Genesis 35
God spoke to Jacob, and sent him and his family to Bethel to live there and make an altar to God. They buried their foreign goods, including the earrings that the women were wearing. He told his family to purify themselves, and put on clean clothes. They would build an altar and worship the God that has helped Jacob in his troubles! Jacob built an altar once he got there. God reaffirms his plans for Jacob's life. He tells him to have many children, nations and kings will spring from Jacob, and God will give him the land that he promised Abraham and Isaac. Bethel was a very special place, where God spoke to Jacob!
Rachel died while in a difficult child birth with Benjamin.
Reuben had an affair with one of his father's concubines. When Jacob heard about it, he was furious.
Then Isaac died, and Esau and Jacob buried him.
My family has nothing on Jacob's family. They win for one of the most dysfunctional families.
One of the things I notice is Jacob continued to find places where God spoke to him. Where I can go, so I can speak to God? How can I invite God into my daily life, so I can hear His awesome voice?
Genesis 36
Just as Abraham and Lot had to part ways, Jacob and Esau had to part ways. Between the two of them, they had too much livestock and property and their city cannot support them. So, Esau moved away from Jacob with all his property, wives, children, and livestock. Esau moved to the hill country of Edom. Many tribes descended from Esau and his children. In verses 31-39, we see the beginning of the kings in Edom. Esau was the start of many tribes in Edom.
Genesis 37
Joseph was 17 years old, and tended his father's flock.
It is written that Jacob loved Joseph more than the rest of his sons, because he was born to Jacob while he was old in his age. I think an important fact to be noted is Joseph is his first born from Rachel. Remember, Jacob really loved Rachel. I think that is an important observation to be made, as we look at the passage. Jacob flourished Joseph with a long coat as a gift. Joseph's brothers did not just not like him, but they hated Joseph. They were jealous of his relationship with his father, Jacob.
Jacob had a dream. He told his brothers about his dream, which did more harm than good. It just drove them to hate Joseph even more. In his first dream, his brothers would bow down to him. In his second dream, the universe bowed down to him. He shared the dream with his father as well. While his brothers hated him and were encompassed with jealousy, Jacob pondered his son's dream.
Joseph's brother plotted to kill him once he followed his father's wishes to go check on his brothers to ensure that they are safe. His brothers sought to sell him instead of entrapping him in a well. The purchasers of Joseph took him to Egypt. The brothers instead killed a goat, dipped his coat in its blood, and took it to Jacob---creating the idea that Joseph had died a horrible death.
Joseph was, then, sold to one of the kings's officers in Egypt.
Questions to ponder:
Am I jealous of anyone?
Are my relationships in need of mending?
How have I damaged my relationships?
How can I pray for those who I am jealous toward?
What harm have I done to those around me?
Joseph has some serious relationship problems with his brothers. It makes me thankful for the calmness of my life, and the fact that there is not quite so much drama. I do not have siblings seeking to kidnap, leave me in a well, or try to sell me to foreigners. Reading this chapter really puts perspective on situations that we may think are bad---they really are not that bad!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Genesis 32-34
Genesis 32
Jacob is preparing to meet Esau. He sends his servants to give a message to Esau. God made Jacob prosper just as He promised! He has enough property as two camps. Esau received Jacob's message, and him and 400 men are coming to meet Jacob. Jacob prepares a selection of animals to give to his brother (Esau). He sets his property in two groups, so if Esau attacks---one of the groups can get away. Jacob sent herds ahead of him as gifts to hopefully warm Esau up to seeing Jacob to avoid harming him..
The second part of Genesis 32 really puzzles me, and leaves questions.. God initiated a wrestling with Jacob. People are constantly saying "don't wrestle with God. Don't wrestle with God." In this passage, God is wrestling with Jacob. I know, there is purpose behind it. It seems like it is to test Jacob.
The question: Was Jacob really wrestling God?
Why did not God overpower him, like we know He can?
God gave Jacob victory and power to overcome.
God in human formed is wrestling with Jacob, as he is alone in this place. Touching his hip, his hip wrenched as he was wrestling. God blessed Jacob.
Genesis 33
After Jacob's encounter with God, Jacob looked up and saw Esau. Esau was coming with his 400 men.The passage is very particular about the order of the wives/children, as Jacob went ahead to meet Esau. Esau run to Jacob and embraced him. Esau was loving toward Jacob, which showing God's presence and his obvious forgiveness toward Jacob. He stated something has significance...To see Esau was like seeing the face of God. There is purpose. Jacob had fled once he stole Esau's blessing, and now they were looking at each other again after many years of being apart. What speaks to me is about how they gave to each other and said "accept this gift if I find favor in your eyes." Esau was going to go with Jacob as he journeyed home to his father's country, but Jacob sent him ahead for the sake of his flock and children.
The importance is of forgiveness and also loving each other.. Jacob freely gave, as did Esau.. Blessing each other. Loving one another. Supporting one another, despite what may have happened in the past.
Genesis 34
Dinah is defiled by one of the men (Shechem) living in the land. Then, there is this whole agreement that is taken place for Dinah to be intermarried with the man who violated her. Women were property, so it was about making the best deal. Shechem claimed to "love" her with his heart. His father (Hamor) wants to intermarry, so that they can marry Jacob's daughters and they can take wives from Hamor and community. The deal is made that the men in in Canaan have to be circumcised, and while they were still hurting--they were attacked. Rightly so, as they should be attacked. It could have been as simple as that. But Dinah's two brothers took her from Shechem's house, and they attacked and killed all the men in Canaan, taking their wives and children. Jacob is upset for they may come and attack his entire household.
It is hard to know what we would done in a similar situation. Thankfully, our laws today are much different than they were in Old Testament days where the rapist marries the woman. But, God's presence does not seem near in Genesis 34. There is much evil and violance, but God does not seem near. We know God was present in this situation, but what would God have had Jacob and his family to do? What would be the way of serving God in situations that are incredibly difficult before the Law is present?
In Dinah's story, what makes it difficult is Dinah did not have a voice. Her voice was left unheard. If she was in today's world, she would have a voice and could be heard. But back then, women did not have a voice--they were property.
Jacob is preparing to meet Esau. He sends his servants to give a message to Esau. God made Jacob prosper just as He promised! He has enough property as two camps. Esau received Jacob's message, and him and 400 men are coming to meet Jacob. Jacob prepares a selection of animals to give to his brother (Esau). He sets his property in two groups, so if Esau attacks---one of the groups can get away. Jacob sent herds ahead of him as gifts to hopefully warm Esau up to seeing Jacob to avoid harming him..
The second part of Genesis 32 really puzzles me, and leaves questions.. God initiated a wrestling with Jacob. People are constantly saying "don't wrestle with God. Don't wrestle with God." In this passage, God is wrestling with Jacob. I know, there is purpose behind it. It seems like it is to test Jacob.
The question: Was Jacob really wrestling God?
Why did not God overpower him, like we know He can?
God gave Jacob victory and power to overcome.
God in human formed is wrestling with Jacob, as he is alone in this place. Touching his hip, his hip wrenched as he was wrestling. God blessed Jacob.
Genesis 33
After Jacob's encounter with God, Jacob looked up and saw Esau. Esau was coming with his 400 men.The passage is very particular about the order of the wives/children, as Jacob went ahead to meet Esau. Esau run to Jacob and embraced him. Esau was loving toward Jacob, which showing God's presence and his obvious forgiveness toward Jacob. He stated something has significance...To see Esau was like seeing the face of God. There is purpose. Jacob had fled once he stole Esau's blessing, and now they were looking at each other again after many years of being apart. What speaks to me is about how they gave to each other and said "accept this gift if I find favor in your eyes." Esau was going to go with Jacob as he journeyed home to his father's country, but Jacob sent him ahead for the sake of his flock and children.
The importance is of forgiveness and also loving each other.. Jacob freely gave, as did Esau.. Blessing each other. Loving one another. Supporting one another, despite what may have happened in the past.
Genesis 34
Dinah is defiled by one of the men (Shechem) living in the land. Then, there is this whole agreement that is taken place for Dinah to be intermarried with the man who violated her. Women were property, so it was about making the best deal. Shechem claimed to "love" her with his heart. His father (Hamor) wants to intermarry, so that they can marry Jacob's daughters and they can take wives from Hamor and community. The deal is made that the men in in Canaan have to be circumcised, and while they were still hurting--they were attacked. Rightly so, as they should be attacked. It could have been as simple as that. But Dinah's two brothers took her from Shechem's house, and they attacked and killed all the men in Canaan, taking their wives and children. Jacob is upset for they may come and attack his entire household.
It is hard to know what we would done in a similar situation. Thankfully, our laws today are much different than they were in Old Testament days where the rapist marries the woman. But, God's presence does not seem near in Genesis 34. There is much evil and violance, but God does not seem near. We know God was present in this situation, but what would God have had Jacob and his family to do? What would be the way of serving God in situations that are incredibly difficult before the Law is present?
In Dinah's story, what makes it difficult is Dinah did not have a voice. Her voice was left unheard. If she was in today's world, she would have a voice and could be heard. But back then, women did not have a voice--they were property.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Genesis 30-31
Genesis 30 to 31
Leah has 7 kids, in hopes to win the heart of Jacob.
Rachel gives Jacob her maidservant to bear her children.
(remember, it's all about property back then..)
Rachel's maidservant has two children by Jacob.
Leah has her maidservant have Jacob's children.
So, there is two more children.
Rachel is finally able to give Jacob a son, Joseph..
Total of 12 children, and at least 4 wives.
A whole big amount of jealousy and competition is going on between the two sisters, Leah and Rachel as they battle who can give Jacob the most children.
Jacob goes to his father-in-law Laban, to ask that he may go to his father's land with his wives and children.
Laban tells him that he can have the striped and spotted animals in 3 days. Meanwhile, Laban goes and takes all the striped and spotted animals--putting them with his sons' flocks.
After being tricked by his F-I-L, he is given a dream by God to take some of the flock and go to his father's country. He took the stronger animals, leaving Laban with the weaker animals. Three days later, Laban finds out and goes to find Jacob and his daughter's. Just before fleeing, Rachel stole her father's gods to avoid any curses being thrown out at them. Just before Laban finds them, God appears to him in a dream to not say anything to Jacob good or bad. Laban finds them, checks belongings, couldn't find the gods possessions, and makes a pact with Jacob. In the place of Galeed, they are to not past the pillar--each staying on their own side.
