To The Reader

🌪️ The original Twister movie… “Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind…” Job‬ ‭38‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Well, so much for Job’s complaint that God wasn’t listening to him. The Almighty heard every word. And now? He’s gonna give Job a… science quiz? Wait. What? Yeah. A science quiz. Well, 84 questions deserves the word “exam.”…

Surprise! Introducing- Elihu. Ellie who? That’s what I said. Elihu. So there’s been this 4th guy there the whole time. I picture Elihu like a spectator at Wimbledon; his head swiveling with each smack of the theological racket as the argument sails back and forth. Here’s what we know about Elihu: “Elihu son of Barakel…

Congratulations. You made it to Job’s final speech. It’s a doozy at five chapters long. Here’s an outline so we can get a 20,000 ft view of things. Chapter 27 – I’m not backing down. I am innocent. But the truly wicked have a bad future ahead of them. Chapter 28 – People are smart,…

The opening here is like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. To read why Lacy is deviating from the reading plan, go to the next paragraph. If you don’t care, skip to paragraph 3. Yes, I realize that the scheduled reading for today is Job 24-27. I’m making an executive decision to deviate…

We pick up with Job’s rebuttal of Zophar’s accusation- that Job’s wealth and its dramatic loss are evidence that he is wicked and his calamity is punishment for his sins. Job is a step ahead of his friends. He knows they can name names of rich bad guys who finally got their comeuppance and died…

🥊 It’s time for Round 2 with Bildad. (This section is a Job sandwich. Bildad and Zophar speak with a speech from Job in the middle.) Bildad feels personally insulted by Job. Job has rejected not only his words but his worldview. Bildad’s speech feels quintessentially passive-aggressive to me. He describes the generic “wicked” in…

“Job, you’re a pompous windbag.” So begins Eliphaz’s second lecture to the broken man. I’m not going to dwell on chapter 15. It appears to me that Eliphaz is turning Job’s own words against him. Job has insisted on his innocence and Eliphaz basically says, “Aha! See? Only a proud and sinful man would claim…

“Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die!”‭‭Job‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭BSB‬‬ Look at Job gettin’ all sassy. 😆 He starts off his speech by finding a bit of common ground with his friends frenemies. Job acknowledges, “my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord” 12:9. I can see E, B,…

If you’re old enough to remember the show Hee-Haw, you undoubtedly recall the regular segment where the guest star and many of the regulars like Roy Clark and Grandpa Jones would sing “Gloom, despair, and agony on me…” Job 9 is the third verse of this song. Verses 4-10 contain Job’s acknowledgment of YHWH as…

Not gonna lie- this section is rather depressing. Job has moved from “I wish I was never born,” to “I wish God would just kill me and get it over with.” If it wasn’t for the fact that the man has lost everything: his children, his wealth, the respect of his wife, and even kindness…

Let’s recap… Job’s friends have been sitting with him for a week. Seven days. And no one talks. What would you say to Job? There isn’t really anything you can say to someone who has lost all his children. But- after a week, it turns out that Job’s friends have plenty to say. And it…

Surprise! We hopped out of Genesis and into Job. (Which I really wish was spelled Jobe (with an E) instead of looking like the thing you do from 9 to 5.) The reason for said hop is because 1) this 2-year Bible reading plan is chronological and 2) the man Job(e) seems to have lived…