A Few Words About Grace

Hi, my name is Derek and I am the long lost author of this blog.  Being the fallen, undisciplined creature that I am, my initial goal of reading through God's Word chronologically has hit a few speed bumps.  Namely, my own lack of self control and prioritization of spending time in the Bible.

So, I plan on continuing my study soon.  I've spent far too little time reading and meditating on God's Word these last couple of months.  That being said, though, God has been showing me things in spite of my delinquency (as a side note, as soon as I typed "delinquency," I did a spell check.  Shockingly, I got it right!).   One thing I would like to talk about right now is grace.  As a disclaimer, none of these are my thoughts.  They have been mined from either God's word, various pastors, select teachers, and other blogs.  However, a general rule when discussing Christianity is that if you have an original thought, you are probably doing it wrong.  We all stand on God's Word, and it's been around for a few centuries.  Hard to bring accurate originality to something like that.

Something God has been beating me over the head with lately is grace.  If you asked me straight up if works got you to heaven, I emphatically deny it.  I don't believe it is true.  But I haven't thoroughly applied that truth in every area of my life.  I struggle with feelings that God only loves me when I am doing good.  That He enjoys having me as a son when I am performing and is ashamed or disappointed when I'm not.  In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul acknowledges that he worked harder than any of the other prominent early Christians, but it mattered not.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, & his grace toward me was not in vain.  On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Cor 15:10 ESV)

 Before you tune me out, hear this.  Most of us can easily accept the fact that God's grace is the only way to get to heaven.  But to limit God's grace to that alone is to cheapen it.  God's grace means that nothing we do matters.  Not the good, not the bad, nothing.  All that matters is who God is and how He has chosen to deal with us.  God loves me because of who He is, not because of who I am.  I'm going to screw up sometimes, and I'm going to do well sometimes.  But it doesn't affect God's love for me.  God loves me because it glorifies Him, and nothing I can do will change that.

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.  Romans 11:6 ESV

 What freedom that brings.  Yes, sin is serious and it should be repented of.  But, praise be to God, our salvation and our relationship to Him depends totally on Him and requires nothing from me.  God doesn't wait for me to become lovable before loving me, He just does.  And He doesn't rescind His love when I trample and profane it.  He loves me anyway.  To quote from Tullian Tchividjian:

Only in the gospel does love precede loveliness.  Everywhere else loveliness precedes love.

How much energy have we all wasted worrying about what  God thought about us following a moment of weakness?  And how silly is it that we think God loves us enough to send Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for us but becomes a petulant teenager the minute we step out of line?

*To see the full context of Tullian's quote, go to http://theresurgence.com/2011/07/11/wrecked-by-grace

Not a Good Day to be a Three Year Old Cow

Genesis 15

Having completed the rescue of Lot and his family, Abram is soon given a vision of God.  This was Abram’s third vision since arriving in Canaan.  God promised Abram that He was both Abram’s defender and Abram’s ultimate reward.  Too many times, we pursue God because of the ancillary benefits of a relationship with Him.  If you believe in the prosperity gospel, you likely believe that relationship with God will bring you health and wealth.  Maybe you view God as a golden ticket to heaven.  Maybe you think God will bring you the girl or the car you’ve always wanted.  But, as God reminds Abram, He is to be our highest and central desire.  We are to desire him among all else because He is God, not because He is some cosmic genie that can give us whatever we want.

Abram struggles with the whole “great reward” thing though and reminds God that despite His promise, Abram and Sarai remain childless.  As it were due to the customs of the time, Abram’s heir would currently be his most trusted servant, Eliezer.  God reiterated that Abram would have a son as an heir.  He then went a step further, saying Abram’s descendants would rival the number of stars in the sky.  One commentary says his particular metaphor was referring to the spiritual descendents of Abram, or those that are justified by their faith. By comparison, when God told Abram that counting his descendents would be like counting particles of dust, God could have been referring to Abram’s physical descendents or all those born Jewish.  One final note is that the word that translates to “your descendents” is the Hebrew word for seed and is used in other places to refer to the coming Messiah.