Jacob's heart in this place does not seem to be much different than when he stole Esau's blessing. We can see how Jacob is obviously rubbing off on Rachel, Laban's corruptness also is apparent (he changed Jacob's wages 10x over 20 years. hiding the animals he promised Jacob, giving him Leah when he said he would give Rachel to Jacob.) One thing that does come out is: we need to be checking our heart. Bad things will happen to us. We have the choice to decide how we react. We can choose to be filled with jealousy (Notice Rachel and Leah goes at it with, who can produce the most children?), constantly running off when situations happen (Jacob ran off after stealing Esau's birthright, and again now once he took Laban's stronger animals), or we can choose to be diligent in how we handle our situations.
One thing worth noting is Rachel gets mad, and yells at Jacob for her not being able to bear children. He response is about how he cannot do anything.. But as we know, Rebekah was able to bear children from his husband (Isaac)'s prayers for her.
Leah has 7 kids, in hopes to win the heart of Jacob.
Rachel gives Jacob her maidservant to bear her children.
(remember, it's all about property back then..)
Rachel's maidservant has two children by Jacob.
Leah has her maidservant have Jacob's children.
So, there is two more children.
Rachel is finally able to give Jacob a son, Joseph..
Total of 12 children, and at least 4 wives.
A whole big amount of jealousy and competition is going on between the two sisters, Leah and Rachel as they battle who can give Jacob the most children.
Jacob goes to his father-in-law Laban, to ask that he may go to his father's land with his wives and children.
Laban tells him that he can have the striped and spotted animals in 3 days. Meanwhile, Laban goes and takes all the striped and spotted animals--putting them with his sons' flocks.
After being tricked by his F-I-L, he is given a dream by God to take some of the flock and go to his father's country. He took the stronger animals, leaving Laban with the weaker animals. Three days later, Laban finds out and goes to find Jacob and his daughter's. Just before fleeing, Rachel stole her father's gods to avoid any curses being thrown out at them. Just before Laban finds them, God appears to him in a dream to not say anything to Jacob good or bad. Laban finds them, checks belongings, couldn't find the gods possessions, and makes a pact with Jacob. In the place of Galeed, they are to not past the pillar--each staying on their own side.
Jacob's heart in this place does not seem to be much different than when he stole Esau's blessing. We can see how Jacob is obviously rubbing off on Rachel, Laban's corruptness also is apparent (he changed Jacob's wages 10x over 20 years. hiding the animals he promised Jacob, giving him Leah when he said he would give Rachel to Jacob.) One thing that does come out is: we need to be checking our heart. Bad things will happen to us. We have the choice to decide how we react. We can choose to be filled with jealousy (Notice Rachel and Leah goes at it with, who can produce the most children?), constantly running off when situations happen (Jacob ran off after stealing Esau's birthright, and again now once he took Laban's stronger animals), or we can choose to be diligent in how we handle our situations.
One thing worth noting is Rachel gets mad, and yells at Jacob for her not being able to bear children. He response is about how he cannot do anything.. But as we know, Rebekah was able to bear children from his husband (Isaac)'s prayers for her.
Genesis 12-26
One Sunday afternoon, I went ahead and read through Genesis 12-26..I tried to jot some notes down about what I noticed in the text.. Might as well share some of the highlights.
Genesis 12-15:
Abraham had to leave his family behind, in order to receive God's blessings.
What if we needed to leave our family behind in a sense to fulfill God's purposes for our lives? Also, affecting our blessings..
Abraham did not leave behind Lot. Lot went. Abram and Lot parted ways.
Lot faces issues. Leaves Gomorrah. His wife disobeys God and dies.
God promises to give Abram the land, and Abram will have a son who will get everything Abraham owns.
Genesis 16-18
Sarai gives Abraham her maidservant to bear his child. Snowball effect. Haggai thinks she's better than Sarai once she conceives her boss' husband's kid. Sarai gets mad at Abram. Sarai is cruel to Hagar, Hagar runs off. Angel speaks to Hagai, and she goes back, because God can see her even there were she was.. in the middle of nowhere.Ishmael will be his name. Many will be his descendants.
God promises to give Abram the land and make him the father of many nations. The way to prove his faithfulness: him and other males must be circumcised on the eighth day as a symbol of their faithfulness to God. It is keeping the agreement that was made. God told Abram that he and Sarai will have a son (Isaac) in one year. Sarai laughed at the idea of having a baby in her old age. God goes to Sodom and Gomorrah, and his plan is to get Abraham's descendants to obey Him and seek to do what is right, then the promise is purposed.
Genesis 19-21
Lot welcomes the angels in, they see the wickedness of the land, save Lot before he can get hurt. They were told to not look back. Lot's wife looks back (daughters would not leave the land), and she dies (turned into a grain of salt). Things will happen to make us keep looking back. Our powerful past will always be there, but we need to look and move forward not backwards. Lot's daughters pondered finding a husband and having children. They got their father drunk, and impregnated themselves. Their children becomes Ammorites and Moabites. King took Sarah, because she lied about being Abraham's sister again. King was warned by God in a dream, so he gave Sarah back to Abraham plus gave slaves, animals, and land. The king sought to respect God and live right. Sarah had Isaac, and he was circumcised as a reminder of the agreement between Abraham and God. They partied. Sarah wanted Hagar and Ishmael gone. Abraham gave them food and water. They moved to the desert. God constantly provided for them. God heard Haggi's cry, and provided a well for them. Hagar found a wife for her son, and they continued to live there in the desert.
Genesis 22-24
God tests Abraham. He has to take Isaac up to the mountain to sacrifice him. Abraham showed himself faithful, and did not have to sacrifice his son. Abraham's faith was there. Sometimes, we need to be tested. We need to be brought to the place of "where is our faith really?" This was the case for Abraham, and his faith was enough. A ram appears and becomes the sacrifice. Sarah dies, Abraham cries and buries her. God prepared peoples' hearts, and they were very generous to Abraham---giving him land in addition to the cave to bury Sarah in. Abraham sends his head servant on a mission to find a wife for Isaac. He goes, prays, and finds Rebekah who would be Isaac's wife. God is praised for answering the servant's prayer and showing him exactly who Isaac's wife should be.
Genesis 25-26
Abraham remarries, and has more children. He lived a full life and died to go "with his people". Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave next to Sarah. Isaac gets everything except what is given to his children of his slave women. Issac marries Rebekah. She was unable to have children, until Isaac prayed for her. (Never underestimate the power of praying for one another!) Then, God allows her to become pregnant. Jacob and Esau are born. (leaders for two separate nations that would fight w/ one another) Esau was Isaac's favorite. Jacob was Rebekah's favorite. Esau sold his birth right to Jacob. Isaac and family moves. He tells everyone that Rebekah is his sister. He is caught in trouble for lying again. His lying could have caused others to sin! Isaac begins to harvest, becomes very rich, and the king asks him to leave the land. Esau marries two women. These marriages make Rebekah and Isaac very unhappy.
Lots of things happened in the line of Abraham in just 14-15 chapters!
Genesis 12-15:
Abraham had to leave his family behind, in order to receive God's blessings.
What if we needed to leave our family behind in a sense to fulfill God's purposes for our lives? Also, affecting our blessings..
Abraham did not leave behind Lot. Lot went. Abram and Lot parted ways.
Lot faces issues. Leaves Gomorrah. His wife disobeys God and dies.
God promises to give Abram the land, and Abram will have a son who will get everything Abraham owns.
Genesis 16-18
Sarai gives Abraham her maidservant to bear his child. Snowball effect. Haggai thinks she's better than Sarai once she conceives her boss' husband's kid. Sarai gets mad at Abram. Sarai is cruel to Hagar, Hagar runs off. Angel speaks to Hagai, and she goes back, because God can see her even there were she was.. in the middle of nowhere.Ishmael will be his name. Many will be his descendants.
God promises to give Abram the land and make him the father of many nations. The way to prove his faithfulness: him and other males must be circumcised on the eighth day as a symbol of their faithfulness to God. It is keeping the agreement that was made. God told Abram that he and Sarai will have a son (Isaac) in one year. Sarai laughed at the idea of having a baby in her old age. God goes to Sodom and Gomorrah, and his plan is to get Abraham's descendants to obey Him and seek to do what is right, then the promise is purposed.
Genesis 19-21
Lot welcomes the angels in, they see the wickedness of the land, save Lot before he can get hurt. They were told to not look back. Lot's wife looks back (daughters would not leave the land), and she dies (turned into a grain of salt). Things will happen to make us keep looking back. Our powerful past will always be there, but we need to look and move forward not backwards. Lot's daughters pondered finding a husband and having children. They got their father drunk, and impregnated themselves. Their children becomes Ammorites and Moabites. King took Sarah, because she lied about being Abraham's sister again. King was warned by God in a dream, so he gave Sarah back to Abraham plus gave slaves, animals, and land. The king sought to respect God and live right. Sarah had Isaac, and he was circumcised as a reminder of the agreement between Abraham and God. They partied. Sarah wanted Hagar and Ishmael gone. Abraham gave them food and water. They moved to the desert. God constantly provided for them. God heard Haggi's cry, and provided a well for them. Hagar found a wife for her son, and they continued to live there in the desert.
Genesis 22-24
God tests Abraham. He has to take Isaac up to the mountain to sacrifice him. Abraham showed himself faithful, and did not have to sacrifice his son. Abraham's faith was there. Sometimes, we need to be tested. We need to be brought to the place of "where is our faith really?" This was the case for Abraham, and his faith was enough. A ram appears and becomes the sacrifice. Sarah dies, Abraham cries and buries her. God prepared peoples' hearts, and they were very generous to Abraham---giving him land in addition to the cave to bury Sarah in. Abraham sends his head servant on a mission to find a wife for Isaac. He goes, prays, and finds Rebekah who would be Isaac's wife. God is praised for answering the servant's prayer and showing him exactly who Isaac's wife should be.
Genesis 25-26
Abraham remarries, and has more children. He lived a full life and died to go "with his people". Isaac and Ishmael bury him in the cave next to Sarah. Isaac gets everything except what is given to his children of his slave women. Issac marries Rebekah. She was unable to have children, until Isaac prayed for her. (Never underestimate the power of praying for one another!) Then, God allows her to become pregnant. Jacob and Esau are born. (leaders for two separate nations that would fight w/ one another) Esau was Isaac's favorite. Jacob was Rebekah's favorite. Esau sold his birth right to Jacob. Isaac and family moves. He tells everyone that Rebekah is his sister. He is caught in trouble for lying again. His lying could have caused others to sin! Isaac begins to harvest, becomes very rich, and the king asks him to leave the land. Esau marries two women. These marriages make Rebekah and Isaac very unhappy.
Lots of things happened in the line of Abraham in just 14-15 chapters!
Genesis 27-29
Finally, getting back into my study..
