Job has said that God is not just.

11/30/2011 9:35:58 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God is just

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                  Reference:  Job 34-35

            Message of the verses:  Today we begin the second to the last chapter in Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Job, “Be Patient,” and it will cover chapters 34-37 of Job, which are the last four chapters of Elihu’s speech.  There are some very interesting things that Dr. Wiersbe has written at the beginning of this chapter that I want to begin with and quote some of them before we get started on this first main point. 

            He begins with stating that the word theology is the “science of God,” and I suppose that I will have to plead ignorance on that one for I did know that it was the study of God but did not know that it was the science of God.  He quotes A.W. Tozer from his wonderful book (“The knowledge of the Holy, Harper & Rod p.11).”  “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”  I would like at this time to mention how wonderful this book by Tozer is and how much of an impact that is has hand on my life, for this book along with several others including “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer are books that deal with the attributes of God which is essential in how to know God.  I cannot list all of God’s attributes, but will give a list of some that I have studied, as I suppose that the list is different depending on who you read, but I am sure that they all overlap having many of the one’s that I will list.

            I am taking this list from another book that is written by Tozer entitled “The Attributes of God.” “God is Infinitude (boundless); God is Immensity (enormity); God is Goodness; God is justice; God’s Mercy; God’s grace; God’s omnipresence; God’s Immanence (existing in all parts of the universe); God’s holiness; God’s perfection.  Now I will take from the list that is in “The Knowledge of the Holy:”  The wisdom of God; The love of God; The Sovereignty of God; The faithfulness of God; The Immutability of God; The eternity of God.  Chip Ingram in his book, which is kind of based on Tozer’s book entitled “God as He Longs for us to See Him” adds “The faithfulness of God”.  So here we have a list of God’s attributes and as mentioned these are essential if you want to know God. John MacArthur stated in one of his sermons that I have listened to in the past that all of God’s attributes were present at the cross and that statement has caused me to pounder about them.  One more statement about the attributes of God that is exceedingly important and must be remembered is that all of God’s attributes bring Him glory.

            As we look at the rest of the speech of Elihu it will be good to think about some of these attributes of God, for Elihu believes that he knows God fairly well, but does he.

            In the last four chapters of Elihu’s speech he will explain and defend the Justice of God in chapters 34-35 and then the Greatness of God in chapters 36-37.  We will begin to look at the Justice of God in this SD and probably conclude this subject in the next SD.

            Elihu has promised not to use flattery, but we will see that he is actually using flattery on himself, for since he believes he is so wise he can have all of the men listen to him, for he will continually exhort them to listen to him.  In 1Cor. 8:1b we read “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  The question that we must ask about Elihu was he growing or was he swelling.  When someone tries to explain and defend the Almighty they must have the humble heart of a worshipper and it must be done in love for how do we get this knowledge of God if it were not from His Spirit teach us, so He is the One to receive glory for are learning and teaching.

            God is just (Job 34:5-6, 10-37) (I will include verses 1-4 in this section too).  “1 ¶  Then Elihu continued and said, 2  "Hear my words, you wise men, And listen to me, you who know. 3  "For the ear tests words As the palate tastes food. 4  "Let us choose for ourselves what is right; Let us know among ourselves what is good. 5  "For Job has said, ’I am righteous, But God has taken away my right; 6  Should I lie concerning my right? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’”  (NASB)

            “1 ¶  Elihu continued: 2  "So, my fine friends—listen to me, and see what you think of this. 3  Isn’t it just common sense—as common as the sense of taste— 4  To put our heads together and figure out what’s going on here? 5  "We’ve all heard Job say, ‘I’m in the right, but God won’t give me a fair trial. 6  When I defend myself, I’m called a liar to my face. I’ve done nothing wrong, and I get punished anyway.’”  (Message)

11/30/2011 10:28:40 AM

11/30/2011 3:09:28 PM

            Job 34:10-37:  10 ¶  "Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, And from the Almighty to do wrong. 11  "For He pays a man according to his work, And makes him find it according to his way. 12  "Surely, God will not act wickedly, And the Almighty will not pervert justice. 13  "Who gave Him authority over the earth? And who has laid on Him the whole world? 14  "If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, 15  All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.

    16 ¶  "But if you have understanding, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words. 17  "Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous mighty One, 18  Who says to a king, ’Worthless one,’ To nobles, ’Wicked ones’; 19  Who shows no partiality to princes Nor regards the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands? 20  "In a moment they die, and at midnight People are shaken and pass away, And the mighty are taken away without a hand. 21  "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps. 22  "There is no darkness or deep shadow Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23  "For He does not need to consider a man further, That he should go before God in judgment. 24  "He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry, And sets others in their place. 25  "Therefore He knows their works, And He overthrows them in the night, And they are crushed. 26  "He strikes them like the wicked In a public place, 27  Because they turned aside from following Him, And had no regard for any of His ways; 28  So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted- 29  When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, That is, in regard to both nation and man?- 30  So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares of the people.

