Job 41-42 February 28, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Job, Wisdom.Tags: depression, Job, Revelation, suffering, Wisdom
add a comment
Scripture:
Job 42:5 – My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Observation:
Having now read through the majority of the book of Job over the past 2 months, I am increasingly warming to the interpretation of the book as an ancient morality play of some kind (especially with its reference to the two beasts towards the end in chapters 40-41, Behemoth and Leviathan, none of the interpretations for which I am totally happy with, apart from a mythological one). However, you can’t deny that, as exemplified in the verse quoted above, the book has its fair share of personal revelation for Job. At the end of this period of intense suffering, and this long discourse between him, his friends and finally Yahweh, he knows that he is closer to God than he was before, and that he has been given a gift that others do not have.
Application:
My wife has suffered from depression for several years now, and this, along with other factors, has led her to come to the conclusion that God isn’t there. It’s really hard for me to pray about this these days, but I look at Job’s journey of suffering and his maintaining his faith, and I think about the revelation he has at the end, that now his eyes have been opened to what was going on, and I can’t help but want the same thing for my wife. Sadly, she has not been able to find the strength to stand firm in her faith, but I am convinced that that is not a barrier for God, who can reveal himself when He wants to – and so I pray for the same revelation for her.
Prayer:
God, please please reveal yourself to Heidi, who so desperately needs you, as we all do. Show yourself to be the almighty God, but also the god who wants to be near her on such a personal level. Do it Lord.
Job 11-15 January 17, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Job, Wisdom.Tags: God-centred, Job, sin, troubles, Wisdom
add a comment
SScripture
Job 13:15 – Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely defend my ways to his face.
Observation
This verse is an astonishing example of Job’s resolve in the face of trial. He attributed everything in his life as coming from God, both the good and the bad, and so was thankful for his blessings at the start of the book, and when those were taken away, knew that it was God’s doing for some reason. Job is convinced that he hasn’t sinned against the Lord, at least, not in such a major way as to warrant the punishment he gets, whereas his friends are persuaded that sin is the reason for Job’s troubles. They go through this verbal dance for many chapters – “You’ve sinned!”, “I haven’t!” – and eventually God speaks, but here we have Job stating unequivocally that he still believes that he worships a good God, though he doesn’t understand what’s going on with him.
Application
There’s something about this God-centred worldview that doesn’t really exist any more. An ‘act of God’ in modern parlance is a generally a disaster of some kind, and people ask why God doesn’t just stop suffering in the world, but blessings that are received are often put down to good luck, or results of hard work, or being in the right place at the right time. Even Christians don’t tend to put everything down to God acting in their lives. But what if we did? Perhaps we’d be more grateful for the good things that he gives us… But when life goes wrong, would we have the strength to be like Job, and say, “Fine, I don’t get it, and I don’t like it, but I’m still going to worship and believe in you God”? What would the world be like if there were lots more people like Job?
Prayer
God, help me to see your hand in my whole life, not just Sundays. Help me to give thanks for the blessings you give us, and to continue loving and worshipping you through the trials and difficulties that come our way, whether big or small. Praise you Lord!
Job 1-5 January 3, 2009
Posted by Sparky in Job, Wisdom.Tags: God-centred, Job, praise, troubles, Wisdom
add a comment
Scripture:
Job 2:9-10
His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
5:17-18
“Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
Observation:
The comment from Job’s wife comes shortly after all his wealth is either stolen or destroyed, along with his sons and daughters, and his body has been ravaged by sores, inflicted by the devil himself. And Job responds in a way which matches exactly with what we have heard about him so far in the book – that he is righteous, and loves the Lord. Then 3 chapters later we get the first comments from one of Job’s friends (Eliphaz in this case). In the rest of the book, lots of what they say is quite unhelpful towards Job, trying to convince him that it must be some great sin that has caused his woes, but looking at these 2 pairs of verses together, it’s clear that they were not so far apart in their thinking. They both tell the reader that while God can give abundantly, he can also take away; though God expressed his love through blessing, he also shows it through discipline.
