Job 40-42 - With a pink ribbon...

The readings - Day 164 - Job 40-42

Although Job has spent dozens of chapters moaning and whining and making all manner of wild accusations about God's character, there is the silver lining that shows up at the end.

Job, unlike some other books so far, actually has a fairly satisfying and summarized ending. After God's awesome summary of His own rad-ness, Job actually does as God says, mans up (God actually said to do this - it's awesome!) and just admits that he was wrong all along, he doesn't know everything, God's still the best and he's very sorry for being such a twit.

It's good stuff.

Then God takes a second to tell Job's friends that they're a bunch of jerks, restores all of Job's wealth (gives him new kids, too!) and land and livestock, and everyone lives happily ever after.

I still don't quite know what to make of God's willingness to just give Satan free reign over Job's life, or what exactly Satan was doing at a Heaven's Council meeting in the first place, but at least Job's story ends on an up note, and everything's back the way it was.

Job 24-39 - God pays a visit...

The readings - Days 159-163 - Job 24-39

Job is a pretty great book, but it just got a whole lot better once I hit chapter 38.

You know those scenes in movies/TV shows where somebody (usually an underling of either a major superhero or a major supervillain) is ranting on and on about their superior only to eventually be confronted by their incredible bad-assness and look utterly, miserably foolish? Well, when that superior is God, it's a good show.

Job 17-23 - Wherein I admit that I dislike Job, and economics and politics rear their heads...

The readings - Day 157 & 158 - Job 17-23

I'm starting to come to a sort of uncomfortable realization about this book, and the character what gives it its name... I don't know that I even like Job.

The character, that is. The book is actually proving to be quite a bit more interesting than I'd given it credit for. It's also a lot more cerebral and theological than I'd thought as well. Maybe I just hadn't given it enough thought at all.

No matter.

Job.

The man.

He's a bit of a whiner, isn't he?

Job 1-16 - How does this keep happening?

The readings - days 152-156 - Job 1-16

I'm not at all sure how this keeps happening, but here we are with another whopping 'catch-up' post.

I'm actually very surprised by Job. I really thought it was just a tiny little book, and now that I actually look at it, it's immense. I'm pretty excited to work my way through it, since it's obviously a much more in-depth piece of work than popular summaries would lead/have led me to believe.

It's still a very weird book, though. Satan showing up at God's angelic council meeting, God bragging about one of his best buds and then granting Satan permission to destroy his life (without actually destroying his life, mind you)... It's a bit of a trip, to say the least.

Esther - maybe not about Esther? Maybe not such a great morality tale...

The readings - Days 150 and 151 - Esther 1-10

Esther is an interesting story. Weighing in at only 10 chapters, it's a pretty easy story to read in one sitting, which is why I thought I'd combine posts to include both halves of it at once.

However, unlike many of the other short, punchy books bearing a specific name throughout the Bible (Ruth, Job, Philemon, etc) it's actually a bit hard to tell whose story Esther really is.

Neh 8-11 - a short note on short-term housing

The readings - Days 147-148 - Nehemiah 8-11

Short post today.

A lot of people complain about sermons in church, and I suspect that that's been the case for quite some time. Maybe that's why it's so striking to me that the people of the newly-rebuilt Jerusalem call Ezra in to do nothing but read and comment on ("translate" according to the NASB) the books of the law - for days on end.

I also like the fact that so much significance is placed on the Feast of Booths. People essentially go camping on their rooftops in booths that the made themselves, and just live there instead of at home.

I'm not really a back-to-the-land-and-eschew-all-this-newfangled-technology-crap-dagnabbit type of people, but it is interesting that there seems to be something lastingly important about the temporary/transient nature of Israel's formation as a nation. Starting as a nomadic, desert-wandering tribe seems like it's foundational, and I can't help but notice that a lot more problems showed up when they got a king and a temple, etc, than when those things weren't actually there...

Told you it'd be a short post.

Neh 7 - Not (personally) interested

The readings - day 146 - Nehemiah 7

The thing is, when a census is released in Canada, I'm actually genuinely interested in the data. This time around, I was working on writing something up for my day job that allowed me to pore over the details with a nerdy, yet, useful/productive glee. I find it fascinating to look at the zoomed-out version of day-to-day life in Canada - who lives where, who left where, how many of whom stay where, etc.

See? I have nothing against the collection/publication of census data.

Census data collected and published from thousands of years ago in the ancient near-east, however...

Neh. 1-6 - From a certain point of view

The readings - Days 144 & 145 - Nehemiah 1-6

This is pretty cool. I knew the basic story/history surrounding Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, but I don't know that I've spent much time actually reading it, as is the case with large swaths of the rest of the OT. I like it.

For starters, despite the fact that the nation of Israel and the People of God could, at this point, as near as makes no difference not possibly get any worse off (they've been divided, then conquered, then exiled, and everything they held most dear - Jerusalem and the Temple of God - have been absolutely laid waste by the invading Babylonian and then Persian hordes), the book strikes a decidedly hopeful, optimistic and - I hesitate to use a word like this when talking about anything other that fruits/veggies - fresh tone.