"Hope" in the book of Job
I started a study on the book of Job. The Lord has brought me through some pretty deep and scary waters of late and I needed to find hope in the midst of them. He gave me that word - hope - and has encouraged me with it since I passed through the torrent and came out on the other side.
Hope. It's not something one would expect to find very much of in a book like Job, but as I traced its footsteps though the Old Testament I was amazed at how often it showed up in that book.
I'm planning on placing my bare feet into each foot print and explore the topography surrounding the marks it made in the dirt of the book. I want to understand the context of this theme in one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to get a grasp of.
In conjunction with my reading of the book itself, I'm also working my way through "Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job" by Layton Talbert. It's been quite enlightening. One thing that has struck me so far is that no one has any question about who has done this to Job - God is the only possible answer to that question. One of the related themes to hope in the Old Testament is that of trust or faith in God. Job was 'destroyed' (Job 2:3) precisely because of his faith, and God was the one who brought his faith to Satan's attention! God initiated the conversation and He also set the boundaries for the destruction. The book is about God, not so much the suffering Job is experiencing. When you read the arguments and advice, God is the one being discussed! This is something I'd never considered. In response to this, one has to wrestle with questions like, 'How does one hope in a God who allows this suffering?' and 'How does one cling to a God who initiates these types of circumstances in the lives of His children?'
Answer: One worships.
"Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways? 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Rom. 11:33-36
Hope. It's not something one would expect to find very much of in a book like Job, but as I traced its footsteps though the Old Testament I was amazed at how often it showed up in that book.
I'm planning on placing my bare feet into each foot print and explore the topography surrounding the marks it made in the dirt of the book. I want to understand the context of this theme in one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to get a grasp of.
In conjunction with my reading of the book itself, I'm also working my way through "Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job" by Layton Talbert. It's been quite enlightening. One thing that has struck me so far is that no one has any question about who has done this to Job - God is the only possible answer to that question. One of the related themes to hope in the Old Testament is that of trust or faith in God. Job was 'destroyed' (Job 2:3) precisely because of his faith, and God was the one who brought his faith to Satan's attention! God initiated the conversation and He also set the boundaries for the destruction. The book is about God, not so much the suffering Job is experiencing. When you read the arguments and advice, God is the one being discussed! This is something I'd never considered. In response to this, one has to wrestle with questions like, 'How does one hope in a God who allows this suffering?' and 'How does one cling to a God who initiates these types of circumstances in the lives of His children?'
Answer: One worships.
"Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways? 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Rom. 11:33-36
Comments
Post a Comment