Day 5

Day 5; Job 38-42

I want to be short today. God speaks. Job answers.

Gods answer was not what Job was hoping for. Job wanted God to listen to him and debate with him and prove his innocence before him in a courtroom type setting. Gods response seems to be rather 'who are you to question my wisdom?'.

It seems to me that Gods rebuke of Job in the final chapter was for his reaction under trial while suffering NOT for sin committed before the trial, as Jobs first three friends suggested(the fourth friend Elihu doesn't seem to me to have made this mistake). I think that what this shows us is that it is our duty to be loyal when suffering and being tempted, believing in the goodness of God; but we do not need to know the reason for the suffering itself apart from what we know about Gods overall character and plan for the world(which the New Testament says alot more about than the Old Testament).

Some people suggest that as a reward for Jobs endurance he received back his wealth as payment for his righteousness. Actually, I believe that the whole message of the book is against this payment/reward system between man and God.
I believe the message is basically redemptive, God works in the world and gives us everything we need, and to each person he gives a certain amount of time aloted on Earth to seek God and come to know Him and to know rest and peace in Him, in the sense Augustine spoke of 'Thou hast prompted him[man], that he should delight to praise thee[God], for thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee'.
God makes provisions for us every day, the air we breathe and the food we eat; sometimes these gifts are restricted and we have bad health, or our loved ones die(their alloted time has ended),  or struggle to find enough money to feed ourselves and our families, or other people rebuke us or hurt us. When God takes stops giving us these things which we depend on every day, we are forced to come to rely on The Giver of the gifts, instead of the gifts themselves. In doing this we fulfill the purpose of our alloted time, to praise God by delighting in who He is Himself.