Deep Longings—Job 14-16

Job 14

If We Die, Will We Live Again?

 ^1-17"We're all adrift in the same boat:
   too few days, too many troubles.
We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
   transient as the shadow of a cloud.
Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?
   Why even bother hauling me into court?
There's nothing much to us to start with;
   how do you expect us to amount to anything?
Mortals have a limited life span.
   You've already decided how long we'll live—
   you set the boundary and no one can cross it.
So why not give us a break? Ease up!
   Even ditchdiggers get occasional days off.
For a tree there is always hope.
   Chop it down and it still has a chance—
   its roots can put out fresh sprouts.
Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
   its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
   buds and grows like a sapling.
But men and women? They die and stay dead.
   They breathe their last, and that's it.
Like lakes and rivers that have dried up,
   parched reminders of what once was,
So mortals lie down and never get up,
   never wake up again—never.
Why don't you just bury me alive,
   get me out of the way until your anger cools?
But don't leave me there!
   Set a date when you'll see me again.
If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question.
   All through these difficult days I keep hoping,
   waiting for the final change—for resurrection!
Homesick with longing for the creature you made,
   you'll call—and I'll answer!
You'll watch over every step I take,
   but you won't keep track of my missteps.
My sins will be stuffed in a sack
   and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.

 ^18-22 "Meanwhile, mountains wear down
   and boulders break up,
Stones wear smooth
   and soil erodes,
   as you relentlessly grind down our hope.
You're too much for us.
   As always, you get the last word.
We don't like it and our faces show it,
   but you send us off anyway.
If our children do well for themselves, we never know it;
   if they do badly, we're spared the hurt.
Body and soul, that's it for us—
   a lifetime of pain, a lifetime of sorrow."

Job 15

Eliphaz Attacks Again

You Trivialize Religion

 ^1-16 Eliphaz of Teman spoke a second time: "If you were truly wise, would you sound so much like a
   windbag, belching hot air?
Would you talk nonsense in the middle of a serious argument,
   babbling baloney?
Look at you! You trivialize religion,
   turn spiritual conversation into empty gossip.
It's your sin that taught you to talk this way.
   You chose an education in fraud.
Your own words have exposed your guilt.
   It's nothing I've said—you've incriminated yourself!
Do you think you're the first person to have to deal with
      these things?
   Have you been around as long as the hills?
Were you listening in when God planned all this?
   Do you think you're the only one who knows anything?
What do you know that we don't know?
   What insights do you have that we've missed?
Gray beards and white hair back us up—
   old folks who've been around a lot longer than you.
Are God's promises not enough for you,
   spoken so gently and tenderly?
Why do you let your emotions take over,
   lashing out and spitting fire,
Pitting your whole being against God
   by letting words like this come out of your mouth?
Do you think it's possible for any mere mortal to be sinless
      in God's sight,
   for anyone born of a human mother to get it all together?
Why, God can't even trust his holy angels.
   He sees the flaws in the very heavens themselves,
So how much less we humans, smelly and foul,
   who lap up evil like water?

Always at Odds with God

 ^17-26 "I've a thing or two to tell you, so listen up!
   I'm letting you in on my views;
It's what wise men and women have always taught,
   holding nothing back from what they were taught
By their parents, back in the days
   when they had this land all to themselves:
Those who live by their own rules, not God's, can expect
      nothing but trouble,
   and the longer they live, the worse it gets.
Every little sound terrifies them.
   Just when they think they have it made, disaster strikes.
They despair of things ever getting better—
   they're on the list of people for whom things always turn out
      for the worst.
They wander here and there,
   never knowing where the next meal is coming from—
   every day is doomsday!
They live in constant terror,
   always with their backs up against the wall
Because they insist on shaking their fists at God,
   defying God Almighty to his face,
Always and ever at odds with God,
   always on the defensive.

 ^27-35 "Even if they're the picture of health,
   trim and fit and youthful,
They'll end up living in a ghost town
   sleeping in a hovel not fit for a dog,
   a ramshackle shack.
They'll never get ahead,
   never amount to a hill of beans.
And then death—don't think they'll escape that!
   They'll end up shriveled weeds,
   brought down by a puff of God's breath.
There's a lesson here: Whoever invests in lies,
   gets lies for interest,
Paid in full before the due date.
   Some investment!
They'll be like fruit frost-killed before it ripens,
   like buds sheared off before they bloom.
The godless are fruitless—a barren crew;
   a life built on bribes goes up in smoke.
They have sex with sin and give birth to evil.
   Their lives are wombs for breeding deceit."

Job 16

Job Defends Himself

If You Were in My Shoes

 ^1-5 Then Job defended himself:

"I've had all I can take of your talk.
   What a bunch of miserable comforters!
Is there no end to your windbag speeches?
   What's your problem that you go on and on like this?
If you were in my shoes,
   I could talk just like you.
I could put together a terrific harangue
   and really let you have it.
But I'd never do that. I'd console and comfort,
   make things better, not worse!

 ^6-14 "When I speak up, I feel no better;
   if I say nothing, that doesn't help either.
I feel worn down.
   God, you have wasted me totally—me and my family!
You've shriveled me like a dried prune,
   showing the world that you're against me.
My gaunt face stares back at me from the mirror,
   a mute witness to your treatment of me.
Your anger tears at me,
   your teeth rip me to shreds,
   your eyes burn holes in me—God, my enemy!
People take one look at me and gasp.
   Contemptuous, they slap me around
   and gang up against me.
And God just stands there and lets them do it,
   lets wicked people do what they want with me.
I was contentedly minding my business when God beat me up.
   He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around.
He set me up as his target,
   then rounded up archers to shoot at me.
Merciless, they shot me full of arrows;
   bitter bile poured from my gut to the ground.
He burst in on me, onslaught after onslaught,
   charging me like a mad bull.

 ^15-17 "I sewed myself a shroud and wore it like a shirt;
   I lay facedown in the dirt.
Now my face is blotched red from weeping;
   look at the dark shadows under my eyes,
Even though I've never hurt a soul
   and my prayers are sincere!

The One Who Represents Mortals Before God

 ^18-22 "O Earth, don't cover up the wrong done to me!
   Don't muffle my cry!
There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me,
   in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name—
My Champion, my Friend,
   while I'm weeping my eyes out before God.
I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God
   as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor.   
 Only a few years are left
   before I set out on the road of no return."

(from Bible Gateway)

Eliphaz completely misses Job's heart, which shows up so significantly in 14:14-17

If we humans die, will we live again? That's my question. All through these difficult days I keep hoping, waiting for the final change—the resurrection! Homesick with longing for the creature you made, you'll call—and I'll answer! You'll watch over every step I take, but you won't keep track of my missteps. My sins will be stuffed in a sack and thrown into the sea—sunk in deep ocean.

Job is acutely aware that he is not who God created him to be, and realizes that he won't fully be so this side of Heaven. Eliphaz is, I think, so wrapped up in maintaining his view of a predictable, controllable God that he can't hear that Job knows he isn't sinless, as Eliphaz claims in his tirade in chapter 15.

