Job 13
Again, Job tells his friends that he is not inferior to them and that he would rather speak to God as if to argue his case. He calls them worthless physicians who tell lies. "Their wisdom should be there silence," he says (v5; proverbs 17:28). He asks, "Will you contend unjustly for God?" God judges the intentions of the mind and heart, and Job understands this when he asks his accusers if they would deceive God as one a man (v9; 1 Chronicles 28:9)?
Job hopes in God (v15), but his accusers don't get this. When Job asks to speak one on one with the almighty, his friends say this is not good. Job longs for a one on one relationship with God, but his accusers say that God is distant and cannot be spoken to one on one. Job acknowledges in verse 16 that a godless man may not come before God, but he is righteous and there should be allowed in his presence (v16).
Job begins his request to God saying that if he is to speak to God, God must do two things first, remove his hand from Job and when Job speaks, he must answer or he must call on Job, and Job will answer (v20-v22). Job asks God why he is bringing such turmoil upon him, a man who is like the chaff or a leaf in the wind, whose life is short and who is decaying as they speak (v25-ch14v1).
Job 14
Job continues saying that God should remove this judgment and just allow him to die as a man who is destined to die anyways (v2-v6). He goes on to say that there is hope for a tree because it can grow back after being cut down but not for man, who dies and then rests in the grave (v7-v12). Job asks God to hide him in hell from his wrath; still he says that he will wait until God returns to bring his life change (v13-v14). Job tells of how God withers man as stone and rock, destroying man's hope over time throughout his years on earth and finally overpowers him so that his sons achievements and failures are not even known to him (v16-22).
Depressing, Job, very depressing. It is not so with the believer in Christ. We have a hope in eternal salvation and a promise that we will die (Hebrews 9:27-28). Our bodies decay, but we will be given new bodies by the one who was raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). To all those who hear the truth of the gospel and believe will be given the Spirit, dwelling inside of there bodies as a promise for this eternal salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). You are a temple to God because of this, so no longer say I can or can't do this or that because you have God to contend FOR you (1 Corinthians 6:19). Rather you should say, when reading God's word, "Yes. I will. This is only what I ought to do" (Luke 17:10).
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Job 11-12
Job 11
Zophar, one of Job's friends answers Job's monologue from chapters nine and ten. He basically says that Job talks too much and that someone should rebuke Job for the Lord (v2-3). Zophar tells Job that he must quit hiding his sin before the Lord (but we know from chapter one that Job is not walking in sin). Zophar states that God is unfathomable that Job cannot know everything of God. He even goes as far to call Job an idiot (v12).
Zophar urges Job to put whatever sin is in him far from him. In verse 20, Zophar calls job wicked and in the previous verses he tells Job of all the good things that God would do for him if only he would depart from sin.
Job12
Job sarcastically says, "If you die, so wisdom will die with you!" He stands for what he knows saying that he also has intelligence and reiterates that he is just and righteous before God (v3-4). Job says that even the animals all around him know that God has caused this calamity to come upon him. Job tells of the power of God in all aspects of life: God can tear down and imprison; He can hold back the rain and release it at his word; All people good and bad belong to him; He humbles the wise; He allows kings freedom and he binds their hands; He reveals truth, light in the darkness; He enlarges nations and destroys them. Job says their is no light for these people.
However, we have the word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword and able to discern the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It is the light that we are able to walk by (Psalm 119:105; 1 John 1:6-7); and we do grope for it, though it is quite near (Acts 17:27).
Zophar, one of Job's friends answers Job's monologue from chapters nine and ten. He basically says that Job talks too much and that someone should rebuke Job for the Lord (v2-3). Zophar tells Job that he must quit hiding his sin before the Lord (but we know from chapter one that Job is not walking in sin). Zophar states that God is unfathomable that Job cannot know everything of God. He even goes as far to call Job an idiot (v12).
