theological myopia

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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theological myopia

Job 36:1-33 (JDV)

Job 36:1 Then Elihu continued and said:
Job 36:2 Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you, for there is still more to be said on God’s behalf.
Job 36:3 I will get my knowledge from a distant place and ascribe justice to my Maker.
Job 36:4 Indeed, my words are not false; one who has complete knowledge is with you.
Job 36:5 Yes, God is mighty, but he despises no one; he understands all things.
Job 36:6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but he gives justice to the oppressed.
Job 36:7 He does not withdraw his gaze from the righteous, but he seats them forever with enthroned kings, and they are exalted.
Job 36:8 If people are bound with chains and trapped by the cords of affliction,
Job 36:9 God tells them what they have done and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
Job 36:10 He opens their ears to correction and tells them to turn from iniquity.
Job 36:11 If they listen and serve him, they will end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness.
Job 36:12 But if they do not listen, they will cross the river of death and die without knowledge.
Job 36:13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger; even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.
Job 36:14 They die in their youth; their life ends among male cult prostitutes.
Job 36:15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; he instructs them by their torment.
Job 36:16 Indeed, he lured you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and unconfined place. Your table was spread with choice food.
Job 36:17 Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you.
Job 36:18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large ransom lead you astray.
Job 36:19 Can your wealth or all your physical exertion keep you from distress?
Job 36:20 Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places.
Job 36:21 Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction.
Job 36:22 Look, God shows himself exalted by his power. Who is a teacher like him?
Job 36:23 Who has appointed his way for him, and who has declared, “You have done wrong”?
Job 36:24 Remember that you should praise his work, which people have sung about.
Job 36:25 All mankind has seen it; people have looked at it from a distance.
Job 36:26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge; the number of his years cannot be counted.
Job 36:27 For he makes waterdrops evaporate; they refine the rain into its mist,
Job 36:28 which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.
Job 36:29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out or how the thunder roars from God’s pavilion?
Job 36:30 See how he spreads his lightning around him and covers the depths of the sea.
Job 36:31 For He judges the nations with these; he gives food in abundance.
Job 36:32 He covers his hands with lightning and commands it to hit its mark.
Job 36:33 The thunder declares his presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm.

theological myopia

Elihu assumes that God only works in one way and for one reason. He fails to see the big picture that reveals why Job was suffering. He was guilty of theological myopia.

LORD, forgive us for being so myopic. When we don’t know the whole story, keep us from publishing what we think we know.

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accused of trusting

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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accused of trusting

Job 35:1-16 (JDV)

Job 35:1 Then Elihu continued and said:
Job 35:2 Do you think it is fair when you say, “I am righteous before God”?
Job 35:3 Because you ask, “What does it profit you, and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?”
Job 35:4 I will answer you and your friends with you.
Job 35:5 Look at the sky and see; gaze at the clouds high above you.
Job 35:6 If you sin, how does it affect God? If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to him?
Job 35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give him, or what does he receive from your hand?
Job 35:8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself, and your righteousness, a son of Adam.
Job 35:9 People cry out because of severe oppression; they shout for help because of the power of the mighty.
Job 35:10 But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker, who provides us with songs in the night,
Job 35:11 who gives us more understanding than the animals of the land and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?”
Job 35:12 There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil people.
Job 35:13 Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries, and the Almighty does not take note of it —
Job 35:14 how much less when you complain that you do not see him, that your case is before him, and you are waiting for him.
Job 35:15 But now, because God’s anger does not punish and he does not pay attention to transgression,
Job 35:16 Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words unknowingly.

accused of trusting

Elihu accused Job of trusting God and waiting on him for an answer. May we all be guilty of that crime!

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wrong assumption

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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wrong assumption

Job 34:1-37 (JDV)

