June 2 ▪ Day 153

Scripture Readings

Psalms 8:3–4
Job 1–2
John 16
Proverbs 3

Verse Focus (Psalms 8:3–4)

³When I consider your heavens,
      the work of your fingers,
      the moon and the stars,
      which you have set in place,
⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,
      the son of man that you care for him?

Meditation

There are times when we can feel dwarfed by the magnificence of creation. When we are outside at night, far from city lights and under an enormous sky filled with stars, we can be almost overwhelmed at how deep the sky is, and how vast our universe is. Or perhaps when we see a mountain vista, a grandeur of peaks and crags, with hills rolling into the distance — we can get that sense of awe. Or perhaps it’s a sunset over the ocean — the colors, the peace, the steady lap of waves intermingling with the call of birds. There is a magnificence that overshadows our petty concerns. We realize how very small and tiny we are.

David captures that sense of wonder in today’s focus verses. Psalms 8:3-4 says, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” And this is the question we ask ourselves. How can a God who created such splendor be concerned with just me? How can He be personal, and intimate? How can He even care about the things that affect me? Whenever we catch a glimpse of something verging on the eternal, when we feel that sense of smallness (which is in part a reaction to the parallel sense of God’s greatness), our world is shaken a little bit.

But I love these verses. There is a poetry and wonder captured in these two verses. Even when I was a little girl, before I became a believer, I remember these verses running through my mind one night as I lay in bed. I had likely heard it in church sometime, but I didn’t know it was part of a Psalm. I didn’t know it was from the Bible. I just felt the awe and experienced the beauty of the language. Of course, part of the power and the wonder of these two verses is not just in our memory of the heavens, but of the fact that God does care for us as individuals. And that’s a beautiful thing.

Father God, thank you for creating the heavens. Thank you for how magnificent you are. But most especially I thank you because you care for me. Your love is greater than I can comprehend. Thank you for Jesus. In him, Amen.

I am delighted that today we begin reading the book of Job. It is a favorite book of mine. It is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible — a companion to Proverbs and Ecclesiastes — and, other than the prose sections at the beginning and end of the book, the book is also all in poetry. As a poetic book, for the most part we will not find nice editorial comments telling us what to believe and what to think. To understand this book, we must understand it both within its own context, but also within the context of all of Scripture. Job explores the topic of the suffering. How can a God who is good allow evil into the lives of His people? The book also considers the question of blessing: if righteous behavior is always rewarded, how are we to know whether that behavior truly springs from love of God, or from the selfish desire to experience that favor?

Although there are some traditions that consider Job to be a fable, most Biblical traditions assume that Job was a real man who lived in the Ancient Near East. He was not an Israelite. He came from the land of Uz. No one is exactly certain where this country was located; there are some Biblical references to Edom, although there is also a tradition that Uz was in Aramea. For our purposes, we can think of Uz as being located in Edom before it was Edom — today, that would be in the southwestern area of Jordan. In most Christian traditions, Job is seen as occurring before the time of Abraham. However, some Jewish traditions maintain that Job was a contemporary of Abraham, while others say that he was a contemporary of some of Abraham’s sons or grandsons. The person who wrote the book of Job is also not known, although it was likely written by an Israelite. Scholars date the book to between 700 and 300 BC, with the 6th century BC (599 to 501 BC) thought to be the most likely. However, Job appears as a character in Ezekiel 14, which was written in about 591 BC, so that seems to imply that the book of Job was written before then.

As chapter 1 begins, we are introduced to Job. He is described as “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” He is very wealthy, has seven sons and three daughters, and is “the greatest of all the people of the east (v. 3).” Job acts as a priest and intercessor for his children. It is his regular practice to offer burnt offerings on behalf of his children in case they had “sinned, and cursed God in their hearts (v. 5).”

There is a council in heaven between God and His angels. Satan — literally, the Adversary or the Accuser — appears, and God asks where he has been. Satan replies, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it (v. 7).” God boasts about his servant Job, but Satan replies that Job only seems to be righteous because God has blessed him and everything he has. “But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face,” says Satan in verse 11. So God gives Satan permission to “touch” all that Job has, although He restricts Satan from harming Job himself.

Next come an extraordinary and almost apocryphal series of events. Calamity follows calamity, each punctuated with the refrain “I alone have escaped to tell you.” Four blows in swift succession decimate Job’s wealth and his family. He loses all his livestock, all his servants (except for the four messengers), and — most devastating of all — all his children.

