God wants us to be real.

God wants us to be real.

Job 34

Didn’t Elihu say he had something new to add to the conversation? Instead, he ends up repackaging and regurgitating the arguments of his older, supposedly-not-as-wise counterparts: “Job claims that he is innocent, that God refuses to give him justice. He asks, How could I lie and say I am wrong? I am fatally wounded, but I am sinless. Have you ever seen anyone like this man Job? He never shows respect for God. He likes the company of evil people and goes around with sinners. He says that it never does any good to try to follow God’s will.” (vs 5-9)

God subjects Himself to our scrutiny.

God subjects Himself to our scrutiny.

Job 33

Well, what can we say about Elihu? Except that he is insufferably wordy—it took him a chapter and a half to say “I’m going to speak!”—and fearfully pompous—”Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” (vs 33) He hasn’t even really gotten around to any major points yet, although my suspicion is that he won’t have much to add to the conversation. (We’ll see.)

God is no respecter of age.

God is no respecter of age.

Job 32

So, Job’s three friends finally gave up trying to convince him that he was wrong. Their minds were unchanged, but they saw the futility of arguing any longer. This, however, didn’t sit well with Elihu, a young person who was apparently observing the debate. The narrator of the story tells us that it was Elihu’s age that kept him silent until now: "Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused." (vs 4-5)

God makes us whole.

God makes us whole.

Job 31

At the beginning of the book of Job, God called Job "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8) In this chapter, we finally get a description from Job about what that life looked like. Job defends his conduct, his way of life, and—although he doesn’t know that God has called it "blameless and upright"—he is sure that he is not guilty of any secret sin.

God specializes in the unexpected.

God specializes in the unexpected.

Job 30

Job is starting to get desperate. He knows his friends are wrong about his condition, but he is growing increasingly frustrated and miserable that God won’t talk to him. He feels abandoned: "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me." (vs 20)

God has a future for you.

God has a future for you.

Job 29

In this chapter, Job reminisces about the past, remembering what it was like before he met with all his misfortune. Not only did he enjoy God’s intimate friendship (vs 4), but he was respected and honored in his community (vs 7-8), and he spoke with an air of authority (vs 21-22). At that time, Job felt like his legacy would go on forever: "Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand.'" (vs 18)

God has all the priceless stuff.

God has all the priceless stuff.

Job 28

If you watch much TV, I'm sure you're familiar with the premier MasterCard commercials from a few years ago, featuring the "priceless" slogan. For instance, one featured a woman going on a blind date: "Haircut and style—seventy dollars. Spa manicure—fifty dollars. Stunning black dress—one hundred thirty dollars. Your blind date complaining about picking up the sixty dollar tab—priceless. There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard."

God sets us straight.

God sets us straight.

Job 27

This chapter almost seemed a little out of character for Job, didn’t it? Every speech his friends have made has included some awful description of what will befall the wicked—in order to convince Job that he is wicked. Job has been protesting his innocence from the beginning and even making some arguments that, in his experience, tragedy does not befall the wicked quite as often as his friends would imagine. And then, he seems to reverse his position in this chapter.

God is a genius.

God is a genius.

Job 26

In 1988, when I was 11 years old, my parents bought us an Apple IIGS computer for Christmas. My brother—who was then, and has always been, more technologically savvy than I—was especially excited. For months, he had been reading about the Apple IIGS, and he wanted one in the worst way. Let’s face it, in 1988, just the idea of having a personal computer in your home was rare, let alone one that had a state-of-the-art sound system and a color graphical user interface. Oooooh, aaaaaah.

God created worms without arms and legs.

God created worms without arms and legs.

Job 25

If there is anything in the book of Job that I’m glad God rebuked as being wrong, it is this in chapter 25: "How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—a human being, who is only a worm!" (vs 4-6)

God believes in equal justice.

God believes in equal justice.

