[Note: you might have wondered why I haven't included any commentary on the New Testament yet. Of course, the Bible reading includes Psalms/Proverbs as well as NT reading. However, I've decided to write on all four accounts Matthew/Mark/Luke/John simultaneously to allow for a clearer 'compare/contrast'.]
In this past week I was particularly eager to wake up in the mornings and spend time reading the Bible. Having 'flown' past Genesis, I jumped right into 'Exodus'. That's the familiar story of Moses - packed with action, twists and turns.
Only I was too eager...and discovered that the Bible reading plan, which I follow, has continued with 'Job'. And it is curious that the Plan is not simply a linear path. I mean, when is life ever just straightforward?
I honestly dreaded giving up reading Exodus to focus on Job. Back when I was in my final year of high school, we learned about modern philosophers/writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. One of my favourite books at the time was Camus' "The Outsider". The core questions of the Existentialist movement really spoke to me. It was a phase of questionning life...full of doubt about what to believe. And unfortunately, knowledge can sometimes bring about a certain cynicism directed towards the world and what it has in store for you (as a young person).
The core questions I asked myself were:
"Is there a God?" ...if YES, then
"Is there meaning in this life?" ...if YES, then
"Is God the one who gives me purpose? Does He care about one individual? ...if YES, then
"Why does he allow certain things to happen? Who is this God and what is my relationship to Him?"
You see, the first question MUST be answered. There is no such thing as "maybe". I went through life for a long time with the 'maybe' attitude...and it's exhausting. More exhausting than having a clear stand. Even being an atheist is hard work, because you have to deny that an intelligent designer created the world...with valid reasons. And I believe the reason it is so difficult being an atheist is because there's an innate desire in us to worship the God who created each one of us. And that desire is constantly distorted by other forces.
Job 1-15
So too, we find that Job has often been used (especially) by existentialists to point out the absurdity of Christianity. In Job, we meet a 'blameless' man called Job who is faithful to God. Satan and God make a pact, which allows the devil to mess with Job's life...destroy everything he owns, kill off all his children...and then infect him with a horrid disease (skin sores). All this happens so that God can prove to Satan how his most faithful servant will remain faithful throughout all.
For us it may or may not seem incredible that Job's faith never withers while all this evil comes to pass. Even Job's wife suggests that he should begin to curse God, rather than blessing Him. Three of Job's friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar come to visit him and, after 7 days of mourning, they begin a theological discussion.
Now there are plenty of interpretations and summaries of these passages (For a good one click here). What stands out the most until Chapter 15, is Zophar's comment:
"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens - what can you do?
They are deeper that the depths of the grave - what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." (Job 11:7-9)
Zophar is stating that's impossible to understand God and the reasons behind His actions. All three of Job's friends present their theological knowledge...facts about what we know and what we don't know.
But Job is pissed off and angry with God. He is a righteous man and therefore doesn't understand why bad things are happening to him. He wishes to face God...to have somebody who can mediate between him and the Almighty. He wants MORE. He wants to understand the relationship between himself and God.
And that is the key in these first chapters: not the circumstances...not the unfairness of the situation. It is a direct testimony that God responds. Job asks:
"Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from you:
Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors.
Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak and you reply." (Job 12:20-22)
Job wishes to change the relationship he has to God. And when we turn to the New Testament, we will see how it corresponds to this longing of the Old Testament prophets to have this 'mediator'. This is why Christianity is unique. It is due to the unique relationship we can have with God through Jesus Christ (His son) and the Holy Spirit. The story of Job is almost a blueprint for Jesus' life, because both men were sinless and walked with God. Jesus, too, faced horrible situations and remained faithful to his father until the end.
God walks with us...and stands beside us throughout all difficulties in life. Our faith is and will be tested in many new ways. Yet, compared to Job, we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit added into the 'trinity mix' and therefore should have triple the strength, resolve and a thicker skin than Job. The trinity is like a pair of glasses, through which we are able to see the world in a different (brighter) light...even in the darkness of the blackest nights.
