I love the phrase, "In all this Job did not sin with
his lips." It is different from
yesterday's reading where it is said, "In all this Job did not sin or
charge God with wrong", somewhat less certain about what is going on in
Job's heart. His wife urges him simply
to curse God and die. She assumes that
if he curses God he will die, the Lord will punish him swiftly for his
sin. It can't get any worse, it would be
better to die. The correspondence theory
of sin and punishment runs powerfully in our thoughts doesn't it? Even though we know God is merciful we still
have this nagging idea that when bad things happen we deserve it. Job's wife seems to not think that at
least. She believes instead that God is
not good. His friends come after having
made an agreement to show him sympathy and comfort Job, an altogether worthy
mission and they make a good start of it, weeping over him and sitting with him
for seven days. Sometimes there is
nothing to say, presence is all that matters.
There are a large number of verbal similarities between John
6 and John 4. In the fourth chapter
Jesus encounters a woman at a well and offers her water, but not the water she
can draw from a well, a different kind of water. She is willing to let go her desires for
physical water in order to receive the spiritual water He offers. Here, the people are so enamored of the
physical food they received the day before they are unwilling to give up their
quest for more of the same in order to receive the food that endures to eternal
life. She references "our father
Jacob" who gave the Samaritans the well from which she draws her daily
water needs. Here, they reference their
fathers eating manna, provided by Moses.
Her response is, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be
thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Theirs, “Sir, give us this bread always.” In both cases, Jesus' next response is to
reveal Himself to the one asking. She
receives His self-revelation and is willing to consider His claim. What will they do with His words, "I am
the Bread of Life"?
Saul is ready to end this new sect that makes its claims
that this Jesus was raised from the dead.
He is "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the
Lord." Can you just picture a
Jewish rabbi and tentmaker filled with venom and what he believes to be
righteous anger setting out to arrest and drag back to Jerusalem for trial
these heretics? As he goes on the road
to Damascus, however, a light from heaven shines such that he falls to the
ground whereon he hears the voice from heaven ask why he is persecuting
"me." Paul can't imagine who
in the world (or heaven) is asking such a question. He is on a mission for God.
Who is this one speaking? The response,
"I am Jesus…" must have been more stunning than the light itself. He is instructed to go into the city where he
will be told what is next. Blinded, he
obeys. Like Job, he must have been
completely dumbfounded as to what to say.
Everything he believed had just been obliterated.
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