Have You Considered Job?

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Then Job spoke again:  “I have heard all this before.  What miserable comforters you are!  Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?  What makes you keep on talking?  I could say the same things if you were in my place.  I could spout off criticism and shake my head at you.  But if it were me, I would encourage you.  I would try to take away your grief.  Instead, I suffer if I defend myself, and I suffer no less if I refuse to speak.  “O God, you have ground me down and devastated my family.  As if to prove I have sinned, you’ve reduced me to skin and bones.  My gaunt flesh testifies against me.  God hates me and angrily tears me apart.  He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.  People jeer and laugh at me.  They slap my cheek in contempt.  A mob gathers against me.  God has handed me over to sinners.  He has tossed me into the hands of the wicked.  “I was living quietly until he shattered me.  He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces.  He set me up as his target, and now his archers surround me.  His arrows pierce me without mercy.  The ground is wet with my blood.  Again and again he smashes against me, charging at me like a warrior.  I wear burlap to show my grief.  My pride lies in the dust.  My eyes are red with weeping; dark shadows circle my eyes.  Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.  “O earth, do not conceal my blood.  Let it cry out on my behalf.  Even now my witness is in heaven.  My advocate is there on high.  My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.  I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.  Job 16:1-21

There is so much pathos and meaning of life in the Book of Job, it could hardly be exhausted in months of study; perhaps years; maybe only when, in Heaven, we have One who can unveil for us the depth of Job’s sorrow, confusion, and grief. 

This chapter is the fifth time Job answers his friends.  They have been trying to get their suffering friend to see how he must have sinned really-big, and really-dark to get God that ticked-off.  Job’s children were all dead, his riches gone, his livestock and goods carried off by robbers and thieves.  The icing on the cake is painful boils covering Job’s body, and his wife has suggested suicide would be better. 

Most studies of Job focus on this calamity of a good man suffering utter loss.  And there’s nothing wrong with picking it apart in the search for meaning, purpose, and order in human existence.  God created us with a brain to figure these things out!  But there is one connection we must never miss.  Given the total unravelling of a good man’s life, what can we say about God’s purpose in allowing all that?  Simply put, all of what happened to Job helps us understand life’s rain, good or horrible, falls on the just and the unjust, and is an example, which Paul writes in   1 Corinthians 10[1] that leads to Job’s conclusion:

I need someone to mediate between God and me, as a person mediates between friends.  Job 16:1-21

Job was hurting, and he knew God permitted everything that happened to him.  He knew, as good a life as he’d led, and as holy as he tried to be, his efforts just weren’t enough.  Whatever troubles anyone on earth could experience, Job was not exempt; he needed a mediator, an advocate to plead his case before God.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.  1 John 2:1

For You Today 

You may be on the verge of following Mrs. Job’s advice to her husband, or maybe you’ve suffered little in life…yet!  Whether you are there now, and down to your last shred of hope, or leading a joy-filled, even carefree life, remember this, and count on it…you do have someone who will love you.  His name is Jesus.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©  

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[1] Read 1 Corinthians 10

So Many Questions - Only One Answer

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:  “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?  Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.  “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?  What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.  I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.  Here your proud waves must stop!  Job 38:1-11

For 37 chapters Job has heard no answers from heaven about why his children died, why his reputation in the community died, and why his wealth crumbled, and why his wife lost faith in him and advised him to curse God for all of it, lie down and just die.  You can certainly believe it; Job had questions…a lot of them.  And from the tone of Job’s voice, while debating with his well-intentioned dragons, the neighbors who feigned deep concern, but had already made up their minds that Job must have had closet sins which were the reason God was punishing him, you can deduce that Job figured he was entitled to some answers! 

Finally, God does give an answer to all those questions.  And they all had the same answer…a question, really; God asked Job:  With so little understanding, my dear child, how did you even manage to lace-up your sandals this morning?

God’s commentary followed, describing for Job how he couldn’t possibly understand God’s thought process for allowing Satan to sift through Job’s life and create such chaos.  That commentary was about the creation, starting with the DNA of the tiniest creature, to the great Leviathan beasts roaming the open seas.  He described assembling the foundation of the earth, and teaching the stars to sing, while arranging all the majestic splendour of life, physical and metaphysical. 

