36-42

Good morning, my friends!
The next few days will be jam-packed at church, so I need to finish up Job this morning.
Here are my thoughts.
Thanks for joining me for the journey.  Let's do this again soon.


Much love,
Pr. Em

Chapter 36 - 
It does seem Elihu's heart is in a better place.  But he, too, shares some troubling theology from my perspective. He says that the righteous prosper and the wicked don't.  In life - it doesn't seem so simple.  Aren't we all wicked?  And righteous?  Sinner and saint?  I like verse 26: "How great is God - beyond our understanding!  The number of his years is past finding out."  :)

Chapter 37 - 
Ha ha!  In light of all our recent snow, verse 6 is a hoot.  "He says to the snow, Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour."  Elihu sees everything that happens in creation and in the atmosphere as the work of God, and he is trying to impress that upon Job.

Chapter 38 -
God speaks!  I've been looking forward to these chapters, and had been saving them for the very end instead of reading ahead.  I was a little surprised in reading them.  God definitely takes a direct approach with Job!  He says, "Have you ____?  Have you ever _____?  How about ____?  Speak up if you were there!"  He seems to be saying, "Job, I'm the one who understands.  You don't know the whole picture."  How did you feel reading this chapter?

Chapter 39 -
God continues.  This chapter is about many different animals.  God seems to say, "Job, I understand all of them because I created al of them.  Did you? I didn't think so. Job, there is much you do not understand."

Chapter 40 and 41-  
Job answers God at the very beginning of chapter 40 and then God talks again.  Job's response surprised me!  "I am unworthy - how can I reply to you?  I put my hand over my mouth."  And then God shares more....especially highlighting two giant, mysterious animals - the behemoth and the leviathan.

Chapter 42 -
The final chapter!  Wow! This is it!  Job responds to God.  Interestingly, Job's conclusion is - "Sure I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know....I had heard of you but now my eyes of seen you."  Initially, I thought, "WHAT?!?!  Job!  You had legitimate concerns.  Don't back down now!  God didn't even address your undeserved suffering!"  But then I thought, "Well, Job had a face to face encounter with God and it totally transformed his understanding.  He gained understanding he didn't have before.  Who can argue with that?  Not me!"

Then, in the Epilogue,  God basically says to Job's first three friends, "Guys, you need to apologize to me and to Job.  You were not very good friends."  And the rest of Job's life is apparently blessed and wonderful.

My Concluding Thoughts - 
Hmmmm.  At some point, I need to take time to process all this.
Job is a very fascinating book of the Bible.  I'm not exactly sure what I'm "taking away" yet.
Life is complicated and there is MUCH we do not understand but God does understand- I guess that's something Job taught me.
How about you?  What have you learned on the journey?

35 (Monday)

Holy Week begins.
And Job is coming to a close!
These are exciting chapter we're entering into.

Chapter 35 was a little tricky for me. 
How did you respond?
What do you think Elihu is trying to say?

I'm just waiting eagerly for God to finally talk!!!!! :)

Chapters 31 (Wednesday), 32, 33, and 34 (Saturday)!

Hey friends! Sorry I got behind. We're almost there!  It's almost Holy Week.

Here are some thoughts on 31-34...

YIPPEE!!! Elihu is here! He seems like a good friend, huh?
What are your thoughts on our new friend Elihu so far?

Chapter 29 (Monday) and Chapter 30 (Tuesday)

29:

Job is looking back on the "good old days," isn't he?
If only things could be like the were before.....
If only God was my friend like in the olden days.....
If only I could have my old life back....

I think we can all relate a little to Job in this chapter. How about you?

30:

The reverse of Chapter 29.
Job says, "But now everything is awful. My old life is a distant memory."

Question for Reflection:
-Where do you see yourself in the book of Job? As Job? As a friend? As Job's wife? As a distant observer?

Chapter 28 (Saturday)

Very fascinating chapter!
It's all about wisdom.  Job says no one understand where wisdom comes from except for God.
I liked this chapter.
It seems like Job is coming to a new place of awareness in himself and in God.
He's realizing that God's wisdom is huge and impossible to explain.

P.S. - Enjoy the day off tomorrow.  We're almost coming to the finish line of our Lenten journey.  2 weeks until Easter!

26 (Thursday) and 27 (Friday)

Job is speaking in these two chapters. 

26:
-Job says some awesome things about God's power and might.  Interesting.

27:
-I think verses 1-6 are fascinating.  Job is saying, "Even though I've been a good man and I have no idea what God is doing, I'm going to maintain my integrity."  I found verses 13-23 disturbing!  How about you?  Is Job describing that terrible things happen to wicked people?  Hasn't he spent the whole rest of the book talking about how good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people - and there's never a rhyme or a reason?  Why is he now saying that terrible things happen to terrible people?

Job 25

"Prayer by 3 Friends" by Cornelis Monsma

Yikes, Bildad!
This chapter is not a very encouraging portrait of human beings, huh?
Worse than worms - or so Bildad says.

What are your thoughts on human beings?
Can mortals be righteous before God?  What do you think "righteousness" is all about?

Chapter 23 (for Monday) and Chapter 24 (for Tuesday)

By Vladimir Borovikovsky

23:This is an interesting chapter, isn't it?  Job seems to have a very genuine awe and respect for God, even though he doesn't understand what God is up to.  That's often how I feel, too.  How did you interpret verse 10?  It sounds like Job is saying: "I'm going to come through this okay.  I'm going to pass this test."

24:

If I were to summarize this chapter, I'd say: "The bad people prosper and the good people suffer.  God, why does this happen?"  24:25 seems to be saying, "If I'm wrong, tell me!  Tell me what I'm saying isn't true!" 

And basically, Job is right in a lot of ways, don't you think?  A lot of things happen in life that I sure can't explain (although it would be nice).  We don't always know the answers, but we can trust that God is present in the midst of it.  That gives me hope.  What is bringing you hope today?

Chapters 21 and 22

Hey friends!  I fell a day behind.  Sorry about that!  Thanks for sticking with it.  :)

Chapter 21 -

Job is continuing to process what's going on around him.  He's hurting and frustated.  It seems he's asking, "Why do great things happen to wicked people while terrible things are happening to me?" 

Chapter 22 -
Eliphaz is NOT being a good friend!  Did you notice verse 5?  He tells Job there is no end to his sin and wickedness.  Ouch!