Job
29 – 30
Before we start I just wanted to say I saw my cardinal
yesterday. It was not in a place we normally see birds either, one had flown
into the barn and sat within 10 feet of me. He hung out for a bit and flew
away, never to be seen again. Was I looking for any cardinal or did God say HI
on his schedule and where it was more apparent it was not random like the one
outside my window this morning?
As we start this reading the first thing I notice is Chapter
29 starts with Job’s status in society. Everyone likes to complain about their
“Job moments” but after reading chapter 29 how can any of us keep saying that.
It wasn’t that Job was rich, but he was also compassionate and generous. He did
not use his power and influence to take advantage of people but rather for
good. When we think “Job moments” it’s more selfish and much less catastrophic.
Verse 29:12 is a key to Job’s charity:
After all, I rescued
the poor when they cried out for help
and assisted the orphans when they had no one else.
Great virtue is often troubled by naysayers
who feel those in need are taking advantage of someone’s generosity. Jesus says
we will always have the poor and that is a reality we must live in. God did not
say judge the poor as to who was capable of working and who was not. God said
be generous and kind to anyone in need. Again as we look at Job’s plight do we
see a rich guy getting his due, or a righteous man being unjustly punished?
Chapter 30 shows how quickly people change.
Verse 30:1 has Job talking about that aspect of humanity:
Job: But
now they mock me,
these young men whose fathers I hold in such contempt.
I
wouldn’t trust them with my herds
as I do my dogs.
We often turn our heads to the down
trodden. Consider the drunks on the corners victims of their own poor choices.
Much of the time we don’t look as them in need. Job was a “pillar” of his
community, yet in a very short time he was mocked. How sad this is and how
quickly we forget the past and focus on the present. I think the saddest part
of this story is where Job would have been compassionate to a person in his
condition, he has none who will comfort him in his time of need.
I think when we have “Job moments” it is
more like Job’s friends than Job himself. I know I find myself on the judgment
side of life more than the grace side. I see a person in need and wonder why
they are not finding work. At the same time I sit in judgment, without a job
and not able to provide.
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