Job 28

Summary,: We're talking wisdom. (Who? Hard to say. Either Job thinking out loud or the book's author.) He says that many precious things can be dug out of the ground in ingenious ways, but wisdom can't be found that way. Only God knows where to find wisdom. 

Response: I love the word painting here. Sorry DnDers, apparently you need to stick your points in fortitude instead. Joking aside, Lord, help me to seek You for wisdom above earthly ways. 

Job 27

Summary: Job is on a roll. He lets his friends know that he will not give in and claim he is anything but righteous because he knows what God does with unrighteous people. 

Response: I almost didn't write this down today. Lord, get me on track and keep me on track. 

Job 26

Summary: Job is sarcastic with his friends, calling them oh so helpful. He then shows that he knows just how powerful God is, proclaiming His control of the whole earth.

Response: I'd call this another of the moments where, all authorship aside, there's a bit of humanity here. While his friends can't keep it together, Job gets more determined and passionate. Lord, help me to find some passion for You. 

Job 25

Summary: Bildad, sputtering at this point, throws back to Job some lines from a speech of Eliphaz. It's a really short chapter. 

Response: I like the narrative momentum here, like they're running out of ideas while Job continues undaunted. 

Zacchaeus French translation

For whatever reason, my kiddos have been asking me to sing their lullabies in different languages. It usually takes some googling, but "Zacchaeus but in French" got nothing useful. Still, I have a music degree and took French for a two-semesters-in-eight-weeks intensive course in college (and, most importantly, I know how to Google how to conjugate verbs), so I gave it a shot. A bit of it is wordy, but it'll do for now. Et voila!

Zacchaeus, il fut tres petit

oui, tres petit fut il

il est monté dans l'arbe érable 

donc il pourrait verra le Messie

Mais alors qu'il passe devant

la Sauveur regarda levé 

et il disait, <<Zacchaeus, descendre!

donc j'irai a ton maison aujourd'hui,

donc j'irai a ton maison aujourd'hui!>>

Job 24

Summary: Job continues, wondering aloud why he doesn't see God intervene as wicked men take advantage of the already poor and disadvantaged for their own greed. He puts words in his friends' mouths, "But God gets em in the end, ho ho!" and then dares them to prove his statement wrong. 

Response: Hello, still relevant to the 21st century commentary. Lord, help me to see the needs of Your people and to be Your hand. 

Job 23

Summary: Job's response to friends 3.1 really isn't at Eliphaz at all. Instead, he insists on meeting God. He trusts and follows God and will accept His judgement, but just needs to hear it from the Big Man Himself. 

Response: And, I mean, it doesn't come off as "can I speak to your manager" at all. I wouldn't be surprised if The Good Place's later seasons plucked the "this is wrong, ask around" element of their plot from something like this. Lord, when things don't make sense, help me to return to You. 

Job 22

Summary: Friend speeches part 3.1: Eliphaz tells Job to stop thinking God can't see his sin. He warns that those who go against God in this way are like those caught up and washed away in a great flood. Finally, he tells Job that, if he'd only turn away from whatever sin there was, God would restore him to his status and wealth. 

Response: If there's one thing I feel God talking to me about this book, it's this: most of the time, you are not Job. You are the friends. You judge and mock and talk out of your ear and do more harm than good. Your advice is not as useful as your sympathy. 

Job 21

Summary: Job responds to all three friends, with a fatal flaw in their reasoning: wicked people live great lives all the time and die happy all the time. 

Response: dicaprio_pointing.jpeg

But seriously, we've been circling this idea quite a bit. Good job, Job! (How have I not made this happen yet?) So does that mean we can just leave social justice stuff alone, if it's God's place to judge the wickedly powerful on His own time? I'd say no. The marginalized still need help and recognition, with or without the condemnation of the cruel, privileged and, yes, wicked.

Job 20

Summary: Job's third friend, Zophar, speaks again. He rattles on and on about how the wicked, while rich for a short time, quickly find themselves losing everything and coming to a swift end. 

Response: "Yeah but" is a common saying in our house. My kids and I get cases of the yeahbut all the time. I think it's warranted here, though. It is comforting to think of the wicked as having to literally vomit money away, but that's rarely the case these days. And this is definitely not Job's situation. Lord, am I this friend so quick to condemn on Your behalf? Help me to spread Your mercy, not Your judgement. 

Job 19:13-29

Summary: Job feels abandoned by everyone: his friends and family, those he loves and works with, and even God Himself. But, Job still has faith that, even if he doesn't survive, he can still see God and be at peace with Him at some point. 

Response: I mean, Job treads the line here still. He still wants a resolution, still doesn't want to just curse God and die. Lord, thank You for not giving up on me. 

Job 19:1-12

Summary: Job's turn again. He is tired of his friend beating him down with their words. He finally says it straight: Job feels like God has wronged him. He feels like a besieged town to God's army; like a lost traveler to God's thorn maze; like a vine yanked out of the ground. 

Response: I don't want to be callous here or check boxes, but

- it's okay for Job to feel this way

- God can take it, He is big enough

- we know the end of the story

So it's just the takeaway. If anything, I've felt the opposite from God, that I've been well cared for and that whatever difficulties in life I encounter are either a fallen world or (more likely) my own doing. Lord, help me to rely on You, and to be a help, not a hindrance, to those around me.