2-point takeaway
If there are any main “points” that I think you need to come away from a study of Job with, I think they would be…
1. No matter what you believe to be true ‘about’ God, you could be wrong; and,
2. God is. Deal with it.
The majority of the book of Job, in all of its excellence and poetry, is comprised of Job’s friends extolling the virtues of their particular brand of theology/philosophy/belief system. For the greater part of his life, Job believed pretty much as they did.
But then his experience challenged his belief.
It is precisely in this challenge that God is revealed as being NOT what was believed… but much more. It was not so much that they believed wrongly, but rather that their belief was too limited.
Job’s three friends, Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz, each represent a common and familiar line of reasoning. They each represent a trend in the philosophy of religion; and yet, at the end of their debates, God declares “you have not spoken rightly about me”.
Could it be that, whatever our belief about God, we are left somewhat lacking? Could it be that, regardless what you claim to be true about God… and regardless how close to the truth you may be… you still come up short of being able to express the totality of truth that is God?
I think that may be the essence of what Job has to teach us; that no matter what we think is true about God… we are wrong, because our capacity for thinking is too small. AND no matter how much we may think rightly about God, we are still far from the God who really is.
We cannot box him in with our finely tuned explanations and religious word bytes, because he is more than can be expressed.
We cannot reduce him to a finely crafted set of beliefs, which is what most of our modern religions try to do. God is beyond, and above, our abilities to believe… reason… express.
God is.
And it’s not our ability to express our belief about him that is important. What is important, as revealed in the story of Job, is our ability to trust in Him… regardless what may seem to be true.
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25.
Preview Postview
A preview of “Job: a Postmodern Opera of Biblical Proportions” was presented Sunday night, February 4th in Lakemont’s fellowship hall. We were blessed with a larger than normal crowd in attendance who seemed genuinely appreciative and moved by the performance (were those “whoops” I heard??). Thanks to all who attended.
We rearranged the order of a few of the songs for this preview, plus added some narration to help the overall flow and continuity of the storyline. I think it helped. I have not heard the recording from Sunday night, but overall I think our sound and balance was better than ever. Kudos to Al Milliron for being so diligent about getting it right and congratulations to Al and his new wife Cathy.
Three of the singers who participated in previous previews were unable to make it this time. Literally at the last minute (well, ok… two days before) Jolene Peters jumped in and learned two songs (“So Many Questions” and “Wisdom”), performing them excepetionally well. Thank you, Jolene. I (Don) also had to fill in the gap and sing two songs (“One Act Theater” and Elihu’s song “Hear My Words”). This is why we are looking for more singers to participate. If one of our major parts is out, we need to be sure it is covered. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know.
A couple of additional musical items were added this time, also. Suzanne wrote a “mini-overture” to get everything started and we also added a verse to Elihu’s song that moves it closer to being an accurate reflection of what he said in the biblical account.
For those of you who wanted to be there, but couldn’t, hopefully you can make it next time. We are scheduled to perform again on Wednesday, March 14th at Broadway Baptist Church (on Barton Chapel Road). If you would like for us to come and peform Job at your church or other performing venue, please let me know. We would be thrilled to have an opportunity to share it with you.
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Job… opening narration
The story of Job is one of the oldest stories known to man and is believed to be the oldest book in the Bible, which is itself a collection of ancient books that mysteriously – mystically – connects our souls to the cosmos.
It is an artistic work of immense sophistication that is removed from any particular historical context or crisis. Its tension strikes a chord that rings throughout history… from ancient Israel’s exile to modern Israel’s Holocaust… from the genocide perpetrated by Genghis Khan’s Mongol warriors to that taking place – today – in Darfur.
Job is a story about a man who accepted the basic premise that if you are good you will be rewarded and if you are bad you will be punished… until his experience challenged that belief.