Psalms 1

Psalms 1:5

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

I'm assuming from how this is constructed, that the judgment means those who judge, not those who are judged.  This would make sense, given that the evil cannot judge others who are evil in heaven, and sinners would of course not be part of the righteous.

However, I always feel a bit guilty when this comes up.  Even though I know Christ has saved me, I feel like a sinner.  I have a very acute knowledge of my evil, and know that I deserve to be among the condemned.  It makes me squirm to think that I won't be, as if I've tricked God into accepting me because I did one thing right.  I know it doesn't work like that, but my gut always says I cheated, and should be down there with the rest of them being punished.

Job 42

Job 42:8

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you.  For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has."

God has pronounced sentence on Job's ignorant friends.  They said that He would not punish Job unless he had sinned.  God has now personally repudiated that assumption, by saying that they were wrong.  They now have to face the penalty for their poor counsel, with a significant sacrifice.

Interesting how Job, despite having been shown to be wrong himself, is the one who is made the intercessor for them.  Job's error was in believing that he had a right to an answer.  Even though God provided him one, he had no such right, and has now repented.  He, therefore, is still the most righteous man on earth, and is therefore in a position to serve as priest for the others.

Job 41

Job 41:11

"Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

I could just say this speaks for itself, but that would be cheating.  However, God does make His point very clearly.  We constantly hear in Christian circles that everything is God's, and we are merely stewards of His stuff.  He has chosen us each to manage some of His resources, for their improvement and use in building His kingdom.

I have to be honest, I sometimes feel like I'm not doing a great job.  I tend to think of my stuff as mine, not His.  I give a considerable amount, but it still feels like I'm squandering what I'm given at times.  Like I should do more, but I'm not for whatever reason.  I pray for God's guidance in how I can improve.

Job 40

Job 40:4

"Behold, I am insignificant; wheat can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.

Job got what he wanted.  God has come down to answer his challenges.  He wanted to know why God was punishing him, why he was suffering when he had not done anything wrong.  Now He's shown up, and is answering the question.  Suddenly, Job realizes that he wasn't prepared for the answer after all.

How often do we ask questions that we aren't prepared to learn the answers to?  What happens to us when we do ask, and find out?  Is it shocking?  Humbling?  Do we learn the mistakes of our arrogance?  Or do are we simply shocked into silence, realizing that we should have kept our big mouths shut?

Job 39

Job 39:17

Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.

First off, before anyone gets sexist, I want to clarify that the "her" in this passage is a female ostrich.  So we're not denigrating humans here, this is about the wisdom (or folly) that God has given animals.

Now, this is interesting in that it says God has specifically deprived ostriches of wisdom on how to care for their young.  They lay their eggs, bury them down a bit maybe, and then leave.  They don't protect their eggs, to prevent accidents or predators from getting to them.  If they live they live, and if they die they die.  God has made them foolish, perhaps specifically to give Job this example.

Job 38

Job 38:21

"You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

It's odd to see God using sarcasm.  He's berating Job by asking him about all the things God has done and can do, which no man can really even fathom, much lest attest to.  God created the heavens and the earth, not man.  God controls the weather and natural cycles, while man has to merely endure them.

Job obviously doesn't know any of these things, and God is driving home that point.  If he did know, if he had seen it all happen, then he would be exceedingly ancient, and should be venerated for that.  But since he didn't, and he isn't, He's merely taunting him.  God's using His power, and Job's lack thereof, to prove His point.

Job 37

Job 37:24

"Therefore men fear Him;
He does not regard any who are wise of heart."

The entire chapter was the proof of why men fear God.  It goes into detail about God's power and knowledge.  It explains how He has control of the things that we don't have the slightest clue about how they work.  The item primarily used is the weather, which is appropriate since God is about to speak out of a storm.

I'm not sure how to interpret the phrase "wise of heart."  My best guess would be that it means someone who thinks himself wise.  If that is the case, then this does make sense, since God is the source of all wisdom.  Any who claim to be wise, or even those who are wise, are just a pale shadow of that wisdom that comes from Him.  Therefore, He rightly should have no regard for our wisdom, since it is infinitesimal compared to His.

Job 36

Job 36:26

"Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.

Once again, Elihu is showing how far above us God is.  We have no ability to even understand Him, much less consider that He owes us something.  About the best we can do is know that He exists.  He has the ability to control anything He so chooses, including us.  However, He does not do so, but lets us make our own choices.

Today, we have a much better understanding of God than the people of Job's time, since we have the Bible to reveal parts of His nature to us.  We now know that He loved us so much He made a way for us to come back to Him.  But at the time, all they knew was that He was all-powerful, and had existed forever.