Zophar urges Job to put whatever sin is in him far from him. In verse 20, Zophar calls job wicked and in the previous verses he tells Job of all the good things that God would do for him if only he would depart from sin.
Job12
Job sarcastically says, "If you die, so wisdom will die with you!" He stands for what he knows saying that he also has intelligence and reiterates that he is just and righteous before God (v3-4). Job says that even the animals all around him know that God has caused this calamity to come upon him. Job tells of the power of God in all aspects of life: God can tear down and imprison; He can hold back the rain and release it at his word; All people good and bad belong to him; He humbles the wise; He allows kings freedom and he binds their hands; He reveals truth, light in the darkness; He enlarges nations and destroys them. Job says their is no light for these people.
However, we have the word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword and able to discern the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It is the light that we are able to walk by (Psalm 119:105; 1 John 1:6-7); and we do grope for it, though it is quite near (Acts 17:27).
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Job 9-10
Job 9
Job concedes that Bildad is right in saying that God will come to his defense still, but Job seems to backslide in his own mind and asks some questions that just really don't have any solid answers (at least in this time. At the first revelation of Christ, he is able to answer these questions):
"How can a man be in the right before God?"
"Who could argue their point against him?"
"Who could stand against his strength and power?"
Job tells us of God's might, his strength to move mountains, his ability to give and take away the light of the stars, to remove the ocean's waves, to use the most dreaded creatures on earth (Rahab, a monster of the sea). Job gets it! He understands who he is and who God is: "For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my judge" (v15). To believe the truth about Christ, we have to know this, that God is everything and we are nothing. We require Christ! Without Christ we cannot stand before God. His mercy must be shown or else we perish before his judgment!
Job reminds us that God controls the weather (v17), and for Job, God has allowed Satan to inflict disaster upon him. Job continues to describe that though he is righteous, his righteousness does not stand up to God's, and though he is guiltless, he is guilty before God.
Job declares I am guiltless, yet I am bruised by God. In verse 24, he asks, "If not God, then who?"
It seems that Job comes to a realization that his life is short and that he does not want to spend it in anger (v25-27). Through v31, Job understands that he could do all sorts of physical things to cleanse himself, but God would still declare him guilty. In verse 33, he realizes that their is no arbitrator between him and God, no one to see both sides and plead both sides' cases to the opposing side (Praise the Lord that we do have such an arbitrator! namely Jesus Christ [Heb 4:14]).
Job 10
Job is bitter against his life, and he will speak plainly through his bitterness. He calls to God, backwardly telling God that he is wrong in rejecting the work of his hands (v3). Job says that this is what a mortal man would do, seek out for sin in Job, but God is neither mortal nor is blinded from Jobs actions (he knows all about Job, that he is a righteous man).
In verses 8-12, Job describes how God has created him, vividly. He tells God that his lovingkindness is there but to Job it is hidden within God. Job does no longer see this kindness, but he sees the anger that is unjustly burning against him (v17).
Out of the womb, Job has been created, and if for nothing else, I think Job is saying, he has been brought out for some purpose; for why would he not have been killed immediately at birth since that is what he desires now.
Seek God and contend with him to keep his promises, written in his word!
Job concedes that Bildad is right in saying that God will come to his defense still, but Job seems to backslide in his own mind and asks some questions that just really don't have any solid answers (at least in this time. At the first revelation of Christ, he is able to answer these questions):
"How can a man be in the right before God?"
"Who could argue their point against him?"
"Who could stand against his strength and power?"
Job tells us of God's might, his strength to move mountains, his ability to give and take away the light of the stars, to remove the ocean's waves, to use the most dreaded creatures on earth (Rahab, a monster of the sea). Job gets it! He understands who he is and who God is: "For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my judge" (v15). To believe the truth about Christ, we have to know this, that God is everything and we are nothing. We require Christ! Without Christ we cannot stand before God. His mercy must be shown or else we perish before his judgment!
