Daily Lesson for January 13, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Job chapter 29 verses 1 through 13:

Job again took up his discourse and said:
2
“O that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me;
3
when his lamp shone over my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness;
4
when I was in my prime,
    when the friendship of God was upon my tent;
5
when the Almighty was still with me,
    when my children were around me;
6
when my steps were washed with milk,
    and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7
When I went out to the gate of the city,
    when I took my seat in the square,
8
the young men saw me and withdrew,
    and the aged rose up and stood;
9
the nobles refrained from talking,
    and laid their hands on their mouths;
10
the voices of princes were hushed,
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11
When the ear heard, it commended me,
    and when the eye saw, it approved;
12
because I delivered the poor who cried,
    and the orphan who had no helper.
13
The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
    and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

A few days ago I was with a dear friend and former pastor who is now old and frail and winding down. We were eating together in the dining hall at his senior living home and I found myself telling everybody we met how significant of a person he is to me, what all he had accomplished in his life, and just how important he once was. I actually found myself wanting to stand up and yell for everyone’s attention and let them know what company they were all in.

Then I realized probably everyone in the dining room had somebody who wanted to do the same thing. Everybody there was once someone very, very significant to somebody.

In this morning’s Lesson Job laments:

“O that I were as in the months of old,
   as in the days when God watched over me . . .”

His wisdom reminds us that “life is gift”, and that we have to receive the gift on its own terms. And the terms clearly state that we will have what we have for today; but tomorrow it will be gone.

This is not something to despair.  It is something to see, and understand, and give shape to our living. It puts everything and everyone in perspective, and reminds us that one day we will all lay down our trophies, and the earth will give way like the snow, and what will be left of us will remain only in the heart of God.

NOTE: I am reading the whole Bible this year. Read along! Tomorrow’s Lesson is from Job chapters 37 and 38.