Bible In One Year Day 7 (Genesis 14-15, Job 3-4, Proverbs 1:8-19)

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The Meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek (Peter Paul Rubens)

Day 7 God's Covenant with Abram 

Commentary on the Book of Job 

Saint Joseph Edition The New American Bible 

The debate which ensues consists of three cycles of speeches. (Cycle One Job 3; Cycle Two Job 15; Cycle Three Job 22) Job's friends insists that his plight can only be a punishment for personal wrongdoing and an invitation from God to repentance.  Job rejects their inadequate explanation and calls for a response from God himself.  At this point the speeches of a youth named Elihu interrupts the development (Job 32 - 37).

A Commentary
God's Oath: Land and a NationThe Great Adventure: Session 4 Patriarchs Part 1 
Understanding the Scriptures - The Didache Series (Chapter 5)

God's promise to Abram was hard to believe as Abram, an old man, and Sarai barren, still had no children.   God spoke to Abram again, "Fear not Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great."  Gen: 15:1 

Then Abram dared to ask God how this promise could possibly be fulfilled.  And God promised him "his own son would be his heir."

Even though it seemed unlikely, Abram believed God's promise but he wanted assurance.  God answer to Abram was in the form of an oath. In the time of Abram serious oaths were usually sealed with a sacrifice with animals representing the people who were swearing the oath.  So God told Abram to bring a heifer, she-goat, and ram.  The animals were then cut and laid the pieces out.  During the night a lamp of fire appeared and passed between the two divisions of animals.  With this action, God "made a covenant with Abram, saying to thy seed will I give this land..." Gen 15:18

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A Daily Defense DAY 7 Suffering with a Purpose 
CHALLENGE “Why would a good God allow physical evils like suffering and death?” 

DEFENSE We don’t have full answers to the problem of evil in this life, but we can see that at least some physical evils are helpful. 

God can tolerate some physical evils because good comes from them. According to John Paul II:
“Certain forms of physical ‘evil’ . . . belong to the very structure of created beings, which by their nature are contingent and passing, and therefore corruptible. Besides, we know that material beings are in a close relation of interdependence as expressed by the old saying: ‘the death of one is the life of
another.’ So then, in a certain sense death serves life” (General Audience, June 4, 1986).

We see this in the natural world, such as when a lion kills a zebra so that it can eat. The death of the
zebra serves the life of the lion. In the same way, the living things we humans eat (whether plants or
animals) sustain our lives. 

The Catechism says: With infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world “in a state of journeying” towards its ultimate perfection. In God’s plan this process of becoming involves the appearance of certain beings and the disappearance of others, the existence of the more perfect alongside the less perfect, both constructive and destructive forces of nature. With physical good there exists also physical evil as long as creation has not reached perfection (CCC 310). 

Pain can also play a valuable role in our lives. Some people suffer from congenital insensitivity to
pain, and its results can be dramatic, even fatal. Physical pain serves as a warning system, and
people without a proper pain response can be severely injured or killed. Even emotional pain can
be useful. The emotion of fear alerts us to danger and motivates us to take steps to avoid it. 

Although some suffering plays a valuable role in the present life, this doesn’t exhaust the problem of
evil. Unlike the above examples, some suffering serves no obvious purpose (see the question for
Day 38). The above answer, however, provides a partial explanation of why God tolerates some
suffering and how he brings good out of it. 

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist