Word & the Wild

This is Word and the Wild, the one year Bible adventure with friends. My name is Owen, I'm your host and your guide. And together we are on this 12 month journey as a podcast plus community where we read the Bible for ourselves, but not by ourselves. It's week four, gang, and we are about to jump right into it.

In to the reading in our chrono Bibles marked January 22 through 28. If you don't have that chrono Bible or wonder what that is, there's no time. in the show notes and links to all that, so check it out. Meanwhile, this week we have a dark element entering the story as we learn something new about God, and it's not good news.

God has an enemy. And that enemy calls us to question some of what we've seen so far about this Creator God we're getting to know, the main character of our story. So hello and welcome in, and a special welcome to our Word and the Wild Plus community members. It's thanks to them, this is all happening, their support of this non profit endeavor makes space for all of us here on this Bible reading adventure.

And I got to say their contributions inside our dedicated online community are making it so fun. We had an especially lively live stream Q and a last week, talking about the story of Joseph. And there was a lot to discuss. So if you'd like to jump into conversations such as those, as well as enjoy other member benefits, like our daily reading tracker, nerdy background articles by yours truly and other bonus content.

Then the Word and the Wild Plus community might just be your jam. Learn more in the show notes or check it out over at wordandthewild. com. Now, let's jump into this week. More about God, His enemy, and the questions God's enemy raises in the book of Job coming up in a few moments. But first Let's pick up the story where we left it last week.

Now you remember last week, if you've been reading along with us, we spent most of our time with Joseph and Joseph's story is an incredible story. It's a story about love, loyalty, and betrayal. It really is a great story. It's truly a page turner. It was easy to read this week. But if you really want to, I don't know, feel the story, and not just skim it and mine it for Bible facts, if you really want to get into it, then I think you have to open up your mind.

And your own mental vault and bring to the front of your thinking, the kind of memories that we usually lock away. So I'm going to encourage you right now to do that. I'm talking about a time when you yourself felt the sting of betrayal. I mean, when someone. that you trusted just really sold you out stabbed your back and you found yourself in a situation you did not want to be in because of their betrayal.

I mean these are the kind of moments that instinct tells us to leave behind. We box them up, lock them up and leave them up in the attic of our memories. I mean, these are parts of our past. Most of us we either minimize those, those moments or we, we try to, you know, self medicate to forget, or if we're on the other end of the spectrum the kind of experiences that.

But Joseph, and here's where Joseph comes into the conversation, Joseph handled the painful parts of his path differently. He didn't minimize or self medicate or make them his identity. It was something else entirely. And when I replay Joseph's story, and I think about what he went through, how he responded, I get these reassuring reminders of how God can walk with his friends.

through long, hard seasons of betrayal and grief. And I learned from Joseph's example, you know, I don't know, find this resilience, endurance. There's a spiritual and emotional survival that comes from framing up the present moment that I'm in a place I don't want to be inside of God's past. future. Now by that I mean that that God has established his plan in the past.

God's moving forward with purpose toward the future and God walks a path through history toward that purpose and that path that God walks runs right through this present moment, your present moment. My present moment. That, to me, was Joseph's outlook. He, he says exactly that, but he says it so much more simply and elegantly.

And it goes back to that moment where he found himself alone with his, his brothers. As Pharaoh's right hand man in Egypt. Remember that moment in the story? It's an all time great dramatic moment. I mean, this is the, the, the peak of the story, the big reveal. And remember what, what Joseph said to his brothers?

I've got it down here. It's a Genesis 45 verses four through eight on your, in your chrono Bibles, if you're with us there, it's on page 63. And it goes like this, Joseph says, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place.

It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me ahead of you. To keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you.

Three times Joseph says, God has sent. Now again, he doesn't minimize the betrayal of the past. His brothers did him dirty and he acknowledges that. He says, you sold me. But then he also says, God sent me. If there were ever a playbook with how to deal with betrayal, grief, and suffering, that's it. I mean, Joseph gives us a pattern.

Face your past, embrace your present, place your future in the hands of the powerful, purposeful, personal Creator God that we are getting to know through this story. God walks with those who walk with Him. Today means something. Tomorrow is filled with hope because God walks with those who walk with Him, even when the path we follow is blocked.

