Author: Administrador

We have walked with Job the last few weeks through the book that bears his name. This week we read the final chapter of the book and find out what becomes of Job in the end. This epilogue to the book of Job is, for many readers, hard to accept. The whole book up to … Continue reading “Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

[This is Week 6 of a 6-week preaching series on 2 Corinthians.] Week 6 (June 26, 2016)          Preaching text: 2 Cor 8:1-15; accompanying text: John 13:31-35 Theme: Generosity  As we have seen, Paul’s ministry was about a “word” of reconciliation that could only be authentically embodied in a life of “service” freely given for others. … Continue reading “6-week preaching series on Job.]

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Commentary by Karla Suomala”

[This is Week 5 of a 6-week preaching series on Job.] Week 5 Job 38:25-27; 41:1-8; 42:1-6 God continues to show Job the wild beauty of creation. The horse runs and the eagle soars, rejoicing in their freedom. Leviathan, that fiercest of creatures, answers only to its Maker. It cannot be controlled and will not … Continue reading “Job 38:25-27; 41:1-8; 42:1-6 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

I remember well the first time I read the speeches of God in the book of Job. I had not been raised in the church, having gone only a few times in my childhood, and I had come to seminary in 1968 for reasons that could be considered less than religious. I took Hebrew there, … Continue reading “Job 38:1-11 Commentary by John C. Holbert”

The book of Job, like the lament psalms, serves to keep us honest. There are biblical texts, taken in isolation from the canon as a whole, that can be used to support or “prove” that God guarantees success to the righteous and destruction to the wicked, even in this life; but taken in isolation from … Continue reading “Job 38:1-11 Commentary by Fred Gaiser”

God’s speech from the whirlwind to Job has been a long time coming. Readers of the book know that Job’s celebrated patience in suffering came to a crashing halt at the end of the second chapter. Beginning with chapter three, and with increasingly acerbic force throughout the book, Job challenged the LORD to give an … Continue reading “Job 38:1-11 Commentary by Walter C. Bouzard”

“Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers,” drawled Garth Brooks. “Then the Lord answered Job….” While Job may not have been thinking in terms of a girlfriend, a longed-for high school crush, still he might have agreed. I wonder what surprised Job more, the content of the answer he received, or the simple fact … Continue reading “Job 38:1-7 [34-41] Commentary by Karl Jacobson”

Like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, Job responds to his troubles by wishing he had never been born (Job 3). But Job doesn’t get a visit from the portly, comforting Clarence the angel. Instead, at the end of the book, the One who appears to Job is none other than the Creator of … Continue reading “Job 38:1-7 [34-41] Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”

[This is Week 6 of a 6-week preaching series on 2 Corinthians.] Week 6 (June 26, 2016)          Preaching text: 2 Cor 8:1-15; accompanying text: John 13:31-35 Theme: Generosity  As we have seen, Paul’s ministry was about a “word” of reconciliation that could only be authentically embodied in a life of “service” freely given for others. … Continue reading “6-week preaching series on Job.]

Job 38:1-7 [34-41]

Job 38:1-7 [34-41] Commentary by Karla Suomala”

[This is Week 4 of a 6-week preaching series on Job.] Week 4 Job 31:35-37; 38:1-11 Job ends his speeches with a long oath of innocence, and calls on God to answer him. After some speeches by another “friend,” Elihu, God does indeed answer Job. God shows up. And God takes Job on a whirlwind … Continue reading “Job 31:35-37; 38:1-11 Commentary by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker”