Readings for today: Job 25-28
Eight years ago, we built a home. We got to see it take shape from the ground up. We walked through it at every stage. We spent time going over all the details with the general contractor. Among the more significant was the insulation. How much? Where would it go? What was the rating? Insulation provides a protective barrier around the home. Keeps the utility bills low. Saves energy. Keeps the home comfortable.
As a Christian living in 21st century America, I am deeply aware of how much I am “insulated” from so much that goes on in the world. My government is relatively stable and has a history of peaceful transfers of power. My community is protected by faithful men and women who serve on the police force and in fire departments. I have access to the best medical care in the world. My household income places me in the top 5% of the world’s wealthiest people. As such, I can buy what I need when I need it. I live in a warm home in the winter, a cool home in the summer. My children have access to great education. College is not just a pipe dream but an expectation for them. Because of the color of my skin, I have never had to face racism either on a personal or systemic level. I have never been held back or paid less because of my gender. My sexual orientation places me at little to no risk. All these advantages create “layers of insulation” that have afforded me an almost idyllic life.
However, these layers also create “cultural distance” between myself and those who have had a much different experience in life. This includes many of my African-American, Hispanic, and Asian brothers and sisters. It includes many of my female colleagues in ministry. It includes many of my LGBTQ friends. It includes my global brothers and sisters living in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. And it most certainly includes a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz during the time of the patriarchs of the Bible. One of the more difficult challenges when it comes to Biblical interpretation is recognizing the “cultural distance” between us and the men and women of Scripture. Job lived at a time when there was no democracy. No rule of law. No peaceful transitions of power. Job lived in an age where pain and suffering was common. There were no police, no firefighters, no first responders. Healthcare was non-existent. Disease, famine, pestilence, drought happened all too often. Job lived at a time where families and clans and tribes lived in an almost constant state of conflict. Women and children were routinely raped and murdered. The wealthiest were often the most envied and most targeted. And there were no guarantees beyond what you could guard and protect through your own strength. As such, when we read about the Sabeans raiding all of Job’s oxen and donkeys or the firestorm from heaven that kills all Job’s sheep or the Chaldeans raiding his camels or hurricane force winds collapsing a home on Job’s children, we cannot imagine what that must feel like because we are largely insulated from such tragedies. But Job is not. His friends are not. They live in a world where these things happen with some degree of regularity.
The craziest part of this whole book is that Job believes. He holds fast to his faith. The language he uses to describe God in chapter 26 is some of the most beautiful and stirring in all of Scripture. “Hell is ripped open before God, graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space, hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags and the bags don’t burst. He makes the moon wax and wane, putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean, sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. Listen! It’s God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms, by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky, with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!” (Job 26:6-14 MSG) And I love how he describes his search for wisdom in chapter 28. “But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom? Where does Insight hide? Mortals don’t have a clue, haven’t the slightest idea where to look. Earth’s depths say, ‘It’s not here’; ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.’ It can’t be bought with the finest gold; no amount of silver can get it. Even famous Ophir gold can’t buy it, not even diamonds and sapphires. Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable; extravagant jewelry can’t touch it. Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother? None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom! Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will, they can’t hold a candle to Wisdom. “So where does Wisdom come from? And where does Insight live? It can’t be found by looking, no matter how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly. If you search through the graveyard and question the dead, they say, ‘We’ve only heard rumors of it.’”(Job 28:12-22 MSG)
In the face of all Job has suffered, he still trusts in God. One of the great truths I have discovered as I travel and teach the world over is that “insulation” is a faith-killer. The more layers, the more we struggle to believe. The more we have, the harder it is for us to trust in God. The more safe and comfortable we are, the less resilient our faith. The book of Job describes in vivid detail what happens when all the layers are peeled back. Everything we have is stripped away. All we hold dear is lost. In that moment, will we cling to faith? Will we walk the path of wisdom that God lays out for us? “God alone knows the way to Wisdom, He knows the exact place to find it…Fear-of-the-Lord - that’s Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.” (Job 28:23, 28)
Readings for tomorrow: Job 29-32