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A Law of Nature
For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward. Job 5:7 NASB Born for trouble – Surprise, surprise! We often imagine that it is Job who utters these familiar words, but it isn’t. It’s Eliphaz. That makes a difference. Even if we resonate with his aphorism about the human condition, his comment is couched within…
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The Lead Ceiling
Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn? Job 5:1 NASB The holy ones – “Silent Night.” A great Christmas carol . . . but what if it’s not just a song about tranquility in December? What if “silent night” is the kind of response…
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A Partial Truth
Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; unregarded, they perish forever. Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom. Job 4:20-21 NASB Without wisdom – Eliphaz is right about one thing. We die without wisdom. Not all the questions are answered. Perhaps not even a few. If ḥokmâ is the measure…
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Are You Sure?
He puts no trust even in His servants; and He accuses His angels of error. How much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! Job 4:18-19 NASB No trust – Eliphaz is pretty stark. According to him, God doesn’t “trust” men and He accuses…
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The Two “Betweens”
Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai. Joshua 8:11 NASB Between – There an important lesson buried in this text, in a tiny little “nothing” of a…
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Man Alive
“Can mankind be righteous [h]before God? Can a man be pure [i]before his Maker?” Job 4:17 NASB Mankind/ man – As we learned yesterday, the Hebrew verse encompasses three important parallels. We have isolated two of them for investigation. We discovered that ʾĕnôš and geber, both translated “mankind,” actually reveal ethical and ontological distinctions that bolster Eliphaz’ argument. But…
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Birthday (Yes, It’s Mine)
“Can mankind be righteous [h]before God? Can a man be pure [i]before his Maker?” Job 4:17 NASB Mankind/ man – The translators have given us a double-barreled version of a single question. The Hebrew text wraps it all up in one line: הַֽאֱנוֹשׁ מֵֽאֱל֣וֹהַּ יִצְדָּ֑ק אִ֥ם מֵֽ֜עֹשֵׂ֗הוּ יִטְהַר־גָּֽבֶר Looking at this verse in Hebrew requires careful deliberation. First, we…
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Night Tremors
Now a word was brought to me secretly, and my ear received a whisper of it. Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people, Dread came upon me, and trembling, and made [f]all my bones shake. Then a [g]spirit passed by my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. Job 4:12-15 NASB Dread…
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Midnight Flight
I’m flying from Kobe, Japan tonight. Need to sleep. Back in Italy in the morning. Sweet dreams.
