Reading through the Bible 2020: Notes for the Bible Recap Days 12 and 13

Read through the Bible 2020

Bible Recap Days 12 and 13 Job 32-37

Personal notes from reading Job 32-37:

Here we’re introduced to someone new.  Elihu has an opinion on the matter, so he joins the debate.  Elihu is young, so he was initially intimidated to join the conversation by the older men giving counsel. But eventually he realized that wisdom is from God, and after enough anger built up, it moved him to join in.  Although we generally connect wisdom with age, I have to agree with Elihu here. Elihu’s beef with Job has to do with his complaints about God.  He goes on for quite a while about the power and righteousness of God. He’s passionate about how inferior man is to God. He continues on about God’s abundant mercies and is quite frustrated that Job seems more concerned with self-righteousness than he does with trusting God’s plan.  Although he seems a bit arrogant in his approach (when he claims to be “perfect in knowledge” I gagged), he makes some good points. He lets the group know that God is surely there, even when we don’t perceive it. After listening to Job’s complaints it seems as if he feels the need to remind Job that God is never wrong.  He is mighty and just and all creation testifies of His glory. The rain and clouds and lightning and animals all exalt the greatness of our Lord, so for a moment he’d like for Job to pause and focus on the majesty of God rather than on himself.

Although Elihu wasn’t right about Job on everything (and there were times that the conversation felt like it was going in the same condemning direction as the three friends from earlier), there were definitely some parts of Elihu’s message that were noteworthy.  God is mighty and He is all knowing. Trust God’s plan and praise Him in everything. 

Notes from the Bible Recap Job 32-37:

Elihu pointed out that sometimes God allows hardship in the temporary to bring healing in the eternal.  God has a vantage point that we don’t have. He knows how everything is going to play out. He wrote history in its entirety.  He knows how all the pieces fit. Sometimes struggle is the best place for growth. When I was learning to drive a standard vehicle, the only way to become an independent driver was to put me behind the wheel and let me fail over and over until I got the knack of it.  There was a lot of stress and anxiety when my parents would make me drive to where they knew I’d struggle. They'd place me smack dab in the middle of difficulty for my own good. Not as punishment, but to become better. There was a part of town by the mall that had a huge hill at a stop light and there was always heavy traffic. I would literally sweat when the light would turn red and there I was stopped with a car right on my bumper.  It was embarrassing stalling out and getting honked at by angry drivers. I even got so worked up one time that I did roll back and hit another car. But eventually I became an independent driver because I was allowed to struggle through stressful situations. My temporary hardship was allowed so that I could have a lifetime of driving independently.  What kind of driver would I have become if every time a situation got stressful or the skill was difficult, someone took the wheel for me and never made me work through it? You will experience seasons of struggle. Remember that God’s plan isn’t lined up with our desires. In the moments of pain, turn to Him. Learn the lessons. Become better. Take those moments to trust and connect with Him.  

Elihu also touches on anger in his conversation with Job.  Watch out what you get angry about. I know that I most certainly struggle with it.  Yes, I get angry when I see people treat others poorly, especially if they are less fortunate.  I have righteous anger some of the time, but mostly it’s selfish anger. And that’s not good. Allowing selfish anger to take over continually leads to bitterness and misery.  It causes us to become cynical and self-righteous and egotistical (all opposite of the attributes we should possess).  

I loved in the Day 13 podcast how she states that struggles can serve as a magnifying glass on the truth.  Let that sink in.

“I have learned to kiss the wave that has knocked me against the Rock of Ages”. - Charles Spurgeon