Yet Job’s response to these calamities is to fall down to worship (v. 20). In a powerful statement of faith, Job says in verse 21, “The LORD giveth, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” The chapter concludes with the significant comment, “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”

Chapter 2 records another council in heaven. Again, Satan comes in from his wandering. God points out that Job is still blameless and upright, saying in verse 3, “He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” But again Satan accuses, saying that Job will curse God if misfortune touches his own body. And again, God grants permission for Satan to afflict Job; however, He will not allow Satan to take Job’s life. And so Job is afflicted with boils; painful sores cover him from head to toe.

Job’s wife counsels him to let go of his integrity. “Curse God and die,” she says in verse 9. But Job responds in verse 10, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” The Scripture goes on to comment, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

As chapter 2 ends, three friends come to comfort Job. His bodily afflictions are so great, they do not even recognize him from a distance. They weep and mourn, and sit with him in silence for seven days and seven nights. Verse 13 tells us, “No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.”

So these two chapters are the set-up for the book of Job. There is a person of integrity, one who loves God and does what is right. He is blessed, and respected. In a sudden reversal, he becomes a pauper and loses everyone in his family except for his wife. And then his health goes. Does he still love God? Will he still love God? Will we love God if He allows suffering into our lives?

Having Satan appear in God’s councils seems strange to us. But what Satan says he does is also interesting. Just like 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is portrayed as roaming and stalking the earth. Even though Satan authors the adversity Job receives, God keeps him on a leash. Satan may only do as much as God allows him to do. Job is not privy to the heavenly councils that consider the question of whether or not his integrity is genuine, but we are. So we understand — to a degree — that there are reasons in the heavenly realms for what happens to Job, even though there is nothing on earth to explain what is happening.

In this prose section of the book of Job, we are given an important key to understanding righteousness. It would be sin to “charge God with wrong (1:22).” Faith believes that God is good and just. I believe that God does not author evil (although clearly He may use it for His own purposes). But Job challenges us to consider whether or not God has the right to do evil should He choose to do so. As God, He has the right to do whatever He pleases. Job asks, shall we accept good and not adversity? If God allows adversity, is that the same thing as doing evil? If not, why not?

These are not easy questions, nor are there easy answers. Yet our faith must be able to account for the problem of evil and the nature of suffering. This is part of the challenge of the book of Job — we will see that there is more complexity and ambiguity in faith than we would like. We desire things to be black-and-white; we want simple rules, easy answers, and clearcut morality. Unfortunately, wisdom is a process. I pray that God will enable us to understand His wisdom as we read this book!

John 16 records Jesus’ final remarks to his disciples. He begins in verse 1 by saying, “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.” A time of persecution is coming for the disciples. But with the gift of the Holy Spirit they will remember that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; when they abide in the vine, they will love one another, obey Jesus’ commands, and bear much fruit — these things will keep them from falling away. These are also the things that will keep us from falling away when we experience trouble or adversity.

Jesus tells the disciples that it is to their advantage that he goes away so that the Helper may come (v. 7). The Holy Spirit has a job to do: to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (v. 8).”

The disciples will be sorrowful, but Jesus tells them their sorrow will turn to joy (v. 20). He encourages the disciples to approach the Father in his name, to ask and receive — that their “joy may be full (v. 24).” They will be scattered; there will be tribulation. But Jesus gives peace to his disciples. He tells them, “I have overcome the world (v. 27).”

Verse 27 is a verse gem — one of my favorites. And, yes, I do know a song that has been set to this verse. In the King James Version. 🙂

In Proverbs 3, Solomon continues speaking of the benefits of wisdom. Wisdom will extend your life and give you peace and prosperity (v. 2). Wisdom will give you health and healing (v. 8). Wisdom brings blessings and honor (v. 18, v. 35).

However, one of the things we learn as we read this chapter, is that wisdom goes hand in hand with several other very important qualities: love, faithfulness, trust, and honor. As verse 3 says, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” Wisdom would be meaningless without love. And we need faithfulness in order to persevere — gaining wisdom doesn’t happen overnight. It is a long process. It is also critically important to trust and honor God. Verses 5 and 6 speak of trusting God as the foundation for walking in wisdom. And verse 9 and 10 speak of “putting your money where your mouth is.” If we trust God, then we should honor him with our finances.

Although Solomon starts by mentioning the benefits of wisdom, he also tells us the value of wisdom. Wisdom is “more precious than rubies (v. 15).” She is a “tree of life (v. 18)” and “all her paths are peace (v. 17).” As verse 19 says, “The Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.” Hallelujah!

Father God, thank you for Wisdom — for Jesus Christ. Please give us enlightenment and understanding as we read your Word. Help us to obey your instructions. May we grow in righteousness and grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.