Job reminds us that God controls the weather (v17), and for Job, God has allowed Satan to inflict disaster upon him. Job continues to describe that though he is righteous, his righteousness does not stand up to God's, and though he is guiltless, he is guilty before God.
Job declares I am guiltless, yet I am bruised by God. In verse 24, he asks, "If not God, then who?"
It seems that Job comes to a realization that his life is short and that he does not want to spend it in anger (v25-27). Through v31, Job understands that he could do all sorts of physical things to cleanse himself, but God would still declare him guilty. In verse 33, he realizes that their is no arbitrator between him and God, no one to see both sides and plead both sides' cases to the opposing side (Praise the Lord that we do have such an arbitrator! namely Jesus Christ [Heb 4:14]).
Job 10
Job is bitter against his life, and he will speak plainly through his bitterness. He calls to God, backwardly telling God that he is wrong in rejecting the work of his hands (v3). Job says that this is what a mortal man would do, seek out for sin in Job, but God is neither mortal nor is blinded from Jobs actions (he knows all about Job, that he is a righteous man).
In verses 8-12, Job describes how God has created him, vividly. He tells God that his lovingkindness is there but to Job it is hidden within God. Job does no longer see this kindness, but he sees the anger that is unjustly burning against him (v17).
Out of the womb, Job has been created, and if for nothing else, I think Job is saying, he has been brought out for some purpose; for why would he not have been killed immediately at birth since that is what he desires now.
Seek God and contend with him to keep his promises, written in his word!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Job 7-8
Job 7
Job makes a a claim that lines right up with is understanding of life as it is: vane. He says, "Are not man's days as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages?" (v2). He is given days of vanity and nights of trouble (v3). In verse 5, Job gives some gruesome details about his sickness and says, in verse 7, that he is doomed to die without hope.
Job begins considering his life and death in the next section. He is in a place such as the writer of Ecclesiastes describes, "better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart" (Ecc 7:2). He is mourning! He is speaking his real emotions; he's not hiding from anyone, especially God. He's real with his friends, chastising them for considering Job's bed and couch a comfort (v13). Job knows that these material things will not truly comfort his soul. He would choose death, his only comfort for that period of his life. (Aside: so why doesn't Job kill himself like so many choose as an out? He knows that life is vain; he knows that life is futile and very painful for him specifically at the moment, but he knows that life is God's to give and to take, not his.)
"What have I done to you oh watcher of men?" Job is seriously opening up one on one with God. "Why do you not pardon my transgression?" Job knows God pardons transgressions.
Job 8
"If you would seek God..." Oh how we do not seek God today!
Bildad tries to get Job to seek out past generations and their counsel (v8). "Will they not teach you and tell you, and bring forth words from their minds?"
Bildad then encourages Job to endure, comparing him to a plant that grows the quickest, cannot deny the soil from which it came, yet withers the quickest of any plant. He says not to forget the Lord in your time of despair! (v11-13). He says some really good things for us to remember about our trust in God:
"Don't let your confidence in God be fragile like a spider web!"
"Don't trust in your house for it will not stand!"
"Don't spread your roots over rocky soil and be pulled so easily!" *
Bildad also says that God will not reject a man of integrity (which could also be translated as blameless or complete), but it seems to me that the Lord has not so far in the story come to the defense of such a man, which is the picture we get of Job in the first chapter. Bildad says in the last two verses that God will come to your defense yet and that he has not forgotten his servant Job.
* This quote reminds me of the parable of the seeds that Christ uses to explain how the word of God is spread among people. The seed sown on the rocky soil has a big problem in that that type of person never truly believes God's word because they fall away under persecution. (read Luke 8)
Job makes a a claim that lines right up with is understanding of life as it is: vane. He says, "Are not man's days as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages?" (v2). He is given days of vanity and nights of trouble (v3). In verse 5, Job gives some gruesome details about his sickness and says, in verse 7, that he is doomed to die without hope.
