Obama’s literary agent in 1991 claimed he was born in Kenya. I actually agree with the conclusion of the author of that article, that Obama most likely was born in Hawaii but wanted to cultivate an “international appearance.” Sort of how Obama’s not a Muslim (all the evidence indicates he’s an atheist), but doesn’t mind if people think he’s one.
One thing is for certain. Truth < -----------------> Obama
I have a fondness for foreign languages, and since I also have a passion for theology that means I really like Koine Greek. The New Testament was written in Koine, but the writing ranges from the really easy to the insane. John, for instance, uses very simple Greek, and as a result first year Greek students love him. Paul? Not so much.
Since I’ve studied other languages, however, I’ve noticed something that’s different from Koine Greek than from any other language I’ve studied. I’ve never seen a “primer” or elementary reader for Koine Greek—you know, something like Ecce Romani in Latin. (And the Latin example proves it’s not just because Koine is a “dead” language.)
Part of this, I assume, is because most people who would write primers would do so in Classical Greek rather than in Koine Greek. Pretty much no one other than seminarians studies Koine. Still, I think it would be worthwhile for seminarians if there was a Greek primer similar to Ecce Romani, which means that maybe I’ll have to write one.
Since joining Twitter last week, the majority of people I’m now following are people who are talking about politics. In some ways, I am a bit of a political junkie. I enjoy following many of the Conservative blogs, especially the irreverent (and often crude) people over at The Ace of Spades HQ. In fact, the bloggers there were some of the first whom I sought out to follow on Twitter.
But being a political junkie, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on, results in a skewed view of how the average American thinks of politics. See, the people who I read on blogs are the people who care about politics. Even the pages that are linked to from people who I disagree with are still people who care about politics. Thus, even reading “the other side” only gets me the other side of the politically obsessed.
The fact of the matter is, if we truly look at the numbers of people who follow politics to this extent, I doubt it would constitute even twenty percent of the population. The vast majority of people in America don’t care about politics. They just want to go home and play video games, eat junk food, and have fun. They don’t want to worry about spending bills in Congress, the national debt, or Socialized healthcare. They don’t care about executive orders, three branches of government, or what the Constitution actually says. None of this genuinely interests them.
My wife is a political junkie of sorts, too. She is currently reading a lot of books on the economy and has decided that one of the best things we can do is end the Federal Reserve. I happen to agree with her that the Federal Reserve is harming the economy quite a bit, and that its continued existence will only do more damage. Yet very few people—even those who would agree with us politically—care about the Federal Reserve, or even want to take the time to figure out basic economic theory. Theory is hard. It takes thinking. That’s no fun for most of us.
So what happens? We have a small minority of people on both sides of the issues who are extremely vocal and passionate, and a wide range of people in the middle who just want to live their lives, have fun, and make a little money. Most of them vote based on family traditions (whether they keep in line with their family or rebel against it). They’re not interested in the actual facts of debate. It’s why presentation on TV is better than trying to follow arguments. It’s why Mitt Romney is the candidate for the GOP—because he looks good on TV. That’s the same reason Obama is currently president, too.
The majority of us don’t care about policy or principals, and they look at those who do care about such things with equal disdain. Republicans and Democrats are both seen as too extremist. About the only universal agreement is that everything is bad and no one who’s currently involved in politics does any good at all.
I realize that I do speak with generalities here; yet I think they are fairly sound generalities. A culture that’s interested in The Jersey Shore and still thinks American Idol features talent is a culture that doesn’t care about the Federal Reserve, abortion, or gay marriage on the whole. It also means that, unfortunately, well-reasoned arguments are not going to be effective in bringing about change (at least not at first). People now are too ignorant of logic and reasoning to even tell what a good argument is in the first place. If you don’t believe me, just spend a half hour reading YouTube comments.
If we want to be effective at changing our culture, we have to actually affect the culture itself. I’m not sure exactly how to do all of this myself, of course. But I do know that our public schools, the entertainment industry, and our media are designed to facilitate the lessening of quality thinking. If we want to salvage our culture, it has to begin with a renewing of our minds.
And that renewal isn’t just mental knowledge, but a heart change as well. The single most effective technique to alter culture still remains religious beliefs, because what one believes in his heart is what will come out in his behavior. I, for one, do not find it unusual that America is becoming less thoughtful and more intolerant precisely at the point we abandon Christianity. And as Europe is demonstrating, one simply cannot replace Christianity with the moral vacuum of relativism and materialism that comes from rejecting God altogether.