After God’s promise, it is said in verse 6 that Abram “believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”  Another way of saying that is that God declared Abram as righteous.  I’m not sure how the salvation of souls was accomplished in the Old Testament.  Some believe it was by works.  This verse, however, seems in contradiction to that.  It was Abram’s belief in God and His promise that caused God to declare him righteous.  That is no different than now.  It is our belief in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross for our sins that results in our salvation now.  Abram completed no task or act that resulted in him being declared righteous.  He believed God was who He said He was and that He would do what He said He would do.

God finishes this chapter by sealing his covenant with Abram for both descendents and the land of Canaan.  PETA would probably not be happy with what’s about to happen.  God commands Abram to get a 3 yr old heifer, 3 yr old female goat, 3 yr old ram, turtledove, and young pigeon.  Abram obeys, and then does something that today would get him labeled as a nutcase and locked in the local mental institution or federal prison.  He splits the heifer, goat, and ram down the middle.  He simply killed the birds but did not split them.  He then set the halves of each animal opposite of each other and made a path down the middle.  He spent the rest of the day chasing vultures away from the carcasses of the animals.  At night fall, God puts Abram to 

sleep much like He did Adam when He removed a rib to make Eve.  He then makes the following promises to Abram:

• ·         His descendents will be strangers in a foreign land for 400 years (fulfilled in Egypt)
• ·         The foreign land will be judged by God and the people will come out with great possessions (fulfilled by 10 plagues and subsequent plundering of Egypt)
• ·         Abram will peacefully pass away at an old age
• ·         His descendents will not inherit the land until 4 generations later because the Amorites hadn’t reached time for their judgement

Then, it gets even weirder.  As a symbol of God’s commitment, He (in the form of a smoking oven and burning torch) walks the path between the split animals.  The meaning of all this is obvious, right?  No, not so much?  Ok, well, God was fulfilling a common method of sealing covenants at that time.  Symbolically, He was telling Abram that should anything He promised not come to pass, let the God of the universe become like these animals.  God was putting the full weight of His existence behind the promises He made to Abram.  And that’s not even the cool part.  Traditionally, both members of the covenant walked the path, making matching commitments to fulfilling the promises.  Notice God was the only one to walk the path.  Abram committed to nothing.  God promised Abram all this and Abram promised nothing in return.  This is yet another example of God’s grace, of God giving with human beings offering nothing in return.

Genesis 16

After seeing all that, how could Abram possibly doubt God’s promise, right?  Wrong.  10 years pass and Sarai still has no children.  Sarai gets a little antsy, so she offers a solution that was customary for the time.  Since Sarai had been unable to have children on her own, she offered up her Egyptian servant Hagar to serve as a surrogate.  Now, Abram may have normally been a very intelligent individual full of courage and integrity.  But right now, he’s stupid.  Who really thinks this could end well?  Your wife can’t have a child and she’s bummed.  She says “Here, sleep with this servant girl and get a child that way.  I want you to.”  Riiiiiiiight.  So Abram, being exceedingly dumb at this moment, agrees.  Of course, Hagar gets pregnant.  Hagar also begins to feel superior over Sarai, which isn’t surprising given the importance placed on childbearing at this time.  Sarai feels insulted and curses Abram for sleeping with Hagar and giving Hagar the superiority complex.  Abram’s probably standing their sputtering and stammering because this was Sarai’s idea in the first place.  In an effort to placate Sarai, Abram tells her she can do with Hagar as she sees fit.  Sarai treats Hagar poorly, so poorly that Hagar eventually flees .  What can we learn from all this?  Men, if a woman tells you she is fine with something, do NOT believe her.  Seriously, millions of lives have been lost between Arabs and Jews because Abram believed Sarai when she said “I’m ok with it, I promise.”  This should be made a mandatory topic of pre-marital counseling.

I love the language in verse 7 because it says the Angel of the Lord “finds” Hagar at a spring.  God seeks Hagar out in order to comfort and minister to Hagar.   It’s important to note that the phrase “Angel of the Lord” usually indicates manifestation of God and not simply an angel like Michael or Gabriel.  Many believe this was actually Jesus Christ prior to incarnation.  Anyway, He tells Hagar to return and submit to Sarai.  He also promises that her son will also be the head of a great nation.  That promise would be fulfilled in the Arab people.  Hagar, who had apparently come to faith in God as a member of Abram’s household, names the location Beer Lahai Roi (Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me) and returns to bear Abram’s son Ishmael.  Abram was 86 at the time.

