The Attributes of God:

Instead of questioning God, we should stand in awe of Him. Job 35-37 “Do you think this is according to justice? Do you say, My righteousness is more than God’s?                   The great sin and folly of humanity is that we believe that we can judge God. We set ourselves over God and judge Him when His actions or His words do not conform to what we think and believe. We desire God to answer us so that we can dictate to God what He must do.                   In his final speeches, Elihu rebukes Job for setting himself up as the judge of God. While never saying, “My righteousness is more than God’s,” that was the implication of Job’s lament. By insisting on his innocence and the unfairness of his treatment, he was implying that he was more just than God. He complained that he had fulfilled his obligations bef...

Wisdom from an unlikely source. Job 32-34 “Against Job, his anger burned because he justified himself before God. And His anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.”                   The sudden appearance of Elihu is surprising. He is not mentioned at the start of the book, and there is no mention of him throughout the narrative. He suddenly appears and then, when he is completed, he disappears. His arrival is not mentioned, nor is he condemned by God at the end of the book. Yet he serves as the bridge between the arguments of Job and his three friends and the appearance and instruction of God. His appearance again serves to turn traditional wisdom on its head. Throughout the story of Job, the question has not only been about understanding suffering; the quest has been an exploration of conventional wisdom and its limitations. In tradit...

Living in the realm of a paradox. “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.” Job 29-31                   We can easily rejoice in our salvation when we see God’s blessing in our lives, but when God seems distant and absent, we begin to question God. We easily embrace faith when God conforms to our perspective, but when He contradicts our expectations, we begin to doubt God. When life seems to contradict what we desire, we are riddled with doubts and despair.                   Job has now hit the bottom of the pit. He looks back at life and recounts all the times that God has blessed him for living in obedience to God’s commands. In chapter 29, Job begins to reminisce. He remembers life before the tragedy, when God protected him from adversity and ...

Does Man have Hope before God? Job 25-27 “How much less man, that maggot, and the son of man, that worm!”                   In the final speech of the three friends, Bildad delivers the shortest speech, getting straight to the point. Bildad rightfully reminds us that God is unparalleled in his power and majesty. In contrast to God’s majestic holiness is the sinfulness and corruption of humanity. Bildad rightfully points to the total depravity of man. All humanity is corrupt from birth and tainted by sin in thoughts, actions, and character. In comparison to the holiness of God, man is nothing more than a maggot and a worm. In his personal evaluation of humanity, Bildad aligns with Paul in Romans 3:10-18, where it is stated, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understand, there is none who seek for God.” However, in affirming the total depravity of man, Bildad does not leav...

When Heaven is Silent and God is Hidden Job 22-24 “Behold, I go forward but He (God is not there, and backwards but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold him; He turns to the right, I cannot see him.”               There is no sound more deafening than the silence of heaven. We can understand that suffering is a part of life. We can endure hardships when circumstances turn against us. But what we cannot understand and what we cannot endure is the silence of heaven, when God seems distant, unreachable, and uncaring in our suffering.             Eliphaz loses patience with Job. In his last speech, he reaches his final, unyielding conclusion that Job is suffering because of his sin. He now takes the gloves off. Until this point, he has been cordial in his treatment of Job, but now his anger and frustration come to a head as he sees Job atta...

The Danger of Assumptions Job 20-21 “The wicked say to God, ‘depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.” (21:14)             When people are going through difficulties, it is easy for those on the outside to give advice and make judgments. Because we have not experienced their pain, we draw our own conclusions, and when they challenge those conclusions, we take offense. Such was the case of Zophar. In 20:3, he takes Job’s response personally. As Job struggled to understand his suffering, he asked difficult questions about God and faith. As a result, Zophar takes offense because Job questions what Zophar believes. Instead of showing compassion, love, and understanding, Zophar accused Job of sin. Zophar failed to recognize that struggling with our faith in trials and questioning why God allows certain events to happen does not mean that we are rejecting our faith. Zophar failed because he made some wrong as...

The Isolation of Suffering and the Triumph of Faith Job 18-19 “He has removed my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me” (19:13).             We celebrate with a crowd, but we suffer in isolation. When we have a reason for celebration, we have a party, and all our friends and family come. But tragically and suffering brings an overwhelming sense of isolation and seclusion. This was the conclusion of Job.             As Bildad proclaims his second speech, he offers little compassion or sympathy. In his mind, we reap what we sow; therefore, Job is suffering as a result of his actions. We often find it easy to be judgmental of others who are suffering, especially if it is connected to a specific action. We blame a child who is burned by a fire because they were too close to the flames. If someone gets into an accident, it is because th...

When life brings questions without answers Job 15-17 “Where now is my hope? And who regards my Hope?” (17:15).             When we are going through times of intense trials and difficulties, the questions run rampant in our minds. When life is going well, we easily have answers for all the challenges we face. But when we are going through the throes of adversity, when our minds are running wild at night so we cannot sleep, then the question arises, and answers are fleeting.              In the second dialogue between Job and Eliphaz, several questions arise. They are more than questions about suffering; they are questions about humanity’s relationship with God. In Eliphaz's response (ch. 15), we see the first question: Can a man be innocent before God (vs. 14)? For Eliphaz, the answer to this question is an emphatic no. He continues to challenge Job’s claim of inn...

