August 7

Job 41-42; Phil. 3

"All's well that end's well," they say. And all appears to end well in Job. But I have to wonder whether Job's original seven sons and three daughters would have agreed. Their lives were cut short in order for God to allow Satan to conduct his little test of Job. They would probably take little consolation in the knowledge that their father now had 10 new children to replace them.

But that's not the point, of course. This is an elaborate story (perhaps based on an ancient tradition of a person who was righteous, yet suffered grievously). It is intended by some sages in Israel to tackle the question of the links between good and being blessed and evil and being cursed. The ultimate point is that there are no clear links. The right thing to do is (1) to praise God, recognizing the power and mystery of the Lord of the universe, and (2) to live like Job did, remaining righteous regardless of circumstances.

I guess that means we are to be, like Job, "good for nothing." That doesn't necessarily mean that we will end up blessed so abundantly, as Job was. But it does mean that we are to live righteous, holy lives just because it's the right thing to do, not because we'll get something out of it.

Just a quick note on Philippians 3: I'm struck by how much Paul talks about progressing in his faith. The righteousness we were talking about in Job sounds somewhat static...just be righteous and stay that way. Paul is emphasizing a first-century "continuous improvement." Now we can overdo that, too, but it's a good reminder for us to keep striving to grow in our faith and to come closer to Christ in our daily living.

Well, this week is over already. It's been a pleasure writing this blog and I hope it's been useful to you. Blessings to everyone at Williamsburg Church as you keep reading through "The Year of the Bible"! There will be plenty (more) times when Paul's phrase "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on" (vss. 13-14) may be useful to you as you finish reading through the Bible this year!

Jim