Takes us through the darkest of valleys. That's, that's Joseph. And I can't think of a better how to for enduring tough times. And that's all thanks to Joseph and God's work in Joseph's life. His endurance through suffering trickles downstream to us today. That's, that's the how. What about the why? Why?

There are why questions that surround this suffering that we go through in life and those questions are still on the table. Why in the world do good people go through hard times at all? And that is where Job comes in.

The why question. It's not a trivial question. It's a key. Question, not only for our own curiosity, I mean, we want to know, but because it's key to understanding God, the main character of this epic story that we're following here. Let's get real for a minute. This is one of those questions where we analyze this God character to try to understand what category he goes into.

I mean, is he really the hero or is he the villain? Is he good guy, bad guy, a benevolent ruler of the universe? Friend of mankind? Or is he something else? Some kind of embattled, vulnerable force for good? Or even worse, is he some kind of cruel and twisted overlord? That's what's at stake with this why question.

Why do good people suffer? If the Bible were some kind of PR puff piece to paint God in shining light, Job would not Have made the final cut. I mean, PR campaigns don't complicate the portrait of the person they are trying to promote. They simplify things. They airbrush out anything that could be misinterpreted, but we don't get that from this story of Job.

It's, it's not an airbrushed promo poster. It's not some kind of slick biopic. It's a raw and real behind the scenes look into how the sausage of suffering gets made. Which is just as gross as it sounds.

If God is all powerful and good, then why do good people suffer? That question is the heart of Job's story. The goodness of God is what's on trial in this story. Everyone in the story of Job wrestles with the question. Job. Job's wife, Job's friends. Now, Job and his world is somewhat of a mystery. Job is a mystery.

His story is about a mystery. And it's all kind of poetic in a way. I mean, Job drops into our movie. Right here where we are now because we're following the story in chronological order and based on some of the historical references inside Job's episode, he seems like a good fit right here, kind of in the world of Genesis or just after.

But what, from a story point of view, we can think of job kind of like a, a spinoff mini series of the main movie. There are only two characters from the Bible's story universe that cross over from the main story into Job, and that's God and Satan. Job and all the other characters in the book, they're all self contained inside this little mini series.

God and Satan spin off into this story, and they give us some extra detail about the relationship between these two characters. and how it all plays out. Job gets callbacks in both the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible, but his story doesn't move any further than what we see in the book. He's here to show us how the drama between God and Satan plays out behind the scenes and affects human life And the human experience.

So let's look at the headliners of this story to kind of help us get our, our bearings. We've got Job. He's the title character. You've got Satan. And of course you've got our main character, God. And we don't know that much about Job. We're going to learn more about Job's inner life and thoughts in this story.

Then we learn about his surroundings. He has a wife, He has seven sons, three daughters, and he's a wealthy rancher, sheep herder, camel herder in a land called Uz. Job makes maintaining a respectful relationship with God a high priority. We know that much. A word that comes up to describe Job often in the book is, It's a word that means simple, uncomplicated, straightforward, and direct.

Job's priorities don't shift with what's easy or convenient. For Job, his relationship with God and with his children are the most important thing in his life, and he stays that course. It is Job's integrity and love for God and family that will be the battleground in this story.

Next character we see is Satan. We use the word Satan as a proper name. It's actually just a regular old word that means accuser and adversary. It's here in Job that we first understand Satan's intentions. That God and humans have an enemy. Satan is that enemy. And we've seen Satan briefly before, but he hasn't been mentioned by name.

Much later we learn in the story that Satan was the one behind that, the serpent's temptation and instigation in that episode in the garden of Eden, the, the forbidden fruit. And the, the lies and the underhanded way he instigated doubt in Eve's mind about God's word and God's heart there at the foot of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

I mean, that's, that's Satan's MO. That's how he operates. First thing he tries to do on a regular basis, he assassinates God's character in the minds of people. The, the beloved humans God created for companionship and to represent him in the world that he has made. That's, that's priority number one for Satan.