In this past week I was particularly eager to wake up in the mornings and spend time reading the Bible. Having 'flown' past Genesis, I jumped right into 'Exodus'. That's the familiar story of Moses - packed with action, twists and turns.
Only I was too eager...and discovered that the Bible reading plan, which I follow, has continued with 'Job'. And it is curious that the Plan is not simply a linear path. I mean, when is life ever just straightforward?
I honestly dreaded giving up reading Exodus to focus on Job. Back when I was in my final year of high school, we learned about modern philosophers/writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. One of my favourite books at the time was Camus' "The Outsider". The core questions of the Existentialist movement really spoke to me. It was a phase of questionning life...full of doubt about what to believe. And unfortunately, knowledge can sometimes bring about a certain cynicism directed towards the world and what it has in store for you (as a young person).
The core questions I asked myself were:
"Is there a God?" ...if YES, then
"Is there meaning in this life?" ...if YES, then
"Is God the one who gives me purpose? Does He care about one individual? ...if YES, then
"Why does he allow certain things to happen? Who is this God and what is my relationship to Him?"
You see, the first question MUST be answered. There is no such thing as "maybe". I went through life for a long time with the 'maybe' attitude...and it's exhausting. More exhausting than having a clear stand. Even being an atheist is hard work, because you have to deny that an intelligent designer created the world...with valid reasons. And I believe the reason it is so difficult being an atheist is because there's an innate desire in us to worship the God who created each one of us. And that desire is constantly distorted by other forces.
Job 1-15
So too, we find that Job has often been used (especially) by existentialists to point out the absurdity of Christianity. In Job, we meet a 'blameless' man called Job who is faithful to God. Satan and God make a pact, which allows the devil to mess with Job's life...destroy everything he owns, kill off all his children...and then infect him with a horrid disease (skin sores). All this happens so that God can prove to Satan how his most faithful servant will remain faithful throughout all.
For us it may or may not seem incredible that Job's faith never withers while all this evil comes to pass. Even Job's wife suggests that he should begin to curse God, rather than blessing Him. Three of Job's friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar come to visit him and, after 7 days of mourning, they begin a theological discussion.
Now there are plenty of interpretations and summaries of these passages (For a good one click here). What stands out the most until Chapter 15, is Zophar's comment:
"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens - what can you do?
They are deeper that the depths of the grave - what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." (Job 11:7-9)
Zophar is stating that's impossible to understand God and the reasons behind His actions. All three of Job's friends present their theological knowledge...facts about what we know and what we don't know.
But Job is pissed off and angry with God. He is a righteous man and therefore doesn't understand why bad things are happening to him. He wishes to face God...to have somebody who can mediate between him and the Almighty. He wants MORE. He wants to understand the relationship between himself and God.
And that is the key in these first chapters: not the circumstances...not the unfairness of the situation. It is a direct testimony that God responds. Job asks:
"Only grant me these two things, O God, and then I will not hide from you:
Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors.
Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak and you reply." (Job 12:20-22)
Job wishes to change the relationship he has to God. And when we turn to the New Testament, we will see how it corresponds to this longing of the Old Testament prophets to have this 'mediator'. This is why Christianity is unique. It is due to the unique relationship we can have with God through Jesus Christ (His son) and the Holy Spirit. The story of Job is almost a blueprint for Jesus' life, because both men were sinless and walked with God. Jesus, too, faced horrible situations and remained faithful to his father until the end.
God walks with us...and stands beside us throughout all difficulties in life. Our faith is and will be tested in many new ways. Yet, compared to Job, we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit added into the 'trinity mix' and therefore should have triple the strength, resolve and a thicker skin than Job. The trinity is like a pair of glasses, through which we are able to see the world in a different (brighter) light...even in the darkness of the blackest nights.
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