Today's Meditation - Friday, September 11, 2020

 Today's Meditation

Read Job 31:24-40

²⁴“If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; ²⁵if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much; ²⁶if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand; ²⁸this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above. ²⁹“If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them— ³⁰I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse— ³¹if those of my tent ever said, ‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’ — ³²the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler—

³³if I have concealed my transgressions as others do, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, ³⁴because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors— ³⁵Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! ³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown; ³⁷I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. ³⁸“If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; ³⁹if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners; ⁴⁰let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

    In this chapter we come to the end of Job's long discourse and case against the Lord for allowing him to go through such difficult times.  He is done presenting his own blameless living.  This passage reminds of a teaching that Jesus gave to his disciples in Matthew 19:24, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  The "eye of the needle" was the purported name of a particular gate in the wall of Jerusalem that was very small.  There is no wide evidence that such a gate actually existed, but the story has held and has circulated for many centuries.  Supposedly, in order for a camel to go through it, you'd have to unload the pack animal of all it's burden and make it crawl through the gate; nearly an impossible task.

    At the end of his claim, Job is saying that he had wealth, he was extremely rich, he had honor and glory, he had prestige and every blessing that could be granted a person, and yet.... he counted none of it to his own credit.  And not once did he ever rejoice or celebrate at the the demise or ruin of others, even his own enemies.  In this summary against the Lord for allowing such hardship to come upon him, Job is claiming that he has done the impossible, by being faithful to God and living a blameless life.

    So, his ultimate question to God is....why?  Why did these things happen to me, if I did everything right?

To Everything Turn Turn Turn by the Byrds