Job is the one who engages most with God, pouring out his heart to Him, holding nothing back. I don't think Eliphaz can conceive of doing such a thing; it would be scandalous to him. Job, I would venture to guess, would be scandalized to consider not doing so.

I wonder if I operate more like Eliphaz or Job. I certainly want to fall into Job's camp, but do I in reality? Intellectually I know the truth and rightness of what Job says and does but it seems that most often I fail to take my raw, painful emotions to the Cross, even though I know the identity of the One for whom Job so deeply longs in 16:19-21.

Reversing that failure is my primary motivation for writing this blog, as composing it requires me to engage with Scripture and allow it to penetrate my heart, to draw me out of my fog, to cause me to long for who God created me to be, to allow God Himself to love me.

God in a Formula?: Job 10-13

Job 10

To Find Some Skeleton in My Closet

 ¹ "I can't stand my life—I hate it! I'm putting it all out on the table, all the bitterness of my life—I'm holding back nothing."

 ^2-7 Job prayed:    "Here's what I want to say:
Don't, God, bring in a verdict of guilty
   without letting me know the charges you're bringing.
How does this fit into what you once called 'good'—
   giving me a hard time, spurning me,
   a life you shaped by your very own hands,
   and then blessing the plots of the wicked?
You don't look at things the way we mortals do.
   You're not taken in by appearances, are you?
Unlike us, you're not working against a deadline.
   You have all eternity to work things out.
So what's this all about, anyway—this compulsion
   to dig up some dirt, to find some skeleton in my closet?
You know good and well I'm not guilty.
   You also know no one can help me.

 ^8-12 "You made me like a handcrafted piece of pottery—
   and now are you going to smash me to pieces?
Don't you remember how beautifully you worked my clay?
   Will you reduce me now to a mud pie?
Oh, that marvel of conception as you stirred together
   semen and ovum—
What a miracle of skin and bone,
   muscle and brain!
You gave me life itself, and incredible love.
   You watched and guarded every breath I took.

 ^13-17 "But you never told me about this part.
   I should have known that there was more to it—
That if I so much as missed a step, you'd notice and pounce,
   wouldn't let me get by with a thing.
If I'm truly guilty, I'm doomed.
   But if I'm innocent, it's no better—I'm still doomed.
My belly is full of bitterness.
   I'm up to my ears in a swamp of affliction.
I try to make the best of it, try to brave it out,
   but you're too much for me,
   relentless, like a lion on the prowl.
You line up fresh witnesses against me.
   You compound your anger
   and pile on the grief and pain!

 ^18-22 "So why did you have me born?
   I wish no one had ever laid eyes on me!
I wish I'd never lived—a stillborn,
   buried without ever having breathed.
Isn't it time to call it quits on my life?
   Can't you let up, and let me smile just once
Before I die and am buried,
   before I'm nailed into my coffin, sealed in the ground,
And banished for good to the land of the dead,
   blind in the final dark?"

Job 11

Zophar's Counsel

How Wisdom Looks from the Inside

 ^1-6Now it was the turn of Zophar from Naamath: "What a flood of words! Shouldn't we put a stop to it?
   Should this kind of loose talk be permitted?
Job, do you think you can carry on like this and we'll say nothing?
   That we'll let you rail and mock and not step in?
You claim, 'My doctrine is sound
   and my conduct impeccable.'
How I wish God would give you a piece of his mind,
   tell you what's what!
I wish he'd show you how wisdom looks from the inside,
   for true wisdom is mostly 'inside.'
But you can be sure of this,
   you haven't gotten half of what you deserve.

 ^7-12 "Do you think you can explain the mystery of God?
   Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?
God is far higher than you can imagine,
   far deeper than you can comprehend,
Stretching farther than earth's horizons,
   far wider than the endless ocean.
If he happens along, throws you in jail
   then hauls you into court, can you do anything about it?
He sees through vain pretensions,
   spots evil a long way off—
   no one pulls the wool over his eyes!
Hollow men, hollow women, will wise up
   about the same time mules learn to talk.

Reach Out to God

 ^13-20 "Still, if you set your heart on God
   and reach out to him,
If you scrub your hands of sin
   and refuse to entertain evil in your home,
You'll be able to face the world unashamed
   and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.
You'll forget your troubles;
   they'll be like old, faded photographs.
Your world will be washed in sunshine,
   every shadow dispersed by dayspring.
Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again;
   you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy.
Expansive, without a care in the world,
   you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing.
But the wicked will see none of this.
   They're headed down a dead-end road
   with nothing to look forward to—nothing."

Job 12

Job Answers Zophar

Put Your Ear to the Earth

 ^1-3 Job answered:    "I'm sure you speak for all the experts,
   and when you die there'll be no one left to tell us how to live.
But don't forget that I also have a brain—
   I don't intend to play second fiddle to you.
   It doesn't take an expert to know these things.

 ^4-6 "I'm ridiculed by my friends:
   'So that's the man who had conversations with God!'
Ridiculed without mercy:
   'Look at the man who never did wrong!'
It's easy for the well-to-do to point their fingers in blame,
   for the well-fixed to pour scorn on the strugglers.
Crooks reside safely in high-security houses,
   insolent blasphemers live in luxury;
   they've bought and paid for a god who'll protect them.

 ^7-12 "But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
   let the birds tell you what's going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
   Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
Isn't it clear that they all know and agree
   that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
   every breathing creature?
Isn't this all just common sense,
   as common as the sense of taste?
Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,
   that you have to grow old before you understand life?

From God We Learn How to Live

 ^13-25 "True wisdom and real power belong to God;
   from him we learn how to live,
   and also what to live for.
If he tears something down, it's down for good;
   if he locks people up, they're locked up for good.
If he holds back the rain, there's a drought;
   if he lets it loose, there's a flood.
Strength and success belong to God;
   both deceived and deceiver must answer to him.
He strips experts of their vaunted credentials,
   exposes judges as witless fools.
He divests kings of their royal garments,
   then ties a rag around their waists.
He strips priests of their robes,
   and fires high officials from their jobs.
He forces trusted sages to keep silence,
   deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom.
He dumps contempt on famous people,
   disarms the strong and mighty.
He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness,
   hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun.
He makes nations rise and then fall,
   builds up some and abandons others.
He robs world leaders of their reason,
   and sends them off into no-man's-land.
They grope in the dark without a clue,
   lurching and staggering like drunks."

Job 13

I'm Taking My Case to God

 ^1-5"Yes, I've seen all this with my own eyes, heard and understood it with my very own ears.
Everything you know, I know,
   so I'm not taking a backseat to any of you.
I'm taking my case straight to God Almighty;
   I've had it with you—I'm going directly to God.
You graffiti my life with lies.
   You're a bunch of pompous quacks!
I wish you'd shut your mouths—
   silence is your only claim to wisdom.