What really sticks with me is Leah's comments after having 3 (total kids: 4) kids that she wanted the children to attach Jacob to her and make Jacob love her.. It is a dangerous game to play..As we will see in Gen 30: 20, she is still hoping her husband will love her six kids later.. Having children without someone cannot make them love you...
Also, we should not be idle but work with our hands. And if we cannot work with our hands, we can be about something more. We can be pursuing something more, instead of living without purpose. I may not have energy to do constantly throughout the day, but I can be about something more! =)
Genesis 27-29
What really sticks with me is Leah's comments after having 3 (total kids: 4) kids that she wanted the children to attach Jacob to her and make Jacob love her.. It is a dangerous game to play..As we will see in Gen 30: 20, she is still hoping her husband will love her six kids later.. Having children without someone cannot make them love you...
Also, we should not be idle but work with our hands. And if we cannot work with our hands, we can be about something more. We can be pursuing something more, instead of living without purpose. I may not have energy to do constantly throughout the day, but I can be about something more! =)
Genesis 27-29
Genesis 27
Talk about a messy situation: Esau is supposed to receive a blessing from Isaac his dying father, Rebekah sends Jacob to go and get goats so she can prepare a tasty meal for Isaac, with her help—Jacob receives Esau’s blessing, Esau finds out and wants to kill his brother, Rebekah sends Jacob away to protect him, and Rebekah does not him to marry an Hittite woman (which Esau had done..). We see a sticky situation in the midst of Isaac dying.
Lying to get a blessing can be very dangerous. Faking to be your brother may have and must have caused friction between Isaac and Rebekah. The text does not say, but I can only imagine. Who knows?
Genesis 28
Isaac, then, blessed Jacob again while commanding him to not take a Cannonite wife for himself. Jacob obeyed his father and mother, and went to the city of his mother’s brother (Paddan Aram). While Esau overhead this, he went and took for himself another wife. Esau obviously married Ishmael’s daughter as a way of pleasing his parents, for he married his father’s niece. Jacob, on the other hand, was to marry his mother’s niece.
Verse 15 is key. It says: “I am with you, and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised!”
While Jacob is on this journey and stops for the night to sleep, he has a dream where he is at the stairway of Heaven surrounded by angels and God is at the top of the staircase, the dream is important because God is going to give Jacob the land and his descendants will be many. Jacob saw this place as importance that was the house of God. He set the stone and made it a pillar to be used to make the house of God.
Genesis 29
Jacob went and met Rachel. He fell in love with Rachel. He worked seven years for Rachel. Instead, he is given Leah and makes love to Leah. Does anyone else think it is weird that he did not notice it was Leah until morning? He would have to do seven additional years of work in exchange for Rachel. It was not customary to marry up the younger daughter first… When God saw Leah was not loved and cherished, she became the one to conceive while Rachel did not and could not conceive. The words that Leah speaks in verses 32 to 35 are quite popular, even today. “I am unloved, so let me have his baby.” After three kids, her words were the same. She wanted her husband to be attached and to love her. As we saw from the beginning, Jacob did not want Leah. Jacob did not love Leah, for his love was with Rachel.
In verse 14, What I notice is the desire to work and not to be idle. Jacob stayed with Laban (his mother’s brother) for a whole month and was not idle. He continued working, which is what gave him the benefit of being able to work toward getting Rachel as well as Leah. We should be working for what we want, and not be idle.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Job 40-42
Job 40
Who are we to argue with God? Although we all do it, we should not do it more than we feel is absolutely necessary. God is the Lord Almighty! Who am I to argue with Him? He made the Heavens and the Earth. He made the stars in the sky. All of Creation must answer to Him. We are completely unworthy, yet God still loves us and wants us. We are unable to save ourselves! We need to be careful to not allow our pride to put a separation between us and God.
Job 41
God begins by speaking about a Leviathan. It is strong, but graceful. God talks about this strong animal and a few things stood out..
In verses 10b-11, God says: "Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me."
In verses 33-34, it says "Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
No one of us are equal to God. God is King over all!
Job 42
It is about Job's heart. In Job 40, Job realizes he is worthless and arguing with God is wrong.
Job says something very powerful. He said, "“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." (verses 2-3). Nothing can stop God's plans! How awesome is that?!?!? Nothing we do can ever stop God's plans. Nothing anyone else can do will ever stop God's plans!
The Lord told Eliphaz- "I am angry with you and your two friends for you have not spoken the truth about me to Job!" They, then, were instructed to take "seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves". They really did it. They had to take 14 animals to sacrifice in regards to their sins.. Job had to pray for his friends, in order to protect his friends from suffering consequences for their sins. Job acted as a priest. They were instructed to take the animals to Job and have them sacrificed, then Job would pray on their behalf.
After Job prayed for his three friends, the Lord restored Job's fortunes. Job's fortunes were not just restored, but he received twice as what he had before. His latter years were much more blessed than earlier years. His brothers and sisters and everyone he knew came and ate, and each gave me him a piece of silver and a gold ring. Everyone consoled and comforted him. He had seven sons and three daughters. His daughters were much more beautiful than the other girls in the land. He lived to see his children and their children to the fourth generation..
Who are we to argue with God? Although we all do it, we should not do it more than we feel is absolutely necessary. God is the Lord Almighty! Who am I to argue with Him? He made the Heavens and the Earth. He made the stars in the sky. All of Creation must answer to Him. We are completely unworthy, yet God still loves us and wants us. We are unable to save ourselves! We need to be careful to not allow our pride to put a separation between us and God.
Job 41
God begins by speaking about a Leviathan. It is strong, but graceful. God talks about this strong animal and a few things stood out..
In verses 10b-11, God says: "Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me."
In verses 33-34, it says "Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”
No one of us are equal to God. God is King over all!
Job 42
It is about Job's heart. In Job 40, Job realizes he is worthless and arguing with God is wrong.
Job says something very powerful. He said, "“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." (verses 2-3). Nothing can stop God's plans! How awesome is that?!?!? Nothing we do can ever stop God's plans. Nothing anyone else can do will ever stop God's plans!
The Lord told Eliphaz- "I am angry with you and your two friends for you have not spoken the truth about me to Job!" They, then, were instructed to take "seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves". They really did it. They had to take 14 animals to sacrifice in regards to their sins.. Job had to pray for his friends, in order to protect his friends from suffering consequences for their sins. Job acted as a priest. They were instructed to take the animals to Job and have them sacrificed, then Job would pray on their behalf.
After Job prayed for his three friends, the Lord restored Job's fortunes. Job's fortunes were not just restored, but he received twice as what he had before. His latter years were much more blessed than earlier years. His brothers and sisters and everyone he knew came and ate, and each gave me him a piece of silver and a gold ring. Everyone consoled and comforted him. He had seven sons and three daughters. His daughters were much more beautiful than the other girls in the land. He lived to see his children and their children to the fourth generation..
Job 38-39
The Lord speaks..
Out of the storm, God speaks.
God says: "“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me." (Job 38:2-3)
Out of the storm, God speaks.
God says: "“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me." (Job 38:2-3)
Another way of it is saying "Who is this darkening counsel? The words are not with wisdom. God is God! God created the world! He ordered the world! God knows what is best. Even if we do not know what goes on in our own lives, God is there and our constant. The stars do not answer to us. We were not made to know everything. Knowing everything is God's job, not ours. Our job is simply to obey Him and choose to follow Him even when we do not know where the path is leading and there is barely enough light to get us from point A to point B. We do not need to know the way to point Z. We need only to know who we are following, and that is the Lord God almighty!
God gives us understanding only because He is good. But, we do not need to know everything.. God knows the timing things happen, we do not. We need only to trust Him, and rely constantly on Him every moment of every day. His ways are not our ways, and He does not need to share with me the reasoning behind His ways..
Job 35-37
Job 35
Elihu brings up the point "Does our sin bring God harm?" While Elihu says "No", I really believe that our sin may not physically harm God... but it breaks His heart, so in a sense--- yes, sin does harm God. It may not harm Him in the way that Elihu is speaking of, but our sin does affect our walk with God..thus, affecting Him. God may not *need* us, but He definitely wants us!
In verses 8-10, Elihu is confusing me. He says: "Others suffer from your sins, and the good you do helps them. 9 When people are oppressed, they groan; they cry for someone to save them. 10 But they don't turn to God, their Creator, who gives them hope in their darkest hours." I know I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but why wouldn't you turn to your Creator if you find yourself in a dark hour with no hope?
What stops them is pride... Pride keeps us from turning to God. While Elihu says Job is not to complain to God, at the same time he speaks about people who do not ask for God's help..He goes so far to say that it is useless for such people to cry out to God.
While Elihu thinks he knows Job well, he does not. Job has been calling out to God.. Pleading with God for his help. God punishes sin, but they do not know that Job is not at fault here. Elihu may think that he is the wisest of them all, but he really is not. He is just not showing the wisdom he possesses, on the other hand--he is showing what he lacks.
Job 36
What really bugs me is how Elihu keeps talking about what he knows, because his "... knowledge is so wide." Yet he is talking about other people's pride? Doesn't he need to look at himself, and his own pride issue? "My knowledge is wide"--while I know he is trying to help his friend, but I cannot help but think about how he is speaking.
Elihu thinks he is speaking on God's behalf. I cannot wait to see if God says something directly to Elihu, or if he lets his words pass. According to Elihu, if one has afflictions---it is because of their great sins they have committed. He thinks he is "ascribing justice" on God's behalf. As he thinks that sins result in affliction, if they repent of their sins, "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. " If we obey Him and serve, there is no guarantee we will live in contentment. Accepting Him means accepting going against the ways of the world. It excludes prosperity, because we will not necessarily be prosperous. Even if we are poor, it does not mean we are not serving and obeying our great God!
Elihu says "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction." (verse 15) I believe this can be true. But it depends on how you define "deliver". God, sometimes, delivers us in ways we can only dream of, but our trials and testing stay. He delivers us from the spiritual brokenness and depletion that comes from physical ailments. He speaks directly to us in our times of brokenness.
Who can understand God? He is beyond our understanding! He is just too great! Elihu needs to quit trying to speak on God's behalf. Let God speak for himself..
Job 37
Elihu is teaching his friends and Job to listen...listen to God and the thunder of his voice. God does not hold anything back. He is the only One to tell and teach us what He truly thinks. We cannot truly understand Him. Our friends cannot truly speak on God's behalf. Only God can speak on His own behalf! Many people may try, but they will sometimes fail. This is why we have the Word of God to turn to. These men did not have God's Word, and they failed miserably at comforting Job in his darkest hours!
Elihu tells Job to stop and consider God's wonders. God shows His love by bringing rain. God does things we cannot even imagine or come close to understanding. We need to quit living such busy lives, and consider God's wonders even amidst great trials.