Gods’ answer continues for another chapter and a half, but it’s still one answer, a description of God’s majesty, displayed in creation, and how Job, a latecomer to time and eternity, really doesn’t have enough brain power to even begin understanding God’s ways, let alone instructing God in His responsibilities.  Here’s how the conversation finishes…God says to Job:

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?  You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” 

Then Job replied to the Lord, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?  I will cover my mouth with my hand.  I have said too much already.  I have nothing more to say.”  Job 40:2-5

Finally…Job lays-hold of an intelligent thing to say to an Almighty, Sovereign God!

For You Today 

There exists in our world an arrogance which is as old as Satan prancing into heaven and challenging God to this battle with Job’s soul as the prize.  It is the arrogance that we humans have judging God for the bad stuff that happens.  We charge God as scapegoat for all the misery we have created by ignoring His love and righteousness.  We choose destruction over the plan of God for good and holy living.  And then, in our pride, we blame him for our choices.

Approach God in your day today…listen much, say less…let Him love you.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   Wondering About the Big Stuff Series:  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  and We Mortals

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Too Good for This World

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

How much more do I need to say?  It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.  By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them.  They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength.  They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.  Women received their loved ones back again from death.  But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free.  They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.  Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips.  Others were chained in prisons.  Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.  Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.  They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.  All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.  For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.  

Hebrews 11:32-40

Paul, well-schooled in the history of God’s people, remembered the saints of ancient times.  He also had a firsthand knowledge of saints who were too good for this world.  Many Old Testament saints and prohets were a powerful force for good, at least temporarily.  By the time of Jesus’ birth there had been an absence of that kind of presence for 400 years.  The new brand of prophet was an outcast; the new brand of saints were sufferers, too good for this world..

Paul ends his comforting message to us with a reminder that, even with no earthly resolution to the difficulties, and even outright persecution we may suffer in remaining faithful to Christ, His plan for us is blessing. 

In the same way Job, who suffered at the hand of the unseen enemy, Lucifer, and, even with the help of wise friends who sat days on end with Job’s suffering, there was never an answer that quite satisfied that question we all have…WHY? 

In the end, we all must face the reality of human condition…we already know why; truth be told, we don’t like the answer, and we anguish in the search for something that lets us down gently. 

The reason for suffering is sin; the reason it hurts so much, is, merely entertaining the notion that we can do something about our problem without God only deepens and strengthens sin’s hold on us.  Paul expressed this frustration in his letter to the Roman church, along with the only answer that truly makes any sense in a sin-darkened world:

Oh, what a miserable person I am!  Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Romans 7:24-25^a

For You Today  

Remember this day all those who suffered for the cause of faith in God.  Include those who suffer today from the persecution of this world’s evil ones, aligned against heaven in every way.  If you’re among the suffering, take heart, and hold faith tightly – God has something better planned for all saints.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Something Better   and   Impossible

Images:  Title Pixabay.com   Images without citation are either personal property of the author, or in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

The DOG...in ME

 

Monday, January 3, 2022

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes.  In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!  Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home.  And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.  Job 42:10-11

I recently read a version of a story that I’ve read (and experienced) many times.  The storyline goes like this:  Two dogs enter a room.  Later, one emerges growling like a wounded wolf, the other smiling like a contented puppy.  The question that sets-up the punch line is:  What, in the same room, could make one dog happy and another hopping mad?  Of course the punch line is…MIRRORS!  A dog may not have the sentient awareness to know he is looking at his own image, but he has the built-in radar to understand the danger or welcome signs he’s seeing.

It’s a short leap from a dog story to my story.  In a room full of mirrors that reflect my emotional state, political views, hurts, fears, joys, and all the other stuff that make up this dog called Russell, I’m going to bump into the real me.  And no matter what I may think of the critter I behold; he is what he is. 

The United States has, besides Russell, 332,915,072 others who have that same peculiarity…what we see in a mirror may make us mad or glad; it all depends on what we brought to the mirror.

Job was no different than Russell, or you, or any of the other 7.9 billion human critters on planet earth, past and present.  Job’s experience was pleasant at first.  He was rich, respected, and led a good life.  Looking in the mirror would not have been difficult.  Then it changed…hero became zero in an afternoon.  His family, riches, and comfort zone were taken down like a house of cards in a windstorm.  His “friends” finished the task with 40 chapters of telling him it was his own fault.

