[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (KD) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟚:𝟙𝟙
"Behold,
I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, While you pondered what
to say."
Kudos
to Elihu for holding his tongue, holding his patience until now! But he should
have remained patient. He spoke about things he didn't know about. Nobody knew,
but Job came closest.
We
love to talk about things we don't know. Scientists love to talk about the
flood on Mars while rejecting the Noahic flood on the earth. Young people like
Greta Thunderberg (actually a spoiled kid) are given an opportunity to talk
about one of the most controversial things, global warming. Kids are kids.
Listen to adults! Some kids are brilliant, but not all kids are.
Some
donkeys spoke the word of God (Balaam's Donkey), but not all donkeys are. Don't
have a donkey to tell your luck or future! Btw, some sports fans seemed to
trust donkeys to predict football matches also. Crazy world! 😂
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟛:𝟛
“My
words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge
sincerely. Have you ever heard a conversation when somebody said to another, ‘Why
don't you just shut up your mouth?’”
Well,
Elihu should have his mouth remained shut! He couldn't accept that Job was
right and wise (v12, 33). Yet he claimed to be upright and wise (v3,
33) What irony is this! What a joke!
BTW,
isn't everything in our life like that? We often push down some people to
praise others and often exalt others to despise some people.
Elihu
exalted himself over Job to condemn Job. Is this Newton's 4th Law or 4th Law of
Thermodynamics? 🤔🙂
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟜:𝟙𝟟
"Shall
one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous mighty
One?"
Well,
Elihu was misrepresenting Job. Job didn't condemn God. Job was just trying to
defend that he did not sin deserving of this suffering because they were
accusing him. And so, what he suffered was the doing of God (not of Satan) for
which his theology had little answer. Sure, God is bigger than our theology. He
will never fit into our puny theology!
BTW,
till today, I have been posting about the negative sides of Job's friends, but
there are many positive sides as well. And maybe I will start mentioning that
from today onwards.
First,
God allowed his friends to be with him, even with all those accusations. And
God accepted them as well in the end after receiving forgiveness. And surely,
they would remain good friends till the end, perhaps wiser, kinder, gentler,
and better in theology and lifestyle!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟝:𝟜-𝟠
"I
will answer you, And your friends with you."
Elihu
had concluded that he knew stuff that Job and his friends failed to know. And
he expressed it in v5-8 which actually was insightful, but I'm sure that
was nothing new to them. They must have known that truth very well!
That
nothing we do affects God. God is so high above us. Some people challenge God,
wanting to hurt God. That's like a 2-year-old kid asking you to fight. You
don't fight, you just laugh at him!
Or
like giving 1 rupee to Mukesh Ambani. Ambani has no time to come and collect 1
rupee from me! At the highest efficiency, man's action affects fellow man, but
never God! God is not a man. He is far above!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟞:𝟛𝟚-𝟛𝟛
"He
covers His hands with the lightning, And commands it to strike the mark.
"Its noise declares His presence; The cattle also, concerning what is
coming up."
Nothing
in the creations of God impressed upon my mind the presence of God in the
affairs of man than the rainstorm. Whenever I see lighting, its fearsome noise,
the rhythm of the falling rain, the beating of the winds, I stand in awe of the
mighty God.
Life
stands still. Animals, birds, and even insects look out for shelter, and God
watches over them. The fields and the cattle need the rain, even if a
businessman and the little Johnny want the rain to go away!
It
has been raining in Delhi since yesterday. And what a moment it has been!
Elihu
was right in what he said, but his conclusion (condemning Job) was not
accurate. He too didn't know what was going on in the grand scheme of God!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟟:𝟞
"For
to the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,' And to the downpour and the rain, 'Be
strong.'"
Elihu's
point is that God is awesomely powerful! Indeed, I always see the majesty of God
in the falling rain and snow!
Sometimes,
I felt rain is a waste of water. There are some people, dying of thirst,
suffering from drought, and scarcity of freshwater. Yet God is pouring down
freshwater billions of liters from heaven to some lands where we don't want.
