“You’re veterans in dealing with these matters; certainly we’re of one mind on this. It’s impossible for God to do anything evil; no way can the Mighty One do wrong. He makes us pay for exactly what we’ve done—no more, no less. Our chickens always come home to roost. It’s impossible for God to do anything wicked, for the Mighty One to subvert justice. He’s the one who runs the earth! He cradles the whole world in his hand! If he decided to hold his breath, every man, woman, and child would die for lack of air.
Job 34:34The Message“All right-thinking people say— and the wise who have listened to me concur— ‘Job is an ignoramus. He talks utter nonsense.’ Job, you need to be pushed to the wall and called to account for wickedly talking back to God the way you have. You’ve compounded your original sin by rebelling against God’s discipline, Defiantly shaking your fist at God, piling up indictments against the Almighty One.” See the chapter |
7 Cross References
“So, Job, use your head; this is all pretty obvious. Can someone who hates order, keep order? Do you dare condemn the righteous, mighty God? Doesn’t God always tell it like it is, exposing corrupt rulers as scoundrels and criminals? Does he play favorites with the rich and famous and slight the poor? Isn’t he equally responsible to everybody? Don’t people who deserve it die without notice? Don’t wicked rulers tumble to their doom? When the so-called great ones are wiped out, we know God is working behind the scenes.
I assume I’m addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren’t we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn’t it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don’t we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn’t become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don’t reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That’s basically what happened even in old Israel—those who ate the sacrifices offered on God’s altar entered into God’s action at the altar.
Advertisements