Job 31:23
“For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
Message: Job's Final Defense
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of
the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close
to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in
the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
The Bible is often a book of repeats. There are core messages that basically are repeated throughout this book.
In this chapter 31 Job asserts his integrity.
Chastity
Verse 1 is a verse that is a good reminder that I have appreciated at various times in my life. I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin? The meaning of this verse is great because Job states that he has made a covenant with his eyes. He remarks that he has purposed to lead a pure life and therefore, it is impossible that he could gaze at another woman. Like, how could he?
Job then asserts that how can we be surprised with God's wrath when our actions or our choices are not for him. Thus, what he has done is guard himself from impurity or sin. Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?(Verse 4). God sees all. How is that we think we can live our lives without surrendering daily to the Lord.
A sincere, upright, and honest life
Job states that if he lived a life in an improper manner then he did in fact deserve God's judgment. He speaks at first of falsehood or vanity. To live a life of falsehood is to misrepresent yourself. It is to make yourself out to be something that you are not. It is not to speak the truth. Or it is living a life of deception. When I see someone getting ready to experience calamity, do I help bring it to light. Am I a person that often will wrongly shine a spotlight on other people's shortcomings?
If I have acted in this manner then God has every right to weigh me with accurate scales which is what verse 6 says, "Let him weigh me with accurate scales." Let God accurately look at my character and treat me according to my ways. If I act in improper ways then I should receive a consequence. Why should I expect my harvest to yield produce if I have spent my time sowing seeds of selfishness. Man is so quick to thank God for his blessings but shouldn't we do the same in regards to calamity.
Verse 1 speaks of gazing at a virgin while verse 9 speaks of being enticed by a woman: If my heart has been enticed by a woman. The sin here is adultery. If Job acts in that way, then he states that his wife would then be allowed to go after someone else or sleep with someone else as it says may my wife grind for another. If a man chooses another woman, then he should expect his wife to do the same. The wife would then became a servant of another man. The fire of adultery burns the house down as it would uproot all my increase.
Treated his servants in an upright manner
Job switches to another subject and expresses that he has to be a good leader. What happens when someone files a claim against him? What happens when someone asserts that we have done something wrong? What happens when someone calls us into question? How do we respond? His point is that he needs to respond in an upright manner and not simply assert his position. And then he asks what will happen when the Lord questions him. The point I think is that we need to honestly use this time to look at ourselves in the mirror and see that there may be something about us that needs to be changed. Verse 13 and 14 says, If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves when they filed a complaint against me, What then could I do when God arises?
Kindness to the Poor and Providing for the Poor
There are actually two thoughts here that Job puts forth. It seems often that all I think I need to do for the poor is write them a check and send in a little money, but Job first states that our actions toward them are to be actions of care an concern. He says in verse 16, if I have kept the poor from their desire. Have I frustrated their hopes? Have I disappointed their expectations?
This is a tough application. There are poor all around us and how do I act toward them as they ask for money on the street corner. Do I take time to really consider them? Or do I look for a quick out? Job thought of this as supremely important. It says, "If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,or that the needy had no covering." I do know we give our old clothes and things to the poor. I do know I give counsel to the needy often through GMO. I guess in all of life I could always do more.
He mentions dire consequence if he doesn't act correctly. In verse 22, Let my shoulder fall from the socket. And then in verse 24 he asks whether his confidence instead lies in his money -- “If I have put my confidence in gold, and called fine gold my trust, if I have gloated because my wealth was great, and because my hand had secured so much." This is a danger in life to put our confidence instead in what we have instead of in the Lord. It's one thing to say our allegiance is in God, but how do we show this through our actions.
Properly treating those who injure us
Do I wish injury or something bad to happen to others? More often than not, I do not, for those that I like. But, what about those that I don't like? Or those that I feel like in one way or another I am in competition with? I sense at times, that I unfortunately want their demise. It is a sad reality. Here Job says he has not been this way. In verse 29 - Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, or exulted when evil befell him? No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life in a curse. This is the nature of true faith, of true religion, as Albert Barnes states: It controls the heart, represses the angry and revengeful feelings, and
creates in the soul an earnest desire for the happiness even of those
who injure us.
Conclusion
The concluding verses of this chapter have been hotly debated over the years regarding their true meaning, according to Albert Barnes. The sentiment though is one of Job simply stating that he has tried to be a hospitable person to his neighbor and has not wished injury of them. And he does this all for His Almighty God.