    31 ¶  "For has anyone said to God, ’I have borne chastisement; I will not offend anymore; 32  Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again’? 33  "Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it? For you must choose, and not I; Therefore declare what you know. 34  "Men of understanding will say to me, And a wise man who hears me, 35  ’Job speaks without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. 36  ’Job ought to be tried to the limit, Because he answers like wicked men. 37  ’For he adds rebellion to his sin; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God.’"  NASB

            Job 34:10-37 “10 ¶  “Listen to me, you who have understanding.  Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!  The Almighty can do no wrong. 11  He repays people according to their deeds.  He treats people as they deserve. 12  Truly, God will not do wrong.  The Almighty will not twist justice. 13  Did someone else put the world in his care?  Who set the whole world in place? 14  If God were to take back his spirit  and withdraw his breath, 15  all life would cease,  and humanity would turn again to dust.

    16 ¶  “Now listen to me if you are wise.  Pay attention to what I say. 17  Could God govern if he hated justice?  Are you going to condemn the almighty judge? 18  For he says to kings, ’You are wicked,’  and to nobles, ’You are unjust.’ 19  He doesn’t care how great a person may be,  and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor.  He made them all. 20  In a moment they die.  In the middle of the night they pass away;  the mighty are removed without human hand. 21  “For God watches how people live;  he sees everything they do. 22  No darkness is thick enough  to hide the wicked from his eyes. 23  We don’t set the time  when we will come before God in judgment. 24  He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,  and he sets up others in their place. 25  He knows what they do,  and in the night he overturns and destroys them. 26  He strikes them down because they are wicked,  doing it openly for all to see. 27  For they turned away from following him.  They have no respect for any of his ways. 28  They cause the poor to cry out, catching God’s attention.  He hears the cries of the needy. 29  But if he chooses to remain quiet,  who can criticize him? When he hides his face, no one can find him,  whether an individual or a nation. 30  He prevents the godless from ruling  so they cannot be a snare to the people.

    31 ¶  “Why don’t people say to God, ’I have sinned,  but I will sin no more’? 32  Or ’I don’t know what evil I have done-tell me.  If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’? 33  “Must God tailor his justice to your demands?  But you have rejected him! The choice is yours, not mine.  Go ahead, share your wisdom with us. 34  After all, bright people will tell me,  and wise people will hear me say, 35  ’Job speaks out of ignorance;  his words lack insight.’ 36  Job, you deserve the maximum penalty  for the wicked way you have talked. 37  For you have added rebellion to your sin;  you show no respect,  and you speak many angry words against God.’”  NLT

            As we remember Job’s speeches we can see that Job thought that there was injustice with God because of what had happened to Job, and because Job believed that he was not sinning to cause these things to happen to him he felt that God was not just.  Job had said on many different occasions that he wanted to go to court against God and then he would prove that he was right.

            Dr. Wiersbe says that Elihu presented three arguments to prove that there is no injustice with God and the first argument is “if God is unjust, then He is not God (verses 34:10-15).

            As we look over these six verses we see Elihu’s argument that God cannot do anything that is unjust or He would not be God at all.  Genesis 18:25 is a verse that Abraham is speaking and he says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” and we know that the answer to that question is Yes He will do right.

            If God is truly God then He can do no wrong or else He would not be God.  God is perfect and cannot do anything wrong. 

            When we began the book of Job we could see the sovereignty of God from the very first chapter, which shows that God is in complete control of all of His universe including those who live upon the earth and even the enemy of man, Satan, God was in complete control over. 

            I have been listening to some sermons from the book of Mark by John MacArthur and in the first chapter of Mark we see Jesus in complete control over the demons and how frightened they were of Him.  Mark’s Gospel is a fast moving Gospel and he jumps right into the ministry of Jesus in the very first chapter, for there are no genealogies in Mark, and there is nothing said about the birth of Jesus.  When we are born we are in the control of the evil one and are in his domain and so when Jesus came into the world and began His ministry He had to show that He was in complete control of Satan and his demons so that He could rescue us from Satan’s domain, and so it was important to see that Jesus was in complete control of Satan, which He showed by casting out the demons throughout the first part of Mark’s Gospel.  I believe that this goes along with what we are learning from the book of Job as we also see the sovereignty of God there.

            Argument number two is “If God were unjust, there could be no just government on earth” and this covers verses 16-20 of Job chapter 34.

