John 4

Greetings!  The Samaritans were half-breed Jews who came about during the time when Israel and Judah were exiled to Babylon.  The Jews hated them, and the feelings were mutual.  For Jesus to talk to a woman in public, let a lone a Samaritan woman, was almost scandalous. 

Jesus knows her heart and mind and gently gets to her real need.  She does what we all tend to do: Shifts the subject when things get uncomfortable. 

But what does she do when she discovers who He is?  She runs to tell people!  Did she know everything about Jesus?  No, but she knew enough to tell others what she was aware of.  We should do the same.

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

4     The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹ Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

We “must worship in spirit and in truth.”  Both are vital.  Sound theology is important.  We can’t just go on feelings.

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³ Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Yes, Jesus really is the Savior of the world.  Forget all the movies with heroes who save the world from physical destruction.  Jesus is the real Savior.

Jesus Heals the Official’s Son

⁴³ After the two days he left for Galilee. ⁴⁴ (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) ⁴⁵ When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.

⁴⁶ Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.”

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. ⁵¹ While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. ⁵² When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.”

⁵³ Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and all his household believed.

⁵⁴ This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

What a powerful miracle.  Jesus showed that He didn’t even have to be present to perform it.  He knew everything about the situation.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

John 3

Greetings!

This is where the phrase “born again” typically comes from.  Jesus is emphasizing that we are born spiritually dead and need to be born spiritually to have eternal life.

Verse 16 is one of the most famous in the Bible.  It is a simple and unique summary of the Gospel.  Yet even it clearly notes that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  “Whoever believes in him shall not perish” means that whoever does not believe in him will perish.  Of course, “belief” isn’t just intellectual acknowledgement that He exists, it is trusting in him and following him as Lord.   If people would just keep reading to verse 18 they would see this more clearly.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3     Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

⁴ “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

John the Baptist’s Testimony About Jesus

²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put in prison.) ²⁵ An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷ To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.

 John the Baptist was so humble.  If only we had his attutide every day, that we must become less and Jesus must become greater in importance to us and the world.

³¹ “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

V. 36 states again that if you reject Jesus you will remain under God’s wrath.  How can so many church leaders miss this?  How can they preach that there are other paths to God? 

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

John 2

Greetings!

This includes the famous water-to-wine passage.  It was a lot of wine – probably 150 gallons or so.  Some people try to claim that it was just unfermented grape juice, but that is highly unlikely.  I’m not a drinker, and I despise most of the marketing around alcohol and the problems it causes, but the Bible does not prohibit any alcohol consumption.  It teaches that we shouldn’t get drunk, we should obey laws and we shouldn’t tempt others with our drinking.

Was Jesus rude to his mother in v. 4?  I doubt it.  I picture him saying that with a grin.

This is the first of eight miracles highlighted by John, showing Jesus’ control over nature, life, healing and more.  We have heard this story so many times that it is easy to lose the majesty of it.  Try to imagine being one of the disciples or servants who witnessed this miracle, and consider what they would have thought.

Jesus Changes Water to Wine

2     On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

¹¹ This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus Clears the Temple

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸ Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰ The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. ²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ²⁵ He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

The Gospel of John was not necessarily written chronologically.  This clearing of the temple may have come at the end of Jesus’ ministry as recorded in other Gospels, or He may have done it more than once.

Men had tried to control the Jewish religion and profit from the sacrificial system.  This is not what God had in mind.  Jesus had a righteous zeal and anger and it was demonstrated here.  He was not the “Jesus meek and mild” as He is often portrayed.  He was meek and mild in the good sense, but not in a wimpy way.

Jesus had authority over the temple because He is God.

John 1

Greetings!  This is one of my all-time favorite chapters. 

Read verse 14 before reading verse 1.  The “Word” is Jesus.  Verse 1 is a carefully written presentation of his deity – that is, Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity.  He created the world.  He was not created. 

The Jehovah’s Witness’ translation of the Bible falsely inserts “a” in front of God at the end of verse 1, so that it reads, “the Word was a God.”  But this is simply not there in the original.  It was added to change the Bible to match their theology.

John

The Word Became Flesh

1     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning.

³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Jesus brings life.  We are spiritually dead and He is the only way to salvation.  We are in the dark and do not understand it until He shines his light in our lives.

⁶ There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

The John referred to in v. 6 is John the Baptist, not John the disciple and author of this book.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

This begins the theme of being born again spiritually (more on that in chapter 3).  He gives us this right; we don’t earn it.

Jesus was a Jew who came first to the Jews as the predicted Messiah, but they rejected him.

V. 12 notes that we become children of God.  Despite what people say, we are not all children of God. 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We should all strive for the perfect balance of grace and truth that Jesus has.  He never lied and was bold in proclaiming the truth, yet He has limitless grace for those who repent and believe (i.e., trust and follow) him.

¹⁵ John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” ¹⁶ From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

²⁴ Now some Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

V. 29 is a clear declaration of Jesus; purpose: To be the sacrifice that would take away our sins!

Jesus’ First Disciples

³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.

Andrew was humble and loving.  Once he met Jesus he wanted to bring others to him.  I pray that we have the same passion to point others to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The text doesn’t fill in the details, but it seems that Nathanael might have had some sort of supernatural experience under the fig tree or he realized there was no way Jesus could have known he was there without being omniscient.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Introduction to the Gospel of John

Greetings!

