Previously, the Lord spoke of his divine power and wisdom in creating a world for man and beast to live in, but now he speaks out of irony, asking Job if all these things operate at his command or according to his wisdom. He begins by mentioning daybreak. Does the sun come up and go down over the earth’s horizons by Job’s command, and are the works of the wicked held in check, because he (Job) commands light to shine over the earth (Job 38:12-13)? Previously, Job claimed the works of the wicked were by and large done in darkness (Job 24:15-17). So, the Lord asks Job if the wicked cease their evil deeds because he, Job, had shed light upon them? Throughout his discussion with the friends, Job guarded his integrity at the expense of implying that the Lord wasn’t fair in his dealings with mankind. While he never literally accused the Lord of such things, Job left much unsaid that could be and, in fact, was misinterpreted by the friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Earlier Job expressed his desire to speak directly with God (Job 9:32-35; 13:18-22), and this astonished both the friends (Job 22:3-4) and Elihu. How could a man appear before God and live (Exodus 33:20). Elihu attempts to show Job the incongruity of his desire. The small group seems to be in the middle of a storm, and that storm appears to be a hurricane. The bright light of the ‘eye’ of the storm is suddenly at hand, and the men have trouble adjusting to the sudden brightness of the sun. Elihu continues, saying if a man is unable to behold the bright light of the sky, after the wind had cleared away the dark clouds (Job 37:21), how would one ever be able to behold the glory of God, which far surpasses the brightness of the sun exposed in the eye of the hurricane? Read the rest of this entry »
Elihu concludes his discourse in chapter thirty-six by praising the greatness of God, and he advised Job to “Remember to magnify God’s work, which men celebrate with praise!” (Job 36:24). He had just accused Job of lusting after wealth (verse-19), preferring the fruits of unrighteousness, vis-à-vis the darkness of iniquity (Job 36:20-21) instead of the light, which is given a man who embraces the Lord’s discipline. The Lord’s discipline is intended to teach mankind the error of his ways and bring him to repentance (Job 36:15). Elihu’s point is that: what the Lord created reflects what kind of God he actually is. He is good, kind and impartial in his dealings with men, and, even when he speaks or thunders loudly through pain, it is for our good. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve come to the point in our study of the Book of Job, where it seems he has silenced his friends (cp. Job 32:1). The text says Job continued his discourse (Job 29:1), indicating he may have paused once more (cp. Job 27:1) to see if any of the friends had a reply or wished to admit their error. However, since no one spoke up, Job continued. A few chapters later Elihu would rebuke the friends in his wrath, because they had condemned Job, without replying to his claims; neither did they reconsider their judgment of him. They simply remained silent (Job 32:2-5). Elihu’s rebuke of the friends remains relevant today for modern Christianity, whose errors are many and obvious, but the folks who could make a difference by rebuking error remain silent, fearful of losing their place in Christian society (cp. John 12:42). Read the rest of this entry »
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In the previous study we saw how the wealthy, with the help of the state, oppress the poor and defenseless in society. They live without fear of reprisals, because they are wealthy enough to bribe the legal authorities, causing them to administer their offices in favor of the wealthy wicked. Nevertheless, Job then points out that there are also those wicked folk who live in fear of what they do. In other words, these wicked people are not wealthy enough to bribe the legal authorities to rule in their favor, so they live in fear of being found out and punished by the very men who protected the previously mentioned wicked who oppressed the poor and the defenseless. Read the rest of this entry »
Job speaks out in irony to his friends. Eliphaz had begun a second round of debate, so Job says: “Yes, come once more, all of you; restate your argument, if you please. Nevertheless, I shall not find a wise man among you!” (Job 17:10). Folks who are bent on defending a false premise are doomed to repeat the errors they’ve already made . It doesn’t take a genius or a prophet to understand that two errors would never add up to the truth, so let the games begin. Say what you will, but it will all be in vain. Although Job may be ready to hear his friends state their cases once more, and although he would discern whether or not they succeeded in offering him any wise counsel or any words of comfort, he wasn’t holding out much hope for such an eventuality. Read the rest of this entry »
Interestingly, satan is referred to by name fourteen times in the Book of Job, all in the first two chapters! He is mentioned in eleven verses, five in the first chapter (Job 1: 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12) and six in the second (Job 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7). Nevertheless, he is never mentioned or referred to again in the rest of the book! Why? Well, perhaps it’s because he was wrong on all counts. He observed Job, and, as is usually the case for the unrighteous who observe the righteous, he thought he knew what made Job tick, but he really didn’t, and the unrighteous never admit error, because that would be the righteous thing to do! Read the rest of this entry »
