This post is part of my ongoing series of writing down my thoughts on the Bible passages I read each day. Some days I hope to have great insight that the Lord gives me, and many days, I will likely struggle through the text and not know what to write down based on what I read. My hope and prayer is that as I make this a habit, just as I did daily writing for so long, that I will improve on my ability to read and understand the passages I’m reading. Please keep in mind that many of these posts may be published late at night or with little time studying and simply be my first thoughts after reading. This is in no way a commentary that one should use to discern the Bible, but my own personal thoughts.
As I’m reading through the Bible chronologically, it’s probably often going to feel weird switching back and forth. I’ve never gone from reading Genesis 11 to reading Job, but most likely, Job was a contemporary to Abraham. I’m already enjoying this reading plan. Over the last 5 years or so, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with history, so being able to really see the Bible as a history book instead of a textbook is neat.
In the first 11 chapters of Job, a lot and not much happen all at the same time. Not to spoil it, but basically, everything is taken from Job except for his life. All that God has blessed him with, God allows Satan to take away from Job. This happens very early on in the book, and everything after chapter 3 is basically an inside look at Job’s conversations. Whether his conversations he has crying out to the Lord, or his conversations with his friends.
A theme so far is basically that Job wishes he had never been born. His pain is so great that he thinks life would be better if God had simply never made Him. Job 10:18-19 – “Why did you bring me out from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me and were as though I had not been carried from the womb to the grave.
I remember distinctly hearing similar prayers from one of our family friends once upon a time. It was a family of 7. 5 boys and the two parents, and the parents and the two youngest boys were in a car accident. Long story short, the mom and one of the sons passed away, and the other son was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. The dad had some injuries, but as one might expect, more injuries to the heart than to the physical body.
I remember hearing the dad and the son who had survived when they were going through a really tough time. The son kept getting sores on his body from sitting in a wheelchair all the time, the dad felt some of the blame from the car accident, and in a moment of transparency, they told my family that they often pray to God “Take me Home today.”
I was struck by the realization that this is our temporary home. That no matter how much of a comfortable or difficult life we may live on this earth, it is only temporary housing before our eternal home in Heaven.
When Job lost everything, it seems he got to this point of feeling like he would rather be dead than alive. And there’s a difference here between what one might call suicidal feelings, and a healthy desire to be in Heaven with Jesus. Heck, even Paul says he was hard-pressed deciding whether to stay on this earth or go be in heaven and says.
I’m looking forward to reading through the rest of Job and hearing the banter between himself, his friends, and how God works in Job’s life. This book used to be one of my favorite books, but I haven’t read it in so long that I have forgotten much of it.
I’ll leave with a word from Paul from the book of Philippians:
“as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.”