Promise: Job is proclaiming once again an important truth and that is his present calamity is not the result of past sin. He has lived a blameless life and his present situation is not because he has done something wrong. At times, I need to act like this and not be so quick to admit fault. I need to be confident in who I am in Christ and what I have done. I am a sinner and often do things out of that sinful nature, but I need to remember that God is working in me and many times His good ways are shining through my life.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Job 19:25-27 - Job's Hope of Resurrection
Job 19:25-27
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Message: Job's Hope of Resurrection; Or Job's Hope of Being Redeemed
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
Beginning in verse 23 Job records words that express his dream or his desire to have his words recorded. He had been experiencing injustice from his friends. The previous verses in this chapter express this. He desired that his words might be recorded in some form, like on a tablet or rock, as was the way to record words in those days.
The Septuagint records these words as: 25 For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, 26 and to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these sufferings: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord; 27 which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom.
This, I guess, is a very interesting set of verses. Jews do not ascribe these words to the Messiah while Christians do think it points directly to Jesus. In my reading of these verses since we are not real sure who the source of these verses are it seems what we can do is focus on Job and the condition of his being when he was writing these words. He clearly was hurting and he clearly expected God to solve his hurting. As verse 26 records the fact that even after his skin is destroyed, he will see God.
Chapter 19 begins with Job feeling insulted and he wants his friends or others to stop the insults. He could be wronged or on the side of error, but, if so, God is the one dealing with him (verse 6). He would hope at least his friends would come to his aid and stand by his side. As "the hand of God has struck" him (verse 21), but why must his friends do the same.
And it is here then that he turns to God, knowing that God will in the end protect him. And he concludes with words expressing why there is injustice or evil. Evil is the result of punishment to remind us that there is judgment. God wants us to know that judgment is real. So many people spend their lives thinking that there is little in them that deserves God's judgment or even warrants it. In this world in which we live, God wants us to remember that judgment is still real.
Promise: God will rescue us. God may also be punishing us. What we need from each other is consoling and comfort, not more judgment.
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
Message: Job's Hope of Resurrection; Or Job's Hope of Being Redeemed
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
Beginning in verse 23 Job records words that express his dream or his desire to have his words recorded. He had been experiencing injustice from his friends. The previous verses in this chapter express this. He desired that his words might be recorded in some form, like on a tablet or rock, as was the way to record words in those days.
The Septuagint records these words as: 25 For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, 26 and to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these sufferings: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord; 27 which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom.
This, I guess, is a very interesting set of verses. Jews do not ascribe these words to the Messiah while Christians do think it points directly to Jesus. In my reading of these verses since we are not real sure who the source of these verses are it seems what we can do is focus on Job and the condition of his being when he was writing these words. He clearly was hurting and he clearly expected God to solve his hurting. As verse 26 records the fact that even after his skin is destroyed, he will see God.
Chapter 19 begins with Job feeling insulted and he wants his friends or others to stop the insults. He could be wronged or on the side of error, but, if so, God is the one dealing with him (verse 6). He would hope at least his friends would come to his aid and stand by his side. As "the hand of God has struck" him (verse 21), but why must his friends do the same.
And it is here then that he turns to God, knowing that God will in the end protect him. And he concludes with words expressing why there is injustice or evil. Evil is the result of punishment to remind us that there is judgment. God wants us to know that judgment is real. So many people spend their lives thinking that there is little in them that deserves God's judgment or even warrants it. In this world in which we live, God wants us to remember that judgment is still real.
Promise: God will rescue us. God may also be punishing us. What we need from each other is consoling and comfort, not more judgment.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Job 5:17-27 - Understanding God's Discipline
Job 5:17-27
17 “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
19 “From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.
20 “In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22 “You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
23 “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 “You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
25 “You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 “You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27 “Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”
Message: Understanding God's Discipline
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
From the Bible, wisdom involves knowing truth and then rightly applying that knowledge (from TableTalk). And truth is key here as a word for it also means that what you are seeking to know is the truth. There are many religions in this world that have their origin not on truth and not on truth from the Bible. And for those people what is often a tragedy is their application, albeit good has a non-truth origin. This has been one of the key tragedies of life. People spend much of life in application mode but rooted in the wrong place.
But, back to the idea from TableTalk, once you know truth, one must rightly apply the truth in life. To me, it also interesting how many people side with the truth of the Bible and will quote verses and yet apply them in situations that are outside the context of the verse. But there isn't always necessarily a 1:1 ratio in regards to truth. The same truth may be applied differently, depending on the situation.