Job begins considering his life and death in the next section. He is in a place such as the writer of Ecclesiastes describes, "better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart" (Ecc 7:2). He is mourning! He is speaking his real emotions; he's not hiding from anyone, especially God. He's real with his friends, chastising them for considering Job's bed and couch a comfort (v13). Job knows that these material things will not truly comfort his soul. He would choose death, his only comfort for that period of his life. (Aside: so why doesn't Job kill himself like so many choose as an out? He knows that life is vain; he knows that life is futile and very painful for him specifically at the moment, but he knows that life is God's to give and to take, not his.)
"What have I done to you oh watcher of men?" Job is seriously opening up one on one with God. "Why do you not pardon my transgression?" Job knows God pardons transgressions.
Job 8
"If you would seek God..." Oh how we do not seek God today!
Bildad tries to get Job to seek out past generations and their counsel (v8). "Will they not teach you and tell you, and bring forth words from their minds?"
Bildad then encourages Job to endure, comparing him to a plant that grows the quickest, cannot deny the soil from which it came, yet withers the quickest of any plant. He says not to forget the Lord in your time of despair! (v11-13). He says some really good things for us to remember about our trust in God:
"Don't let your confidence in God be fragile like a spider web!"
"Don't trust in your house for it will not stand!"
"Don't spread your roots over rocky soil and be pulled so easily!" *
Bildad also says that God will not reject a man of integrity (which could also be translated as blameless or complete), but it seems to me that the Lord has not so far in the story come to the defense of such a man, which is the picture we get of Job in the first chapter. Bildad says in the last two verses that God will come to your defense yet and that he has not forgotten his servant Job.
* This quote reminds me of the parable of the seeds that Christ uses to explain how the word of God is spread among people. The seed sown on the rocky soil has a big problem in that that type of person never truly believes God's word because they fall away under persecution. (read Luke 8)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Job 3-6
Job 3
With Job's friends gathered around, Job curses the day of his birth. He curses everything about the day and night of his birth, the miracle of him even surviving birth, and his mother's body for giving him life.
He asks, "Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul?" (v20); and if you haven't gotten by now, the chapter is finished by Job stating that he is not at ease (well, duh, we can see that by your lament).
Job 4
So Eliphaz takes a shot at answering Job. Apparently Job has been impatient according to Eliphaz's opening line, but Eliphaz does go about talking to Job in a gentle way at first. He builds him up, recounting Job his accomplishments. Eliphaz says, "it [God's Hand] touches you, and you become impatient" (v5).
Well, Eliphaz, I would have to say it more than touched him. At the very least you would have to concede that it in fact touched his whole family; but you do make a good point that those who sow trouble, harvest it, and you rightly ask, "Can mankind be just before God?" (v8 & v17).
Basically, Eliphaz is saying, 'Job, there may be some sin in your life that is causing this.'
Job 5
Eliphaz encourages Job to 'seek God.' He says to be of this mind: "Happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" (v17). He finishes his speech by encouraging Job to trust in God and God will stand for him. Again, Eliphaz thinks Job has sinned against the Lord.
Job 6
Job is still stuck on desiring death from God. He believes God is tormenting him, saying, "The Almighty's [poisonous] arrows are within me," but he desires death not the torment of the arrows. He then calls out Eliphaz for blaming him for sinning, asking Eliphaz to show him where he is wrong.
It's hard to tell so far if Job is really in tuned with his sin, in the fact that he has not sin, or if he is prideful in not wanting to admit that he may have sin in his life. Either way, it is apparent that he is taking a stand on the fact that this plague on him is not for sin in his life, but it is God who is afflicting him. Bold, Job; very bold.
With Job's friends gathered around, Job curses the day of his birth. He curses everything about the day and night of his birth, the miracle of him even surviving birth, and his mother's body for giving him life.