The Gospel of John is one of the most famous books in the Bible.  You could do whole sermons on literally hundreds of individual verses.  It will be hard not to over-comment on this series!  Most people have heard of John 3:16 but there is so much more to it than that.   

I used to not care for this book very much.  But the more I’ve studied it the more I like it.  It has so much great content and is beautifully written.  It has a different style than the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) but no contradictions to them.

Some liberal scholars insist that this Gospel wasn’t written by John and was written 100 years after the resurrection, but the evidence does not support that view.  It was already being quoted by church leaders before that time. 

Nearly half of the book covers the week before the crucifixion and resurrection.

John weaves in accounts of 8 miracles that highlight different aspects of Jesus’ deity and ministry, starting with turning water to wine at the Cana wedding feast.   It includes the raising of Lazarus from the dead, many direct claims to Jesus being God, extended and heating confrontations of the Pharisees, and much more.

See The Gospel of John Movie for an overview of my favorite Bible movie.  It is a word-for-word presentation of this book.  It has excellent acting and production values.

Proverbs 22

Greetings!

22     A good name is more desirable than great riches;

to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

It is amazing and a bit scary how quickly you can lose a good name.  Even a lifetime of achievement and good works can be ruined with a careless decision. 

² Rich and poor have this in common:

The Lord is the Maker of them all.

³ A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,

but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

I am writing this just a few days after Hurricane Ike hit Texas, so this was timely! 

⁴ Humility and the fear of the Lord

bring wealth and honor and life.

⁵ In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares,

but he who guards his soul stays far from them.

In the New Testament Paul says that “bad company corrupts good character.”  I didn’t believe this as a kid but looking back I see how true it is.  But it can impact adults as well.  We need to take the message of the Gospel out into the world, but our core should be a solid group of authentic Christians who hold us accountable. 

⁶ Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

That is a famous verse about parenting.  It typically seems to be interpreted as “teach your kids the right things, then they’ll go off and be wild, then they’ll return to God.”  I also heard an interesting interpretation that it was about looking at your child as an individual, with the emphasis on the “he” (i.e., Train a child in the way he should go . . .”

Regardless, it is clear that teaching God’s way is always the best way.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,

and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Excessive debt has destroyed so many marriages and lives.  I highly encourage people to use ministries like Crown Financial or Dave Ramsey to learn good money management practices and get out of debt.  You can’t serve the Lord to your full potential if you are always stressed about debt and wasting money on interest payments.

⁸ He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,

and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹ A generous man will himself be blessed,

for he shares his food with the poor.

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;

quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹ He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious

will have the king for his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!”

or, “I will be murdered in the streets!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;

he who is under the Lord’s wrath will fall into it.

That is an interesting verse – it seems to say that the encounter with the adulteress is a punishment.

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Children are not born good.  They are cute, but selfish, prideful, covetous, etc.  They need to have bad habits driven from them. 

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth

and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Sayings of the Wise

¹⁷ Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise;

apply your heart to what I teach,

¹⁸ for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart

and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the Lord,

I teach you today, even you.

²⁰ Have I not written thirty sayings for you,

sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹ teaching you true and reliable words,

so that you can give sound answers

to him who sent you?

²² Do not exploit the poor because they are poor

and do not crush the needy in court,

²³ for the Lord will take up their case

and will plunder those who plunder them.

²⁴ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,

do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵ or you may learn his ways

and get yourself ensnared.

²⁶ Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge

or puts up security for debts;

²⁷ if you lack the means to pay,

your very bed will be snatched from under you.

This is simple: Don’t co-sign loans for someone else unless you plan to pay the debt.  If the professional lenders think the person is a bad credit risk, who are you to disagree with them? 

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone

set up by your forefathers.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work?

He will serve before kings;

he will not serve before obscure men.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 60

Greetings!  This Psalm has some information about the reign of King David that isn’t included in the books of Samuel or Chronicles. 

God can use many means to bring us to him. 

Psalm 60

¹ You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us;

you have been angry—now restore us!

² You have shaken the land and torn it open;

mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

³ You have shown your people desperate times;

you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

⁴ But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner

to be unfurled against the bow. Selah

⁵ Save us and help us with your right hand,

that those you love may be delivered.

⁶ God has spoken from his sanctuary:

“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem

and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.

God is in control of all things.  He either makes things happen or lets them happen for his good and ultimate purpose.  Some people don’t like to hear or believe that.  They think that God can’t be all-powerful and all-loving or He wouldn’t let bad things happen.  But each of us does evil things.  If God vanquished all evil at noon today then at 12:01 we’d all be gone.

⁸ Moab is my washbasin,

upon Edom I toss my sandal;

over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰ Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us

and no longer go out with our armies?

¹¹ Give us aid against the enemy,

for the help of man is worthless.

¹² With God we will gain the victory,

and he will trample down our enemies.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 59

Greetings!  I don’t think many of us will ever know the fear and anxiety of having someone try to kill us.  And not just one time, but for many years.  And not just anyone, but the king of the country – God’s annointed king!  We would have no one to turn to – no police, no media - no one to to protect us.