 ^6-12 "Listen now while I make my case,
   consider my side of things for a change.
Or are you going to keep on lying 'to do God a service'?
   to make up stories 'to get him off the hook'?
Why do you always take his side?
   Do you think he needs a lawyer to defend himself?
How would you fare if you were in the dock?
   Your lies might convince a jury—but would they
      convince God?
He'd reprimand you on the spot
   if he detected a bias in your witness.
Doesn't his splendor put you in awe?
   Aren't you afraid to speak cheap lies before him?
Your wise sayings are knickknack wisdom,
   good for nothing but gathering dust.

 ^13-19 "So hold your tongue while I have my say,
   then I'll take whatever I have coming to me.
Why do I go out on a limb like this
   and take my life in my hands?
Because even if he killed me, I'd keep on hoping.
   I'd defend my innocence to the very end.
Just wait, this is going to work out for the best—my salvation!
   If I were guilt-stricken do you think I'd be doing this—
   laying myself on the line before God?
You'd better pay attention to what I'm telling you,
   listen carefully with both ears.
Now that I've laid out my defense,
   I'm sure that I'll be acquitted.
Can anyone prove charges against me?
   I've said my piece. I rest my case.

Why Does God Stay Hidden and Silent?

 ^20-27 "Please, God, I have two requests;
   grant them so I'll know I count with you:
First, lay off the afflictions;
   the terror is too much for me.
Second, address me directly so I can answer you,
   or let me speak and then you answer me.
How many sins have been charged against me?
   Show me the list—how bad is it?
Why do you stay hidden and silent?
   Why treat me like I'm your enemy?
Why kick me around like an old tin can?
   Why beat a dead horse?
You compile a long list of mean things about me,
   even hold me accountable for the sins of my youth.
You hobble me so I can't move about.
   You watch every move I make,
   and brand me as a dangerous character.

 ²⁸ "Like something rotten, human life fast decomposes,
   like a moth-eaten shirt or a mildewed blouse."

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%2010-13&version=MSG)

I really do want to laugh in Zophar's face. He states in 10:7-12 that God is indeed an unexplainable mystery, but goes on in verses 13-20 to reduce Him to a formula: if you do X, God is obligated to do Y. He, rather than Job, is the one with the shallow view of God.

Job is frustrated with God precisely because he knows that God is under no obligation to comply with the demand Zophar's formula implies, no matter how much Job (or I!) would like for Him to be. He knows God is unpredictable and uncontrollable—not exactly a set-up for a safe life! And Job is frustrated with his friends because they aren't willing to walk with him through the incredibly tough spot God has allowed him to be in. They simply don't get it, and Job knows he "gets" God more than these friends do (see 12:1-3). Job realizes the utter foolishness involved in attempting to manipulate God, and instead bares his soul to Him, knowing all the while that he will inevitably come out on the losing end of that proposition.

There is still value in challenging God, though. Unless Job had gone that route, he would never have…well, I'm getting ahead of the text. I'll finish that thought in a few days.   

The Dangers of Figuring God Out: Job 6-9

Job 6

Job Replies to Eliphaz

God Has Dumped the Works on Me

 ^1-7 Job answered:    "If my misery could be weighed,
   if you could pile the whole bitter load on the scales,
It would be heavier than all the sand of the sea!
   Is it any wonder that I'm screaming like a caged cat?
The arrows of God Almighty are in me,
   poison arrows—and I'm poisoned all through!
   God has dumped the whole works on me.
Donkeys bray and cows moo when they run out of pasture—
   so don't expect me to keep quiet in this.
Do you see what God has dished out for me?
   It's enough to turn anyone's stomach!
Everything in me is repulsed by it—
   it makes me sick.

Pressed Past the Limits

 ^8-13 "All I want is an answer to one prayer,
   a last request to be honored:
Let God step on me—squash me like a bug,
   and be done with me for good.
I'd at least have the satisfaction
   of not having blasphemed the Holy God,
   before being pressed past the limits.
Where's the strength to keep my hopes up?
   What future do I have to keep me going?
Do you think I have nerves of steel?
   Do you think I'm made of iron?
Do you think I can pull myself up by my bootstraps?
   Why, I don't even have any boots!

My So-Called Friends

 ^14-23 "When desperate people give up on God Almighty,
   their friends, at least, should stick with them.
But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert—
   one day they're gushing with water
From melting ice and snow
   cascading out of the mountains,
But by midsummer they're dry,
   gullies baked dry in the sun.
Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink
   end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst.
Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water,
   tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink.
They arrive so confident—but what a disappointment!
   They get there, and their faces fall!
And you, my so-called friends, are no better—
      there's nothing to you!
   One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear.
It's not as though I asked you for anything—
   I didn't ask you for one red cent—
Nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me.
   So why all this dodging and shuffling?
^24-27 "Confront me with the truth and I'll shut up,
   show me where I've gone off the track.
Honest words never hurt anyone,
   but what's the point of all this pious bluster?
You pretend to tell me what's wrong with my life,
   but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air.
Are people mere things to you?
   Are friends just items of profit and loss?
^28-30 "Look me in the eyes!
   Do you think I'd lie to your face?
Think it over—no double-talk!
   Think carefully—my integrity is on the line!
Can you detect anything false in what I say?
   Don't you trust me to discern good from evil?"

Job 7

There's Nothing to My Life

 ^1-6 "Human life is a struggle, isn't it? It's a life sentence to hard labor.
Like field hands longing for quitting time
   and working stiffs with nothing to hope for but payday,
I'm given a life that meanders and goes nowhere—
   months of aimlessness, nights of misery!
I go to bed and think, 'How long till I can get up?'
   I toss and turn as the night drags on—and I'm fed up!
I'm covered with maggots and scabs.
   My skin gets scaly and hard, then oozes with pus.
My days come and go swifter than the click of knitting needles,
   and then the yarn runs out—an unfinished life!

 ^7-10 "God, don't forget that I'm only a puff of air!
   These eyes have had their last look at goodness.
And your eyes have seen the last of me;
   even while you're looking, there'll be nothing left to look at.
When a cloud evaporates, it's gone for good;
   those who go to the grave never come back.
They don't return to visit their families;
   never again will friends drop in for coffee.

 ^11-16 "And so I'm not keeping one bit of this quiet,
   I'm laying it all out on the table;
   my complaining to high heaven is bitter, but honest.
Are you going to put a muzzle on me,
   the way you quiet the sea and still the storm?
If I say, 'I'm going to bed, then I'll feel better.
   A little nap will lift my spirits,'
You come and so scare me with nightmares
   and frighten me with ghosts
That I'd rather strangle in the bedclothes
   than face this kind of life any longer.
I hate this life! Who needs any more of this?
   Let me alone! There's nothing to my life—it's nothing
      but smoke.

