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

In Job 1, we see how Job’s piety precedes his prosperity. Satan is undeterred in his accusations against Job, since, in his opinion, the loss of wealth is nothing compared to the loss of health. What ensues in Job 2 is a concentration of suffering for Job along physical, psychological, and spiritual lines. A key consideration in the interpretation of Job 2 is the role that Job’s wife plays. How should we understand her words to her husband? Is she being sympathetic or antagon

Job 1 is crucial for rightly reading the rest of the book of Job well. In particular, the first twelve verses lay out the off-stage drama that drives much of the dialogue in this wisdom book. It is good, then, to familiarize ourselves with three of the main characters in the book of Job and to note how they affect what follows. That’s the goal of this reflection, and we begin with Job himself, who is introduced to us in vv1-5. Job is a man whose character is exemplary. He is

The Christmas season is full of joy, and rightly so, because in it we celebrate the birth of our savior. But our joy is a sober joy, for the child who is born to give us second birth must die to make it so. That fact reminds us why the question is posed in Malachi, “Who can endure the day of his coming?” That question suggests the answer, “Nobody.” “Who can stand when he appears?” Again, “Nobody.” Why? Because, as Malachi continues, “he is like a refiner’s fire and like fulle

Just as the glory of the Lord fills the garden, tabernacle, and temple of Solomon, so, as Ezekiel is given a vision in Ezekiel 40-48 of a new temple, he witnesses the return of God’s glory to this temple (Ezek 43:1-5). These chapters of Ezekiel’s prophecy have produced no small debate. Some readers of Scripture have proposed that Ezekiel is given a vision of a temple that must be built, while others have understood this vision to be symbolic of something greater than a physic

Last week, we saw how the opening chapters of the Bible present a paradigm that is often referred to throughout the Scriptures. In particular, the description of the richness and beauty of the garden lays the foundation for subsequent expressions of the dwelling place of God. This week, we turn our attention to Solomon’s temple, and what we discover is that Solomon’s temple is well founded on the richness and beauty of the garden, especially as it is symbolically transmitted

The opening chapters of the Bible present a paradigm that is often referred to throughout the Scriptures, and the initial dwelling place of Adam and Eve is no exception. The garden of Eden repeatedly resurfaces in varying ways through the story of redemption, and in many instances it is the richness and beauty of the garden that is highlighted. The first reference appears in a surprising context, namely the description of Lot’s decision-making process as he separated from Abr

The end of the book of Exodus is simultaneously the beginning of a new chapter. It is, to be sure, a satisfying conclusion to the turn of events that have been narrated in this book, but much more must happen before the ideas and events from this book can be brought to their full conclusion. That the book of Leviticus begins where Exodus leaves off, without introduction or even disruption, proves the point. It also raises a question about the concluding verses of Exodus, espe

As I noted last week, Exodus 33 plays off the two concepts of knowledge and presence, and it seems that Paul had this chapter in mind as he wrote to the Corinthians, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6 ESV). With this summary statement, Paul brings the knowledge of an intimate communion with God together, using those key words “know” and “f

It is a well-established fact that repetition in the Scriptures serves as an indicator of what is important, what should be grabbing our attention. In Exodus 33, two key words are repeated frequently, namely “know” and “face.” This repetition grabs our attention and focuses it on the interrelationship between God’s presence and the knowledge of God. Ultimately, this interrelationship finds its fullest expression in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose presence with us by the Spirit n

John Calvin wrote in his Institutes of the Christian Religion  that the heart is a “perpetual forge of idols” [1] or colloquially stated that “the heart is an idol factory.” This is a reality we experientially know is true through our own struggles, but a concept that isn’t always clearly defined. In our narrative this morning, Exodus 32, we are given a picture of an idol, and that picture will help us define what an idol is, particularly for us as we live in a different cul

In Exodus 31, the Sabbath is once more raised as an important part of life with God. It was introduced in Exodus 16 in the context of God’s provision of bread from heaven, presented as one of the Ten Words in Exodus 20, and expanded on in Exodus 23. Now, in Exodus 31, the Sabbath caps the instructions for building the tabernacle as a way to underscore its priority. To end these instructions with a reminder of the Sabbath is to say that the construction of the tabernacle, for