Does the Eagle Soar at Your Command and Build Its Nest on High? We get a glimpse of God’s awe-inspiring creation in the concluding chapters of the book of Job. Here’s what happens: As the storm’s intensity increases, Job’s four friends cast wary glances at each other, interspersed with worried peeks at the raging weather. […]
If We Claim to Know the Truth, That Implies Every Other Perspective Is Wrong The book of Job is mostly dialogue between Job and his four “friends,” with God having the final word—as he should. The words of Job’s four friends aren’t much help. At one point in Zophar’s monologue he claims that Job said […]
Strive to Support and Encourage Your Spouse We don’t know the name of Job’s wife. She’s a minor character in the Bible’s account of his life, so we could view her name as unimportant. Through no fault of Job, Satan attacks him, wiping away his wealth and killing all his children. Next, Satan afflicts Job’s […]
Psalm 179 from Beyond Psalm 150 The book of Job records dialogue between Job and his four friends. Each one offers him their perspective on the situation—through their limited theology. To varying degrees, all four assert that Job’s downfall is either his fault or God’s doing. Job disagrees, maintains his innocence, and proclaims God’s blamelessness. […]
Psalm 178 from Beyond Psalm 150 Granted limited authorization by God, Satan afflicts Job, taking away his possessions and killing all ten of his children. Job humbles himself—tearing his robe and shaving his head. He falls to the ground and worships the Almighty. From the angst of his pain, he succinctly summarizes the arc of […]
Consider What Job Believes in the Midst of His Suffering After Bildad’s attack, Job stares into the distance. He sits in silence as if this time he will not respond. Still, his anger bubbles within him, slowly at first and then building until it boils. He scans the three men and closes his eyes. He […]
May Our Life Honor God and Be an Example to Others Integrity is largely missing in our world today. It looms as an out-of-date concept. Many even mock it as restrictive, limiting our desire to act however we want. Integrity is an unwavering adherence to moral principles and ethical behavior. It’s being honest. It’s sound […]
The movie Secretariat evokes this fitting quote: Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; […]
God Perspective Matters More As readers of the book of Job, we are privy to the whole story: Satan torments Job in an effort to prove that Job’s Godly devotion is conditional, that it is dependent on circumstances. Job, however, does not have the luxury of this grand view. All he knows is that his […]
After Job’s so-called friends fail so miserably to comfort him in his time of need, after they criticize and malign him, God steps in. God puts them in their place for what they said and affirms that Job has spoken truth. Then God tells the friends to prepare a sacrifice and to ask Job to […]