The God who whispers in our ear

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: Has God ever whispered in your ear? What did he say?

Bible Reading:  Job 36:1-25

Insight: Elihu has not finished and has a lot more that he wants to say that will prove his argument that God is fair and righteous. And he promises to say only what he is sure to be true.

Job has suggested that God has a certain tolerance for the wicked or faithless but Elihu says the opposite, that God destroys the wicked and shows particular favour to the poor and honourable. It is as if he keeps a particular eye on them, even placing some of them in positions of public esteem. However, some virtuous people do get trapped in calamities of all kinds, but even when this happens, God kindly watches over them. He shows them where their pride has caused them to sin and then disciplines them in order to lovingly correct and restore them. If they respond to His correction Elihu believes that they will live happily ever after, the new testament though tells us that the righteous are to expect hardships, trials and persecutions.

According to Elihu, the ungodly store up God’s anger against them and while they are still young their soul dies and they live with others that are ‘unclean’. But for the righteous person, hardship and suffering is like medicine that draws them closer to Him. It enables them to hear the whisper of God in their ear.

In fact, Elihu goes on to say that if Job had accepted his suffering in the spirit in which it was meant, and learned the lessons that God was teaching him, he would have been restored already. But because of Job’s resolute attitude he is continuing to suffer and if he doesn’t change there will be nothing that can save him from certain destruction.

Job must stop asking to die, Elihu thinks this is a dreadful thing and warns Job to beware of his attitude. Even though Job had led a life of integrity, just lately he has been impatient, proud and rash. He has complained, grumbled and questioned God’s justice. He has also tried to tell God how he should be running the world.

Elihu is saying that even the most righteous people, those that on the outside appear to live a life of piety, who dedicate themselves to God find it easy to slip into bad habits and poor attitudes. He isn’t talking about things that we would consider to be ‘big sins’ but those things in our lives that just creep in almost unnoticed until one day we hear God whispering in our ear that really we should respect that family member, love that neighbour, forgive that friend, stop controlling that person.

Our job is to glorify God and Elihu thinks that Job could do this and be an example to everyone that sees him by being patient, accepting his suffering for what it is and repenting of his poor attitude. How could you glorify God today? Is God whispering in your ear about a habit or attitude that needs to be changed?

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. What else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Thank you to Fiona Doherty for today’s Bible Reading

Tested to the limit

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: In the most testing times in our life we have a few choices, we can surrender to circumstance and give up, or we can ride it out. If we choose to ride it out we also choose to learn from it and grow.

Bible Reading:  Job 1:13-22

Insight: In this part of the story of Job we find Elihu talking about how he thinks it may be a good idea for Job to be tested to his limit. That is exactly what is happening here. We see that Elihu addresses Job and starts to talk about Job as if he is a hypothetical person. Elihu suggests that Job needs to acknowledge he is wrong, change his ways, accept the consequences and stop objecting to the way that God is treating him or allowing him to be treated. Elihu then proceeds to tell Job what people have been saying about him. There are rumours that Job doesn’t have any real insight or depth to his relationship with God; that he is faithless, barefaced and has rebelled against God and therefore could actually do with some testing.

There is a real irony in this situation though as the rumours and accusations from Elihu are actually adding to the testing and problems that Job is facing. His ‘friends’ are assisting Job in being tested to his limits by implying things like there is no contact or relationship between Job and God. Job is left in a difficult position as he knows God is not giving him the answer to why he is in this position, however he still believes that God is who he says he is. Elihu however draws the conclusion that God is on high and nothing we do can affect God, but by Job’s faithlessness people around him are and will be affected.

This could be a profound thought maybe not the whole truth but a great half truth to a culture where religion might seem neither here nor there and where simple things like loving your neighbour seem to have gone astray. It is important to understand that we still need to be faithful to things God has commanded us to do, even in times of testing. As many of us know and have heard, God is our Father and has adopted us into his family, to understand this further read Romans 8:17. A parent, as we know is a person in their own right, they have their own interests and abilities. There are a lot of differences between parents and children, yet the parents still fiercely and passionately care for their children and are deeply affected by them. A parent’s love for their child whether they are young or old never diminishes. God’s relationship with us, and with Job, is much like this, like a parent, Godchooses to care deeply about us but he also always has the authority.

The story of Job may not look like one of God’s mushy love stories for his son, because it’s not it’s much more about the story of a servant Job, and his master God. You see the master always knows what the servant is doing, what the servant does is of huge interest to the master. This relationship is one built on mutual commitment to each other and great involvement from each party. In the start of this story God stakes his reputation on Job, Job matters to God. Elihu was right in that the way Job behaves does matter to people but it matters so much more to God. Elihu carries on sharing his ‘insights’ and partial explanations for God holding back on his intervention in a world where powerful people use their power to oppress and harm people, the people cry and God does nothing, why? Sometimes people are in pain and cry out, loud, powerful cries, however their cries are not to God, God who created them and everything around them, God who turns our morning into joy and gives us something to sing of in our pain. There are a number of stories in the Old Testament of people, who cried out in their test but not to God,

• The Israelites in Egypt cried out but not to God, they even referred to God but never actually talked to him.
• Israelites in the wilderness, they cried out to Moses instead of God.
• Judahites in exile in Babylon referred to God, complained that God paid no attention, to their situation and needs but they were too busy talking about God and not to him.

In each case God responded. It could be thought that Elihu’s point might be valid, that people who do not bring their concerns and cries to God (a great way to do this is modelled in the Psalms) can’t complain if God doesn’t respond. This could also imply that Elihu thinks Job didn’t invite God into the picture.

We are certain that Job lamented and asked God how long this suffering would continue. Elihu then takes on another reason for God not responding to peoples cries, this time he thinks his suggestion will definitely apply to Job, his suggestion is that God does not respond to those who are faithless. I think Job is anything but faithless.

Trails and tests give us something to learn from, they are harsh, make us uncomfortable and cause us pain. We mustn’t play that down, we must also talk to God in them, share our pain, heartache and trails with him. He is waiting for his children to talk to him. We must trust that God has a plan, even when like Job we lose everything, life is hard and we can’t see a better day coming – God knows, he sees and he is waiting for us to invite him in to share this journey, aware that we are sharing it with him. After all today’s biggest tests are tomorrows great testimonies!

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. What else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Thank you to Fiona Doherty for today’s Bible Reading

Pastoral care that doesn’t seem to help

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: When have been the real though times when you have been waiting for God to pull through for you and someone has done something that may have not seemed really helpful at the time but looking back helped make things look a little different?

Why not thank them?

Bible Reading:  Job 33:1-33

Insight: When all of Job’s friends had finished trying to convince him about why he was in the position he was in and, more than that, why God had allowed it, Elihu joins the debate. Elihu comes to Job and sets out his stall very early. Elihu seems to be a man who knows what he wants. The first part of today’s reading tells us about Elihu explaining to Job that he wants his full attention and for him not to be distracted. His reasons for saying this, he explains, is because the Spirit with which he speaks is the same Spirit that was talked about in Genesis, the Spirit  who breathed life into things.

Elihu proceeds to present his case to Job. It could be thought that he is just about to answer Job’s biggest question, the thing that has been frustrating Job the most. The question why? Why won’t God tell him what is happening, why won’t God speak to him about what is going on. This is something that happens a lot in our journey with God, we feel like God is not present in our troubles, he doesn’t see or hear our pain, it feels like God is distant. However this whole story shows God never is. God is always aware; he knows and he sees, he doesn’t always answer straight away but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. We just have to look deeper and think what are you trying to teach me through this God?

Elihu couldn’t answer this question for Job, much like all of our friends can’t answer those questions for us. Imagine for a moment that God had said to Job right at the start of this process ‘Some bad things are going to happen, the enemy is going to disrupt your whole life, take things from you and everything will seem desperate and like I am not there, but don’t fear or worry in the end everything will be fine and I will heal and restore everything’.  You see the biggest test for Job in this whole process was to trust God, even when everything he had known looked different and was no longer there. When his friends who I am sure were trying to be helpful didn’t really get it, Job had to really trust God with everything.

Sometimes when things in our life are tough and painful, much like Job’s situation, God is always the only person who really knows what is going on. Our friends may try and help which is great but sometimes they just don’t have the answer to fix the problem. Elihu was trying to help Job understand why all of this was happening to him, the problem was he was using a one – size- fits all way of pastoring Job. Whereas Job’s other friends had said you have sinned and need to repent, Elihu’s view was that God was talking all the time but Job just wasn’t listening and that God was using this suffering to strengthen, purify and save Job from the pit. Sometimes that may be the case, I’m sure we can all think of times like this in our lives. For Job though this was the answer to his problem.