            We see in at least two parts of Scripture that all human government was established by God:  Genesis 9:1-7; and then in Romans 13:1-7.  Now if mortal man can execute justice on the earth surely God can seeing that He is holy and sovereign.  We see in the book of Daniel chapter four and verses 25, 32, and 35 that God dethrones kings and removes the nobles and in doing so He shows no partiality.

            One of the problems in Elihu’s speech is that he only brought up God’s attribute of justice and forgot other attributes like His love, grace, and mercy.  This was a mistake on his part by not doing this for in doing this he left out part of God’s character. 

            Elihu’s third argument is that “if God were unjust, then He must not see what is going on in the world,” and this covers verses 21-30 of Job 34.

            One of the attributes we discussed earlier was God’s omniscient’s meaning He knows everything and He is also omnipresent, everywhere all of the time.  A human judge does not have these qualities and so must judge a case on the facts that are brought before him.  However God is not handicapped this way and so there was no reason for Job to want to go to court with God for He already knows all the facts.  We must remember that God never does answer Job’s questions, but He has many questions for Job that Job cannot answer.

            In one of Job’s speeches he complained that God did not judge sinful men, but Job was judging the Judge and this was not right.  God does not work on the timetable of man but His own time table.  God waited four hundred years to judge the nations in the Promised Land, and waited 120 years before he brought the flood upon the earth.  God is God and can do as He wants, for we cannot go against God’s plans, and that is what Job wanted to do.

            In verses 31-33 Elihu asks Job the same thing that his three friends did or tells Job the same thing the three friends did and that is to confess his sins to God.

            It is possible that at the end of verse 33 that Elihu wanted to get Job to speak about the charges he had brought up, but Job was silent, and this probably is why Elihu became angry with Job as can be seen in the remaining verses of chapter thirty-four.

            We will look at the next complaint that Job had brought up which is “There is no profit in obey God” in the next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One has to be careful to speak about God and who He is and what He can and should do.  It is better to continue to look at who God is in the Scriptures before giving speeches about Him like Job, Elihu, and Job’s three friends did.  I have called this blog 2Timothy 2:15 and it says, “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  This is what I desire to do.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      2Tim. 2:15.

2.      Phil. 4:11b.

3.      Rom. 12:1-2.

4.      Prov. 3:5-6.

5.      Eph. 6:10-18.

11/30/2011 5:46:24 PM  

           

God is Gracious (Job 33)

11/29/2011 8:57:40 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God is Gracious

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                  Reference:  Job chapter 33

            Message of the verses:  Today’s SD will begin the 33^rd chapter of Job, and in this chapter we continue to read the speech of Elihu.  Job’s friends were saying that the reason for the problems that Job was having was because of his secret sin that he would not admit, while Job never said that he was sinless he did say that it was not because of sin that these things were happening to him.  Elihu says that the reason that Job was having these problems was because God did not want him to fall into sin.  Now both of these reasons for believer’s problems can be found in the Scriptures.  Hebrews chapter twelve speaks of God disciplining believers while 2Cor.12 7-10 speaks of God giving Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him from sinning:  “7  Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! 8  Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9  And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  What can we say then about Job’s friends and also Elihu then because both of these truth are later found in Scripture?  Job’s three friends were wrong, for Job was not being punished because of sin and I don’t believe the Elihu was right either, for there is another reason why believers suffer, probably more than one, but sometimes we suffer because Christ suffered.  In the book of 1^st Peter he speaks of suffering first century believers who were suffering for the cause of Christ.  The book of Revelations speaks of many, many believers who will die for the cause of Christ just because they refuse to take the mark of the beast.  I have read that in today’s world that there somewhere around 1000 believer’s today who will die for the cause of Christ and this happens each and every day of the year.  As of the fall of 2011 there are now seven billion people on this planet and so 1000 of them each will die just because they believe that Jesus Christ is the Way the Truth and the life.  Back to Job chapter 33.

            Job 33:1-14:  “1 ¶  "However now, Job, please hear my speech, And listen to all my words. 2  "Behold now, I open my mouth, My tongue in my mouth speaks. 3  "My words are from the uprightness of my heart, And my lips speak knowledge sincerely. 4  "The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5  "Refute me if you can; Array yourselves before me, take your stand. 6  "Behold, I belong to God like you; I too have been formed out of the clay. 7  "Behold, no fear of me should terrify you, Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

    “8 ¶  "Surely you have spoken in my hearing, And I have heard the sound of your words: 9  ’I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me. 10  ’Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy. 11  ’He puts my feet in the stocks; He watches all my paths.’ 12  "Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this, For God is greater than man. 13  "Why do you complain against Him That He does not give an account of all His doings?

