Day 22: Job 14-17

A few interesting quotes from today's reading. In 15:5-6 Eliphaz says:

"Your sin prompts your mouth;
   you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
   your own lips testify against you."

It's no wonder Job replies in in 16:2:

"I have heard many things like these;
   you are miserable comforters, all of you!"

There may be some lessons in this book on how to talk to someone who is in the midst of grief...or maybe lessons in how NOT to. It seems as if these "friends" think it's their job to argue with Job instead of comfort him. Certainly Job is doing a lot of complaining and questioning God and these guys are not at all comfortable with that so instead of sympathy, Job gets condemnation.

I was most interested in these lines from Job in 14:15-17:

"You will call and I will answer you;
   you will long for the creature your hands have made.
Surely then you will count my steps
   but not keep track of my sin.
My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
   you will cover over my sin."

I've always been intrigued by God's grace in the Old Testament. I've always had this idea that in the OT we find the God of justice and law and it's not until the NT that we see God's grace. In recent years I've been noticing more and more of God's grace in the OT. This, from all indications, is before the law (the 10 commandments) and even before the nation of Israel is led out of Egypt...and somehow Job has a notion that God is a forgiving and gracious God.

In recent years I've become more aware of people, even today, who find the idea of God's grace to be a brand new thought. Why do they miss it? This is the aspect of God that has the power to draw people of all generations to Him yet Christians continue to teach a "works" relationship to God...do good things and God will accept you...do bad things and God will condemn you.

Personally, I'm glad that God will "not keep track of my sin...that my offenses will be sealed up in a bag."