In the passage today, Job is on the aftermath of experiencing heartbreak, having lost his possessions and the people in his life and even his own health and dignity. He still praises God and still believes that God is over him, but he also begins to wonder why he was even born. God will be God no matter what.
Job's friends enter and we start off with Eliphaz. In chapter 4, Eliphaz presented the idea that bad outcomes are because of good sowing. Life may have this appearance at times, but it is not always the case. In fact, I think many people see the complete injustice of there being a God with they see bad outcomes from good people, thinking that God is only allowed to be the God we want or think he should be.
Here in chapter 5 is another instance of misapplication.
Verse 17 and 18 speak the truth that the Lord's discipline is something we can accept. Discipline reminds us we are God's children.
Now, just a note here, the issue with Job was he was being disciplined despite the presentation that he hadn't done anything wrong, per se, to have that discipline. I don't think any of us struggle with being disciplined when it is direct result of sin; the issue here is discipline that doesn't have to do with sin.
The word here in verse 17 is “correcteth” (יכח yâkach ) meaning to argue, convince, reprove, punish, and to judge. Does God sometimes ordain pain in our lives? Does God discipline people or correct them, not because they have done something wrong, but just because? I believe he does. Jesus was scourged for our sins and yet he did nothing wrong. Some people in life get a lot of good things just because.
God shows his love for us in that while we are sinners he dies for us. God overwhelms us with good despite the fact that we have been bad. We freely accept this, but not the reverse, receiving bad when we haven't done anything to merit it.
Promise: When the Lord disciplines us, it could be the result of sin, but it may be also to show us that he is sufficient.
17 “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
19 “From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.
20 “In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22 “You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
23 “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 “You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
25 “You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 “You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27 “Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”
Message: Understanding God's Discipline
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
From the Bible, wisdom involves knowing truth and then rightly applying that knowledge (from TableTalk). And truth is key here as a word for it also means that what you are seeking to know is the truth. There are many religions in this world that have their origin not on truth and not on truth from the Bible. And for those people what is often a tragedy is their application, albeit good has a non-truth origin. This has been one of the key tragedies of life. People spend much of life in application mode but rooted in the wrong place.
But, back to the idea from TableTalk, once you know truth, one must rightly apply the truth in life. To me, it also interesting how many people side with the truth of the Bible and will quote verses and yet apply them in situations that are outside the context of the verse. But there isn't always necessarily a 1:1 ratio in regards to truth. The same truth may be applied differently, depending on the situation.
In the passage today, Job is on the aftermath of experiencing heartbreak, having lost his possessions and the people in his life and even his own health and dignity. He still praises God and still believes that God is over him, but he also begins to wonder why he was even born. God will be God no matter what.
Job's friends enter and we start off with Eliphaz. In chapter 4, Eliphaz presented the idea that bad outcomes are because of good sowing. Life may have this appearance at times, but it is not always the case. In fact, I think many people see the complete injustice of there being a God with they see bad outcomes from good people, thinking that God is only allowed to be the God we want or think he should be.
Here in chapter 5 is another instance of misapplication.
Verse 17 and 18 speak the truth that the Lord's discipline is something we can accept. Discipline reminds us we are God's children.
Now, just a note here, the issue with Job was he was being disciplined despite the presentation that he hadn't done anything wrong, per se, to have that discipline. I don't think any of us struggle with being disciplined when it is direct result of sin; the issue here is discipline that doesn't have to do with sin.
The word here in verse 17 is “correcteth” (יכח yâkach ) meaning to argue, convince, reprove, punish, and to judge. Does God sometimes ordain pain in our lives? Does God discipline people or correct them, not because they have done something wrong, but just because? I believe he does. Jesus was scourged for our sins and yet he did nothing wrong. Some people in life get a lot of good things just because.
God shows his love for us in that while we are sinners he dies for us. God overwhelms us with good despite the fact that we have been bad. We freely accept this, but not the reverse, receiving bad when we haven't done anything to merit it.
Promise: When the Lord disciplines us, it could be the result of sin, but it may be also to show us that he is sufficient.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Jesus Calling: June 15
When you approach Me in stillness and in trust, you are strengthened. You need a buffer zone of silence around you in order to focus on things that are unseen. Since I am invisible, you must not let your senses dominate your thinking. The curse of this age is over-stimulation of the senses, which blocks out awareness of the unseen world.