Job 24

There is a lot of talk about justice these days—especially in the "enlightened" and "educated" culture of the West. And this topic of discussion is not limited to any particular arena. You hear it discussed both inside and outside of the church. There are a lot of different ideas about justice. What is it? When is it achieved? How is it achieved? Is justice achieved at the level of treatment (that is, how people are treated) or at the level of outcomes (that is, what happens to people)?

God is all.

God is all.

Job 23

Job, with yet another reply to his so-called friends: "Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me." (vs 2-5)

God takes pleasure in us.

God takes pleasure in us.

Job 22

In the opening of Job 22, Eliphaz starts in again with Job: "What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?" (vs 2) Actually, The Message Bible does an even better job of capturing Eliphaz’s "so what" attitude: "So what if you were righteous—would God Almighty even notice? Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think he’d applaud? Do you think it’s because he cares about your purity that he’s disciplining you, putting you on the spot? Hardly! It’s because you’re a first-class moral failure, because there’s no end to your sins." (vs 2-3)

God has a popsicle stash.

God has a popsicle stash.

Job 21

Awful, heart-wrenching things happen in this world. I’m going to tell you about two of them to start this blog. I once heard about a little, eighteen-month-old boy who was rushed to the hospital with a very high fever. He had been having some flu-like symptoms, but his parents weren’t worried until his fever spiked. After the doctors ran all their tests, they concluded that the small boy had meningococcemia, a bacterial infection which can be one of the most dramatic and rapidly fatal diseases.

God is always bringing us new light.

God is always bringing us new light.

Job 20

Are you feeling like I am about the speeches of Job’s friends? Come on, enough already. When I opened my Bible to chapter 20 today and saw that Zophar was going to launch off yet again into the same, old thing, I felt a huge yawn coming on. It’s like being on the telephone with an automated answering service—no matter what number you press, you get the same recording: Thank you for holding. One of our representatives will be with you shortly. It gets frustrating when there’s no way to break through the monotonous drivel and reach someone who is actually alive and breathing.

God is with us.

God is with us.

Job 19

This chapter of Job contains, perhaps, the most famous passage from the whole book. In the middle of a despairing speech, suddenly, Job utters some of the most hopeful, confidence-filled words in the Bible: "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God." (vs 25-26)

God wants you to be free.

God wants you to be free.

Job 18

I don’t remember when it was that I finally worked up the courage to watch the movie Braveheart. It was a long time after it was released, and even then, I remember watching most of it through the laced fingers covering my eyes. (I have a problem with graphic violence.) But I can never forget the final moments of that film, as Mel Gibson’s character, William Wallace—bound and seconds away from death—cries with his last breath, "Freedom!"

God shoulders the burden of sin.

God shoulders the burden of sin.

Job 17

There is a very interesting verse in this chapter of Job. Look it up in several versions at home or online, and you’ll find a number of different renderings: "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?"(vs 3) In other words, Job is crying out to God and saying, "You will have to set things right, God. I don’t have what it takes."

God knows what's best.

God knows what's best.

Job 16

Eliphaz and his friends accused Job of attacking God. Job claimed it was the other way around: "I was living in comfort, but He has taken that away. He has taken hold of me by the neck and shaken me to pieces." (vs 12) Commentators are divided (on this verse and the surrounding ones) as to whether the "he" is referring to God or Satan. Regardless, we’re going to proceed as if Job was talking about God. Have you ever felt like life was going along smoothly, and all of a sudden, God stepped in and messed it up?

God bucks tradition.

God bucks tradition.

Job 15

Have you known any Eliphazes in your life? I’ve known a few. Actually, I’ve known more than a few. And why is it that they mostly seem to flock to the church? (Sigh.) Here is Eliphaz, once again, trying to put Job in his place: "Do you think you’re the first person to have to deal with these things? Have you been around as long as the hills? Were you listening in when God planned all this? Do you think you’re the only one who knows anything? What do you know that we don’t know? What insights do you have that we’ve missed? Gray beards and white hair back us up—old folks who’ve been around a lot longer than you." (vs 7-10)