Job 34:1 Then Elihu continued and said:
Job 34:2 Hear my words, wise ones, and listen to me, knowing ones.
Job 34:3 Doesn’t the ear test words as the palate tastes food?
Job 34:4 Let us judge for ourselves what is right; let us decide together what is good.
Job 34:5 Because Job has declared, “I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.
Job 34:6 Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.”
Job 34:7 What healthy man is like Job? He drinks derision like water.
Job 34:8 He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.
Job 34:9 Because he has said, “A healthy man gains nothing when he becomes God’s friend.”
Job 34:10 Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding. It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly.
Job 34:11 Because he repays a person according to his deeds, and he gives him what his conduct deserves.
Job 34:12 It is also true that God does not act wickedly and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
Job 34:13 Who gave him authority over the land? Who put him in charge of the continents?
Job 34:14 If he put his mind to it and withdrew the breath and breathing he gave,
Job 34:15 every living thing would expire together and Adam would return to the dust.
Job 34:16 If you have insight, hear this; listen to what I have to say.
Job 34:17 Could one who hates justice govern the world? Will you condemn the mighty Righteous One,
Job 34:18 who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”?
Job 34:19 God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
Job 34:20 They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort.
Job 34:21 For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps.
Job 34:22 There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.
Job 34:23 God does not need to examine a person further, that one should approach him in court.
Job 34:24 He shatters the mighty without an investigation and sets others in their place.
Job 34:25 Therefore, he recognizes their deeds and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.
Job 34:26 In full view of the public, he strikes them for their wickedness,
Job 34:27 because they turned aside from following him and did not understand any of his ways
Job 34:28 but caused the poor to cry out to him, and he heard the outcry of the needy.
Job 34:29 But when God is silent, who can declare him guilty? When he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he watches over both individuals and nations,
Job 34:30 so that godless men should not rule or ensnare the people.
Job 34:31 Suppose someone says to God, “I have endured my punishment; I will no longer act wickedly.
Job 34:32 Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I won’t do it again.”
Job 34:33 Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? You must choose, not I! So, declare what you know.
Job 34:34 Reasonable men will say to me, along with the wise healthy men who hear me,
Job 34:35 “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight.”
Job 34:36 If only Job were tested to the limit, because his answers are like those of wicked men.
Job 34:37 Because he adds rebellion to his sin; he scornfully claps in our presence, while multiplying his words against God.

wrong assumption

Elihu insists that God must be in the right, therefore Job must have wronged someone for God to bring this suffering upon him. He feels he must say this in order to defend God. Believers need to be careful who we condemn. God is capable of fighting his own battles.

LORD, give us the grace to trust your judgment, but not to assume that it is happening.

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not the voice of God

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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not the voice of God

Job 33:1-33 (JDV)

Job 33:1 But now, Job, pay attention to my speech, and listen to all my words.
Job 33:2 I am going to open my mouth; my tongue will form words on my palate.
Job 33:3 My words come from my upright heart, and my lips speak with sincerity what they know.
Job 33:4 The Breath of God has made me, and the breathing of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:5 Refute me if you can. Prepare your case against me; take your stand.
Job 33:6 I am just like you before God; I was also pinched off from a piece of clay.
Job 33:7 Fear of me should not terrify you; no pressure from me should weigh you down.
Job 33:8 Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard these very words:
Job 33:9 “I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.
Job 33:10 But he finds reasons to oppose me; he regards me as his enemy.
Job 33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks; he stands watch over all my paths.”
Job 33:12 But I tell you that you not right since God is greater than a mortal.
Job 33:13 Why do you take him to court for not answering anything a person asks?
Job 33:14 Because God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it.
Job 33:15 In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep comes over people as they slumber on their beds,
Job 33:16 he unstops their ears and terrifies them with warnings,
Job 33:17 to turn Adam from his actions and suppress the pride of a healthy man.
Job 33:18 God spares his throat from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death.
Job 33:19 A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,
Job 33:20 so that his life detests bread, and his throat despises his favorite food.
Job 33:21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his unseen bones stick out.
Job 33:22 He draws near to the Pit, and his life to the executioners.
Job 33:23 If there is an angel on his side, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what is right for him
Job 33:24 and to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom,”
Job 33:25 then his flesh will be healthier than in his youth, and he will return to the days of his youthful vigor.
Job 33:26 He will pray to God, and God will delight in him. He will see his face with a shout of joy, and God will restore to that mortal his righteousness.
Job 33:27 He will look at men and say, “I have sinned and perverted what was right, yet I did not get what I deserved.
Job 33:28 He redeemed my throat from going down to the Pit, and I will continue to see the light.”
Job 33:29 God certainly does all these things two or three times to a healthy man
Job 33:30 to turn his throat back from the Pit, so he may shine with the light of life.
Job 33:31 Pay attention, Job, and listen to me. Be quiet, and I will speak.
Job 33:32 But if you have something to say, answer me; speak, because I would like to justify you.
Job 33:33 If not, then listen to me; be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.

not the voice of God

Elihu spoke calming words in spite of the fact that he was angry at everyone. He wanted Job to see his calamity as God’s attempt to rescue him. God speaks through many means, and sometimes he uses misfortune to get our attention. But Elihu was wrong. Job’s suffering was not the voice of God.