Next blog post will cover the covenant of circumcision and the beginning of the end for Sodom and Gomorrah.

Don't Mess with the Abram

Bad news first.  The cough that was terrorizing me at the time of last posting is still here.  The good news is that with the help of two massive shots in the hindparts and daily antibiotics, it's on the run, hopefully never to return again.  I'm also writing from the east coast of Virginia as I get what is billed as leadership training but is really much more.  We've had some long days, and I'm ready to write about some Abram and hit the sack.

Genesis 13

Properly shamed for his deception by the Pharaoh himself, Abram packs up his family and possessions and high tails it out of Egypt.  His nephew Lot tags along with his possessions and livestock and all that.  Initially, Abram heads back to a place he is familiar with, between Bethel and Ai, and stops to worship God at the altar he had previously built to God.  I believe this was the alter he originally built in Genesis 12:8 just before heading into Egypt due to the famine.  The alter was built immediately after God appeared to Abram and promised to deliver the nearby land to Abram's descendants.  Abram's altar was a testimony and statement of faith in that promise.  Now, Abram is returning to that reminder of God's blessing with what has to be a fresh, hot, throbbing awareness of his sin.  But still, Abram believes God will be faithful to His promise so Abram again calls on God and worships Him at this place.  Important Truth #1 - God is not faithful because of what we do but because of who He is.

Unfortunately, even then vanishing resources was a problem.  It takes massive amounts of land and water to support flocks of livestock.  Abram's and Lot's livestock could not coexist on the same land any longer.  It just wasn't enough.  At least, I assume that was the problem.  The only thing the Bible tells us is that scuffles broke out between Abram's men and Lot's men.  The problem was becoming untenable and I think the likely source of the conflict was overcrowding.  So, Abram does the generous thing and tells Lot that he can move his herds in whatever direction he wishes and Abram will go the other way.  Lot, probably thinking the old man has lost his mind, gleefully picks the fresh and fertile plain of Jordan.  He eventually would live in a city called Sodom, which we know is trouble.  The Bible even foreshadows the trouble Lot will eventually be in by stating in verse 13 that the men of Sodom "were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord."  Abram, true to his word, goes to Canaan.

Once in Canaan, God does what Extreme Home Makeover calls "the big reveal" and tells Abram that Canaan will, in fact, be the land that his descendants will inherit.  God encourages him to explore it, to walk around in it.  Canaan will belong to Abram's family which will rival dust particles in its abundance.  So, Abram sets up shop at Hebron and builds another altar to God.  Important Point #2 - God can work all things out to accomplish his will, including the selfishness of a nephew.

Genesis 14

Everything's good right?  Problem is solved - Abram and Lot are no longer having conflicts among their men and everybody got what they wanted.  Well, at least what they thought wanted in Lot's case.  Lot is living in Sodom, which my commentary points out was so infamously evil that it was judged a full 400 years before the rest of the land of Canaan, which wasn't exactly Sesame Street itself.  Everybody probably knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah that's coming, but this is the prequel.  Otherwise known as sign number one Lot probably should have got on out of that city but was too stubborn or dense to see it.

Now, we've got a royal rumble about to break out.  One one side you have the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and what my Bible calls the "Tidal king of nations."  (Bonus points to anyone that can tell me who the "Tidal king of nations" was.  You get 5 Shrute bucks).  They are coming to lay the wood on the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (or Zoar).  Here's what you need to know about the players:

The Attacking Four

• Shinar
• Referenced in Genesis 10 in relation to the kingdom of Nimrod (bad dude)
• In Genesis 11, listed as the home for the Tower of Babel (bad idea)
• Referenced in Isaiah 11:11 as a place God will call his people from.  Could reference a past historical event or refer to the second coming of Christ.  I'm not sure.
• Ellasar
• Nothing I know of (boring, isn't it?)
• Elam
• Mentioned in Isaiah 21:2 in conjunction with fall of Babylon.  My commentary seems to think this is predicting Elam's role in the eventual fall of Babylon.
• Tidal King of Nations
• Still 5 Shrute bucks available to whoever can provide me info.

