The Riddleblog

Job -- The Suffering Prophet (8): Job's Argument with Eliphaz About Suffering

The Pain Inflicted by Friends Trying to Help

There is a much greater pain than his sores, sleeplessness, and loss of all his children and possessions–the knowledge that Job’s friends think he has committed some secret sin, that he is guilty before God, is lying when he denies he’s sinned, and has therefore brought about his terrible ordeal.

From the perspective of Job’s friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar), the reason why Job lost all of his possessions, his children and his health is very simple. God is holy, therefore he must punish all sin. In this they are correct. Since it is obvious that Job is being punished by God (to their way of thinking), there can only be one explanation. Either Job, or his children, have committed some horrible sin which has kindled the wrath of God.

But Job knows he is innocent of such a sin. His heart is broken because he has no idea why God is subjecting him to such terrible suffering. Even as he cries out to God, lamenting his sad state and asking “why?” Job knows that his friends have no clue as to why he is suffering. Although arising from a sense of loyal friendship, Job knows their attempts to “comfort him” are actually cruel, self-righteous diatribes which have no basis in fact.

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Reflections on Job, Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJanuary 17, 2022

Jesus Christ -- The Israel of God

If we stand within the field of prophetic vision typical of Israel’s prophets after the exile, and we look to the future, what do we see? Israel’s prophets clearly anticipate a time when Israel will be restored to its former greatness. But will that restoration of Israel to its former glory mirror the former days of the Davidic monarchy—i.e. a restored national kingdom? Or does the prophetic vision of restoration point beyond a monarchy to the ultimate monarch, Jesus the Messiah, who is the descendant of David, YHWH’s servant, and the true Israel?

The prophetic vision given the prophets is remarkably comprehensive. The nation had been divided, and the people of both kingdoms (Israel and Judah) were taken into captivity or dispersed as exiles throughout the region. Judah was exiled to Babylon five centuries before the coming of Jesus. Since the magnificent temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the Levitical priesthood was in disarray, any prophetic expectation related to Israel’s future would naturally speak of a reversal of fortune and the undoing of terrible calamity which had come upon the nation. The restoration to come in the messianic age therefore includes not only the fate of the nation, but also the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem (the so-called “second temple”), as well as the long anticipated heir to David’s throne—the coming Messiah.

Yet, once Israel’s Messiah had come, and the messianic age was a reality, how do the writers of the New Testament understand these Old Testament prophecies associated with Israel’s future restoration?

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Amillennialism, eschatology, Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJanuary 13, 2022 Comments

Job -- The Suffering Prophet (3): Who Was Job?

So, who was this man whom God called to suffer great loss and play such an important role in redemptive history?

Job is introduced to the reader in the opening verses of the first chapter. “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (v. 1). The land of Uz is east of the River Jordan (Qedem–“the east”), likely in what is now the nation of Jordan. Uz could be anywhere between Edom on the south, Moab on the east, and the land of the Aram to the north. While Job was not an Israelite–since no tribal or family identification is given–he clearly worships Israel’s God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [1] So, apparently, do his friends and family.

As the story opens and we meet the central character, what stands out is the assertion that Job was “blameless and upright” and that “he feared God and turned away evil.” What, exactly, does this mean? One thing it does not mean is that Job was sinless, or that he had attained a state of justifying righteousness because he lived a blameless and upright life. We must not confuse cause and effect. We know this to be the case because elsewhere in this book Job declares himself to be a sinner. In Job 7:20, Job laments, “If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you?” In Job 13:26, he laments “for you write bitter things against me and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.” Finally, in Job 14:16 -17, Job confesses that “you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin; my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my iniquity.”

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Reflections on Job, Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerDecember 6, 2021Upright and blameless, Job as sinnerComment

Job -- The Suffering Prophet: "God's Sovereignty and Human Suffering" (2)

The story of Job is so compelling to us because it deals with a reality with which every Christian must wrestle–God’s sovereign control over every area of our lives. We have no problem accepting that God determines how tall we will be, whether we are born male or female, who our parents are, and what nationality we will be. We readily accept the fact that God determines what gifts and skills we will have, as well as whether or not we are born to means or poverty. We accept the fact that God determines the circumstances of our lives–including our height, skin color, health, length of life, and those calamities which may befall us. We accept these things without question because they are taught in Scripture and jive with our experience and common sense. God’s people nod in agreement to the assertion that “God is sovereign.” At least we nod in agreement until God does something we may not like or do not understand.

As Christians, we believe in original sin. All people who enter this world are guilty for Adam’s sin as well as their own (Psalm 51, Romans 5:12-19). Therefore, whenever someone suffers, the easy answer as to why they suffer is to go to our theological default setting. Why do people suffer? We suffer because we are sinners. We are being punished for what we have done.

