PSA Bible Reading Challenge 2023-2024

You can understand why Luther felt like James should have been left out of the canon of Scripture. If you look at chapter 2 starting at vs.14 you read an argument which lifts up works as a manifestation of faith. But it is really this verse, vs.24 where it states that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone which screams loudly against our Protestant understanding which emphasizes that we are saved by grace through faith alone. In that formula nothing is mentioned of works, and that is on purpose.

Aside from this somewhat, okay very, controversial theological matter, James is filled with precious bits of wisdom that would do us well to remember. He addresses our preferential treatment in the church of those who have material means and that God would be disappointed if this continued. He highlights the role that elders serve in healing and in bringing people to a saving knowledge of Christ by recognizing that God is still at work today. There is so much in James. If you were into memorizing Scripture this book of the Bible would be a good one to memorize. Don’t tell Luther I said so.

There are definitely some themes that deserve to be underscored, but many of them reveal themselves right at the end in the final verses of chapter 12. Before that, look at 9:17-18 “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war.” I love this quote and it also gives the example of the wise old man who saved the city and yet his contribution was forgotten. While the city was saved, the fact that it happened because of the wisdom of an individual was lost, and so the value of wisdom in those situations was lost as well. Wisdom is better than weapons of war. Love this.

The second principle that is crucial is found in chapter 12:13 “Fear God and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of everyone.” If only…Some may take some consolation in the verse that states: much study is a weariness to the flesh. I don’t know, I love to study and it really energizes my flesh and my body and all of me. I haven’t found that studying creates burn out, but maybe I don’t do it enough to make that happen. Keep studying Scripture y’all!

I didn’t think I really enjoyed Ecclesiastes, until I read it pretty carefully this morning. Now I think I like it. The author does seem a bit of a Scrooge and would never be classified as an optimist by anyone’s classifications, but he just might have a few things right. Well, that goes without saying, it is Scripture after all. We know from chapter 1:1 that the author is Solomon. We can guess that he is probably later in his years. He expresses how ironic, how vain is the word he actually uses, to think of those who work hard thinking that their work is going to last any longer than their life might last.

There is more to it, of course, and in the course of the Scripture he does lift up work as edifying but not as an end to itself, it is a means to enjoying this life more fully. I think the reason why I enjoy this Scripture now is that I recognize more than ever that our task is to work so that we can enjoy God even more today than we did yesterday. Our job is not to do God’s job, but it is to do that which is put before us, and even more, but not for the sake of gain or for the sake of acquiring even more, but rather for the sake of enjoying the life that God has given us.

You know for many enjoying life may look like kicking your shoes off and putting your feet upon on your couch and binge watching Friends. Well, that’s not really what the definition of life is for this author. His definition is that you do that which you were called to do and in that you take pleasure. When you are fulfilled in the Lord, then you can be fulfilled in all that you do, which may be work, or family, or pleasure. But if you seek pleasure for the sake of finding pleasure, then you have already missed the mark. When you do that which pleases you, then you are able to do that which is God’s will and desire in your life. This makes a lot more sense to me now than it ever did.

And so the story ends. God does finally speak and he speaks to Job as someone who is guilty. He asks Job who is the creator? He also asks Job who continues to have a hand in all that takes place and who continues to have all wisdom beyond understanding. There is nothing that escapes the hand of the Lord, nothing. There is a theory in some circles that God created and then left us to our own devices. This book of the Bible speaks strongly against that approach. God created and continues to have a hand in all things.

When Job is confronted he did what was necessary. He confessed that he did not know what he was saying and states that he repents in dust and ashes because he spoke that which he did not know. This approach to humility was what was necessary for all of the people involved. In fact, God demands a sacrifice of humility from the friends of Job who had accosted him verbally while he was down and out.

As a result of this sacrifice and the praying of Job over his friends, for God would only accept Job’s prayers and not those of his friends, as a result of the prayers of Job God listens and even doubles the prosperity of Job from what he had before. All is well that ends well. He even has more kids including one daughter whose name was Jemimah. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Elihu, you know the fourth person to condemn Job outside of his friend circle, really goes off and speaks at length as to the folly of Job thinking that he was righteous. He speaks more than any of the friends in these chapters and he refers more to God and his way of being which is pretty hard to argue against. But I am sure that Job will try. I am still waiting to hear what God is going to say, because we know that God will speak and will put Job, his friends, and hopefully Elihu in his place as well. Many words Elihu, many words.

I’ll leave you with the words of Proverbs, the last words that we read: The victory belongs to the Lord.

Now it starts to get interesting with Job. We find him at the beginning of this reading eulogizing wisdom and how precious wisdom is. Only God knows where to find wisdom and knows its path and its purpose. Nothing in this world is more precious than wisdom. Like that commercial says you can put a pricetag on certain things, but wisdom: priceless. Job does have a longish defense of himself in regards to the Matthew 25 Scripture which we saw earlier. He was accused of not reaching out to those in need and concern and one of his friends said very specifically that this was why God had turned His back on him.

