~ Click on this link for today's readings ~
Job 31:1-33:33 ~ 2 Corinthians 3:1-18
Psalm 43:1-5 ~ Proverbs 22:8-9
Old Testament - Great readings in Job today! In chapter 31 Job basically "rests his case." He gives his final plea. This chapter is the last time we'll read this many words from Job. Late in the book we'll get some brief words of repentance from Job after God speaks. In chapter 31 I like how Job lays out his case - and lets everyone know what his retribution should be. He basically gives a series of if / then statements. If I did this, then that should happen to me. This is similar to the book of Exodus' concept of the "law of retaliation", from Exodus chapter 21 verses 23-25: "But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." Do you see how Job's logic in chapter 31 is similar to this law of retaliation? You'll recall in our readings from Matthew chapter 5 that Jesus calls us beyond the law of retaliation (which was really a law of "limited-retribution" in its day, limiting people to retaliate only based on actual harm done - meaning, eye for an eye. Not a life for an eye, etc.). Jesus called us beyond this law of retaliation and beyond limited retribution to the highest law of love. Bible.org has an in depth look at Jesus' taking on the law of retaliation in Matthew 5:38-42 at this link. I think at the end of chapter 31 as Job rests his case, the scene may have looked something like this image below... with Elihu chomping at the bit to speak (as we know in chapter 32) in the upper left hand corner of this image...
Before we move onto Elihu - today in Job chapter 31 we read what I think is one of Job's most profound pleadings. It is a 10th century B.C. pleading that is ultimately fulfilled by a little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem who is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Here is Job's prophetic plea in verse 35 - ""If only I had someone who would listen to me and try to see my side!" You and I are so very fortunate that we do not need to make such a plea as this. Jesus is in heaven seated on his throne and will receive our prayers! Jesus listens to us! Jesus sees our side! It is humbling to look back toward the time of Job, and realize that Jesus had not yet walked the earth as a man and taken on the sins of the world on the cross. Jesus had not yet risen from the grave and ascended into heaven. Job was looking for someone to listen to him and to see his side. You and I are blessed immensely in this regard. We do not need to look anywhere else other than to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
In Job chapters 32 and 33, Elihu becomes angry at Job and his friends and presents his case! Elihu was sitting on the sidelines up until this point and obviously was ready to say a few words! It was amazing to read his words in chapter 32 - it was apparent to me that he was young and energetic and felt he had some very important things to say - and we will hear all that Elihu has to say between now and chapter 37! :) Interestingly, as we get to God speaking to Job and his friends in chapter 38, you'll note God does not condemn Elihu along w/ Job's 3 other friends. The English poet and artist William Blake made this wonderful engraving below in the year 1825 titled "The Wrath of Elihu":
New Testament - I love Paul's words in Second Corinthians verse 3 - "Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts." That is a great concept! We are living letters from Jesus sent out to the world! Have you ever thought of yourself as a letter from Jesus? I have not, but I like it! It's also interesting to realize that the Spirit living within us as Christians professes and gives witness to the glory of God oftentimes without us even realizing it. I heard a quote once that said something like, "Who you are is so strong that I cannot hear a word you are saying." Basically this quote means that the inherent nature of who we are overshadows our very words. It's more important than our words - people notice our inherent nature! Be it good or be it not so good... So, if the Spirit of Jesus is within us I do believe that the Holy Spirit gives witness and gives glory to God to others that we come in contact with - even if we don't say a word! This is the letter that we are from Christ to the world. The letter that is written on our hearts. And of course there is St. Francis of Assisi who said, "preach the Gospel at all times - use words only when necessary." Again, the Spirit of Jesus within us preaches the Gospel to the world even without us consciously saying words. Don't get me wrong - sometimes words are exactly what are needed. But oftentimes our very presence through the Spirit of Jesus living within us is more than enough. So, let us go forth into our world this week as living letters from Jesus to a hurting and dying world that so needs the Good News of the Gospel! Are you a letter from Jesus?!
Psalms - I think Psalm 43 verse 5 starts off with a couple of questions that then answer themselves by the end of the verse - "Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God!" I would agree with what this verse is getting at. If I find myself to be discouraged or sad, it comes as no great surprise to me that I have been putting my hope in things other than God. I have been perhaps even praising false idols. And the sure fire way to be freed from the discouragement or sadness? To put my hope once again in God and God only. And to praise him again! I think this Psalm verse is a great reminder to make sure we are not placing our hope in anything other than God. For anything other than God will only leave us empty in the end.
Proverbs - I love Proverbs 22 verse 9 - "Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor." It reads like an additional Beatitude from the book of Matthew / Sermon on the Mount. And it's so straightforward. Blessed are those who are generous. Why? Because they feed the poor. Doesn't get more straightforward than that! Although, I will say that we can be generous not only with our money, but in so many ways that we live our lives. We can be generous in spirit - to feed the poor in spirit. We can be generous with our time - to feed those who are time-starved. We can be generous with our encouragement - to feed those who are feeling down. We can be generous in our prayers - to feed those who may not yet know how to pray. And yes, of course, we can be generous with our finances - to feed those who are physically hungry. What are some ways that you are generous with the poor?
Comments from you - What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Grace,
Mike
Mike:
In your comment on Psalm 43, I really like the cartoon titled “Being Stalked Despite The Injection” [of TV, Radio, Movies, etc.] That is really a great cartoon!
~~~
On a different note, when I think of Job, it is amazing to me, and an encouragement to me, that he sought God with his whole heart.
He lost everything and people automatically assumed that was because “God was punishing him. As such, Job was severely criticized as being a liar when he said he loved God.
