Days 26&27: Job 29-36

I'm starting to feel like I'm falling farther behind than I would like. If I keep this up it'll be more like "Reading the Bible Through in Two Years." Anyway...2 days' reading again:

I think most of us probably feel like Job when he says:

“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
   my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
My roots will reach to the water,
   and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
My glory will not fade;
   the bow will be ever new in my hand."

We have so many expectations of life. We expect to live long, to stay healthy, to have enough to make ends meet, etc. The thing is, none of this is promised. I mean, what right do I have to expect any of it? If any of that happens (and, so far, it has) I can only thank God because I certainly don't deserve it. If everything were taken from me tomorrow, how would I react?

In 30:20-22 Job expresses how many people feel...in fact, I can remember a few times when I may have felt the same:

“I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;
   I stand up, but you merely look at me.
You turn on me ruthlessly;
   with the might of your hand you attack me.
You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;
   you toss me about in the storm.

And then Job spends pretty much all of chapter 31 going through a list of sins and wrongdoings of every kind. He can't think of a time when he was guilty of any of them. Hmmm. I wonder about that. His measuring stick might be pretty lenient but still God does think pretty highly of him according to what He says to Satan in the beginning of the book. That's really the tough thing about this whole book, isn't it? God puts Job up as a model of exemplary behavior...then allows the worst things we can imagine to happen to him. What kind of God is this? One thing is for sure: We can't let our circumstances color our perception of God. The two things aren't really connected. Also, we can't allow the circumstances of the people we meet each day to color our perception of them...

Elihu is the youngest of the friends of Job and, out of respect, he waits till last to speak his mind. However, I think he speaks longer than any of his older friends. In many ways, I think he also makes the most sense. In fact, if I recall correctly, God makes some of the same points and raises similar questions when He finally has His say.