I Like The Book Of Job
I know many people think the book of Job is depressing. It’s not very popular. First there is a rich man named Job, who fell on some very hard times. Not good. Then some wind-bags get together and yak, and blah, blah, blah. And then, in the end, Job becomes rich again. This is basically the whole book. All 42 chapters. Minus a lot of details. But, it is because of these details, that I like the book.
First Job was rich, but because of fire, theft, and a house collapsing, killing his sons and daughters… Well things were not good for Job. Then, to make things worse, his health failed. Yet, he never cursed God. Being a care-giver to my wife, I know what stress is. But I don’t know if I could handle what Job went through. All this happened in the first two chapters of the book of Job.
Most of the rest of the book is about Job’s three friends coming to talk with him. The four of them talked about how righteous Job is, then how sinful Job is. They also talked about how righteous and just and powerful God is, and also how unfair He is. They talked like they all knew it all. But when you pay attention, you’ll realize they don’t. My Dad would call this “Just flapping their jaws”. Basically these were just four men talking like morons. God even said so to Job. OK, God did not use the word moron. I did. To make things worse, I know there must have been some moronic things I have said or done in the past.
I have read the book of Job several times in the past. Some say it was written 4500 years ago. Yet, in it I have found ancient mines in it. In fact Job 28 1-11 goes into great detail about these mines. But what about verse 11? If we were talking about modern times, we would says it’s a small hydro-electric dam. There are other things in this book that seems out of place.
But even though all this is true and very interesting, (to me anyway) I am getting off the topic I wanted to talk about. Chapter 3 is hard for me to read. Is this how my wife feels? Her health started to fail last year. I have been her care-giver ever since. She remembers how things used to be. How her body and her mind used to be. She knows how things are now, and she mourns for those days in the past. I do too. Her body is a shell of what it used to be. She knows the stress I’m under. Even though I try to hide it, I know I fail. By the end of June, we will be married 40 years.
Job with all his suffering, said he needed a mediator. Job 16:18-22 Sounds like he is referring to Jesus. John 16:6 says, Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. Jesus said to trust Him. I do trust Him. But to be honest, I am also sad and sometimes angry about what is happening to my wife. I know we have a mighty and awesome God. I have seen miracles. I have seen God heal! But just like Job, there is so much I don’t understand. All I can do, and all I have done, is call out to God and trust Him.
Maybe I like the book of Job, because I can relate to it.
My Thoughts 