Job 6:1-4, 8-15, 21

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6:1 Then Job answered:

2 “O that my vexation were weighed,

and all my calamity laid in the balances!

3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;

therefore my words have been rash.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me. (Job 6:1-4, NRSV)

8 “O that I might have my request,

and that God would grant my desire;

9 that it would please God to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 This would be my consolation;

I would even exult in unrelenting pain;

for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should be patient?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones,

or is my flesh bronze?

13 In truth I have no help in me,

and any resource is driven from me.

14 “Those who withhold kindness from a friend

forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,

like freshets that pass away, (Job 6:8-15, NRSV)

21 Such you have now become to me;

you see my calamity, and are afraid. (Job 6:21, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with some editing from August 29, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two):

After two lessons on Eliphaz’ first speech, we have two lessons on Job’s response. As we might expect, Job disagrees. Eliphaz has given conventional explanations of suffering which Job rejects, at least in his own case. As noted yesterday, Eliphaz has criticized Job’s “vexation” (WfaKA [kā‘aś], many mss.sfk [k‘s], BHS apparatus). “Surely vexation kills the fool” (Job 5:2). But Job counters: “O that my vexation (yW9f4Ka, ka’śî) were weighed, / and all my calamity laid in the balances!” (6:2). His troubles have not been understood, he says, for if they had been properly “weighed,” that is, properly assessed, “then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea” (v. 3a). For “therefore my words have been rash” (v. 3b NRSV), the NJPS (1985, 1999) has “That is why I spoke recklessly.” Mayer Gruber says

The translation’s uncertainty (note c [so NRSV note a] is because Heb ‘la‘u’ [Ufl!, lā‘û] is only attested twice, here and in Obad. 1:16, where NJPS translates ‘their speech grows thick,’ referring to the slurred speech of drunkards. Job thus more likely refers to slurred speech. Job apologizes for his rambling on, when in fact his friends should be apologizing for insulting him (4:2-9) and suggesting that someone else’s calamity is a laughing matter (5:22). (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 1512 on Job 6:3).

His “words have been rash [slurred?]” he says, because of his intense suffering at the hand of God. “The arrows of the Almighty are in me; / my spirit drinks their poison; / the terrors of God are arrayed against me” (v. 4). In verses passed over by the reading references, Job emphasizes his point with rhetorical questions. “Does the wild ass bray over its grass, / or the ox low over its fodder?” (v. 5). No, they eat in silence. The braying and lowing express their hunger, their need for food. Job’s complaint, for which his friends admonish him, expresses his need for relief from all this suffering. According to Gruber, “Rhetorical questions are typical of wisdom literature (see v. 12; Prov. 6:27-28)” (op. cit., on vv. 5-6).

Job again cries out that God would grant his request, his desire (v. 8), “that it would please God to crush me,” he says, “that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!” (v. 9). As in the lament (chap. 3), he wishes to be dead and thus free from suffering. On the other hand, it seems, he “would even exult in unrelenting pain” (v. 10b) to prove his point, “for I have not denied (yT9d4H1K9, kichadtî) the words of the Holy One” (v. 10c). “Denied would be more properly translated as ‘concealed.’ Job is consoled to know that even under extreme distress he has not concealed that it was God who had decided against him” (Leong Seow, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Job 6:10). For the words “for I have not denied the words of the Holy One,” the NJPS (1985, 1999) translation has “That I did not suppress my words against the Holy One.” Gruber comments:

Suppress, Heb. ‘Kiched’ [dH2K9] means ‘conceal, suppress, withhold’ as it does also in 15:18. There Eliphaz proudly asserts that he and his friends rely on the wisdom they learned from their forebearers, which they have not withheld. Here Job, true to character, asserts that he relies on what he learned from a divine being in a vision of the night (4:12-21; 9:2-3; 15:13-16; 25:4-6. . . . Job here reaffirms his reliance on what he learned in the vision (4:17-21), and Eliphaz has in 5:1 ridiculed Job precisely for his reliance on a holy being. On the other hand, it is Eliphaz who says: ‘But I would resort to God’ (5:8). (op. cit., pp. 1512-1513 on Job 6:10)

After further illustration of these meanings from later references in Job, Gruber comments on the word “consolation” (6:10):

Just as the readers learn from chs. 1-2 that Job is not to blame for his suffering, so also does Job in 4:12-21. His friend, relying upon what they learned from their teachers and from their own limited experience (see 15:7-18), will not know this until the LORD Himself tells them in 42:7-8. In the meantime Job must deal not only with debilitating illness, the death of his children, and the loss of his worldly goods, but also with the cognitive dissonance created by the fact that his three friends keep telling him that, contrary to what he has been told in his dream and what his instincts and experience tell him, he brought all his troubles on himself. It is Job’s knowledge gained from on high, which his friends do not yet understand, that is his consolation in the face of his friends’ total lack of sympathy. (Ibid., p. 1513)