Application:
The books of the Bible which come under the ‘Wisdom’ genre are, as far as I know, the closest we get to ancient philosophical writings, and many scholars think that Job is one of the most ancient texts we have access to. And it certainly is a book where the writer is expressing, or struggling with, various ways to understand the world, and dealing with what is encountered in life. And in the verses I’ve selected today, we have a God–centred mindset dealing with the extreme troubles that presented themselves in Job’s life. If He can bless me, then He can bring trouble too – and Job managed to praise God despite losing all his children. Can I continue to praise him when things aren’t going well? I’ve never had such an extreme set of ‘misfortunes’ befall me, and to my knowledge I don’t know anyone who has, so do I have any reason to stop praising God?
Prayer:
Thank you lord, for the example of Job, and his ability to accept everything you gave him in his life. Help me to keep a God-centred mindset in everything I do, and to keep praising in good times and in bad.
Lamentations 1-3 December 20, 2008
Posted by Sparky in Lamentations, Wisdom.Tags: anger, despair, honesty, Lamentations, Psalms, Wisdom
add a comment
Scripture
Lamentations 1:20
“See, O LORD, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.”
Observation
Here the writer of Lamentations (many think this is Jeremiah, who also wrote the book of prophecy that bears his name) is speaking from the point of view of the city of Jerusalem which has been left desolated by the invasion of the Babylonians and their taking its inhabitants into exile. The verse jumped out at me because of its utter despair (no different in that respect to many of the verses around it), especially in the last couplet – death is in everything, surrounding the city/writer, and the outside/inside comparison works on several levels.
Application
The Bible isn’t big on despair on the whole. Joy and praise feature much more highly in its pages, but the great thing is that that doesn’t mean that despair and hopelessness are not allowed to be present. The inclusion of books like Lamentations, and the Psalms of lament, shows us that God is not so small as to not be able to handle those kinds of emotions, or anger at Him, or disappointment in what He has or hasn’t done. And what we see in Lamentations is the grief of the nation’s destruction leading people to a repentant response, understanding their own guilt and doing something about it. Though it is rare that I personally feel angry at God, or blame him for disappointments in my life, in the past year I have spent some time shouting at Him about certain issues, and I know that as long as I don’t stay in that place, that kind of response is fine.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the example of these writers who trusted you enough to be able to write their true feelings down; I pray that I can always be honest with you, especially as there’s no point doing otherwise!
Song of Songs 1-2 November 20, 2008
Posted by Sparky in Song of Songs, Wisdom.Tags: pleasure, Poetry, sex, Song of Songs, waiting, Wisdom
add a comment
Scripture
Well, what to pick from Song of Songs? As nothing in particular has jumped out at me today, and as I don’t yet know what I’m going to write in the Observation or Application sections, it seems unwise to just select a verse at random – you never know where it will lead with this book of the Bible! I will go with the verse that recurs as a refrain throughout the Song, 2:7 -
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.
Observation
Perhaps it is odd of the writer of the Song (I’m happy with Solomon myself, at least in part, though some Bible scholars debate it) to include this verse in a poem which celebrates the joy of sexual love so frankly. But at the same time, it makes perfect sense. Many people have viewed the Song as a wedding song in the past, and indeed it seems clear when reading the whole thing that the lover and the beloved are a married couple enamoured with each other. So why not have a recurring warning to the reader about jumping into sex too early? The writer knows that the relationship being described is wonderful, exciting, mutually pleasurable and, crucially, worth waiting for, so wants to encourage the reader to do so, especially the young reader.
Application
How appropriate is this for today? Totally, in my view. I had the privilege of studying this book in more detail back in March, and looked at how it might be used in church. But ‘the world’ in general would do well to pay attention to the lesson contained in this book, too – to just hang on until you find the perfect partner. Might we see a drop in teen pregnancy? Seems likely. Might we see a reduction in STDs and the need to spend NHS money on treating them? I would think so. Might we see a drop in the need for abortions? Probably.
I had no intention of moralising when I started this, and hope that any readers will see that I am basing my comments on Scripture, not on any other agenda.
Prayer
Thank you Father for creating sex and all the pleasure contained therein, and thank you for the fact that this book survives in our Bible. I pray that we can all treat your gift of sex with the respect that it deserves, and enjoy it in the right way, as you intended.
