It is often said that Christ’s first advent is integrally connected with his second advent, and so we do well to consider Christ’s second coming during Christmas. It could also be said Christ’s triumph over death on Resurrection Sunday is integrally connected with his final triumph over death on the last day. In a way, the encounter that Jesus’ two disciples had with him on the road to Emmaus is a picture of the time leading up to Christ’s second coming. This reflection consi

With the story of Job brought to a conclusion in chapter 42, there might be a loose end or two that is still hanging. In the first place, one might wonder at the starkly statement tucked within v11, i.e. Job’s family and friends comforted him “for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (ESV). Secondly, one might wonder how a fresh set of children is adequate restoration. Are humans like livestock that can be replaced? Finally, one might have a general dissatisfactio

God’s answer to Job comes in two parts. It is not that chapters 40-41 cover the same ground as 38-39 in more focused detail. Rather, they advance the argument by focusing on a complementary perspective. The key comes in Job 40:7-9 (ESV), “Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 8  Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? 9  Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?” I

In His first speech responding to Job, God bombards Job with questions with the intent of humbling Job, reminding him of the Creator-creature distinction. In the first stanza of God’s speech (38:4-7), the Lord asks Job if he was either present or a participant in the building project of creation. At the laying of the cornerstone, God states in verse seven that “ the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” The morning stars and the sons of God are

If you’re at the end of a long flight, and your plane is in its final descent, and you can almost touch the runway, then one of the more disheartening things you can experience is an aborted landing, or go-around. You were almost at the finish line, almost able to dislodge yourself from that seat, but now you’ve got a few more minutes of flying ahead of you. Such might be your experience when you flip from Job 31 to Job 32. After all, in chapter 31, Job has made his final def

The first twelve verses of Job 28 emphasize the greatness and glory of human ingenuity and craftsmanship. The poet describes, in almost divine terms, the process and product of mining. Considered in isolation, this says something important about what humanity can do. We can achieve marvelous feats of engineering and exploration. Not only have we plumbed the depths of the earth, bringing light to places that have never seen it, but we have also searched the sky (even visited

This week, we take up Job’s boldly imaginative presentation of a courtroom scene in which he initially puts God in the dock (Job 23:1-7). As Job 23 develops, however, the situation reverses, subtly at first, as Job transitions from offense to defense (vv8-12) and ultimately ends with a portrait of God’s sovereignty that terrifies Job (vv13-16). To be sure, Job does not give up his conviction that this calamity is not a function of sin, but his claim is more chastened by the e

The outburst of faith that is found in Job 19:23-27 is quite encouraging for us to consider, though the interpretation of these words has been contested in the history of biblical scholarship. The intent of this reflection is to narrow in on one point of interpretation that reinforces the idea that Job is, in fact, making a confession of faith in the only living and true God. To begin, we should note that in vv23-24 Job expresses his wish that his testimony, which likely incl

In his speeches to Job, Zophar provides the third of three portraits of pastoral malpractice. While Zophar does not materially depart from the other friends’ application of a mechanical deed-consequence relationship or retribution principle, he does seem to gesture towards a positive solution. As one commentator has summarized Zophar’s speech in Job 11, “Zophar strives to impress Job with the awesomeness of God’s wisdom. God’s ways are too profound for a mere human being to u

Commenting on Rom 2:14-15, John Calvin notes that “it is beyond all question evident that they [the Gentiles] have some notions of justice and rectitude…which are implanted by nature in the hearts of men.” [1] Furthermore, Calvin argues regarding an implanted notion of justice and rectitude that Paul “means not that it was so engraven on their will, that they sought and diligently pursued it, but that they were so mastered by the power of truth, that they could not disapprov

After Job has finished lamenting the suffering he has endured, his friends who were sitting quietly to comfort him (2:13), now begin to respond and converse with Job. The first friend to offer a word to Job is Eliphaz the Temanite. The other two friends, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, will add their two cents shortly. This speech and response cycle will occur three times before the young Elihu adds his commentary (32:1ff) and God steps in to give the final word

In Job 3, after responding with simple expressions of faith in God, Job exquisitely expresses his agony, his suffering, his turmoil with language and imagery that pierces to the heart of the matter. It is important to recognize that poetry is not merely window dressing on propositional statements. While Job’s curse-lament is, properly speaking, a “parody of a curse,” [1]  Job’s adoption of the curse-lament form deepens the meaning of his existential turmoil. There is meaning