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Job -- The Suffering Prophet: "Introduction"

The Book of Job is one of the most moving and profound stories known to humanity. Here is the account of a righteous and godly man, nearly overwhelmed by the loss of everything he owned and by the death of most everyone he loved, and who, now sick and afflicted beyond words, comes face to face with the sovereign God who brought all of these things to pass. And all the while, Job struggles to believe God’s promise to rescue him from his plight when every circumstance and every word offered in explanation only serves to call into question either Job’s righteousness or God’s goodness. It is not only a moving and fascinating story, but almost all of us can relate to what we read in this book. Many of us have been called to suffer and we certainly empathize with Job’s plight. It is also likely that we all know people like Job’s wife and friends who mean well, but who only make things worse every time they open their mouths when trying to help.

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The Fear of the Lord

I was still in my teens, but I vividly remember the preacher’s words. “When the Bible speaks of the fear of the Lord, it doesn’t mean to be afraid of God, but to respect him. We must never be afraid of God because he loves us.” The preacher had a point and there was palpable relief felt in the congregation upon his declaration. It sounded like God’s love somehow canceled out any fear of God which might trouble us.

But I continued to wonder, how does the softening of fear into “respect” square with the well-known verse in Proverbs 1:7, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, something which fools despise”? The question remained. What does it mean to “fear the Lord” especially when failing to fear the Lord is to be a fool who lacks knowledge?

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Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerAugust 23, 2021fear of the Lord, love casts out fear

Rejoice Always?

When writing to Christians in the city of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul instructs them, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The Thessalonian church was founded by Paul, Timothy, and Silas on Paul’s second missionary journey, and was composed of people who left Greco-Roman paganism to embrace Jesus Christ by faith. Thessalonica was a large city (about 100,000 people lived there) on a major road when Paul visited the area. Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. It was an important place to plant a church. But it was hardly a friendly environment for new converts.

Having heard about their struggles after his departure, Paul writes to them from Corinth, partly to clear up some confusion in the congregation about the Lord’s return, but also to instruct them how to deal with their difficult circumstances. Paul is direct in his exhortation to the Thessalonians. Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances should characterize the lives of these new Christians in the face of heated opposition from those who simply cannot understand why people would worship a Jewish Rabbi from far away Palestine, who claimed to be the Son of God only to be put to death by the Romans. But if that same Rabbi had been raised from the dead—as Jesus had been—how could you not worship him? One who conquered death was surely an object of hope in any time of trial.

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Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerJune 30, 2021Rejoicing, biblical hope

Face to Face? Not Today . . . But One Day

I suppose that if you were to ask Christians whether or not they would like to “see” God, many, without thinking about it, would answer “yes.” Human curiosity easily wins out over whatever knowledge we might have of those biblical passages such as Hebrews 12:29, which informs us that “our God is a consuming fire.” If we were to see God this side of glory, it would not be a good thing, nor would such a sight satisfy our curiosity. We would be consumed. Although Isaiah saw the Lord upon his prophetic commissioning (Isaiah 6:1-7), he was undone by his sin—”woe is me!”

While Scripture promises that the pure in heart will see God (Matthew 5:8), Paul makes it clear that such sight cannot come until death, when believers enter God’s presence. It is God alone who “has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). But on the last day, Paul says, when Jesus appears, we will see that which our sin and finitude currently prevents us from seeing (6:14-15).

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Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerJune 14, 2021The Glory of God, The Beatific VisionComment

Joseph's Faith in the Face of Death

A key figure in the closing chapters of the Book of Genesis, Joseph is known for several things: his “coat of many colors,” being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and for his remarkable ability to interpret the dreams of the Egyptian Pharaoh. But when the author of Hebrews looks back on the life of Joseph in Hebrews 11 (the so-called “hall of faith”), Joseph is remembered for something we often forget. “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:22).

Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob. Rachel was his mother. Joseph became the apple of his father’s eye and the recipient of the famous multicoat–a gift from his father, provoking great jealousy on the part of his brothers. Joseph even had the nerve to claim he had a dream in which his older brothers bowed down to him. When Jacob sent the seventeen year-old upstart Joseph to find his brothers, they plot to kill him. One of his brothers, Reuben, talked the others into throwing Joseph down a well, knowing that he (Reuben) would return later and rescue him. Instead, Joseph was sold to traders, who took Joseph into Egypt, where he was sold again to Potiphar. While in Potiphar’s care, God was with Joseph, who thrived. Through a series of remarkable events, including interpreting Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41), Joseph became viceroy over all of Egypt.

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Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerMay 17, 2021Joseph, Joseph's reburial in ShechemComment