ReadingThru: Job 40-42
Today’s Reading: Job 40-42
On the surface, it seems like God reserves the strongest rebuke for the Job instead of Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. But Job’s responses may add some insight as to why. Job’s first response was to hear God’s corrections as God rebuking him for speaking out against Him. Job confesses he had spoken once, maybe twice, but he wouldn’t be doing that again. But after Job confesses, God continues. The light bulb flickers on over Job’s head the second time - God isn’t looking for Job to toe the line and shut up - He wants Job to recognize the He is greater than Job (way, way greater), not to subjugate Job, but to bring him the the understand that Job comes to: “… I will ask You, and You instruct me.”
There is a temptation to boil the Book of Job down to a text book on the relationship between God and suffering endured by His people. But there are so many other threads woven into this book. The one that resonates with me the how rich God’s plan for us is. God rebukes Satan by proving him wrong, again. Job gains a deeper understanding of God’s grace and His desire to be the center of Job’s world and the singluar source of Job’s wisdom. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar have had their theology and their patience tested and found lacking, but Job was restored to them, wiser, approved by God. I expect they listened to his counsel a little closer. Perhaps one of the coolest examples of the richness of God’s plan here is in knowing that when Job felt God had abandoned him the most and says:
“O that my words were written down,
O that they were written on a scroll,
that with an iron chisel and with lead
they were engraved in a rock forever!”
God heard him perfectly and had just that plan - to record Job’s words and life story and perserve them forever as an example and encouragement to us.