Here are some of David’s thoughts as he was being persecuted.  May we cry out to God in our times of need, and may we also not whine about the little things in life that aren’t even worth discussing.

Note how he praises God - his loving God – and wants the results to give God glory and not David.  It is so tempting to want our good deeds to bring us glory before men, but we should always want the glory to go to God.

Psalm 59

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam. When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O God;

protect me from those who rise up against me.

² Deliver me from evildoers

and save me from bloodthirsty men.

³ See how they lie in wait for me!

Fierce men conspire against me

for no offense or sin of mine, O Lord.

⁴ I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.

Arise to help me; look on my plight!

⁵ O Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel,

rouse yourself to punish all the nations;

show no mercy to wicked traitors. Selah

⁶ They return at evening,

snarling like dogs,

and prowl about the city.

⁷ See what they spew from their mouths—

they spew out swords from their lips,

and they say, “Who can hear us?”

⁸ But you, O Lord, laugh at them;

you scoff at all those nations.

⁹ O my Strength, I watch for you;

you, O God, are my fortress,

¹⁰ my loving God.

God will go before me

and will let me gloat over those who slander me.

¹¹ But do not kill them, O Lord our shield,

or my people will forget.

In your might make them wander about,

and bring them down.

¹² For the sins of their mouths,

for the words of their lips,

let them be caught in their pride.

For the curses and lies they utter,

¹³ consume them in wrath,

consume them till they are no more.

Then it will be known to the ends of the earth

that God rules over Jacob. Selah

¹⁴ They return at evening,

snarling like dogs,

and prowl about the city.

¹⁵ They wander about for food

and howl if not satisfied.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength,

in the morning I will sing of your love;

for you are my fortress,

my refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁷ O my Strength, I sing praise to you;

you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Psalm 58

Greetings!

Psalm 58

¹ Do you rulers indeed speak justly?

Do you judge uprightly among men?

² No, in your heart you devise injustice,

and your hands mete out violence on the earth.

³ Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

I can relate to that.  Original sin is a sound and well supported concept.  We are born with sinful natures and need to have them shaped and improved by parents.  But we still need a Savior because we can’t fix our sinful natures ourselves. 

I remember doing all sorts of bad things even as a 4-5 year old – lying, stealing, coveting and more.  Sinning came quite naturally to me. 

⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,

like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

⁵ that will not heed the tune of the charmer,

however skillful the enchanter may be.

⁶ Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;

tear out, O Lord, the fangs of the lions!

⁷ Let them vanish like water that flows away;

when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.

⁸ Like a slug melting away as it moves along,

like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—

whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.

¹⁰ The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,

when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹ Then men will say,

“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;

surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

David wanted to see God’s justice now.  But if God removed all evil at noon today, where would you be at 12:01?  I know I’d be destroyed. 

Still, it is good that we desire that evil be done away with.  Jesus defeated sin and death at the cross, so in a sense we already have the victory.  We can live our lives with confidence in that.  But there are still many things God wants to play out.

Job 40-42

Greetings!  This brings us to the end of Job, where God is speaking and Job responds.

40     The Lord said to Job:

² “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?

Let him who accuses God answer him!”

So many of us are quick to judge God using our man-made reasoning. 

³ Then Job answered the Lord:

⁴ “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth.

⁵ I spoke once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I will say no more.”

⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

⁷ “Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

⁸ “Would you discredit my justice?

Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

⁹ Do you have an arm like God’s,

and can your voice thunder like his?

¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,

and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath,

look at every proud man and bring him low,

¹² look at every proud man and humble him,

crush the wicked where they stand.

¹³ Bury them all in the dust together;

shroud their faces in the grave.

¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you

that your own right hand can save you.

Only God can save us.  We can’t save ourselves, and we can’t forgive ourselves for our sins against God.

¹⁵ “Look at the behemoth,

which I made along with you

and which feeds on grass like an ox.

My study Bible software said that this is probably a hippopotamus.  They look friendly, but are incredibly fierce.  They can even take on crocodiles!  I’ve seen them up close and personal on mission trips to Kenya.  They are fast and they are strong, inside the water and outside.  They kill more humans than any other animal.

¹⁶ What strength he has in his loins,

what power in the muscles of his belly!

¹⁷ His tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,

his limbs like rods of iron.

¹⁹ He ranks first among the works of God,

yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

²⁰ The hills bring him their produce,

and all the wild animals play nearby.

²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies,

hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

²² The lotuses conceal him in their shadow;

the poplars by the stream surround him.

²³ When the river rages, he is not alarmed;

he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.

²⁴ Can anyone capture him by the eyes,

or trap him and pierce his nose?

41     “Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook

or tie down his tongue with a rope?

The Leviathan is probably a giant crocodile.

² Can you put a cord through his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook?

³ Will he keep begging you for mercy?

Will he speak to you with gentle words?

⁴ Will he make an agreement with you

for you to take him as your slave for life?

⁵ Can you make a pet of him like a bird

or put him on a leash for your girls?

⁶ Will traders barter for him?

Will they divide him up among the merchants?

⁷ Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

⁸ If you lay a hand on him,

you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

⁹ Any hope of subduing him is false;

the mere sight of him is overpowering.

¹⁰ No one is fierce enough to rouse him.

Who then is able to stand against me?

¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.