These chapters contained a defense of Job by Job in that he says he always looked for ways to reach out to the poor and the helpless and the defenseless. In fact, he said that if he did not do that then God should remove his arms and take away anything that he had at all, physically. It is a very strong appeal made by Job that he did, in fact, reach out in concern to the needy when he was in his whole state. He gave specific examples and they would have been hard to argue against.

We end with a fourth person, who isn’t described as a friend but rather as someone who was younger and held his mouth because he was convinced that the three older friends would have been able to have convince Job that he was not righteous as he though he was. So he lays into him and tells him that no one is righteous and that his arguments against his friends were really arguements against God. Kinda hard to go against that. Let’s see what happens when we finish this out. God has to speak at some point.

In Job 22 his friend is very specific in what he states Job has failed to do. It all kinda follows what the king says in Matthew 25. You failed to reach out in concern to the widow. You abandoned the orphan. You didn’t provide food to the hungry or material relief to the poor. This listing of non-actions should be a concern to the reader. It seems as if his friend is accusing him very specifically for things that he did not do. His friend would know him and would stand in a position to be able to accuse him. But again, the concept is that because he did not do any of these things he falls within the company of the wicked and God naturally will punish the wicked. As a result you are being punished right now in your current state of affairs because you did not do all those things.

We do not know if Job did these things or not. He certainly says that he will die before he confesses to things that he feels like he did not commit, and probably these types of actions fall into that category. He refuses to admit to the guilt that he does not have. Now, there is a part of me that makes me think that Job thinks more highly of himself than he ought to. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. His friends make him out to be inherently sinful, as if God created him that way. No, not one of us is inherently sinful, God has made us in His image. But we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Maybe that is enough to admit. It may not make a difference in the current state of affairs for Job, but a little humility might help.

The crux of Job is not so much that his friends think that he simply did something wrong, but rather that he is inherently wicked and it is only the wicked who are punished. He should be considered, according to his friends, as coming from evil and God punishes the wicked and the evil one and so God is punishing him. Job’s answer, especially in 21 is, have you travelled? Have you seen the world in which we live? God seems to reward the wicked with prosperity and their children go around with dancing and without thinking about the future. There is no justice in this world. The justice we think that God uses is not what God uses at all. I am a victim of the capriciousness, my words not Job’s, of God and we cannot understand it. But in the midst of Job’s explanation we do find this one verse which we should all love: 19:25 – I know, that my redeemer lives. Yes, this was Job who said this in the midst of his suffering. Pretty impressive.

Paul ends out his letter to the Romans and reminds them to be considerate for those who are newer to the faith or who seem to have a little less faith. Basically we could read this as be considerate to those who are little more legalistic than we are. So if it offends some Christians that you eat the meat sacrificed to idols, don’t eat it in their presence. If it offends some Christians that you drink alchohol, don’t drink alchohol in their presence. If it offens some Christians that you watch some movies or follow some TV series, don’t suggest that you watch it together as a group. There are some actions and some ways of life that are offensive to some Christians, especially some Christians who are more legalistic than others, avoid those actions while they are around.

Now, let’s be clear, there are some ways of life that are destructive, just avoid those ways of life because they take you away from the Lord. It isn’t a matter of faith that you can somehow sustain a destructive way of life because your freedom allows you to do it. There is a way to live that takes you away from the Lord, and another way to live that brings you closer. We need to have the wisdom to differentiate between the two.

As we make our way with Job we see another friend accuse him and Job takes a couple of chapters to intervene and speak against the reasoning and the rationale that his friends speak. God better intervene sometime soon, don’t worry, he’ll be along soon. But I really want to focus in on Romans 12.

If you look at Romans 12:9-21 you find what is called the marks of a true Christian. Now, we do not sit on the judgment and seat and we are not tasked with the job of deciding who is a Christian by name and who is a true Christian. But these verses serve as a great measuring stick for our own lives. Don’t try to measure up the lives of others, we would do well just to measure our own lives. Look at the guidelines that we are given to measure our lives, I’m just going to throw some phrases out and read them and let them sink in.

Hate what is evil and hold fast to what is good. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. That should sound familiar. That is my benediction, at least that last phrase. I think this is good enough to end on. Wait, there is more. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. Yeah, that’s a good place to end it. Can you imagine if people tried to over come evil with good. Wow, just wow.

It is in these chapters where Job famously declares that he is willing to defend himself before. Not as if he were perfect or as if there is no guilt or sin in him, but rather as someone as he says that is not suffering as a result of his own work, but rather as this being the work of God irrespective of his life of righteousness or sin. Clearly speaking, this is God at work here and not his work that has put him in this untenous, impossible position. One of his friends, again, blames him and calls him a fool for not recognizing that God was punishing him for his deeds. This is what causes him to say: I will argue my case with God. In seminary we had a mock trial of Job vs. God where Job goes to court and pleads his case against God. Needless to say, Job loses.

Romans strikes a similar vein where we find in 9:20 where Paul asks us a simple but pointed question: Who are you to argue with God. That is question we can ask of Job. Who are we to wonder what God was really up to? I guess once you lose all of your livelihood and your children and everything of value you somehow get a sense that you might have a right to question just a little bit. Yeah, even then we are clay and God is the potter. No matter how much God has shaped us and molded us and brought us back down to nothing, we are still the clay. That never changes.