 ^17-21 "What are mortals anyway, that you bother with them,
   that you even give them the time of day?
That you check up on them every morning,
   looking in on them to see how they're doing?
Let up on me, will you?
   Can't you even let me spit in peace?
Even suppose I'd sinned—how would that hurt you?
   You're responsible for every human being.
Don't you have better things to do than pick on me?
   Why make a federal case out of me?
Why don't you just forgive my sins
   and start me off with a clean slate?
The way things are going, I'll soon be dead.
   You'll look high and low, but I won't be around."

Job 8

Bildad's Response

Does God Mess Up?

 ^1-7 Bildad from Shuhah was next to speak:
"How can you keep on talking like this?
   You're talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that.
Does God mess up?
   Does God Almighty ever get things backward?
It's plain that your children sinned against him—
   otherwise, why would God have punished them?
Here's what you must do—and don't put it off any longer:
   Get down on your knees before God Almighty.
If you're as innocent and upright as you say,
   it's not too late—he'll come running;
   he'll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes.
Even though you're not much right now,
   you'll end up better than ever.

To Hang Your Life from One Thin Thread

 ^8-19 "Put the question to our ancestors,
   study what they learned from their ancestors.
For we're newcomers at this, with a lot to learn,
   and not too long to learn it.
So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what's what,
   instruct you in what they knew from experience?
Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil?
   Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water?
Blossoming flowers look great before they're cut or picked,
   but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass.
That's what happens to all who forget God—
   all their hopes come to nothing.
They hang their life from one thin thread,
   they hitch their fate to a spider web.
One jiggle and the thread breaks,
   one jab and the web collapses.
Or they're like weeds springing up in the sunshine,
   invading the garden,
Spreading everywhere, overtaking the flowers,
   getting a foothold even in the rocks.
But when the gardener rips them out by the roots,
   the garden doesn't miss them one bit.
The sooner the godless are gone, the better;
   then good plants can grow in their place.

 ^20-22 "There's no way that God will reject a good person,
   and there is no way he'll help a bad one.
God will let you laugh again;
   you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy,
With your enemies thoroughly discredited,
   their house of cards collapsed."

Job 9

Job Continues

How Can Mere Mortals Get Right with God?

 ^1-13 Job continued by saying:
"So what's new? I know all this.
   The question is, 'How can mere mortals get right with God?'
If we wanted to bring our case before him,
   what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!
God's wisdom is so deep, God's power so immense,
   who could take him on and come out in one piece?
He moves mountains before they know what's happened,
   flips them on their heads on a whim.
He gives the earth a good shaking up,
   rocks it down to its very foundations.
He tells the sun, 'Don't shine,' and it doesn't;
   he pulls the blinds on the stars.
All by himself he stretches out the heavens
   and strides on the waves of the sea.
He designed the Big Dipper and Orion,
   the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri.
We'll never comprehend all the great things he does;
   his miracle-surprises can't be counted.
Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him;
   quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it.
If he steals you blind, who can stop him?
   Who's going to say, 'Hey, what are you doing?'
God doesn't hold back on his anger;
   even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.

 ^14-20 "So how could I ever argue with him,
   construct a defense that would influence God?
Even though I'm innocent I could never prove it;
   I can only throw myself on the Judge's mercy.
If I called on God and he himself answered me,
   then, and only then, would I believe that he'd heard me.
As it is, he knocks me about from pillar to post,
   beating me up, black-and-blue, for no good reason.
He won't even let me catch my breath,
   piles bitterness upon bitterness.
If it's a question of who's stronger, he wins, hands down!
   If it's a question of justice, who'll serve him the subpoena?
Even though innocent, anything I say incriminates me;
   blameless as I am, my defense just makes me sound worse.

If God's Not Responsible, Who Is?

 ^21-24 "Believe me, I'm blameless.
   I don't understand what's going on.
   I hate my life!
Since either way it ends up the same, I can only conclude
   that God destroys the good right along with the bad.
When calamity hits and brings sudden death,
   he folds his arms, aloof from the despair of the innocent.
He lets the wicked take over running the world,
   he installs judges who can't tell right from wrong.
   If he's not responsible, who is?

 ^25-31 "My time is short—what's left of my life races off
   too fast for me to even glimpse the good.
My life is going fast, like a ship under full sail,
   like an eagle plummeting to its prey.
Even if I say, 'I'll put all this behind me,
   I'll look on the bright side and force a smile,'
All these troubles would still be like grit in my gut
   since it's clear you're not going to let up.
The verdict has already been handed down—'Guilty!'—
   so what's the use of protests or appeals?
Even if I scrub myself all over
   and wash myself with the strongest soap I can find,
It wouldn't last—you'd push me into a pigpen, or worse,
   so nobody could stand me for the stink.

 ^32-35 "God and I are not equals; I can't bring a case against him.
   We'll never enter a courtroom as peers.
How I wish we had an arbitrator
   to step in and let me get on with life—
To break God's death grip on me,
   to free me from this terror so I could breathe again.
Then I'd speak up and state my case boldly.
   As things stand, there is no way I can do it."

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%206-9&version=MSG)

Job, in the midst of the incredible pain of losing his children and posssessions, and then having his wife and friends compound that pain, didn't censor or sanitize his expressions of anguish. That greatly disturbed his wife and friends, and instead of continuing in the good direction his friends began in (see chapter 2:11-13), they told him he was going about it all wrong and, indeed, did not trust him to discern good from evil (6:30).

Why would they treat him like that? I think Job knew God in ways they didn't. They had God all figured out, knew and lived their lives based upon the "formulas" for blessing. Why, Bildad was very sure that Job's children were wiped out because they had sinned (8:1-7). What a thing to say your friend in the midst of his grief! Did they think they were engaging in "tough love" when they rebuked him like that? I rather suspect they did. But I also suspect that their real motivation for their callous words was an overwhelming desire to remain safe from having God upend their worlds, from having Him be unpredictable.

Job knew far more deeply that they did that he needed God. He even knew that, thousands of years before He appeared among us, he needed a Messiah (9:33-34). Despite his statements of blamelessness, Job knew that blamelessness didn't meet God's impossible standard of perfection. How remarkable that instead of diminishing God and forcing Him into a mold, Job was able to "let God be God."

I love that, in the midst of being rather royally pissed off at God, Job still wants more of Him. That comes out in 9:11: "Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don't see him;/ quietly but surely he's active, and I miss it." Job was angry with God, but he still loved Him. His friends were merely complacent. I think Job was on the winning end of that spectrum. 

Knowing What You Don't Know: Job 1-5

Job 1

 ^1-3 Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. He had seven sons and three daughters. He was also very wealthy—seven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servants—the most influential man in all the East!  ^4-5 His sons used to take turns hosting parties in their homes, always inviting their three sisters to join them in their merrymaking. When the parties were over, Job would get up early in the morning and sacrifice a burnt offering for each of his children, thinking, "Maybe one of them sinned by defying God inwardly." Job made a habit of this sacrificial atonement, just in case they'd sinned.