One of the things Elihu closes with is: "The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress." (verse 23) God is definitely beyond our reach. We cannot explain God or what He does, yet these men try to explain Him and justify why they feel Job is in sin.. God does not oppress, but trials do come.. things do oppress us, and yet it is not from God.
Elihu brings up the point "Does our sin bring God harm?" While Elihu says "No", I really believe that our sin may not physically harm God... but it breaks His heart, so in a sense--- yes, sin does harm God. It may not harm Him in the way that Elihu is speaking of, but our sin does affect our walk with God..thus, affecting Him. God may not *need* us, but He definitely wants us!
In verses 8-10, Elihu is confusing me. He says: "Others suffer from your sins, and the good you do helps them. 9 When people are oppressed, they groan; they cry for someone to save them. 10 But they don't turn to God, their Creator, who gives them hope in their darkest hours." I know I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but why wouldn't you turn to your Creator if you find yourself in a dark hour with no hope?
What stops them is pride... Pride keeps us from turning to God. While Elihu says Job is not to complain to God, at the same time he speaks about people who do not ask for God's help..He goes so far to say that it is useless for such people to cry out to God.
While Elihu thinks he knows Job well, he does not. Job has been calling out to God.. Pleading with God for his help. God punishes sin, but they do not know that Job is not at fault here. Elihu may think that he is the wisest of them all, but he really is not. He is just not showing the wisdom he possesses, on the other hand--he is showing what he lacks.
Job 36
What really bugs me is how Elihu keeps talking about what he knows, because his "... knowledge is so wide." Yet he is talking about other people's pride? Doesn't he need to look at himself, and his own pride issue? "My knowledge is wide"--while I know he is trying to help his friend, but I cannot help but think about how he is speaking.
Elihu thinks he is speaking on God's behalf. I cannot wait to see if God says something directly to Elihu, or if he lets his words pass. According to Elihu, if one has afflictions---it is because of their great sins they have committed. He thinks he is "ascribing justice" on God's behalf. As he thinks that sins result in affliction, if they repent of their sins, "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. " If we obey Him and serve, there is no guarantee we will live in contentment. Accepting Him means accepting going against the ways of the world. It excludes prosperity, because we will not necessarily be prosperous. Even if we are poor, it does not mean we are not serving and obeying our great God!
Elihu says "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction." (verse 15) I believe this can be true. But it depends on how you define "deliver". God, sometimes, delivers us in ways we can only dream of, but our trials and testing stay. He delivers us from the spiritual brokenness and depletion that comes from physical ailments. He speaks directly to us in our times of brokenness.
Who can understand God? He is beyond our understanding! He is just too great! Elihu needs to quit trying to speak on God's behalf. Let God speak for himself..
Job 37
Elihu is teaching his friends and Job to listen...listen to God and the thunder of his voice. God does not hold anything back. He is the only One to tell and teach us what He truly thinks. We cannot truly understand Him. Our friends cannot truly speak on God's behalf. Only God can speak on His own behalf! Many people may try, but they will sometimes fail. This is why we have the Word of God to turn to. These men did not have God's Word, and they failed miserably at comforting Job in his darkest hours!
Elihu tells Job to stop and consider God's wonders. God shows His love by bringing rain. God does things we cannot even imagine or come close to understanding. We need to quit living such busy lives, and consider God's wonders even amidst great trials.
One of the things Elihu closes with is: "The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress." (verse 23) God is definitely beyond our reach. We cannot explain God or what He does, yet these men try to explain Him and justify why they feel Job is in sin.. God does not oppress, but trials do come.. things do oppress us, and yet it is not from God.
Job 32-34
Age is not what makes wisdom..
It's the God living and breathing inside of me that makes one wise.
I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit[b] in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not only the old[c] who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.
Job 32:7-9
Job 32
Elihu finally speaks..
The men finally stopped speaking, because they saw that Job was righteous in his own eyes. Elihu got very angry at Job and the friends. He was angry at Job for justifying himself, instead of God doing it. He got mad at the friends for not saying anything in defense to Job. See this is the first time Elihu has spoken. The other men had been doing the fighting and arguing on his behalf, but now... no-one spoke. So, Elihu got angry and began to speak to Job..
Elihu is the younger of all the men. Elihu did not speak. No, he listened to Job while he gave his argument and complaint. Elihu thought that someone older with wisdom should be the one to speak to Job. Yet, because no-one else spoke.. Elihu is speaking. He obviously looked up to these men. He spoke on how age does not make wisdom, but it is God's breath in us that gives us understanding. Elihu is full of words and ready to burst and say what he is compelled to say.
Job 33
Elihu continues to speak. He (Elihu) is created by God just the same. He is but clay made by God's very hands. Elihu calls himself upright in heart, and wants Job to argue/plead his case to him.
First thing that encourages me is Elihu repeats what Job told his friends about his standing before God. Job called himself clean in one breath and in the next--God considers him an enemy.
God is bigger than any of us! God speaks to us! Elihu condemns Job for complaining to God. Following this, Elihu describes Job's state of constant pains and his bones showing from his illness. Elihu says that if there is angel to defend on his behalf, he would be cleared. Then, they can be fully restored. God can deliver us from going down a pit.
Elihu concludes temporarily by telling Job to speak up, and that he only wants Job to be cleared.
What I struggle with is others' point of view of a pit. A pit can be caused by numerous things, not necessarily sin. It is easy to be judged by others, when we are going through a hard trial or testing phase of our lives. It is not easy for us, but what is harder is others' thinking they are more wise than we are while we go through our struggle.
Still what gets me is not one of his friends volunteered to pray to God for Job to be cleared or for discernment about Job's situation.
Job 34
Elihu seeks to teach the men wisdom and discernment about what is right. He says that Job says, "I am innocent and right, yet God denies me justice". Elihu says many things, but what strikes me is he says that Job keeps company with evil doers. God would not cause harm or pervert justice. While I somewhat agree with Elihu on this, I do firmly believe that trials and testings come into our lives that we do not deserve, but they are to show our spiritual strength and grow us deeply..
Elihu continues to talk about how just our God is. God is just. I completely agree! Yet while I agree that God is just, I do trust and thank God we have been given Job 1. I am thankful to know what testings must come, so I can grow and not despair as much in times of trial. There is purpose behind them.
Job definitely wasn't tested for acting like a wicked man. On the contrary, Job was tested because he was a righteous man. I think the only way Job hung out with those who do evil is by hanging out with his friends who may have been wise in their own eyes, but spoke not very wisely..
It's the God living and breathing inside of me that makes one wise.
I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit[b] in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not only the old[c] who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.
Job 32:7-9
Job 32
Elihu finally speaks..
The men finally stopped speaking, because they saw that Job was righteous in his own eyes. Elihu got very angry at Job and the friends. He was angry at Job for justifying himself, instead of God doing it. He got mad at the friends for not saying anything in defense to Job. See this is the first time Elihu has spoken. The other men had been doing the fighting and arguing on his behalf, but now... no-one spoke. So, Elihu got angry and began to speak to Job..
Elihu is the younger of all the men. Elihu did not speak. No, he listened to Job while he gave his argument and complaint. Elihu thought that someone older with wisdom should be the one to speak to Job. Yet, because no-one else spoke.. Elihu is speaking. He obviously looked up to these men. He spoke on how age does not make wisdom, but it is God's breath in us that gives us understanding. Elihu is full of words and ready to burst and say what he is compelled to say.
Job 33
Elihu continues to speak. He (Elihu) is created by God just the same. He is but clay made by God's very hands. Elihu calls himself upright in heart, and wants Job to argue/plead his case to him.
First thing that encourages me is Elihu repeats what Job told his friends about his standing before God. Job called himself clean in one breath and in the next--God considers him an enemy.
God is bigger than any of us! God speaks to us! Elihu condemns Job for complaining to God. Following this, Elihu describes Job's state of constant pains and his bones showing from his illness. Elihu says that if there is angel to defend on his behalf, he would be cleared. Then, they can be fully restored. God can deliver us from going down a pit.
Elihu concludes temporarily by telling Job to speak up, and that he only wants Job to be cleared.
What I struggle with is others' point of view of a pit. A pit can be caused by numerous things, not necessarily sin. It is easy to be judged by others, when we are going through a hard trial or testing phase of our lives. It is not easy for us, but what is harder is others' thinking they are more wise than we are while we go through our struggle.
Still what gets me is not one of his friends volunteered to pray to God for Job to be cleared or for discernment about Job's situation.
Job 34
Elihu seeks to teach the men wisdom and discernment about what is right. He says that Job says, "I am innocent and right, yet God denies me justice". Elihu says many things, but what strikes me is he says that Job keeps company with evil doers. God would not cause harm or pervert justice. While I somewhat agree with Elihu on this, I do firmly believe that trials and testings come into our lives that we do not deserve, but they are to show our spiritual strength and grow us deeply..
Elihu continues to talk about how just our God is. God is just. I completely agree! Yet while I agree that God is just, I do trust and thank God we have been given Job 1. I am thankful to know what testings must come, so I can grow and not despair as much in times of trial. There is purpose behind them.
Job definitely wasn't tested for acting like a wicked man. On the contrary, Job was tested because he was a righteous man. I think the only way Job hung out with those who do evil is by hanging out with his friends who may have been wise in their own eyes, but spoke not very wisely..
Job 29-31
Job 29
Job longs for the days where he was not in troubles. He had his wife and children. He was a well known public figure. He was an advocate for the poor, and brought joy to the widow. God took care of him. God's light brightly shined on Job's path.
I, like Job, look back on my past, and the days when life seemed easier. Things were "better", but I would have missed out on the extra close intimacy that I now have with my Creator. The trials have taught me to depend on Him, and to let my eyes stay focused on Him. God and His word will be a light for my path. Even if I cannot see the light in the midst of situations, I know He is doing something wonderful amidst the storm. The storm is anything but pleasant and we all want to escape it.. but sometimes, we cannot escape the storm. The storm is what God will use to get rid of our fruitless characteristics.. those branches that produce nothing, but thorns.
Job 30
The Present
Job is laughed at, by men whose families have committed such evil. They create destruction for Job, and break his path---causing nothing but trouble. The life of Job is so different than anything else. It is nothing but problems and aching. His skin is turning black, and peeling away. He gets no rest, because of his great pain. And, "Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me." (verses 15-16)
Job's life is completely different than it used to be. His honor is gone. His spiritual life is much different from before his trials. There are days of great agony, and feeling like God has forsaken us.. Yet at the same time, somehow God is ever present.. even when we are in great struggles, trials, and testings.