He asks, "Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul?" (v20); and if you haven't gotten by now, the chapter is finished by Job stating that he is not at ease (well, duh, we can see that by your lament).
Job 4
So Eliphaz takes a shot at answering Job. Apparently Job has been impatient according to Eliphaz's opening line, but Eliphaz does go about talking to Job in a gentle way at first. He builds him up, recounting Job his accomplishments. Eliphaz says, "it [God's Hand] touches you, and you become impatient" (v5).
Well, Eliphaz, I would have to say it more than touched him. At the very least you would have to concede that it in fact touched his whole family; but you do make a good point that those who sow trouble, harvest it, and you rightly ask, "Can mankind be just before God?" (v8 & v17).
Basically, Eliphaz is saying, 'Job, there may be some sin in your life that is causing this.'
Job 5
Eliphaz encourages Job to 'seek God.' He says to be of this mind: "Happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" (v17). He finishes his speech by encouraging Job to trust in God and God will stand for him. Again, Eliphaz thinks Job has sinned against the Lord.
Job 6
Job is still stuck on desiring death from God. He believes God is tormenting him, saying, "The Almighty's [poisonous] arrows are within me," but he desires death not the torment of the arrows. He then calls out Eliphaz for blaming him for sinning, asking Eliphaz to show him where he is wrong.
It's hard to tell so far if Job is really in tuned with his sin, in the fact that he has not sin, or if he is prideful in not wanting to admit that he may have sin in his life. Either way, it is apparent that he is taking a stand on the fact that this plague on him is not for sin in his life, but it is God who is afflicting him. Bold, Job; very bold.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Job 1-2
Job 1
Here's Job: blameless before God, rich beyond measure, a huge family, children who love and take care of each other. Job would make burnt offerings for the sins of his sons that they may have committed (super pious). He knew that his sons could sin in their hearts without his knowledge, so he made remittance for even that possibility.
The Lord has a meeting with his sons and Satan (weird combo I think). Satan asks for God's permission to test Job and see if he will curse God. God gives him permission.
Job's herds are destroyed and his children are killed in an act of God. Job's response: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 2
The Lord has another meeting of his sons and Satan; and still Satan is not impressed. In fact it seems now that Satan is just desiring destruction, but I am not God, so it is hard for me to determine others' intentions. Satan asks to test Job again. God agrees.
Job is covered in boils head to toe. His wife chimes in, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" Job responds, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"
His friends gather around Job and mourn with him.
Praise God that Satan has to ask of him in order to work! That means God is in control no matter the situation. Also note that God throws Satan in the lake of Fire at the end of time in Revelation 20:10.
To the one who says God does not allow bad things to happen to good people, I submit 2 thoughts: (1) Job; (2) Romans 3:10-11, Genesis 8:21, & Jeremiah 17:9.
Here's Job: blameless before God, rich beyond measure, a huge family, children who love and take care of each other. Job would make burnt offerings for the sins of his sons that they may have committed (super pious). He knew that his sons could sin in their hearts without his knowledge, so he made remittance for even that possibility.
The Lord has a meeting with his sons and Satan (weird combo I think). Satan asks for God's permission to test Job and see if he will curse God. God gives him permission.
Job's herds are destroyed and his children are killed in an act of God. Job's response: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 2
The Lord has another meeting of his sons and Satan; and still Satan is not impressed. In fact it seems now that Satan is just desiring destruction, but I am not God, so it is hard for me to determine others' intentions. Satan asks to test Job again. God agrees.
Job is covered in boils head to toe. His wife chimes in, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" Job responds, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"
His friends gather around Job and mourn with him.
Praise God that Satan has to ask of him in order to work! That means God is in control no matter the situation. Also note that God throws Satan in the lake of Fire at the end of time in Revelation 20:10.
To the one who says God does not allow bad things to happen to good people, I submit 2 thoughts: (1) Job; (2) Romans 3:10-11, Genesis 8:21, & Jeremiah 17:9.
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