When we last left Job, Elihu, his "friend", is telling Job about how God works. In a nutshell, Elihu argues that, because God is the omni-God (all good, all powerful, all knowing, all present), he (God) cannot be with sin (at fault).
***NOTE: I just had déjà vu.
If God cannot sin, then anything bad that happens to Job must be the result of some evil in Job's life. He then switches up his tactic by saying in Job 35:6-8 that a person's sin has no effect on God, but only on the person herself. I think this is because Elihu is trying to argue for the absolute transcendence and power of the Almighty. I think he is arguing that God is infinitely more powerful than any human, so we can have no effect on him, and because of his absolute benevolence, any suffering we endure is the result of our own doing.
Finally, in chapter 38, the LORD speaks. "Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm." (Job 38:1). Finally, at the climax of book, God shows up. Over the past chapter or so, Elihu describes a building storm. He describes the thunder, the clouds, the lightening, etc. He talks about how God is so majestic, that he is so much more powerful than these mighty wonders. Then God shows up.
His words are poignant and humbling. Through the entire chapter God speaks directly to Job, challenging Job, humbling Job, by asking Job, "Who are you that you think you can challenge me? Job, I am so much more powerful than you could ever conceive." I copied out the passage where God speaks. I underlined some of the parts that really speak to me. Here is Job 38.
“Who is this that obscures my plansGod's rhetorical questioning of Job continues for chapters 38, 39, 40, and 41. As I read, I answered each of the questions as if I was Job, and in every single question that pertained to whether I could do something, my answer was, "No." In every single question that pertained to who did all these amazing things, the answer was, "You did, God." For four chapters, God drives home the point that we are nothing and powerless before God.
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom
or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
Remember how I've been highlighting the theme of the fear of the LORD? I think this is a key passage. God is presenting himself as pure creative and uninhibited agency. It was as if he was saying to Job and to us, "You are nothing compared to me." The hope that we have is that after that God says, "And I love you with my whole being." These chapters represent a huge rebuke to Job (and to us). God seems to be saying that if we only knew of the faint whisper we hear of him, we would be humbled and know in our hearts that we are nothing without him. The wonderful good news is, with all of this all-consuming power, there is a complimentary all-consuming love and never-ending desire to pursue us. When the one who loves you is the same one that rips the foundations of the earth apart and governs the stars in the sky, who terrifies the mighty with his words, then what is there to fear? Not even death itself.
Job, after seeing God is all his glory, humbles himself to the ground, covers himself with dust (as a symbol of mourning and repentance) (Job 42:1-6). Apparently in all of this, he never spoke wrong of God (42:7). In the end, God blesses Job with twice as much as he had before and gave him a huge legacy of life, children, and wealth. Awesome.
For Psalms, I think I will take a different approach. Psalms is a collection of songs that were mostly written by David, the most celebrated king of Israel, the man who was remembered as the "man after God's own heart." Because Psalms is a collection of song lyrics, I did not notice a narrative or theological system. Instead I noticed beautiful poetry in some parts. So, I have decided that for this blog, I will just write the parts I like and reference them. No explanation or anything, because I'm cool like that. In all honesty, I think the words speak for themselves.
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..." (Psalm 1:1)
"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and who leaf does not whither." (Psalm1:2-3).
"For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous," (Psalm1:6)
"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." (Psalm 4:4)
"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection of them." (Psalm 5:11)
"You made [people] a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalm 8:5)
"The LORD is the refuge of the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." (Psalm 9:10).
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 14:1).
"I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord: apart from you I have no good thing." (Psalm 16:2).
"I love you, O LORD, my strength." (Psalm 18:1)
"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, in his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed, and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." (Psalm 18:6-16).
"To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;" (Psalm 25:1).
"according to your love, remember me." (Psalm 25:7).
"The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
"LORD gives strenght to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace." (Psalm 29:11).
"I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the guilt of my sin." (Psalm 32:5).
"... but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him." (Psalm 32:10).
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18).
Time to get some sleep methinks. Only 1130 more pages to go!
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