LORD, forgive us for assuming that you are trying to speak to us in every misfortune.

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wisdom to shut up

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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wisdom to shut up

Job 32:1-22 (JDV)

Job 32:1 So these three men quit answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes.
Job 32:2 Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite from the family of Ram became angry. He was angry at Job because he had justified his throat rather than God.
Job 32:3 He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer and yet had condemned him.
Job 32:4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were all older than he.
Job 32:5 But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.
Job 32:6 So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.
Job 32:7 I thought that age should speak, and maturity should teach wisdom.
Job 32:8 But it is the breath in a mortal — the breathing from the Almighty — that gives anyone understanding.
Job 32:9 It is not only the old who are wise or the elderly who understand how to judge.
Job 32:10 That is why I say, “Listen to me. I too will declare what I know.”
Job 32:11 Look, I waited for your conclusions; I listened to your insights as you sought for words.
Job 32:12 I paid close attention to you. Yet no mortal proved Job wrong; not one of you refuted his arguments.
Job 32:13 So do not claim, “We have found wisdom; let God deal with him, not man.”
Job 32:14 But Job has not directed his argument to me, and I will not respond to him with your arguments.
Job 32:15 Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer; words have left them.
Job 32:16 Should I continue to wait now that they are silent — now that they stand there and no longer answer?
Job 32:17 I too will answer; yes, I will tell what I know.
Job 32:18 For I am full of words, and my spirit compels me to speak.
Job 32:19 My heart is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like new wineskins.
Job 32:20 I must speak so that I can find relief; I must open my lips and respond.
Job 32:21 I will be partial to no one, and I will not give anyone an undeserved title.
Job 32:22 Because I do not know how to give such titles; otherwise, my Maker would remove me in an instant.

wisdom to shut up

Elihu enters the conversation as a young man who is frustrated. His elders have let him down. He thought for sure that their age (and their apparent good standing before God) would break Job of his stubborn refusal to honor God by repenting. So Elihu feels forced to say something. He should have had something to say.

LORD, when there is nothing to say, give us the wisdom to shut up.

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implied charges

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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implied charges

Job 31:1-40 (JDV)

Job 31:1 I have cut a covenant with my eyes. How then could I investigate a young woman?
Job 31:2 For what portion would I have from God above, or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?
Job 31:3 Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust and misfortune to evildoers?
Job 31:4 Does he not see my ways and number all my steps?
Job 31:5 If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,
Job 31:6 let God weigh me on accurate scales, and he will recognize my integrity.
Job 31:7 If my step has turned from the way, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands,
Job 31:8 let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.
Job 31:9 If my heart has gone astray over a woman or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,
Job 31:10 let my own wife grind grain for another man, and let other men sleep with her.
Job 31:11 For that would be a disgrace; it would be an iniquity deserving punishment.
Job 31:12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.
Job 31:13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,
Job 31:14 what could I do when God stands up to judge? How should I answer him when he calls me to account?
Job 31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?
Job 31:16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow’s eyes go blind,
Job 31:17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it —
Job 31:18 for from my youth, I raised him as his father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow —
Job 31:19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak,
Job 31:20 if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,
Job 31:21 if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the city gate,
Job 31:22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket.
Job 31:23 Because disaster from God terrifies me, and because of his majesty I could not do these things.
Job 31:24 If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust,
Job 31:25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired so much,
Job 31:26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor,
Job 31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed, and I threw them a kiss,
Job 31:28 this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment, because I would have denied God above.
Job 31:29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress, or become excited when trouble came his way?
Job 31:30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his throat with a curse.
Job 31:31 Haven’t the members of my household said, “Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?”
Job 31:32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler.
Job 31:33 Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart
Job 31:34 because I greatly feared the crowds and because the contempt of the clans terrified me, so I grew silent and would not go outside?
Job 31:35 If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose his indictment.
Job 31:36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.
Job 31:37 I would give him an account of all my steps; I would approach him like a prince.
Job 31:38 If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,
Job 31:39 if I have consumed its produce without payment or caused its owners’ throat to expire,
Job 31:40 then let thorns grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are concluded.

implied charges

Job’s therapists had not brought formal charges against him, but he fully understood their implications. In his final appeal, Job answers those implied charges:

marital unfaithfulness – not guilty (1-4)
theft of conspiracy to steal – not guilty (5-12)
criminal negligence – not guilty (13-23, 31-32)
idolatry – not guilty (24-28)
secret sin – not guilty (29-30, 33-34)
abuse of power – not guilty (38-40)

Job asked for the indictment. He wanted to prove himself guiltless. But the adversary would rather accuse by implication rather than face the overthrow of his lies.

