Thoughts on the book of Job:
O.K., I admit it, this is a tough book to swallow. I mean, most all of the story of Job is about pain, suffering, hard things, not understanding where God is & what He's up to! But there's so much to glean from these chapters along the way. It certainly doesn't seem to offer any pat answers as to why bad things happen to good people & may actually leave MORE questions for us to ponder. But it does ultimately challenge many of our "religious," sometimes even critical or judgmental type thoughts & easy answers for those who suffer in this life, which, last time I checked, seems to be almost all of us at one point or another in this world!
I love what Euguene Peterson writes in, "Job, Led by Suffering to the Heart of God," from the Message Bible, "Real faith cannot be reduced to spiritual bromides & merchandised in success stories. It is refined in the fires and the storms of pain...When people go through suffering, their lives are often transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness, in remarkable ways that could never have been anticipated before the suffering." Definitely true for the life of Job, hopefully true for our lives as well.
Here's some thoughts, facts, ideas I thought were interesting as we read through Job these past few weeks...would love to hear what you've been thinking too!
Did you know that...
- Most scholars seem to agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible written somewhere around 1500 BC. The author is still unknown, but most believe the writer of Job was an Israelite, and the book's profound insights & literary structures make it a work of art as one of the biblical books of "wisdom literature."
- Job lived in the land of Uz (always reminds me of the land of Oz, as in Wizard of Oz, crazy I know), which many locate as part of Edom, Arabia, or Syria.
- Job lived a blameless, righteous life before God, even in the midst of all the temptations that go along with great wealth. He also had incredible concern & protection over his children, he seemed to desire that they too follow in his footsteps of living uprightly before God.
- There is a real enemy in the world. His name is Satan & though we cannot see the invisible forces that surround us in this world, the Bible states that he is like a "roaring lion, prowling around looking for someone to devour," 1 Peter 5:8. Though we see this in the book of Job, we also clearly see that he is NOT all powerful & that God is ultimately in control of what Satan is "allowed" to do.
- It's so interesting that we often hear the cliche, "the patience of Job." While Job may have indeed been a patient man in many ways, I think he also seems quite bold, protesting his sufferings even before God Himself! He refused to accept "pat, easy" answers from his friends, he was passionate, he got angry, he had great feelings about what he endured! He actually even called himself "impatient" in Chap. 21:4. Maybe the more true cliche of Job's character, should be "the passion of Job."
- Job was greatly tested by losing 3 main things in life that most all of us hold dear, his fortune, his family, & his health. That's HUGE! Many of us may lose one of those things here & there throughout our lives, but all at one time? Wow!
- Some Bible scholars wonder if Job's illness was actually leprosy or maybe elephantitis, since he speaks of the "ashes" or ash heap which was generally located outside of a city for those who were determined "unclean." Whatever it was, it brought much physical pain, mental anguish, and a lot of questions for God.
- Up to Chapter 32, the book of Job has told his story, and of the 3 debates between Job & 3 friends who came from a distance to "console" him.
- Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were considered "wise men," and were friends of Job who obviously once held great respect for him. That's noted in the fact that they were willing to travel such a great distance to be with him, they cried when they saw him, and they sat & mourned with him in silence for 7 days, wow! The problem began when they opened their mouths...hmmm...THAT still seems to be a problem for many of us today. (: They indeed seemed to fear God & said many things that may have been true, but they did NOT understand the full reason of why Job was suffering, even though they spoke as though they knew. It was because God had allowed it, not because he had sinned. They spoke with the assumption that Job must have done something to deserve this, that he needed to come clean, confess, repent, etc... That same generality is often pressed upon many people today who face hard circumstances. Sure, sometimes the hard trial we walk through is indeed because of our own bad decisions, our own sin issues or weaknesses, but sometimes it's for a purpose that we, nor those around us, can fully understand. We simply do not see the big picture as God does.
- One big theme of Job seems to be this - TRUST. Job is struggling with the fact that he must simply TRUST God when he can't understand & get all the answers he's looking for. On the flip side of that, God trusted Job enough to allow this to happen to him for a greater purpose in our world. In some ways it seems that God was willing to put His own "reputation on the line"when it came to Job, He greatly believed in Job's character & integrity, that's big!
- We must never have the perception that following God means all of our troubles will go away...sometimes, at certain periods of our lives, they actually seem to increase. But we can be fully assured that God does not "waste" our suffering, He uses it to build greater character, wisdom, and purpose into & through our lives. He truly is the ONLY One who is able to do that!
- So what can we see of God's character from this story that unfolded literally years ago? Even today, He is still the God Who Is In Control, He is our Redeemer, He is Trustworthy, He is With Us in what we suffer in this world, He is our Creator, He Has the Big Picture in Mind, He Has All the Answers, He is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, He is Just, He is Wise, He is Powerful, He is our Savior. Through this story, we are reminded that, amazingly, He is never intimidated by our questions of Him, especially when we feel He is silent, distant, or not responding as we'd like. Through it all, He is forever Loving, Patient, and Gracious.
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