Now It’s God’s Turn To Speak
Today’s Passages – Job 36-38; Proverbs 15
(Second Milers also read – Titus 2 – Hebrews 1; Memorize – Luke 6:38)
“Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.” – (Job 38:3)
It is now God’s turn to speak. God hasn’t said anything in this book since His earlier conversation with Satan; and the humans in the story were not privy to that conversation. All of this talk that has been going on since chapter 2 has been by people who really had no idea of the true circumstances regarding the calamity that Job was facing. They were clueless. Job’s friends were accusing Job, and Job was defending himself. They were all speaking on behalf of God; yet much of what they said was not true. However, now we will hear from the Source. God is speaking, and we know that everything that God says is true. By the way, you get the idea from the tone of this passage that God is not very happy about all that has been said. It kind of reminds me of a time when I was much younger when I was rebuked by an authority figure in my life. He had some things to say to me, and I was going to listen. God will spend take 4 chapters to basically remind Job and his friends that He is God, and they are merely humans.
As we read chapters 39 – 42 together tomorrow, pay close attention to God describing Himself, and His magnificent, omnipotent power. Between now and then, however, think a little bit of how much we are like Job and His friends. We are just little humans, trying to understand an infinite God. Let’s start thinking of ourselves as we really are. We are not much. We are pretty small and insignificant in the big scheme of things. And while we are at that, let us also start trusting God’s wisdom in allowing the things that have happened to us in our lives.
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Multiplying Words Without Knowledge
Today’s Passages – Job 33-35; Proverbs 14
(Second Milers also read – 2 Timothy 2 – Titus 1; Memorize Luke 6:38)
“Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.” – (Job 35:16)
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.” – (Proverbs 26:4)
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” – (James 1:19)
“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” – (Proverbs 17:28 )
There is entirely too much talking going on in this entire Book of Job. Job’s so-called friends should be listening to Job rather than rebuking him. He certainly has suffered enough. Even Job is talking too much by arguing with these idiots. They are all “experts” on God; yet there is much that they do not, and cannot understand.
We do the same thing, don’t we? We talk about things, and try to sound like we have complete knowledge on a subject; but half the time we really do not know what we are talking about, especially when it comes to talking about God. The best thing that we can do is quote Scripture if we have to talk at all. The older I get, the more I realize that I really do not know much. I should keep my mouth open proportionately to the amount of knowledge that I have, which means it should not be open much.
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Make a Covenant With Your Eyes
Today’s Passage – Job 30-32; Proverbs 13
(Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 4 – 2 Timothy 1; Memorize – Luke 6:38)
“I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” (Job 31:1)
In our reading we have been following the conversation between Job and his friends. Job has been declaring hi innocence: not that he claims sinlessness; but he does contend that his sins were open and confessed to God, and that he was not living a double life. His friends, however, are sure that Job must have some heinous secret sin in his life. In this chapter Job seems to be answering a charge regarding his fidelity. Perhaps the underlying accusation was that Job was an adulterer. Job’s answer in chapter 31 is that he had been faithful, not only in not touching that which is forbidden, but in not looking on another woman besides his wife.
In our culture the accepted instruction is, “you can look, but you just can’t touch”. Funny, my wife never bought into that line of reasoning. The fact of the matter is that looking might just lead to touching. Job said that he made a covenant, a commitment to himself and his eyes not to think (let alone look) upon a maid. David said something similar when he said that he would set no wicked thing before his eyes.
Men, we need to do the same thing regarding the opposite sex. We need to determine to keep our eyes and our minds on that which is pleasing to the Lord. Turn off the TV if you have to; get rid of the internet if you must, but do what you have to do to keep yourself from sinning against your God and your wife. It is wise to know your limitations and put up some fences to protect yourself. A little accountability will go a long way. And ladies, your not exempt from this either. Your lusting may not be for the opposite sex per say, but I am sure you have your weak areas as well. Maybe with you the struggle involves seeing things at the mall that you can’t afford. We all need to make this same covenant that Job made to keep us from seeing and thinking about the things that we know are not part of God’s perfect will for our lives.
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Where Can I Find Wisdom?