The First Test: Family and Fortune

^6-7 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, "What have you been up to?"    Satan answered God, "Going here and there, checking things out on earth."
 ⁸ God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil."
 ^9-10 Satan retorted, "So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can't lose!
 ¹¹ "But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away everything that is his? He'd curse you right to your face, that's what."
 ¹² God replied, "We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him." Then Satan left the presence of God.
 ^13-15 Sometime later, while Job's children were having one of their parties at the home of the oldest son, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing in the field next to us when Sabeans attacked. They stole the animals and killed the field hands. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ¹⁶ While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Bolts of lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and fried them—burned them to a crisp. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ¹⁷ While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Chaldeans coming from three directions raided the camels and massacred the camel drivers. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ^18-19 While he was still talking, another messenger arrived and said, "Your children were having a party at the home of the oldest brother when a tornado swept in off the desert and struck the house. It collapsed on the young people and they died. I'm the only one to get out alive and tell you what happened."
 ²⁰ Job got to his feet, ripped his robe, shaved his head, then fell to the ground and worshiped:

 ²¹ Naked I came from my mother's womb,
   naked I'll return to the womb of the earth.
God gives, God takes.
   God's name be ever blessed.
 ²² Not once through all this did Job sin; not once did he blame God.

Job 2

The Second Test: Health

 ^1-3 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan also showed up. God singled out Satan, saying, "And what have you been up to?" Satan answered God, "Oh, going here and there, checking things out." Then God said to Satan, "Have you noticed my friend Job? There's no one quite like him, is there—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil? He still has a firm grip on his integrity! You tried to trick me into destroying him, but it didn't work."  ^4-5 Satan answered, "A human would do anything to save his life. But what do you think would happen if you reached down and took away his health? He'd curse you to your face, that's what."
 ⁶ God said, "All right. Go ahead—you can do what you like with him. But mind you, don't kill him."
 ^7-8 Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.
 ⁹ His wife said, "Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it!"
 ¹⁰ He told her, "You're talking like an empty-headed fool. We take the good days from God—why not also the bad days?"
   Not once through all this did Job sin. He said nothing against God.

Job's Three Friends

 ^11-13 Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.

Job 3

Job Cries Out

What's the Point of Life?

 ^1-2Then Job broke the silence. He spoke up and cursed his fate:
^3-10 "Obliterate the day I was born. Blank out the night I was conceived!
Let it be a black hole in space.
   May God above forget it ever happened.
   Erase it from the books!
May the day of my birth be buried in deep darkness,
   shrouded by the fog,
   swallowed by the night.
And the night of my conception—the devil take it!
   Rip the date off the calendar,
   delete it from the almanac.
Oh, turn that night into pure nothingness—
   no sounds of pleasure from that night, ever!
May those who are good at cursing curse that day.
   Unleash the sea beast, Leviathan, on it.
May its morning stars turn to black cinders,
   waiting for a daylight that never comes,
   never once seeing the first light of dawn.
And why? Because it released me from my mother's womb
   into a life with so much trouble.

 ^11-19 "Why didn't I die at birth,
   my first breath out of the womb my last?
Why were there arms to rock me,
   and breasts for me to drink from?
I could be resting in peace right now,
   asleep forever, feeling no pain,
In the company of kings and statesmen
   in their royal ruins,
Or with princes resplendent
   in their gold and silver tombs.
Why wasn't I stillborn and buried
   with all the babies who never saw light,
Where the wicked no longer trouble anyone
   and bone-weary people get a long-deserved rest?
Prisoners sleep undisturbed,
   never again to wake up to the bark of the guards.
The small and the great are equals in that place,
   and slaves are free from their masters.

 ^20-23 "Why does God bother giving light to the miserable,
   why bother keeping bitter people alive,
Those who want in the worst way to die, and can't,
   who can't imagine anything better than death,
Who count the day of their death and burial
   the happiest day of their life?
What's the point of life when it doesn't make sense,
   when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

 ^24-26 "Instead of bread I get groans for my supper,
   then leave the table and vomit my anguish.
The worst of my fears has come true,
   what I've dreaded most has happened.
My repose is shattered, my peace destroyed.
   No rest for me, ever—death has invaded life."

Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks Out

Now You're the One in Trouble

 ^1-6Then Eliphaz from Teman spoke up:
"Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it's hard to keep quiet.
You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words
   that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit.
Your words have put stumbling people on their feet,
   put fresh hope in people about to collapse.
But now you're the one in trouble—you're hurting!
   You've been hit hard and you're reeling from the blow.
But shouldn't your devout life give you confidence now?
   Shouldn't your exemplary life give you hope?

 ^7-11 "Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap?
   Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?
It's my observation that those who plow evil
   and sow trouble reap evil and trouble.
One breath from God and they fall apart,
   one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.
The mighty lion, king of the beasts, roars mightily,
   but when he's toothless he's useless—
No teeth, no prey—and the cubs
   wander off to fend for themselves.

 ^12-16 "A word came to me in secret—
   a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly.
It came in a scary dream one night,
   after I had fallen into a deep, deep sleep.
Dread stared me in the face, and Terror.
   I was scared to death—I shook from head to foot.
A spirit glided right in front of me—
   the hair on my head stood on end.
I couldn't tell what it was that appeared there—
   a blur...and then I heard a muffled voice:

 ^17-21 "'How can mere mortals be more righteous than God?
   How can humans be purer than their Creator?
Why, God doesn't even trust his own servants,
   doesn't even cheer his angels,
So how much less these bodies composed of mud,
   fragile as moths?
These bodies of ours are here today and gone tomorrow,
   and no one even notices—gone without a trace.
When the tent stakes are ripped up, the tent collapses—
   we die and are never the wiser for having lived.'"

Job 5

Don't Blame Fate When Things Go Wrong

 ^1-7 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him,
   the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
I've seen it myself—seen fools putting down roots,
   and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed.
Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited,
   with no one to stick up for them.
Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests,
   cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all,
   insatiable for everything they have.
Don't blame fate when things go wrong—
   trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble,
   as certainly as sparks fly upward.

What a Blessing When God Corrects You!

 ^8-16 "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God,
   I'd throw myself on the mercy of God.
After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts;
   there's no end to his surprises.
He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth,
   sends water to irrigate the fields.
He raises up the down-and-out,
   gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks,
   so that none of their plots come to term.
He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies—
   all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
Suddenly they're disoriented, plunged into darkness;
   they can't see to put one foot in front of the other.
But the downtrodden are saved by God,
   saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.
And so the poor continue to hope,
   while injustice is bound and gagged.

 ^17-19 "So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you!
   Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God!
True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound;
   the same hand that hurts you, heals you.
From one disaster after another he delivers you;
   no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you—

 ^20-26 "In famine, he'll keep you from starving,
   in war, from being gutted by the sword.
You'll be protected from vicious gossip
   and live fearless through any catastrophe.
You'll shrug off disaster and famine,
   and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains;
   wild animals will become your good friends.
You'll know that your place on earth is safe,
   you'll look over your goods and find nothing amiss.
You'll see your children grow up,
   your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years,
   like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.

