Sunday, March 27, 2011
Job 31
As the end of the section on Job's call for vindication - his protestations of innocence. I live with children...so I'm naturally inclined to take a "call for vindication" with a big grain of salt. In my life, I hear "I didn't do it" on a daily basis. No one left their books in the middle of the living room floor. No one put staples into the dining room table. No one left the van door open overnight....."I'm innocent, I tell you! I'm inncoent!" So when I see Job's protestations, I'm inclined to be a little skeptical. I know he was a good and righteous man - good enough that he is chosen from all humanity for this strange experiment. But as his list of things he's never done goes on - I find myself saying "Really?!" "If I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless....from my birth I have guided the widow" vv. 17-18 "If I had put my trust in gold, saying 'you are my security'" v. 24 "If I had rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune...I have not invoked a curse against their life" vv. 29-30 (It's hard to pray the Psalms without stumbling into this) I can accept Job as a good and righteous man - but the words in this chapter either make me wonder if he's stretching the truth a bit for affect. Or they make me realise how very far everything I know is from where God wants us to be. Have I lived as a sinner among sinners so much that I cannot even believe such righteousness outside of Christself?
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I have tried 3 times to post this and edit it...for some reason my paragraph breaks keep getting removed. Sorry -- makes it very hard to read!
ReplyDeleteThat's why we come to church every Sunday: to be reminded that we are saints as much as sinners, to be freed from the guilt and shame that holds us down. Unfortunately for Job, his friends are contributing to his agony, not reinforcing God's message of reconciliation, of making things right. Unforgiven, we are of no use to God. To be a saint among saints for one Sabbath morning strengthens me for the whole week.
ReplyDeleteJob's cirmcumstances are extreme to say the least. He believes that he has followed his Lord's commands of worship and service but for what ever reason his suffering is great. He has no earthly support system and wonders were is his God now when he needs him most. Coming to worship is a great way to recharge for the challenges of what my life has in store fo me.
ReplyDeleteThank the Lord I have such a great fellowship to share in.
Job 31 vs 6 let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless--
ReplyDeleteThis chapter ends Job's monologue, his plea for vindication. To me it seems to be a conversation Job is having with himself, a prayerful plea to God that he has done nothing to deserve the bad things that are happening.
To challenge God, like a lawyer in court challenging the Judge, seems a bit bold. Job is searching for answers and even though his faith is strong he has reached a point where he is publicly and privately trying to make his case directly with God.
So the debate described in this book of the bible is nearing it's end, is God responsible when bad things happen to good people?
I love the "claims of innocence" parallel with children, Kelly! Gave me a good chuckle :)
ReplyDeleteIn response to Bill's question: God doesn't make bad things happen to people. Most of the bad that comes our way is at our own hands. We don't love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. We live in a fallen world. When temptation, trials, or testing come our way, God is beckoning us to trust him. Oftentimes we blame him instead. Interestingly, when good comes the way of good people, we take the credit for that, a result of our hard work. God doesn't get the glory. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. BTW, our Sunday morning Bible study gets better every week. Please come on Wednesday night as we build what the world would look like if we took our job as God's servants seriously.
I think that God gave us free will...even in the bad times He has called us to choose Him. Especially in the bad times. Bad things happen but its our choice what we do with it.
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