God is indeed generous. No one is rich like Him! There is no wasting in Him.
There is no depletion of resources in Him.
He
owns everything. He spoke everything into existence. Whatever he says comes
into existence without an ecological imbalance of nature, without disruption of
society, without harming anything, rather adding riches upon riches! And this
is the God who watches over all of us!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟠:𝟚𝟝-𝟚𝟟
"Who
has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, To bring rain
on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, To satisfy the waste
and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?"
Have
you ever thought that there would be some big forests on the face of the earth
wherein man has never set his foot till today?
And
have you ever wondered that in that big forest there will be gigantic trees
with enormous branches bearing leaves that glee peacefully to the rhythm of the
breeze?
And
have you ever thought that they have been doing from the creation of the world,
standing tall, beautiful like the cedars of Lebanon, declaring the majesty of
God, and yet no man has ever seen it?
And
have you ever thought that in that forest there would be lots of other dead
trees fallen over the millennia, and some recently decaying?
And
have you ever thought that under that dead fallen trees will be some leaves,
and the sunlight has hardly reached them because of the density of the forest?
And
have you ever wondered that in that big forest in the face of the earth where
man's foot has never trampled, where gigantic trees thrive with leafy branches
stretching towards heaven to praise its maker, and where sunlight has hardly
penetrated the floor of the forest, and under those roofs of leaves and
branches, there lay dead trees, and under there lay leaves, and under those
leaves that there are some animals, such as ants! Who takes care of these ants
in that forest?
Behold,
awesome and majestic is our God! Let the earth tremble before Him in awe!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟛𝟡:𝟠
"He
explores the mountains for his pasture And searches after every green
thing."
David
Brainerd, a pious man of God, when he was in his mid-20s wrote in his diary
that sometimes he wished he was an animal because animals find satisfaction in
God in everything. No complaint, no guilt, no shame.
In
a sense, I think it will be good to have a pet animal to teach us a lesson! 🙂
God
takes care of all these amazing animals on the earth. They have been living for
thousands of years, flourishing even when man-made disaster and man's appetite
threaten their lives!
God
can easily take care of us. And He perfectly knows and plans everything for His
good purpose!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟜𝟘:𝟙𝟙-𝟙𝟚
"Pour
out the overflowings of your anger, And look on everyone who is proud, and make
him low. ‘Look on everyone who is proud,
and humble him, And tread down the wicked where they stand.’"
Indeed,
only the Lord knows how to humble all man truly. And He promised to do so. Man
is often good at humiliating others which in turn produces a revengeful
attitude. Humiliation and Humility are totally different. It's like astrology
and astronomy.
Even
in humiliation, there's no equal with God! It's beautiful to see proud humbled
and righteous exalted. That only God knows and does perfectly!
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟜𝟙:𝟙𝟙
"Who
has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is
Mine."
Indeed,
a good question from God! Hahaha😂 That's it for today's update! 😂
God
owns everything. We are His creatures created for His purpose. He can do
anything He wants with us.
It's
like me picking up a pencil and drawing whatever I like on paper. I can draw a
picture of a skinny cow or fatty cow or strong ox. I don't expect the cows and
ox to complain to me for not drawing more grass or food for them.
Or
it's like a boy can do whatever he likes with his toys. He can beat the toys
throw them away or sleep with them. He doesn't expect the toys to complain to him!
In
fact, Hollywood gets it right in their famous movie Toy Story, where
Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), a toy of Andy said to the other toys that
they are made, their existence is to make Andy happy. So, they are most happy
when Andy played with them happily.
Many
times, many people think God exists for us and He should give us whatever we
demand when actually we exist for God and must do whatever He demands.
Hollywood
has a better theology at least here, but they don't know that BTW🙂😎
𝕁𝕆𝔹 𝟜𝟚:𝟙𝟞-𝟙𝟟
"And
after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four
generations. And Job died, an old man,
and full of days."
Job's
suffering was relatively short in comparison to the satisfying life he lived
thereafter. And perfect life is in heaven!