Job 8:8-22

Am looking at Job 8:8-22 this evening.

Bildad continues his monologue ...

Ask the former generation
and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

Bildad appealed to human experience. Though our own life might be finite, there is the collective wisdom of the ages. What does Bildad think those years of knowledge tell?

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

He used a botanical metaphor: plants die without water. Likewise, people who forget God are in trouble.

Bildad goes on to say why those who forget God are in trouble...

What they trust in is fragile;
what they rely on is a spider's web.
They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.'
Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.
Surely God does not reject the blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.

All true Bildad.

But all irrelevant to Job's situation.

The reasoning he is using is: if A (plants without water) then B (they die). If A (you forget God) then B (you are in big trouble). So Job since you are in B then A must be true!

As a matter of logic that isn't necessarily true. Using a lousy example, if (A) Romeo and Juliet are in love then (B) they died. Does it logically follow that those who died were in love? Nonsense. I never took a logic class but I'm sure they must have a name for this kind of logical fallacy.

Nonetheless, it isn't a good idea to forget God.

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

Psalm 1:1-3 tells us:

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

John 14:1-4 says:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

Lord, we all jump to conclusions. Bildad did. Help me to keep a clear head about me when I deal with people who are in tough spots. It is very easy to assume they did something wrong. In some cases that is so. But in all cases, I want to respond with love and grace. Clearly, I don't want to forget you in my day-to-day life. Alas, I know I often do run off in my own direction without even a second thought about your ways. Help me to be alert to what your wisdom is in my life. And when I'm not sure, help me to slow down and bring the situation to you for your guidance. Amen.

Job 8:1-7

Taking a look at Job 8:1-7.

Reading Job isn't so easy. It is kind of like reading only the bad news parts of the newspaper without ever reading any of the good news or "fun news." But will keep marching through and use it to guide my reflections on life and faith on this blog.

Here, a second friend, Bildad, speaks up.

The message is similar to Eliphaz's in Job 4-5 though Bildad is more direct. Bildad immediately goes after Job ...

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a great wind?
Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

Eliphaz said a few nice things about Job in chapter 4 before making essentially the same argument.

Eliphaz talked in general terms about the relationship between innocence and blessing, sin and suffering. Bildad personalized it immediately ...

If your children have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

What Bildad said has elements of truth. Indeed, God is just though we may not see the full scales of justice balanced until the afterlife. There are consequences to sin but because we live in a fallen world suffering befalls both the innocent and the guilty. So I suppose one might say Bildad's observations don't convey the whole picture of what is going on.

But clearly, here is an example of NOT speaking the truth in love. I once heard someone tell me, speaking the truth in love is hard because so often we speak the truth without love and that is cruel. Likewise, we can speak in love without truth and that turns out to be hypocrisy.

Bildad goes on to say more that have grains of truth but because we have the totality of Scripture in our hands we know his perspective is incomplete...

If you will seek God
and plead with the Almighty for mercy,
if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will rouse himself for you
and restore your rightful habitation.
And though your beginning was small,
your latter days will be very great.

Bildad's perspective seemed limited to the here and now. If justice as an ideal actually exists and there is a god who is just then an afterlife is necessary to balance the scales of justice. Illustrating this idea is a dramatic moment in the film Gladiator where the Russell Crowe's character Maximus spoke to the man who ordered the death of his family and tried to have him killed as well:

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Though we trust in God for the righting of the scales of justice ultimately, I think there is a place for striving for justice in the here and now.

As a personal note, though I understand the sentiments of Christians who are pacifists, I respectfully do not hold to their view. If God cares about justice then with a great deal of humility on our part, we need to seek justice in the here and now. Thus, for instance, criminals need to be punished and to the best of our ability we should find punishments that match the crime neither over doing it or under doing it. Likewise, in conflicts between nation-states and in the era of terrorism, conflicts with non-state actors, there is a place for justice involving careful use of violence.

As a final thought for the morning, one can make arguments for the existence of God: there is a creation, therefore a creator, there is design in the world therefore a designer, there is a concept of god in the minds of humans therefore there is an actual god, there is a sense of morality within us therefore there is a source for morality from god. People don't have to buy any of these arguments as they certainly don't constitute proof in any strong sense of the word but they are suggestive of god.

But the last one is the most intriguing. We do feel a sense of outrage at the injustice in the world. Where does that come from? We have two choices:
(1) Our outrage is purely emotionally with no foundation in any real concepts of justice. We watch the animal world and see the brutality of animals to each other in cannibalistic behavior and slaughter of prey by predator with zero remorse. One may conclude that justice is irrelevant but survival is.
(2) The outrage comes from a sense of justice thus the argument for god based on morality. But then comes the next problem, how do we feel about a god who is just allowing some much injustice to exist? That is a tough one.

As a Christian, it is an article of faith that I believe that God ultimately will balance the scales of justice. Job and people like him, in this life or the next will be vindicated (in the story, Job is vindicated in this life). Likewise, bad guys, like people who gleefully plan for car bombing children, they too will be punished in this life or the next.

Lord, have mercy on us all! There is a lot of injustice around the globe. My prayer is that there would be individual acts of compassion and mercy in many pockets of the world. And indeed, my prayer also is that for those who have been granted power, help them to use their power for justice but with humility and caution. Amen.

Job 7:12-21

Looking at Job 7:12-21 this night.

Am I a sea monster or a dragon
that you must place me under guard?
I think, My bed will comfort me,
and sleep will ease my misery,
but then you shatter me with dreams
and terrify me with visions.
I would rather be strangled -
rather die than suffer like this.
I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

Job is continuing to pour out his heart. For those who don't read the Bible often, I wonder how surprised are they when they come across a passage like this?

It sounds sacrilegious to say something like this! The Bible in this regard is as real as the dirt on the ground in sharing the messiness of life.

What are people, that you should make so much of us,
that you should think of us so often?

When David penned Psalm 8, I wonder if he had Job on his mind?

The feeling of deja vu all over again continues ...

For you examine us every morning
and test us every moment.
Why won’t you leave me alone,
at least long enough for me to swallow!
If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of all humanity?
Why make me your target?
Am I a burden to you?
Why not just forgive my sin
and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.
When you look for me, I will be gone.

David says similar things in Psalm 139.

Scholars believe that Job might be one of the oldest books in the Hebrew Scriptures. David may well have grown up hearing from his elders the story of Job and those words came to his mind as he wrote Psalm 8 and Psalm 139?

In any case, both men describe God as being very much aware of who they are and in David's case this knowledge brings a sense of awe. Poor Job feels it is a burden.

What does it feel like to be God to hear Job speak with such dispair?

In Job 1-2, God takes pride in the righteousness of Job. As far as God is concerned Job's life is very worthy and not a waste.

What might God say to the angels in the heavenly realms as this is taking place?

Perhaps ... "I wish I could intervene right now and let Job know everything is okay. But I have a greater purpose for Job in what he is going through. His story of faith will be told for many successive generations. His example of honest wrestling with Me will be a source of inspiration for multitudes to come in the hundreds and thousands of years to come. I will let this play out a bit longer before I enter the stage."

Lord, I've seen friends take up this kind of persistent faith blended with honest struggle. I want to be able to be like that when I face difficulty. I want to be able to step back and see that perhaps God's view on it is different than my own. It isn't easy but if indeed you are watching then my reactions mean a lot more that I could imagine. In this regard, there are no insignificant people. Help me to care for others with this in mind. Amen.

Job 7:1-11

image source: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/fundamentals/role_map_worker.htm

Looking at Job 7:1-11 this morning.

Job is giving a monologue here ...

Do not mortals have hard service on earth?
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,
so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?'
The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.

Summation: life is tough.

In my world of molecular biology:
Do not lab rats (people like me) go to the lab and do experiments
Do we not long to get good data so the team in the lab can publish papers
Are we not alloted months of efforts in the lab that seem futile
How long before the paper gets accepted for publication
The wait drags on whether the lab gets funding from the grant.
And when we get the grant, we can then go do more experiments.

And so our days are filled this way and yet ...

My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope.
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never see happiness again.
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.
As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
so those who go down to the grave do not return.
They will never come to their homes again;
their places will know them no more.

Summation: life is short.

We know it could all end in a snap of a finger. We may complain about the seemingly endless cycles of our work a day lives but we fight tooth and nail to live because we don't want to die.

Of course, this is a rather bleak assessment of our lives. Job at this moment is definitely on the downside of things and it reflects where he is at. I suppose in happier days, he might take the perspective of Ecclesiastes 3.

Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

And I suppose this is one of the lessons of the book of Job: we are given permission to speak out and complain to God.

I think of the book of Job as a dramatic play and there are three layers of reality being portrayed. One layer is God's view at the beginning and end of the book. Another layer is the wisdom shared by Job's friends of which some things they say are true and some aren't. And then there is the layer of Job's experience and his choices. He clearly chooses faith but emotionally and intellectually, he has dissonance, an understandable dissonance which he brings to God unedited.

I think when we hear Job ranting and railing, we aren't supposed to be trying to figure out a complex theology lesson about what he says. I feel we are to react and reflect about the reality of life. Job was and by extension we are faced with an existential choice: be honest and bring it to God in full force honesty and hurt or walk away.

Lord, compared to Job, my life is pretty good. Yup, got my list of things I'm anxious about. Got a few complaints. I bring them to you. I will not keep silent about them. And I thank you that you do hear. Thank you that I have a community of faith to be with me in good and bad. Job's friends were far from perfect but they were there. I know I'm far from a perfect friend for others but help me to be there and to try to speak (and NOT speak) guided by your wisdom. Amen.

Job 6:14-30

Job 6:14-30 continues Job's rant.

A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends,
even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

Is this the right thing to do?

I suppose at the level of simple humanity, the loyalty of friendship demands it?