 ²⁷ "Yes, this is the way things are—my word of honor!
   Take it to heart and you won't go wrong."

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%201-5&version=MSG)

The way God acts in Job's story confuses me from the get-go. He does exactly the opposite of what I—and Eliphaz—expect Him to do. Instead of ensuring Job continues to live a materially blessed life devoid of calamity, He gives free rein to the evil one in Job's life—even to the point of all 10 of Job's children dying in a tornado!

One part of me wants God to be as predictable and safe as Eliphaz paints Him in chapter 4, but another part wants Him to be the One to whom I can pour out my heart as Job does, without fear of retribution.  His lament in chapter 3 is pure, raw emotion, and I love that. He knows God can handle all his anguish, and he pours it out, not trying to sanitize any of it or pull any punches.

Eliphaz, on the other hand, comes off as shallow as a driveway puddle after a light summer rain shower. He has God all figured out (or so he thinks) and begins to tell Job what he ought to be thinking and feeling. I just want to pinch his head off, right after I wring Job's wife's neck.  She seems bitter, and Eliphaz foolish. Neither has a clue about God's true character: Job's wife apparently thinks of God as the Cosmic Killjoy, and Eliphaz as the Cosmic Vending Machine. Job, however, treats God as his friend.

I wonder how often I play each role: Job, his wife, and Eliphaz. Something to ponder.

A Wild Ride, Part Deux—Genesis 8-11

Genesis 8

 ^1-3 Then God turned his attention to Noah and all the wild animals and farm animals with him on the ship. God caused the wind to blow and the floodwaters began to go down. The underground springs were shut off, the windows of Heaven closed and the rain quit. Inch by inch the water lowered. After 150 days the worst was over.  ^4-6 On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship landed on the Ararat mountain range. The water kept going down until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains came into view. After forty days Noah opened the window that he had built into the ship.
 ^7-9 He sent out a raven; it flew back and forth waiting for the floodwaters to dry up. Then he sent a dove to check on the flood conditions, but it couldn't even find a place to perch—water still covered the Earth. Noah reached out and caught it, brought it back into the ship.
 ^10-11 He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again. It came back in the evening with a freshly picked olive leaf in its beak. Noah knew that the flood was about finished.
 ¹² He waited another seven days and sent the dove out a third time. This time it didn't come back.
 ^13-14 In the six-hundred-first year of Noah's life, on the first day of the first month, the flood had dried up. Noah opened the hatch of the ship and saw dry ground. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the Earth was completely dry.
 ^15-17 God spoke to Noah: "Leave the ship, you and your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. And take all the animals with you, the whole menagerie of birds and mammals and crawling creatures, all that brimming prodigality of life, so they can reproduce and flourish on the Earth."
 ^18-19 Noah disembarked with his sons and wife and his sons' wives. Then all the animals, crawling creatures, birds—every creature on the face of the Earth—left the ship family by family.
 ^20-21 Noah built an altar to God. He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar. God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done.

 ²² For as long as Earth lasts,
      planting and harvest, cold and heat,
   Summer and winter, day and night
      will never stop."

Genesis 9

 ^1-4 God blessed Noah and his sons: He said, "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Every living creature—birds, animals, fish—will fall under your spell and be afraid of you. You're responsible for them. All living creatures are yours for food; just as I gave you the plants, now I give you everything else. Except for meat with its lifeblood still in it—don't eat that.  ⁵ "But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

 ^6-7 Whoever sheds human blood,
      by humans let his blood be shed,
   Because God made humans in his image
      reflecting God's very nature.
   You're here to bear fruit, reproduce,
      lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!"
 ^8-11 Then God spoke to Noah and his sons: "I'm setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you, along with everything alive around you—birds, farm animals, wild animals—that came out of the ship with you. I'm setting up my covenant with you that never again will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters; no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth."
 ^12-16 God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."
 ¹⁷ And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I've set up between me and everything living on the Earth."
 ^18-19 The sons of Noah who came out of the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah; from these three the whole Earth was populated.
 ^20-23 Noah, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent. Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backward and covered their father's nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father's exposed body.
 ^24-27 When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said,

   Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves,
      a slave to his brothers!
   Blessed be God, the God of Shem,
      but Canaan shall be his slave.
   God prosper Japheth,
      living spaciously in the tents of Shem.
   But Canaan shall be his slave.
 ^28-29 Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.

Genesis 10

The Family Tree of Noah's Sons

 ¹ This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, they themselves had sons.  ² The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras. ³ The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, Togarmah.
 ^4-5 The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, Rodanim. The seafaring peoples developed from these, each in its own place by family, each with its own language.
 ⁶ The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, Canaan.
 ⁷ The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca.
   The sons of Raamah: Sheba, Dedan.
 ^8-12 Cush also had Nimrod. He was the first great warrior on Earth. He was a great hunter before God. There was a saying, "Like Nimrod, a great hunter before God." His kingdom got its start with Babel; then Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the country of Shinar. From there he went up to Asshur and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and the great city Calah.
 ^13-14 Egypt was ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the Casluhim (the origin of the Philistines), and the Kaphtorim.
 ^15-19 Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha.
 ²⁰ These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
 ²¹ Shem, the older brother of Japheth, also had sons. Shem was ancestor to all the children of Eber.
 ²² The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
 ²³ The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, Meshech.
 ^24-25 Arphaxad had Shelah and Shelah had Eber. Eber had two sons, Peleg (so named because in his days the human race divided) and Joktan.
 ^26-30 Joktan had Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab—all sons of Joktan. Their land goes from Mesha toward Sephar as far as the mountain ranges in the east.
 ³¹ These are the descendants of Shem by family, language, country, and nation.
 ³² This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.

Genesis 11

"God Turned Their Language into 'Babble'"

 ^1-2 At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.  ³ They said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and fire them well." They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.
 ⁴ Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
 ⁵ God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
 ^6-9 God took one look and said, "One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they'll come up with next—they'll stop at nothing! Come, we'll go down and garble their speech so they won't understand each other." Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That's how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into "babble." From there God scattered them all over the world.

^10-11 This is the story of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he had Arphaxad. It was two years after the flood. After he had Arphaxad, he lived 500 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^12-13 When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^14-15 When Shelah was thirty years old, he had Eber. After Shelah had Eber, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^16-17 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he had Peleg. After Eber had Peleg, he lived 430 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^18-19 When Peleg was thirty years old, he had Reu. After he had Reu, he lived 209 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^20-21 When Reu was thirty-two years old, he had Serug. After Reu had Serug, he lived 207 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^22-23 When Serug was thirty years old, he had Nahor. After Serug had Nahor, he lived 200 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ^24-25 When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had Terah. After Nahor had Terah, he lived 119 more years and had other sons and daughters.
 ²⁶ When Terah was seventy years old, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

The Family Tree of Terah

^27-28 This is the story of Terah. Terah had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.     Haran had Lot. Haran died before his father, Terah, in the country of his family, Ur of the Chaldees.
 ²⁹ Abram and Nahor each got married. Abram's wife was Sarai; Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran. Haran had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah.
 ³⁰ Sarai was barren; she had no children.
 ³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram's wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there.
 ³² Terah lived 205 years. He died in Haran.