In the end, a liberal utopia is when the masses of uneducated fools, who are deluded into thinking they are wise, vote in lockstep with all the other deluded people into perpetuating the existence of the very institutions that made them uneducated fools in the first place, because they have been tricked into thinking what they are doing is good. This will happen in America given enough time. Indeed, it is well on its way already. It may no longer be possible to fight using only good arguments. To one who believes propaganda, the truth is a lie.
“Behold, my eye has seen all this,
my ear has heard and understood it.
What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
But I would speak to the Almighty,
and I desire to argue my case with God.
As for you, you whitewash with lies;
worthless physicians are you all.
Oh that you would keep silent,
and it would be your wisdom!
Hear now my argument
and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
Will you speak falsely for God
and speak deceitfully for him?
Will you show partiality toward him?
Will you plead the case for God?
Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?
He will surely rebuke you
if in secret you show partiality.
Will not his majesty terrify you,
and the dread of him fall upon you?
Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.“Let me have silence, and I will speak,
and let come on me what may.
Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
and put my life in my hand?
Though he slay me, I will hope in him;
yet I will argue my ways to his face.
This will be my salvation,
that the godless shall not come before him.
Keep listening to my words,
and let my declaration be in your ears.
Behold, I have prepared my case;
I know that I shall be in the right.
Who is there who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.
Only grant me two things,
then I will not hide myself from your face:
withdraw your hand far from me,
and let not dread of you terrify me.
Then call, and I will answer;
or let me speak, and you reply to me.
How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
Why do you hide your face
and count me as your enemy?
Will you frighten a driven leaf
and pursue dry chaff?
For you write bitter things against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
You put my feet in the stocks
and watch all my paths;
you set a limit for the soles of my feet.
Man wastes away like a rotten thing,
like a garment that is moth-eaten.“Man who is born of a woman
is few of days and full of trouble.
He comes out like a flower and withers;
he flees like a shadow and continues not.
And do you open your eyes on such a one
and bring me into judgment with you?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.
Since his days are determined,
and the number of his months is with you,
and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,
look away from him and leave him alone,
that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.“For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grow old in the earth,
and its stump die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant.
But a man dies and is laid low;
man breathes his last, and where is he?
As waters fail from a lake
and a river wastes away and dries up,
so a man lies down and rises not again;
till the heavens are no more he will not awake
or be roused out of his sleep.
Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my service I would wait,
till my renewal should come.
You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands.
For then 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.“But the mountain falls and crumbles away,
and the rock is removed from its place;
the waters wear away the stones;
the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
so you destroy the hope of man.
You prevail forever against him, and he passes;
you change his countenance, and send him away.
His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
He feels only the pain of his own body,
and he mourns only for himself” (Job 13-14 ESV).
Job continues his response. After focusing on the sovereignty of God in the previous chapter, he now indicates that he still trusts God.
Question 1: What are the propositions of the passage?
1) Job declares he is not inferior to his friends and knows what he speaks of.
2) Job wishes an audience with God to argue his case.
3) Job accuses his friends of whitewashing lies.
4) He calls them worthless physicians.
5) Job wishes they would keep silent, and says silence would be wisdom.
6) He longs for them to listen to his argument.
7) Job asks rhetorical questions indicating that his friends are speaking lies as if it were on behalf of God.
8) Job points out that they cannot plead the case for God.
9) He points out that it will be bad for his friends when God searches them out.
10) This is partly because they cannot deceive God like they can deceive a man.
11) Job says God will rebuke them if they show partiality.
12) He asks if they do not fear God.
13) He says their words are “proverbs of ashes” and “defenses of clay.”
14) Job asks for silence so that he might speak.
15) After he speaks, he is prepared for whatever the results may be.
16) He asks why he should put his life in his hand.
17) Job maintains that even if God kills him, he will still hope in God.
18) Even with such hope, he will still argue his case to God’s face.
19) Job maintains his salvation is secure because the godless cannot come before God, indicating that he has not rejected God even now.
20) Job against asks for silence so that his friends will listen.
21) Job has prepared a case.
22) He knows he is in the right.
23) Job asks who would contend with him, indicating no one can do so.
24) Job says that if it were possible to disprove his case, he would be silent and die.
25) Job asks that God withdraws His hand and cease to terrify him.
26) If that happens, Job would answer God.
27) Job asks to know what his sins are.
28) He asks why God hides His face and considers Job an enemy.
29) Once more, Job points out that God is causing the pain and suffering he is going through.
30) Job points out that man is impure, like “a rotten thing.”
31) Man’s days are few and full of trouble.
32) Job asks why God brings judgment upon him.
33) Job asks who can bring a clean thing out of something unclean, and answers “there is not one” who can.
