Midway through last week we left the books of history (phew!) and began a new section of readings in the Old Testament: the books of poetry and wisdom. The five books are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.

The story of Job is perhaps the single longest non-answer to the question of suffering anywhere. It never directly answers the question most people want an answer to: why do bad things happen to good people? To read Job as if you might find an answer to that question will only result in disappointment and frustration.

However, while the book of Job does not answer the question "Why?" it does answer two other very important questions

1. How? How does one endure and persevere during a time of suffering?
2. Who? Who is it that holds me together and cradles me at my deepest hour? There is plenty in this book to ponder in regards to those two questions.

On Day 121 we begin the Psalms. A couple of important notes:

1. Psalms is not the longest book in the Bible; we haven't come to that one yet so stay tuned!
2. Reading through the psalms is a little bit like reading through the hymns in our Lutheran Book of Worship; you can't really take too much in a single sitting! These are poems and spiritual songs. They invite reflection. Slow down. Linger a bit. Listen more deeply.

Facebook Question

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As I said above, reading through the Psalms can be challenging because, as poetry and songs, they invite reflection. Consider breaking each day's reading into two parts: read first thing in the morning and finish last thing before bed -- just through Day 156. And then we begin the book of Proverbs.