The Defensive Five

• Sodom
• Read Genesis 19, does not ultimately end well.  Becomes an ultimate symbol of man's depravity throughout the remainder of the Bible.
• Gomorrah
• Same as Sodom above.
• Admah
• In Deuteronomy 29:23, Admah is grouped in with Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction.  Probably not good for them.
• Zeboiim
• Same as Admah
• Bela (Zoar)
• City to which Lot fled in Genesis 19.  I think it ultimately gets spared.

So, those are the players.  Almost all of them we will see again in our journey through the Scripture.  These battles and confrontations took place in the Valley of Siddim, which most scholars now believe is buried beneath the Dead Sea.  Essentially, the Attacking Four had been extracting tribute from the Defensive Five for 12 years.  The Defensive Five got tired of it, said no mas, and dug in.  The Attacking Four called them on it and thoroughly defeated them in battle.  Not only did the defeat them badly, the Attacking Four also looted Sodom and Gomorrah of its people and possessions, which at this time included Lot and his family.

Abram, being a good uncle, wasn't going to stand for this.  He received word via an escapee and immediately enacted his own personal national guard.  Abram armed 318 of his own men, enlisted the help of three allies (Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre), and took off after Lot.  He eventually caught up to the Attacking Four, forcefully retrieved Lot, his family, and his possessions.  He then returned to meet Melchizedek, king of Salem (whom we've never met until now), and the king of Sodom.  It is important to note that Melchizedek appears with no fanfare or background.  He is just here.  And then he is gone.  The only thing we know is that Salem was an older name for Jerusalem.  He was a contemporary of Abram that worshiped God as well.  We won't see him again at all in this book, but he does appear in Hebrews as part of discussion about Jesus Christ.  We know that Melchizedek joined Abram in giving credit to God for the victory.  Abram obviously appreciated the blessing.  We know that he viewed Melchizedek as a priest because he gave a tithe to God through Melchizedek (which is an otherwise priestly duty).  Important Point #3 - God is the ultimate author of our successes.  It is only right to give him the credit and the glory.

Not to be left out, the king of Sodom has been begging for some of Abram's attention.  He asks Abram if he can have the people while Abram keeps the goods.  Abram raises his hand, which was a symbol of a strong oath, and told the king no.  It was important to Abram that God be known as the author and sustainer of Abram's successes.  He refused to share God's glory with an earthly king.  Because of that desire, Abram took nothing save what he brought.  He took his own men home and asked the king only give the portion of food that Abram's men had already eaten.  Also notice that Abram does not force his conviction on his allies. He tells the king that Aner, Eschol, and Mamre, can all take their portions as they see fit.  Important Point #4 - Just because we do or don't do something because of our relationship with God, we shouldn't necessarily expect those without that relationship to behave in a likewise manner.

Abram returns the conquering hero and all is right with the world, for now.  For those that say the Bible isn't interesting, in the span of two chapters we've had a family feud, rebellion, rebellion squashing, and daring rescue raid by an outnumbered force.  What more could you want?

One of the Most Epic Stories Ever Told Begins Here...

If this blog asdlkfj contains random dsklfj bursts of characters, just know due to as;lkjfsa;l this horrible cough I've picked up.  I am not experiencing a case of internet Tourettes nor having insane arm cramps.  Somewhere, I picked up a lovely little virus that's got me sniffling, sneezing, alksf;j coughing, aching, stuffy as;lkdfj head, and otherwise fulfilling every prophecy on the Nyquil bottle.  And yes, I did Google the phrase "Nyquil slogan."  I'm trying to see how many trademarked words I can fit into one blog post.  So, in the interest of my passing out in what-I-wish-was-a-medicine-induced-coma-but-will-at-best-be-fitful-sleep, I need to stop procrastinating and get on with Genesis.  asl;dkjfsa

Genesis 12

Important Point #1 - This chapter marks the beginning of Abram's story.  We will hang out with him for a few chapters and is one of the central OT people, so get to know him.

Important Point #2 - Abram's story begins with the remembering of a blessing.  God had promised to bless Abram, and bless others through Abram.  He promised protection, that any that cursed Abram's name would be themselves cursed.  God promised to make many nations through Abram and to bless all people through the birth/death/resurrection of Abram's descendant Jesus.

Important Point #3 - Abram wasn't infallible even though God promised protection.  He caved into fear and convinced his wife Sarai to tell a half-truth (or, more commonly known as, a lie) that she was his sister.  He feared her beauty would incite so much jealousy amongst the Egyptians they would kill Abram to claim Sarai. It backfired.  The Pharaoh himself claimed Sarai and, in turn, made Abram extremely wealthy.

