Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Today, we wrapped up the story of Job. For several chapters we've been reading about how

Job wants to have a conversation with God, and yesterday, God gave Job a lengthy response.

Today, we got to see Job's very brief reply, where he basically just said, I think I'm

going to keep my mouth shut. So Job was humbled and didn't want to speak, but God had asked

Job to answer him, and he didn't, so God pushes a little more. In 48, God said, well,

you even put me in the wrong, will you condemn me that you may be in the right? How often

do we get so frustrated by our circumstances that we carry a subtle, undercurrent of belief

that God is cruel for letting that thing happen to us? If we really boil it down, that's

the same thing as calling God a bad, unjust God. It's basically the belief that I would make

a better God, because if I were God, I would never have done that, and he's wrong and unjust

for choosing to do things that way. God points out Job's heart attitude that only became

evident through his suffering. In 41, 11, God also points out Job's entitlement. Job glorified

God, he made sacrifices, he honored God with his life and his actions, but it seems like

maybe he valued his own righteous acts a little too highly, perhaps believing they put God

in his debt. The sins of pride and entitlement are disgusting, even when they're attached

to our so-called good deeds, and God is kind to purge those things from his children.

In chapter 42, Job repents, your version of the Bible may have shown him saying, I despise

myself. The Hebrew word used for despise here, which I won't try to pronounce because

it actually sounds like a curse word, is used elsewhere to mean to withdraw or to reject,

like I withdraw from myself. The tone it carries is more about humility

than shame. There's a huge difference. Shame feels like an accusation about who you are

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