The book of Job

We in Kingdom Kids were moved by reading the book of Job.
Observations:

• When God speaks, He has all things figured out. He's not "working through it" at the moment. It's a shock when we realize, like Job, that God has been in control all along. 
• Job must have felt like an ant when God spoke. When God makes things clear to us that we have not been patient about, we also feel the need to close our mouth, as Job did,  because sometimes we just don't have a clue. In some ways, we have zero knowledge about what is happening all around us, and we just need to listen to God. We can't do that when we are expressing confusion and in a sense, arguing with God.
• We need to be empathetic to others who are suffering, and sometimes keep silent as we support them. Job's friends wanted so sincerely to help him, but they overstepped their boundaries of knowledge and gave answers which were not accurate. When we support others in their time of suffering, speak softly and speak carefully. Actions of love and concern are most helpful. What we think is wisdom may go completely against God's wisdom. If there isn't an answer to suffering, don't make one up. 
• Why do we ignore the message of the book of Job so often? As we grow and mature in our suffering, the goal is to move from our human perspective of success and "blessings,"  and have a more eternal perspective. At no point did God give Job a promise that his suffering would end on earth, though in the end God proved how clueless about the outcome Job was by giving him double in every category. We must be more content and trust in God no matter where we are at in life. Although we pray for God to give us the desire of our hearts, God's desire is that our prayers go from "fix this problem" or "give me what I need" to "tell me what I need" and "You, God, are THE ANSWER." We are called to embrace suffering and simply wait on God. It comes down to patience and trust. This is difficult, but God said to Job in essence, "Man up! Tell me who is in control here? Who is God?" The answer is not that we receive blessings and an easy life on earth, but that we trust God is in control of our destiny and our eternal future. 

January 1-4 (collective observations of Kingdom Kids staff)

Our reading thus far has brought out some significant thoughts. First, have you noticed the repetition? Whether it's "God saw that it was good" or the genealogies mentioned, many things are repeated over and over. For us, this helps clarify important items. Some important themes we noticed:

• God is the judge of good and evil, not man. He is the One who decides what is "good" or "not good" in Genesis. The problem comes when Adam and Eve want to know and decide for themselves, without trusting God. Eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil takes on new meaning, because we see that only God has been calling the shots of "good" and "not good" up until then.
• "Separation" comes up all of the time. God separates light from dark, waters from earth, plants and animals after their kind, man from beast, woman from man, etc. God must have an interest in keeping things separate. Maybe this will come up later with His people Israel being separate from the world, and their God being separate from other gods. God is separate, "Holy."

Some of us are reading out loud with our spouses. It seems to flow differently than just reading silently. Maybe it actually helps to read out loud occasionally, especially in light of the fact that the Israelites depended on oral history, and storytelling. Genealogies may feel a bit long, but each name most likely brought up feelings of nobility or frailty in the mind of listeners. It's amazing that 1,000's of years did not yield inaccuracy in the storyline because God preserved it and communicated it to Moses.

A few other observations:

• In Genesis, light was created before bodies of light. There was no sun in beginning, but also Revelation says that there will be no sun necessary in the end, because God (the Lamb) will be its light.
• After the flood, the first mention of sacrifice was with Noah - before the law of Moses. Were sacrifices also a cultural phenomenon? 
• Bible is not exhaustive in nature (it doesn't tell us everything there is to know about everything), but sufficient (it tells us what we need to know for salvation and trusting God). Similar to Adam and Eve, we have enough knowledge to know that we must trust God. He will reveal more in time.
• People lived for almost a millennium near the beginning of time. How would living until the age of 900 change your life pattern? Would you be less worried about getting everything done in time? Would you be more driven and excited about living and have your priorities?

By the way, we won't be posting the reading selections every day, but just for those of you who may be interested in reading along, the selections will be very complicated to keep up without the Chronological Bible that we are using. If you are thinking about joining, it would be a good idea to purchase the Bible pictured to the right of this blog. The selections have been as follows:

January 1-3

                Genesis 1:1-9:29

                1 Chronicles 1:1-4

January 4

                Gen. 10:1-5

                1 Chronicles 1:5-7

                Genesis 10:6-20

                1 Chronicles 1:8-16

                Genesis 10:21-11:26

                1 Chronicles 1:17-27

Day 3

For all who are joining us, we should be on day 3 of reading the Chronological Bible. If you haven't begun, or just found out about this challenge, it's not too late! We are using the Bible pictured to the right, and they are reasonably priced.

I was excited that several people passed me in the hallway yesterday at church and shared observations already from reading the text just two days. If you are reading along and would like to share any comments about your reading or just how God is speaking to you in His Word, leave a comment on any recent posting so that others can rejoice with you!

Just a reminder that I will post an "Observations from the Text" blog every Tuesday after my staff and I gather for our weekly meetings. That would be a great time for you to check in. Also, once a month our Team Leaders have a meeting, and more observations and testimonies will be posted from that.