The Book of Job is a unique poetic story in the Hebrew Scriptures. Job is a righteous person (in right relation with God and others) and is presented as a non-Jew living in the land of Uz (somewhere in what is now Saudi Arabia).

Satan (the “adversary” – not the post-First Century name of the devil) makes a wager with God that Job is righteous only because he has health, family and riches. Satan bets God that Job will curse God if he loses his family, health and wealth.

Satan takes everything from Job, but Job does not curse God. His friends come to “comfort” him and (using typical Deuteronomic thought) tell him that his deprivations must be the result of a sin by him or his forebears. Job denies this and (contrary to the claim in the traditional translation of Jas. 5:11) is anything but “patient.” He “endures,” is steadfast and in some respects, defiant. He asks for someone to judge whether a God who causes a person to suffer is really a just God. He asks to confront God face-to-face.

Today’s reading is the beginning of a four-chapter “response” by God to Job. The “response” is structured by the author (called “Poet-Job”) as a series of questions from God to Job that demonstrate the complexity of created reality, an imaginative inspection of the cosmos.

After the theophany (the appearance of God to Job), Job acknowledges his limitations. In a later-added Epilogue, Job’s riches are restored, and he had another family.

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Corinth, a large port city in Greece, was among the early Jesus Follower communities that Paul founded. Its culture was diverse and Hellenistic. Corinthians emphasized reason and secular wisdom. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written in the 50’s (CE) and presented his views on many issues that were controversial in this Jesus Follower Community.

Based on internal references in the two remaining letters to the Corinthians, scholars agree that Paul likely wrote at least four letters to the Corinthians. The so-called Second Letter to the Corinthians is composed of fragments of these letters.

Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians was sometimes strained (2:2-4). Today’s reading continues Paul’s defense of his ministry (v.3). He enumerates his sufferings (v.4-5), defends his works (v.6-7), and counters charges against him (v.8-10). He claims that his affection for the Corinthians is unrestricted, but the affections of the Corinthians are limited (v.11).

The Book of Job was written by multiple authors (collectively called “Poet Job”) from the 7th Century to the 4th Century BCE. Except for the Prologue and Epilogue, it is written in poetic form and raises difficult questions such as Why do bad things happen to good people? and will humans continue to be religious apart from rewards and punishments?

The traditional translation of the phrase in James 5:11 is “the patience of Job” but a better translation is “endurance” because Job was anything but patient in his suffering.

In today’s reading, Job is responding to one of his friends who contended that Job’s suffering must be the result of Job’s own (or his ancestors) wrongdoing or is self-imposed. Job rejects this, and earlier in the Book called for someone to judge between him and God to determine if God is being just. In Chapter 19, Job asserts that God is the cause of his suffering. He wishes that his complaint were permanently recorded (v. 24) and expresses his belief that a Redeemer (or Vindicator) will enable him to have a direct audience with God (v. 26). In Chapters 38 to 42, Job has a theophany (a face-to-face meeting with God) with results that surprise Job.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

Thessalonica, a port city in northern Greece, was capital of the Roman province of Macedonia in the First Century. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest part of the Christian Scriptures and was written by Paul before 50 CE, about 20 years before the first Gospel (Mark) was written. A principal theme of both 1 and 2 Thessalonians is the return of the Lord Jesus in the end time. In 2 Thessalonians, however, there is an emphasis on living in the present and warnings about forgeries of Paul’s writings. For these reasons, many scholars conclude that 2 Thessalonians was written by one of Paul’s disciples after Paul’s death in 64 CE.

In today’s reading, the author refutes inaccurate views about the coming of Jesus such as belief that the day of the Lord is already here (v. 2). He gives thanks for the community’s belief in the truth (v.13) and traditions taught to them (v.15).