For seven days the four friends had kept silent, weeping and mourning together. When, in a single day, four messengers brought Job the horrendous news of the loss his family and all of his worldly possessions, with the possible exception of the home in which lived, Job never uttered a complaint. Rather, he worshiped and praised God (Job 1:20-21). When the once greatest man in the East lost his health, and was humiliated by being cast out of the city and left to dwell in or near the city’s dump, and his wife out of pity over his condition advised him to curse God and die, he rebuked her, saying the Lord was perfectly in the right, as Master of the universe, to both give and take away his blessings. If we have enjoyed good things from the Lord, we need also to accept life without that good. Moreover, when his three friends saw him, not recognizing him in the beginning, but then sat with him in silence, Job also kept silent, and perhaps this was his only consolation throughout the whole ordeal, which he was forced to endure. Read the rest of this entry »
John began his closing argument about unbelief with a summation of the attitude of those to whom Jesus had preached. Although his arguments are composed around seven miracles,[1] he tells us of others, saying “Though he had done so many miracles in their presence…” thus, implying there was a collection of miraculous signs, he could have mentioned but didn’t, that was known by many. Yet, although Jesus had done what only one sent by God could do, they didn’t believe (John 12:37). So, John ended his record of the people as he had begun: he came to his own, but his own believed him not (John 1:12). Read the rest of this entry »
An American attorney and author, Mike Godwin, is credited with what is known as Godwin’s Law, short for Godwin’s Rule of Nazi Analogies. The law or rule asserts: the longer the discussion (regardless of subject matter or gravity), the more likely a Nazi comparison becomes, and with long enough discussions, it is a certainty. Of course, Nazi’s didn’t exist in the first century AD, but the rule for an ad hominem slur did exist, though probably not known or understood. The longer the Jewish authorities confronted Jesus, the more often their discussions with him descended into ad hominem remarks, and this one was no different. In John 8:48 they accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon. Since they had no good reply to deny Jesus’ claims, they began to attack his character. This sort of thing had been done throughout history by weak minded folk, Godwin’s Law notwithstanding. Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus declared he was the Light of the world, and as long as folks followed him they would not walk in darkness, for they would experience the light of life (John 8:12). What Jesus meant was, he was the Life to which the world is drawn (John 1:4), but darkness (i.e. unbelief) isn’t able to comprehend Light/Life, although it shines forth and the darkness is attracted to it (John 1:5). In John 8:13 the darkness, vis-à-vis the Pharisees, spoke out, saying Jesus’ testimony was false or at least couldn’t be verified, because he testified of himself. That is, he was one witness, and only one witness isn’t a valid witness to truth, according to the Law (Deuteronomy 19:15). Read the rest of this entry »
When folks read John 5:22, they usually think of the so-called last judgment, but Jesus isn’t speaking in those terms, and, in fact, never really does. We formulate opinions of what Jesus says, and then we go about proving those opinions, rather than simply believing what Jesus really says. Jesus is the Image of God, and we are supposed to be his, vis-à-vis Jesus’ images, which, if we are, we would reveal the Father, as well. Nevertheless, we often have trouble saying and doing what we see Jesus saying and doing, because the word of God spoken out of context, is no longer the word of God. If the word of God is used by men to say or do something the Lord never really intended, how does that reflect or image what the Lord said or did? Hence, although we quote the text accurately, we are not applying it accurately. Read the rest of this entry »
In the context of Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus ending with verse-12, arguably the most quoted text in the Bible is not what we call Jesus’ words, but is, rather, the testimony of the author of this Gospel narrative. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Few statements are so meaningful, and fewer still contain such depth of meaning. How much does God love the world in which all of us are numbered? Such love is defined and expressed only by how much he loves his Son, whom he gave for our preservation, and not only to preserve us for a season, but to give us eternal life. Read the rest of this entry »
It seems to me that Nicodemus reveals his heart in John 3:9, because, rather than defend his position, he continues to seek the truth behind what Jesus claims. He isn’t argumentative, as his colleagues showed themselves to be on a number of occasions (John 2:18; Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11). Although he is a ruler, he is teachable. He may be a Pharisee, who is ready to violently overthrow the current Roman government in his homeland, but he is ready to understand a better way, if it is available. Therefore, he continues to question Jesus: “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). How can the spirit (life), which is in me now, experience a new birth? What would that look like? Would I continue to be me, or would I become someone else (cp. Job 19:27)? How would a different spirit change me, vis-à-vis the one who is living in this body of flesh at this moment? “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). Read the rest of this entry »
What I find interesting about this Gospel writer is that he is fond of telling us who God is, or put another way what God is in his essence. In his first epistle he tells his readers that God **is** Light (1John 1:5), vis-à-vis light is not merely an attribute of God, but Light describes God’s essence. Light is what God actually is. In his Gospel narrative he tells us that God **is** Spirit (John 4:24). So, God isn’t merely a Spirit, rather, he is in his essence Spirit. Finally, and once again in his first epistle, he tells us that God **is** Love (1John 4:8, 16). Presently, however, I’m concerned with the idea that God **is** Light (1John 1:5), and, here in chapter one of his Gospel narrative, the context is that the one referred to in John 1:1 as the Word is also described as the true Light. Read the rest of this entry »
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