11/19/2011 8:24:33 PM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Three Bitter Complaints
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Job 24:1-25
Message of the verses: Today’s SD is on the last of the three bitter complaints that Job has against the Lord and Dr. Wiersbe entitles this complaint “God perplexes me” and it covers the entire 24th chapter of Job.
“1 ¶ "Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see His days? 2 "Some remove the landmarks; They seize and devour flocks. 3 "They drive away the donkeys of the orphans; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4 "They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether. 5 "Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness They go forth seeking food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert. 6 "They harvest their fodder in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked. 7 "They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold. 8 "They are wet with the mountain rains And hug the rock for want of a shelter. 9 "Others snatch the orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge. 10 "They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. 11 "Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but thirst. 12 "From the city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not pay attention to folly.
“13 ¶ "Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor abide in its paths. 14 "The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is as a thief. 15 "The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, ’No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face. 16 "In the dark they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light. 17 "For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
“18 ¶ "They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their portion is cursed on the earth. They do not turn toward the vineyards. 19 "Drought and heat consume the snow waters, So does Sheol those who have sinned. 20 "A mother will forget him; The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered. And wickedness will be broken like a tree. 21 "He wrongs the barren woman And does no good for the widow. 22 "But He drags off the valiant by His power; He rises, but no one has assurance of life. 23 "He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways. 24 "They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up; Even like the heads of grain they are cut off. 25 "Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?’” (NASB)
We remember that Job is looking for a court day with the Lord, and this is what Job is saying as he begins this speech that speaks of how perplexed that Job is with the Lord. If Job could find this court date with the Lord he would be there. Latter on he will find it, but when he does he will not say much to the Lord.
I attend a Bible Study with a group of men that has been going on for about eight years now and this year we meet a couple times a month and are studying a book that is written by John MacArthur entitled “The Battle For the Beginning,” which covers most of the first three chapters in Genesis. This past Friday we listened to a sermon by John MacArthur entitled “The Fall of Satan,” as this goes along with the topic of origins. The reason that I bring this up is that in the first half of this sermon MacArthur touches on the book of Job and actually his first reference is from the 23rd chapter of Job and the first twelve verses which is what we looked at a couple of days ago. He goes on to say that when you look at the 38th chapter of Job all the way to the end of the book that God never answers Job’s questions, for God is sovereign and can do what he wants to and does not have to answer to anyone, not even His children. He also mentions Deuteronomy 29:29 in this message, which I have mentioned on various times in these SD’s because it is so full of meaning especially for the book of Job. If anyone would like to listen to this message they can go to www.gty.org and when you get there click on the “resource” button and then in the search box type in “The Fall of Satan,” and you can then listen to it or download it to listen to latter.
We will break this chapter up into three different topics; “injustices in the country (Job 24:1-11); “Crimes in the city” (Job 24:12-17) and “A curse on the wicked (Job 24:18-25).
“Injustices in the country:” In this first section Job speaks of those who move boundary markers to use the land as if it were their own, for there were no fences in Job’s day. They would steal the livestock as if it was their own, and Job speaks of the wicked doing this and God not doing anything about it. We see in verses 5-11 a very graphic description of the poor, one of the most graphic in all of Scripture.
Job is telling this to his friends because the people who he is describing are wicked and God has not done anything to them, so why is Job being “picked on by God?”
“Crimes in the city:” In verses 12-14 Job is speaking of murders that happen in the city and says that God is doing nothing about them. In verse 15 Job mentions sexual sins. Murders and sexual sins are common place in many cities around this world so what Job is saying is right on.
“A curse on the wicked:” It is hard to say exactly what this section is saying, a description of what will happen to the wicked, or a denunciation or a curse on the wicked by Job, which is what Dr. Wiersbe believes Job is saying.
Dr. Wiersbe writes, “Job’s malediction can be summarized like this: ‘May the wicked vanish like foam on the water or snow that melts in the heat of the sun (vv-18-19). May they be forgotten by everyone, even their own mothers, as they rot in the grave (V.20). May their wives be barren and give them no heirs (v.21). May their sense of security and success vanish quickly as they are brought low, mowed down like wheat in the harvest’ (vv.22-24).”
Now let’s look at what Job says to his critics in verse twenty-five: “25 "Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?”
I have heard it said that God does not pay at the end of the week, and it is a good thing that He does not for the fact is that we are all sinners, and one day the Lord Jesus Christ will return to planet earth and reign for 1000 years and at the end of that time there will be what the Bible calls the “Great White Throne Judgment.” Only un-believers will be there, for the believers will have trusted that their sins were already judged at the cross when Jesus took the punishment those sins and for all sins and so Job need not be too upset, nor we either for one day all of the wrongs will be taken care of.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think that the words of David and then Paul are good for me to look at now: Psalm 139:23-24 “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” 2Cor. 13:5-6 “5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test? 6 But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.”
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Continue to trust the Lord in all of the situations that I am in, but the good times and the bad times.
2. Continue to learn contentment through the good times and the bad times.
11/19/2011 9:18:49 PM
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