Job 31
Final Appeal
Job begins to make his appeal to God. He had made a commitment with his eyes to not look at a woman with lust. Where would God's reward for him be, otherwise? God will know Job's steps. Job goes through a series of possible scenarios that may have affected his walk. Job has acted justly, and loved others greatly. He has opened his home for the traveler, so they need not sleep outside in the cold. He has given clothing to those without any, using the wool from his sheep. He has shared his food with the fatherless. As Job pleads with God, he shows the ways that he has acted justly, but still God knew his steps!
God knows our steps better than we do... As we examine our own faults, we need to do what Job is doing.. We need to ask God to show us our faults and how we have acted wrongly. In Psalm 139, it says: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps 139:23-24)
Job longs for the days where he was not in troubles. He had his wife and children. He was a well known public figure. He was an advocate for the poor, and brought joy to the widow. God took care of him. God's light brightly shined on Job's path.
I, like Job, look back on my past, and the days when life seemed easier. Things were "better", but I would have missed out on the extra close intimacy that I now have with my Creator. The trials have taught me to depend on Him, and to let my eyes stay focused on Him. God and His word will be a light for my path. Even if I cannot see the light in the midst of situations, I know He is doing something wonderful amidst the storm. The storm is anything but pleasant and we all want to escape it.. but sometimes, we cannot escape the storm. The storm is what God will use to get rid of our fruitless characteristics.. those branches that produce nothing, but thorns.
Job 30
The Present
Job is laughed at, by men whose families have committed such evil. They create destruction for Job, and break his path---causing nothing but trouble. The life of Job is so different than anything else. It is nothing but problems and aching. His skin is turning black, and peeling away. He gets no rest, because of his great pain. And, "Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me." (verses 15-16)
Job's life is completely different than it used to be. His honor is gone. His spiritual life is much different from before his trials. There are days of great agony, and feeling like God has forsaken us.. Yet at the same time, somehow God is ever present.. even when we are in great struggles, trials, and testings.
Job 31
Final Appeal
Job begins to make his appeal to God. He had made a commitment with his eyes to not look at a woman with lust. Where would God's reward for him be, otherwise? God will know Job's steps. Job goes through a series of possible scenarios that may have affected his walk. Job has acted justly, and loved others greatly. He has opened his home for the traveler, so they need not sleep outside in the cold. He has given clothing to those without any, using the wool from his sheep. He has shared his food with the fatherless. As Job pleads with God, he shows the ways that he has acted justly, but still God knew his steps!
God knows our steps better than we do... As we examine our own faults, we need to do what Job is doing.. We need to ask God to show us our faults and how we have acted wrongly. In Psalm 139, it says: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps 139:23-24)
Job 24-28
Job 24
Job continues his reply to Eliphaz:
Where is the justice? When will evil people face the consequences of their actions? Will the murderers answer for killing the poor person? People are forced to sleep outside with no warmth to protect them. Why? What is going on? When will the judgment come?
Job mentions a number of scenarios that depict the real world as we see it. The violence, the prejudice, the mistreatment, and the sins against others. Darkness is the friend of a evil person. It is their morning. Even though they do it in darkness to hide it. Their sins and actions are not hidden from God. Justice will come to those who do evil...in His timing. We may not see the justice happen, but God will act with justice against those who have sinned. There will be a great judgement. All will be judged for their actions. We cannot change how others act, but we can control how we act and where our hearts are.
When judgment would come for Job, he would be proven innocent that no sin brought on his testing. The judgment would show his heart and what he did and did not do. Even if his friends kept pointing out the ways that he may or may not have sinned, the truth is that God will point out those areas in Job's life if there is an outstanding sin that he did not ask for forgiveness for. His friends would also face judgment of their own for what they did do as well.
Job 25
Bilead gives a short answer to Job:
In Bilead's reply he questions how Job can say he is really innocent in God's eyes. In Bilead's words, he says the moon nor stars can be considered pure. I, quite honestly, think that the sun, moon, and stars would be considered pure, because they are not human. There would be nothing faulty about them! Bilead describes humans as much less pure. We are describes as maggots. I don't know about you, but being described as maggots is kinda creeping me out. Maggots. On our worst day---in our human state of being fallen, I would consider us scum..or puss...but maggots? Bilead does make a good point though. We cannot even say that we are good or pure before God. God is the most holy of holies. God is perfect! We are not.. Once we are His children, we are not maggots though. We are sinners, saved by His grace! Something, they did not begin to know about yet..
Job 26
Job answered Bilead:
Job has reached the point of sarcasm. He begins to talk about how helpful and supportive Bilead is. He says how foolish he is as a man, while Bilead is so "wise". Then Job says the underworld and ghosts must have given Bilead such wonderous information.
God is everywhere! Death cannot be hidden from God. God created the world out of nothing! God is our Creator! He can calm the storms! The clouds tremble when God clearly gives a command to them! God does so many wonderous things! There is NOTHING that God cannot do! While Job's friends are not supporting him, God is there! God is everywhere! We only get the slighest bit of what God says and does. We do not know the whole story, but we only get the slighest whisper of what God is doing and speaking into our lives. Job did not know or understand what God is doing. Neither do I or you. We do not know the story God is writing for our own lives, but God is working greatly! God never stops working. We do not have to know what God is doing, in order to believe that He is the reason something is happening!
Job 27
Job makes the powerful decision to not give in to his friends. He makes the decision to not give in to their countless lies! It is so easy to give in to people when they are constantly nagging you, but Job stood his ground. He is going to stay innocent and plead for his innocence before the Lord. He is much different than those who do evil. When those who do evil are at their last breath, God will not listen to them. They will have missed their opportunity to enjoy talking with the Lord! There will be without hope, but Job still has his hope even with his trials and testings!
What verse stood out to me is verse 7, where it says: 'May my enemies be punished like those who are evil. May those who stood against me end up like all who have done wrong." It reminded me of Job's friends and the additional trouble that they have caused for Job. They have acted like enemies, instead of his friends.. as they keep constantly nagging him about how he must have a hidden sin in his life. It is unfair how they have treated him..
Still Job continues by saying "I will teach you about God's power!" Job will not hide anything. He is still faithfully living out his life for God in front of everyone, which is what I want to continue to do. I want to preserve even in my times of trials and not hold anything back. I want my life to show something more..
Job's friends have saw how Job lived out his life, yet they still continue to tell lies about him and continue to spread lies about him as they talk to those they know. They continue to speak fruitless words that are sharper than any two-edge sword that is stabbing the heart of Job as he continues to lose what little support he has left..
He follows up by saying "this is what God has planned for the evil" since his friends kept talking about what they thought God would do to those who were doing evil. Those who do evil will die and no-one willl miss them. Their quickly acquired money will go to the poor. Their many piles of clothes will go to the poor. Their riches will be temporary--here one day, gone the next. They will be suffering terrible fears! They may try to run away from storms, but it will chase after them. God will seek justice over those who do evil. There is no doubt about it. Even if we do not see it, God does have a plan to seek justice and deal with those who do evil.
Job 28
People can go very far and dig very deep to find treasures in rocks. But where can anyone find wisdom? You see, this is the real treasure! It cannot be found anywhere on this earth. Money cannot buy it. People cannot search the earth to physically find it!
Wisdom is worth far more than the possession of crystal or gold. It is of such value! Where can we find understanding? Wisdom is very hidden in this world we live in. No one place on earth contains wisdom. Not in the grounds. Not in the mountains. If not there, then where?
Death and destruction have never seen wisdom, and why would they? Only God knows the way to wisdom. Only God can give us understand! God gave the wind its power! God decided how big to make the ocean! He decides where to send the rain! Then, God said: He looked at wisdom and discussed it.
He examined it and saw how much it is worth. hen he said to humans,
‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom. To turn away from evil is understanding.’” (verses 27-28)
Job continues his reply to Eliphaz:
Where is the justice? When will evil people face the consequences of their actions? Will the murderers answer for killing the poor person? People are forced to sleep outside with no warmth to protect them. Why? What is going on? When will the judgment come?
Job mentions a number of scenarios that depict the real world as we see it. The violence, the prejudice, the mistreatment, and the sins against others. Darkness is the friend of a evil person. It is their morning. Even though they do it in darkness to hide it. Their sins and actions are not hidden from God. Justice will come to those who do evil...in His timing. We may not see the justice happen, but God will act with justice against those who have sinned. There will be a great judgement. All will be judged for their actions. We cannot change how others act, but we can control how we act and where our hearts are.
When judgment would come for Job, he would be proven innocent that no sin brought on his testing. The judgment would show his heart and what he did and did not do. Even if his friends kept pointing out the ways that he may or may not have sinned, the truth is that God will point out those areas in Job's life if there is an outstanding sin that he did not ask for forgiveness for. His friends would also face judgment of their own for what they did do as well.
Job 25
Bilead gives a short answer to Job:
In Bilead's reply he questions how Job can say he is really innocent in God's eyes. In Bilead's words, he says the moon nor stars can be considered pure. I, quite honestly, think that the sun, moon, and stars would be considered pure, because they are not human. There would be nothing faulty about them! Bilead describes humans as much less pure. We are describes as maggots. I don't know about you, but being described as maggots is kinda creeping me out. Maggots. On our worst day---in our human state of being fallen, I would consider us scum..or puss...but maggots? Bilead does make a good point though. We cannot even say that we are good or pure before God. God is the most holy of holies. God is perfect! We are not.. Once we are His children, we are not maggots though. We are sinners, saved by His grace! Something, they did not begin to know about yet..
Job 26
Job answered Bilead:
Job has reached the point of sarcasm. He begins to talk about how helpful and supportive Bilead is. He says how foolish he is as a man, while Bilead is so "wise". Then Job says the underworld and ghosts must have given Bilead such wonderous information.
God is everywhere! Death cannot be hidden from God. God created the world out of nothing! God is our Creator! He can calm the storms! The clouds tremble when God clearly gives a command to them! God does so many wonderous things! There is NOTHING that God cannot do! While Job's friends are not supporting him, God is there! God is everywhere! We only get the slighest bit of what God says and does. We do not know the whole story, but we only get the slighest whisper of what God is doing and speaking into our lives. Job did not know or understand what God is doing. Neither do I or you. We do not know the story God is writing for our own lives, but God is working greatly! God never stops working. We do not have to know what God is doing, in order to believe that He is the reason something is happening!
Job 27
Job makes the powerful decision to not give in to his friends. He makes the decision to not give in to their countless lies! It is so easy to give in to people when they are constantly nagging you, but Job stood his ground. He is going to stay innocent and plead for his innocence before the Lord. He is much different than those who do evil. When those who do evil are at their last breath, God will not listen to them. They will have missed their opportunity to enjoy talking with the Lord! There will be without hope, but Job still has his hope even with his trials and testings!