LORD, when people we know face trial by implication, help us to stand by our friends instead of joining the crowd against them.

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he listens

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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he listens

Job 30:1-31 (JDV)

Job 30:1 But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have rejected as tenders of my sheep dogs.
Job 30:2 What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor was gone from them.
Job 30:3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night.
Job 30:4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
Job 30:5 They were banished from human society; people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
Job 30:6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
Job 30:7 They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles.
Job 30:8 Stupid men, without even a name. They were forced to leave the land.
Job 30:9 Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them.
Job 30:10 They abhor me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
Job 30:11 Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
Job 30:12 The rabble rise at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me.
Job 30:13 They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them.
Job 30:14 They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins.
Job 30:15 Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
Job 30:16 Now my throat is poured out within me, and days of suffering have seized me.
Job 30:17 Night pierces my bones, but my gnawing pains never rest.
Job 30:18 My clothing is distorted with great force; he chokes me by the neck of my garment.
Job 30:19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
Job 30:20 I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me; when I stand up, you merely look at me.
Job 30:21 You have turned against me with cruelty; you harass me with your strong hand.
Job 30:22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; you scatter me in the storm.
Job 30:23 Yes, I know that you will lead me to death — the place appointed for all who live.
Job 30:24 Yet no one would send out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress.
Job 30:25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my throat not grieved for the needy?
Job 30:26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came.
Job 30:27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me.
Job 30:28 I walk about darkened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
Job 30:29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
Job 30:30 My skin darkens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever.
Job 30:31 My lyre is used for mourning and my flute to make the sound of weeping.

he listens

What we hear in this chapter is the prayer of a man who is used to being honest with his creator. He has been humbled and has suffered unjustly and he is not just sitting around quoting worship songs. He is disappointed, and that is OK. God is a big guy. He can take it. Our Father would rather hear our honest complaints than the highest praise coming from an insincere heart.

LORD, thank you for listening when we vent. Thank you for hearing how we feel, and still caring for us.

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good ole days

Posted on July 7, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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good ole days

Job 29:1-25 (JDV)

Job 29:1 Job added to his discourse, and said:
Job 29:2 If only I could be as in months before, in the days when God watched over me,
Job 29:3 when his lamp shone above my head, and I walked through darkness by his light!
Job 29:4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth when God’s friendship rested on my tent,
Job 29:5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
Job 29:6 when my feet were bathed in curds and the rock poured out streams of oil for me!
Job 29:7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square,
Job 29:8 the young men saw me and withdrew, while older men stood to their feet.
Job 29:9 City officials stopped talking and covered their mouths with their hands.
Job 29:10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job 29:11 When they heard me, they blessed me, and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.
Job 29:12 Because I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.
Job 29:13 The dying blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
Job 29:14 I clothed myself in righteousness, and it enveloped me; my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I examined the case of the stranger.
Job 29:17 I shattered the fangs of the unfair and snatched the prey from his teeth.
Job 29:18 So I thought, “I will die in my own nest and multiply my days as the sand.
Job 29:19 My roots will have access to water, and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
Job 29:20 My whole being will be refreshed within me, and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”
Job 29:21 Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my advice.
Job 29:22 After a word from me they did not speak again; my speech settled on them like dew.
Job 29:23 They waited for me as for the rain and opened their mouths as for spring showers.
Job 29:24 If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it; they were thrilled at the light of my countenance.
Job 29:25 I directed their course and presided as chief. I lived as a king among his troops, like one who comforts those who mourn.

good ole days

Listening to Job describe the kind of life he had lived, it is not hard to understand how much of a temptation he had to do as his wife had suggested: curse God and die. But Job remained faithful to the God who allowed him to lose it all. Job understood that even though he had lost all the power, wealth and influence that anyone could want, he had not lost his relationship with God. Yes, he regrets what he lost, but he stays true to himself.

