Monthly Archives: July 2017

No Place to Hide 1-6 Having waited for Zophar, Job now resumed his defense: “God-Alive! He’s denied me justice! God Almighty! He’s ruined my life! But for as long as I draw breath, and for as long as God breathes life into me, I refuse to say one word that isn’t true. I refuse to […]

Where Does Wisdom Come From? 1-11 “We all know how silver seams the rocks, we’ve seen the stuff from which gold is refined, We’re aware of how iron is dug out of the ground and copper is smelted from rock. Miners penetrate the earth’s darkness, searching the roots of the mountains for ore, digging away […]

When God Was Still by My Side 1-6 Job now resumed his response: “Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me. He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the dark by its light. Oh, how I miss those golden years when […]

The Pain Never Lets Up 1-8 “But no longer. Now I’m the butt of their jokes— young ruffians! whippersnappers! Why, I considered their fathers mere inexperienced pups. But they are worse than dogs—good for nothing, stray, mangy animals, Half-starved, scavenging the back alleys, howling at the moon; Homeless guttersnipes chewing on old bones and licking […]

What Can I Expect from God? 1-4 “I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes. So what can I expect from God? What do I deserve from God Almighty above? Isn’t calamity reserved for the wicked? Isn’t disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong? Isn’t God looking, […]

God’s Spirit Makes Wisdom Possible 1-5 Job’s three friends now fell silent. They were talked out, stymied because Job wouldn’t budge an inch—wouldn’t admit to an ounce of guilt. Then Elihu lost his temper. (Elihu was the son of Barakel the Buzite from the clan of Ram.) He blazed out in anger against Job for […]

1-4 “So please, Job, hear me out, honor me by listening to me. What I’m about to say has been carefully thought out. I have no ulterior motives in this; I’m speaking honestly from my heart. The Spirit of God made me what I am, the breath of God Almighty gave me life! God Always […]

It’s Impossible for God to Do Evil 1-4 Elihu continued: “So, my fine friends—listen to me, and see what you think of this. Isn’t it just common sense— as common as the sense of taste— To put our heads together and figure out what’s going on here? 5-9 “We’ve all heard Job say, ‘I’m in […]

When God Makes Creation a Classroom 1-3 Elihu lit into Job again: “Does this kind of thing make any sense? First you say, ‘I’m perfectly innocent before God.’ And then you say, ‘It doesn’t make a bit of difference whether I’ve sinned or not.’ 4-8 “Well, I’m going to show you that you don’t know […]

Those Who Learn from Their Suffering 1-4 Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going: “Stay with me a little longer. I’ll convince you. There’s still more to be said on God’s side. I learned all this firsthand from the Source; everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself. Trust me, […]