Job 31:1-40
Job Continues to Question God
1 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2
For what is our lot from God above,
our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3
Is it not ruin for the wicked,
disaster for those who do wrong?
4
Does he not see my ways
and count my every step?
5
“If I have walked with falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit—
6
let God weigh me in honest scales
and he will know that I am blameless—
7
if my steps have turned from the path,
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands have been defiled,
8
then may others eat what I have sown,
and may my crops be uprooted.
9
“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10
then may my wife grind another man’s grain,
and may other men sleep with her.
11
For that would have been wicked,
a sin to be judged.
12
It is a fire that burns to Destruction;
it would have uprooted my harvest.
13
“If I have denied justice to any of my servants,
whether male or female,
when they had a grievance against me,
14
what will I do when God confronts me?
What will I answer when called to account?
15
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
16
“If I have denied the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
17
if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless—
18
but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
and from my birth I guided the widow—
19
if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
or the needy without garments,
20
and their hearts did not bless me
for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
21
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court,
22
then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.
23
For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
24
“If I have put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25
if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,
the fortune my hands had gained,
26
if I have regarded the sun in its radiance
or the moon moving in splendor,
27
so that my heart was secretly enticed
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28
then these also would be sins to be judged,
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
29
“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune
or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
30
I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against their life—
31
if those of my household have never said,
‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—
32
but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler—
33
if I have concealed my sin as people do,
by hiding my guilt in my heart
34
because I so feared the crowd
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent and would not go outside—
35
(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
36
Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,
I would put it on like a crown.
37
I would give him an account of my every step;
I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—
38
“if my land cries out against me
and all its furrows are wet with tears,
39
if I have devoured its yield without payment
or broken the spirit of its tenants,
40
then let briers come up instead of wheat
and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Job 42:1-6
Job Feels the Presence of the LORD
1 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
John 21:10-14
Who Are You, Where Have You Been
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Acts 17:24-31
God is Not Far from any of Us
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[b] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
When the Disciples saw Jesus for the third time after His resurrection they knew who He was, yet they did not know who He was...The Disciples had been out fishing and Jesus seemed to come and go through space and time at will...After Jesus helped them catch some fish, He said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”...So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore...It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn...Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”...None of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”...They knew it was the LORD...Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish...This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was raised from the dead...
And we are told they did not dare ask Him, "Who are You?"...They also could have ask Him many questions?...Like, where have You been?...Why did you leave us a short time ago?...Have You gone to heaven and come back?...How do You seem to walk through time?...Did these things matter now to them with His being right there with them?...How important were there questions, when they sat down and ate with Him, knowing He was with them again for the third time?...It seems that being with Jesus was everything they wanted and needed and the questions faded off in their importance...The questions left...His Presence was what the Disciples wanted and needed...
Paul says to the Athenians that God is not very far from us...But with all of our questions, how can we feel near to God?...Do our words of questioning somehow separate us from Him?...
Can one get an answer without words?...Did Job get an answer to all his questions that he had for God?...I think there are some questions that can be answered without words...Words may not be the only vehicle to answer all questions...As we go through our lives I have had many questions for God...Most of my questions He has not answered...Many of my prayers He has not answered...Job when he felt the Presence of the LORD, then realized and knew that God knew all things...In God's Presence, Job had no more questions...He did not need or dare ask any more questions...God did not give Job the answer to his questions with His words...God answered Job with His Presence...There are some things that are, in fact, Almighty, Sacred, Holy, and much greater than words...Job realized this...