If a friend loses their faith, do I stop being their friend in their time of need. I think not.

But clearly, we see that Job is really at the edge of the breaking point. He feels that Eliphaz speech in Job 4-5 was a personal attack on him. One could imagine that as Eliphaz was giving his take, the other friends nodded in agreement further upsetting Job.

Job tears into his friends ...

But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow
when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,
but that cease to flow in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.

Big strong rivers never dry up even in the heat of summer. But small ones do. Job feels his friends are letting him down like small rivers running dry.

Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go up into the wasteland and perish.
The caravans of Tema look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.

Is it more painful to have expectations disappointed or to have no expectations?

Expectations are inevitable. Without hope we have no drive to move forward. Without expectations we won't work for what is possible. And so as humans we want, need, to depend on friends and it is such a disappointment when they let us down.

Have I ever said, Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom for me from your wealth,
deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless?
Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.
How painful are honest words!
But what do your arguments prove?
Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?
You would even cast lots for the fatherless
and barter away your friend.
But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?
Relent, do not be unjust;
reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.
Is there any wickedness on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

There is a difference between just criticism and unjust criticism. If Job had some secret sin, he would not feel his friends are unfair. But apparently, he had searched his heart sincerely and believes he is in good standing with God. And from Job 1-2, we know he is indeed in good standing with God. In fact, we find that God is proud of him!

So from a "preaching" point of view what kind of application can we draw from this section of Job?

I'd make these points:

(1) Be really really really careful in assuming someone has sinned
When someone's life is falling apart, do we assumed they sinned? In some cases, it is might be so. If someone is drinking themselves to death then there is a problem and to the extent one can intervene one must. But if there is no obvious sin involved, then we need to resist assuming there is one.

(2) Friends allow each other a lot of leeway in venting
Job started the venting in Job 3 and said some pretty raw things. Eliphaz responded in Job 4-5 at a theological level. Job gets even more worked up in Job 6 because he felt unsupported by his friends.

(3) What people do is more important than what they say especially when they are hurting
Job's anger at God sounds sacrilegious but isn't it better for him to say something theologically incorrect than to go out and do something stupid? For instance, he could have said, okay God, you abandoned me so now I'm going to make a golden cow and worship that and ask it to heal me.

Lord, give me wisdom in life to know how to respond to the people in my life. People are in different places in their spiritual journey and I need discernment in how I respond to them. For some, they need a word of encouragement. For some they need a word of correction. For some, I simply need to shut up and listen. Help me to be in prayerfulness in every conversation I have. Amen.

Job 6:8-13

Getting back to my reading of Job. Today, am looking at Job 6:8-13.

Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfill my hope,
that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
This would be my comfort;
I would even exult in pain unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

Wow! Shocking isn't it?

This is in the Bible.

We have the picture of the Bible with warm fuzzy stories of people following God and being nice to each other. But the Bible is as real as the dirt in the ground.

What is Job saying here?

He seems to be saying: God, kill me now! If you kill me now, I'll put up with the pain knowing that I didn't deny you.

What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
Have I any help in me,
when resource is driven from me?

Job knows he is just flesh and blood. He isn't made of stone or bronze and immune from the pain and anguish he is feeling. He knows his personal strength is limited and his emotional resources are being stretched to the breaking point.

What stands out to me about this passage is (1) the incredible honesty of Job and (2) his desire not to "deny the words of the Holy One."

He freely admits he is at the end of his rope.

As someone who grew up in the Asian culture and still very much lives with those influences, there is a lot of "saving face" mentality. On many matters cultural, I think different is simply different and not necessarily better or worse. But the existential reality is we are flesh and blood and creaturely and very finite. It may sound cliche to say it but we have to realize God is God and we are not.

The atheist would at this point shake her head and say: why all this anguish over God? Just admit you are all alone in the universe and you suffer and when you die, it is all over so quite your whining! In the end, I suppose that is why atheists are so proud of themselves. They feel they know the truth. They believe there is nothing out there and so there is this pride of saying, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die!

I'm sure within Job's head, there is a voice that says: God isn't there.

Yet, he persists. Job doesn't want to "deny the words of the Holy One."

In How to Read the Bible Book by Book, the authors summarized the story of Job in this way:

As creatures wholly dependent on God for well being, will the godly love God for himself or only for his benefits? As creatures endowed with creaturely wisdom, are the godly willing to live within the bounds of creaturely wisdom, or will they demand to participate as equals in God's wisdom?

Look, Job is hurting and he has doubts but yet ... he holds onto God and brings all the broken pieces to God.

In this world, there is a lot of beauty in it and I want to thank God for it. In this world, there is a lot of pain and suffering and ... what am I to do with it?

Curse God?

Bring it to God and fight like hell to do something about it?

Lord, it is a messy world. My life is messy. The lives of those around me are messy. Help me to bring it all to you. Thank you that you give us the story of Job so we need not feel alone when we feel overwhelmed in life. Thank you that you also give us Psalm 23. Amen.