Job 17 Job continues his complaint. In the previous verse (Job 16:22), Job “optimistically” gave himself a few years to live, but he immediately corrects himself here and says his days are extinct. (v. 1) Even though Job continues to see God as his Tormentor, he also appears to appeal to Him as a Judge …
Category Archives: RTB 2022 – Psalms and Wisdom Literature
February 16 / Job 16
Job 16 Job responds to Eliphaz, recognizing the worthlessness of Eliphaz’s argument and noting that if Job’s “friends” are trying to comfort him, they aren’t doing a very good job! (Job 16:2) Further, he asks what motivates (or provokes) his friends to even engage in the argument. (Job 16:3) And he notes that, were the …
February 15 / Job 15
Job 15 Today Eliphaz returns to the conversation and is quick to reject everything Job has said. He does not bother weighing Job’s words, parsing out what might be right and what might be wrong. Eliphaz tosses out Job’s words entirely, because he considers Job to be abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice …
February 14 / Job 14
Job 14 Job continues his response to Zophar, turning his attention to the brevity of this life. Other passages of Scripture echo the notion that life is short. (For example, Ps. 78:39; 103:15; 144:4; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:12; James 1:10-11; 4:14.) Here Job bemoans that any chance of enjoying this brief life has been taken away, …
February 13 / Job 13
Job 13 Job continues his reply to Zophar. Let’s look at the first several verses. I’ll leave it there except for one more verse further down, Job 13:23: How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. At the core of Job’s frustration is that he is unaware …
February 12 / Job 12
Job 12 Job replies to Zophar with a nice bit of sarcasm right out of the gate: No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you. (v. 2) That is, “Wow! You guys really are smart! When you die, what will the world do without you? Wisdom will be lost for all …
February 11 / Job 11
Job 11 Today we meet another of Job’s friends, Zophar the Naamathite. Like Eliphaz and Bildad before him, Zophar tries to defend God, but does so under faulty assumptions and premises. The problem for us is that so much of what Zophar says sounds legit, especially after hearing how Job has characterized God. My natural …
February 10 / Job 10
Job 10 Job continues his complaint today, giving it free utterance. (v. 1) For any who have been holding themselves back a bit, standing a little aloof, it’s time to admit how we can identify with Job. No, we probably cannot claim anything close to his righteousness, nor are any of us likely to have …
February 9 / Job 9
Job 9 Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to contend with Him, one could not answer Him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength—who has hardened himself against Him, and succeeded? Job 9:2-4 …
February 8 / Job 8
Job 8 Today we hear, for the first time, from another of Job’s friends, Bildad the Shuhite. Bildad immediately tells Job that his words are “wind” (aka “hot air”) and asks a couple rhetorical questions to which the answer is an obvious, “No”: Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? (v. …