The danger of theology without compassion. Job 11-14 “If you would direct your heart right and spread out your hand to Him…then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect, and you would be steadfast and not fear.” (11:13-15)             Of the three friends, Zophar was the one who had the least to say; however, he was the most condemning. If we have never experienced intense suffering, it is easy to become rigid and condemning. We can be doctrinally correct but lack compassion for people, and in the end, we distort the character and work of God. Such was the case of Zophar. Rather than listening to those who are going through trials, we tend to focus on providing answers without considering their questions. Our preconceived ideas result in rash judgment rather than a listening ear. Doctrinally, he was correct in his view that God is unfathomable in his character and only he possesses true wisdom. However, his vie...

The Distortion of Suffering Job 8-10 “Please inquire of past generations, and consider the things searched out by their fathers.” (8:8).                   While Eliphaz applies his personal experience to formulate his perspective on suffering, Bildad takes it a step further and appeals to the past and its traditions. In our search for truth and meaning, especially in a broken and confused world that confronts us with the pain of suffering, we often turn to the “traditions of the past.”  We look to previous generations and the wisdom they gleaned to gain understanding of our present. Thus, the saying, “those who ignore the past are bound to repeat it.” The way to determine truth is to look for the corporate wisdom of history. Answers and perspective come when we listen the corporate voice of humanity. However, this too can distort our perspective. In the case of Bildad, it led to several f...

The Importance of proper theology amid suffering. (Job 4-7) "For man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward.              As we journey through the dialogue of Job and his three friends, we are immediately confronted with the paradox of suffering. In chapter 1:10, Satan accuses God of protecting Job by placing a hedge about him to keep him from harm. However, in 3:23, Job feels that God has made a hedge around him to keep him from escaping his troubles. This leads us to the central question that is examined throughout the book: "Why does God bring suffering into our lives?" To answer this question, Job's three friends turn to traditional wisdom and the process of deriving wisdom to address the question of suffering. However, the question goes deeper than just the basis of wisdom; it goes to the most critical question we face: "How do we determine truth itself?" As we face the challenges and complexities of life, along wi...

The Cry of Suffering Job 3 “Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb, and expire?”                   There are times when we undergo such intense suffering and adversity that we not only experience profound despair, but we also begin to question the very reason for life itself. It is not that we just wish to die; we question the whole reason we were born. For seven days Job was silent. In his deep sorrow could not speak. However, even though his mouth was quiet, the thoughts going through his mind were shouting in anguish and despair. After seven days, the screaming thoughts come forth. The question that had been screaming in his thoughts was not just a question of God’s goodness, but the question of the very purpose and meaning of life. If the purpose of life is just to be thrown into the depths of the abyss of suffering, then it would be better not to have been born at all?  ...

Praising God in the Midst of Pain Job 1-2 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed by the name of the Lord.”                    In a matter of a few minutes, Job lost everything. The story of Job begins with an affirmation of his wealth and prosperity. Written near or before the arrival of Abraham, Job was a man of incredible wealth. Most scholars suggest that the land of Uz was located southeast of the Land of Israel and south of the Jordan River. So great was his wealth that he was regarded as one of the greatest of all the men of the east (1:3). However, unlike many, his wealth did not cloud or distort his faith in God. He was not only unparalleled in his riches, but more importantly, he was unequaled in his faith and trust in God. Not only was he a man of faith, but he also led his family in worshiping God. So r...

Developing a Right Perspective of Suffering Introduction to Job             How do we view suffering in light of God’s promises to protect us? Why do the righteous suffer? If God is loving, why does he seem silent in the face of our suffering? These are the questions that are raised by the book of Job. Yet when we dive into the book, we soon become lost in the discussion.  To the modern reader, the book of Job remains an enigma. We understand and identify with the depth of Job’s suffering and the frustration Job has with his three friends. However, while reading Job, we often get lost. We are familiar with the first two chapters, which deal with the calamity of Job and the enduring nature of his faith. We resonate with the final chapters where God speaks with great eloquence concerning his exalted power. We find hope in the final chapter, which provides the happy-ever-after ending. But as we read the interaction between Jo...

God honors those who honor him. Esther 6-10 “For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.”             After the king issued the edict, questioning it would invite certain death, for it would be more than just opposing his decision; it would be seen as an act of insurrection. Haman’s pride could not accept the fact that Mordecai did not bow down and worship him. However, for Mordecai, doing so would have been a violation of the Old Testament law that forbade worshiping anyone or anything other than God. It was more than a coincidence that the night before Ester was going to reveal her identity as a Jew that the king had a case of insomnia. Unable to sleep, he did what we all do: he started to read a book. However, this book was the record of events that documented t...

God’s Power to Overcome Our Sin  Esther 1-5 “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”             The book of Esther is somewhat of an enigma. As we read through the story, we are immediately confronted with a question: “Was Esther’s willingness to become the queen an act of faith or an act of sin?”  To answer the question, some commentators suggest that Esther was forced into the beauty contest against her will. Others suggest that Esther was a willing participant whose willingness to join in an immoral beauty contest was motivated by the desire to become queen rather than a desire to obey God. The Bible neither condones nor condemns her actions; it merely describes the events that led to her selection, setting the stage for the part she would play. The reason is not that the Bible ignores or justifies sin or sinful acts. Instead, the focus is on God’s sovereign control of hi...