Show Notes
As the gospel continues to spread among the Gentiles, a dispute arises as to whether non-Jewish converts need to follow Jewish customs like circumcision to be included in the kingdom of God. David and Christine explore the depths of the apostles' discussion in Jerusalem surrounding this issue, taking a closer look at how the apostles interpreted the Scriptures in light of Jesus' ascension to reach their conclusion.
More from Spoken Gospel
After nearly thirty chapters of accusations, a new voice enters the debate. Elihu claims to speak for God, but he twists Job's words just like the serpent in the garden, until God himself answers from the whirlwind with a question: who darkens my counsel?
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar arrive to comfort Job and spend thirty chapters insisting that his suffering is proof of hidden guilt. Everything they say about God is true, and they aim all of it at an innocent man.
The accuser always offers a shortcut. He tells Eve she can have maturity without waiting, tells Job he can end his suffering by cursing God, and tells Jesus he can have the nations without a cross.
In the land of Uz, out in Gentile wilderness, a blameless king-priest tends a pocket of paradise—a flourishing household he rules and intercedes for, keeping the snakes out. Then the accuser appears in God's throne room and takes every good gift Job has been given and twists it into an indictment: remove the hedge, and this man will curse God to his face.
Job is not the only ancient book about a righteous man who suffers for no nameable reason. Cultures across Sumer, Babylon, and Egypt wrote about pious sufferers who lamented, searched their lives for a hidden crime, and found nothing—and every one of them eventually traded away either their innocence or their god to make the pain stop.