What verse stood out to me is verse 7, where it says: 'May my enemies be punished like those who are evil. May those who stood against me end up like all who have done wrong." It reminded me of Job's friends and the additional trouble that they have caused for Job. They have acted like enemies, instead of his friends.. as they keep constantly nagging him about how he must have a hidden sin in his life. It is unfair how they have treated him..
Still Job continues by saying "I will teach you about God's power!" Job will not hide anything. He is still faithfully living out his life for God in front of everyone, which is what I want to continue to do. I want to preserve even in my times of trials and not hold anything back. I want my life to show something more..
Job's friends have saw how Job lived out his life, yet they still continue to tell lies about him and continue to spread lies about him as they talk to those they know. They continue to speak fruitless words that are sharper than any two-edge sword that is stabbing the heart of Job as he continues to lose what little support he has left..
He follows up by saying "this is what God has planned for the evil" since his friends kept talking about what they thought God would do to those who were doing evil. Those who do evil will die and no-one willl miss them. Their quickly acquired money will go to the poor. Their many piles of clothes will go to the poor. Their riches will be temporary--here one day, gone the next. They will be suffering terrible fears! They may try to run away from storms, but it will chase after them. God will seek justice over those who do evil. There is no doubt about it. Even if we do not see it, God does have a plan to seek justice and deal with those who do evil.
Job 28
People can go very far and dig very deep to find treasures in rocks. But where can anyone find wisdom? You see, this is the real treasure! It cannot be found anywhere on this earth. Money cannot buy it. People cannot search the earth to physically find it!
Wisdom is worth far more than the possession of crystal or gold. It is of such value! Where can we find understanding? Wisdom is very hidden in this world we live in. No one place on earth contains wisdom. Not in the grounds. Not in the mountains. If not there, then where?
Death and destruction have never seen wisdom, and why would they? Only God knows the way to wisdom. Only God can give us understand! God gave the wind its power! God decided how big to make the ocean! He decides where to send the rain! Then, God said: He looked at wisdom and discussed it.
He examined it and saw how much it is worth. hen he said to humans,
‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom. To turn away from evil is understanding.’” (verses 27-28)
If we want wisdom, seek God! Seek Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind! Seek Him in everything! This is how you can get understanding!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Job 21-23
Job 21
Job, just like many others, just wants to be heard. He just wants the support of someone listening to him. He says "just listen, then when I am finished-- you can make fun of me." I can tell he just wants to be heard out. Sometimes this is the greatest part of our support. And there are many times when the only One who listens to us is the Lord. It would be nice for Job and others, if we could just have people who listen to us. Listening is the best way to work toward supporting someone. It is merely listening to them and hearing them out.
Job is showing that he is really afraid. Even evil people get to have success and see their grandchild, but look at Job---we see the unfairness. So many others do not follow God, and seem to have life better than those who do follow the Lord. Job is asking that the evil people are punished for their actions, not their children for their parent's actions---but let those who do evil suffer punishment and experience turmoil!
Both those who are poor and those who are evil and experience nothing but success. Both of them die, and must lay in the dirt together.
Job says all of this as his reply to his friends' remarks about the evil he apparently has in his life. There is no truth in his friends' words. Not only is there no truth in it, there is no comfort in his friends. They may be "there" for him (Job), but in all reality--they are not being there and supporting him. They are just adding to his agony!
Job 22
Eliphaz responds.
Job's friend may be getting a bit ticked off, but they are getting specific on how Job sins "sooo much". Eliphaz begins to list possible sins that Job must have in his life. After listing possible reasons, Eliphaz says: "That is why traps are all around you, and sudden trouble makes you afraid. " (verse 10). Eliphaz seems awfully high of himself to be pointing out possible sins that Job may have, but does not realize the sins that he, himself, has committed against Job and God. Then Eliphaz says that Job is walking an old path that evil people walked long ago.
Eliphaz instructs Job to return to God, so that he may be restored in all things. Eliphaz brings up that God will bring Job good things once again. There is talk of silver and gold, which has me wondering if this is a bit of the prosperity gospel that has arisen in our day. Is our spiritual wealth compared based on our physical, monetary wealth? Is this where Job's friend(s) are going with their speeches?
Job 23
Job: I still complain today. I groan, because I still suffer.." wait for it.." If I knew the way to God's house, I would go there to plead my case to Him." I love Job's boldness. What if we approached God's throne with great confidence and boldness like Job does when he presents his case to God? What if I brought my struggles to God in a likewise manner?
In Job's speech, we see that if we go before God to speak to Him, He will listen to us! "Since I am an honest man, he would let me tell my story. Then my Judge would set me free!" (verse 7). Job may not understand his struggles, but he is beginning to really "get it". In verse 10-12, we see Job's heart despite all the hurts and pains he faces:
But God knows me.
He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold.
I have always lived the way God wants.
I have never stopped following him.
I always obey his commands.
I love the words from his mouth more than I love my food.
He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold.
I have always lived the way God wants.
I have never stopped following him.
I always obey his commands.
I love the words from his mouth more than I love my food.
Job has no reason to believe evil is the reason for his troubles. He has faithfully lived for the Lord---seeking to follow His commands, and this is a test that will prove it for Job.
Darkness (or trials) will not keep Job quiet. Even though he goes through trials, he will speak. He will speak loudly and boldly, as a child of God. God has this testing as a plan from God, but God has many other plans for Job. The same is true for all of us. We may be going through a really rough time, but God is refining us and testing us which will prove us to be honest and obedient to the Father our God. There are many other plans in store for us. God is doing something, even if we cannot see it!
Job 17-20
I am not sure why I have not read the suggested reading plan since Saturday night, but I have not..I think it is just from shear exhaustion. Not the greatest reason, but it seems to be the reason for getting behind. I have discovered if you miss one day, it is difficult to get back on track. I have no goal other than to dig into God's Word. I do not care how many chapters I read, or if this reading plan takes me longer than a year. It is about me choosing to not give up. It is not about seeing how fast I can go through the entire Bible, but the process and how much God continues to teach me as the result of choosing to use this particular reading plan to go through the Bible. If I do it in a year, great. If takes me a year and a half or two years, that is okay too.
Job 17
In verses 1-3, Job really nails me to a T. I am feeling broken and alone, yet I know God is there..but it feels like He is my only support sometimes. Or, at least--it feels like I lack support in many areas. I know, there are people in my life..but, sometimes it just feels like I am very isolated and alone in my struggles. Mostly because I am the one going through my own personal struggles, and they can be very "in your face" at times..What really struck me is the desire to give up. Sometimes, this is me..which is not something I like to acknowledge. I am reminded of Peter when he sees Jesus walking on water. He could handle his circumstances of standing on the water as long as he stayed focused on Jesus, but once he took his eyes off Jesus..he began to seek. Likely if I keep my eyes on Jesus, I would not drown...but if I take my eyes off of Jesus, my circumstances will overwhelm me.
Sometimes it is a bit harder to find or remember that there is hope when situations surround you on such a deep level. I see this in Job's speak for the 17th chapter. He is in a really difficult place and can't find hope.
Job 18
Bilead begins to speak about why does Job think he/they are stupid. Then, he follows up by describing the life of those who do evil to attempt to make a point that Job must be caught by the Lord doing evil. What is interesting is Bilead says that they will not be remembered and they are "chased out of this world". When he is speaking about those who do evil, numerous things he says relates to what has been happening to Job: diseases, his children, everything being burnt up.. He ends by saying "this is what happens to people who do not know God."
Bilead is deeply insulting Job as he continues to speak about how Job must have done some sort of evil.. This just continues to prove Job's point that he didn't have any support from his friends. Some friends would go far to take care of his friends. While they left their homes and lands to be with Job, what asset are they really being? What kind of support are they really being to Job as he goes through his trials?
Job 19
Job begins to speak on how Bilead has insulted him time and time again! If Job had sin, it is his problem not theirs. They may use his troubles to explain that he must have some sin in his life. I think there is a limit to how many times to confront someone's sin. It is a very delicate matter and they have done it wrongly. If the sin is against you personally, address it once or two with witnesses. But what his friends are doing to him is just plain wrong!
Job states that God is the one who has done all of this. Taking away Job's honor, hitting him on every side, and taking away his hope.. among other things. Everyone looks upon Job as a stranger and foreigner. They make fun of him and hate him. Job feels that God is against him, and he is God's enemy.
Despite all that he has gone through, Job knows that he will still see God! And that is the excitement for him. He may be regaining his hope..
Job 20
Zophar begins to speak, because he felt offended and has to say what is on his mind. Zophar picks up where Bilead left off about the life of those who plan and do evil. They are chased away and never to be seen away, as their body wastes. Their children will have to repay what he has stolen from the poor. The man, Zophar is speaking of, loves to do what is evil and will not give it up. God will deal with him about his evilness. After committing acts of evilness, his success is gone and he is never satisfied. He will be pressed with troubles and all his problems will come down on him.
Again, they are pointing to evil desires as Job's explanation for disaster striking him and his family. In verse 23, he says: "If he does get all he wants,
God will throw his burning anger against him.
God will attack him and rain down punishment on him."
Job 17
In verses 1-3, Job really nails me to a T. I am feeling broken and alone, yet I know God is there..but it feels like He is my only support sometimes. Or, at least--it feels like I lack support in many areas. I know, there are people in my life..but, sometimes it just feels like I am very isolated and alone in my struggles. Mostly because I am the one going through my own personal struggles, and they can be very "in your face" at times..What really struck me is the desire to give up. Sometimes, this is me..which is not something I like to acknowledge. I am reminded of Peter when he sees Jesus walking on water. He could handle his circumstances of standing on the water as long as he stayed focused on Jesus, but once he took his eyes off Jesus..he began to seek. Likely if I keep my eyes on Jesus, I would not drown...but if I take my eyes off of Jesus, my circumstances will overwhelm me.
Sometimes it is a bit harder to find or remember that there is hope when situations surround you on such a deep level. I see this in Job's speak for the 17th chapter. He is in a really difficult place and can't find hope.
Job 18
Bilead begins to speak about why does Job think he/they are stupid. Then, he follows up by describing the life of those who do evil to attempt to make a point that Job must be caught by the Lord doing evil. What is interesting is Bilead says that they will not be remembered and they are "chased out of this world". When he is speaking about those who do evil, numerous things he says relates to what has been happening to Job: diseases, his children, everything being burnt up.. He ends by saying "this is what happens to people who do not know God."
Bilead is deeply insulting Job as he continues to speak about how Job must have done some sort of evil.. This just continues to prove Job's point that he didn't have any support from his friends. Some friends would go far to take care of his friends. While they left their homes and lands to be with Job, what asset are they really being? What kind of support are they really being to Job as he goes through his trials?
