This morning I sat near our Christmas tree and read the book of Job.
Did you know that Job is one of the oldest stories in the Bible? Biblical historians tell us that the events in Job happened around the time of Abraham.
As you read these verses from Job, think about the longing for Christmas. As the carol says “Long lay the world in sin and error pining … till he appeared”
Think about the need for Christ, the desperate wish Job must have had for a Deliverer to come down here and get to us.
From Job 7
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.
I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath.
Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, And You will seek me diligently,
From Job 9
But how can a man be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number. If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
For He is not a man, as I am, That I may answer Him, And that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. Let Him take His rod away from me, And do not let dread of Him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear Him, But it is not so with me.
I will say to God … ‘Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees? Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a mighty man, That You should seek for my iniquity And search out my sin …
Christmas answers those questions in a way that would have shocked Job.
God took on eyes to see life from a human point of view.
His days became numbered as a mortal man.
He came to be the mediator between suffering humanity and almighty God.
He laid a hand on both.
And the rod is taken away.