For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Job 1
I am developing a new perspective on the book of Job; one centered on Satan’s question to God. “Does Job fear god for nothing? Haven’t You placed a hedge around him…?” (From Job 1:9). So here’s the thing… hope, trust, faith – these related concepts all require something. They require the unknown, delay, and trial. They would not be what they are without those things. Nor do they exist in certainty and immediate gratification. And they are meaningless if not tried and put to action. Satan’s accusation was that Job stuck with God, not because he was faithful, but because life was rosy for him there. Thus, Job was put through the fire to see if his faith was true.
The book of Job never really answers the question we look to answer when we read it. It never tells us why bad things and suffering happen to good people. Since the answer isn’t there, I believe the question is wrong. In fact, I don’t think this book exists to answer a question at all. Instead, I think it has a message for us. I think it tells us that faith must and will be tried. God will put us through the refining fire, and He is always just in doing so.
We have no reason to expect an easy life as Christians. God saves us through faith into hope in His promise of ultimate blessing. However, the journey of faith is not an easy one. I am learning that the Bible tells us this over and over again. It tells us so that we will know, as it also repeatedly says, “the one who endures to the end”, just as Job did, “will be saved.” (Matt. 24:13).
Job 2
Having very recently read about the wife of noble character in Proverbs 31, the response of Job’s wife stood out to me. There was nothing at all noble about it. Job related her to a foolish woman. The footnote in the CSB Bible says that the Hebrew word translated as “foolish” denotes moral deficiency. So Job’s wife lacked character. She completely failed to understand who God is and the importance of commitment to Him. As a result, her advice to Job was harmful and destructive rather than good. I don’t want to be like Job’s wife. Instead, my desire is to, “Trust in the Lord with all [my] heart and lean not on [my] own understanding” (Pr. 3:5).
Job 3
Satan was right about one thing – humans do seek their ‘happy place’. We gravitate toward whatever we think will give it to us. This is part of why I think that refining fire matters so much. We need to know and to show that our hearts are truly seeking God and not our own comfort. That is why staying faithful to God isn’t easy. And that is why it helps to maintain a long-term perspective, as the apostle Paul often wrote about. We need to know with all our mind and trust with all our heart that our true and only ‘happy place’ lies on the other side of that refining fire.