We wrap up our reading in Job this week with the last 5 chapters. Finally we hear God's response to everything that has come before. And just as Jesus in the New Testament always answers a question with a question or a parable, God asks a series of rhetorical questions of Job designed to remind Job of God's sovereignty in creating and maintaining the world. The basic idea is that God has experiences and understanding that Job does not. Humbled by God's response, Job is speechless, then repents of his previous demands for justice. And we are given the epilogue to the story in Job 42, in which God condemns Job's friends for their ignorance and lack of understanding and then sets about restoring Job's health, wealth and family.
Next it's on to Psalms.....the longest book in the Bible with 150 chapters. We'll cover the first 23 Psalms this week, ending up with the most familiar one about the Lord as our Shepherd. The entire book is attributed to King David although some of the later Psalms may have actually been written years later during the exile. From the notations in the text, we see that many of the Psalms were actually hymns to be sung to familiar tunes of the time. And we see the range of human emotion portrayed throughout the book, with many songs of thanksgiving and celebration and many psalms of lament and pain. In Jewish tradition, the Book of Psalms is divided into five sections, each closing with a doxology or benediction. The first book comprises the first 41 Psalms, most of which are ascribed directly to David (except 1, 2, 10 and 33) and this is presumed to be the oldest section of the book.The whole situation in Job reminded me of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "God is God" (click the link to hear the entire song). The chorus of the song goes like this: "God is God and I am not. I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting. God is God and I am man, So I’ll never understand it all. For only God is God." It's a reminder of our place in comparison to God and that while we cannot always see all the parts of God's plan we must trust in His heart. The Psalms are a good reminder of that too - and that God can handle all of our emotions and questions. He wants us to come to Him with those things instead of turning away from him!
I pray you are refreshed and inspired by your reading this week!
3, Sunday - Job 38-41
4, Monday - Job 42 - Psalm 3
5, Tuesday - Psalm 4-7
6, Wednesday - Psalm 8-11
7, Thursday - Psalm 12-15
8, Friday - Psalm 16-19
9, Saturday - Psalm 20-23
Be Blessed!
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