    “14 ¶  "Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it.”  (NASB)

            Job 33:1-14:  “1 ¶  "So please, Job, hear me out, honor me by listening to me. 2  What I’m about to say has been carefully thought out. 3  I have no ulterior motives in this; I’m speaking honestly from my heart. 4  The Spirit of God made me what I am, the breath of God Almighty gave me life! 5  "And if you think you can prove me wrong, do it. Lay out your arguments. Stand up for yourself! 6  Look, I’m human—no better than you; we’re both made of the same kind of mud. 7  So let’s work this through together; don’t let my aggressiveness overwhelm you.

   ‘ 8 ¶  "Here’s what you said. I heard you say it with my own ears. 9  You said, ‘I’m pure—I’ve done nothing wrong. Believe me, I’m clean—my conscience is clear. 10  But God keeps picking on me; he treats me like I’m his enemy. 11  He’s thrown me in jail; he keeps me under constant surveillance.’ 12  "But let me tell you, Job, you’re wrong, dead wrong! God is far greater than any human. 13  So how dare you haul him into court, and then complain that he won’t answer your charges?

    ‘14 ¶  God always answers, one way or another, even when people don’t recognize his presence.’’  (Message)

            In verses one through seven Elihu is saying that Job has no reason to fear what he is about to say to him because he was made the same way that Job was made.  It was Elihu’s desire not to turn this speech into a monologue, but that is exactly what he is doing.

            Now that Elihu shows Job that he wasn’t going to say anything that would hurt him he moves on to quote what Job has already said, but the problem is that it was not what Job had said but Zophar’s interpretation of what Job had said (11:4).  Job never said that he was sinless, but that is the way the others interpreted it. Job had always maintained his integrity. 

11/29/2011 9:33:23 AM

11/29/2011 1:27:10 PM

            Dreams and visions (Job 33:15-18):  “15  "In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16  Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, 17  That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18  He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol.’”  (NASB)

            “15  "In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds— 16  God opens their ears and impresses them with warnings 17  To turn them back from something bad they’re planning, from some reckless choice, 18  And keep them from an early grave, from the river of no return.’”  (Message)

            Let’s begin with a quote from the book of Hebrews chapter one and verse one and two:  “1 ¶  God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”  (NASB)  The reason for these verses is to say that dreams are not the regular way that God communicates with people in this age of grace.  However with that said we can surely remember that God did use dreams in the OT times, from Joseph’s dreams to Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams in the books of Genesis and Daniel.

            Sometimes when you have a bad dream it is because you ate something you should not have eaten before you went to bed.  Sometimes you have a dream at night because you were thinking about something that you should not have been thinking about sometime during that day.

            Job said that he had bad dreams and so did Eliphaz, but what Elihu is saying is that these could be messages from God.

            Suffering (Job 33:19-22):  19 ¶  "Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; 20  So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. 21  "His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. 22  "Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death.’”  (NASB)

            “19 ¶  "Or, God might get their attention through pain, by throwing them on a bed of suffering, 20  So they can’t stand the sight of food, have no appetite for their favorite treats. 21  They lose weight, wasting away to nothing, reduced to a bag of bones. 22  They hang on the cliff-edge of death, knowing the next breath may be their last.’”  (Message)

            At the beginning of his commentary on this section Dr. Wiersbe quotes C. S. Lewis from his book “The Problem of Pain.”  “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” And then Dr. Wiersbe continues “God sometimes uses pain to warn us, humble us, and bring us to the place of submission (Hebrews 12:1-11).  Elihu describes a sick man, suffering on his bed, wasting away because he has no appetite.  (Is this a picture of Job?)  But this man is suffering because God wants to get his attention and prevent him from breaking God’s law.”  I suppose that it is possible, maybe even provable that Elihu was alluding to Job.

            It would not be right to say that all suffering comes from God for we can do a good job of causing suffering ourselves.  We can do some bad driving and get into an accident or we can eat the improper diet or drink the wrong things which can cause our bodies to suffer.

            We have already discussed that all suffering is not from God because of sin in an earlier SD. 

            I think that it is fair to day that nobody really wants to be sick, and all we have to do is look at a churches prayer list and many of the items on it have to do with healing.  Here is a good quote from British Congregational theologian P.T. Forsyth:  “It is a greater thing to pray for pain’s conversion than its removal.”  The Apostle Paul learned this with the thorn in the flesh episode found in 2Cor. 12:7-10.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Had he (Paul) lost that messenger of pain, Paul might have been proud of his spiritual achievements; and that pride might have led him into sin.”

            The ministry of the mediating angel (Job 33:23-33):  “23  "If there is an angel as mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a man what is right for him, 24  Then let him be gracious to him, and say, ’Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’; 25  Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor; 26  Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. 27  "He will sing to men and say, ’I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me. 28  ’He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light.’

