Devotional Thoughts: 23 Verbs

Previously, in chapter 1-2 we got the behind the scenes look at the cosmic struggle for faith and its meaning to God.

Job's opening lament was chapter 3.

Eliphaz spoke in chapter 4-5. Job replied in chapter 6-7.

Bildad spoke in chapter 8. Job replied in chapter 9-10.

Zophar spoke in chapter 11. Now Job launches into a reply in Job 12. His reply extended into chapters 13-14.

Then Job replied:
Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

A little sarcasm here, dear Job?

But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?

Job comes out swinging saying he has thought about all the arguments his friends have been making about his suffering.

I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
though I called upon God and he answered --
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

He felt as if his friends are mocking him. He feels he has not only lost his possession, his family and his health but also his dignity and the respect of others. He feels alone in his belief that as far as he could tell he was righteous and blameless before God.

Men at ease have contempt for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.
The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure --
those who carry their god in their hands.

He blasted his friends saying, it is easy for you to criticize me because you have it easy right now.

Job then launched into a tour of the grandeur of the physical world as evidence that God is the Creator.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?

What does the animal world tell us about the nature of life?

Ever watch a nature documentary?

You see animals killing each other! We sometimes romanticize animals because in cartoons they talk and are singing songs. But real life, in the wild, is bloody and filled with death.

Is Job saying that humans are under the same scenario as the animals?

Job sees the creation and knows God is behind it. And if God is behind it, then questions of life and death and wisdom have to come from God.

In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.
Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?
Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

Is Job being sarcastic again saying that his buddies are old and they really "understand?"

Or is he saying, he is the one who is truly wise because of his life experience and perspective sitting on the ash heap?

Either way, he launches into an incredible poetic statement of the power of God.

To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man he imprisons cannot be released.
If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth around their waist.
He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows men long established.
He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.
He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.
They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.

23 verbs. Count them. 23 times. God tears down, God holds back, God leads, God reveals ...

There is an abstract theological debate about God's relationship to time and God's balancing of human free will and divine sovereignty.

I don't have any answers. I have ideas but certainly nothing I could "prove." I think it would be the height of folly to claim I can prove my views on God.

God has to have a "strange" relationship to time because time appears to be a function of the created universe. If God exists "prior" to the universe and time only exists because their is a universe than God's relationship to time must be quite beyond our comprehension.

As for divine sovereignty, I have a somewhat nuanced view which I don't know if it lands me as a heretic or not but I'm very careful when I describe the power of God. Some might say, God is so powerful, God can do everything. I feel that is not precise. God can do everything God wants to do. Do you see the difference?

For instance, can God do something evil? I say no. So that means God can't do everything! To which I reply, I believe God can do whatever God wants to do. God doesn't want to do evil so God doesn't do evil.

So what is the relationship to human free will?

How about a trivial example?

I suppose one might ask, does God make me put on that loud green tie today?

I suppose if God really wanted to make me put on that silly tie, God could do so. I suppose if God really didn't want me to put on that goofy tie, God could stop me. However, I believe that God can do whatever God wants to do and maybe, just maybe, God says, Rene, you can put on any tie you like. Has God's sovereignty been preserved? Has my free will been preserved?

Obviously, this gets a lot more complicated with matters more significant than the color of the tie I put on in the morning.

Sorry, dear gentle readers, I've gone from the sublime poetry of Job that attempts to describe the ineffable aspects of God power to talking about ties.

But I hope you see where my meditation has been going this morning.

Lord, you are powerful and can do what you want. But in your deciding what you want, you have given us incredible freedom and the consequences of that. Dear Jesus, there are days I'm deeply saddened by what I see happening around the world. I'm hurt to the core to see loved ones suffer. And yes, in my selfishness, I often bitterly complain to you about my own hurts. But I lay them all at your altar knowing my duty is to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before you. Job tried to do that his whole life and he is sitting on an ash heap and pretty upset. And for all his faults, he knows where wisdom is found and he is wrestling with you about it. Lord, help me to do the same in my life. Amen.