The end of Job’s life was better (by far) than the tale of woe.  But it’s been puzzling theologians, skeptics, and scoffers for as long as humans have breathed.  Why is it so that some dogs have so much to smile about, and others growl?  Job’s answer is not about what happens TO you, but how you respond to what has happened.  Notice that the Scripture tells us what Job did…he prayed for his friends.  The group that sat with Job, poking their fingers on Job’s sore spots, accusing him of some secret sins that brought the world of God’s judgment down on him…that’s the crew Job prayed God would forgive…and bless!

Did that sound familiar?  You may have heard it on a Sunday, or read it in the life of someone else who was in on the conversation with Job:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.   But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  Matthew 5:43-46

Jesus told his listeners (that’s US if we will hear) to do a tough thing; he told them to pray for those who persecute you…love them.  But who can do that?  I’m glad you asked; it’s only the dog who brings a smile to the mirror.  All the others will rip apart whatever’s in front of them…and be angry at the entire world for being so violent and harsh.

For You Today

What we see in a mirror is what we bring to the table.  A good piece of advice is to make sure whatever we bring to the table is edible.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com and Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

For other posts on this text see When Job Got it Right and Job's Story - From Hero to Zero (and back)

 

Life Can Be Tough

 

Wednesday, February 10, 2021
“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.  That is why I spoke impulsively.  For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.  Their poison infects my spirit.  God’s terrors are lined up against me.  Don’t I have a right to complain?  Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?  Don’t people complain about unsalted food?  Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?  My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!  “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.  I wish he would crush me.  I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.  At least I can take comfort in this:  Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.  But I don’t have the strength to endure.  I have nothing to live for.  Do I have the strength of a stone?  Is my body made of bronze?  No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.  Job 6:2-13

As Job analyzes the situation and all that has happened, he knows that the circumstances are bleak.  It's been a tough week.  He's lost everything he worked so hard to accumulate, including his health, the respect of his friends and even his wife.  And yet, later in his ramblings, Job makes a dramatic (and oddly-strange) statement that hardly seems to fit the moment to all who hear it; he proclaims,     I know that my Redeemer lives....I will see God. ^{Job 19:25}

The circumstances say that Job is going down for the third time.  His life is in the dumpster.  His family is dead, and his wife is looking to collect his insurance money.  Job's friends are heaping on the insult that the God Job has been serving is at fault.  The ulcers of ancient leprosy are oozing his very life's blood...and Job has church, singing about how his heart "yearns within."  What gives?

The secret of Job's faith is that he knew that pain and suffering are not altogether inconsistent with the love of God.  How did he know that?  God had placed the reality within Job years before when Job gave his life to the Lord. 

A story is told of a sculptor who was working on a bust of Lincoln.  Day by day he would only make a few carefully planned strokes with the chisel.  Each night the cleaning lady would sweep up the debris and complain to herself about the "...mess this ol' rock makes."

Finally, one night, as the bust was nearing completion, the cleaning lady saw it for the first time, that it was the much-respected Abraham Lincoln.  She got so excited she came back during the day to watch the sculptor work on it.  She couldn't wait to see the final product.  She asked the artist, "How did you know Ol' Mister Lincoln was in there?"  The artist smiled and said, "Oh, I didn't really, I just started chiseling-away what just didn't seem to belong."

In a lot of ways, that is what happens when people give their lives to Jesus.  Before, like a block of uncut rock with a masterpiece inside, he or she is just waiting to be worked-on. 

But Mrs. Job didn't see that.  She felt the pain of the Master's chisel....she never trusted the Redeemer's stroke to bring out her beauty.

For You Today

Have you been "on hold"?  Are your prayers unanswered? 

What shall you do while you're waiting?  Here are a few suggestions:

·       Don't speak for, or before God.  See what His word will say, search it, milk it, digest it. 

·       Don't hide from God....struggle with him as He chisels-away the rubble. 

·       And don't forget that He loves you...So much that He died for you. 

That kind of love will eventually give you answers.  Answers like,

I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  John 11:25 ^(KJV)

What is your choice…Mrs. Job's curse God and die?  Or Mr. Job...I know MY Redeemer lives..."

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

 

Pay Attention

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

“Pay attention to this, Job.  Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!  Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?  Do you understand how he moves the clouds with wonderful perfection and skill?  When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies down and everything is still, he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror.  Can you do that?  Job 37:14-18

Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples.   Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us!  We’re going to drown!”  Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid?  You have so little faith!”  Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.  The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked.  “Even the winds and waves obey him!”  Matthew 8:23-27

The haunting questions here have a focal point on storms, one of the earth’s more awe-inspiring and powerful realities: 

Do you know how God does that with the lightning, controlling the clouds?      

