READINGS FOR MARCH 11, 2024: Job 15, Matthew 26, Psalm 18:7-19 JOB 15 Eliphaz begins his second round of “comforting.” He immediately tells Job he is unwise, filled with windy knowledge, useless talk, and unprofitable words. And that’s just for starters. He adds Job is irreverent, a hinderer of prayers, guilty, crafty, condemned, unreceptive to God, and conceited. Eliphaz, perhaps to downplay Job’s comparable wisdom, states that two of Job’s comforting companions are older than Job’s father. It’s disappointing to learn that all older folks are not wise.
Eliphaz asks a version of the famous question from Psalm 8: What is man? Eliphaz's answer is far more negative than the Psalmist’s. His answer leans toward man in his fallen state rather than the pre-fall man answer given by the Psalmist. He twists the knife into Job by saying, although man is unrighteous, Job is even below that level.
Then Eliphaz precedes to warn Job of the fate of the wicked man, not too subtly implying this applies to Job. While much of what he says is true about a wicked person’s conduct and eventual state of mind, not everything is correct. For example, he claims the wicked will always be obese, poor, and homeless. It all sounds vaguely spiritual, though. Might this mean that not everything a self-proclaimed spiritual guru says is true? With social media loaded with such pundits and advocates, how can we discern truth from error?
MATTHEW 26 This chapter might be the most dramatic in the entire Bible. It is the subject of Bach’s matchless oratorio, the St. Matthew Passion, which contains possibly the most beautiful vocal solo ever written: “Erbarme dich, mein Gott”. Since the story is so well known, rather than restate the familiar sequence of events, perhaps we can look more closely at how various participants interact. It might give us insights into our lives.
Woman with Costly Perfume. Other than Jesus Himself, she is the only person in this story portrayed in a positive light. Jesus implies that she alone “gets it” about Jesus’s upcoming crucifixion. Even so, she had to put up with the sneers of the disciples. Let’s be like her and not let the naysayers, likely always around, hindering our devotion to our Lord. There seems to be a competition between using the perfume on Jesus and selling it to give money to the poor. Jesus would never suggest helping the poor is bad, but the higher priority, in Jesus’s opinion, is His substitutionary death on the cross. This is the reason Jesus came to earth. Jesus’s death and resurrection is our only hope to be free of sin and death. Any other view is not Christian.
Judas. We know from John’s Gospel that Judas said using perfume on Jesus was a waste of money: “Now he (Judas) said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it”(John 12:6). So, we learn Judas was a thief, a liar, and a traitor as well as a disciple. The fact that such a
READINGS FOR MARCH 11 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 26, PSALM 18:7-19 person ministered with Jesus does not make Christianity untrue.Jesus still rose from the dead—the litmus test for the truth of Christianity. Should it surprise us that not everyone involved in ministry today is an honorable person? It was so from the beginning. Jesus also said Judas, although completely guilty personally, played a role in fulfilling prophesy, which in turn brought life to the World. This relates back to an earlier discussion regarding Job 9 on March 1, 2024. The presence of evil can be used to facilitate a higher good. Although Jesus eventually won a great victory, He did not minimize Judas’s guilt. He said Judas’s situation would be worse than non-existence. This statement casts some doubt on the view that the final state of those who reject Jesus is non-existence or annihilation.
Peter. Peter was a giant of the Bible. Time and time again, he was at the center of the action, initially in a positive way. Yet, the flip side of his exuberant faith was his tendency to not maintain his courage and/or good judgment. At the Transfiguration he wanted to build shelters for Moses, Elijiah, and Jesus, as if they were equal. After he correctly described who Jesus was, he advocated against Jesus going to the cross. He bravely walked on water, until he didn’t. He obediently accompanied Jesus at the Garden but kept falling asleep and then cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. And then tragically, but thankfully not irrevocably, he denied Jesus three times at the high priest’s courtyard. This was after his almost boastful pledge: “Even if they all fall away because of You, I will never fall away!”
Would that all could be that bold for Jesus, but can we learn from Peter’s flaws? Maybe an example from one of Paul’s letters is helpful. He certainly desired to be bold but was humble enough to not assume he could do so in his own strength: “Pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). This prayer can be our prayer as we share our faith.
PSALM 18:7-19 David was not content just to say God helped him. His language was a touch more evocative. When God heard David’s cry for help, the earth shook, the mountains trembled, smoke emerged from God’s nostrils, and fire flamed from His mouth. God immediately came by bending the sky, bringing down darkness, and flying to the rescue on a cherub at the speed of the wind. God’s voice thundered from the sky, accompanied by hailstones and fiery coals. God scattered David’s enemies with arrows and flooded their way with deep channels of water. God then rescued David from the danger of the waters and his powerful enemies. Finally, God comforted David and placed him in a safe place. Why did God do this? Because God delighted in David. NEWS FLASH: GOD DELIGHTS IN US IF WE ARE HIS. Psalm 147:11 says, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” Remember a time when God delivered us. Let’s reword our memory of it using speech worthy of who God is, what God did, and why God did it. Use David’s example.
