Job 25-29
Happy St. Valentine’s Day! On this day of love, we are in the Wisdom Stream reading from the book of Job. We are in the 3rd cycle of speeches reading chapters 25-29 reading from the New Life Version which summarizes these verses considerably.
25~ Bildad is trying too hard here. He has been insulting Job into a dither. Bildad may as well scrub a wire brush over Job’s sunburn and ask, “does this help or hurt? how about this? or this?” while he scrubs his wounds in all directions. Bildad is intonating such while he bloviates about the marvelous God they all live in the shadow of and ends ch. 25 with ” … people are maggots. Mortals are mere worms.” He may as well add, “especially YOU Job.”
26~ Job’s sarcasm in the opening verses is perhaps the best way to put it back to Bildad. by the end, Job is basically asks the rhetorical question, “who can understand the power of God?” There’s hardly a better question to end on.
27~ Job clearly reaffirms his vows and resolve to live right before God best as he is able. He reminds himself (and others) of the doom awaiting those who are wicked and treacherous before the Lord.
28~ is a fine display of what matters in this life; the value of wisdom. Wisdom is more valuable than the most valued items on earth and therefore of greater value than the earth itself. ‘28 closes with Job saying, ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.
This is a marvelous assertion and all the more impressive since Job is saying this 1k / 2K years or more before Solomon speaks about wisdom ca.. 950 B.C.
29~ one cannot help but be pained along with Job as he reminisces at length at how glorious his life seemed to be before his afflictions. Poor soul must be thinking that he is in a downward slide that has no reverse to it. We read these things and know where the story is going; that Job is going to be restored and given far more than before. But we must empathize with Job and those today who are suffering and not try to act above it all when among those who are in pain.
“Lord Jesus, give us your heart as we are told that you were familiar with suffering and acquainted with grief. May we make the most of opportunities to minister the Holy Spirit to those going through trials. I pray we learn wisdom and let Bildad be an example of what NOT to do. May we be Jesus’ eyes, ears and heart in a hurting world. Amen”
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