Job 32:2-3
Then Elihu…became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong…

On my current chronological journey through the Bible, I find myself in Job. It is, I admit, one of my favorite books in the Bible. For me, it’s a lot like watching Hannity and Colmes on Fox News – you know they’re not going to agree but you watch them go back and forth saying the same things over and over again while their counterpart makes silly faces and shakes his head. Job is a constant point, counterpoint until the end of chapter 31 when Job is finally done talking and his friends are finally done talking to him. Then, just as we’re catching our breath, in walks Elihu, full of anger and empty words. It is the reason he was angry that caught my attention. Look at it with me and see what I mean.

First, he’s mad at Job. He can’t believe that he’s had to sit and listen to Job all this time and never once hear him confess his sin. Obviously, according to Elihu, God punishes bad people and therefore the punishment in Job’s life is clear-cut proof of his badness. Job has wasted his time by missing such a fundamental belief. Then there are Job’s friends. Elihu is mad at them for Continue reading

Genesis 1:5b
And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.

Do you ever see something so many times that it starts to blend in with the surroundings? Perhaps you can relate more to watching the same re-runs on TV or the same DVD for the umpteenth time until your mind goes in neutral and the sigts and sounds become a blurry waste of time. Sometimes it is the familiar that holds jewels which can be lost in the common. Recently, I mined a jewel out of the common chapter of Genesis 1. First, though, some background.

Back in 2003, our family lost our mother and brother within 20 days of each other. My mother had a brain aneurysm the Friday night after Thanksgiving and passed away in the early morning hours of December 1. My brother went into the hospital the afternoon that same day, eventually went to be with the Lord on December 21, and we buried him on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, this is typically a hard time of year for us, but this year has been especially tough because, for the first time since they died, the days match the dates, and it can feel like we’re reliving the worst month we ever experienced. Okay, now to the jewel. Continue reading

Nehemiah 3:14
The Dung Gate was repaired by Malkijah son of Recab, ruler of the district of Beth Hakkerem. He rebuilt it and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.

Quite honestly, it doesn’t take much to catch my attention. Holding my attention, though, is another matter. (I love the button that says “I have ADOS: Attention Deficit…Oooh! Shiny!”) Anyway, it can be quite a curse when reading the Bible, especially when I’m trapped in a chapter like Nehemiah 3 which is basically just a summary about who rebuilt what part of the wall. It’s long, repetitive, and, if I can say it without getting struck by lightning, somewhat boring. (Whew! Still here.)

But the verse above really caught my attention. I guess somehow seeing the word “dung” in the Bible has that effect on me. Apparantly this guy named Malkijah drew the short straw and got stuck fixing the Dung Gate. It made me wonder how that gate got it’s name. Surely it couldn’t be as obvious as it seemed! Turns out this wasn’t a place where people went to, well, you know, relieve themselves after a morning cup of joe. It wasn’t the local hangout and party place for all the dung beetles in Jerusalem. It was the gate where the trash was taken out of the city. It must have stunk and I would imagine the job might have been a bit unpleasant. And for all of his hard work on the smelliest part of the wall during the rebuilding process, ol’ Mal got THIRTY WORDS of press. That’s it! Other people got multiple verses, but not our “redeemer of the dung door.” Continue reading