Job 19
Job begins to speak on how Bilead has insulted him time and time again! If Job had sin, it is his problem not theirs. They may use his troubles to explain that he must have some sin in his life. I think there is a limit to how many times to confront someone's sin. It is a very delicate matter and they have done it wrongly. If the sin is against you personally, address it once or two with witnesses. But what his friends are doing to him is just plain wrong!
Job states that God is the one who has done all of this. Taking away Job's honor, hitting him on every side, and taking away his hope.. among other things. Everyone looks upon Job as a stranger and foreigner. They make fun of him and hate him. Job feels that God is against him, and he is God's enemy.
Despite all that he has gone through, Job knows that he will still see God! And that is the excitement for him. He may be regaining his hope..
Job 20
Zophar begins to speak, because he felt offended and has to say what is on his mind. Zophar picks up where Bilead left off about the life of those who plan and do evil. They are chased away and never to be seen away, as their body wastes. Their children will have to repay what he has stolen from the poor. The man, Zophar is speaking of, loves to do what is evil and will not give it up. God will deal with him about his evilness. After committing acts of evilness, his success is gone and he is never satisfied. He will be pressed with troubles and all his problems will come down on him.
Again, they are pointing to evil desires as Job's explanation for disaster striking him and his family. In verse 23, he says: "If he does get all he wants,
God will throw his burning anger against him.
God will attack him and rain down punishment on him."
Those who do evil will be destroyed. I really do not know why Job, a righteous man, did not know that those who commit evil will suffer consequences for their actions? Zophar said the same kind of things that Bilead said about an evil man will reap troubles and problems from pursuing their own selfish, evil desires.
I wonder if they carefully explore their own lives to see if they have sin in their own lives..
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Job 14-16
Today's message was a good one. One that I really needed. On days like today when I am feeling a bit defeated, I need to remember Jesus is my advocate! Jesus is the One who never leaves me nor forsakes me!
Job 14
Our lives are short and full of trouble. Sounds rather accurate since we live in a fall world where we are sinful human beings and wrestling against this spiritual war that will be going on until Christ finally comes to save the day. God determines how long we live. He determines what particular trials we face. God sets the limits of our lives. Job is voicing his frustrations he has to God. He is so small, yet God continually watches over him. Job sees it as constant attacks. Job mentions that if he had a second life coming, it'd be a different story as far as his sufferings go. The sufferings of our lives is not all we have. There is another life after this---a glorious life if we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and recognize our need for Him! The sufferings we go through on this earth are nothing compared to eternity. Suffering is not all we have. We need to be attentive to how God may be working in our midst. We have more than just suffering even if that's all we see.
Job 14:22:
"He feels but the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself."
Job 15
Job 16
Job's friends give him trouble, not comfort. Many friends head down this path, which is many times we must choose our true, genuine friends over acquaintances. We must choose these friends wisely. Job's friends didn't encourage him, or offer him hope. They only brought criticism and trouble. Job says what I would like to say on given day: “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. (Job 16:6)
Sometimes we need to speak what we are aching to say. One can only put on a mask for so long. Job begins to talk with God about what he is feeling. He is feeling personally attacked by God and he feels defeated. But still...
Job knows there is someone in Heaven speaking on His behalf! Likewise when we feel defeated, we need to remember.. Jesus advocates for us even when we do not have the words to speak and can only cry. Jesus is our advocate!
In Job 16:19-21, Job says:
Job 14
Our lives are short and full of trouble. Sounds rather accurate since we live in a fall world where we are sinful human beings and wrestling against this spiritual war that will be going on until Christ finally comes to save the day. God determines how long we live. He determines what particular trials we face. God sets the limits of our lives. Job is voicing his frustrations he has to God. He is so small, yet God continually watches over him. Job sees it as constant attacks. Job mentions that if he had a second life coming, it'd be a different story as far as his sufferings go. The sufferings of our lives is not all we have. There is another life after this---a glorious life if we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and recognize our need for Him! The sufferings we go through on this earth are nothing compared to eternity. Suffering is not all we have. We need to be attentive to how God may be working in our midst. We have more than just suffering even if that's all we see.
Job 14:22:
"He feels but the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself."
Job 15
His friend called Job's opinions worthless. What we say is never worthless if it is from our experiences that cut us at the core of our being. His friend, Eliphaz, does not address where God's heart is.. He only goes on to say that Job's words show he is guilty of hiding sin. Eliphaz goes on to talk about an evil man, and only he can be this troubled and stuck in suffering. He uses all these important people to seek to define Job's spiritual circumstances. People do not equate to God's truth no matter who they are. Only God can say whether someone is indefinitely hiding sin in their heart and life. He ends by telling Job that people without God have nothing as a way to say Job is without God or stuck in some deep spiritual sin.. Some friend..
Yet many of us have friends that try to walk all over us, and over analyze our situations or what we "should" be doing in their eyes..
Why didn't Job have a friend to sit and pray with him, if his friends firmly believed that Job was stuck in sin?
Job 16
Job's friends give him trouble, not comfort. Many friends head down this path, which is many times we must choose our true, genuine friends over acquaintances. We must choose these friends wisely. Job's friends didn't encourage him, or offer him hope. They only brought criticism and trouble. Job says what I would like to say on given day: “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. (Job 16:6)
Sometimes we need to speak what we are aching to say. One can only put on a mask for so long. Job begins to talk with God about what he is feeling. He is feeling personally attacked by God and he feels defeated. But still...
Job knows there is someone in Heaven speaking on His behalf! Likewise when we feel defeated, we need to remember.. Jesus advocates for us even when we do not have the words to speak and can only cry. Jesus is our advocate!
In Job 16:19-21, Job says:
Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Job 10-13
I had a bit of a time getting around to my study, but once I finally settle down and find a place to comfortably read the Bible on my phone...I am good to go! =) Tonight, I got to read and dig into Job 10-13. I really appreciate the lessons Job learns, which helps me to (A) cope with my own illnesses, (B) appreciate the friends I do have, and (C) how to bring these issues up with God instead of avoiding talking with God about it!
Job 10
What I value most is how Job handled his struggles. Job is not afraid to voice his opinion to God, his Creator. He is mad, frustrated, bitter, and hurting. When we are innocent and still suffer, only God can give us relief. God knows the reasoning for our sickness, and God chooses if we get the relief we long for. Job continues to plead his case with God. He asks the questions many of us would be too afraid to ask.
In my own trials, I began to ask my own questions. Why shouldn't we? God is bigger than our questions. God is MUCH bigger than our questions. God is so much bigger than us! God can handle our questions, just like he could handle Job's questions and statements that showed the very heart of Job and the dark place he was stuck in. His friends did not get it at all, but how could they? They still had families back home, property probably, children, and they had their health. They did not get it, but God does. God gets it every single time. As Job reminds me, God knows you and me completely.. Not only does God know us completely, but He also completely "gets it"!
Job 11
His friend Zophar questions Job's knowledge of God. He says he wishes God would tell Job how wrong he was. In verses 12, he says how can a stupid person get wise. In a way, it seems like all he is doing is criticizing Job.
He tells Job to prepare himself and to pray to God, and then to remove his hidden sin. He calls Job evil, and he needs to put away his sin in order to regain his hope and for his troubles to go away. I think if Job had a sin issue, he would have already taken care of it properly. But, as we seen Job diligently made offerings on each of his children's behalf..If Job had a sin issue, he would have taken care of it properly and privately..not waiting for trouble to strike. His friend ensured that there must be hidden sin to cause his circumstances.
I would hope that his friends would show themselves as genuine friends. They were there, but were not listening to Job. They just said what they felt like saying versus listening. Their silence tendencies seemed to stop on the 7th day.
Job 12
His friends may have thought they were the wisest of the wise, but they are not the source of wisdom. There are many like them. People think they are completely wise in all their knowledge, but they are not. Job says that all they would have to do is look at the earth to find the source of wisdom.
God is the source of wisdom and power. He gives and takes away power and wisdom. He chooses to receives it. He can take away our source of power, strength, and wisdom if we are misusing it. It is so easy to feel like we are on top. We need to be careful. This is where pride comes in, and we stumble and fall. It is easy to fall. We need to remember that God will use the fools to shame the "wise". We are in His power! All of us, whether we are "wise" or considered fools, we each answer to Him.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says: "Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful."
Job 13
Job tells his friends that he is just as smart as his friends, but he makes a bold statement.. a radical statement. "I don't want to argue with you. I want to argue with God." Sometimes, we have to pick our battles wisely. Who is it that will make a difference in Job's trials? Only God can!
Job compares his friends as worthless doctors who cannot heal, which is a fairly accurate statement from the physical illness statement. They have been trying to help. I do not know their hearts, but many times friends without illness wants to help and "fix" the situation sometimes. They cannot accurately give a treatment plan, which makes them "worthless doctors". They do not know what the illness breeds or involves.
Thankfully, I have the right kind of friends. They do not try to "fix" me, but they support me. This is all Job was asking for. He just wanted his friends to be there and SUPPORT him as he went through his enormous trials. That is all any of us are asking for. He just wanted support, just like all we want is support from our friends and those that care for us. We just want our friends to just be there and sometimes sit in silence if that is what we need at the time.
Job 10
What I value most is how Job handled his struggles. Job is not afraid to voice his opinion to God, his Creator. He is mad, frustrated, bitter, and hurting. When we are innocent and still suffer, only God can give us relief. God knows the reasoning for our sickness, and God chooses if we get the relief we long for. Job continues to plead his case with God. He asks the questions many of us would be too afraid to ask.
In my own trials, I began to ask my own questions. Why shouldn't we? God is bigger than our questions. God is MUCH bigger than our questions. God is so much bigger than us! God can handle our questions, just like he could handle Job's questions and statements that showed the very heart of Job and the dark place he was stuck in. His friends did not get it at all, but how could they? They still had families back home, property probably, children, and they had their health. They did not get it, but God does. God gets it every single time. As Job reminds me, God knows you and me completely.. Not only does God know us completely, but He also completely "gets it"!
Job 11
His friend Zophar questions Job's knowledge of God. He says he wishes God would tell Job how wrong he was. In verses 12, he says how can a stupid person get wise. In a way, it seems like all he is doing is criticizing Job.
He tells Job to prepare himself and to pray to God, and then to remove his hidden sin. He calls Job evil, and he needs to put away his sin in order to regain his hope and for his troubles to go away. I think if Job had a sin issue, he would have already taken care of it properly. But, as we seen Job diligently made offerings on each of his children's behalf..If Job had a sin issue, he would have taken care of it properly and privately..not waiting for trouble to strike. His friend ensured that there must be hidden sin to cause his circumstances.