34) Job says man’s days “are determined” and that “the number of his months is with” God, and that God has “appointed his limits that he cannot pass.”
35) Job asks, therefore, that God leave man alone that he may enjoy his day, like a hired hand.
36) Job uses the imagery of a tree that has been cut down, speaking of how there is still hope that it may sprout again.
37) He contrasts that with man, who dies and is no more.
38) Job uses the image of a dried up lake to show what happens to a dead man.
39) Job longs to be in the grave (Sheol), concealed until God’s wrath is past.
40) Job points out that man does not live again after he dies.
41) He says he’d wait through all his toil until he is renewed.
42) Job’s renewal would be when God “would not keep watch over [his] sin” and when his “transgression would be sealed up in a bag” so that God “would cover over [his] iniquity.”
43) Yet just as the mountain and rocks are destroyed through erosion, so Job claims God destroys the hope of man.
44) Job says God prevails forever against man.
45) What happens to a man’s sons are unknown to the man because he feels only his own pain.
Question 2: What does this passage teach about God?
There are some things that Job says that do not fit what we know from the rest of the narrative of the book. For instance, Job is convinced that God is his enemy at the moment, even though we know that is not case. That Job still hopes in a God whom he now believes is his enemy, however, is somewhat difficult to understand. At one point, he even says: “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.”
Naturally, we know that God does not want to slay Job—He has specifically forbidden Satan from taking Job’s life. Yet even that mistake on Job’s part helps show that Job had a rich faith, and while we do not have all that information presented yet, there must be something about God that Job has already experienced that results in that hope.
Question 3: What does this passage teach about man?
Again we see the devastating effect that Job’s three friends have had on him. Job here calls them liars who would even try to deceive God. His anger toward them is certainly justifiable from our human perspectives, given that we know the innocence of Job.
Job also longs to plead his case before God. This expresses a very human tendency. It is very easy to slip into a defensive stance, to try to justify ourselves when we are wronged. Of course, this extends to cover even the times that we only think we have been wronged too. But it is understandable for us to see Job wanting his vindication.
Then Job answered and said:
“No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these?
I am a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who called to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand.“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
Wisdom is with the aged,
and understanding in length of days.“With God are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he shuts a man in, none can open.
If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
With him are strength and sound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
He leads counselors away stripped,
and judges he makes fools.
He looses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
He deprives of speech those who are trusted
and takes away the discernment of the elders.
He pours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
He uncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings deep darkness to light.
He makes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and leads them away.
He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
and makes them wander in a trackless waste.
They grope in the dark without light,
and he makes them stagger like a drunken man (Job 12 ESV).
The cycle of escalation we have already seen established in the book of Job continues, as Job responds after Zophar’s insulting screed.
Question 1: What are the propositions of the passage?
1) Job responds.
2) Job states that his friends are “the people” and that “wisdom will die with” them, in a statement that seems to be either sarcasm or full-fledged mockery.
3) Job points out that he has understanding just as they do.
4) Job says he is not inferior to them.
5) He asks a rhetorical question, indicating that all the wisdom his friends have presented is already known.
6) Job points out he is a laughingstock to his friends.
7) Job again declares his righteousness as one who calls to God, and who God answered.
8) Job points out that sinners are at ease and secure.
9) Job references the beasts, birds, plants, and fish as witnesses that the LORD has done these things to Job.
10) He says that the life of everything is in the LORD’s hand.
11) Job declares wisdom and might are with God.
12) He points out that none can resist God by using several metaphors.
A) What God tears down, none can rebuild
B) What God shuts in, none can open.
C) If God holds back rain, the land is dry.
D) If God releases the waters, the land is flooded.
13) Job points out that both “the deceived and the deceiver” are God’s.
14) He shows that God makes conquerors into the conquered.
15) He says God turns judges into fools.
16) Further, he says God releases kings and leads priests away naked.
17) He says God overthrows the mighty.
18) God further is said to take away speech from the “trusted” and discernment from “the elders.”
19) He says God pours contempt on princes, and makes weak the strong; uncovers the deepest darkness and brings it to light.
20) Job says God makes nations great or destroys them, as He wills.
21) He says that he removes understanding from the rulers so that they grope in darkness like drunk men.
Question 2: What does this passage teach about God?
Job is fully convinced that God is behind everything that has happened to him. Not only that, but he claims that it is obvious to all. He appeals to nature to show that God is sovereign over everything. As a result, Job concludes that God has brought about everything that has happened to him.
Job indicates the complete nature of God’s control by looking at both poles, a method we’ve seen before too. God makes the mighty weak; he conquers the conqueror; he takes away the speech from the well-spoken, and discernment from the elders who should have the most discernment of all. None can stand of their own power against the will of God.