The other part of his strategy, number two, is to point out the flaws, sins, and missteps of humans. He points them out to God to bring hurt and pain to his enemy, God. God and Satan are not locked into a battle between equals. And we see this in the story. This is not a, an arm wrestling match of strength against strength.

And Satan is more like a terrorist. He can't win heads up confrontations with God. So instead he uses love and loyalty as a weapon to incite bitterness and betrayal. His goal is to inflict as much pain as possible. by inciting conflict and drama. And whether Satan was in serpent form or the serpent embodied Satan there in the Garden of Eden, or there was some kind of other twisted evil arrangement.

We don't know for sure, but we know that for a fact a snake is a perfect representation of Satan. That's exactly what he is. He's a snake in the grass. And then there's our third character in the story. It's God. He's the main character in this, this story. God notices Job. He enjoys Job. He's proud of Job and his relationship with Job.

This is the God who the Bible has portrayed as the creator and arbiter of the world. He's the powerful, personal, purposeful God who has a plan to love and rescue his creation. while at the same time preserving their freedom to choose to join his path, choose to love him, or choose to walk away. And right there on that knife edge between God's good and God's rule over all creation, along with God's desire for love and the freedom of choice that love requires.

Right there on the border of those competing interests, or apparently competing interests, Satan sees an opportunity for pain. And that's where the story of Job takes its pivot. In Job chapter 1, in verses 8 11, Satan makes a, a devastating accusation. Listen to this. It says, Then the Lord asked Satan, Have you noticed my servant Job?

He's the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless. A man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And Satan replied to the Lord, Yes. But Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does.

Look how rich he is, but reach out and take away everything he has. And he will surely curse you to your face. Now, notice the power dynamic between God and Satan in this story of Joe. On one hand, it's encouraging. On the other hand, it's disturbing. Satan has has no ability to just act on his own.

Satan has to get permission from God to test out job's, love and loyalty to him. So. Any attack has to come through God, God's the gatekeeper, and that's comforting. But on the other hand, God grants Satan permission to put Job to the test, and that is less comforting. We're gonna have to see where the story takes us on this, and while it's, it's Job's integrity that is the pretext for this story.

It's really God's integrity that ends up on trial. Are God's motives as pure as they seem? What does God really want out of all of this and all of us? That's the kind of question that's at the heart of Satan's accusation. In effect, he says to God, God, you are only worth knowing and loving because of the benefits that come with friendship with you.

God, you aren't valuable or worthy of respect from humans on your own merit. You buy their love. If Job's wealth and comfort disappear, his relationship with you will vanish with it. Job's relationship isn't love, it's a transaction. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. Bottom line, Satan says, God, if you want love and friendship with people, that's fine, but you don't get what you want.

Your plan is to create a universe where real love is possible, and God, that possibility falls short. No one chooses you. No one loves you for you. You have to buy their love.

That is the accuser's accusation. That is Satan's attempt to create a rift in the relationship and to put God on trial. And that is how the drama in Job unfolds. Questions on the table. Can Job maintain his integrity? Will the pressure get to him? An even bigger question. Is God as good as he presents himself?

Is God himself really worth Knowing and loving. Will Satan drive a wedge between God and Job? Will the enemy prove in the court of heaven that there is not such a thing as actual love? That selfishness and betrayal are the real powers at work in the universe. These are the questions. So as you jump into Job and you read this incredible story, troubling story at times, disturbing story at times, try to notice what Job, his friends, Satan, and God Himself all have to say about God and how humans relate to Him.

Because that's where the drama of this story plays out. And not everything every character says is true. That's I'd say that's your key to understanding Job, making your way through it. Remember that the Bible says truly records the words and thoughts of the characters in the story, but not everything those characters say and think is true.

And now let's head out on the trail into that wild world of life and God's Word. Let's go out there together this week. Word and the Wild is a one year Bible adventure with friends. And so all of you Word of the Wild Plus community members, I'll look forward to seeing you out there in the wild, our private online community space this week.

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Many thanks to our friends at LumaVoz. Check out all their great podcasts. And with that, my friend, we are out on the trail. Here we go. I'm Owen. I am your host and your guide until next time, my friend, I'll see you out there on the trail in the word and in the wild. Have a good one.