Today’s Passages – Job 27-29; Proverbs 12
(Second Milers also read – 2 Thessalonians 3 – 1 Timothy 3; Memorize – Luke 6:38)
“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12)
“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)
In today’s reading we have seen a continuation of what we have been reading for the past several days. Job is debating with his three friends regarding his calamity: they are claiming that Job is responsible; and Job is declaring his innocence. However, in the middle of this discussion is a passage dealing with wisdom. At first glance i wondered why God would put this teaching right in the middle of the discourse between Job and his friends regarding Job’s suffering; but then I remembered a similar teaching from the New Testament regarding trials and testing from the epistle penned by James. Remember that James admonished us to “count it all joy” in the trials; but then he added some instruction regarding wisdom:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”(James 1:5)
Apparently there is an association between enduring trials and wisdom. God doesn’t hold back wisdom to those who fear him and depart from evil. Job had the wisdom of God. We know this to be true because later on when God enters into the discussion He states that Job spoke of Him the thing that is right.
If you are going through a time of testing, don’t seek the world and its counselors for wisdom: go to God. If you fear Him and are seeking to do that which is right, God will give you the wisdom that you need to see your way through the trial. In order for you to get to the other side you will need God’s wisdom, coupled with God’s grace. It is apparent that Job had both of these attributes.
You can find wisdom in God’s Word. The Bible is full of the wisdom of God that will help you when you need it. You can also find wisdom from godly counselors who will take Biblical principles and help you to apply them to your situation.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Rapture – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Reading: Job 22-26, Proverbs 11, and 1Thesselonians 4 – 2Thesselonians 2.
Good morning. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1Thesselonians 4:13-18.
I feel sorry for those who do not believe in the catching away of the church, otherwise known as the rapture. I mean verse 15 starts off with: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord…”: it comes from the Lord. And verse 18 says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” How can you comfort someone who does not believe.
I never had a chance to track down the info, but someone once told me that the theory of the rapture was created by a woman in the 1800’s. I would just say great! At least someone is reading their Bible! 1Thessalonians was written around 52 AD. In 1Corinthians 15, and verses 51-57, (written around 55 AD) the Bible says, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And Jesus promised: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)
Jesus also said in Luke 17:26-27: “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”
Before Noah, Enoch was raptured. When the flood came, God protected Noah and his family in the ark. After the rapture of the church, the Great Tribulation period will begin, and God will protect the nation of Israel as He did Noah.
Jesus is coming back to catch His bride away. Everything is in place, and the rapture of the church could take place at any time. Are you ready? All you need do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Just realize you are a sinner. God’s Word says…
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: [AND] Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
It’s in our blood to sin: because Adam sinned, we all sin.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
BUT…
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And He made it so easy for us. Jesus took on Himself the hard part: dying for our sins on the cross. All we need do is receive Him into our hearts.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
One more thing about the woman from the 1800’s. I said she read her Bible, but she also probably liked good Godly music. This was written in the 1700’s…
Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
(Christ The Lord Has Risen Today by Charles Wesley)
Alleluia! Peace.
Posted in Guest Posts by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
How Long Will Ye … Break Me In Pieces With Words?
Today’s Passages – Job 19-21; Proverbs 10
(Second Milers also read – Colossians 4 – 1 Thessalonians 3; Memorize – Matthew 6:33)
“Then Job answered and said, How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?” (Job 19:1 & 2)
I did not have to read that long this morning to find the truth from God that I needed. Job is in the middle of the discourse with his three ‘friends’ who are accusing him of all kinds of wickedness; adding sorrow on top of sorrows. He is already as low as he can go, but these guys continue to beat him and kick him when he is down; and their weapons are their tongues.
“And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. … But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:6, 8 )
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)
The Bible has so much to say about the deadly nature of the tongue. Why are we so quick to run our mouths when God tells us very plainly that we are to be slow to speak. We all could avoid much of our problems with our mouth by simply not saying anything unless it is absolutely necessary. If we have to speak at all maybe it would be best if we paused and prayed about what would be the best thing to say.
Job’s friends were not helping him at all; they were making him worse. Remember, the purpose for their visit was to ‘comfort’ him. Maybe they should have just listened to him; even let him vent a little. Maybe, I should try the same thing. As a pastor I need to learn to listen more; pray before speaking; and, as much as possible, tell people what God said instead of what I think.
Lord, help me not to kill or maim any more people with my tongue.
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Today’s Passages – Job 15-18; Proverbs 9
(Second Milers also read – Philippians 4 – Colossians 3; Memorize – Matthew 6:33)
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Though He Slay Me
Today’s Passages – Job 12-14; Proverbs 8
(Second Milers also read – Ephesians 6 – Philippians 3; Matthew 6:33)
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” (Job 13:15)
In this statement we see Job’s declaration of faith in God. Though Job certainly has not figured out why God has allowed all of this tragedy to come into his life, he plainly declares here that no matter what God does to him (or allows to be done to him), he will continue to trust Him. When you and I read this book of the Bible it is easy for us, from the perspective of history, to identify with what Job has stated here. But think for a minute with me. If that were you or me going through what Job went through, how would we be feeling about God. If God were to allow us to lose everything all at once; and then to have excruciating physical pain be placed on top of it all, how would we react? Could we say, truthfully, “yet will I trust in Him”.