God owes us nothing.  We owe everything to him.

¹² “I will not fail to speak of his limbs,

his strength and his graceful form.

¹³ Who can strip off his outer coat?

Who would approach him with a bridle?

¹⁴ Who dares open the doors of his mouth,

ringed about with his fearsome teeth?

¹⁵ His back has rows of shields

tightly sealed together;

¹⁶ each is so close to the next

that no air can pass between.

¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another;

they cling together and cannot be parted.

¹⁸ His snorting throws out flashes of light;

his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹ Firebrands stream from his mouth;

sparks of fire shoot out.

²⁰ Smoke pours from his nostrils

as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.

²¹ His breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames dart from his mouth.

²² Strength resides in his neck;

dismay goes before him.

²³ The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;

they are firm and immovable.

²⁴ His chest is hard as rock,

hard as a lower millstone.

²⁵ When he rises up, the mighty are terrified;

they retreat before his thrashing.

²⁶ The sword that reaches him has no effect,

nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

²⁷ Iron he treats like straw

and bronze like rotten wood.

²⁸ Arrows do not make him flee;

slingstones are like chaff to him.

²⁹ A club seems to him but a piece of straw;

he laughs at the rattling of the lance.

³⁰ His undersides are jagged potsherds,

leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

³¹ He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron

and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

³² Behind him he leaves a glistening wake;

one would think the deep had white hair.

³³ Nothing on earth is his equal—

a creature without fear.

³⁴ He looks down on all that are haughty;

he is king over all that are proud.”

Job

42     Then Job replied to the Lord:

² “I know that you can do all things;

no plan of yours can be thwarted.

³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’

⁵ My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

⁶ Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job has regained a right understanding of God and his relation to God.  I pray that we all do the same! 

Epilogue

⁷ After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰ After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

¹² The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. ¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

¹⁶ After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ And so he died, old and full of years.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

What an amazing man!  Christians will meet him some day in Heaven.

Job 37-39

Greetings!  Elihu wraps up his speech, then God speaks!

37     “At this my heart pounds

and leaps from its place.

² Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,

to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

³ He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven

and sends it to the ends of the earth.

⁴ After that comes the sound of his roar;

he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds,

he holds nothing back.

⁵ God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;

he does great things beyond our understanding.

⁶ He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’

and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’

⁷ So that all men he has made may know his work,

he stops every man from his labor.

⁸ The animals take cover;

they remain in their dens.

⁹ The tempest comes out from its chamber,

the cold from the driving winds.

¹⁰ The breath of God produces ice,

and the broad waters become frozen.

¹¹ He loads the clouds with moisture;

he scatters his lightning through them.

¹² At his direction they swirl around

over the face of the whole earth

to do whatever he commands them.

¹³ He brings the clouds to punish men,

or to water his earth and show his love.

¹⁴ “Listen to this, Job;

stop and consider God’s wonders.

¹⁵ Do you know how God controls the clouds

and makes his lightning flash?

¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds hang poised,

those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?

¹⁷ You who swelter in your clothes

when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

¹⁸ can you join him in spreading out the skies,

hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

¹⁹ “Tell us what we should say to him;

we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.

²⁰ Should he be told that I want to speak?

Would any man ask to be swallowed up?

²¹ Now no one can look at the sun,

bright as it is in the skies

after the wind has swept them clean.

²² Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;

God comes in awesome majesty.

²³ The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;

in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.

²⁴ Therefore, men revere him,

for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?”

The Lord Speaks

38     Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:

² “Who is this that darkens my counsel

with words without knowledge?

³ Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

Instead of answering Job’s questions, God asks questions that put Job – and us! – in our places.  He has revealed so many things to us that we can know, but some things are beyond our comprehension or our need to know.  We should learn more of God through the Bible, and we can learn about how He put the universe together by proper scientific study. 

⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

⁶ On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

⁷ while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

⁹ when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,

¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it

and set its doors and bars in place,

¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;

here is where your proud waves halt’?

¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,

or shown the dawn its place,

¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wicked out of it?

¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its features stand out like those of a garment.

¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,

and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?

²⁰ Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!

You have lived so many years!

²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow

or seen the storehouses of the hail,

²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,

for days of war and battle?

²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,

or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

²⁶ to water a land where no man lives,

a desert with no one in it,

²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?

²⁸ Does the rain have a father?

Who fathers the drops of dew?

²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?

³¹ “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?

Can you loose the cords of Orion?

³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons

or lead out the Bear with its cubs?

³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?

Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?

³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶ Who endowed the heart with wisdom

or gave understanding to the mind?

³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

³⁸ when the dust becomes hard

and the clods of earth stick together?

³⁹ “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lions

⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens

or lie in wait in a thicket?

⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

39     “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

² Do you count the months till they bear?

Do you know the time they give birth?

³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;

their labor pains are ended.

⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;

they leave and do not return.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who untied his ropes?

⁶ I gave him the wasteland as his home,

the salt flats as his habitat.

⁷ He laughs at the commotion in the town;

he does not hear a driver’s shout.

⁸ He ranges the hills for his pasture

and searches for any green thing.

⁹ “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will he stay by your manger at night?

¹⁰ Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?

Will he till the valleys behind you?

¹¹ Will you rely on him for his great strength?

