May 19, 2006

Reading through the Bible in one Year:2 Samuel 18:1-19:43; Luke 24:1-12

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

" Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, “Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ “May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. “Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. “As for that night, let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; Let it not come into the number of the months. “Behold, let that night be barren; Let no joyful shout enter it. “Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan. “Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; Let it wait for light but have none, And let it not see the breaking dawn; Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes." (Job 3:1-10, NASB95) ^[1]

How would you have felt at this time?  Job is speaking for the first time in this passage and he doesn't sound very righteous.  On the contrary, he sounds rather depressed.  The grief that Job was dealing with after the loss of his ten children and all of his earthly possessions was compounded by the loss of his physical health.  You can be sure that he was asking the question "why me?" 

It's quite one thing to take a righteous stand and say that God has his hand on every area of your life.  It's another thing to put that into practice during the time of calamity.  Job reacted like a human with emotion because Job was human. 

To put this in perspective, try to imagine someone who worked hard through their life to train for the ministry, a mission field or a special occupation.  Then just as they complete their education and enter the workforce, the die prematurely.  The parents and those who are left behind from those who die prematurely often ask why, what's the point behind their death.  Extended to what was the point of their life since the never realized their goal.  Extend that to a small child who dies, what was the point of his life?  One thing to realize here is that questioning is not wrong, it is expected.

Job cursed the day it was born and made it clear that that day is now represented by a dark, gloomy life. The dreams of youth are gone just like a light that has been snuffed out.  The darkness of trouble is overwhelming and taints every aspect of the life.  Job was saying that it would have been better if he was never born.  You can be sure that if he was never born, we would have lost out on a tremendous lesson.  The language is pretty specific as Job curses the night that he was born, he even curses the moment that the midwife declared that "a boy is conceived".  He considered his birth day to be so incredibly wrong that it should be abolished off of the calendar forever.

" Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne." (Revelation 12:3-5, NASB95) ^[2]

Verses 8-11 are extremely interesting because Job refers to the Leviathan and blames it for darkening the stars.  It robbed the light from life and failed to close his mother’s womb so that she would not bear a son.  It's as if he was recognizing the devil's work in his life.  I say this because in revelation Satan is spoken of as a dragon that swept one third of the stars from heaven with his tail.  Isn't it interesting as well that he was waiting to devour the child of the woman, where Job accused him of failing to kill him as a child.  The word in verse 8 "prepared" could also be translated as "skillfully" according to the NASB footnotes.  That adds a different view on this passage as well. 

The leviathan comes up several times in Job, from my understanding it is the word that is used for a mythical dragon.  Looking at the verses in Job and what God has to say about it, the mythical dragon was a reality.  The word could also be translated as "crocodile", however that does not fit later descriptions when God describes the leviathan as a fire-breathing dragon, (Job 41). 

In this chapter, it is not clear whether Job is using the Leviathan as an illustration of Satan, the "angel of death", or a description of fate.  At any rate, Job is incredibly distressed in this passage.  I have to close here, more tomorrow.

Father, as we consider Your word, open our eyes so that we can see and understand Your word in our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

May 20, 2006

Reading through the Bible in one Year:2 Samuel 20:1-21:22; Luke 24:13-35

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

"“Why did I not die at birth, Come forth from the womb and expire? “Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts, that I should suck? “For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, With kings and with counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; Or with princes who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver. “Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, As infants that never saw light. “There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. “The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. “The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master." (Job 3:11-19, NASB95) ^[1]

Death: the welcomed taskmaster.  When I read through this, I could not help but think of the theme of Ecclesiastes, "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity under the sun".  Existentialism rings from every verse as Job wonders at the point of life.  After all, he was a very important influential man, one who was as good as dead. 

My pastor made a good point on the book of Job relating that many in the time of trouble scream out "Why God" when in reality they should be screaming "What God?"  Job seems to have reached a point in his life where he is wondering about the reason for life, wrestling with the hard question regarding the real purpose for life.  After all, is life just the accumulation of riches, or the building of empires, or even comfortable lives in a nice neighborhood?  Theses questions were asked in verses 14-15 as Job wrestles with the "why" questions. 

" Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 10:1, NASB95)

" For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning." (Psalm 22:1, NASB95)

"Why did I ever come forth from the womb To look on trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent in shame?" (Jeremiah 20:18, NASB95)

"Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long?" (Lamentations 5:20, NASB95)

"“Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. “They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have been made weak as we, You have become like us. ‘Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.’" (Isaiah 14:9-11, NASB95) ^[2]

Think about his argument for a moment, at first it seems pretty harsh when he talks about there not being any purpose for his surviving birth.  What is it that makes life worthwhile?  When you consider the passing years, and creeping up on old age, what makes life worth it?  We are survived by our children who carry on the heritage that we have carried from our fathers.  Job's children were dead.  Our influence on the world around us is carried on by the community as a whole; Job's wealth and public standing were totally destroyed by instant poverty.  Job still had his health, at least temporarily and the hope to re-build the lost empire and lost family but even that was removed when his health was taken. 

The final statement regarding prisoners makes perfect sense because Job is giving the idea that at least prisoners have a purpose in life.  During life they serve the taskmaster and comfort each other when they are away from his words.  The final purpose in life is total freedom from the taskmaster through death.  Job could not even make that statement because he was his own taskmaster. 

Closing thought, Job is questioning the real purpose in life.  The question on his mind seems to be whether life as he lived it was really worth it or not.  In his estimation and on the scales of his reasoning, his life had no value at all.  Have you ever felt that way? 

I have to close here, all comments are welcomed.

Father, as we consider Your Word today, open our eyes so that we can apply Your words to our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

May 21, 2006

Reading through the Bible in one Year:2 Samuel 22:1-51; Luke 24:36-John 1:4

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

"“Why is light given to him who suffers, And life to the bitter of soul, Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures, Who rejoice greatly, And exult when they find the grave? “Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water. “For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”" (Job 3:20-26, NASB95) ^[1]

Just for a moment, let's think about Hebrew poetry and the way that concepts are worked in it.  There is a certain amount of rhyming that takes place in the Hebrew, but the most important thing is the rhyming of concepts.  When I looked at this chapter, I was struck with the idea that there was a repeating concept.  Yet it was difficult to pin down.  Just for entertainment purposes, compare:

Job 3:1-7 with Job 3:20,

Job 3:8-11 with Job 3:21

Job 3:12-15 with Job 3:22

Job 3:16-17 with Job 3:23-24

Contrast Job 3:18-19 with Job 3:25-26

The comparison is not exact, but it is rather interesting the way that it follows a pattern. 

Job is very depressed, questioning the purpose of life in this chapter.  He questions why God reveals spiritual truths or light through the process of suffering.  Why is it that he was ready to die, yet death could not be found?  Job considered that there wasn't any purpose for his life, God had turned against him.  It has been said that "you have nothing to fear but fear itself". Job said literally in verse 25, "For the fear I fear and what I dread befalls me", (NASB footnotes).  Consider that statement for a moment, sounds like "Murphy's law" was not an original idea.  Job described his life as one that was an example of turmoil, unrest and misery. 

What would you think or feel?  Before we go further on this, consider that depression is not unusual.  It has been said that Job said things here that he would later regret.  I don't see it that way, Job revealed his soul, his anguish and his state of mind so that we can learn and understand a little bit about depression. 

I can't say that I have ever been in a state of mind that Job described.  Yet there was a time that I can relate to the depressed hopeless feeling that Job captured in this chapter.  It was a dark time, one that is extremely difficult to remember because my mind refuses to think about it.  Job didn't have a Bible to read like we do, he didn't have the writings of the Psalms, Proverbs, the promises of Christ, or the writings of Paul to draw encouragement from.  I would wager to say that neither do we when we get in that depressed state of mind because in most cases when we are in that state of mind, reading scripture is the last thing on our mind. 

What do we do in that situation?  Job had friends sitting with him in the ashes; listening.  One thought I would like to leave you with is that if you are depressed, know that you are not alone.  Others have been there as well, there is hope, and the grieving process that you are going through is perfectly normal.  Sometimes there is just no answers available.  Job was faced with deep depression as he dealt with the loss of his family, his wealth, social status, and life as he knew it.  No words would have encouraged him, it was a time of soul searching, and a time to consider the hard questions.  Thoughts?

This has been a difficult chapter because many want to refuse the reality of depression.  We would rather condemn those who are depressed and point fingers at them accusing them of having little faith.  I have heard it said that   Christians shoot their own wounded.  What's wrong with allowing a person to experience the pain that they are experiencing?

Father, as we consider Your Word, open our eyes so that we can understand and apply Your word to our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.