Job - Volume 3 - The Lord Speaks

Some of you may be Will Ferrell fans, others may not. Sometimes I think he is hilarious. Other times, he is on the crass side. But I confess to own (and for the most part enjoy) his "Best of Will Ferrell" DVD from his days on Saturday Night Live. One of the sketches on there is called "Dissing Your Dog". Will Ferrell is in this commercial trying to sell a pet training video. Basically what he does is talk to his pet in a sarcastic way to try and change the dog's behavior. For example, if the dog is up on the couch, he says, "Oh no Humphrey, don't get up. Just stay there and relax. After all, you're the one who put in a long day of work at a demanding, high stress job. Oh wait, that's me. You laid around all day in a pool of your own slobber." The idea was that the dog would get the hint and jump off the couch. The best part was to see the look on these clueless dogs' faces as they were kind of put in their place. And while it may be a very crude comparison, this skit (and specifically the tone of Will Ferrell's character) stuck in my head when I read this third and final part of Job.

To recap, Job has the worst day ever. Everything that could go wrong does. His friends come and they sit with him for a while and then Job starts to complain and complain and then he complains some more. Then his friends chime in and kind of attack him and don't really support him. They sort of go back and forth and then........and I love this transition.......the beginning of Chapter 38 is titled........The Lord Speaks. I can just see it. God is listening in to this whole conversation, shaking his head at what everyone is saying. He can tell that they are all just wasting their breath, just rambling endlessly.

Then, there is a break in the conversation. A pause. They have probably all just worn themselves out from talking. God rolls up his sleeves and just unleashes an unbelievable sarcastic line of questioning that would pretty much put any human in their place. He even prefaces it with, "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you will answer me."

Here are just a sample of the questions he asks:
Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail?
Do you give the horse its strength and clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

I mean, how are you supposed to answer that??? At the beginning of Chapter 40, God pauses and let's Job respond and he does as any of us would - "I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer - twice, but I will say no more" This is the worst case of foot in mouth in history. When God calls you out, you're done.

God goes on for another chapter and a half. Finally, when He more than proves his point, Job (who is probably looking for a rock to crawl under at this point) closes the conversation with a great line. "My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

I love this section of Job. Yes, I like the fact that God has a sarcastic side. However, for me, it just helps me put into perspective who is in control. I lose way too much sleep over things I have no control of. I could push and push and build up a great life for myself and then one day a plane flies into the side of my building. Or I feel a lump on my back. Or a kid comes into my son's school with a bag full of guns. The point to me is summarized by Job's line way back in chapter 1 - "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Lesson to learn from Job - quit while you're ahead.

Interestingly, there is an epilogue to this book. It is kind of like after a movie is over, the screen goes black and there is a paragraph or two to tells what happens AFTER the story is over.

God confronts Job's friends and calls them out as well. He asks Job to pray for them which he does - would YOU say no to God at this point???? And then,

"The Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before......the Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first.......he had seven sons and three daughters.....after this, Job lived a hundred and forty years (less trans fat and smog in those days), he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years."