Job 24

Job 24...

As I read the second half of Job's current monologue (started in Job 23), he is going all over the place: on one hand, the wicked getting away with it, on the other, the vulnerable suffering, and yet on another hand, the wicked getting whacked by God.

The wicked getting away with it...

Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
There are those who move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.
They drive away the orphan's donkey
and take the widow's ox in pledge.
They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

I'm guessing moving boundary stones would be a way to rob somebody of their land or extending the reach of one's own. And how evil is it to steal someone's flock? And to top that evil they take advantage of the orphan, the widow, the needy and the poor. It is bad enough to cheat and steal but to do so at the expense of the downtrodden is a double dose.

The vulnerable suffering...

Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.
They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
They crush olives among the terraces;
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.


image source: http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20071228/2007_12_27t125755_450x347_us_pakistan_bhutto.jpg

Injustice is commonly cited in the argument against God.

But what if God has asked us to be guardians of justice?

How much of the injustice in the world is the fault of the wicked and how much of it is the fault of the good who fail to act?

There is a saying: all that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

Nonetheless, Job presses his case against God...

But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills the poor and needy,
and in the night steals forth like a thief.
The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, 'No eye will see me,'
and he keeps his face concealed.
In the dark, thieves break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.
For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

Job is upset... God, these people are getting way with being evil!

Yet, Job backtracks...

Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.
As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
the wicked are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.

The wicked do pay a price! Which do you really believe Job? Job is all over the map! Don't we get that way sometimes? I know I do and Job has "given us permission" to bare the wrestling match of our souls before God.

They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow show no kindness.

Job returns to the wicked briefly but again slams back to God is going to get them...

But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
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.
If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?

Job ends chapter 24 where he began in chapter 23... with confidence in the ultimate justice of God.

Lord, today, evil reared its head in the killing of Bhutto and many others in Pakistan. It looks like the wicked are marching to victory in that country. You are the king of all kings and the nations are but a drop in a bucket compared to you. I do not know how to pray and what to ask for. Yet, I'm compelled to express my anguish before you. I pray that the wicked see the wickedness of their ways and surrender to the authorities. And if they do not see the evil of their chosen path, then I ask that you bring justice to the evil doers who would kill so wantonly so that they would not take more life. I place these requests before you and trust your justice and mercy and sovereignty. Amen.

Job 23

image source: http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/2006/nov/images/addis-doubt-church-cartoon.jpg

Job 23

Then Job answered and said:
Today also my complaint is bitter;
my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.

Ever felt like this?

I can think of a few things I could (and do!) complain to God about.

Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his seat!
I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know what he would answer me
and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; he would pay attention to me.
There an upright man could argue with him,
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

Job believes that if he got an audience with God, he would be heard.

I have to confess I wonder if Job is over reaching here?

I think of Isaiah who got an audience with God in Isaiah 6. In verse 5, Isaiah says: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!

Yet, as one who lives on the other side of Jesus, I can call upon Hebrews 10:19: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.

The great question for those who believe: how do I know that God is actually there?

None of Job's senses can detect God, yet ...

But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

Do I believe that God is working in my life and that my faith will come out as good as gold after going through tough times?

My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

Makes me think of that phrase, "man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Deut. 8:3, Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4)

Job is oscillating between doubt and faith. He goes on to make great statements of faith in the sovereignty of God ...

But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
For he will complete what he appoints for me,
and many such things are in his mind.

This ineffable and unfathomable aspect of God leads to tremendous humility and even fear ...

Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;

Yet, God has in his wisdom preserved this wrestling match of faith and doubt for believers for all time because what Job went through, we do as well and Job says this in the face of his fears and doubts ...

yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.

Lord, let me not be silent. There are doubts that I feel and complaints that I have and I bring them to you. Though human eyes reading this blog will not know and human ears of my friends may not understand, I know I can enter into your presence with a mixture of boldness, humility and fear. As I await wisdom, correction and vindication, give me the strength to walk in your ways and in obedience to your words. Lord, help friends of mine who have given up seeking you to seek you once again. Help friends who are in the midst of trial to be affirmed. Help friends who have never sought you to somehow realize that you are closer than they think and that Christmas is more than just stuff but about life with you. Amen.

Job 22

Am back!

To recap Job:
Ch. 1-2, sets the stage
Ch. 3-14, 1st set of monologues where Job speaks, friends respond, Job responds and so on. All three friends speak
Ch. 15-21, 2nd set of monologues, all three of Job's friends speak and Job responds.
Ch. 22-26, 3rd set of monologues, only two of Job's friends speak and Job responds.
Ch. 27-31, Job speaks at length
Ch. 32-37, Elihu, a fourth friend speaks at length
Ch. 38-41, God and Job speak
Ch. 42, conclusion.

Picking things up at Job 22 ...

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
"Can a human being be of benefit to God?
Can even the wise benefit him?
What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

Eliphaz is simply wrong.

The god described by Eliphaz is (1) unmoved by his creatures doing right and (2) only interested in zapping those who go astray as described by Eliphaz later on.

We know from Job 1 God is aware of Job's righteousness and is pleased by it.

"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?
You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.
You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,
though you were a powerful man, owning land -
an honored man, living on it.
And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.
That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,
why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.

We have no indication that Job sinned and if that is correct than Eliphaz is slandering Job.

If I were Job at this point, I'd punch Eliphaz in the nose!

"Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
Yet you say, 'What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?
Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'

Eliphaz returned to the idea that god is too powerful and distant to really care what is going on. I suppose Eliphaz is holding onto a "deist" kind of god where god simply doesn't interact with us with the possible exception of a final judgement when we all die.

The materialist would say there is no god at all. The pantheist would say god is in the creation.

A theist would believe there is a god and god actually cares what is happening and can interact with us.

Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked have trod?
They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.
They said to God, 'Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?'
Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.
The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,
'Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.'
"Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.

Interestingly, Eliphaz appears to backtrack on the remoteness of god by advising Job to go to god and own up to sin which he believes that Job committed but didn't admit to.

The following are fine sounding words and would be appropriate in other contexts. But in this one it is just more salt in an open wound ...

Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.
When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!'
then he will save the downcast.
He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

This last part is indeed fine sounding. As typical Christian people, we have probably said such words to others or have heard such sentiments in sermons.

But what we should say is by context.

You might say that Eliphaz was about 33% right in this passage. But in context he was 100% wrong.

Lord, I don't get to give advice often. But when i do have that opportunity, help me to be wise. Help me to spend more time listening than talking. Grant me discernment to know if there is sin how to address it and when there is not to comfort the suffering soul. As the Christmas season is here, people's emotions may be closer to the surface. Open my eyes to be perceptive to the needs of others. Amen.