Job 21:22

You ask,

   “Shall you teach God knowledge,

      He who passes judgement from on high?

 

One of my methods in teaching Bible content is to ask a question about a specific phrase or word. The group knows I do this to teach them, but when the answer comes from the context, they often push back. My goal is for them to learn more at a deeper level than just the easy answer. This verse is one that doesn’t make a lot of sense on its own.

‘Knowledge’ was only ‘knowledge’. God was always God. ‘Teach’ was also ‘instruct’. ‘You’ was also ‘any’, ‘anyone’, ‘he’, or left out. ‘Shall’ was also ‘will’, ‘can’, or ‘does’. It all seems fairly straight forward.

‘From on high’ was also ‘the highest’. Either way God judges everyone.

But I had several options as I struggled to put this together. Where does the wicked come in?  I had the word understanding in place of the word knowledge. And I asked if they passed judgement on Him. In the end, I believed this was Job quoting something the companions said about him before he answers the question they raised. Again, he is asking God for something, and they are assuming he is sinning in doing so.

Once again, the week was full of work challenges that only God can deliver outcomes for. It almost feels as if everyday is a new way to learn to surrender to God. If nothing else, it gave me opportunities to share the need to follow God and the need to praise Him for outcomes. I find it hard to believe all this is just to benefit my friends in their relationship to God, but I must admit that is more than enough of an outcome.

The last few days, I have been doing little incremental things that are making things around here better. I want to improve by leaps and bounds, but leaps and bounds do take more energy than little steps. I will look back on this as a great period of learning in my life. But mainly I will look back and thank God for helping me learn more about Him.

Written 5/24/26, Posted 7/15/26, Job 508/~1070