The tangible world still reflects My Glory, to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear. Spending time alone with Me is the best way to develop seeing eyes and hearing ears. The goal is to be aware of unseen things even as you live out your life in the visible world.
2 Corinthians 4:18
English Standard Version
as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Isaiah 6:3
English Standard Version
And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Psalm 130:5
English Standard Version
I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
My Prayer
Lord, help me to not focus on temporary things, but to have an eternal focus. Train me Lord each day in your ways so that I reflect you. I want to wait for You. Forgive me for my impatience and wanting everything right now. I get trained too often in this world for immediate gratification. Sometimes I don't know how to wait. My day ends up being a success based upon how I feel or see my world that day. Lord, I need to lean on you and see what you see in people and life. Strengthen me so that every day is expressing that the whole earth is full of your glory.
Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.
Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Job 4:7-11 - The Response of Eliphaz
Job 4:7-11
In this instance in Job, God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?"
Overview
In the commentaries I've read about the three friends of Job that show up, it mentions that there words have some truth to them, but they also do harm. In my first reading of Chapter 4, there are some interesting phrases but overall I'm left with the feeling that Eliphaz is saying to Job that it is odd how Job has been a life long encouragement to others when they experience trials, but now based upon Chapter 3 his outcry is one of anger in his birth and wishing he had never been born. Verse 6 states, "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?"
So perhaps through verse 6 Eliphaz words are fitting and okay.
But in verse 7 Eliphaz switches to words that say basically a person's actions in life result in their outcome. In verse 7, the innocent do not perish nor are the upright destroyed. So those who live squeaky clean lives do not perish or are destroyed. While those that live bad lives perish; "those who sow trouble harvest it." And yet chapters 1 and 2 show that Job's loss of possessions and family and his own health was the result of Satan's hand. So at times, we cannot say that the loss we experience is the result of a bad life led. Eliphaz is wrong to set up this karma like situation in life. Karma is, by definition, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
I remember being at an LDS service, that I agreed to go to after missionaries came to our church, where several people stood up in their pulpit and offered this idea, that our actions decide our fate. I get confused by this because Galatians does talk about reaping what you sow, but I don't think we can say that those who are righteous will never experience malady for this is what happened to Job who lived an upright life and yet he experienced difficult situations. So, I guess the LDS person could be right but not in a formulaic manner. In all these situations we must trust God for the outcome. It is true, sometimes it will seem unfair to us. We will want to see the 1:1 correlation. And yet what Eliphaz expresses is man's honest reflection sometimes based upon what he sees. In our eyes, there is a correlation between works and outcomes.
Eliphaz concludes his talk, in the verses following verse 12 speaking of a vision that he received. Verses 12-16 simply talk about the process of receiving the vision and then in 17-21 is the vision and the central idea of this vision is realizing the proper place of man before God. Mankind cannot be just before God. Man and God are different. Man is not pure, especially before God.
But then Eliphaz goes on. I think what's missing in this chapter is the relationship God has with man. Man and God are viewed as completely distinct, that they each carry on their lives separate from one another. Their is no bridge whereas in Chapters 1 and 2, Job a blameless and upright man still received calamity and God remained in community with Job. So Eliphaz wasn't seeing the entire picture. Despite what our eyes see at any one moment, community is possible between God and man. Despite what we see and naturally conclude, God does find value in man whatever his circumstances. His grace is not looking for good people, but God's grace is given irregardless of man's condition and life lived. This is what Eliphaz misses. Yes, man and God are separate in their natures, but God is still with man.
7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?
8 “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
9 “By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.
10 “The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 “The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
Or where were the upright destroyed?
8 “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
9 “By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.
10 “The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 “The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
Message: The Response of Eliphaz
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of
the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close
to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in
the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
Review
Chapter 1 and 2 opened up this book with the proclamation of a great man - Job - Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and
turning away from evil. And then enter in Satan and the sons of God
(angels) roaming on the earth and they came before God. This is
interesting for it should remind us that there is a another world going
on beyond what we can see. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we
are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil
rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in
this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."
I
still am not sure I know and understand this. I still do not comprehend
this unseen world that is going on. Naturally, I suppose, it is a
challenge, because it is unseen. But Satan and the sons of God (angel)
are all about this unseen world. They are roaming the earth.
Overview
In the commentaries I've read about the three friends of Job that show up, it mentions that there words have some truth to them, but they also do harm. In my first reading of Chapter 4, there are some interesting phrases but overall I'm left with the feeling that Eliphaz is saying to Job that it is odd how Job has been a life long encouragement to others when they experience trials, but now based upon Chapter 3 his outcry is one of anger in his birth and wishing he had never been born. Verse 6 states, "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?"
So perhaps through verse 6 Eliphaz words are fitting and okay.
But in verse 7 Eliphaz switches to words that say basically a person's actions in life result in their outcome. In verse 7, the innocent do not perish nor are the upright destroyed. So those who live squeaky clean lives do not perish or are destroyed. While those that live bad lives perish; "those who sow trouble harvest it." And yet chapters 1 and 2 show that Job's loss of possessions and family and his own health was the result of Satan's hand. So at times, we cannot say that the loss we experience is the result of a bad life led. Eliphaz is wrong to set up this karma like situation in life. Karma is, by definition, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
I remember being at an LDS service, that I agreed to go to after missionaries came to our church, where several people stood up in their pulpit and offered this idea, that our actions decide our fate. I get confused by this because Galatians does talk about reaping what you sow, but I don't think we can say that those who are righteous will never experience malady for this is what happened to Job who lived an upright life and yet he experienced difficult situations. So, I guess the LDS person could be right but not in a formulaic manner. In all these situations we must trust God for the outcome. It is true, sometimes it will seem unfair to us. We will want to see the 1:1 correlation. And yet what Eliphaz expresses is man's honest reflection sometimes based upon what he sees. In our eyes, there is a correlation between works and outcomes.
Eliphaz concludes his talk, in the verses following verse 12 speaking of a vision that he received. Verses 12-16 simply talk about the process of receiving the vision and then in 17-21 is the vision and the central idea of this vision is realizing the proper place of man before God. Mankind cannot be just before God. Man and God are different. Man is not pure, especially before God.
But then Eliphaz goes on. I think what's missing in this chapter is the relationship God has with man. Man and God are viewed as completely distinct, that they each carry on their lives separate from one another. Their is no bridge whereas in Chapters 1 and 2, Job a blameless and upright man still received calamity and God remained in community with Job. So Eliphaz wasn't seeing the entire picture. Despite what our eyes see at any one moment, community is possible between God and man. Despite what we see and naturally conclude, God does find value in man whatever his circumstances. His grace is not looking for good people, but God's grace is given irregardless of man's condition and life lived. This is what Eliphaz misses. Yes, man and God are separate in their natures, but God is still with man.
Promise: Tabletalk states here -- the presence of sin means that sometimes people suffer the effects of
the fall in ways that are unrelated to their specific, personal sin.
While our suffering may be due to a specific sin, this is not always the
case, and we should not assume that our pain automatically means that
God is displeased with us. Always, God is there to rescue man.
Friday, June 10, 2016
Job 3 - Job's First Lament
Job 3
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said,
What the Lord is Saying:
After blessing the Lord and after stating that we need to accept the bad as well as the good, Job now turns inward and stares at himself. His 3 friends had just come and shown up. They were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They had sat with him for 7 days without a saying a word for they saw the great pain he was in. We can have a right perspective on things, but it doesn't that it takes the hurt that we have. And chapter 3 seems to be an anthem of that pain and hurt that Job is experiencing.
Job looks at his birth and sees it as a bad day, after all. He asks for no rejoicing on that day or the night of his birth. He speaks with a lot of feeling of misery and hurt. Yet, in all these words spoken in this lament in Chapter 3, the name of God is not cursed. He is not pointing his finger at God, but simply sunk in thought of despair. But, their still could be an inference of cursing God in his speech for his angered that he even has lived a day. He is almost saying that having lost everything why did he ever have anything at all.
Promise: From Table talk, By definition, all that God does is good, so we cannot charge Him even implicitly with wrongdoing. Sometimes, it is better not to ask the Lord the question, “Why?” but instead only to ask Him to help us endure our suffering faithfully. God can handle our questions, but we must never ask them arrogantly.
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said,
“Let the day perish on which I was to be born, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; let not God above care for it, nor light shine on it. Let darkness and black gloom claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
“As for that night, let darkness seize it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful shout enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are prepared to rouse Leviathan. Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it wait for light but have none, and let it not see the breaking dawn; because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, or hide trouble from my eyes.
“As for that night, let darkness seize it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful shout enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are prepared to rouse Leviathan. Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it wait for light but have none, and let it not see the breaking dawn; because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, or hide trouble from my eyes.
“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me,
and why the breasts, that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, with kings and with counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruins for themselves; or with princes who had gold, who were filling their houses with silver.
“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, as infants that never saw light.
“There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but there is none, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice greatly, and exult when they find the grave?
and why the breasts, that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, with kings and with counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruins for themselves; or with princes who had gold, who were filling their houses with silver.
“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, as infants that never saw light.
“There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master.
Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but there is none, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice greatly, and exult when they find the grave?
“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in?
“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.
“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”
“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.
“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”
Message: Job's First Lament
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of
the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close
to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in
the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
After blessing the Lord and after stating that we need to accept the bad as well as the good, Job now turns inward and stares at himself. His 3 friends had just come and shown up. They were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They had sat with him for 7 days without a saying a word for they saw the great pain he was in. We can have a right perspective on things, but it doesn't that it takes the hurt that we have. And chapter 3 seems to be an anthem of that pain and hurt that Job is experiencing.
Job looks at his birth and sees it as a bad day, after all. He asks for no rejoicing on that day or the night of his birth. He speaks with a lot of feeling of misery and hurt. Yet, in all these words spoken in this lament in Chapter 3, the name of God is not cursed. He is not pointing his finger at God, but simply sunk in thought of despair. But, their still could be an inference of cursing God in his speech for his angered that he even has lived a day. He is almost saying that having lost everything why did he ever have anything at all.
Promise: From Table talk, By definition, all that God does is good, so we cannot charge Him even implicitly with wrongdoing. Sometimes, it is better not to ask the Lord the question, “Why?” but instead only to ask Him to help us endure our suffering faithfully. God can handle our questions, but we must never ask them arrogantly.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Job 2 - Job's Trials Intensify
Job 2
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” 4 Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” 6 So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
Message: Job's Trials Intensify
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
You would think the last chapter's events were enough, losing your children and all your possessions, but now once again, Satan is roaming around and the Lord trusts his children. The big line in this passage is "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity." This verse is a great reminder and one that I just don't think we really comprehend. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was praying for my kids and adversities I see them going through. I know Megan is dealing with a thorn in the flesh in her life, but I am thankful that she is wanting to follow God all her days.
I also read through and receive prayer request after prayer request and every request is really "get me out of the tough life and get me into the good life." It is obviously normal to request this in life because there is always something we feel like we need in order to make better. As I read through the Psalms the overriding message is for a clean heart, to be free from the grip of enemies in our lives, and to live a life of obedience with God our father. God is more concerned about our heart than our wallet.
Even with Job here is the reality that all of his comforts and possessions and even his health can be taken away, but he still has his relationship with God. His strength is still in the Lord. My friend always reminds me of this. I've watched him go through bad cancer this past year and through it all he remains committed to God.
Job had integrity. He was whole and undivided. His allegiance was to God. He had strong moral principles. Those attributes didn't change despite his circumstances.
I need to work on this in my life. There is just a general desire to think that everything in life should be good and adversities should be minimized.
Promise: Suffering is a part of life and we need to use that time to think about what God is teaching us.
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” 4 Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” 6 So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
Message: Job's Trials Intensify
Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.
What the Lord is Saying:
You would think the last chapter's events were enough, losing your children and all your possessions, but now once again, Satan is roaming around and the Lord trusts his children. The big line in this passage is "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity." This verse is a great reminder and one that I just don't think we really comprehend. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was praying for my kids and adversities I see them going through. I know Megan is dealing with a thorn in the flesh in her life, but I am thankful that she is wanting to follow God all her days.
I also read through and receive prayer request after prayer request and every request is really "get me out of the tough life and get me into the good life." It is obviously normal to request this in life because there is always something we feel like we need in order to make better. As I read through the Psalms the overriding message is for a clean heart, to be free from the grip of enemies in our lives, and to live a life of obedience with God our father. God is more concerned about our heart than our wallet.
Even with Job here is the reality that all of his comforts and possessions and even his health can be taken away, but he still has his relationship with God. His strength is still in the Lord. My friend always reminds me of this. I've watched him go through bad cancer this past year and through it all he remains committed to God.
Job had integrity. He was whole and undivided. His allegiance was to God. He had strong moral principles. Those attributes didn't change despite his circumstances.
I need to work on this in my life. There is just a general desire to think that everything in life should be good and adversities should be minimized.
Promise: Suffering is a part of life and we need to use that time to think about what God is teaching us.
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