though he slay me
"Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. This will be my salvation, that the godless shall not come before him." -Job 13:15-16
One could argue Job's distress had made his sight blurry, but it seems the book of Job is there partly to stifle the common opinion of God ... like his friends had. Job is the one rewarded at the end, even despite as bold a statement as this:
In common tongue, he's saying ... The hand that feeds is doing worse than taking my life, the hand that feeds is making life miserable. But I know that God is my all, without him, I am nothing. And even though his decision-making isn't what I want it to be, I'm still going to trust in him. But! When I get to talk to the hand, I'm going to let him have it, knowing full well that I am nothing in his presence, but also knowing full well that even to be in his presence is a sign that I am his and he is mine.
In verse 18, Job talks about how he's prepared his case. This is all that's been on his mind (how could it not be?) and he's ready to give his best defense against the King of Kings. I find it so interesting that God, it seems, despite in later chapters when he silences Job, likes the fact that Job is bold enough to not be silent. Like Jacob, Job wrestles with God. Like David, Job knows that God desires truth in the inmost parts. No fakeness, no politics, no beating around the bush in God's presence. Why? Because he made that bush, and knows exactly what we humans scheme in our attempts to be what we think he wants us to be, which is really the exact opposite. God wants us to be real, and Job is as authentic as it gets. He's so real, his opinion changes and he's not afraid to say it. Before he ... should I say... attempts to argue with God, he's ready. He's written down his lines, he's packing up the ammo. But when the other side fires, he realizes his little slingshot aint nothing to God's atomic bomb. He later declares he is wrong, that the "things too wonderful" for a human being to understand (see Job 42:3), were beyond his knowledge.
Just as I believe free will and God's sovereignty exist al mismo tiempo, I too think that Job is right in both instances. I think God desires for us to be honest in those moments we are angry with him. And then he will line up our honesty with his, and of course, we will understand that the things we see as truth are only half or maybe one-fourth of the real deal.
Though I don't understand my God, though he does/allows things that don't make sense to me, though my happiness weighs nothing in comparison to his glory, I will still serve him, I will still love him ... I will still hope in this God I do not fully know. For I am but a vapor, and He -- life itself.
One could argue Job's distress had made his sight blurry, but it seems the book of Job is there partly to stifle the common opinion of God ... like his friends had. Job is the one rewarded at the end, even despite as bold a statement as this:
In common tongue, he's saying ... The hand that feeds is doing worse than taking my life, the hand that feeds is making life miserable. But I know that God is my all, without him, I am nothing. And even though his decision-making isn't what I want it to be, I'm still going to trust in him. But! When I get to talk to the hand, I'm going to let him have it, knowing full well that I am nothing in his presence, but also knowing full well that even to be in his presence is a sign that I am his and he is mine.
In verse 18, Job talks about how he's prepared his case. This is all that's been on his mind (how could it not be?) and he's ready to give his best defense against the King of Kings. I find it so interesting that God, it seems, despite in later chapters when he silences Job, likes the fact that Job is bold enough to not be silent. Like Jacob, Job wrestles with God. Like David, Job knows that God desires truth in the inmost parts. No fakeness, no politics, no beating around the bush in God's presence. Why? Because he made that bush, and knows exactly what we humans scheme in our attempts to be what we think he wants us to be, which is really the exact opposite. God wants us to be real, and Job is as authentic as it gets. He's so real, his opinion changes and he's not afraid to say it. Before he ... should I say... attempts to argue with God, he's ready. He's written down his lines, he's packing up the ammo. But when the other side fires, he realizes his little slingshot aint nothing to God's atomic bomb. He later declares he is wrong, that the "things too wonderful" for a human being to understand (see Job 42:3), were beyond his knowledge.
Just as I believe free will and God's sovereignty exist al mismo tiempo, I too think that Job is right in both instances. I think God desires for us to be honest in those moments we are angry with him. And then he will line up our honesty with his, and of course, we will understand that the things we see as truth are only half or maybe one-fourth of the real deal.
Though I don't understand my God, though he does/allows things that don't make sense to me, though my happiness weighs nothing in comparison to his glory, I will still serve him, I will still love him ... I will still hope in this God I do not fully know. For I am but a vapor, and He -- life itself.
posted by go2016 at 2:49 PM
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