LORD, give us the wisdom to hang on to you, no matter what we might lose.

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wisdom mine

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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wisdom mine

Job 28:1-28 (JDV)

Job 28:1 Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Job 28:2 Iron is taken from the ground, and copper is smelted from ore.
Job 28:3 He puts an end to the darkness; he probes the deepest recesses for ore in the gloomy darkness.
Job 28:4 Far from where people live, he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other mortals he dangles and sways.
Job 28:5 Food may come from the ground, but below the surface, it is transformed by fire.
Job 28:6 Its rocks are a source of lapis lazuli, containing flecks of gold.
Job 28:7 That path no bird of prey knows; no falcon’s eye has seen it.
Job 28:8 Proud beasts have never walked on it; no lion has ever prowled over it.
Job 28:9 He uses a flint tool and turns up ore from the root of the mountains.
Job 28:10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eyes spot every treasure.
Job 28:11 He dams up the streams from flowing so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
Job 28:12 But where can wisdom be found, and where is insight located?
Job 28:13 No mortal can know its value since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14 The ocean depths say, “It’s not in me,” while the sea declares, “I don’t have it.”
Job 28:15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it, and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.
Job 28:16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
Job 28:17 Gold and glass do not compare with it, and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.
Job 28:18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning. The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
Job 28:19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it, and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
Job 28:20 Where then does wisdom come from, and where is insight located?
Job 28:21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the sky.
Job 28:22 Abaddon and Death say, “We have heard news of it with our ears.”
Job 28:23 But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location.
Job 28:24 For he looks to the ends of the land and sees everything under the sky.
Job 28:25 When God fixed the weight of the wind and distributed the water by measure,
Job 28:26 when he established a limit for the rain and a path for the lightning,
Job 28:27 he considered wisdom and evaluated it; he established it and examined it.
Job 28:28 He said to mankind, “The fear of Yahveh — that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is insight.”

wisdom mine

Job’s therapists had claimed to be sharing great wisdom. They thought they knew his situation and what caused it. They thought they were helping him by their wisdom. But Job speaks of wisdom as illusive. He knows where gold and silver and precious stones come from. But wisdom can only be found with God. The book of Job challenges us to rethink our assumptions about how the world works.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 ESV

LORD, we pray for wisdom. Forgive us for looking for it in the wrong place.

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hand of correction

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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hand of correction

Job 27:1-23 (JDV)

Job 27:1 Job added to his discourse, and said:
Job 27:2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice, and the Almighty who has made my throat bitter,
Job 27:3 as long as my breathing is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,
Job 27:4 my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit.
Job 27:5 I will never affirm that you are right. I will maintain my integrity until I die.
Job 27:6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not accuse me as long as I live!
Job 27:7 May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust.
Job 27:8 Because what hope does the godless person have when he is cut off, when God silences his throat?
Job 27:9 Will God hear his cry when distress comes on him?
Job 27:10 Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God always?
Job 27:11 I will teach you about God’s power. I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.
Job 27:12 All of you have seen this for yourselves, why do you keep up this empty talk?
Job 27:13 This is a wicked man’s lot from God, the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
Job 27:14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword; his descendants will never have enough food.
Job 27:15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague, yet their widows will not weep for them.
Job 27:16 Though he piles up silver like dust and heaps up fine clothing like clay —
Job 27:17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide up his silver.
Job 27:18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon or a shelter set up by a watchman.
Job 27:19 He lies down wealthy but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
Job 27:20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a storm wind sweeps him away at night.
Job 27:21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone; it carries him away from his place.
Job 27:22 It blasts at him without mercy, while he flees desperately from its force.
Job 27:23 It claps its hands at him and scoffs at him from its place.

hand of correction

We have to be careful that we do not read Job as if he is now agreeing with his therapists. He has all along argued that his misfortune was not God’s doing. What he says now sounds a lot like what his therapists have been saying, except Job is arguing that people can live their whole lives in peace and riches before they see judgment. Job offers to teach his therapists about the hand of God. God’s hand corrects the wicked, but it may be a lifetime before that correction comes. That is no problem from God’s perspective, since he is immortal. Job is arguing that we cannot tell if a person is suffering whether it is God’s judgment or some other cause.

LORD, when bad things happen, help us to trust you, but not to blame you.

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