Will you leave your heavy work to him?

¹² Can you trust him to bring in your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.

¹⁴ She lays her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand,

¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,

that some wild animal may trample them.

¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;

she cares not that her labor was in vain,

¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom

or give her a share of good sense.

¹⁸ Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,

she laughs at horse and rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his strength

or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

²⁰ Do you make him leap like a locust,

striking terror with his proud snorting?

²¹ He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,

and charges into the fray.

²² He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;

he does not shy away from the sword.

²³ The quiver rattles against his side,

along with the flashing spear and lance.

²⁴ In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;

he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, ‘Aha!’

He catches the scent of battle from afar,

the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

²⁶ “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom

and spread his wings toward the south?

²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command

and build his nest on high?

²⁸ He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;

a rocky crag is his stronghold.

²⁹ From there he seeks out his food;

his eyes detect it from afar.

³⁰ His young ones feast on blood,

and where the slain are, there is he.”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

God created the universe and all of life with such amazing precision.  There are over one hundred things such as gravity that are so spectaculary fine-tuned that if they were the tiniest bit different then life could not exist in the universe.  God created all of this from nothing.  Who are we to put the creator on trial?

Job 34-36

Greetings!  The young man, Elihu, continues to speak. 

34     Then Elihu said:

² “Hear my words, you wise men;

listen to me, you men of learning.

³ For the ear tests words

as the tongue tastes food.

⁴ Let us discern for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

⁵ “Job says, ‘I am innocent,

but God denies me justice.

⁶ Although I am right, I am considered a liar;

although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’

⁷ What man is like Job,

who drinks scorn like water?

⁸ He keeps company with evildoers;

he associates with wicked men.

⁹ For he says, ‘It profits a man nothing

when he tries to please God.’

¹⁰ “So listen to me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do evil,

from the Almighty to do wrong.

¹¹ He repays a man for what he has done;

he brings upon him what his conduct deserves.

¹² It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,

that the Almighty would pervert justice.

¹³ Who appointed him over the earth?

Who put him in charge of the whole world?

¹⁴ If it were his intention

and he withdrew his spirit and breath,

¹⁵ all mankind would perish together

and man would return to the dust.

¹⁶ “If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I say.

¹⁷ Can he who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn the just and mighty One?

¹⁸ Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’

and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

¹⁹ who shows no partiality to princes

and does not favor the rich over the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰ They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;

the people are shaken and they pass away;

the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹ “His eyes are on the ways of men;

he sees their every step.

²² There is no dark place, no deep shadow,

where evildoers can hide.

²³ God has no need to examine men further,

that they should come before him for judgment.

²⁴ Without inquiry he shatters the mighty

and sets up others in their place.

²⁵ Because he takes note of their deeds,

he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

²⁶ He punishes them for their wickedness

where everyone can see them,

²⁷ because they turned from following him

and had no regard for any of his ways.

²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,

so that he heard the cry of the needy.

²⁹ But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?

If he hides his face, who can see him?

Yet he is over man and nation alike,

³⁰ to keep a godless man from ruling,

from laying snares for the people.

³¹ “Suppose a man says to God,

‘I am guilty but will offend no more.

³² Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’

That is a good way to look at repentence, which technically means to change one’s mind.  We turn away from our thinking and see things – namely our sins – from God’s point of view.

³³ Should God then reward you on your terms,

when you refuse to repent?

You must decide, not I;

so tell me what you know.

³⁴ “Men of understanding declare,

wise men who hear me say to me,

³⁵ ‘Job speaks without knowledge;

his words lack insight.’

³⁶ Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost

for answering like a wicked man!

³⁷ To his sin he adds rebellion;

scornfully he claps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

35     Then Elihu said:

² “Do you think this is just?

You say, ‘I will be cleared by God.’

³ Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me,

and what do I gain by not sinning?’

⁴ “I would like to reply to you

and to your friends with you.

⁵ Look up at the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds so high above you.

⁶ If you sin, how does that affect him?

If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

⁷ If you are righteous, what do you give to him,

or what does he receive from your hand?

⁸ Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,

and your righteousness only the sons of men.

⁹ “Men cry out under a load of oppression;

they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

¹⁰ But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,

who gives songs in the night,

¹¹ who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

¹² He does not answer when men cry out

because of the arrogance of the wicked.

¹³ Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;

the Almighty pays no attention to it.

¹⁴ How much less, then, will he listen

when you say that you do not see him,

that your case is before him

and you must wait for him,

¹⁵ and further, that his anger never punishes

and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;

without knowledge he multiplies words.”

 Elihu gets somes things right and some things wrong, just as the rest have done.  He does counter the man-centered worldview of pagan and apostate Christians. 

36     Elihu continued:

² “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you

that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.

³ I get my knowledge from afar;

I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

⁴ Be assured that my words are not false;

one perfect in knowledge is with you.

That is a rather bold claim.

⁵ “God is mighty, but does not despise men;

he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.

⁶ He does not keep the wicked alive

but gives the afflicted their rights.

⁷ He does not take his eyes off the righteous;

he enthrones them with kings

and exalts them forever.

⁸ But if men are bound in chains,

held fast by cords of affliction,

⁹ he tells them what they have done—

that they have sinned arrogantly.

¹⁰ He makes them listen to correction

and commands them to repent of their evil.

