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 get to see Job's very brief reply, where he basically just says,

I think I'm going to keep my mouth shut. So Job is humbled and doesn't want to speak.

But God has asked Job to answer him, and he didn't. So God pushes a little more. In chapter 40,

verse 8, God says, will 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 4111, God also points out Job's entitlement. Job glorifies God, he makes sacrifices, he

honors God with his life and his actions, but it seems like maybe

he values his own righteous acts just a little too highly, perhaps believing that they put God in

his debt. The sins of pride and entitlement are disgusting, even when they are attached to our

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

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

...