Day 32
Job 22:1-24:25
(22 | 23 | 24)
Eliphaz pipes up with another deeply unhelpful contribution. First, he questions whether or not it actually genuinely makes a difference to God whether or not our walks are righteous - does it actually benefit him, does he gain anything? Eliphaz then does what none of Job's friends have done up to now - he outright accuses Job of sinning. He also tells Job how to get back into God's good books:
Job replies that he's trying to talk to God. He's trying to present his case before God so that he might be redeemed and restored. The difference, of course, being that Job believes himself to be innocent. But Job can't find him to talk to him. Wherever he goes to try to talk to God, he can't find him. Instead, he believes, God stands silently carrying out his judgement against Job.
Job then goes on a bit of a rant about the fact that God seems to be executing his judgement at random; the wicked are allowed to keep doing what they do, and they keep doing it because they don't think anything will happen until God eventually acts. Job wishes that God would have specific times to judge people so that wicked people can't go on making people suffer.
Matthew 21:18-32
(21:18-32)
Jesus sees a fig-tree by the road. Hungry, he goes to it to get something to eat. The tree isn't bearing any fruit, so he curses it, and it immediately withers. He tells his disciples that they too can perform such things, and can even make mountains move just by speaking. They only need to believe it can be done.
One interpretation of the story is that the tree is a metaphor for Israel; it looks good, but it isn't producing fruit. This doesn't indicate the destruction of Israel, rather the ending of the exclusivity of the covenant between God and the Jews. God's covenant with the Jews still exists and is still valid, but it has been superseded by the covenant between God and humanity that was sealed by the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some priests ask Jesus by whose authority he does the things he does. He says he'll answer if they say whose authority John the Baptist acted by. They realise that if they say it was by divine authority, Jesus will ask them why they didn't heed the words he spoke. They also know that they cannot say his authority was given by men since the people considered him a prophet. They say they don't know, so Jesus also refuses to answer.
Jesus tells the priests that the people who listened to John's message will enter the kingdom of God before them because they heard and believed. To illustrate this, he uses a parable of two sons; one who says he won't do his father's bidding but does it in the end and one who says he will do his father's bidding but actually doesn't. It's all about actions, not words. That the priests refused to act will count against them.
Proverbs 3:21-35
(3:21-35)
This passage tells us how not to act like the wicked, and how to act wisely. It tells us of the benefits of acting with wisdom in our hearts. The basic message seems to be, "be nice to people, don't be a dick".
Job 22:1-24:25
(22 | 23 | 24)
Eliphaz pipes up with another deeply unhelpful contribution. First, he questions whether or not it actually genuinely makes a difference to God whether or not our walks are righteous - does it actually benefit him, does he gain anything? Eliphaz then does what none of Job's friends have done up to now - he outright accuses Job of sinning. He also tells Job how to get back into God's good books:
"Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you" (22:21)
"If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored" (22:23)
Job replies that he's trying to talk to God. He's trying to present his case before God so that he might be redeemed and restored. The difference, of course, being that Job believes himself to be innocent. But Job can't find him to talk to him. Wherever he goes to try to talk to God, he can't find him. Instead, he believes, God stands silently carrying out his judgement against Job.
Job then goes on a bit of a rant about the fact that God seems to be executing his judgement at random; the wicked are allowed to keep doing what they do, and they keep doing it because they don't think anything will happen until God eventually acts. Job wishes that God would have specific times to judge people so that wicked people can't go on making people suffer.
Matthew 21:18-32
(21:18-32)
Jesus sees a fig-tree by the road. Hungry, he goes to it to get something to eat. The tree isn't bearing any fruit, so he curses it, and it immediately withers. He tells his disciples that they too can perform such things, and can even make mountains move just by speaking. They only need to believe it can be done.
One interpretation of the story is that the tree is a metaphor for Israel; it looks good, but it isn't producing fruit. This doesn't indicate the destruction of Israel, rather the ending of the exclusivity of the covenant between God and the Jews. God's covenant with the Jews still exists and is still valid, but it has been superseded by the covenant between God and humanity that was sealed by the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some priests ask Jesus by whose authority he does the things he does. He says he'll answer if they say whose authority John the Baptist acted by. They realise that if they say it was by divine authority, Jesus will ask them why they didn't heed the words he spoke. They also know that they cannot say his authority was given by men since the people considered him a prophet. They say they don't know, so Jesus also refuses to answer.
Jesus tells the priests that the people who listened to John's message will enter the kingdom of God before them because they heard and believed. To illustrate this, he uses a parable of two sons; one who says he won't do his father's bidding but does it in the end and one who says he will do his father's bidding but actually doesn't. It's all about actions, not words. That the priests refused to act will count against them.
Proverbs 3:21-35
(3:21-35)
This passage tells us how not to act like the wicked, and how to act wisely. It tells us of the benefits of acting with wisdom in our hearts. The basic message seems to be, "be nice to people, don't be a dick".
No comments:
Post a Comment