Can YOU do that? 

And the disciples watching the live feed of Jesus doing just that ask:

Who is this man?

Scripture does not go wanting when it comes to the connection between the creation and Creator; that connection is the all-powerful hand of Jesus Christ.  When Jesus was trying to straighten-out the skewed thinking of some Bible scholars among the leaders of Israel, He simply uncluttered the issue; He told them:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!  John 5:39

Paying attention to the questions within your heart, mind, and soul, about where you come from, who you really are, and, therefore, where this is all going – where you’re going to wind-up, is more often on the front-burner during times of crisis.  Frankly, considering this pandemic, with all its quarantine, game-changing social distancing, and attention to the case and death tolls…if you are NOT thinking more about your soul and the reality of mortality, I’d be worried about your connection with reality!

And these two passages, one from the oldest text in Scripture (Job), and the other God’s veritable defining answer to life’s basic need, unveil what we need to know about life’s basic questions, those with which we wrestle; namely,

·       Who made me and everything I see?

·       What am I supposed to do?

·       Where will I wind up?

·       Who will guide me?

So, Job, Russell, anyone…pay attention…the answer is Jesus.  And He loves you.

For You Today

It’s okay to place your faith and trust in God, His Son, and His Holy Spirit; it was God who created it all, controls it all, and offers it all to us in His Son.  Don’t be afraid of the waves on today’s seas of storm; you’ve got the answers to the questions…you KNOW who this man is!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title image Pixabay.com ∞  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on Job 37 see The Wisdom of Elihu for Matthew 8:23-27 see Hanging-In There; or Just Hanging?

 

When Job Got It Right

[1]

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:  “Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.  “Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?  Are you as strong as God?  Can you thunder with a voice like his?  All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty.  Give vent to your anger.  Let it overflow against the proud.  Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.  Bury them in the dust.  Imprison them in the world of the dead.  Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.  Job 40:6-14

Then Job replied to the Lord:  “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.  You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’  It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.  You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!  I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’  I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.  I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”  Job 42:1-6

Somewhere along the way Job forgot his connection to Adam and Eve; Job forgot about original sin and that sin nature we all inherit from our first parents.  Job somehow managed to consign to the back burner that need we all have for God’s grace-filled forgiveness.  Job was a moral, God-fearing man who, as a paragon of virtue in his community, was respected and did the right things.  He was like the good brother in the story of the Prodigal Son, obedient, compliant, useful, and the kind of dependable, unselfish guy every church elects as chairman of the board.

However, when the unfair, tough times came and his life’s train got derailed, Job defended his purity level, demanding an answer from God.  For 39 chapters Job tried to pry an accounting from Heaven.  When God did answer it shook the “good man” to his core.  The only sound heard from him the rest of that day was the clicking of his teeth as his mouth closed its’ complaining.  That was how Job finally got it right.

Many in our day who have ditched “church” in favor of just being good people are making the same mistake Job made.  They assume their goodness is measure enough to pass whatever test God (if He’s really up there) can pass out.  It’s a kind of macho-bravado that dares God to question their freedom to determine their chosen pathway.  And that attitude holds enough truth to get them in as big a dilemma with God as Job experienced.  That’s because God does, indeed, allow us free choice in how we will live our lives; it’s just that the consequences of our choices are just as tied to those choices we make as night is connected to the next morning’s daylight.  It’s like the proverbial domino reality; when you choose to push that first one, the second, third, fourth, and each one thereafter will fall the same way.  Years ago, the Alaskan highway was just a rough, unpaved trail through the wilderness.  During the rainy times the ground was soft and muddy.  A sign was erected at the start of the trail:

Choose your rut carefully; you’ll be in it for the next 200 miles.

We could apply that same wisdom to choosing grace, or our own strength.  God has given us the gift of free will; humility applied to that choosing will go a long way towards losing that arrogance that says its my life, I’ll do what I want.

For You Today

Job’s biggest mistake (before he heard that thundering voice from Heaven cataloging an indictment of his ignorance) was to think he’d been a self-made man, that his popularity, wealth, and “goodness” were enough.  He may have been right in the eyes of his neighbors and friends.  That day’s culture and community elected him man of the year every year, until the bad times and boils made their appearance.  Then all Job had was God.  And when he realized that, he realized he had all he needed!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

 

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[1] Title Image:  By Hult, Adolf, 1869-1943; Via Wikimedia Commons     Unless noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©