READINGS FOR MARCH 19,2024: JOB 21, ROMANS 4, PSALM 21:1-7 JOB 21 Job gives advice to his friends on how to be more helpful: listen more, talk less. Then he can’t avoid sarcastically giving them permission to mock him afterwards. Job probably has become quite the expert on what is helpful comfort to a suffering friend. A less than helpful tendency for some of us is the urge to “fix” everything immediately. Another great insight he gives us is to truly empathize with the sufferer, being open mouthed in astonishment.
Then Job disagrees with Zophar, who said in the previous chapter the wicked die prematurely. Job asserts the opposite. Who is right? It is true that the Bible promises obedient children long life (Exodus 20:12). Even so God also said that humankind cannot really comprehend this matter: “The righteous person perishes, and no one takes it to heart; And devout people are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous person is taken away from evil. He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, each one who walked in his upright way” (Isaiah 57:1-2). This might be interesting to discuss, but also it might be better to leave for God.
Job also sought to refute Bildad’s claim in Job 18:19-21 that the wicked have no descendants. Bildad’s statement was extra cutting toward Job, whose children all perished at once. Think back to the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, however. Not all the human ancestors of Jesus lived blameless lives. God still brought forth the Savior of the world though this line. Again, God’s ways are not our ways. Making such observations on either side may reflect honest opinion but, if not based on God’s word or empirical data, are not trustworthy.
Job concludes his response by building his case from the dubious premises he proposed about nothing bad happening to the wicked. It obviously does not seem fair to him. This defensive reaction is understandable given the unhelpful comfort and false statements of his friends. He concludes his remarks by lashing out at them. The good thing is, although he doesn’t understand what God is doing, he does not do what his wife suggested earlier: “curse God and die.” Even knowing what we know from the Bible, how often are we are tempted to question God’s justice and His love for us. The fact we don’t see God’s justice at work doesn’t mean that it is not happening or will not in the future. In times of trial, hold onto God’s promises of His eternal care. Always remember the cross. The blameless Jesus experienced suffering for us.
ROMANS 4 A world-famous author, now deceased, posted this on Facebook: “I’m trying to be a Christian…which means that, I try to be as kind and fair and generous and respectful and courteous to every human being.” We should not make any judgement about her spiritual status. What we should do, though, is carefully read Romans 4 to be certain that our understanding of being a Christian is aligned with the Bible’s. Trying to be all the good things mentioned above does not make us a Christian. WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH!
READINGS FOR MARCH 19, CONTINUED: ROMANS 4, PSALM 21:1-7 We must get this right because it is the essence of the Gospel. Read each word carefully:
“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom. 4:2-5).
We are not saved by going to church, or reading the Bible, or serving the poor, or being kind to others. All these are great, but if we really think these “works” will save us, then we have no idea about Christianity. As Paul says above, if this were how to become a Christian, we would have reason to boast. The writer to the Hebrews calls this attempt at earning favor with God “dead works” (Heb. 6:1). This was exactly the approach taken by the Pharisees. How did Jesus feel about it? “For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).
Does this mean we need to find out all the good things the Pharisees did and make sure we far surpass them in doing good works? NO. Even if we could do that, we would fall far short of the righteousness acceptable by a Holy God. We need to trust in the work of Jesus. God then credits Jesus’s righteousness to our account: “Therefore, it was also credited to him (Abraham) as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He (Jesus) who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom. 4:22-25). This is misunderstood by so many today!
PSALM 21:1-7 This Psalm acts as the after part of a before and after picture partnering with Psalm 20, which serves as the before picture. Psalm 20 is in the first-person plural (we) directed to David about God’s power to act. Psalm 21 is in the first-person plural (we) thanking God on David’s behalf for answering the prayers they urged David to offer to God. A touch complicated. How interesting that this group was involved in a kind of prayer triangle with God and David. Could it be a model for our church?
Our church has such a group called the prayer team. It prays each day of the month for different members of our church family. Often the group prays particularly about physical illnesses, but it could pray for the spiritual battles the church or individuals face. Taking a cue from this Psalm, one feature our team might consider adding is being more intentional about thanking God for the answers and victories He provides. Insert the name of our pastor in this prayer of thanksgiving from Psalm 21:1-2: “O Lord, in Your strength the Pastor will be glad, and in Your salvation how greatly the Pastor will rejoice! You have given the Pastor his heart’s desire.”
