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Week 24  Job 2

Job loses everything except his life. And his wife. After the hammer fell she’s around to ask him an interesting question (are you still holding on to your integrity?) She also offers Job some religious advice (curse God and die!)
Job’s wife takes the understandable (and maybe normal) view that when something bad happens curse God. It seems like “god-damn god” is a common enough reaction to adversity. (A guy thinks I might maybe thank the Lord for his benefits but – god-dammit! – I ’m definitely gonna damn him when bad things happen.)
Job’s reply-question to his wife is: shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? The bible doesn’t say it but I think Job’s wife’s answer would be “No. I’ll accept good from God but not adversity”.
Let’s say Job and his wife are asked to fill out a questionnaire: What Can I Expect From the Lord? There are three choices: a) good things b) adversity and c) both of the above.
Job’s wife would check a) and Job would check c). It’s choice c) that really separates Job from the rest of the pack.
Earlier in the chapter Satan had predicted that adversity would push Job to the point of cursing God. As it turned out Satan’s prediction didn’t come true. At least not in Job’s case. I can’t say for sure with his wife…but she came tantalizingly close.

Note: quote from Job 2:9-10 & see 2:4-5 (NIV)

Week 23  Job 1

Some day I might make a list of stories from the bible and call it Key Stories From the Bible (subtitle: Stories That – If They Were Missing – Would Leave a Huge Gap in My Understanding About What’s-Going-On).
One good candidate for that list is Job 1 & 2. That’s the one I’m sitting here thinking about today.
There’s a gathering – a kind of convention – in a location that’s inaccessible to humans. The conferees are non-human-beings and there’s two main categories of them:
…the angels came to present themselves before the Lord
…and Satan also came with them.
It’s surprising to see that a) the Lord has a gathering that includes Satan and b) the Lord has a personal conversation with him.
Part of that conversation is this:
The Lord: where have you come from?
Satan: from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.
I wonder about Satan’s daily agenda. What percentage of his time did he spend roaming-through-the-earth? Does he still do that? I see an NT cross-reference: your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. It sounds like he’s spending a lot of time.
In Job 1 & 2 Satan is looking to bring Job to the point where Job curses the Lord.
Meanwhile the Lord is looking on…seeing what Job will do.
And meanwhile Job’s completely in the dark about what’s happening behind the scenes.

Note: quotes from Job 1:6 7 & 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Week 23  Nehemiah 9

Chapter 9 is mostly a review of the History of Israel and the main part of the passage is a reminder of the key historical events.
But a secondary idea that’s hard to miss is what Nehemiah says about the Lord.
What the Lord is actually like is a pretty important thing to know and so I write down the words that describe him. The Lord:
…made everything
…preserves everything
…gives life to everything
…sees & hears & speaks to people
…does a lot of supra-natural things
…gives people directions/instructions
…forgives people
…is gracious & good & practices mercy
…takes a long time to get angry
…is unfailingly loving
…helps & takes care of people
…is patient & great & mighty & awesome
…only resorts to punishment after a long time and as a last resort.
One of the reasons I read the bible is to try to figure out what the Lord is like. So this is a really productive chapter with lots of useful data.
Mostly it’s a nice consolatory reminder of the Kindly Lord (which is nice since the OT – just like the NT – also has edgier & off-putting & stern-and-serious qualities of the Lord).
I know that the happier picture of the Lord is non-comprehensive – that there’s a bigger picture it fits into. But it’s a legitimate & genuine part. And it’s a nice thing to be reminded about.

Note: see the features in Nehemiah 9:6 9 10-12 13-14 17 20-21 22-25 30 32 33 35.

