For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food. – Job 34:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 31, 2021): Job 34

Inspirational author, Michael Bassey Johnson, comments that "You can believe in whatsoever you like, but the truth remains the truth, no matter how sweet the lie may taste." His argument reminds us of a couple of things. The first is that taste is not necessarily the best standard to decide what is good for us. I wish that vegetables tasted like an apple pie with ice cream or that eating that bag of potato chips was better for me than eating a salad, but that is just not true. My tongue can be deceived, and what tastes good is not always what I need to eat. And the second thing that Johnson reminds us of is that there is often a reason why it is easy to believe a lie. We can, and often do, phrase the lie so that it conforms to what we think and what we want to hear. It is the great danger of the echo chambers that we have built around us. We need to hear more than we do, primarily if they are words spoken by someone who does not necessarily agree with our stance on a specific issue. We need to hear the arguments, but more importantly, we need to learn to love through our differences. Our tendency seems to exclude those who believe differently, but that is like eating only ice cream and banning the salad that our body needs to thrive.

Elihu asks Job and his friends to listen to him. And in the process, he argues that the ear tests words like the tongue tastes food. And he is right, kind of, but it is also a double-edged sword. Elihu's logic is based on the idea that we can somehow taste what is good for us, but we know that that is just not true. Often what tastes good is not what we need. In the same way, it would be more accurate to say that our ear hears words the way that our tongue tastes food. But, just as our tongues fail to taste what is good for us, our ears can't hear wisdom; they just hear the words in search of something that sounds sweet, even if it is a lie.

Elihu's point is that if they just listen to him, they will know his wisdom by hearing his words even though he is young. Just as Elihu has listened to the words of Job and his friends and has heard that they lack wisdom, his wisdom will be heard if they listen. But that is not really what Elihu understood. He understood that neither Job nor his friends were in his echo chamber, He has heard the lie, and he wants to replace their lie with one that might taste a little sweeter to his ear, but regardless of how sweet Elihu's words might taste to the ear, the message is just another lie.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 35

I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin. – Job 33:9

Today's Scripture Reading (July 30, 2021): Job 33

Headlines are lovely things. But they are designed to do one thing; grab the attention of the reader. How they do that is up to the publisher. Some try to tell you the essence of the story they want to tell in a single, concise statement, but others are not quite that honest. They lead you to believe something, but you find out that the truth is actually quite different when you get to the story. But if all you ever do is read the headlines, the chances are that you will receive a very warped version of the news.

And yet, it seems that that is precisely what we do. We become a people educated by headlines. And in the end, we begin to believe a lie that has been sold to us by the headlines that we read, headlines designed to get us to do something that we don't want to do; read the article.

Elihu claims that he has listened carefully to everything that Job has had to say in his defense. And he sums up Job's words with this statement; according to Elihu, Job's argument has been, "I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin." But that isn't entirely true. Elihu has heard the headlines, not the details, and definitely not the emotion and the heart of the Prophet.

Job admits that the anguish over his circumstances has caused him to say things that he ordinarily would not have said; "no wonder my words have been impetuous" (Job 6:3) the Prophet had told his friends. His complaint is not that he has not sinned, but rather "Why do you [God] not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins (Job 7:21)?

Job recognizes his guilt. Australian biblical studies scholar, Francis Anderson, makes this observation;

"We need to ask, therefore, whether Elihu is fair. To some extent, he is. Job has repeatedly claimed to be clean and pure, whatever the words he used… But, side by side with this, Job has often admitted to being a sinner."

Elihu has read the headlines in Job's argument, but what he seems to miss are Job's heart and his intentions. And maybe because he is young, he ignores how pain has distorted Job's message. In the midst of our pain, our message does change, and we who are friends of those in pain need to understand that and be willing to hear the message of the heart that sometimes overwhelms the rest of our communication.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 34

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: "I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. – Job 32:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 29, 2021): Job 32

Back in the early days of the online interconnection that has become so normal now, a group of pastors decided to try out a new communication opportunity. They had discovered a video chat room, and they agreed to meet together to try it out at a specific time that evening. Today, most of us are probably tired of the various video chat options available to us. But then, it was a new and a unique opportunity to have a group of people from different places be able to meet and to actually see each other, something that at the time seemed impossible.

