Links for today’s readings:
Jan 12 Read: Job 12 Listen: (2:21) Read: John 12 Listen: (6:26)
Scripture Focus: Job 12.13-25
13 “To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
those he imprisons cannot be released.
15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16 To him belong strength and insight;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
17 He leads rulers away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows officials long established.
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light.
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.
Reflection: What Gives?
By John Tillman
By this point, Job’s friends have all replied to him and have accused, scolded, and berated him. I imagine Job holding out hope the final friend to speak would see his point of view, but they all piled on. Job said they considered him a laughing stock.
Job responded not just to Zophar, who spoke last, but rebuked the trite theology of all three friends. Job did not hide his bitterness as he mocked them. He sarcastically praised their wisdom, saying their deaths would be a loss for the world and mockingly summarized their simplistic arguments.
Their color-by-number theology portrayed an ordered universe in which the wicked always suffered and the righteous always prospered. Job responded, “Nice universe. Too bad it doesn’t exist.” Then he began teaching them the harder, more difficult truths he had learned. Wisdom is God’s. Power is God’s. Counsel is God’s. Understanding is God’s. Meaning none of them are humanity’s.
Job painted a darker, chaotic reality in which rulers, judges, kings, priests, officials, advisers, elders, nobles, and the mighty were stripped, silenced, defeated, disarmed, and humiliated. Job did not mention crimes they committed or judgment they deserved. Possibly because Job was describing his personal experience.
Job’s age, wealth, and status made him a mighty prince and leader like those he described. Job identified with them. Job felt like he had taken a test, got zero answers marked wrong, but still had an F in red pen at the top of his paper. The heart of Job’s question is “God, why did this happen? Show me my error!” To put Job’s objection in the parlance of my high school days, “What gives, God?”
We don’t live in the simplistic, color-by-number painted world of Job’s friends. We also don’t live in Job’s Jackson Pollack-style painting of a random, meaningless world. Even when the world feels chaotic and the wicked seem constantly celebrated, we trust God’s purposes are at work.
Take comfort that what looks like a failing grade in this world, is not a failure in God’s classroom. And truthfully, none of us expect a paper with no red marks on it.
Thank God that the righteousness we will be rewarded for, in the end, is not our own. It is the righteousness of Jesus. His righteousness is what gives meaning now and a future destiny greater than we can imagine. Fix your eyes on him.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you. — Psalm 5.3
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Hope’s Messengers and Means
When we are in trouble or suffering, we should appeal to God based on God’s nature. God is a wonder worker, a healer, a provider, and a restorer of lost things.
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