Job had it bad. After his family and fortune was destroyed, his friends showed up to talk him to death. It’s amazing he kept his faith in God throughout his trials. But that faith tattered with questions and frustrations and pain.

In one outburst Job lamented those who lived large while taking advantage of people around them:

The tents of the marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure—those whose god is in their hand.

These robbers refused to acknowledge the God of heaven. They followed a god they controlled themselves, one fitting in the palm of their hand. Their god felt good in a pocket, a lucky charm to rub. But no god at all really, only a prop in the show.

Like Job, I have the same complaint about the marauders of our day. Why do those who thumb their noses at the divine flourish? Why do leaders who use their god to entrap others or cover their hatred rise? Why do the corrupt prosper while good people struggle? It’s an age-old frustration.

But Job knew deep down that the Lord controls this world, and eventually even the slyest marauders face judgement.

Job looked for a Messiah who was to come, a mediator between God and man. This time of year we celebrate that arrival. Jesus explodes the idea of a god in the pocket—he’ll burn a hole right through your shorts.

So as we celebrate the birth of the King, we celebrate the inevitable justice he brings as well.

Job 12 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by gryffyn m