I have to admit that I found out about the meeting through a social media announcement. And since, apparently, anyone was invited, I decided to attend. I remember showing up virtually for the meeting. It was a little uncomfortable; it was evident that everyone else in the chat room knew each other from real-world conferences and conventions. I was the odd person out, knowing the various people involved only by reputation, or maybe the occasional Twitter conversation. The meeting had been going on for about twenty minutes, and I had sat silently just listening to the discussion. And then, one of the participants decided to take a roll call of the people who showed up at the meeting. Of course, I was part of the roll call. I still remember him getting to my name; "Garry, I recognize the name, but I don't know where from?" I told him that I was a "lurker" who only knew any of the other participants through social media conversations and was privileged just to listen to their discussion on this new medium. And with that, he moved on. I said nothing else. I had nothing really to say, but I drank in what the others were saying about theology and the church.

 A conversation has been taking place between Job and his three friends; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. But those are not the only people involved in the conversation. There is also a lurker who has been sitting in the background, silently listening to the proceedings. Often, Elihu is thought to be connected with the other three friends of Job, but others aren't so sure. Elihu is not pleased with the answers of any of the participants in the discussion. In fact, Elihu became very angry with both Job and his friends (Job 32:2-3).

And so, as the conversation between Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar concludes, it is the silence that takes over, Elihu can no longer restrain himself. He was young, and so he did not claim to have the wisdom of his older friends. He was also fearful, intimidated by those who were speaking, and so as the conversation raged, he had remained silent. But then, his anger boiled over, and Elihu could maintain his silence no longer.

The lurker had to speak. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 33

Does he not see my ways and count my every step? – Job 31:4

Today's Scripture Reading (July 28, 2021): Job 31

We reveal who we really are through the actions we take when no one is watching. This is the moment of our true morality. Think about it. What activities do you frequently undertake but that you wouldn't want anyone else to know? What sets your heart into panic mode just at the thought that someone might find out what you have done. I am not talking about the acts you have committed in the past of which you have genuinely repented, actions that are part of your yesterday, and that you intend to make sure never again become a part of your today. I am talking about what you do when you are alone when you think that no one is watching. The reality is that those actions reveal the authentic you. These are the sins that define you and the actual acts of morality that will lift your spirit. Those acts we have done while alone define the real condition of our hearts. And I hope that those secret acts are filled with acts of giving and charity about which no one knows, but the reality is that, too often, we advertise our acts of charity to anyone willing to listen. When no one is watching, we do the private sins that we are loathed to give up.

Job has been talking about his moral state. His friends have accused him of being a less than honorable person, that his current condition is repayment for his private sins and the things that he did while no one was watching. Job has countered that assertion. He states clearly for his friends that "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman" (Job 31:1). The depth of his morality was something of which the Prophet took great care. Regardless of what his accusers might think, he was a man of integrity. The way that he acted when no one was watching reflected that morality.

Besides, Job recognized another great truth. That moment when no one is watching is actually a lie, a fairy tale told by people who believe that they are getting away with their sins. Job speaks using poetic language, but he knows that God sees every action, that "he counts our every step." When it came to matters of integrity, it helped Job to understand that God was always watching.

There is never a time when God does not see what we are doing, both the good and the bad. And he is the only audience we should be trying to please, a truth that Job knew very well.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 32

Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them? – Job 30:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 27, 2021): Job 30

Many years ago, I was involved in a church, and I frequently had an opportunity to have a discussion with one of the older ladies of the church. The lady was one of my grandmother's friends, but unlike my grandmother, who has always tended to be very optimistic, this lady was pessimistic about almost everything. And one of her frequent complaints about the church was how unfriendly it seemed to be. "I can go to church on a Sunday morning (and yes, she was a regular attendee), and no one talks to me."

One Sunday, I decided to put her assertion to the test. I watched her as she walked into the church, sat down for the worship service, and then got ready to leave once the service was finished. And at every step of the way, people stopped to talk to her. She talked up a storm with both young and old inside the church, including my grandmother. A little while later, I confronted her on her comment that no one talked to her, wanting to gain a little more insight into the statement. And what I discovered shaped my view of the complaint, "no one talks to me."

Don't get me wrong, sometimes it is true. I have attended churches and been able to walk into the church, sit down, and get up without having anyone utter any kind of a greeting. It is a genuine problem in the contemporary church, but sometimes that is not really the issue. For my grandmother's friend, it wasn't so much that no one talked to her, but rather that there were two prominent families in the church, one was the family of a doctor while the other was the family of a relatively wealthy businessman, and the reality was that they didn't greet her. The likely reason for the lapse had nothing to do with the woman who wanted to be greeted by them; other people tended to dominate their time at the church. It wasn't that they were ignoring her or didn't know who she was, but their time was given to various other people who chased them down. And my grandmother's friend didn't want to be the one doing the chasing; she wanted these two men to chase after her to give her a greeting. And since that didn't happen, the church was "unfriendly." 