I would hope that his friends would show themselves as genuine friends. They were there, but were not listening to Job. They just said what they felt like saying versus listening. Their silence tendencies seemed to stop on the 7th day.
Job 12
His friends may have thought they were the wisest of the wise, but they are not the source of wisdom. There are many like them. People think they are completely wise in all their knowledge, but they are not. Job says that all they would have to do is look at the earth to find the source of wisdom.
God is the source of wisdom and power. He gives and takes away power and wisdom. He chooses to receives it. He can take away our source of power, strength, and wisdom if we are misusing it. It is so easy to feel like we are on top. We need to be careful. This is where pride comes in, and we stumble and fall. It is easy to fall. We need to remember that God will use the fools to shame the "wise". We are in His power! All of us, whether we are "wise" or considered fools, we each answer to Him.
1 Corinthians 1:27 says: "Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful."
Job 13
Job tells his friends that he is just as smart as his friends, but he makes a bold statement.. a radical statement. "I don't want to argue with you. I want to argue with God." Sometimes, we have to pick our battles wisely. Who is it that will make a difference in Job's trials? Only God can!
Job compares his friends as worthless doctors who cannot heal, which is a fairly accurate statement from the physical illness statement. They have been trying to help. I do not know their hearts, but many times friends without illness wants to help and "fix" the situation sometimes. They cannot accurately give a treatment plan, which makes them "worthless doctors". They do not know what the illness breeds or involves.
Thankfully, I have the right kind of friends. They do not try to "fix" me, but they support me. This is all Job was asking for. He just wanted his friends to be there and SUPPORT him as he went through his enormous trials. That is all any of us are asking for. He just wanted support, just like all we want is support from our friends and those that care for us. We just want our friends to just be there and sometimes sit in silence if that is what we need at the time.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Job 1-9
I got behind since I didn't do yesterday's reading..So today, I chose to look at both sets of scriptures (yesterday and today). What we have is Job 1-9..
In Job 1-9, we see lots of trials..lots of suffering..for a reason Job does not know, but we can thankfully know the reasoning behind our own suffering and trials that we face for ourselves. Despite knowing the reason (being tested by the devil to see if we curse God..), it still makes trials very difficult and agonizing.. There is hope despite all we face, because of who our Creator is.
In the midst of great storm of trials, it is not easy to see the hope. We see this in today's reading in Job (chapters 1-9).
God says Job is righteous
The devil gets permission from God
Job is tested.
In Job 1-9, we see lots of trials..lots of suffering..for a reason Job does not know, but we can thankfully know the reasoning behind our own suffering and trials that we face for ourselves. Despite knowing the reason (being tested by the devil to see if we curse God..), it still makes trials very difficult and agonizing.. There is hope despite all we face, because of who our Creator is.
In the midst of great storm of trials, it is not easy to see the hope. We see this in today's reading in Job (chapters 1-9).
God says Job is righteous
The devil gets permission from God
Job is tested.
- First, he loses everything.
- Then, his health is tested.
The wisdom of his friends:
They left their home towns and mourned with Job. They stayed quiet for SEVEN whole days. I find that amazing. So often we are fixed on speaking, but there is such value in just sitting and being silent as a way to be with someone who is grieving.
The despair of Job is so great. He kept mentioning how he hated his life. He lost everything: animals, servants, all his children, and his wife too. He lived at a dump site scratching a score with broken pottery. That is a really big all time low.
Trials are difficult enough, but sometime friends try to help (like i think Job's friends did) that end up making things harder than they are. They kept blaming his extreme suffering on sin that he was hiding. They didn't really understand what to do or what Job was going through. I mean, it's hard to know.. especially when physical pain is lurking around and breaking our spirits..
Despite great trials when we feel our weakest, God is strengthening us spiritually..God will build us up and grow us so much, which I think and hope I will see as I read more of Job.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Genesis 8-11
Yesterday, I read chapters 8-11 in Genesis. It was a great time of sitting, reading, and meditating a little bit on what was said. Typically, I read the scriptures on my phone while resting..It has worked out pretty well for me. It has helped me to stay focused on the readings and avoid turning to any of the distractions that may tempt me. Ending up to read in a really quick, undistractable area of the house has really been effective for me getting into the Word deeper, and let me ponder what is being said and going on in the scripture.
With that said, let's get into a little bit of my world as I read the scriptures..
Genesis 8
As I continue to think about what it means to be broken, I look at Noah. Noah and his family lost everything pretty much in a sense, when God flooded the earth due to its destruction and getting beyond out of control. But what inspires me most is what Noah did afterwards. He spent a year and a couple days in a boat with just his family and animals. At this time, they were still just eating plants. How did they do it? God hadn't given them the command that they could eat meat yet..hmm.. Anyway in spite of their brokenness and God's provision, they praised Him. The scriptures say that Noah made an altar and worshiped God through sacrifice. There was no command, but I believe it was just the outpouring of Noah worshiping God. God had protected his family from the evil and spared them when God felt a start over was needed. Even when He wanted to start over, here was Noah who worshipped Him and was probably very faithful! I can see the power that brokenness has on our worship to God and how He can use everything for His ultimate good!
It was the continual result of sin that the entire race was wiped away with the exception of Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives. But what about his family and friends? what about the devastation that probably brought about? Whatever the case, he used it to worship God and bring him closer to God.
It was through the continual sin, and lives being shortened. Seasons were made, harvests and temperatures were created.
Genesis 9
God gave Noah and his sons the commands again to multiple and fill the earth, which they did very well on--I might add. They also were told to exercise control again against the animals. Multiply the earth and animals under control: The commands are very significant because this is the second time God has given them.
In Genesis 9:3, God gives the command for them to use meat as food. Everything on the earth is to be used for food.
What I found unique is in the 6th verse, God says--made them to be like me. Again, we see that we are in God's likeness. This verse relates to God's standard that if we kill, we ourselves must be killed. It reminds me that as Jesus died for our sins that we ourselves need to "kill" (not literally) our sinful selves. We need to put the old man away, and continually work to please God instead of working for evil.
A situation arised for Noah and his boys when Noah got drunk and ended up being naked. I think it was a matter of integrity. Instead of Ham doing something about what he saw, he decided to turn and go tell others. Instead of doing the thing of integrity, he chose to go talk. But when he told his brothers, they immediately did something of integrity. (Genesis 9:20-27). As a result, Ham was cursed. His brothers were blessed.
Also, God gave a very important promise. He would never again flood the earth. Hence, the rainbow =).
Genesis 10
The family of Noah was greatly multipled during this time, and filled the earth. They created their own nations.
Genesis 11
They wanted to build a tower for their own glory to avoid being scattered. No longer was there one language for all to speak. God came down from Heaven to see the tower. It was probably to see a perspective that seemed to have the ability to relate to the people.
Genesis 11:6 is a central verse for me as I go through the readings. "The LORD said, “These people all speak the same language. And I see that they are joined together to do this work. This is only the beginning of what they can do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want."
There is so much going on, and so much deterioration of evil in the people, communities, and worldwide. As the result, people are scattered and cannot speak to each other due to the language barrier which is a blessing in disguise.
Sometimes what we fear leads us to action results in our fears coming true. This is what happens to these people. They fear being scattered, do something, and boom everyone is scattered!
After yet another rebuking and discipline from God our Father, Shem's sons begin having kids in their 30s. I thought that was an interesting thing to see. In our culture, we see so much gearing toward having kids younger when in the Bible--they did not have kids until much later!
With that said, let's get into a little bit of my world as I read the scriptures..
Genesis 8
As I continue to think about what it means to be broken, I look at Noah. Noah and his family lost everything pretty much in a sense, when God flooded the earth due to its destruction and getting beyond out of control. But what inspires me most is what Noah did afterwards. He spent a year and a couple days in a boat with just his family and animals. At this time, they were still just eating plants. How did they do it? God hadn't given them the command that they could eat meat yet..hmm.. Anyway in spite of their brokenness and God's provision, they praised Him. The scriptures say that Noah made an altar and worshiped God through sacrifice. There was no command, but I believe it was just the outpouring of Noah worshiping God. God had protected his family from the evil and spared them when God felt a start over was needed. Even when He wanted to start over, here was Noah who worshipped Him and was probably very faithful! I can see the power that brokenness has on our worship to God and how He can use everything for His ultimate good!
It was the continual result of sin that the entire race was wiped away with the exception of Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives. But what about his family and friends? what about the devastation that probably brought about? Whatever the case, he used it to worship God and bring him closer to God.
It was through the continual sin, and lives being shortened. Seasons were made, harvests and temperatures were created.
Genesis 9
God gave Noah and his sons the commands again to multiple and fill the earth, which they did very well on--I might add. They also were told to exercise control again against the animals. Multiply the earth and animals under control: The commands are very significant because this is the second time God has given them.
In Genesis 9:3, God gives the command for them to use meat as food. Everything on the earth is to be used for food.
What I found unique is in the 6th verse, God says--made them to be like me. Again, we see that we are in God's likeness. This verse relates to God's standard that if we kill, we ourselves must be killed. It reminds me that as Jesus died for our sins that we ourselves need to "kill" (not literally) our sinful selves. We need to put the old man away, and continually work to please God instead of working for evil.
A situation arised for Noah and his boys when Noah got drunk and ended up being naked. I think it was a matter of integrity. Instead of Ham doing something about what he saw, he decided to turn and go tell others. Instead of doing the thing of integrity, he chose to go talk. But when he told his brothers, they immediately did something of integrity. (Genesis 9:20-27). As a result, Ham was cursed. His brothers were blessed.
Also, God gave a very important promise. He would never again flood the earth. Hence, the rainbow =).
Genesis 10
The family of Noah was greatly multipled during this time, and filled the earth. They created their own nations.
Genesis 11
They wanted to build a tower for their own glory to avoid being scattered. No longer was there one language for all to speak. God came down from Heaven to see the tower. It was probably to see a perspective that seemed to have the ability to relate to the people.
Genesis 11:6 is a central verse for me as I go through the readings. "The LORD said, “These people all speak the same language. And I see that they are joined together to do this work. This is only the beginning of what they can do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want."
There is so much going on, and so much deterioration of evil in the people, communities, and worldwide. As the result, people are scattered and cannot speak to each other due to the language barrier which is a blessing in disguise.
Sometimes what we fear leads us to action results in our fears coming true. This is what happens to these people. They fear being scattered, do something, and boom everyone is scattered!
After yet another rebuking and discipline from God our Father, Shem's sons begin having kids in their 30s. I thought that was an interesting thing to see. In our culture, we see so much gearing toward having kids younger when in the Bible--they did not have kids until much later!
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