Important Point #4 - From the outside, things looked fine.  Abram had more money and possessions than he knew what to do with, but don't confuse that with God's condoning his behavior.  Whereas Abram prospered, God sent plagues onto Pharaoh's house due to Abram's deceit.  And with that, out of Egypt Abram and Sarai go.  This problem would prove genetic.  While God didn't punish Abram at the time of his deceit, we read another instance of this same thing happening with Abram's dear son Isaac.  Sins of the father sometimes repeat further down the line.

You Can't Always Get What You Want, But You Get What You Need

Snow’s on the ground, I have a stomach full of cinnamon toast (the real, homemade version), time to finish up Job.  We’ve reached the climax of the story.  Job’s been afflicted, he’s complained, he’s been rebuked, he’s complained some more, etc.  Now, he gets his wish.  God arrives, and He’s not mincing words.

Nobody can argue that Job’s been getting a little full of himself.  God has unfairly afflicted him and now God, the Creator of the universe, must give an answer or account for His actions.  My Bible describes it as a rival claim to God’s throne.  To be fair, Job’s attitude is essentially human.  We all demand answers and knowledge from God on the pretext that He owes us at least that much.  God’s first order of business?  Shock and awe.  He shows up in a whirlwind, booming voice and all.  I have no idea what that voice audibly sounds like, but it’s got to be this booming, chest-rattling bass.  He demands to know who is questioning His plan.  He tells Job to man up, the next few minutes are going to be difficult.  As a side note, that will now be incorporated into any future smack talk I ever do.  Imagine me striding to the batter’s box in softball, pointing the bat at the pitcher, and instructing him to “gird up his loins like a man” in my best James Earl Jones impersonation.  It would be epic.

What follows that entrance is one of the longest strings of rhetorical questions I’ve ever seen.  He challenges Job’s knowledge of creation, of God’s ultimate control over even the most chaotic natural forces, of God’s ultimate limitation of evil.  He reminds Job that it is He that designed the stars, the weather patterns, the animal kingdom and all that goes on in it.  Finally, after all these questions that Job can’t possibly respond to, God challenges him again.  I’m sure Job stammers and stutters as he realizes the full extent of his error.  He admits his wicked mistake in questioning God and says “no thanks” to the chance to talk anymore.

Oh, but God’s not done.  He hasn’t fully demonstrated His superiority yet.  Again, he tells Job to man-up, because it’s about to get rough.  Up until now, God has challenged Job’s knowledge.  Now, it’s time to show just how weak Job is compared to Him.  God challenges Job to save himself, to show his mighty power and glory and deliver himself from his own affliction.  Not only must Job save himself, he’s also got to ultimately deal with all who are wicked and humble all who are proud.  If he can do all that, then God will admit Job’s ability to save himself.  God then shrinks the scope and challenges Job’s ability to conquer two beasts, the “behemoth” and the “Leviathan.” 

The identity of the two animals has been hotly contested.  Scholars aren’t even sure if it is a real animal or a purely mythological one.  For the “behemoth,” one explanation that seems to fit the ancient culture is a hippopotamus.  At that time, the hippopotamus had an “overtone of cosmic evil” and could fit the physical description in chapter 40.  The other possibility is a currently extinct animal, possibly a dinosaur.  The word “Leviathan” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “sea monster” or “sea serpent.”  Traditionally, the “Leviathan” has been thought to be a crocodile.  The initial description of chapter 41 could fit a crocodile, but by the end of the chapter it’s a fire-breathing dragon.  The “Leviathan” represents “chaos, evil, and destruction” and ultimately is a symbol of Satan that can be conquered by no one but God.  Ultimately, the identity of the two beasts is somewhat of a side note.  The important point is that it is again an illustration of Job’s utter lack of power and God’s sovereignty over all creation.  If you can’t conquer a created being, how can you possibly hope to stand with its Creator?

