15–21 November 2015. Isaiah 21 (click to read). In the ancient world, many different empires took turns defeating and controlling the surrounding lands and peoples. Whether it was Egypt or Assyria or Babylon or other great empires, each new one seemed worse than the last, oppressing the people, robbing countries of their wealth, and leaving […]
8–14 November 2015. Isaiah 14 (click to read). In 1888 a French newspaper mistakenly reported that Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, had died. The newspaper happily announced that “the merchant of death”, the person “who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before” was finally dead. Nobel was horrified […]
1–7 November 2015. Isaiah 7 (click to read). Chapter 7 starts a new and complicated section in the Book of Isaiah, one full of political details about different empires and kings and their battles against each other. During that time, the place we think of as “Israel” was actually divided into two kingdoms: Judah in […]
25–31 October 2015. Job 42 (click to read). The ending to the Book of Job is one that causes us a lot of frustration. We have just struggled through 40 chapters of discussion on the problem of suffering, trying to understand why God allows suffering to exist. Job wanted to take God to court to […]
18–24 October 2015. Job 37 (click to read). Job’s three friends constantly told him that he was an unrighteous person who deserved God’s punishment. But Job knew that he was innocent. This is why he dreams of taking God to court and proving that God is unjust. The young and foolish Elihu had taken it […]
11–17 October 2015. Job 33:1–11 (click to read). Job’s three friends have given up arguing with Job, unable to answer his questions about suffering and God’s justice. Then all of a sudden we find a fourth person there: Elihu. Our Old Testament scholars tell us that Elihu wasn’t originally part of the story, but that […]
4–10 October 2015. Job 27 (click to read). At the start of chapter 27, we see Job do something shocking, something that many of us would never be brave enough to do. Not only does Job continue to proclaim his innocence and his righteousness before God and his friends, he also forcefully attacks God and […]
27 September – 3 October 2015. Job 21:1–21 (click to read). In chapter 20, Job’s friend Zophar tries a second time to explain why suffering exists. His views are very similar to Job’s other friend, Eliphaz. For Zophar, the law of God is simple: God will always punish the wicked, and he will always reward […]
20–26 September 2015. Job 15:1–16 (click to read). When Job’s friends see his great pain, at first they say nothing. But soon they feel like they should explain to Job why he is suffering so much. They offer a lot of poor arguments, none of which satisfy us today – and none of which satisfied […]
13–19 September 2015. Job 9:1–20 (click to read). When people seriously hurt us or damage our lives, we know what to do. We may call the police and have that person arrested. Or we may find a lawyer to sue that person in court. In these ways we try to find justice, and make things […]