Day 9: Job Part 5

I'm beginning to get tired of Job! Probably shouldn't admit this, since I'm only in my second week of Bible reading, and there's a whole year to go, but I might as well be honest. But it's hard to have to read the same stuff over and over again, there's no movement or progression. At least, not yet.

Wickedness often unpunished
Job 24
Bildad shows that people cannot be justified before God
Job 25:1-6
Job reproves Bildad
Job 26:1-4
Job acknowledges God's power & protests his sincerity
Job 26:5-14, 27:1-6
The miserable end of the wicked
Job 27:7-23
Concerning worldly wealth
Job 28:1-11
Wisdom – God's precious gift
Job 28:12-28
Job's former comforts
Job 29:1-25
Job's honour is turned to contempt
Job 30:1-31

The short chapter 25 has Bildad saying something you can't disagree with. The problem is that he then draws the wrong conclusion from it. So often we do the same – we correctly understand what the Bible is saying, then glance across at real life, and apply it all wrong. There's probably a lot I can learn from this!

In chapter 27, Job shows that he agrees with his friends' hermeneutic, but not their application. Yes God is all-knowing, yes he punishes the wicked, but no, I am not wicked myself. In chapter 28 Job shows the difference between his understanding and theirs – he prizes Wisdom above all else. Wherever people delve for treasure, they will never find wisdom there. It cannot be bought, only found in the fear of God. In chapter 29 Job talks about his former status without a hint of pride. Matter of factly he relates how he was held in high honour...but now, all that is gone. Chapter 30 is a moving lament, “My lyre is tuned to mourning.” All Job's songs are in a minor key now.