Although what Elihu had said may not have hugely blessed Job it was significant as it was this conversation that prepared the way for God to speak. I find it fascinating and comforting that God can use situations and people who may not seem helpful at the time to bless us.

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. What else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:25)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Thank you to Fiona Doherty for today’s Bible Reading

Related articles

• Elihu Listens (chelsea725.wordpress.com)

Desperation sets in

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: What was the lowest time in your life? Who did you blame for it?

Bible Reading:  Job 30:1-31

Insight: Yesterday we read about Job’s life before he lost everything and became ill, but today we hear about how he is now; despised, frightened, in pain, abandoned by God and without hope.

Job is clearly in a desperate state and we should not take much of what he says in this chapter literally. There are lots of contradictions which indicate his paranoia but even so, he is incredibly low and my heart goes out to him.

Where Job once was revered and respected by princes and noblemen, now he is the subject of ridicule for other outcasts, and men so disgraced, that they were not thought to be even on a level with sheep dogs. Their language is unfamiliar and sounds to Job like a donkey braying. These mockers are weak, hungry, forced to live outside of the main society, and could have been of low intelligence. There are tales of tribes at this time that couldn’t count and had only a few hundred words in their vocabulary yet they were often very cunning. Perhaps they had been driven out of their productive land by a stronger tribe and turned to thieving rather than becoming slaves. Their mocking of Job would then be sweet revenge.

While it would have been hard to stay away from Job and spit on him at the same time perhaps it means that men would show disrespect by spitting in Job’s presence.

God has taken away Job’s strength and given his mockers courage to treat Job as they never would have done before. It seems that a rabble of youths has been tormenting Job, tripping him as he tries to walk around, stopping him from doing simple tasks and there is no one to stop them or help him, their teasing coming in relentless waves. Even at night the terror and pain continues and he is unable to sleep well. Not only is his body wrecked but his soul is broken too.

Job’s clothing would have been a source of discomfort. Not to be too graphic but, where his sores weeped onto his clothes they would have also dried, sticking to him and feeling like they were binding him. The other aches, pains and maladies are all equally unpleasant and typical of elephantiasis. Even though Job believed God had caused him to become this way, Job still refuses to curse God.

He turns his attention to God now and complains that when he stands to pray God does nothing, in fact, in Job’s eyes God is positively cruel. Job has been an example of what it is to be just, upright and righteous. He would do all he could to help someone in his condition and he can’t work out why God would allow him to suffer in this way, tossed around like a piece of straw in the wind with the deepest parts of his body in turmoil. Job wants God to be more like him! Brave words for a mere man but perhaps death for blasphemy was better than his continued suffering.

Suffering and sorrow were said to cause a blackened face. Now, where he once stood in the assembly and judged others, he is left to cry out for help. He has put down his musical instruments used for celebrating and worship and become someone that makes mournful sounds like a jackal or an owl.

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. What else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror. (Jeremiah 8:15)

Because of this I will weep and wail;
    I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl. (Micah 1:8)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Where is God?

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: How close to God have you felt this week? Have there been times when you felt that God was far from you?

Bible Reading:  Job 23:1-27

Insight: Job begins his response by defending his bitter complaints and saying that his suffering is far worse than his protests.

Job seems to have forgotten his recent comments about the lack of influence a man has with God and now wants to bring his case and argue with Him. In his current hostile mood he says he knows exactly how God would respond to him. God would pay attention to him, Job thinks, and do right by him. He would come from God’s presence purified and justified.

Today, if we ‘feel’ God, then we say that He is near. In the Old Testament if God was acting then that was an indication that He was close. Job is yearning for God to come close and take action. Job has looked everywhere, particularly to the north where it was believed God made decisions about the future, but cannot see any indication that God is at work and therefore that He is near. Yet even if Job feels that God is distant it doesn’t change the fact that God still knows his condition and everything else about him.

Job continues to declare his innocence and in doing so gives us an indication that he had some kind of commands about how to live and what sin was. The commandments were given to Moses a few generations later but Job must have had some kind of standard to live by, which perhaps was written down or maybe passed down through tradition.

Despite Job’s prayers, God has not answered. And Job is resigned that God will do what God will do. Perhaps Job suffered so that we would know that it is possible for us to face suffering. Perhaps Job suffered so that he could be used as an illustration for what God can do. Either way, God has a purpose for what is going on and will have his way to see it fulfilled using more troubles if he needs to. And the potential for more troubles not only frightens Job but fills him with horror.