As a result, Job concludes: “Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?”
Question 3: What does this passage teach about man?
Job’s statements about God’s sovereignty are accurate. In fact, they match his previous attitude (“The LORD gives and takes away; blessed by the name of the LORD”) which was said to be righteous. Yet now, while his words are accurate, he is using the words not to praise God, but instead seemingly to blame God for what is going on. Whereas before Job would submit to what God did, now he questions it. Job maintains he is righteous and therefore concludes what God is doing is unjust. This shows us that even the truth can sometimes be used incorrectly when we are in a defensive mindset.
This is one of a few pieces of classical music that focus completely on the trumpet. I think part of that reason is because it’s easy to make trumpets sound like a herd of stampeding elephants instead of music. Few people can really play the instrument with awesome tone, but Wynton Marsalis is one of those guys who’s awesome at it:
Almost makes me wish I was still playing trumpet these days.
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
“Should a multitude of words go unanswered,
and a man full of talk be judged right?
Should your babble silence men,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure,
and I am clean in God’s eyes.’
But oh, that God would speak
and open his lips to you,
and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in understanding.
Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.“Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
It is higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
If he passes through and imprisons
and summons the court, who can turn him back?
For he knows worthless men;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
But a stupid man will get understanding
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a man!“If you prepare your heart,
you will stretch out your hands toward him.
If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;
you will be secure and will not fear.
You will forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
And your life will be brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
you will look around and take your rest in security.
You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;
many will court your favor.
But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last” (Job 11 ESV).
We now see that the cycle of Job’s friends is getting progressively worse. Eliphaz’s first comments were generally sympathetic. Then Bildad responded with harshness, saying that Job’s children deserved to die. Now, Zophar tells Job that Job deserves even worse!
Question 1: What are the propositions of the passage?
1) Zophar responds to Job.
2) Zophar asks if Job’s “multitude of words” should go unanswered, with a negative implication.
3) Zophar also accuses Job of being a man “full of talk” with no substance.
4) Zophar calls Job’s words “babble”.
5) Zophar accuses Job of mocking.
6) He says Job should be shamed.
7) Zophar mocks Job’s claims of innocence.
8) He wishes God would speak to Job.
9) Zophar decrees God has vast understanding.
10) Zophar declares God does not punish Job as much as Job deserves.
11) He then points out the vastness of God, comparing it to the heights of heavens and the depth of the grave (Sheol).
12) He says God’s wisdom exceeds the earth and sea.
13) He points out that none can turn God away, or resist Him.
14) He says God knows worthless men, indicating Job is one of those worthless men.
15) Zophar claims that a stupid man will get understanding when a colt gives birth to a man, indicating the impossibility of Job to understand anything.
16) Zophar says that if Job repents, then surely God will not continue to punish.
17) He says that Job will feel secure and unafraid if he repents.
18) Zophar warns, however, that the wicked cannot escape.
Question 2: What does this passage teach about God?
By now, we are familiar with the refrain that this passage only describes how Zophar views God. His views are not radically dissimilar from Eliphaz’s or Bildad’s, nor, for that matter, from Job’s. The main difference between the three friends and Job is that Job knows he has not sinned, whereas the friends believe he must be receiving punishment. As a result, Job’s view differs from Zophar’s specifically in that Job believes God “punishes” both just and unjust, whereas Zophar clearly believes that the “punishment” Job receives must be because Job is a sinner.
Question 3: What does this passage teach about man?
The events in Job are capturing a cycle of destruction; a repetitive upping of the ante. Job laments that he is going through pain though he is innocent, and his friends progressively offer worse and worse statements in response. Though Job wants comfort, he gets judgment. No doubt his friends were sincere and wanted to help Job, but their methods lacked all tact and, indeed, resulted in outright blame and shaming of Job. Instead of helping, they inflict greater harm upon Job. At this point one could wonder if Job’s friends are not actually part of the affliction that he’s going through, for they are not seeking to destroy Job’s life but their words are also harmful. As a result, they fit the template of God giving all but Job’s life over to Satan.
Either way, if we put ourselves in Job’s shoes, we can easily predict what his response will be. His response to Eliphaz was to assert his innocence, and then begin to accuse God of an attack. His response to Bildad was to assert his innocence, and then clearly accuse God of an attack. Now that Zophar has given feedback that is likely to escalate the issue even more, we would predict that Job’s next reaction will be to assert his innocence, and accuse God of an attack all the more.
