Texts from Job

He alone has spread out the heavens
and marches on the waves of the sea.

He made all the stars – the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
He does great things too marvelous to understand.
He performs countless miracles.
Job 9.8-10

An empty-headed person won’t become wise
any more than a wild donkey can bear a human child.
Job 11.12

Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side-
leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
Psalm 94.20

These men say that night is day;
they claim that the darkness is light.
Job 17.12

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he will stand upon the earth at last.
Job 19.25

Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to know when to quit.
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
for it will sprout wings
and fly away like an eagle.
Proverbs 23.4-5

As long as I live,
while I have breath from God,
my lips will speak no evil,
an my tongue will speak no lies.
Job 27.3-4

regarding Job

These Texts stood out to me from my recent readings. As you may surmise, I am reading Job right now. His story baffles me every time.

As for Job’s “comforters” we often think of them more as accusers. They really deserve more recognition. They are merely reflecting what people know about God at their point in ancient history.

The leading theory is that Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Another theory is that Job was written during the Babylonian Captivity, but that doesn’t hold much sway. Yet another theory, based on Rabbinical writings, is that Job, Balaam, and Jethro are all contemporaries. They are all seers in network with Pharaoh.

No matter when and where the book is written, there is much wisdom to be gleaned from Job, and even from His comforters.