- The poetry form that it's written in is pretty hard to follow. I'm having to read the foot notes to make sure I'm understanding correctly, haha.
- The human-nature in me is not very comfortable with what Job is being put through, and doesn't quite understand why.
I think that Job should make all of us a little uncomfortable. If it doesn't I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you but I find it very hard, in my finite mind, to reconcile this situation. Why does Job have to go through this? Why Job? What was the point of the trials? Why let Satan do the things he did? What purpose did it serve?
These are all questions that I have as I read this book. It's hard but I have to trust that God had a reason for Job dealing with what he had to deal with.
I know we often talk about the patience of Job but as I was reading last night I saw that Job was just as human as we were. He never cursed God but he did insinuate that was being unfair and unjust:
"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the guiltless and the wicked."
"If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent."
"The earth is given into the hand of the wicked ; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?"
"Now my days are swifter than a runner ; They flee away, they see no good."
-Job 9:22-25
-Job 9:22-25
I can't say that I blame Job right now. I'm hoping that God will make sense of all this later on in Job's story, but until then I'll just keep trudging along.
What do you think? Anyone have any insights into Job? I'd love to hear them!
God bless!!
I think Job is just like the rest of us. He got angry, he questioned a lot of things, but in the end he came back to what he knew was the truth: God loves him, God is taking care of him even though Job can't see the bigger picture, and He will redeem his pain.
ReplyDeleteI felt a lot like Job in the fall of 2009 when I had six brain surgeries within two months, and my mom nearly lost her job because of it, and I felt like my whole world was falling apart. I questioned everything that I knew about God, but I eventually came back to the truth, too. I never fully turned my back on God, and I believe that's the reason God turned my whole life around after that mess, just as He did with Job.
I think Job is a great example of how God doesn't need some extraordinary person to exemplify His amazing work and unending grace; God takes ordinary people and shows that if you remain steadfast in your love for Him, He will take care of you, even and especially in your darkest times. He makes beauty out of what human eyes see as disaster.
I hope this is at least somewhat clear. I'm exhausted. :)
I think that, like the rest of the OT, what happens to Job serves the purpose of illustrating the future life/suffering/death of Christ.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that it seems so natural to have a real visceral response to reading Job. I read it and ask the very same questions, why did all of this stuff have to happen to this guy? I mean, he was, for the most part, a very faithful servant!
The next step is then for me to start to apply this to myself. I start asking questions such as "How would I respond if God started to allow Satan to torture me like this?" This is certainly a valid question and it's good to reflect on this.
But for some reason, I fail to apply this to what happened to our Lord, which I think is largely God's purpose for this book and what happened in it. I fail to remember Jesus' suffering & death and just how much more unjust it was for him to have that burden placed on him. While Job certainly had his flaws and shortcomings, Jesus was perfectly faithful and perfectly Holy. How much angrier should I be over this? How many more questions should this raise in my mind?
Additionally, Job eventually reached his breaking point, while Christ faithfully submitted and humbly endured it all.
Excellent blog, buddy. Hope to keep reading along.
Mallory, thanks for bringing a real-life perspective to the discussion. I'm glad to see God has been working in your life! Great insights on Job. I liked them!
ReplyDeleteBob, as always, good stuff man. I had never thought about it from the perspective of Job being an image of Jesus. That makes some good sense and I've been chewing on that the past few days. Thanks for pushing me into the deep end! Haha.