    “29 ¶  "Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, 30  To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life. 31  "Pay attention, O Job, listen to me; Keep silent, and let me speak. 32  "Then if you have anything to say, answer me; Speak, for I desire to justify you. 33  "If not, listen to me; Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.’”  (NASB)

            “23  "But even then an angel could come, a champion—there are thousands of them!—to take up your cause, 24  A messenger who would mercifully intervene, canceling the death sentence with the words: ‘I’ve come up with the ransom!’ 25  Before you know it, you’re healed, the very picture of health! 26  "Or, you may fall on your knees and pray—to God’s delight! You’ll see God’s smile and celebrate, finding yourself set right with God. 27  You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet, testifying, ‘I messed up my life—and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it. 28  But God stepped in and saved me from certain death. I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!’

    29 ¶  "This is the way God works. Over and over again 30  He pulls our souls back from certain destruction so we’ll see the light—and live in the light! 31  "Keep listening, Job. Don’t interrupt—I’m not finished yet. 32  But if you think of anything I should know, tell me. There’s nothing I’d like better than to see your name cleared. 33  Meanwhile, keep listening. Don’t distract me with interruptions. I’m going to teach you the basics of wisdom.’”  (Message)    

            Before we tackle this section I want you to take a look at this chapter from the NASB and look at how many times Elihu uses the word pit in this chapter and how he uses that word.

            In this section Dr. Wiersbe compares this angel that Elihu is speaking about with the Angel of the Lord.  The Angel of the Lord in some OT settings was the second person of the godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth from time to time in the OT to do different things.  We see Him talking to Abraham before destroying Sodom and Gemariah, and we also see Him talking to Joshua before he goes into battle.  We see him talking to Samson’s parents before Samson is born.  The point is that the Angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ and the way that Elihu describes what this angel is doing here one can picture it as being done by the Lord Jesus Christ. 

            The picture that he is painting is an awesome picture.  “The sinner is warned by dreams and visions and has been chastened by sickness and suffering.  He is drawing near to the grave, and ‘the destroyers’ (messengers of death,’ NIV) are about to capture him (33:22).  Then a special messenger suddenly stands up (‘one among a thousand’) and pleads his case.  The messenger has a twofold ministry:  he tells the sufferer what he ought to do (v-23), and he intercedes with God to have the person restored.”

            Now we can understand a bit better why this is a picture of Jesus Christ.  Job has been looking for a heavenly mediator and now Elihu speaks of one, but Job does not say a word, only waits for the Lord to speak to him.

            Job is taking his case to the highest court and after Elihu is done speaking to Job God will be the One who speaks.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can say that I would have never pictured what Elihu was speaking of as the Angel of the Lord, but it does make sense to me after reading Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary.  He again puts the cookies on the shelf where I can reach them.

            I have mentioned earlier that my devotions have been somewhat of a struggle for me and I suppose that it could be that it is important for me to continue doing them when the struggle comes.  I have not really felt like going to church at times and forced myself to go only to see that the message was something that I needed to hear.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      Continue to trust the Lord to enable me to get something out of my devotions and continue to do them through the power of the Lord.  My goal for these SD’s is to bring glory to the Lord, to learn things that He is teaching me, to use what I have been learning to encourage others and cause them to grow in the Lord.  “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor. 3:18)  That in a nutshell is why I am doing what I do.  Another verse to describe this:  “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

2.      Continue to learn contentment from what I do each day.

3.      That the Lord would bless our evening with Pastor Odle and his wife and that He will be glorified through this evening.

11/29/2011 3:04:31 PM

Elihu continues his speech

11/28/2011 7:01:19 PM

SPIRITURAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  God is speaking through me PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Job 32

            Message of the verses:  I will try and complete the last two sub-points in this section of Job.

            He was impartial (Job 32:14, 21-22): “14  "For he has not arranged his words against me, Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.”

            “21  "Let me now be partial to no one, Nor flatter any man. 22  "For I do not know how to flatter, Else my Maker would soon take me away.”

            First a short word about verses 11-13.  Elihu continues to speak about why he did not say anything until this point.

            Elihu is saying in verse fourteen that there was no one speaking against him when Job or his three friends were speaking so he would not reply to their arguments.  That last statement is in entirely true, for he will refute some of the things that the others have spoken.

            Elihu says in verse twenty-one that he will not flatter anyone and he will keep his word about that promise.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that there are six times in his speech that Elihu uses Job’s first name when talking to him, and that this was unusual for that to happen in that culture.  None of Job’s three friends used his name when talking to him.

            We can see that this young man is very angry, and he may have been impartial, but he is not neutral. 