¹¹ If they obey and serve him,

they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity

and their years in contentment.

¹² But if they do not listen,

they will perish by the sword

and die without knowledge.

Elihu over-generalizes as the rest have done.  The wicked will ultimately be punished, but not necessarily immediately, and the righteous may not have immediate rewards.

¹³ “The godless in heart harbor resentment;

even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.

¹⁴ They die in their youth,

among male prostitutes of the shrines.

¹⁵ But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;

he speaks to them in their affliction.

¹⁶ “He is wooing you from the jaws of distress

to a spacious place free from restriction,

to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.

¹⁷ But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have taken hold of you.

¹⁸ Be careful that no one entices you by riches;

do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

¹⁹ Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts

sustain you so you would not be in distress?

²⁰ Do not long for the night,

to drag people away from their homes.

²¹ Beware of turning to evil,

which you seem to prefer to affliction.

²² “God is exalted in his power.

Who is a teacher like him?

²³ Who has prescribed his ways for him,

or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’?

Actually, many liberal theologians ascribe wrongdoing to God, claiming that the Bible describes him as doing evil and that He should prevent suffering.

²⁴ Remember to extol his work,

which men have praised in song.

²⁵ All mankind has seen it;

men gaze on it from afar.

²⁶ How great is God—beyond our understanding!

The number of his years is past finding out.

²⁷ “He draws up the drops of water,

which distill as rain to the streams;

²⁸ the clouds pour down their moisture

and abundant showers fall on mankind.

²⁹ Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,

how he thunders from his pavilion?

³⁰ See how he scatters his lightning about him,

bathing the depths of the sea.

³¹ This is the way he governs the nations

and provides food in abundance.

³² He fills his hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

³³ His thunder announces the coming storm;

even the cattle make known its approach.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Job 31-33

Greetings!

31     “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.

There’s a wealth of wisdom and practicality in verse 1 alone.  Job made a conscious effort not to sin.  We often get into habits and think we can’t control ourselves.  But we get to choose what we think about.  When temptations come with our eyes or anything else, we can stop right then and choose to think about something else.  In the book Every Man’s Battlethe authors have some good exercises about “bouncing” your eyes when you see something you shouldn’t dwell on and “corralling your mind” when you are tempted to let your thoughts wander.

Do I succeed at that all the time?  No, but it is still highly effective. 

What do you need to make a covenant with yourself about?

² For what is man’s lot from God above,

his heritage from the Almighty on high?

³ Is it not ruin for the wicked,

disaster for those who do wrong?

⁴ Does he not see my ways

and count my every step?

⁵ “If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has hurried after deceit—

⁶ let God weigh me in honest scales

and he will know that I am blameless—

⁷ if my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has been led by my eyes,

or if my hands have been defiled,

⁸ then may others eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

¹⁰ then may my wife grind another man’s grain,

and may other men sleep with her.

¹¹ For that would have been shameful,

a sin to be judged.

¹² It is a fire that burns to Destruction;

it would have uprooted my harvest.

¹³ “If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants

when they had a grievance against me,

¹⁴ what will I do when God confronts me?

What will I answer when called to account?

¹⁵ Did not he who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

Those are strong words about the value of all people.  We owe justice to all people, rich and poor, because they have value and are made in God’s image.

¹⁶ “If I have denied the desires of the poor

or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

¹⁷ if I have kept my bread to myself,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

¹⁸ but from my youth I reared him as would a father,

and from my birth I guided the widow—

¹⁹ if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,

or a needy man without a garment,

²⁰ and his heart did not bless me

for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,

²¹ if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

knowing that I had influence in court,

²² then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let it be broken off at the joint.

²³ For I dreaded destruction from God,

and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

²⁴ “If I have put my trust in gold

or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’

²⁵ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,

the fortune my hands had gained,

²⁶ if I have regarded the sun in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

²⁸ then these also would be sins to be judged,

for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

²⁹ “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune

or gloated over the trouble that came to him—

³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by invoking a curse against his life—

³¹ if the men of my household have never said,

‘Who has not had his fill of Job’s meat?’—

³² but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,

for my door was always open to the traveler—

³³ if I have concealed my sin as men do,

by hiding my guilt in my heart

³⁴ because I so feared the crowd

and so dreaded the contempt of the clans

that I kept silent and would not go outside

³⁵ (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!

I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

³⁶ Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,

I would put it on like a crown.

³⁷ I would give him an account of my every step;

like a prince I would approach him.)—

³⁸ “if my land cries out against me

and all its furrows are wet with tears,

³⁹ if I have devoured its yield without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

⁴⁰ then let briers come up instead of wheat

and weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Elihu

32     So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. ³ He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. ⁴ Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. ⁵ But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

⁶ So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

“I am young in years,

and you are old;

that is why I was fearful,

not daring to tell you what I know.

⁷ I thought, ‘Age should speak;

advanced years should teach wisdom.’

⁸ But it is the spirit in a man,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

⁹ It is not only the old who are

wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.

¹⁰ “Therefore I say: Listen to me;

I too will tell you what I know.

¹¹ I waited while you spoke,

I listened to your reasoning;

while you were searching for words,

¹² I gave you my full attention.

But not one of you has proved Job wrong;

none of you has answered his arguments.