This intriguing interpretation by Gruber, which is based on considering Job 4:12-21 as the words of Job, not of Eliphaz, is attributed to “some scholars” by Gruber (cf. comments on August 24). In any case, it is evident throughout that Job bases his claims of innocence–confirmed in the end by God (42:7-8)–on his instincts and experience, whether confirmed by his own “vision” or not. But in the meantime, further questions stress the extremity to which he has been pressed. “What is my strength, that I should wait? / And what is my end, that I should be patient?” (v. 11). To the question, Why should I wait? Seow contrasts Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the LORD; / he inclined to me and heard my cry,” implying that Job asks why he should wait for the LORD, who apparently is his chief tormenter. Emphasizing the limits of his strength, he asks, “Is my strength the strength of stones, / or is my flesh bronze?” (v. 12). He is without help and resources (v. 13). He rebukes his friends for withholding kindness, which is forsaking “the fear of the almighty” (v. 14). His “companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed, / like freshets that pass away” (v. 15). “The torrent-bed and freshets are the wadis (gulches or arroyos [bayous in Houston]) that sometimes bring flash floods during the rainy seasons but are dry during the summer when water is needed (Jer. 15:18)” (Seow on vv. 15-17). Because the water disappears “in time of heat” (v. 17), caravans and travelers who seek water there are disappointed (vv. 18-20). “Such you [friends of mine] have now become to me,” says Job; “you see my calamity and are afraid” (v. 21).

Acts 9:32-43

The Healing of Aeneas

32 Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Peter in Lydda and Joppa

36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner. (Acts 9:32-43, NRSV)

On July 10, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from August 29, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two), when comments were repeated from July 5, 2005 (Tuesday of the week of the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). The comments from August 29, 2006 were also used on September 30, 2007 (the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One). The edited comments are repeated here with further editing and supplement:

After the account of Saul’s (Paul’s) conversion in yesterday’s reading, it was reported that “the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (Acts 9:31). Christopher R. Matthews sees here “the familiar note of growth,” and adds that “the persecution of 8:1 has apparently passed” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Acts 9:31).

Today’s reading returns to ministry of Peter in cities of Judea. “Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda” (v. 32). Soon, he is also at Joppa (v. 36, cf. v. 38). Lydda was some twenty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem toward Joppa, which was on the coast about eleven miles further from Jerusalem (cf. the scale of Map 13, NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001). According to Mary K. Milne, Joppa was “a town (Lod in the OT) in the fertile plain of Sharon along an eastern branch of the ancient international highway, the Via Maris. This location gave Lydda a certain strategic and commercial importance. . . . At first outside the boundaries of Judea in the Hellenistic period, it was given to Jonathan the Hasmonean as a purely Jewish town ca. 145 B.C. (1 Macc. 11:34)” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Lydda). According to Stephen Breck Reid, Joppa, of which the Hebrew name means “beauty,” was “an important harbor in ancient Palestine. Today it is a suburb of modern Tel Aviv.” Mentioned in the Old Testament (e.g. Josh. 19:46; 2 Chron. 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jon. 1:3, “the city was colonized by the Greeks in the Hellenistic period (333-63 B.C.). . . . The Seleucids captured the city in the Hasmonean period (ca. 175-63 B.C.)” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Joppa). It is later reported that Jonathan the Hasmonean fought against a Seleucid garrison and took possession of Joppa (1 Macc. 10:75-76, ca. 147 B.C.. cf/ NRSV note e on v. 67). For Luke’s report in Acts, Peter’s coming to these cities demonstrates the growth of the church in Judean territory. “There are already believers in both places,” notes Matthews (op. cit., on v. 32, with ref. to Joppa, v. 36).

Loveday Alexander says that it “suggests one of the mechanisms by which the church was built up (v. 31); it implies that Peter has some kind of pastoral oversight over the whole church (‘all’), which by now includes believers in the towns on the coastal plain” (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 1040 on Acts 9:32-35).

At Lydda, Peter “found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed” (v. 33). There Peter healed Aeneas. “Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up” (v. 34). Alexander says, “There are strong echoes here [including the healing of Tabitha in Joppa] of the healing miracles of Jesus, though Luke is careful to stress that Peter heals in Jesus’ name” (ibid., p. 1040 on Acts 9:36-43). The healing of Aeneas is significant, for “all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (v. 35).

Next Luke tells us that “in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity” (v. 36). According to the NRSV text note a on verse 36, “the name Tabitha in Aramaic and the name Dorcas in Greek mean a gazelle” (cf. Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. Tabiqav, Tabitha and DorkavV, Dorkas). “At that time,” says Luke, “she [Tabitha/Dorcas] became ill and died.” He adds that “when they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs” (v. 37). Clearly, many were lamenting her passing. Peter was close to Joppa in nearby Lydda, and the believers at Lydda summon him. “Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay’ ” (v. 38). When Peter arrived and was taken upstairs, “All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them” (v. 39b). But Peter took decisive action, emulating his Lord’s action in similar circumstances (Mk. 5:39-42). “Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive” (vv. 40-41). Matthews notes the similarity between this healing and Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ daughter (Lk. 8:41-42, 49-56). As in the Gospels, when Jesus’ healings spread his reputation, so here for Peter. “ This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord” (v. 42).

Peter’s extended stay in Joppa prepares the way for the next step in the mission of the church. He is at the house of “a certain Simon, a tanner” (v. 43), where he will have the vision of meats not to be called “unclean” (Acts 10:9-16). Since the tanner’s work would have him dealing with dead animals, he would be ritually unclean. So Peter’s presence in his home was a kind of preparation for the vision to follow.

John 6:60-71

The Words of Eternal Life

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him. (John 6:60-71, NRSV)

On March 24, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from February 2, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year Two), comments repeated there from March 12, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year One), and repeated again on August 29, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 24, Year Two).

The lengthy discussion of the bread of life proved to be “difficult” (Jn. 6:60) or “offensive” (v. 61) to many of Jesus’ disciples, who said “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (v. 60). William Barclay comments on the word “difficult” (sklhrovV, sklēros), which he translates as “hard.” “It is little wonder,” says Barclay, “that the disciples found the discourse of Jesus hard. The Greek word is sklēros, which means not hard to understand; but hard to accept. The disciples knew quite well that Jesus had been claiming to be the very life of God come down from heaven, and that no one could live this life or face eternity without submitting to him” (The Gospel of John, vol. 1, rev. ed., 1956, p. 226 on Jn. 6:59-65). Jesus responds with questions. “Does this offend you?” (v. 61). “Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” (v. 62). Barclay says:

Jesus goes on, not to try to prove his claim, but to state that some day the events will prove it. What he is saying is this: ‘you find it difficult to believe that I am the bread, the essential of life, which came down from heaven. Well then, you will have no difficulty in accepting that claim when some day you see me ascending back to heaven. It is a forecast of the Ascension. It means that the Resurrection is the guarantee of the claims of Jesus. He was not one who lived nobly and died gallantly for a lost cause; he was the one whose claims were vindicated by the fact that he rose again. (ibid., p, 227)

Obery M. Hendricks offers a brief comment that essentially agrees with Barclay. “Jesus eventual ascension to divine glory will show that he was speaking of realities deeper than the actual eating of his earthly flesh (1:1-18)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jn. 6:62-63). “It is the spirit that gives life,” says Jesus. “The flesh is useless” (v. 63a). And he adds, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (v. 63b). According to Barclay, “the all important thing is the life-giving power of the Spirit; the flesh is of no help” (loc. cit.). He adds:

The real value of anything depends on its aim. If we eat simply for the sake of eating, we become gluttons, and it is likely to do us far more harm than good; if we eat to sustain life, to do our work better, to maintain the fitness of our body at its highest peak, food has a real significance. If a man spends a great deal of time on sport simply for the sake of sport, he is at least to some extent wasting his time. But if he spends that time in order to keep his body fit and thereby to do his work for God and men better, sport ceases to be trivial and becomes important. The things of the flesh all gain their value from the spirit in which they are done. (ibid.)

In this month of the Beijing Olympics, some would likely dispute Barclay’s saying about sport. In many ways the Chinese put on a show that overshadowed the previous Olympics celebrations.

Jesus says, “But among you there are some who do not believe” (v. 64a), and John explains, “For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him” (v. 64b; cf. 2:24-25). He explains their unbelief. “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” (v. 65). From previous teaching in John we understand that this is granted to those who respond in faith to Jesus and his claims. But at this point, “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (v. 66). These closing paragraphs–closing chapter 6, closing Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as reported by John–emphasize the importance of the spiritual understanding of Jesus’ “bread of life” claims (v. 63), the need for faith, or believing (v. 64), and God the Father’s decisive role in salvation (v. 65).

The identification of Judas and the prediction about him are notable (vv. 70-71). But Peter’s confession stands out. When the twelve were asked, “Do you also wish to go away?” (v. 67), Peter answered: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (vv. 68-69). This appears to be the Johannine equivalent of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi (Mk. 8:27-33; Mt. 16:13-23; Lk. 9:18-22). In the Synoptic tradition (Mt., Mk., Lk.) the Galilean ministry is drawing to a close, the crowd’s enthusiasm for Jesus has already peaked, and the focus turns to issues related to the cost of discipleship and the road to Jerusalem, where Jesus will be crucified and then resurrected. John’s presentation, while using a rather different selection of specific events, has a pattern quite similar to this overall pattern of the Synoptic Gospels.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net