            He was impelled (Job 32:16-20):  “16  "Shall I wait, because they do not speak, Because they stop and no longer answer? 17  "I too will answer my share, I also will tell my opinion. 18  "For I am full of words; The spirit within me constrains me. 19  "Behold, my belly is like unvented wine, Like new wineskins it is about to burst. 20  "Let me speak that I may get relief; Let me open my lips and answer.”

            It sounds like to me that Elihu really wanted to talk a long time before now, but felt that it was not right.  It may not have been right but since he waited so long he seems to be full of anger, and when a person is so angry he probably will not say the right thing.

            Elihu is compelled to speak because he thinks that God is the One that is giving him the words to say, however when God finally does speak at the end of the book he does not even mention Elihu.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that what I can learn from this section is when I am angry it is better not to say anything at all so I don’t get myself in trouble.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      When I am angry if I have to speak I need to think before opening my mouth.

2.      Continue to learn contentment.

11/28/2011 7:25:15 PM

Elihu Believes that God is Speaking Through Him

11/27/2011 9:17:18 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  God is speaking through me

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Job 32

            Message of the verses:  We have turned a corner in this study on Job, for Job has quit speaking to his three friends along with his three friends.  They were waiting for God to come down and zap Job or do something to him, because they believed that Job’s sin was the cause of all his trouble, but what are they thinking now.  Maybe they are wondering that if God did nothing that it was possible for Job to be right, and that would make them wrong.  If they were wrong then the same thing could happen to them, so I am sure that they had a lot on their minds when this young upstart began to speak to Job and to his three friends.

            I read in a commentary a long time ago that Elihu was actually more accurate about the Lord than Job’s three friends, and I think that is true, but as in all of us he was a sinner and also like in all of us he did not know all the things about God that there are to be known, and we may get the impression that he thinks he knows all about God.

            Dr. Wiersbe entitles this eleventh chapter of “Be Patient” “Elihu Has the Answers,” and he reminds us that this man actually has three chapters in the Bible that are from his lips.  In the beginning of this chapter Wiersbe writes that in these six chapters Elihu explained the character of God and also would apply this truth to Job’s situation.  “One way to outline his speech is as follows:

1.        God is speaking through me (Job 32; note verse 8).

2.       God is gracious (Job 33; note verse 24).

3.       God is just (Job 34—35 note 34:10-12).

4.       God is great (Job 36—37; note 36:5, 26).”

Elihu is not trying to prove that Job is a sinner who deserves all that has come upon him,

but that Job’s view of God was wrong.  We can tell that Elihu had listened to what the others have said because he will mention some of the things that they said. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Elihu introduced a new truth into the debate: that God sends suffering, not necessarily to punish us for our sins, but to keep us from sinning (33:18, 24) and to make us better persons (36:1-15).  Paul would have agreed with the first point (2Cor. 12:7-10) and the writer of Hebrews with the second (Heb. 12:1-11).

11/27/2011 5:10:12 PM

            We will now look at four reasons as to why Elihu should be able to speak to Job and his three friends:  “He was indignant (Job 32:1-3-5):  “1 ¶  Job’s three friends now fell silent. They were talked out, stymied because Job wouldn’t budge an inch—wouldn’t admit to an ounce of guilt. 2  Then Elihu lost his temper. (Elihu was the son of Barakel the Buzite from the clan of Ram.) He blazed out in anger against Job for pitting his righteousness against God’s. 3  He was also angry with the three friends because they had neither come up with an answer nor proved Job wrong. 4  Elihu had waited with Job while they spoke because they were all older than he. 5  But when he saw that the three other men had exhausted their arguments, he exploded with pent-up anger.’”  (I have included verse four in this section even though Dr. Wiersbe has not included it in his outline).  (Message)

            “1 ¶  Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2  But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. 3  And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. 4  Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 5  And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.’”  (NASB)

            In this short section we see four times that Elihu was angry.  Dr. Wiersbe quotes Aristotle to make a point about this section and also to learn something from his quote:  “It is easy to fly into a passion—anybody can do that, but to be angry with the right person to the right extent and at the right time and with the right object and in the right way—that is not easy, and it is not everyone who can do it.”  I suppose that the only One who ever did this was the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is true that Elihu did not follow what Aristotle wrote.

            He was inspired (Job 32:8-10)  (Including verses 6-7)         “6 ¶  So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said, "I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think. 7 "I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom. 8  "But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. 9  "The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice. 10  "So I say, ’Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’  (NASB)

            There are old fools and young fools, and it seems like Elihu thinks that Job and his friends are all old fools, and that he is not a young fool, but we will see. Proverbs 16:31:  “Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life.”  (Message)

            Elihu is saying that he had insight of the Spirit of God.  He is saying like Paul said in 2Cor. 2:11, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”  Elihu is saying to Job and his friends to keep listening to him because he was being led by the Holy Spirit.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We will have to continue to look at this chapter at a later date, hopefully tomorrow, but tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me.

            Today has been a good Lord’s Day as we were privileged to be feed from the Word of God two times today and are thankful for that.

            I suppose that we have seen some good things and some not so good things from Job’s friends as they spoke to Job, and that will be the case with Elihu too.  As I stated before we are not perfect and no one knows all about God, but we can learn from His Word things about God, important things about Him that will enable us to continue to follow Him in a way that will bring honor and glory to God.  We have to be open to the Word of God and the Spirit who teaches us from the Word of God so in that area Elihu is right.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      Trust the Lord to give me a good night’s sleep and a good day tomorrow as it is a special day for me.

2.      Trust the Lord to continue to teach me contentment.

11/27/2011 9:43:50 PM

           

Job looks ahead for God's justice

11/26/2011 9:23:13 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: Job looks ahead for God’s justice

Bible Reading & Meditation                                      Reference:  Job 31

            Message of the verses:  There are five sub-points under this last main point in this chapter of Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Job.  This will be the last time we will see Job talk until he will answer to God in chapters 38-42 of Job, and even then it will only be brief what he says.  The first verse in chapter 31 of Job is rather a famous verse, especially to those who have had read any books on handling problems with the opposite sex.

            Dr. Wiersbe reports that there are sixteen “if I have” statements in this chapter of Job, for Job is making his last defense before God of his innocence and it is like a sworn statement before God which he would actually sign and then if it is not true then Job would accept the curses that God would send into his life, including his death.

            “Job the man” (Job 31:1-12):  “1 ¶  "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin? 2  "And what is the portion of God from above Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high? 3  "Is it not calamity to the unjust And disaster to those who work iniquity? 4  "Does He not see my ways And number all my steps? 5  "If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hastened after deceit, 6  Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity. 7  "If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands, 8  Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

    “9 ¶  "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway, 10  May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her. 11  "For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges. 12  "For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.’”

            Dr. Wiersbe uses the AV or KJV and so all references to things that he reads in the Scripture are in that version.  I mostly use the NASB version of the Bible because that is the version that I have used since I became a believer in Jan. of 1974.  The newest version of the NASB has removed all of the “these” and “thous”  in it which makes it easier for me to read and from what I have read and heard people speak on this subject is that the NASB is the most accurate of all translations, although the ESB (English Standard Bible) which is rather new is a good translation too.  There are times, especially in the book of Job that I will look at other versions of the Bible to help me understand what is being said, versions like the (NLT) New Living Translation or some other one.  For those who have read these SD in Russia I have actually down loaded a Russian Bible and have put that on the SD’s as well. 

            In this first sub-section we will look at three sins that Job mentions, lust (1-4); deceit (5-8); and adultery (9-12).

            Lust:  We must look at Matthew 5:27-28 to see what Jesus says about the sin of lust.  “27 ¶  "You have heard that it was said, ’YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 28  but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Lust is the first step toward sin and sin is the first step toward death according to James 1:13-16.  We must understand that it is okay to look at a beautiful person, but if we are sleeping with that beautiful person in our minds then we are committing the sin of lust, and so Job has made a covenant with his eyes not to lust after women. The sin that is committed in the heart is not as destructive as the on committed with the body, it is the first step towards the act of sinning with the body.

            Deceit:  This sin is spoken of in verses 5-8.  Job did not use deception in any of his business dealings so that he would make more money.  He did not even walk with those who did such sinful things.

            Adultery: Job denies this sin in verses 9-12.  We have already mentioned that this sin begins in the heart and then leads to doing it in the body with what you have been acting out in your mind.  Job denies every doing this and actually adds curses that God can do to him if he is lying.

            “Job the employer” (Job 31:13-15).  13  "If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me, 14  What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? 15  "Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?’”

            During the time when Job lived there were many people who treated their slaves as if they were not even people, but Job even goes as far in his words to God saying that these were people who were formed in the womb just as Job was and therefore worthy of good treatment, and that is what Job did for them.

            “Job the neighbor” (Job 31:16-23, 29-32).  “16 ¶  ‘If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17  Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it 18  (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her), 19  If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering, 20  If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, 21  If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate, 22  Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow. 23  "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.’”

            “29  ‘Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him? 30  "No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse. 31  "Have the men of my tent not said, ’Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’? 32  "The alien has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.’”  

            Job has already spoken about his treatment of widows and orphans in response to Eliphaz’s speech (Job 22:6-9) and Job 29:12-17 was Job’s response, but Job is making an oath to God and so he mentions it again in this section.  Job was not boasting about how he treated these people, but simply telling the truth about it.