Job 35

Job 35:14

"How much less when you say you do not behold Him,
The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

Job here is accused of being impatient.  He thinks God owes him and answer, and he wants that answer from Him right now!  Most people are fine with a "yes" answer from God.  A number can deal fine with a "no" answer, even.  But "wait" is the one we chafe at.  We think we haven't heard Him, or we missed a sign He gave us.  We decide that He answered in our hearts, and is blessing what we want to do anyhow (not saying He isn't, but there's an assumption there).  But merely being told to wait is unbearable for many.

I'm waiting on answers to many questions I've posed to God.  I can't pretend for a moment that I enjoy the waiting, but I'm trying not to let my impatience cause me to do the wrong thing.  Most people say I'm pretty good at waiting.  Really, I'm not.  If I'm early to something, I'll wait, because I don't expect the other party(ies) to be there yet.  But if it's after the time things were supposed to start, I get very impatient, and start to think the worse of the other party(ies), rather quickly.  People think I'm patient merely because I've learned to hide the signs of my impatience.  But believe me, they're there in force.  In the biggest cases that I'm waiting on God to answer, as I've told people who have asked about the topic, I'd rather get it right than get it fast.

Job 34

Job 34:33

"Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it?
For you must choose, and not I;
Therefore declare what you know.

Elihu makes a challenge to what Job has said.  Job has been bemoaning what has happened to him, and saying that God owes him an answer to his questioning.  Elihu slaps that reasoning down.  He says that God is not accountable to us.  We hold no authority over Him.  He has all the power and authority, we have none.  He will do what He wants, and we must accept that it is for the good.

However, we are not forced to make that choice the way He wants.  We can decide to reject reality, to do things our own way.  We are held responsible for our choices, but we do get to make a choice.  Our choice, however, does not change that reality; it merely affects our perception of it.  So each must choose, and choose carefully.

Job 33

Job 33:13

"Why do you complain against Him
That He does not give an account of all His doings?

Elihu claims to be speaking from God here, though I question his accuracy in that.  However, he does raise a valid point here.  What right do we have to complain that God doesn't explain Himself?  Is He a child who has to account for his whereabouts, so that His parents know what's happening?

Rather, He is the parent.  However, He doesn't need us to tell Him where we go or what we do; He already knows it all.  He is the one with the master plan, and the one who knows everything that has happened and will happen.  He has the account, but He is under no circumstances compelled or obligated to reveal it to us.  In fact, if we knew, oftentimes we would be embarrassed or humbled by what He is causing/allowing to happen.

Job 32

Job 32:7

"I thought age should speak,
And increased years should teach wisdom.

I'm in several church groups where I'm far and away the youngest there, or where not youngest I'm the least experienced.  I have my reasons for being in those groups, yet I can't say it isn't wearying sometimes.  In general, I keep my mouth shut during discussions.  This is partly due to my introversion, and partly because I tend to be thinking about things from a perspective that is not really on-topic.

However, a large portion of the reason I keep quiet is summarized in this verse.  As the junior, it is my place to listen and learn from those more experienced.  They have years, often decades, of dealing with these issues, when I've never faced them, or at least only studied for relatively few years.  If I'm to become the "wise elder" (in experience, not church title) some day, I should be soaking up all the learning and wisdom of the others that I can, so that when my time comes I have that information to dole out, and hopefully can avoid making some of the mistakes that they did.

Job 31

Job 31:23

"For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

I can understand Job's feelings about what has happened.  God has apparently decided to destroy him.  If this were a temporal foe, he probably has a force he could bring against it.  He'd at least have a battle, so even if he were outnumbered there would be a chance.  However, against God, there is no opposition.  There's no avoidance, no escape, no chance to prevent what God decides will happen.

In comparison to the power God can bring, Job by comparison can do nothing.  This is obvious from what he's said, but I wonder if there's a second meaning here?  Could it be that experiencing God's power is enough to shock Job into inaction?  Is he saying he is so overwhelmed just by the the knowledge of what God can do, that he can't even think about trying to do anything himself?  He realizes it would be futile, but many would still try; Job can't, he is so humbled by what he knows is coming.

Job 30

Job 30:24

"Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

Job believes (more-or-less correctly, as it happens) that God decided to smite him, and has turned His back on him (incorrect).  He thinks God wants this all to happen, and is hurting him unjustly.  However, he is still asking God for help.  He still hopes that God will be merciful in the end, and save him from this ruin.

Doesn't this make sense?  Elsewhere in the Bible (which, granted, Job did not have), we see God having mercy on those who have sinned and are being punished, once they realize their fault and repent.  Job has nothing to repent for, so he is going straight to asking for help.  There's not likely to be any harm in asking, and at least he might get a reason for why this has all happened.