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen%208-11&version=MSG)

About 20 or 30 years ago it occurred to me that my maternal grandmother witnessed remarkable technological changes in her 89½ years of life. She was born in September of 1894 and died in March of 1984. She lived in rural South Carolina and went to school via a horse and buggy with her siblings (two sisters and six brothers), and, toward the end of her life, witnessed men walking on the moon. Pretty amazing, really.

But compared to Noah? Pfft.

The changes Noah saw up close and personal weren't so much technological as spiritual. He and his immediate family saw God radically change the course of history. What did it take for them to trust God, at least initially? As Bill Cosby alluded to in his classic Noah routine, nobody knew what rain was, much less an ark. What was it like for them — especially Noah — to endure the open-mouthed stares, taunts, and/or shunning from their neighbors and relatives? What did they know about God that kept them going, kept them doing what God asked of them, as crazy as it must have seemed on a purely intellectual level? Were they terrified when God shut the door behind them? When the rain started falling for the first time ever? When it kept falling…and falling…and falling? How long did it take for the terror to cede to gratitude for God's provision? To utter love for Him?

What about me? When will my terror of not knowing what will come next cede to trusting God, to believing, really believing, that He knows what He's doing; that He will see me through; that He will never abandon me; that, no matter how out of control my world might seem, He is right there with me, waiting for me to turn to Him? When will I fall madly in love with Him, as my head tells me He longs for me to do?

It is evidence of His grace that my story is not over, that He keeps wooing me. I grieve that I have waited so long to fully respond, and I am grateful for His patience.

(…to be continued…)

A Wild Ride—Genesis 4-7

Genesis 4

 ¹ Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, "I've gotten a man, with God's help!"  ² Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer. ^3-5 Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.
 ^6-7 God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."
 ⁸ Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.
 ⁹ God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?"
   He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"
 ^10-12 God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."
 ^13-14 Cain said to God, "My punishment is too much. I can't take it! You've thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I'm a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me."
 ¹⁵ God told him, "No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over." God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.
 ¹⁶ Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man's-Land, east of Eden.
 ^17-18 Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.
   Enoch had Irad,
   Irad had Mehujael,
   Mehujael had Methushael,
   Methushael had Lamech.
 ^19-22 Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. His brother's name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.

    ^23-24 Lamech said to his wives,
   Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
      you wives of Lamech, hear me out:
   I killed a man for wounding me,
      a young man who attacked me.
   If Cain is avenged seven times,
      for Lamech it's seventy-seven!
 ^25-26 Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed." And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh.
   That's when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God.

Genesis 5

The Family Tree of the Human Race

 ^1-2 This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.  ^3-5 When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died.
 ^6-8 When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. After Seth had Enosh, he lived another 807 years, having more sons and daughters. Seth lived a total of 912 years. And he died.
 ^9-11 When Enosh was ninety years old, he had Kenan. After he had Kenan, he lived another 815 years, having more sons and daughters. Enosh lived a total of 905 years. And he died.
 ^12-14 When Kenan was seventy years old, he had Mahalalel. After he had Mahalalel, he lived another 840 years, having more sons and daughters. Kenan lived a total of 910 years. And he died.
 ^15-17 When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he had Jared. After he had Jared, he lived another 830 years, having more sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years. And he died.
 ^18-20 When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. After he had Enoch, he lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Jared lived a total of 962 years. And he died.
 ^21-23 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
 ²⁴ Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
 ^25-27 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. After he had Lamech, he lived another 782 years. Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. And he died.
 ^28-31 When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. He named him Noah, saying, "This one will give us a break from the hard work of farming the ground that God cursed." After Lamech had Noah, he lived another 595 years, having more sons and daughters. Lamech lived a total of 777 years. And he died.
 ³² When Noah was 500 years old, he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6

Giants in the Land

 ^1-2 When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves.  ³ Then God said, "I'm not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they're going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years."
 ⁴ This was back in the days (and also later) when there were giants in the land. The giants came from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. These were the mighty men of ancient lore, the famous ones.

Noah and His Sons

^5-7 God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."  ⁸ But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.
 ^9-10 This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
 ^11-12 As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core.
 ¹³ God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.
 ^14-16 "Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
 ¹⁷ "I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
 ^18-21 "But I'm going to establish a covenant with you: You'll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you'll need and store it up for you and them."
 ²² Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

Genesis 7

 ¹ Next God said to Noah, "Now board the ship, you and all your family—out of everyone in this generation, you're the righteous one.  ^2-4 "Take on board with you seven pairs of every clean animal, a male and a female; one pair of every unclean animal, a male and a female; and seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, to insure their survival on Earth. In just seven days I will dump rain on Earth for forty days and forty nights. I'll make a clean sweep of everything that I've made." ⁵ Noah did everything God commanded him.
 ^6-10 Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters covered the Earth. Noah and his wife and sons and their wives boarded the ship to escape the flood. Clean and unclean animals, birds, and all the crawling creatures came in pairs to Noah and to the ship, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. In seven days the floodwaters came.
 ^11-12 It was the six-hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month that it happened: all the underground springs erupted and all the windows of Heaven were thrown open. Rain poured for forty days and forty nights.
 ^13-16 That's the day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, accompanied by his wife and his sons' wives, boarded the ship. And with them every kind of wild and domestic animal, right down to all the kinds of creatures that crawl and all kinds of birds and anything that flies. They came to Noah and to the ship in pairs—everything and anything that had the breath of life in it, male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then God shut the door behind him.
 ^17-23 The flood continued forty days and the waters rose and lifted the ship high over the Earth. The waters kept rising, the flood deepened on the Earth, the ship floated on the surface. The flood got worse until all the highest mountains were covered—the high-water mark reached twenty feet above the crest of the mountains. Everything died. Anything that moved—dead. Birds, farm animals, wild animals, the entire teeming exuberance of life—dead. And all people—dead. Every living, breathing creature that lived on dry land died; he wiped out the whole works—people and animals, crawling creatures and flying birds, every last one of them, gone. Only Noah and his company on the ship lived.
 ²⁴ The floodwaters took over for 150 days.

