06/27/2020: Day 026 – Job 7 – 8
Once again, the age old question: “Why do ‘good’ people suffer?” Job is generally considered to have lived during the patriarchs. Abraham’s life span runs approximately from 2055 – 1855 b.c.e., for example. It seems to be that years ago, it was thought that Moses wrote the book of Job (appr. 1400 b.c.e.), but I am seeing projected dates around 6th century b.c.e. or so.
I believe that Job was a “foreshadowing” of Christ, along with other patriarchs such as Joseph. Dennis Prager , a modern day orthodox Jew and creator of PragerU, was asked in a dual faith Apologetics interview with Ravi Zacharias how he would summarize the distinction between the Jewish faith and the Christian faith? His reply: “Christians believe that suffering can be glorious to God’s purposes, whereas Jews believe suffering stinks (he used a different word here). It cracked me up! (prayers for a future brother in Christ!)
Bildad and his friends seem to be cut from the same cloth as modern day “prosperity gospel” heretics, with Joel Osteen coming to mind. It seems to me, that Jews of faith did not really have a developed belief of the afterlife until the Pharisees came along around 150 b.c.e. with the Maccabean revolt spawned from the Seleucid desecration of the temple. At the time of Yeshua , the Sanhedrin, with 70 members, consisted of Sadduccees and Pharisees. The Sadduccees did not believe in the resurrection nor did they believe in the unseen spiritual warfare.
So Solomon despaired over ‘what was the meaning of it all’, seeing as how life was just a breath. Wasn’t the gap between that and an all powerful and all loving God pondered upon. Notice how many times we run into Old Testament passages on the theme: ‘How long O Lord, will these evil-doers prosper?’
I can’t attest to credibility here but I saw a survey last night of different American religious groups as to what percentage believe in an after-life, with results in three categories as follows: Christians – 80%; Jews – 46% , all others , including atheists and agnostics – 65%. Astounding to me that: 1) Jews would fall below the “all others” ; and 2) How is it that 20% of “self-proclaimed” christians don’t believe in an after-life”? What was the purpose of the incarnation again, the foundation of your faith? But then , we know we live in a very strange “schizophrenic” like world, “in the world but not of the world”.
And back to the Prager question on the key differences between the Jewish and the Christian faiths. Can we say, in the end, there are none ultimately as we are one faith! How do we account for a recent proliferation of Messianic Jews, current brothers and sisters in Christ, as opposed to “future” brothers and sisters. Beware of the heresy of “supersessionism”, or “replacement theology”, a doctrine that asserts that the New Covenant, through Yeshua the Christ, supercedes the Old Covenant, which was made exclusively with the Jewish people. His word is one book, not two! And one God, not two! (reference – Romans 11 – our reading three Sundays forward)
Blessings! Soli Deo Gloria!
Love,
Your brother in Christ,
Jimmy