We really need to be careful with our words and in what we believe. We need to be forever freed from the lie that every bad thing that happens to someone is because God is punishing them.
Some people go through life thinking that every pain or every misfortune is God punishing them.
Yes, God is God and He has a plan, and His plan will not be thwarted. Yes, Satan rebelled against the Father in foolish, shortsighted and wicked pride.
Yet, God will even use Satan for His glory—even when Satan wants to spit in God’s eye because of foolish hatred toward God.
God does not delight in punishing people. Neither is He as is portrayed waiting with a big club in heaven to punish someone for a mistake.
Exodus 34 (NKJV)
6
And the LORD passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
7
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Since Job’s “friends” saw the misfortune of Job and his family, they may have assumed that Job was experiencing God “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children”.
Yet, this is God’s Name and God’s character: “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”.
Yet, it is also true that He will “by no means [clear] the guilty”. If a man or woman is judged for their sin, they really have to consistently persist in the foolish pride of Satan to be judged.
For God longs to forgive. He is ready to forgive. Yet, He will not let the guilty be unpunished.
And if a man or woman consistently and persistently sins, he or she opens up the following generations of his or her family to sin that must be judged by the Lord.
I really like this note on Exodus 20:5 in the Spirit Filled Life Bible.
Exodus 20 (NKJV)
5
you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6
but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“It was possible for four generations to live around the aged head of the family. Because of the close ties of a patriarchal family, the influence of the patriarch, good or evil, affected all generations under his control.”
Even today—in the very mobile and dispersed American family—the influence of parents on children through their choices is huge. I heard a testimony on Focus on the Family with James Dobson of a man who spoke at Promise Keepers. He shared, when he was a boy, how his father regularly beat his mother and tormented his family.
Yes, it crucial that we spend time with the Lord! We as humans are inherently sinners, and we need God’s grace.
What God allows to happen to us is God letting Satan “do his thing” so He can judge Satan and can bring us closer to God by forming the image of Christ within us.
Eventually all choices of good and evil (including those of Satan) will be judged, and good will forever triumph in heaven.
Finally, I like what Andrew Murray says in “With Christ In The School of Prayer”:
“It is in prayer, in the exercise of the faith that I have, in fellowship with the living God, that faith can increase. Faith can only live by feeding on what is Divine, on God Himself.”
“It is in the adoring worship of God, the waiting on Him and for Him, the deep silence of soul that yields itself to God to reveal Himself, that the capacity for knowing and trusting God will be developed.”
Amen.
Vance
Posted by: Vance Brown | August 29, 2006 at 04:02 AM
2Cor3
NOTES
1)Going to have to start keeping track of this - do most of the problems within the different "assemblies" have to do with outsiders or insiders?
Sure there will be persecution (later), mocking, and arguments by non-believers. But so far, in Corinth, it seems most of the issues (problems) addressed by Paul originate within the "brethren". Is that still true today?
2) In vs. 6 Paul mentions the "new" covenant. There were options in Greek. Paul chose "kainos" meaning - "with respect to". Not "new" from a point in time, but "with respect to" Scripture (OT).
This is not something Paul, or for that matter Jesus made up, the "new" testament is rooted in the "Old" Testamanet.
In John 3:10
"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things?" NIV
Nicodemus, a learned ruling member of Pharisees, was supposed to know about "rebirth by the Spirit". How? From the foreshadowing in Old Testament by the prophets. (Jeremiah 31:33,Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26)
3) Always glossed over the comments of Moses and Veil in 2Cor. I am guilty of always assuming the veil in Exodus was worn by Moses to protect the people of Israel. Protect them from being exposed to the brilliance of God so they would not be afraid.
Paul is saying here: Moses wore the veil so that people would not see the fading of the "glory". Symbolically, the LAW faded in glory from the start. It was glorious in how it was given to Moses and what it represented - God's standard for righteousness.
Over the years, as the people disobeyed the Law, added to the Law, and considered it as a set of rules (legalistic) to live by - its glory faded.
The people of Israel cannot perceive that the glory is faded from the Law. When they hear the Law read - the same veil is symbolically on their hearts - they think the "glory" is still in the Law. Jewish nation can't see Christ's message, because they don't see a need. Jewish people have a system - it works for them. They perceive the system (the Law) as full of glory to this day.
Paul is speaking of Israel as a "nation". Of course, individuals of Israel, have come to the Lord. James led an "assembly" in Jerusalem. Whe you turn to the Lord the veil is taken away, and you can see the truth. Glory is gone from the Old, which allows one to seek the "new" in Christ.
Is there a starting point and ending point to this national "veil" on Israels heart?
I believe it begins here:
Luke19:42 "..If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes." NIV
and will end here:
Rom11:25b "...Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in." NIV
4) Thinking out loud here:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." NIV
I wonder if a country that does not embrace Christ ever has a lot of (personal?) freedom. Or to the degree that a country embraces Christ - if it lessens - do (personal?) freedoms seem to diminish?
5)"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." NIV
We are being transformed into the image of Christ (sanctification) process. The Greek verb tense of "transformed" indicates "ongoing action done to us" (Present Passive) - through the Spirit. (Makes accessing the Holy Spirit in Rom12:1-2 VERY important.) Ultimately the process will be completed in heaven.
By the way this is not true just for Christians. The secular world is also being transformed. I am not very familiar with Biblical Hebrew, but I wonder if this process is being done to them???? In Psalm 135 when talking about idols, this comment is made:
Psalm 135:18 "Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them." NIV
Pray for the unsaved, in general - and those you personally know.
Posted by: John | August 29, 2006 at 07:51 AM