¹³ Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;

let God refute him, not man.’

¹⁴ But Job has not marshaled his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your arguments.

¹⁵ “They are dismayed and have no more to say;

words have failed them.

¹⁶ Must I wait, now that they are silent,

now that they stand there with no reply?

¹⁷ I too will have my say;

I too will tell what I know.

¹⁸ For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me compels me;

¹⁹ inside I am like bottled-up wine,

like new wineskins ready to burst.

²⁰ I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and reply.

²¹ I will show partiality to no one,

nor will I flatter any man;

²² for if I were skilled in flattery,

my Maker would soon take me away.

33     “But now, Job, listen to my words;

pay attention to everything I say.

² I am about to open my mouth;

my words are on the tip of my tongue.

³ My words come from an upright heart;

my lips sincerely speak what I know.

⁴ The Spirit of God has made me;

the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

⁵ Answer me then, if you can;

prepare yourself and confront me.

⁶ I am just like you before God;

I too have been taken from clay.

⁷ No fear of me should alarm you,

nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

⁸ “But you have said in my hearing—

I heard the very words—

⁹ ‘I am pure and without sin;

I am clean and free from guilt.

¹⁰ Yet God has found fault with me;

he considers me his enemy.

¹¹ He fastens my feet in shackles;

he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

¹² “But I tell you, in this you are not right,

for God is greater than man.

¹³ Why do you complain to him

that he answers none of man’s words?

¹⁴ For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though man may not perceive it.

¹⁵ In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men

as they slumber in their beds,

¹⁶ he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

¹⁷ to turn man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

¹⁸ to preserve his soul from the pit,

his life from perishing by the sword.

¹⁹ Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain

with constant distress in his bones,

²⁰ so that his very being finds food repulsive

and his soul loathes the choicest meal.

²¹ His flesh wastes away to nothing,

and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.

²² His soul draws near to the pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

²³ “Yet if there is an angel on his side

as a mediator, one out of a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

²⁴ to be gracious to him and say,

‘Spare him from going down to the pit;

I have found a ransom for him’—

²⁵ then his flesh is renewed like a child’s;

it is restored as in the days of his youth.

²⁶ He prays to God and finds favor with him,

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy;

he is restored by God to his righteous state.

²⁷ Then he comes to men and says,

‘I sinned, and perverted what was right,

but I did not get what I deserved.

²⁸ He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit,

and I will live to enjoy the light.’

²⁹ “God does all these things to a man—

twice, even three times—

³⁰ to turn back his soul from the pit,

that the light of life may shine on him.

³¹ “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

³² If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak up, for I want you to be cleared.

³³ But if not, then listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Job 28-30

Greetings!  Job is continuing his long speech.

28     “There is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

² Iron is taken from the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

³ Man puts an end to the darkness;

he searches the farthest recesses

for ore in the blackest darkness.

⁴ Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,

in places forgotten by the foot of man;

far from men he dangles and sways.

⁵ The earth, from which food comes,

is transformed below as by fire;

⁶ sapphires come from its rocks,

and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

⁷ No bird of prey knows that hidden path,

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

⁸ Proud beasts do not set foot on it,

and no lion prowls there.

⁹ Man’s hand assaults the flinty rock

and lays bare the roots of the mountains.

¹⁰ He tunnels through the rock;

his eyes see all its treasures.

¹¹ He searches the sources of the rivers

and brings hidden things to light.

¹² “But where can wisdom be found?

Where does understanding dwell?

¹³ Man does not comprehend its worth;

it cannot be found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,

nor can its price be weighed in silver.

¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,

with precious onyx or sapphires.

¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,

nor can it be had for jewels of gold.

¹⁸ Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;

the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;

it cannot be bought with pure gold.

²⁰ “Where then does wisdom come from?

Where does understanding dwell?

²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,

concealed even from the birds of the air.

²² Destruction and Death say,

‘Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.’

²³ God understands the way to it

and he alone knows where it dwells,

²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵ When he established the force of the wind

and measured out the waters,

²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunderstorm,

²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;

he confirmed it and tested it.

²⁸ And he said to man,

‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,

and to shun evil is understanding.’”

That sounds so much like Proverbs, especially Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

People chase after all sorts of things they think are valuable, when they can have all the wisdom they like for free.  They just need to humble themselves and ask God.

29     Job continued his discourse:

² “How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

³ when his lamp shone upon my head

and by his light I walked through darkness!

⁴ Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

⁵ when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

⁶ when my path was drenched with cream

and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

⁷ “When I went to the gate of the city

and took my seat in the public square,

⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside

and the old men rose to their feet;

⁹ the chief men refrained from speaking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

¹⁰ the voices of the nobles were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

¹¹ Whoever heard me spoke well of me,

and those who saw me commended me,

¹² because I rescued the poor who cried for help,

and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

¹³ The man who was dying blessed me;

I made the widow’s heart sing.

¹⁴ I put on righteousness as my clothing;

justice was my robe and my turban.

¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind

and feet to the lame.

¹⁶ I was a father to the needy;

I took up the case of the stranger.

¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked

and snatched the victims from their teeth.

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,

my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

¹⁹ My roots will reach to the water,

and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

²⁰ My glory will remain fresh in me,

the bow ever new in my hand.’

