day.

Job 24:1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know Him look in vain for such days?”

Lord, I am weary of Job’s questioning. It seems to border on disrespect. But I also see Job’s faith in You, even as he struggles with the fact that he doesn’t understand Your ways. He knows that You are ultimately just, but he’s struggling with immediate justice verses eternal justice, with Your ultimate goals as Lord of creation, with the way he thinks justice and life should work verses the way they do.

Job 24:12 “The groans of the dying rise up from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.”

Lord, I know that I have these same struggles in my own life. Things that feel horribly unfair, people who seem to get away with behavior that I think they shouldn’t, justice that isn’t meted out according to my measure. Forgive me.

Job 24:24 “For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Forgive me when my earthly judgement angers me even though I can’t see Your eternal plans. Forgive me when my emotions cause me to rail unfairly at You. Help me, always, to cling to the hope that can only come from You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?”

Have a blessed day.

Job 23:3 “If only I knew where to find Him; if only I could go to His dwelling.”

Psalm 139 came strongly to mind as I read this chapter—not because they are so similar, but because they are so diametrically opposed. In Psalm 139, God is ever-present. There is no hiding from Him. In Job 23, Job says he has search everywhere seeking God’s face and can’t find Him.

Job 23:8 “But if I go to the East, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him.”

Job feels a great distance between himself and God. He wants to be in God’s presence. He wants to state his case, to understand the why of what is happening to him. And here is the bit I’m clinging to—even though Job feels the distance, even though he knows that what he’s enduring is not because of some hidden sin, even though he is seeking God’s presence and can’t seem to find it, verse 17 shows that he has not lost hope—hope in God’s presence, hope in God’s sovereignty and love, hope in his own upright walk with God. Even though he has every right (based on the chaos in his life) to turn his back and walk away, he continues to hold fast to God. He does not let the darkness engulf him.

Job 23:16 “God had made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the light and hope I can discern in the book of Job during this study. Help me, like Job, to keep seeking You, keep searching for You, keep hoping in You, no matter my present circumstances. Draw me closer. Amen.

Job 23:17 “Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.”

Have a blessed day.

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

We hear from Eliphaz in this chapter for the last time. His argument has gotten more pointed: “Job, you have sinned….(He even provides a list of potential sins!)….Repent. Make God your priority, and He will hear you and restore you.” In the estimation of Eliphaz, this equation is simple: Love of Wealth > Love of God = Utter Misery.

Job 22:23 “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent….”

But Job knows he hasn’t put anything or anyone before God. And he loves God too much to follow his wife’s path to misery: “Curse God and die.” He wants an explanation. He wants to understand why all of this is happening to him, why God would allow it. (At least that is what I would want in his position.)

Job 22:26 “Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. It is so hard to be faithful when we just don’t understand the whys of life. Doubt, fear, grief can take our eyes, our hearts from You to our own misery, which is nothing but bad news. Help us to cling to You always, to trust Your loving sovereignty, even when we don’t understand. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 22:27 “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you….”

Have a blessed day.

Job 21:1-2 Then Job replied: “Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.”

I must confess that my first thought in reading chapter 21 was, Will this book never end?!? I’m tired and grumpy, but I immediately thought of so many of my high school seniors who say emphatically, “School has nothing to teach me.” The book of Job isn’t over because Job is still learning, and I need to approach each chapter expecting to learn along with him.

Job 21:3 “Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.”

One thing I do notice is that Job seems to be moving through his feelings. He doesn’t seem as angry as he was in the beginning, though there is a slight edge of sarcasm at times. He also maintains his innocence, even in the face of the relentless accusations of his friends. That seems very important to this book—that it is not a simple case of, “I sinned and won’t repent and that’s why disaster has befallen me.” There is much more happening here, and Job grasps that.

Job 21:27 “I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Help me to listen, read, study, pray. Even when I don’t understand, even when I think I have nothing left to learn, help me trust that You are guiding me, help me sit at Your feet and listen. Amen.

Job 21:34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”

Have a blessed day.

Job 20:1-2 Then Zophar the Naamthite replied: “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.”

I am part of a book study on a book about navigating the space between our personal convictions and the people we care about who hold diametrically opposed convictions, about how to navigate that space between positions to preserve the important relationships. I feel like the Book of Job is a case study in this concept, except in reverse.

Job 20:3 “I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.”

The seven days of support in silent mourning at the beginning of their time together, that’s where _The Space Between _ is trying to move us, being able to be loving and compassionate towards someone (Job) who views things so differently (the reason for his suffering). By chapter 20, however, that belief—what’s causing Job’s suffering and how to stop it, seems to be a hill the friends are willing to die on, and Job refuses to acquiesce. By chapter 20, the space between these friends seems almost insurmountable.

Job 20:4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth….”

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. The space between beliefs and values we hold dear and sacred and the people we care about can sometimes feel cavernous. Teach us how to stay true to our beliefs while still loving others, all others, as You love us. Teach us to approach that space with Your compassion, love, and mercy. Draw us closer. Amen.

Job 20:5 “…that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.”

Have a blessed day.