Week 23  Nehemiah 7

There’s a list of names in chapter 7 – names and head-count numbers in a column down the page. I start reading them. Scanning more than reading. Mind drifting…
Parosh sounds like it could be an Indian name (and maybe Jaala as well)
Pashur. Hmmm…maybe Afghani
Ono & Hatita & Nekoda have a definite Japanese ring
Keros & Barkos? Greek for sure
Bakbuk Russia
Cherub might be a transnational angel
And Zattu & Darkon sound like Stan Lee super-villains.
Eventually I catch myself…I’ve lost track.
Doing something crazy to stay focused isn’t much better than losing it entirely.
I look back at the chapter’s intro trying to mentally regroup. The list was a registration of citizens. Nehemiah said that: my God gave me the idea to call together all the leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. I wonder how Nehemiah knew the difference between his own ideas that just spontaneously came into his mind and ideas that the Lord gave to him. I can understand when a person – say for instance a prophet – gets an unexpected word-from-the-Lord. He knows that it’s from outside. Nehemiah’s registration idea is more like a logical bureaucratic and organizing decision…but he detects that it’s from the Lord.
I don’t know the answer but I’ve slid back on track now and so move on to chapter 8.

Note: quote from Nehemiah 7:5 (NLT)

Week 22  Proverbs 9

Chapter 9 features two women: Wisdom & Folly. They’re similar in some ways. But by the end of the chapter they’re clearly pretty different.
Wisdom calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
Folly sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city (and) calls out to men going by.
Wisdom’s message: “Come home with me,” she urges the simple.
Folly’s message: “Come home with me,” she urges the simple.
Wisdom’s offer: to those without good judgment, she says “Come eat my food…”
Folly’s offer: to those without good judgment, she says “Stolen water is refreshing…”
So…two outcome-based choices:
If I go to Wisdom’s house then Wisdom will multiply (my) days and add years to (my) life.
But the men who go to Folly’s house don’t realize that her former guests are now in the grave.
Both women are making similar offers to the same audience. And people who want some ideas about what to do with their hungers are listening.
Folly’s advice sounds something like this: do what you feel like doing. Who wants to be restrained?
Wisdom sounds more like: you’ll need to reconsider the benefits of doing what you feel like doing.
Mixed in with all the other urban noise are two feminine voices. One says one thing. One says another.
Two invitations. Which sounds better to me? Which one actually is? That’s the decision I get to make.

Note: quotes from Proverbs 3 14 4 16 5 17 11 18 (NLT)

Week 22  Proverbs 8

I notice in verse 8 that wisdom isn’t a thing. She’s a person: I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. Wisdom was also referred to as a woman in chapter 1. I check a word book. Wisdom is used about 47 times in Proverbs. Most of the time wisdom is a thing – a quality like smarts or intelligence or knowledgeability. But here she’s a person calling out at the crossroads (in chapter 1 she was shouting in a public square).
Why is wisdom a person here? Who is she?
The woman called Wisdom sounds a lot like the Lord. Her words sound like what he’d say. I re-read chapter 8 and mentally plug in ‘the Lord’ where I see what Wisdom says. It fits most of the time:
…listen to me! For I have excellent things to tell you
…choose my instruction rather than silver
…I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.
Wisdom’s words are just like the Lord.
But in a couple of places plugging-in ‘the Lord’ doesn’t work:
Wisdom says all who fear the Lord will hate evil
Wisdom says the Lord formed me from the beginning.
Which now sounds like Wisdom and the Lord are distinct.
Saying that Wisdom both is the Lord and isn’t sounds like a logical inconsistency so I’ll try to keep it in mind and think more on it.

Note: quotes from Proverbs 8:8 6 10 20 13 22 (NLT). Also 1:20-33. Added Note: End of Month Reading Report. The year is now 41.6% over. My reading is 47.8% completed.