And with that, the tempest subsides.  Job admits he spoke without understanding, and he repents.  The commentary insinuates that Job not only repents from his accusations of God but also the mistaken belief that God always rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked immediately.  Now that Job understands that, he realizes it was wicked to accuse a holy and pure God of injustice and submits to God’s ultimate sovereignty.  However, it appears that Job’s friends haven’t quite been convinced.  Whereas Job repents, his friends hold on to their mistaken belief.  God lays out a sacrifice plan for the three friends to offer to God through Job.  I don’t know all the theology behind why God laid it that way, but it is interesting that the three friends required a mediator for their repentance.  The three friends did as God commanded, and Job prayed on their behalf.  Following that, God restored Job and gave him twice as much as he had before.  Job lived for 140 more years and saw four generations of his children and grandchildren.

So there you have it.  Even though Job wasn’t being punished for a specific sin, the suffering did reveal sinful areas in Job’s life.  And even though Job ultimately ends up with enormous amounts of wealth and family, it would be a mistake to assume that a validation of the prosperity gospel.  Job had to repent of that belief and his friends had to offer an enormous sacrifice and get Job’s mediatory prayer before they could be set right with God.  The Bible itself and Christian history afterwards is littered with both wealthy believers and those one step short of the poor house.  A person’s station, wealth, physical appearance, etc. cannot be taken as indicator of their spiritual health.  Sometimes following God’s will for our lives will result in wealth and fame, and sometimes it will result poverty.  The important thing is that we be content in whatever place God has us and we always submit to His will.

Long Time No See

So lots has happened since my last blog post.  We've had Christmas and New Year.  I took the wife to New York City fearing a blizzard and it indeed came to pass....in HUNTSVILLE.  We moved into a new house.  I got a ticket for following to close on Christmas (and no, the officer was not a green man in a makeshift Santa costume).  I got a cavity filled.  And I once again failed in my attempt to grow a wintery lumberjack beard.

Let me tell you what didn't happen: blog posts.  I'm a bum.  I admit it.  As famous atheletes are prone to say, I own my shortcomings.  I thought about blaming it on my lack of internet, but that doesn't really explain a month's absence.  No excuses, I just haven't done it.  I need to have better self-discipline to first read my Bible and second follow through on my commitment to write about it.  So, I plan on posting the final part of Job tomorrow night and we'll get back to Genesis.

UPDATE:  Due to more snowfall, I cannot stay at work as planned and use their internet connection to post my blog on Job.  So, I will write it tonight and post on Friday afternoon.

God is God and That's That

I love TV.  Specifically, I love my TV.  It's 46 glorious inches of high def LCD goodness.  It provides windows into worlds I could never visit and glimpses into situations I would never consider otherwise.  For example, tonight I was flipping through the stations and came across the Discovery Health channel.  Now, normally I don't frequent that particular channel, but the title caught my eye.  Who could resist "I'm Pregnant...and a Nudist?"  Pure gold.  In the span of 10 minutes, I was able to observe a nudist baby shower (thank goodness for the little fuzzy boxes that cover things nobody needs to see) and here the mother's counseling session with a family therapist regarding raising her daughter in a nudist family.  Two things I have to get off my chest.

One, a nudist baby shower is just wrong.  A mixed nudist baby shower is even worse.  Some attend clothed, some don't.  The mother-to-be decided out of respect for the comfort level of the non-nudist in attendance, she would remain clothed.  The grandmother-to-be also chose to cover up as the hostess of the party.  Great-grandmother, on the other hand, did not.  In the final analysis, if someone is willing to come to a baby shower where even one person would probably be naked, I don't think the mother-to-be or host dressing up is that big of a deal.  In any case, there should be a nude and non-nude food table.  Think about it, that ain't sanitary.

Two, why is it that most people that lead a somewhat deviant life style always stress that they will not force their lifestyle on their children?  Instead, the child will decide what is best for him or her.  I'm not much of a baby expert, but from what I can tell babies/toddlers love to be naked.  The only thing a baby likes better than being naked is being naked while covering something in excrement.  We know which way that is going at least through age five.  What happens between 5-12 is a tossup, but I'm betting the kid chooses clothing once he or she realizes that being the only naked kid in elementary school is not the best way to make friends.  By the age of 12, the expectant mother thinks her child will be mature enough to then accept or reject the nudist lifestyle.  The only thing more incredible than that idea is that the therapist then told the camera that she assumes the mother has weighed all of the risks and will make the best decision for her child. Yes, crazy therapist lady, if there's one thing a nudist has, its rational thought processes and proper understanding of social interactions.