Job's thoughts turn to his present situation. He has mourned what he had lost. Job had shared his strength in the past, helping those who needed him as much as he could. But now, he was the one in need of help. But the only ones who were coming around were useless to him. Part of the problem was that they weren't reliable, men whose fathers Job wouldn't have trusted to guard the sheep (Job 30:1). But more than that, they were people who possessed strength but refused to use it. They were lazy, only interested in getting others to do the work for them, which Job couldn't do in his current state.

This comment is not directed directly at Job's friends, but it could have been. They had the strength to help but instead seemed only interested in talking to Job and accusing him of bad behavior. Like my elderly friend, it wasn't that no one was coming to him, but it was the wrong people. The people that Job needed avoided him, while the lazy and the useless came for long, and very annoying, visits.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 31

Job continued his discourse: - Job 29:1

Today's Scripture Reading (July 26, 2021): Job 29

Woody Allen once quipped that "God is silent. Now, if only man would shut up." And once again, there is more truth in the statement than we might want to admit. The problem is that we often interpret silence as simply the absence of sound. But silence is not just the absence of words; it is the absence of a message spoken through the instruments or the beat of the drum or the cacophony of the world. Silence can be viewed as the absence of meaning.

Yet, if we believe that, then we are still mistaken. Silence itself can carry an important message. Woody Allen's comment, if it is true, could likely be rephrased as, "God is silent because humans won't shut up." Why should he speak when he knows that we aren't listening?

Hebrew poetry often includes the word "Selah." For readers of the New International Version, you are robbed of the word because the translators decided to omit it, likely because we don't really know what it means. But our best guess is that it is a musical term that probably indicates a "pause" or "silence" in the presentation of the poem. Consider Psalm 3 with the Selah's restored. The context of the Psalm is the moment when David was forced to flee from his son Absalom when Absalom tried to become King.

Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
    "God will not deliver him."

Selah [Pause]

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

 I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

Selah [Pause]

I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side.

Arise, Lord!
    Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
    break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance.
    May your blessing be on your people.

Selah [Pause] (Psalm 3).

It is important to note that the Psalm doesn't properly end until after the pause that follows the final word. The reading of the Psalm should end with the reader standing silent for a moment before leaving the stage or moving on to the next reading.  The pauses are essential, partially because they allow us time to consider the words and time for God to speak through the silence offered by the Psalmists. 

Job 29 begins with the comment that Job continued his discourse. The Prophet has just finished his speech on wisdom, and it seems likely that he fell into a moment of silence at that point. His friends had finished speaking, and Job had concluded his response. The silence was an opportunity for a reset. It allowed everyone involved in the conversation to consider what had been said. And when Job would begin again, it would not be to convince his friends of what was happening, but instead, a moment for a personal statement of how the Prophet is feeling and how he understands all that has occurred. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 30

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? – Job 28:20

Today's Scripture Reading (July 25, 2021): Job 28

In William Shakespeare's "As you like it," both Touchstone and William are pursuing the interest of their hearts, a dull-witted girl named Audrey. And early in Act 5, the two characters are locked in a conversation. Touchstone asks his young friend if he considers himself to be wise. William responds that he does. Touchstone replies to his young friend with these words; 

Thou sayest well. I do now remember a saying, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. The heathen philosopher, when he had a desire to eat a grape, would open his lips when he put it into his mouth; meaning thereby that grapes were made to eat and lips to open (William Shakespeare, As You Like It).

Touchstone seems to believe that the philosopher's wisdom is no more advanced than that of my three-year-old grandson. They both understand that grapes are meant to be eaten, and in that process, those mouths have to open. Of course, there is also a visual irony in the words of Touchstone. As he tells young William that "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool," the audience immediately understands Touchstone's message, even if William misses it. Touchstone is a court jester, literally a fool. While William might think that he is wise, Touchstone, and the audience, knows that Touchstone playing the role of a fool is part of the proof of his wisdom. Throughout the play, in his role as the court jester, Touchstone can offer his wisdom, which cannot be denied, yet often is because it comes from a fool.

Job asks the question, from where does wisdom come. He has just argued that miners know where gold comes from, and they mine deep into the earth to claim their prize, but the bigger question is why we don't spend as much energy in the pursuit of wisdom. Where can we mine for the rare jewel we call wisdom?

Of course, the problem is that wisdom cannot be found by digging deep into the earth or through any human effort. Wisdom is only discovered by waiting on the word of God. He is the only source of true wisdom, and we can only receive it if we are willing to wait and listen to his divine revelation. And, often, that is a more challenging task than digging in the earth searching for the things that are precious to us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 29