Week 22  Ezra 9-10

Ezra’s last two chapters are a Reader’s Alert section because they absolutely sound like Ezra’s on an anti-inter-racial marriage rant. It looks like his rule is: a Hebrew guy has to marry a Hebrew gal. No other combination is permitted. Which seems weird. I think back to Rahab. Think back to Ruth. Think of outsiders who married-in.
I re-read the first paragraph and realize my problem might have started when I glided over verse one: the people of Israel have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring people with their detestable practices. The issue was racial but included loving ‘detestable’ practices of other races. So racial-plus-religious.
When I add religion to race I expand my matrimonial options:
a) a Hebrew guy reveres the Lord and marries a Hebrew gal who reveres the Lord
b) a Hebrew guy despises the Lord and marries a Hebrew gal who reveres the Lord
c) a Hebrew guy reveres the Lord and marries a Hebrew gal who despises the Lord
c) a Hebrew guy despises the Lord and marries a Hebrew gal who despises the Lord.
Four weddings that technically comply with the Hebrew-Race Marriage Rule. But 75% of them are scrambled when faith is in the mix.
So it’s like Ezra was using his marrying-within-the-race requirement as code-language for marrying-within-the-faith. The code was likely assumed by Ezra and likely understood by his audience. But it’s confusing for a reader who misses that key point.

Note: quoted from Ezra 9:1 (NIV)

Week 21  Proverbs 2

Reading-through is a bit like a house with a basement and a couple of upper floors. On the basement-level I pretty much focus on reading-through. But then there’s this reminder from Solomon about an upstairs too. A chance to elevate my range. He says: if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, if you look for it as silver and search for it as hidden treasure…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Ideas like accept store-up tune-in apply explore probe scrutinize understand – they’re upstairs reading concepts. Enhancements to basic reading-through.
If I stay on the basement-level I can just read through. And if reading-through is all I’m doing I don’t need to worry much about accepting Solomon’s words or keep them in mind. Don’t have to worry about turning-my-ear to wisdom or about applying-my-heart to understanding. No calling out for insight…no crying aloud for understanding…no searching for valuables.
But I’m curious about upstairs and so I try to keep it in mind. There’s nothing wrong with basement-level reading – it’s fine & good & necessary. It’s definitely my starting level. But eventually I begin nosing around upstairs. Do some investigative reading. Extend my scope. Tune-in. Apply. Explore.  Understand. Like that.

Note: quote from Proverbs 2:1-5 (NIV)

Week 21  Proverbs 1

Solomon compares Wisdom to a woman walking through a city and shouting out to pedestrians: you simpletons!…How long will you go on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? It sounds a bit like name-calling but Wisdom ends up on a conciliatory note: come and listen to me! she says. I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. Her insults are more like attention-grabbing overstatements for personal development’s sake.
Anyway the thing I noticed is that Wisdom keeps walking the city streets for quite awhile but eventually she goes silent. Goes from trying to help to completely quitting: you ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble!…I will not answer when you cry for help. Even though (you) anxiously search for me, (you) will not find me.
Right at the front-end of Proverbs Solomon says that wisdom-to-make-me-wise is available. And I’ve got time (it sounds like a lot of time) to make my own personal decision to either stay-as-I-am or move toward wisdom. The niggling detail is that I don’t have unlimited time. Wisdom makes her pitch…she waits & waits…then the offer is taken off the table. At that point I can carry on as per usual.
Wisdom’s promise is that I’ll: live in peace and safety, unafraid of harm. But it’s up to me to decide whether to buy what she’s selling.

Note: quotes from Proverbs 1:22 23 25-28 33 (NLT)

Week 21  2 Chronicles 26

The chronicler is interested in the kings of Judah and today I read about Judah’s king Uzziah. Right away I notice one of the things the chronicler says about Uzziah: he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.
If I’d opened the bible today and just randomly read chapter 26 by itself I would know two things for sure and I’d also figure one other thing. The two things I’d know are: a) Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and that b) Uzziah is compared to his father Amaziah in doing right. The one logical thing I’d figure is that Amaziah did what was right.
But I read the stories of three kings today. Joash (chapter 24). Amaziah (chapter 25). Uzziah (chapter 26). And because I’d read Amaziah’s story five minutes before I turned the page back and re-read that: (Amaziah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.
What that means is that when I read that Uzziah did right just-like-his-father Amaziah I’m getting an early tip-off that Uzziah’s doing right-ness might be a qualified and kind of un-wholehearted brand of doing right-ness.
And that’s what happened: after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God.
So Uzziah was like his father in his faith and his non-faith.

Note: quotes from 2 Chronicles 26:4 & 16 25:2 (NIV)