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