Last year I watched a movie/documentary called Amish Grace about the Nickle Mines tragedy in Lancaster, PA a few years ago. The movie recounts the true story of a troubled man who went into an Amish school house, shooting 10 little girls and killing 5 of them. The amazing thing is that the Amish people chose to trust God’s wisdom in allowing what happened. Though it was very painful; though it took a little time for all of them to come to this decision: they chose to forgive the man that shot their children. This was certainly a modern day picture of the what Job went through. These Amish folks did not understand why God had allowed it to happened, yet they continued to keep their trust in the Lord.
Most of the time I feel that my faith is so weak, I doubt whether it could stand up to such intense suffering. I guess it will have to be the grace of God that will sustain me through those dark days. I know that difficult days lie ahead. I want to prepare for them now by getting so close to God that it will be easier to trust Him when it doesn’t seem like He is even there.
I also wanted to make a comment about the second half of verse 15. Job says that he will maintain [his] ways before him (God). I believe what Job was saying here is that though he was being severely tested by the Lord, he was still going to continue to do what he had always done. In other words, he wasn’t going to quit. He was going to keep on living for the Lord through the difficult trial. I know that when we are going through trials in life it can be very difficult to “maintain” your walk with the Lord; but it is especially important to stay close to God during the tough times. Don’t quit.
Posted in Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Now There Is A Daysman
Today’s Passages – Job 8-11; Proverbs 7
(Second Milers also read – Ephesians 2 – Ephesians 5; Memorize – Matthew 6:33)
“For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.” – (Job 9:32-33)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” – (1 Timothy 2:5)
The word “daysman” in vers 33 of chapter 9 literally means a mediator. Job is lamenting because there is no one to bridge the gap between the righteous and holy God, and a sinner like himself. He already stated in verse 20 that he could not justify himself. God became man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as the God-man he came to justify sinners like Job, and you and me also. He was the go-between, the mediator, the one who came between God and men, so that men could come into the presence of an holy God.
Consider some of these verses regarding what Christ accomplished for us when He came to earth as a man and died for our sins:
“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” – (Matthew 27:50-51)
The veil in the temple separated men from God; but through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus, the veil was removed. Notice that the veil was torn from the top to the bottom, signifying that it was God that removed the veil that once kept man from Him.
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” – (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Jesus was fully God, yet also fully man. He understands what it is like to be tempted, because he experienced it; yet without sin. He, as our great high priest, went before us and opened up a door for us to now boldly enter into the presence of God. We can now enter into God’s presence through “the Door”; through “the Way”; through Christ.
There may not have been a “daysman” in Job’s time, but praise God, there is one now!
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Job by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Correction
Today’s Passage – Job 5-7; Proverbs 6
(Second Milers also read – Galatians 4 – Ephesians 1; Memorize Matthew 6:33)
“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:” – (Job 5:17)
As we read the Book of Job, we will see that although Job has been put through a severe trial through no fault of his own, he has a difficult time convincing his friends of his innocence. The more he defends himself, the more his friends are convinced that he must be guilty. I am reminded of the verse in the New Testament where Jesus admonishes us to “judge not”. Job’s friends certainly did not see the entire picture, yet they made assumptions based on the false notion that all trials are somehow caused by sin. On the other hand, Job went a little overboard in declaring his innocence. Is anyone truly innocent? Aren’t we all sinners that are deserving of judgment. The bottom line is that whatever God allows to take place in our life is better than what we truly deserve. We have no right to gripe about what God allows to come our way.
In the middle of this conversation,one of Job’s friends makes a marvelous statement, that I believe is supported by the teaching of Scripture. He says that we are to actually embrace the correction of the Lord. Now nobody enjoys correction, but we must understand that when God corrects us, He has nothing but our best interests in mind. He loves us with a perfect love, that far surpasses any love that any human parent can have for a child.
There have been many times in my life that I have experienced God’s “woodshed”; but I have learned that though the experience is not pleasant, it will make me a better child. I have learned to run to the Corrector, rather than away from Him. I will always be human, and I will always be in need of correction. It is kind of arrogant on our part to think that we are somehow beyond or above the correction of the Lord. Besides, correction is a great proof that we are His children. He only corrects us because He loves us.
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” – (Hebrews 12:5-8)
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