His final complaint is two-fold – that he didn’t die before these tragedies came upon him and also that God didn’t protect him from them.

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. what else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Related articles

• The supposed sins of Job (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• Sovereignty without principle? (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• The God of wrath (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• In the midst of life we are in death (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)

The supposed sins of Job

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: Do you have a right to be living better than other people in your neighbourhood, country or around the world?

Bible Reading:  Job 22:1-30

Insight: Eliphaz steps up to the plate and has a third go at Job. The first few verses talk about how unimportant Eliaphaz thinks Job is to God and how unimportant Job’s point of view is. Whatever Job thinks of what God is doing to him, God is far more intelligent than him and will not act because of Job’s opinion.

Eliphaz goes on to talk about specific things that he thinks Job has probably done wrong and are the cause of his current sufferings. In fact, according to Eliphaz philosphy, Job’s sufferings are evidence that he has done these things and more besides. Perhaps though it is not just the sins he has committed but the good things that he has not done that is causing him harm right now? Perhaps, Eliphaz suggests, it is Job’s motive that is letting him down.

Next, Eliphaz accuses Job of denying the majesty of God. Perhaps he has some cause to say this. Job, in his agony, has certainly spoken rashly and perhaps disrespectfully to God. He certainly has not shown Him due reverence at times. By saying that there is no difference, to God, between a righteous man and a faithless man Job could be saying that God doesn’t have a perfect knowledge of all things, that he can’t see what is going on.

Does Job want to be associated with the prosperous faithless people that he has talked about previously and who will be brought down in a flood of calamities. Because, Eliphaz says, those of us that are righteous see the wicked prosper and then they see their downfall and laugh about it. In the Old Testament, derision and ridicule were a perfectly acceptable response to the wicked – Jesus however commands us to have a different approach.

Finally Eliphaz goes back to his favourite theme and implores Job to repent so that he can be restored. If he can appeal to God, amend his ways and throw himself completely on God’s mercy then he will receive good things, untold wealth and, Eliphaz promises, that his troubles will end and he will be completely and utterly restored. Eliphaz suggests that however rich Job may be the thing that he should value most is God himself, only then will Job be at peace, free from the terrors that haunt him and know that God is hearing his prayers.

Job has complained about the darkness that is preventing him from seeing God and the reason for his troubles but Eliphaz pledges that this will disappear and Job will see with perfect clarity. Job’s prayers will be so pure that they will enable those that have been part of his downfall to be delivered – Eliphaz doesn’t realise it but he has just prophesied about his own future!

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. what else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:8)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.

Related articles

• The fate of the wicked? (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• Comforters? More like troublemakers (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• Where could I go but to the Lord? (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• Can a mortal be in the right in God’s eyes? (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)
• Will you just listen? (252dailybiblestudy.wordpress.com)

If only wickedness did gets its reward

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: How would you respond to Job’s friends if you were him?

Bible Reading:  Job 21:1-34

Insight: Job has another go! He doesn’t think he has said enough and he expects to get nothing but jeers at the end of his speech. If Job is calling to God and God is not answering then Job has every right to be troubled.

Job has noticed that many faithless people live just as long as righteous people and often become very powerful men who place their children in positions of power around them. Their homes are places of peace and they themselves do not appear to suffer and are clearly seen to have a good time. Even their cattle breed successfully – a sure sign of prosperity. And when they die, they do so peacefully and without a long drawn out illness. They do well without God and see no benefit in following him.

How often do the wicked or faithless actually get their just rewards? Job asks his friends. Will they at least acknowledge this is the case sometimes and if so, that sometimes the faithful and upright do not get what they deserve? They may say that punishment is passed on to the children of the faithless but Job thinks it would be better for people to be punished for their own sins. By definition, wicked men will not worry that their children are being punished for sins that they did.

In his desperate state Job has spoken hastily but now he reigns himself in and recognises God’s authority and knowledge. Job notes that prosperity and suffering seem to be dispensed by God to the upright and faithless alike. There appears to be no rule except that, whatever happens, every man dies and is buried.

Job knows that his friends think he has been secretly sinning and is now paying the price for that but he feels that the popular view of the day is that the faithless will be spared judgement. If God won’t punish them, who else will stand up and make them pay back what they have taken by evil means? Even in death Job believes the faithless man has an advantage by being laid in a vault or tomb while the poor are simply buried in the soil. And if this is the case, Job asks, why are his friends continuing their argument?

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. what else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. (2 Peter 2:9)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.