Job’s friends are contributing to Job’s defensiveness by their attack. In some instances, there may be legitimate reasons to accuse someone even when they respond defensively, but we know that this is not one of them (and really it becomes difficult to think of circumstances when it would work without a lot of ad hoc restrictions in place). From that, we can take note that our attempts to help other people can backfire tremendously if we approach the situation carelessly and without knowing all the facts. It likely would have been much better to offer sympathy rather than accusation, even if Job was in the wrong; how much more, then, because he was in the right?
The guys who do the programming code behind YouTube are not as smart as you might think they are:
We’ve actually had some similar types of problems with the website where I work, but it involves IE 9 being in compatibility mode, making it appear as if it was IE 7. I’m using IE 8, which hasn’t had that problem on our website–and furthermore, I’m not in compatibility mode.
IE 9 still has a lot of bugs, although most of them appear to be the fault of poor web designers rather than IE 9 itself. I know the HTML standards have changed and IE 9 is based on those changes. However, most websites that exist are based on the old standards of HTML. Ultimately, this means that IE 9 works best for new sites, and worst for existing sites–but as sites get upgraded, it will eventually swing toward IE 9 being the best over all. But until we get there, we’re in this “zone of suffering” between the two realms.
That still doesn’t get YouTube programmers of the hook for thinking IE 8 = IE 7 though. Just saying.
Overview of Job So Far
Before we continue with the commentary on Job, we are now at a point where we can take a bird’s-eye view of the book so far. While it may be a little repetitive, the repetition itself indicates what the author of Job considered to be important. Furthermore, looking at the structure of the story so far can also be illuminative.
First, let us look once more at the structure. As you recall, the first two chapters (constituting the prologue) had this structure:
A. Job is blameless.
B. Job goes through a trial (family and possessions destroyed).
A. Job remains blameless.
B. Job goes through another trial (his health destroyed).
A. Job remains blameless.
Thus we see a cycle of increasing trial, but Job remaining steadfast. Then his three friends arrive, and we find this new cycle:
C. Job laments and longs for death.
D. Eliphaz gives a gentle rebuke.
C. Job defends himself, laments, and longs for death.
D. Bildad gives a strong rebuke.
C. Job defends himself, laments, and longs for death.
D. Zophar gives a scathing rebuke.
C. Job defends himself, laments, and longs for death—but still has hope in God.
As we shall soon see, this cycle will itself occur in a cycle (but I won’t say too much on that yet, as we are still going through the “blank slate” view of Job). Some things that we can note from this cycle is that the C parts (i.e., Job’s responses) tend to be much longer than the D parts (i.e., his friend’s statements). Most of the D sections are single chapters, while the C sections are two or three chapters long.
Furthermore, we see that the D sections are intensifying in the level of the rebuke given toward Job. This manifests itself in the way that more and more emphasis is shifted toward blaming Job for his circumstances. While Eliphaz begins gently, it is obvious that each of the friends assumes that Job has sinned greatly for what is happening to him. It does not occur to any of them that Job is telling the truth when he insists he is in the right. Indeed, it may be that Job’s insistence on his innocence is provoking his friends to increase their rebuke. It is probable that had Job agreed with Eliphaz from the start and said he was deserving of what he was receiving, the other friends would not have piled on as strongly. Of course, Job could not admit to what was false, and as a result his friends appear to need all the more to pull him down.
Job’s defenses follow a similar track. They begin with fairly straightforward claims of innocence, but then more further and further into accusations toward God and demanding answers from the LORD. As a result, both the C and D sections are escalating, even as they cycle over the same material.
One thing that does separate Job from his friends is that Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar talk about God—but Job also talks to God. This shows us that Job’s faith is quite strong even as he longs for death.
It is also interesting the each of the characters, including Job and even God Himself, maintain that God is the one who is causing the disasters. On that, they agree. The only disagreement is on why God is doing that, with Job’s three friends assuming Job must be guilty of some sin and Job believing God will punish both innocent and guilty alike. We know, on the other hand, that God was doing this for a different reason—namely, He was doing this because Job was righteous and his faith was not based on any blessings God had given him. God was demonstrating that first to Satan, but then also to us who would read the text.
Remember again that this is the first revelation God has given to man in Scripture. This is how God wanted to be known first. This is not the way the majority of modern Christians would have chosen to have God reveal Himself. In fact, the majority of modern Christians would probably prefer that Job was not even in the Bible, because it so clashes with their other beliefs. But if you want to be a Biblically-based Christian with a competent worldview, you must find some way to square your theology with what happens in Job. If you cannot do so, then that is probably a good indication that your theology is man-centered instead of Bible-centered.