            We see in this section that Job cared for the widows, orphans, and also the poor, and even went so far as to deferent them in court.  He says that he treated them like his own family was treated, and we must believe that it was because God had given him such great wealth that he wanted to use it to help other who needed help.

            We see in verses 29-31 that Job was a good neighbor even to his enemies, for he did not rejoice when something bad happened to one of his enemies who wanted to or had wronged him. “17 ¶  Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; 18  Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.”  This is from Proverbs 24:17-18 and it is something that I have thought about for sometime as I have had people who have wronged me and therefore I must be content to allow the Lord to do to them what will bring glory to Him, and I must not rejoice when they are punished.

            We also see that Job was good to strangers as his house was always open for them.

            “Job the worshiper” (Job 31:24-28).  “24 ¶  ‘If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust, 25  If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so much; 26  If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor, 27  And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, 28  That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.’” 

“24 ¶  ‘Did I set my heart on making big money or worship at the bank? 25  Did I boast about my wealth, show off because I was well-off? 26  Was I ever so awed by the sun’s brilliance and moved by the moon’s beauty 27  That I let myself become seduced by them and worshiped them on the sly? 28  If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments, for I would be betraying God himself.’”  (Message)

Job is denying that he worshiped his material things that God had blessed him with, which is what Eliphaz had said about him in Job 22:24-25. 

There are times when I have committed that sin, but then something happened to me a while ago that taught me that I am to worship the Giver of gifts and not the gifts that the Giver has given me.  That is a hard lesson for me to learn, but I am learning it, and am thankful for the trouble that came into my life that caused me to learn this lesson.

I had mentioned that Job asked God, his adversary=Judge for three things at the beginning of this SD.  We can see that he had asked these things in verses 33-37 and so I will add these verses here:  “33 ¶  ‘Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 34  Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And kept silent and did not go out of doors? 35  "Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written, 36  Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown. 37  "I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.’”

I wish to make a comment on verse thirty-three about Job not covering his sin like Adam did, something that I may have mentioned in an earlier SD, but because it is right here in the text of verse thirty-three I wish to add something.  God did not answer Adam when he sinned because Adam blamed God because God had given Eve to him.  Adam had seen all of God’s wonderful creation and he knew that God was good, for the creation that God had made was for Adam and those who came after him, and of course God’s creation gave glory to Him. 

God does not answer Job, as we will see as we progress through the book of Job.  The reason is because God is sovereign and He does not have to answer to anyone.  God can do no wrong only good as goodness is one of His attributes.  This is where faith has to come in, trusting God to do the right things always because He is good.  I will again point you to Deuteronomy 29:29 to help understand what I am writing:  “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”  God does not have to tell us everything, and states here that He doesn’t tell us everything.  We must remember to be thankful for what He has revealed to us and that is a lot, for it is all in the Bible, and all we have to do is study it to obey the things that He has given to us.

Job seems to be at the end of his official demand with the Lord and that is why he tells us the things in these verses, but then he must have remembered something else and we find that in verse 38-40.

“Job the steward: (Job 31:38-40.  “38  ‘If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; 39  If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives, 40  Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.’”

“38  "If the very ground that I farm accuses me, if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse, 39  If I’ve ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners, 40  Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat, curse it with weeds instead of barley." The words of Job to his three friends were finished.’”  (Message)

Job is telling God that he has treated the land that he has like a person; he was a good steward of the land.  We can see in these verses also that Job seems to be saying that treated those who cared for his land good also.

We see at the end of verse forty that the word of Job and also his three friend were ended and I suppose after this last speech that Job made they may have all been wondering if God was going to talk to Job or punish Job for sinning.  Well we will have to wait on what is going to happen, but first we must look next at what Elihu has to say to Job and his three friends. 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would suppose that all human beings think that they have rights that they really don’t have.  Because of Adam’s sin the entire creation has been cursed, and all people born in Adam’s race are born with a sinful nature, but we still think that we have rights.  As I have been studying the book of Job and also the book of Genesis, the creation part of Genesis along with the fall of man I have come to realize that I don’t have all of the rights that I thought that I had. 

Another thing that I can see from studying the book of Job is that just as God said to Satan about Job that he was upright and blameless and he feared God.  I know that some of the things we read that Job said were because of the pain that he was going through, but as I read these last chapters that Job is speaking I understand more of why God said what He said about Job and have a great deal of respect for Job, wanting to live my life like he lived his.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.      Remember the truth of Deu. 29:29.

2.      Luke 22:40b, 46b.

3.      Philippians 4:11b.

4.      Romans 12:1-2.

5.      Eph. 6:10-18.

6.      Proverbs 3:5-6.

11/26/2011 11:17:22 AM