²¹ “Men listened to me expectantly,

waiting in silence for my counsel.

²² After I had spoken, they spoke no more;

my words fell gently on their ears.

²³ They waited for me as for showers

and drank in my words as the spring rain.

²⁴ When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;

the light of my face was precious to them.

²⁵ I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;

I dwelt as a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners.

We tend to fixate on Job’s suffering and patience, but consider all the great things he did: Caring for widows, orphans, the poor and pressing for justice.  We should be challenged by his example and pray that others would see us the same way.  Not out of pride, but out of setting a Christ-like example.

30     “But now they mock me,

men younger than I,

whose fathers I would have disdained

to put with my sheep dogs.

² Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,

since their vigor had gone from them?

³ Haggard from want and hunger,

they roamed the parched land

in desolate wastelands at night.

⁴ In the brush they gathered salt herbs,

and their food was the root of the broom tree.

⁵ They were banished from their fellow men,

shouted at as if they were thieves.

⁶ They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,

among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

⁷ They brayed among the bushes

and huddled in the undergrowth.

⁸ A base and nameless brood,

they were driven out of the land.

⁹ “And now their sons mock me in song;

I have become a byword among them.

¹⁰ They detest me and keep their distance;

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

¹¹ Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,

they throw off restraint in my presence.

¹² On my right the tribe attacks;

they lay snares for my feet,

they build their siege ramps against me.

¹³ They break up my road;

they succeed in destroying me—

without anyone’s helping them.

¹⁴ They advance as through a gaping breach;

amid the ruins they come rolling in.

¹⁵ Terrors overwhelm me;

my dignity is driven away as by the wind,

my safety vanishes like a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my life ebbs away;

days of suffering grip me.

¹⁷ Night pierces my bones;

my gnawing pains never rest.

¹⁸ In his great power God becomes like clothing to me;

he binds me like the neck of my garment.

¹⁹ He throws me into the mud,

and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

²⁰ “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer;

I stand up, but you merely look at me.

²¹ You turn on me ruthlessly;

with the might of your hand you attack me.

²² You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;

you toss me about in the storm.

Job misunderstood the situation and blamed God unjustly. 

²³ I know you will bring me down to death,

to the place appointed for all the living.

²⁴ “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man

when he cries for help in his distress.

²⁵ Have I not wept for those in trouble?

Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

²⁶ Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, then came darkness.

²⁷ The churning inside me never stops;

days of suffering confront me.

²⁸ I go about blackened, but not by the sun;

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

²⁹ I have become a brother of jackals,

a companion of owls.

³⁰ My skin grows black and peels;

my body burns with fever.

³¹ My harp is tuned to mourning,

and my flute to the sound of wailing.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I think we may avoid Job at times because he may remind us that our wealth and comfort here is fleeting.  The rest of the world probably relates to him much more, since they experience similar struggles daily.

Job 25-27

Greetings!  Bildad replies, then Job has a six chapter response to them all. 

Bildad

25     Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

² “Dominion and awe belong to God;

he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

³ Can his forces be numbered?

Upon whom does his light not rise?

⁴ How then can a man be righteous before God?

How can one born of woman be pure?

⁵ If even the moon is not bright

and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

⁶ how much less man, who is but a maggot—

a son of man, who is only a worm!”

Bildad rightly notes that we can’t be righteous before God on our own.

Job

26     Then Job replied:

² “How you have helped the powerless!

How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

³ What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!

And what great insight you have displayed!

⁴ Who has helped you utter these words?

And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,

those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

⁶ Death is naked before God;

Destruction lies uncovered.

⁷ He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;

he suspends the earth over nothing.

That is an interesting scientific point.  The Bible is not a science book, but it is accurate in all that it claims.

⁸ He wraps up the waters in his clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,

spreading his clouds over it.

¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters

for a boundary between light and darkness.

¹¹ The pillars of the heavens quake,

aghast at his rebuke.

¹² By his power he churned up the sea;

by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

¹³ By his breath the skies became fair;

his hand pierced the gliding serpent.

¹⁴ And these are but the outer fringe of his works;

how faint the whisper we hear of him!

Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

27     And Job continued his discourse:

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,

the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,

³ as long as I have life within me,

the breath of God in my nostrils,

⁴ my lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will utter no deceit.

⁵ I will never admit you are in the right;

till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

⁶ I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it;

my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

⁷ “May my enemies be like the wicked,

my adversaries like the unjust!

⁸ For what hope has the godless when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

As noted previously, the unrighteous may prosper for a time, but in light of eternity they will not.

⁹ Does God listen to his cry

when distress comes upon him?

¹⁰ Will he find delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;

the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

¹² You have all seen this yourselves.

Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,

the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

¹⁴ However many his children, their fate is the sword;

his offspring will never have enough to eat.

¹⁵ The plague will bury those who survive him,

and their widows will not weep for them.

¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust

and clothes like piles of clay,

¹⁷ what he lays up the righteous will wear,

and the innocent will divide his silver.

¹⁸ The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut made by a watchman.

¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood;

a tempest snatches him away in the night.

²¹ The east wind carries him off, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

²² It hurls itself against him without mercy

as he flees headlong from its power.

²³ It claps its hands in derision

and hisses him out of his place.

 The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.