What does this have to do with Job?  Nothing.  Consider this my plea for the sequel to begin production immediately titled "I'm Pregnant...and Not a Total Weirdo."

Job 36 & 37
Elihu is wrapping up his speech.  He hasn't been perfect, but he's made some very good points.  He continues that trend with these final two chapters.  First, Elihu emphasizes God's just nature.  God does, Elihu states, deal with both the wicked and the righteous appropriately.  God does not care whether the person is a pauper or a prince, they always get what they deserve.  If the righteous man strays, God is faithful to point out the error of his ways and allow him a chance to repent.  If the man repents, God rewards him.  If the man doesn't, he "shall perish by the sword" according to verse 12.  Elihu has one thing right...God is a just God.  He deals with all of us as we deserve.  Unfortunately for us, we deserve eternal death.  And apart from Jesus work on the cross, we will all get what we deserve.  Elihu warns Job that he is at a crossroads where he can respond to God's correction with either repentance or stubborn refusal.  If he repents, God "would have brought you out of dire distress" (v. 16).  If he doesn't, God's wrath will be released in such a way that "a large ransom would not help you avoid it" (v. 18).

Having defended God's just nature rather imperfectly, Elihu moves on to God's majesty and power.  I suppose its my pride, but I have trouble not viewing Job and God an relatively close planes.  It's not a conscious thought, but rather an underlying assumption I didn't even realize I had until I thought about it.  I looked at it as more a boss/subordinate-type dynamic than the "all-powerful majestic and holy God" and "mortal fallen human" interaction it really is.  Elihu reminds both Job and I of that.  God's voice is as thunder and commands the lightning.  He has never been taught nor corrected.  God controls the wind, rain, snow, and seasons.  God convenes storms and sends them as either correction, replenishment for the land, or blessing via crop-watering rain.  Elihu challenges Job to seriously ponder how God controls the clouds, or warms him via the southern wind, or designs the skies.  Having considered all that, how can Job possibly speak to God as one deserving an audience (37:20)?  If we cannot even look at the sun because of its overwhelming brightness, how can we possible take in its Creator (32:21-22)?  Elihu finishes with this description of God in chapter 37 verses 23 - 24:

He is excellent in power, in judgement and abundant justice; He does not oppress.  Therefore men fear Him...

I like science.  It's cool.  Chicks dig it, sort of.  It explains a lot of things.  In some ways, though, its put us at a disadvantage.  In Elihu and Job's day, supernatural beings were commonly used to explain natural phenomenon that they observed but couldn't understand.  In some cultures, this gave birth to either incorrect monotheism or, more often, polytheism.  In this case, Elihu correctly ascribes them to the one true God.  However, thanks to years of scientific advances, we now better understand the mechanisms that drive seasonal change or weather patterns.  We can read about them in textbooks and understand them.  All that is well and good.  However, it has negatively impacted our appreciation and awe for God.  Thunder and lightning isn't a mysterious sign of God's power and creative genius any more.  It's just what happens when energy moves between two oppositely charged electrical fields in the atmosphere.  Nevermind that we still don't understand all facets of lightning, that its taken 2000+ years for us to even gain a partial understanding, and knowing how something works is drastically inferior to conceiving, designing, and creating it.  Nope, we humans are smart, getting smarter, and destined to figure this whole thing out one day (for anybody that actually believes this, watch "I'm Pregnant...and a Nudist."  We just aren't that bright).  Once we've achieved that knowledge, we won't need an archaic notion of God any more.  God literally help us when we reach that stage.

Conclusion
With that, the stage is set.  Elihu has effectively introduced the main character in the story.  God is about to make His entrance.  He will reiterate and expand upon some of the incomplete ideas begun by Elihu.  What's the takeaway from tonight?  God is just, wise, and infinitely powerful.  He may not act in all situations as we immediately hoped He would, but in the end His justice will be evident.  I still believe God doesn't mind honest questioning, but we must avoid Job's folly of attacking God's character.  Quite simply, He is God and we are not.  My prayer is that I will remember that every moment of every day.  That my inner thought life, interactions with the outside world, and spiritual walk will always reflect that simple truth.  The ant doesn't dictate to the human, and the human certainly doesn't dictate to a just and holy God.