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%204-7&version=MSG)

Cain was a piece of work, and I see several aspects of myself in him. Not an especially comforting thought. Truth is, we're all a mess; we're all capable of murder, given the wrong circumstances. But the even bigger truth is that we all bear God's image and reflect His character in some way or another. My heart has only recently begun to know that bigger truth, even though my head's been aware of it for decades. Oh, I've been able to recognize it in other people and even been cognizant of it on an intellectual level about myself. Like I said, though, my heart didn't "get it" until a few days ago. Why did it take me so long? I don't know for sure, but I do know that me not understanding it has kept me from even being able to acknowledge my sinful attitudes and actions, much less repent of them. As I told the woman who is my chief cheerleader and truth-teller, deep down I have believed the lie that maybe my sin was all there was to me so I tried to both cover it up and avoid looking at it. She pointed out that the irony of that strategy is that the more I try to cover it up, the more it manifests itself in my life. It'll be interesting to see where God takes me with this.

Somehow I think I'm in for a wild ride as I go in search of Him in my life. I suspect I'll be learning a lot about grace. God certainly extended it to Cain in protecting him (4:15) and to Noah in telling him how to build the ark that would separate him and his family from God's judgment on the rest of the world.

I'll keep you posted.

Here I Go Again—Genesis 1-3

Okay, I crashed, burned, and gave up on this endeavor in April last year. But that was last year. I've discovered some things about both God and myself that I'm counting on to keep me going this time. So here's to clean slates and new beginnings. I hear Jesus kinda likes those :)

Once again, I'm using Eugene Peterson's The Message version of the Bible. For all my purist friends, I know it's not a word-for-word translation, but my goal for this blog isn't so much exegetical analysis but more being attentive to what God is doing in my heart, and the relative unfamiliarity of Peterson's prose leads me to pay attention more easily to that than words so entrenched in my memory that I can almost rattle them off without thinking. Disruption can be a good—even if uncomfortable—thing, so I encourage you to be open to God using a little of that to deepen your intimacy with Him.

Genesis 1

Heaven and Earth

 ^1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

 ^3-5 God spoke: "Light!"
      And light appeared.
   God saw that light was good
      and separated light from dark.
   God named the light Day,
      he named the dark Night.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day One.

 ^6-8 God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
      separate water from water!"
   God made sky.
   He separated the water under sky
      from the water above sky.
   And there it was:
      he named sky the Heavens;
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Two.

 ^9-10 God spoke: "Separate!
      Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
   Land, appear!"
      And there it was.
   God named the land Earth.
      He named the pooled water Ocean.
   God saw that it was good.

 ^11-13 God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
      of seed-bearing plants,
   Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
      And there it was.
   Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
      all varieties,
   And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
      God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Three.

 ^14-15 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
      Shine in Heaven's sky!
   Separate Day from Night.
      Mark seasons and days and years,
   Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth."
      And there it was.

 ^16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
      to take charge of Day,
   The smaller to be in charge of Night;
      and he made the stars.
   God placed them in the heavenly sky
      to light up Earth
   And oversee Day and Night,
      to separate light and dark.
   God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Four.

 ^20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
      Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
   God created the huge whales,
      all the swarm of life in the waters,
   And every kind and species of flying birds.
      God saw that it was good.
   God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
      Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Five.

 ^24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
      cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."
   And there it was:
      wild animals of every kind,
   Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
      God saw that it was good.

 ^26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
      reflecting our nature
   So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
      the birds in the air, the cattle,
   And, yes, Earth itself,
      and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
   God created human beings;
      he created them godlike,
   Reflecting God's nature.
      He created them male and female.
   God blessed them:
      "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
   Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
      for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

 ^29-30 Then God said, "I've given you
      every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
   And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
      given them to you for food.
   To all animals and all birds,
      everything that moves and breathes,
   I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."
      And there it was.

 ³¹ God looked over everything he had made;
      it was so good, so very good!
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Six.

Genesis 2

    Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

 ^2-4 By the seventh day
      God had finished his work.
   On the seventh day
      he rested from all his work.
   God blessed the seventh day.
      He made it a Holy Day
   Because on that day he rested from his work,
      all the creating God had done.

   This is the story of how it all started,
      of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Adam and Eve

^5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!  ^8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
 ^10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
 ¹⁵ God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
 ^16-17 God commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead."
 ^18-20 God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.
 ^21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

    ^23-25 The Man said,
   "Finally! Bone of my bone,
      flesh of my flesh!
   Name her Woman
      for she was made from Man."
      Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
      The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.

Genesis 3

 ¹ The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
 ^2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
 ^4-5 The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
 ⁶ When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
 ⁷ Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
 ⁸ When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
 ⁹ God called to the Man: "Where are you?"
 ¹⁰ He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
 ¹¹ God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
 ¹² The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
   God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
 ¹³ "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

    ^14-15 God told the serpent:
   "Because you've done this, you're cursed,
      cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals,
   Cursed to slink on your belly
      and eat dirt all your life.
   I'm declaring war between you and the Woman,
      between your offspring and hers.
   He'll wound your head,
      you'll wound his heel."

    ¹⁶ He told the Woman:
   "I'll multiply your pains in childbirth;
      you'll give birth to your babies in pain.
   You'll want to please your husband,
      but he'll lord it over you."

    ^17-19 He told the Man:
   "Because you listened to your wife
      and ate from the tree
   That I commanded you not to eat from,
      'Don't eat from this tree,'
   The very ground is cursed because of you;
      getting food from the ground
   Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;
      you'll be working in pain all your life long.
   The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,
      you'll get your food the hard way,
   Planting and tilling and harvesting,
      sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
   Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;
      you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."
 ²⁰ The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
 ²¹ God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.
 ²² God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
 ^23-24 So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they'd been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.

(from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201-3&version=MSG)

The Creation account is amazing. I have a degree in zoology, which entailed studying a lot of biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The vastness of the universe is most evident here, but incredible detail in form and process is necessary for every last one of those organisms and planetary systems—right down to subatomic particles. And God first imagined and then spoke forth every last bit of that. He put into place everything that we human beings—the culmination of that creation and unique reflectors of His character and being—would need for living life to the fullest. And yet both Adam and Eve decided that God wasn't quite good enough, didn't quite love them enough, and/or wasn't quite powerful enough to have provided their every need. So they took matters into their own hands, thinking they knew just a little better than God did what they really needed.

They screwed up everything—and I mean everything. From that point on, men and women would be at war with each other in their marriages, bringing forth new life (even those lives conceived in love) would be incredibly physically painful, and work would be both physically and emotionally painful.

Chapter 3:11-13 intrigues me:
 ¹¹ God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"
 ¹² The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it."
   God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
 ¹³ "The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
When God confronted them, first Adam and then Eve 'fessed up, but only after blaming somebody else for their sinful behavior. I wonder if their apologies were truly repentant or if they offered them with their chins in the air, still defiant. Were they sorry they hadn't trusted God or were they, à la Scarlett O'Hara, merely sorry they'd been caught?

Regardless of the authenticity of their repentance, God replaced their pathetic fig leaf coverings with substantial clothing of animal skins: significantly, the first of many blood sacrifices to take away some of the consequences of the first instance of sin. I imagine that pained God, as did having to banish Adam and Eve from the perfect home He had created just for them. Banish them He did, but He never abandoned them. Never.

Kinda like this: