God Destroys the Old in Order to Create New - Jeremiah 1-6

 Jeremiah 1:9-10 (ESV)

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

Jeremiah is often called the “weeping prophet” because of his reaction to the message that God gave him to speak to Judah (the southern tribe of Israel).  He prophesied from the reign of Josiah to the captivity of Jerusalem (1:1-3).   The message he had to deliver was mostly doom and gloom.   God was punishing His people because of their disobedience and He was using wicked nations as the tool for that punishment.  But, there were also moments in the message of hope and possibility.  The above passage is outlining this central theme of Jeremiah’s work.   This is a very important theme of God’s plan and God’s universal work in creation.    Once the sin of Adam took place all men fell into a mindset that they would only choose evil, continually (Romans 6-8).   To redeem mankind, God has to destroy that desire for sin and create a new way.  This is what Jeremiah is saying in the above passage.  This is the theme of his book:

See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.” (v. 10)

If we talked about this in archetypal terms we would say God is the Destroyer and then the Creator.  Together He produces a revolutionary moment in the lives of mankind.   God sent Jeremiah to give both the Destroyer messages (doom and gloom) and the Creator message (hope and redemption) (see chapters 31-33).   

This is the hope we have in Christ.  Even though God must destroy the old nature of our lives (through Jesus’ death-burial-resurrection), He creates within us a new nature.   Before redemption there must be death and resurrection.   God destroys in order to build up.  

God is Powerful - To What End, However? Job 25-26

 Job 26:10 (ESV)

He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

Job 26:10 (NIV 1984)

He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters

for a boundary between light and darkness.

Starting in Chapter 26, Job is about to go a long dissertation responding to his three friends, his suffering and to God, Himself.   The last of the three friends as spoken in chapter 25.  Bildad took on Job’s earlier request of wanting a face-to-face meeting with God.   Bildad puts Job in is place by arguing that God is mighty and powerful and you, Job, are just a maggot.   These are certainly words every counselor should say to their suffering client ... how absurd.   

Job’s response now is going to be to talk about why he wants a face-to-face meeting. His argument in the above verse is that God is the ONLY one who can help him.  Whereas Bildad tells job that God is so powerful how can any man be right before God (25:4) and therefor unapproachable, Job maintains that since God is so powerful, He is the ONLY one who can be approached to solve Job’s problem.    Notice the contrast of philosophy. To some in the world, God’s power is a threat.  To others in the world, God’s power is a solution.   

Job opening talks about how God has set creation in a specific order.  God set a boundary for the seas and a boundary for the sun.   Note:

Genesis 1:4 (ESV) 

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

Jeremiah 5:22 (ESV) 

Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.

Do you not tremble before me?

I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,

a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;

though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;

though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

Proverbs 8:29 (ESV) 

when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

Jeremiah 5:22 (ESV)

Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.

Do you not tremble before me?

I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,

a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;

though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;

though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

We do not know how the three friends respond to Job’s dialogue, either the above argument or the thoughts that follow.  But we do know how God does.  After Job (and the fourth friend, Eihu) finishes their speeches, here is what God says:

Job 38:8-11 (ESV)

“Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

God, Himself, declares His power to Job and the friends.   Job is not on the wrong path with his philosophy and response to Bildad (and the others).  But, Job doesn’t come to God to worship that power.  God approaches God demanding answers to his problem and suffering.   God simply highlights His power to Job, as we will eventually read.   The key thought here is that God is powerful and separates light from darkness and land from seas and puts the horizon in place.   But, God is not a holy butler being compelled to carry about out wishes and wants.   God is a holy sovereign who wants our loving worship simply because of His power, not because we want to take advantage of it.  

God Does Not Regret His Plans - He Regrets Our Response to His Plans - 1 Samuel 11-15

 1 Samuel 15:10-11 (ESV)

The word of the LORD came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.

1 Samuel 15:29 (ESV)

And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

1 Samuel 15:35 (ESV)

And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Does God have regret?   It might depend on which one of the above verses you read.   The writer of this chapter goes to great lengths, however, to tell us that God regretted He made Saul king, but that God does not regret.   So, we might ask, “Can both of these positions be true?”   Could it mean that God is regretful about Saul’s kingship in the sense, “God regrets how Saul responded to the kingship?”   The reason for God’s regret in verse ten and eleven, above, is not focused on God.  It is focused on the fact that Saul “turned back from following” God.   God regrets He made Saul king because Saul did not live up to the moment.   God does not regret His plans, He regrets Saul’s response to His plans.   

An illustration of this may be that you decide to go away with your spouse for the weekend and you leave your teenage children home alone.   When you get home and hear the utter destruction and bad behavior they did in your absence, you would regret that they acted poorly and didn’t rise to the occasion.  You regret that you left them alone, but not because you didn’t have pure intent and desire for them to live up to their calling.   You regret that they didn’t take advantage and live out that opportunity in a better way. 

This is the sense that God regretted Saul.   God regretted Saul’s response to the moment.  He had the chance to show God’s power and holiness.  But, he didn’t.   He failed to live up to the moment and God regretted his behavior.  But, God does not regret His plans and how He approaches working with mankind.   God’s plans are holy.  Those who carry out His plans, are not.  

Anger Destroys Future Blessings - Genesis 48-50

 Genesis 49:5-7 (ESV)

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons of violence are their swords.

Let my soul come not into their council;

O my glory, be not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will divide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

In chapter 49 we read the blessings (and curses) of Israel, in regard to his sons. As he is dying, he prays over each of them.  The first three sons, Rueben, Simeon and Levi, are not blessed.  Instead Israel says nothing of blessing and instead, curses a trait of theirs.   In the above passage we see that Israel cures the anger of Simeon and Levi.   This anger comes from the story in Genesis 34 concerning Simeon and Levin defending the honor of their sister, Dianah.  She was raped by one of the men of Schechem.   In their anger, but after they had deceived the men of Schechem, they killed all the men of Schechem.   This brought disdain on Israel’s reputation. It could easily be imagined that both Simeon and Levi did not see this curse on their anger coming.  Here their dad was dying and they fully expected, as the early born sons, to have some kinds of blessing and/or favor from their father.  But, not so.  Dad remembered their evil ways.   Perhaps this is were a New Testament verse might fit:

James 1:20 (ESV)

for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

We don’t see anger carrying the weight that God sees it carry.  Certainly these two boys did not see their anger has something that would come back to hurt them in the later days of their lives.  But, anger is a bitter emotion that does not produce what God intends in our lives.  Solomon would also speak to this plight of anger:

Ecclesiastes 7:9 (ESV)

Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,

for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

Anger is a deceiving and destructive emotion of the heart.   We would do well to control it quickly. 

James 1:19 (ESV)

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Proverbs 16:32 (ESV)

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Lover Corrals Knowlege and Knowledge Is Subject to Love - 1 Corinthians 7-8

 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (ESV)

If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

To understand the above sentence pulled out chapter eight, we have to know what Paul is talking about.  The Corinthian believers had requested that Paul would help them clarify an issue the early church (and our church today ... but in different subjects).   The question was about Christian liberty and freedom.   The specific question in this passage is meat offered to idols. As the church began to grow and more and more Gentiles were coming to Christ,  more and more of the Body of Christ was made up of individuals who had, at one time, worshipped gods and idols.  Paul’s point in the entire chapter is that even though we know that there is ONLY ONE God, some in the Body have a conscious level about their old worship habits.  The question was, “How far can the believer without the high conscious level about idol worship go in their indulging in the world, when those with a high conscious level are watching or participating?   Meat offered to the idol was a big deal.  The Greeks would offer the meat because they believed that demonic host could enter the meat and subsequently enter the body.  So, the offered the meat to purify it.  One-third was burnt, one-third went the priest of that god, and one-third could be eaten.  It would be eaten in the home, at weddings, at occasions of group activities.  So, the question to the Corinth believers was, “Can we eat the meat or not?”   Paul will give them several reasons in the subsequent verses, but in the above verses he tells them the overriding principle to follow.  Yes, some have the “knowledge” about the meat offering to gods and idols that idols to false gods means nothing.   There is nothing in a idol but the material it was made from.   But, Paul gives us a very important truth in these verses:  Knowing strong Biblical truth is NOT ENOUGH to navigate our Christian walk.   If you think you have superior knowledge about a Biblical situation that is not enough.  Real accumulation of knowledge ought to make you more and more questing more knowledge.   It was said, “The pursuit of knowledge is moving from an unconscious state of ignorance to a conscious state of ignorance.”  Knowledge doesn’t end when you know something. It is only the beginning.   Paul states that knowledge must be accompanied by love.   Love is the ultimate guide to these areas of dispute.  Being loved by God and loving God is the overriding principle to deal with matters of conscience and Christian liberty.  Paul will give more direction in the following verses but he sets the stage by saying don’t think just because you know something others don’t that you have the freedom do to what you want at the expense of others.  Knowledge of God and about God obligates you to the love like God.  Jesus is the prime example for us.  He set aside His “rights” to give His life a ransom for others.   Love must corral knowledge and knowledge is submissive to love.  

Mob Mentality - At One Time a Good Thing - Mark 3-4

 Mark 3:7-11 (ESV)

A Great CROWD Follows Jesus

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great CROWD heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the CROWD, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

Mark 3:20 (ESV)

20 Then he went home, and the CROWD gathered again, so that they could not even eat.

Mark 3:32 (ESV)

32 And a CROWD was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

Mark 4:1 (ESV)

The Parable of the Sower

1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large CROWD gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole CROWD was beside the sea on the land.

Jesus could draw a CROWD.  Imagine how that truth would be exploited today ... by the religious world.  Or, by the “rock star” preachers.   What would the marking world do with Jesus ability to draw massive groups of people?  You have to wonder what the street vendors in Jesus day did with this phenomenon.  What would the nightly news be like if it was our day when Jesus came and drew these type of CROWDS?  

Jesus drew CROWDS because He was the Son of God who healed people.   Today if people were being healed because of Jesus name, think of the CROWDS that would be gathering.    But, that is the problem, isn’t it?   In Mark’s gospel we read of these massive crowds because of Jesus physically healing them.   It would not be until Pentecost that we would read about these same type of CROWDS because people were being healed Spiritually (Acts 2-4).   Later would read about Paul in Ephesus where there was a large CROWD gathered, actually burning books about evil to believe the good of Christ (Acts 19).   Where are our CROWDS today because we are seeing people healed spiritually?  

But, it would also be CROWDS that crucified Jesus:

Mark 15:15 (ESV)

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

It was the CROWD that almost had Paul killed in Ephesus:

Acts 19:33-35 (ESV)

33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?

Today CROWD mentality will destroy a city.   But, in Jesus’ ministry He was able to gather the CROWDS to heal and to save.   That is the CROWD mentality we want today.  

What Would Happen if We Saw God? Isaiah 63-66

 Isaiah 64:1-3 (ESV)

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains might quake at your presence—

as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

When you did awesome things that we did not look for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

What would happen if the world actually saw God in all His glory?   Imagine the news coverage.  Think about how the markets would react.   Ponder the thought that the rulers and government would be faced with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   Consider the concept that all the military power of the world would gaze at the awesome power of God’s Word, the flaming sword of His tongue. These are the thoughts contained in the above prophesy of Isiah’s prayer in the above verses.  It states that the “mountains would quake.”   Has anyone in these days seen so much awesomeness from God that they would consider that mountains would quake?  It states that the nations will “tremble.”   We don’t see a lot of the nations trembling these days.  We see them flex.   We see them puff their chest out.  We see them threaten.   We see them boast.  But, we have never seen the nations tremble.  Notice what John says about these things in The Revelation of John.   This is what will happen to the nations when Christ begins the end times with wonders and awe:

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Notice what happens with the leaders of this world.  The kings, the great ones, the generals, the rich, the powerful, the slave and the free will hide from God’s holy presence.   That is what will happen when God reveals Himself from heaven.   The prophecy of Isaiah will be filled in the prophecy of John.   That is the future of the world.  

The Walk of Innocent Suffering - Job 23-24

 Job 23:11 (ESV)

My foot has held fast to his steps;

I have kept his way and have not turned aside.

Have you ever seen a child try to follow the exact steps of his/her parent as they walk through the snow?   Ever so precise, the child tries to step in each step, though the stride be long and the pace too quick.   That is the word picture that Job gives us in the first line of the above statement.    Job, trying to defend himself against the false accusation of his friend(s), states that he has held fast to God’s steps.   In this chapter of Job we read him talk about taking God to court to defend his life.  His friends have made major complaints against him.  Job wants his day in court.   Job would be glad to face God and show Him that he has strived to walk in the steps of God.   In the second line we read that Job tells his friends (and God) that not only has he tried to walk in God’s steps, he has not turned aside from doing so.   Like the small child trying to keep the pace of a parent, Job states he has kept the pace and the precision to stay in step with God.   That is a tall order, to stay in step with God.  But, we do read in the first two chapters of the book that this is exactly what Job was doing when hit with these many calamities.   Perhaps, by complaining however, Job has missed a step that God has made in the path before him.   If we are going to keep in step with God we have to know and accept that the steps will definitely include walking through suffering.   Job is using his obedience to God’s path as a defense.  But, he may have just given reason for his suffering.  Remember, Job is saying that his suffering was not due and that he is innocent.   He is telling us that he is walking in God’s steps and SHOULD NOT have to suffer while being innocent.   However, that is exactly what God will do through His Son, Jesus.  Jesus will walk through suffering as the ultimate innocent sacrifice for mankind’s sins.  So, Job’s defense actually becomes the prosecutions case.   Yes, Job, you are walking in God’s steps.   But, Job, you failed to realize that walking in God’s steps will lead you through suffering as an innocent.   That is the story of the Bible.   Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, walked the steps to the cross.   So, in our walk with Him and for Him and toward Him, let us not fool ourselves that it, too, will be lined with the step of innocent suffering.   Let us not turn aside from even those steps.  

Indignant and Contemptible Worship - Psalms 33-35

 Psalms 33:1-3 (ESV)

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

Psalm 33 is a praise song about key attributes of God.   It instructs us to praise Him for His steadfast love (vs. 5, 18, 22), His uprightness (v. 4), His creation (v. 6), His upholding the universe (vs 8, 9), His sovereignty over the nations (vs. 10-12), His ability to deliver mankind from wicked leadership (vs. 13-17), and His protection of those who love Him (vs. 18-21).    

In the above verses it does not speak of the “what” of our worship, but the “why” and the “how” of our worship.   The “why” is stated that praising God “befits” the upright.  Praising God is not an added value service to God.  It is the service to God.   Praising God is not a Sunday morning ritual, it is a Sunday-Saturday way-of-life.   We are built and redeemed to praise God.   It could be said that if those who have been declared righteous do not naturally worship or want to worship, they may have something severely wrong with their relationship with God.  Worshiping God should be as natural as a baby wanting to their mother’s milk.   

The Psalm also tells us the “how” to worship.  And, from the language it does not seem to be in a quiet manner.   No, it begins by telling us that worship should be characterized by a “shout.”   Worship does not always have to be a “shout” but it should also not be conducted by the rules of a library.   It even adds we are to worship with “loud shouts.”  Why can we watch a sporting event and jump off the coach in praise and adoration for not-so-important-in-the-eternal-scheme-of-things victory, but not shout praises, loud praises, to the King of the Universe for giving us victory over our sin.   Why are we proud to weary are team swag and boast about their victories and not outwardly make a loud boast about the God of our redemption?   We are also to use musical instruments.   This is not to be a quiet thing.   In fact, it appears that the volume is supposed to be equivalent to that power of the One worshiped.   Let us know be quite and quaint about our worship.  Let us be loud and indignant.  It is probably David who wrote this song.  Note his attitude toward worship:

2 Samuel 6:20-23 (ESV)

And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” And David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD—and I will celebrate before the LORD. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

God Warns Us - Ignores Us! 1 Samuel 6-10

 1 Samuel 8:10-18 (ESV)

Samuel's Warning Against Kings

So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

1 Samuel 8:19 (ESV)

But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,

Suppose you go to the doctor and the doctor tells you that you if you continue to eat unhealthy and you continue to be sedimentary and you continue to do drugs, drink alcohol all day, hit yourself in the head with hammer every hour and continue to jump off a roof each week, you are going to die.   Would you stop doing those things?  You would NEVER do those things!   But, no, instead you keep doing them, or start doing them and continue to do them.  What would we think about you?  

Such is the nation of Israel.  They asked for a king.  Samuel tells them all the bad that will happen to them if they actually get a king.   He gives them the diagnostic information they need to make a wise decision.    But, alas, what do they do?  They ask for a king anyhow.    How many ways can you spell fools?   All of the above will eventually come true. As we read the rest of the history of Israel, we will read how Israel’s kings did these very things.  We will also read how God did not answer them when they called for help.  He said He would not and He did not.  Note:

Proverbs 1:24-32 (ESV)

Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,

and have their fill of their own devices.

For the simple are killed by their turning away,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

That’s the lesson from this text.   God warns us and when we refuse His counsel and wisdom and turn to folly, He ignores us. 

Test of Trust - Genesis 44-47

 Genesis 44:14-17 (ESV)

When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

When Joseph was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt, his brothers lied to their father and told them he was dead.   They simply had a major coverup to protect themselves from the wrong they had done.  However, when they come to Egypt to buy food they did not know that the person who would be over them to provide them food would be Joseph.    But, in Joesph’s mind it was not about meeting his brothers again.  It was about wondering if they would, once again, sell one of their brothers into slavery to protect themselves.   That is the context of the above story.   Joseph had set them up with a test of their love and faithfulness.  He was willing to forgive them but he still needed to know if he could trust them.   This story might be the source of the phrase, “Trust, but verify!”   Joseph hid a silver cup in his little brother’s sack; Benjamin.   The implication was that Benjamin had taken the cup and therefore, Benjamin should be punished.   Joseph was in essence asking, “Will you once again sell a brother into slavery to make life better and comfortable for yourselves?”    The brothers, Judah in particular, do not sell Benjamin.  Judah actually offers his own life in exchange for Benjamin.   This is a tremendous change in character for these brothers.  That is what Joseph wanted to see.   Joseph was willing to trust them as a result of their repentance and display of sacrifice.   Trust can only be built upon follow through of a changed heart.   You can’t keep acting the same way and expect people to trust you.   These brothers had to change their ways if they expected to find freedom from their past guilt.  They did not yet know that the man in front of the them was Joseph.   That discovery would come in the next chapter.   But, they did know that they had wronged their father in the past and they didn’t want to do that again.   That does speak of both repentance and the possibility that Joseph could trust them again.   The compensation of past faults was the offer of substitutionary atonement of Judah for his brother.  Judah was willing to pay his own life in ransom for Benjamin.   That is what Jesus did for us.   He paid for us to be redeemed.  

Flee Sexual Immorality - FLEE - 1 Corinthians 5-6

 1 Corinthians 6:17-18 (ESV)

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

The above two verses are taken right out of an entire paragraph on Paul addressing the church at Corinth about sexual sins.   The section actually started in chapter five when he addressed (and condemned) a believing young man in their church who was living with his father’s wife.  Paul, from that point begins to write to the church about their purity within the context of the world (both with sexual matters and legal matters and then back to sexual matters).   Apparently, not only was this one young man doing something (as a believer) that even the pagans would not do (5:1), but others where engaged with sexual relations (as believers) with prostitutes.   This would not be uncommon at the time of this writing.    There were many prostitutes that we actually part of religious ceremonies in those days.   Paul is trying show that the believing church that we are not like the world.  This is why he writes in the above line, “... flee from sexual immorality.”  The tense of the verb is to keep fleeing and keep on fleeing until you are completely away from the danger.   The reason for this command is twofold in his argument.  

1. We are “joined to the Lord” and “one spirit with Him.”   This is truly an amazing thought about our lives in general, much less specifically with sexual matters.  Paul’s argument throughout his letters is the power, beauty and mystery of our union with Christ.  All of our inheritance is wrapped up in the doctrine that we are “united with Christ.”   This is a powerful argument about sexually immorality because we are literally united with Him.  Any blessing of Christ is ours and (so Paul’s argument goes) any involvement of sin in our lives (especially sexual matters) grieves and taints Christ (both in reputation and the power we have by that mysterious union).   When we commit sexual sin (any sin) we damage that union.  Our sin does not make Jesus sin.  As one commentator states it, “sunlight shining on dirty garbage is not tainted by the garbage.”   But, our sin does damage that union (especially before the eyes of the world ... the context of this very chapter). 

2. Sexual sins damage the body.   The word “other” in the above text does not appear in the original Greek of this passage.   So, that makes it hard to understand Paul’s argument.  But, it is evident that he believes that sexual sins (unlike other sins) not only damages our relationship with Christ, it actually, also, damages our human bodies in some particular manner.  

Paul is too general for us to draw more in-depth meaning but suffice it to say that he is warning us that sexual sins WILL damage our reputation before the world, it WILL bring shame onto Christ name and it WILL do something physiological to our human composition.  Today’s medical, psychological and sociological studies shed much light and in-depth understanding of this, by the way.  But, the truth of Scripture, written well before the organization of these disciplines already tells us all we need to know.  Sexual immorality is one of the most dangerous sins mankind can be engaged in.  Yet, it is freely one of the most pervasive and permissible and practiced sins in the world today.   May it not be for believers ... Paul’s point!!

Jesus Had Pity - Mark 1-2

Mark 1:40-45 (ESV)

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

The key phrase in the above passage is, “Moved with pity ...”.    In Jesus day it was common to have those who were ill on the side of the road begging for anything they could receive.   Much like our day with the homeless, that was the social order of the day.  In this case, instead of asking for money or some material gain, the man must have heard something about Jesus.   The man kneels in honor and respect to Jesus.   He acknowledges Jesus power by not necessarily asking to be healed, but simply acknowledging that Jesus’ ability to heal him would be based solely on Jesus’ will, not that man’s own initiative.   The passage tells us that Jesus was moved with “pity.”   The Greek word for “pity” is used twelve times in the New Testament.  Here is what Vine tells us about the word:

“splagchnizomai; middle voice from 4698; to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity: — have (be moved with) compassion.

“AV (12) - have compassion 7, be moved with compassion 5;

“to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)”

The best words this man ever heard in his life was when Jesus saw him and spoke back and said, “... I will; be clean.”    Awesome!!   The man is healed immediately and goes about telling the world what happened to him (even though Jesus told him not to tell anyone.  

The key take-a-way here is not that the man disobey as his first act of faith (that is a great concept to meditate upon, however).   The key take-a-away is that the man recognized that healing is not an act of mankind’s efforts but purely based upon the mercy of God.   God heals whom He will heal.   But, God does not always heal.  Paul pleaded for God to heal him.  What happened?   

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The healing power of God is in His will and not ours.  This leaper recognized that and bowed down to ask for God’s pity and received it and was healed.  Paul bowed down and asked for God’s pity to be healed and received mercy and grace to help him with the “thorn” in his life.  

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Tomorrow’s Nightly News Predicted 3,000 Years Ago - Isaiah 56-61

 Is the following from the Bible, spoke by a prophet some 3,000 years ago, or is it from last nights news reports about the country we now live in?

Isaiah 59:2-8 (ESV)

... but your iniquities have made a separation

between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden his face from you

so that he does not hear.

For your hands are defiled with blood

and your fingers with iniquity;

your lips have spoken lies;

your tongue mutters wickedness.

No one enters suit justly;

no one goes to law honestly;

they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,

they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

They hatch adders' eggs;

they weave the spider's web;

he who eats their eggs dies,

and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.

Their webs will not serve as clothing;

men will not cover themselves with what they make.

Their works are works of iniquity,

and deeds of violence are in their hands.

Their feet run to evil,

and they are swift to shed innocent blood;

their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;

desolation and destruction are in their highways.

The way of peace they do not know,

and there is no justice in their paths;

they have made their roads crooked;

no one who treads on them knows peace.

Those words were spoken by Isaiah the prophet around 750-700 BC.    He is telling us about the wickedness both in Judah (Israel) and the world around them.   The poetic metaphors of the “adder’s eggs” and “spider’s webs” indicate both the poison and futility of man’s corrupt nature.  Maybe Sir Walter Scott (1808) was reading this when he wrote, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”   Mankind, well after Isaiah’s prophecy is still practicing what God condemned in the Old Testament.   The lack of truth and integrity is throughout all generations.    Notice the next verse Isaiah writes, after the above:

Isaiah 59:9-10 (ESV)

Therefore justice is far from us,

and righteousness does not overtake us;

we hope for light, and behold, darkness,

and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We grope for the wall like the blind;

we grope like those who have no eyes;

we stumble at noon as in the twilight,

among those in full vigor we are like dead men.

Mankind grouped for truth and finds only darkness.  This is why man needs Christ and His light and His salvation.  Mankind, left to himself, will distort truth.   Only God can bring the light of the Gospel to save man from his constant bent toward evil.  

Bring Comfort Not Condemnation - Job 22

 Job 22:1 (ESV)

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

We don’t know too much about Job’s three friends:  Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite.  They were all introduced in Job 2:11-13 (more about that in a moment).   There will eventually be a fourth friend who is on the scene.  He apparently was sitting in the background unbeknownst to the reader (and perhaps Job and the other three).  His name was Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram.   

The first three men listed showed up right at the beginning  of Job’s dilemma.   Here is what the early passage states:

Job 2:11-13 (ESV)

Job's Three Friends

11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

As we can see, these three coordinated their efforts to come to Job’s aide and to bring him “sympathy and comfort.”   This goal of theirs was quite admirable.   Seeing them walk up from even a distance must have given Job such joy and hope.  He had three (maybe four) friends coming to see him.  When they arrive and see his actual condition (remember, they had no phones back then that would give them instant photos of Job).  It states that from a distance they could not recognize Job.   As they approached and beheld more of his visage, they were so overcome with grief that they tore their clothes, sprinkled themselves with dust and closed their mouths.  Job was in bad shape.  

Eliphaz is, above, about to give his third and final speech.  Each of the first three friends have, thus far, given two speeches to Job.   Bildad will give one more, as well.  Zophar (must have been the introvert in the group) only gives two speeches to Job.   Eliphaz’s name means, “My God is fine gold.”   He is about to once again prove to Job that all this suffering is a result of his sin and that Job should quit claiming his innocence. He has done this before in the previous two speeches (Job 4:7-9, 17-19; 15:14-16).  He is like a dog with a bone.   Even though God Himself at the beginning of the book has declared Job innocent (Job 1:1,8 and 2:3).  Eliphaz is a great representation of the God-fearing believer who has their doctrine right but that application all wrong.   He is about to start correcting Job and “setting him straight” on Job’s own theology.   It is not that some of Eliphaz’s words are wrong.  He simply forgot his mission: To synthesize and comfort a man stricken by great ills.   Why is it that people must be right in their arguments when addressing the ills of others.   There will always be a time to correct bad behavior, but in this last speech Eliphaz actually has to make things up that Job is supposedly  doing that God says Job didn’t do. If he did do the things Eliphaz is about to accuse him of in this third speech God would never have said (twice) Job is blameless.   A key take-a-way from these three friends is to stop accusing and first comfort.   In most cased Jesus actually dealt with the “what” (what is wrong with the sick person) and then the “why” (why are they like this).   Jesus met need first and theology second.  Let’s be less condemning in our words to others and more comforting.   Let’s not point out their supposed wrong doing until we find some way to give them some creature comforts.   Elihu, the fourth friend, will rebuke Job’s three friends.  God will rebuke Job’s three friends.   Why?  They failed at their designed mission to bring comfort. 

Spiritual Knowledge of God Follows Obedience to God - Psalms 30-32

 Psalms 32:8-9 (ESV)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

Psalm 32 is a worship song/prayer.   It begins with confession, ends with praise and has instruction in the middle.   In the above passage we read a portion of the instruction.   In these particular two verses we notice that David is not speaking/praying/singing the prayer, but God interjects and speaks.  This could be a person who delivered God’s message to David as he wrote this (a prophet). Or, it could be God simply speaking to David has he wrote.   Never-the-less God interjects that the worshipper should be active in obedience in this worship.   The world “teach” is the verb form of the Hebrew “Torah,” the Law.    God is telling the worshipper to not be a like a dumb horse or mule who have to have a bit in the mouth to take instruction.   God does not want worshippers like that.  God wants worshippers who hear His words and want to obey.   If we do we will get understanding.  Understanding only comes from obedience.  The more we obey the more God reveals His truth to us ... for my obedience.  If we don’t obey (and have to be lead like a horse or a mule) we will lose understanding.  Understanding will not stay with us.  Obedience to God in worship leads to deeper understanding of the God we worship.  

God Will Always Correct Bad Leadership - 1 Samuel 1-5

 1 Samuel 3:19-21 (ESV)

And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

The contrast in the first five chapters of 1 Samuel is obvious. On the one hand you have the priest, Eli and his two son’s Hophni and Phinehas.  These three were supposed to be the spiritual strength, eyes and guides for Israel.  On the other side you have a barren woman, Hannah, who prayed deeply for a son and was given Samuel.   She was so dedicated to God and trusting of God that she dedicated Samuel, at a very young age, to serve God for the rest of his life.   Samuel didn’t get the choice to do college career day or visit the trades or take an assessment to see what career he would “like” to have for his life.  No, his other simply took him to Eli and said, “Here is my son, I dedicated him to the Lord, to serve in the Tabernacle.”   This was an amazing contrast to Eli, who allowed his sons to steal from the offerings and partook of their pillaging of the people’s worshipping himself.   Eli vs Hannah.  Hophni and Phinehas vs Samuel.    In the end, God killed Eli, Hophni and Phinehas for their disobedience and their neglect of being true guides to Israel.  In the end, Samuel, as we can see by the above passage, grows to become the spiritual leader of the nation.    God has complete control over His people and those who are leaders.  God does not have a hit and miss approach.    Eli failed to lead.   So, God replaced him with a child.   Eli’s two sons failed to lead.  So, God replaced them with a child.   We never have to worry if God will, in the end, set things right.  God might delay to make the corrections, but He will not ignore bad leadership.   

God Causes Us to Forget Past Pain - Genesis 40-43

 Genesis 41:50-52 (ESV)

Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

One of the puzzling things about the story of Joseph is the question as to why he never sent someone to search for his brothers and father?   Once he was given all that power, why didn’t he immediately find out how his family was doing?   Remember, he has spent several years in jail because of the envy of his brothers.  Of course the remarkable thing about Joseph is that he did not hold a grudge or look for vengeance.  But, why didn’t he at least go inquire about them?  He was second in command of all Egypt.   The above passage gives us insight into this question.   Joseph was confined to prison for 13 years (compare Genesis 37:2 with 41:46).   He had plenty of time to think about all this.  But, note what the passage.   God did a miracle In Joseph’s life.  God gave him the capacity to forget his family.   When he was given this new lease on life and put in charge of Egypts food supply, God gave him a wife.  That wife bore him a son.  That first born son was named Manasseh, which meant, “causing to forget.”  This is a marvelous truth that God gives us about getting past something.   God, in His sovereignty, can cause us to to forget a horrible past wrong against us.  But, God also gave him a second son named, Ephraim, which meant, “double fruitful.”    Not only did God remove the hurt, in His sovereignty He replaced the hurt with double the blessing (two boys).   This all happened during the time of the seven years of God’s blessing.   God removed the hurt in Joseph’s life.   That is the blessing that God can do for us.   We can allow Him to do the work of forgetfulness.  Our human spirit cannot forget like God can forget.  But, if we allow God to heal our hearts, God can cause us to replace hurt with double the blessing.   Probably the greatest example of this same truth is found in the end of the story of Job.  Note what God did for Job and I can do for us in regard to our hurt, as well: 

Job 42:12-17 (ESV)

And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

Do Not Fear Man’s Judgement - Fear God’s Judgement - 1 Corinthians 3-4

 1 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV)

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

When Paul wrote this letter to the Church at Corinth, there was division, immaturity and open disobedience to the Gospel in the church.  This letter was written to correct those things, as well as many other topics.  In Chapter 3, Paul wrote to them about their division based upon allegiances to one servant of God vs another.  Specifically, one group was honoring Paul and another group was honoring the teacher, Apollos.   Paul is trying to set them straight that the one to honor is the Lord Jesus Christ and he and Apollos are not divided, but simply servants of Christ.   It is so easy for a church to honor one teacher over the other.   Paul is trying to correct this common behavior.   

But, Paul is quite aware that there are some in the church who are not only honoring Apollos over him, there are some who are “judging” him.   In chapter 4 he is attempting to correct their judgmental spirit about the work he is doing for Christ.  He has just stated that “it is the Lord who judges me.”   Paul is not fearful of judgment.  He is fearful of man’s false judgement.  To prove his point he writes the above.   He informs them that the judgment is so surface level and invalid.   He wants them to know that he is very much conscious of the fact that God will judge him ... and, not only him, but them!   Paul states that we should not judge someone’s ministry or work in the Lord “before the time, before the Lord comes.”   Paul is aware that when Christ comes He will judge not only what the Corinthians see, but “bring to light things now hidden in darkness.”  When Christ comes He will reveal the “heart” of the things.   Paul has no worries about human judgement.  He is simply in awe of Christ’s future exposing the hearts of men.   We don’t have to worry about man’s judgement.  If we are to worry, it is Christ’s judgement.   Note how the writer of Hebrews wrote about this same subject:

Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We will all give account to God for the works done on the earth.  God will use His Word as the rubric to reveal our works.   Paul was not the least bit concerned about the judgment of men.  He knew that he would one day be judged by God.   He would not be judged by God for his salvation, as he knew there was no more condemnation to those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).  But, he did know that the believer’s works will be judged, some consumed by fire and others coming out as pure gold. Note what he already told these “judgmental” church members in chapter 3:

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (ESV)

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Paul did not fear the judgment of men.  He feared the judgement of his risen Savior.  

Justice System - Matthew 26-28

 Matthew 27:11-14 (ESV)

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

It is hard to not defend yourself when you are falsely accused.  Most of us would line up our defense mechanisms and maybe even lash out.   Remember, Jesus is the Son of God.  He can defend Himself and even call down angels to do it for him.   He was, indeed, innocent of sin.  He was NOT innocent of the charges filed against Him, however.  They were charging that He was telling people that He was the Son of God.  That was true.  He did say that.   That of course was not the real issue.  As with most false accusations those who brought Jesus before Pilate (the governing authority at that time) were based upon their knowledge level and their rule of law.  It was not based upon God’s law and God’s mindset or God’s rule of law.   Jesus came to be crucified.  Yes, He could have defended Himself but if He was successful, He would not have been crucified.   That that what the very reason He came.  Therefore, He remained silent.  God used the false justice system of the Jewish leaders and Rome’s representative, Pilate, to crucify the savior of the world.  God used the corruption and evilness of man to crucify His Son in order to save man from that very evilness.   Jesus remained silent to allow God to complete His plan and raise Jesus from the dead.  God allowed His Son to die to defeat the one that has power over death, by His own death:

Hebrews 2:14 (ESV)

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

God’s Promises - Isaiah 51-55

 Isaiah 54:7-10 (ESV)

For a brief moment I deserted you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing anger for a moment

I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”

says the LORD, your Redeemer.

“This is like the days of Noah to me:

as I swore that the waters of Noah

should no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

and will not rebuke you.

For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

When God destroyed the people of the earth in Noah’s day, He put a rainbow in the sky to remind us that He would never do that again.   It, the rainbow, was a sign of His everlasting covenant between God and mankind.   In the above passage we read about another covenant that God is making with mankind.  This is the covenant of His divine Son coming to pay the price for mankind’s sins.  In the above passage God refers to Himself as their “redeemer.”  Here is what Vine states about this Hebrew word:

(Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) 

“ga‘al (גָּאַל, 1350), “to redeem, deliver, avenge, act as a kinsman.” This word group is used 90 times, chiefly in the Pentateuch, Psalms, Isaiah, and Ruth. The root appears to be almost exclusively Hebrew, the only cognate being an Amorite proper name.

The first occurrence of ga‘al is in Gen. 48:16: “The angel which redeemed me [Jacob] from all evil...” (KJV), means as in the NIV, “delivered me from all harm.” Its basic use had to do with the deliverance of persons or property that had been sold for debt, as in Lev. 25:25: “If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.” If he prospers, the man himself may “redeem” it (Lev. 25:26).”

God has made a covenant, through the giving of His Son, to redeem mankind.   That is God’s absolute promise.  We can rejoice in the fact that God makes and keeps His covenants.   Why? Because God had compassion on us.  If it were not for His generous compassion we would all be lost.   But, God’s compassion moves Him to redeem us!!!

Guidelines for Counseling - Job 20-21

 Job 20:3-4 (ESV)

I hear censure that insults me,

and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.

Do you not know this from of old,

since man was placed on earth,

An important rule or principle in counseling is that you have to remain clam and measured in your responses to the person(s) that you are counseling.  You can’t lose your cool, whether you agree or disagree with the one being counseled. They might do or say something odd that you might disagree with. The might (and often do) say something that even offends you, or attacks you.  But, you can NEVER take the bait.   You have to remember that they are coming to you for wisdom and advice.  They are coming to you because they are hurting and/or in pain.  You cannot be insulted by them.   Yet, this is exactly what happen to Zophar, as reported in the above verse.   Zophar has taken Job’s responses to him and his friends counsel and see that Job is correcting THEM!  He feels “censured” as the above states.  That word means “rebuked” or “corrected.”   Zophar’s thoughts are, “How dare Job speak to this wise group of men this way!”   

How does Zophar balance this?  He tells job that “tradition” has lead him to observe and believe that those in pain and suffering are wicked and deserve what they get.   We know that this is true based upon God’s final judgment.  But, in life, the wicked often flourish.  Never-the-less this is Zophar’s foundational truth: Traditional observations are truth.   He and his friends have no room in their lie-world-view for the suffering of the innocent.   This might be the major take away of the book of Job.   God allows the innocent to suffer.   But, Zophar has no room for this. Instead of listening to Job and trying to search for truth with Job, Zophar takes Job’s pushing back as a personal affront.  This causes him to lose his tack and starts attacking Job with more and more spears and javelins of words.  When we counsel others there are two lessons to learn here:

1. Never make the counseling personal.  If if you are attacked (and Zophar was not) don’t take it personal. 

2. Traditional observations might provide some light on the challenges of people and the reason for the pain people have.  But, tradition has to give way to how God is working in the lives of those we counsel.   Starting with the phrase, “Well, in the past this is what we know ...,” is not a good start.  Each person is different.  Job’s case was indeed different.   

Fear - What Do We Do With It? Psalms 27-29

 Psalms 27:3 (ESV)

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident. 

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you ever felt overpowered?   That is how David feels in the above verses.   We do not know the situation that David is faced with in the above passage.  But, in Psalm 27 David gives a real look into his emotional state.  In the above verse we read his confidence in the faithfulness of God.  He is sure, that no matter the situation, God is on his side.  It is important to recognize where David gets his confidence.   He does not get it from his production in life.  He does not get it from validation from others.  He does not get it because he has risen to the occasion and conquered.  He doesn’t express that his confidence comes from his preparation.  No, David’s confidence comes from his faith in God.    He sounds so secure in the above passage.  But, notice what he will say in just a few lines later of this poem: 

Psalms 27:9 (ESV)

Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

Apparently, David’s psychology has not caught up to his theology.   David is “feeling” something different than he is “thinking.”  How many times has that happened to us.  We “know” God is there and we “know” that God can take care of us, even when we are outnumbered over overwhelmed.  We can “state” in our belief statement that “we shall not fear.”  Yet, there fear is, staring us right in the face ... or, rather rearranging our facial muscles.   But, David is not lead by his emotions.  David is lead by his faith.  Note how he closes this song: 

Psalms 27:13-14 (ESV)

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living!

Wait for the LORD;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

David allows the theology of his life to rule and dominate the psychology of his life.  He does not deny the feelings of fear.  He doesn’t put on a face that hides the fear.  No, David writes a song about his fear.  But, he sandwiches the feelings in between absolute truths about God.  God will be his strength and, as he waits, God’s goodness will prevail.   God does not expect us to deny our fears when we are overwhelmed.  He just asks us to tuck them into the truths that He will never leave us or forsake us.  

Turmoil Turns to Triumph - Ruth

 Ruth 1:1-5 (ESV)

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

The above story is not the same as the story of Job, but the outcomes are the same.  In Job we have the back story of Satan wanting to entice Job to curse God.   Satan failed, although Job ended up going through a significant time of doubt and despair.  Job lost everything but his wife.  Naomi lost everything.  We have no back story as in the Job account. We have no idea what was happening in the spiritual realm of Naomi’s life.  We do know, from later in the book, that Naomi is not in a good spot spiritually.  The book of Ruth is as much about Naomi finding her faith in God again, as it is in Ruth being woven into the fabric of Israel’s history.   She will eventually become the great-great-grand mother to King David.   These stories in the Bible give us great understanding of the tapestry of our lives in conjunction with God’s sovereign plan.   There is nothing insignificant in these stories.   God put Ruth right were God wanted her through the turmoil of Naomi’s life.  Why?  We have no idea.  All we know is that as Paul stated to Romans centuries later, all things that God does work out for the good that God intended:

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Falsely Accused - Genesis 36-39

 Genesis 39:11-20 (ESV)

But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

One of the worst situations to deal with in life is a false accusation.   When people accuse you of something and you have no way to defend yourself.   What compounds the matter is that by even defending yourself you give legitimacy to their accusation.  In the above story we read about Joesph’s challenge.  We don’t have a lot of the story.  We don’t know if Joesph had a chance to defend himself.  It probably wound not make a difference to Potiphar.   His wife tried to seduction Joseph, but Joseph’s character to live holy before God was not something she could handle.  That rejection caused her to make a false claim.   What do we do when we are falsely accused?  There is much in this story to give us in regard to that question.  We do see that God was with Joseph in this situation.  Later we will realize why God allowed it, however. In the account of this struggle for Joseph, we read he was placed in the “place where the king’s prisoners were confined.”  This is significant because this is where God would later send the baker and the cupbearer of the king.   This would be the connection God would use to get Joseph before Pharaoh.  God used the evilness of Potiphar’s wife to arrange for His servant Joesph to be placed in a Prisiazny to meet someone God needed Joseph to meet.   Could God have accomplished this another way?  Of course.   But, like Daniel, Mordecai, and other servants of God, God sometimes chooses prisons, lion’s dens and the facing of the gallows to put us in the place of His design.   Daniel was falsely accused of not be loyal to the king.   Mordecai was accused of leading a rebellion against the king.   Later, the Apostle Paul would be falsely accused of stirring up an uprising against Rome and be lead in shackles and chains to Rome to see appear before Caesar ... the very place God wanted him to preach the Gospel.   As believers we need to start accepting that God moves us where He wants us and where He needs us to be by whatever circumstances He wants to use to get us to that spot for His glory.   To better glorify Him in all things we need to accept that God will use the wicked accusations of the world, for His glory and His purpose.   We may not like the process, but in each of these men of God the outcome was glorious for God.   Think of those in the Bible who had false accusations made against them:

1. Joseph - Genesis 39

2. Daniel - Daniel 6

3. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - Daniele 3

4. Mordecai - Esther 3

5. Paul - Acts 22-28

6. Jeremiah - Jeremiah 26, 37-38, 43

7. Elijah - 1 Kings 18

8. Amos - Amos 7

9. Nehemiah - Nehemiah 6-8

10. Job - Job 1:9,10 & 2:4,5

11. Jesus - Gospels 

12. Stephen - Acts 6-7

 Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV)

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Preaching the Gospel - 1 Corinthians 1-2

 1 Corinthians 1:17 (ESV)

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

I have read this passages for years in my yearly reading through the Bible.  Up until today I did not see the many references to how God’s Word is to be preached.  There are some wonderful truths that those to preach/teach God’s Word should observe.  Those who listen each Sunday to God’s Word being preached out to pray these verses over the teaching ministry of their Church:

MONDAY - Preaching the Gospel is the speaking the Power of God:

1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV)

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

TUESDAY - Preaching the Gospel folly to the world 

1 Corinthians 1:21-23 (ESV)

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

WEDNESDAY - Preaching the Gospel is out of weakness of self

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 (ESV)

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

THURSDAY - Preaching the Gospel requires a humble heart

1 Corinthians 1:28-29 (ESV)

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

FRIDAY - Preaching the Gospel is not enhanced by fancy talk

1 Corinthians 2:3-4 (ESV)

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

SATURDAY - Preaching the Gospel is not done in human wisdom but in the wisdom of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 (ESV)

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

SUNDAY - Preaching of the Gospel based upon eloquent speech will hinder the power of God

1 Corinthians 1:17 (ESV)

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Pray to Avoid Hypocrisy - Matthew 23-25

 Matthew 23:2-4 (ESV)

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

Perhaps the worst thing in life is to be a hypocrite who not only deceives themselves but also leads others astray.   Below are the seven WOES that Jesus warns His disciples about concerning the hypocrisy of the religious leaders that day.  We should make  these part of our weekly prayer life and pray over ourselves and our church leaders that we and they don’t become this.  The alliterations behind each day of the week are from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew.  He does a great job at giving us one word to describe the “woe.”   Read more of his material on these woes in “MacArthur New Testament Commentary-Matthew.” 

MONDAY- Exclusion (MacArthur)

Matthew 23:13 (ESV)

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

TUESDAY-Subversion 

Matthew 23:15 (ESV)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

WEDNESDAY-Perversion

Matthew 23:16-22 (ESV)

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

THURSDAY-Inversion 

Matthew 23:23-24 (ESV)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

FRIDAY-Extortion (self indulgence)

Matthew 23:25-26 (ESV)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

SATURDAY-Contamination 

Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

SUNDAY-Pretension 

Matthew 23:29-33 (ESV)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

God Does Not Forget Us! - Isaiah 45-50

 Isaiah 49:14-16 (ESV)

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

God will not forget you.    Think of how many people you have known, meet or even had some type of relationship with at one time or another.   Do you remember them all?   Today our electronic devices have ways to show past pictures of events in our lives.  Randomly the device will pop of a picture of some event and there you are at some place or even with some person or some people.  It causes you to remember that moment.  Yet, you may not.   Or, you may, but vaguely.   The other day my computer screen saver was showing pictures from my photo album.  There was a picture of me standing by a guard in Alcatraz prison when we went there almost 15 years ago.  I have no idea who the guy is.   Later I saw a picture of my wife and I at the farthest southern tip of the continental USA, in Key West, Florida.  We took a picture of couple we only meet briefly.   I have no idea who they were, are now.   We so easily forget people.  People so easily forget us.   But, God does not forget us.   God can’t forget us.   He promises to write our name in the palm of His hand.   This is such a reassuring thought.   People come and go.  Relationships foster and end.   But, the relationship we have with God in right in His hands, daily.  

John 10:28, 29 (ESV)

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

We are known by God and He establishes a long lasting and never ending relationship with us:

Hebrews 8:10-12 (ESV)

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws into their minds,

and write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor

and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

for they shall all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,

and I will remember their sins no more.”

God will never forget us.  We might forget someone in our past that was even significant.   But, God knows and will remember the most insignificant parts of our lives.  

Psalms 139:2 (ESV)

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

Counsel with Love and Grace - Job 18-19

 Job 19:5-6 (ESV)

If indeed you magnify yourselves against me

and make my disgrace an argument against me,

know then that God has put me in the wrong

and closed his net about me.

In the previous chapter, 18, one of Job’s friends, has once again condemned job.  Note Bildad’s words to suffering Job:

Job 18:4-6 (ESV)

You who tear yourself in your anger,

shall the earth be forsaken for you,

or the rock be removed out of its place?

“Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,

and the flame of his fire does not shine.

The light is dark in his tent,

and his lamp above him is put out.

Bildad goes on and on in chapter 18 about the plight of the wicked and their utter destruction.   He is not showing any mercy, empathy or regard for Job’s plight.  He is simply say, “Job, you sinned and now you pay.”    

In the above passage from chapter 19, Job begins his response.   He has to respond.   He believes that he has been wronged by God.  He believes his life was on the right path and he has done nothing to deserve all this sorrow in his life.  Of course, Job is wrong.  There is no injustice with God:

Romans 9:14-15 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

No, the issue here with Job is that his comforters have become tormentors because they have moved from being those who were sent to console and encourage to someone who would correct and condemn.   Perhaps the hardest issue in coming along someone is remaining in the former and avoiding the latter.   To stay as the one who brings relief vs rebuke is one of the hardest balances of those who counsel.  There is, of course, a time for judgment and condemnation of actions.  But, Job’s situation was not the time.  We know, based upon the first two chapters, that Job did not do wrong.  A narrative Job’s three friends had not heard.  But, Job was trying to tell them about his situation and they made the immediate pivot from the one who consoles to the one who condemns.  They had no mercy for Job.  They were not using Job’s situation to introduce God’s mercy and grace into Job’s life.  They were using the situations to point out Job’s failures.   Job’s argument is as equally wrong.  God was NOT unjust.   But, Job has been driven to defend because his therapist has refused to consider that Job’s original argument was legit.   Job keeps telling them that he is innocent (Job 1-2).  They keep telling him he is guilty.   This drives Job to defend and, eventually, develop bad doctrine to believe.   Allowing the sins and faults and failures of others to bring us into a bad place is a danger for anyone who sees his brother fail and attempts to help them out of their plight:

Galatians 6:1-2 (ESV)

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

The “law of Christ” is to love unconditionally.  

Fear the Lord - the Benefits are Amazing - Psalms 24-26

 Psalms 25:11-15 (ESV)

11 For your name's sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

12 Who is the man who fears the LORD?

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13 His soul shall abide in well-being,

and his offspring shall inherit the land.

14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,

and he makes known to them his covenant.

15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD,

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

In Psalm 25 we read a prayer about the man who pursues God and want s to walk in integrity with God.   The writer, David, states right from the beginning that he wants to lift his soul toward God, seek protection from his enemies and pursue God’s paths.   In the above passage we read him write about what it is like in this life if we turn from sin and turn toward God to fear the Lord.   By doing so, note the benefits God gives us:

1. (vs. 12b) - The man that fears the Lord will be instructed by the Lord in the way he should choose to walk.  This is such a refreshing truth for those who are trying to navigate life and seek God’s will.   When we truly turn from sin (vs 11) and turn to God to fear Him (vs 12a), God gives him instruction on choices.   This is a OT version of the truth in Romans 12:1-2.  

2.  (vs. 13a) - The man that fears the Lord will abide in well being. The Hebrew word for “well-being” is “tob.”   It is used over 500 times in the Old Testament.  The first time it was used was in Genesis 1 when God say the light and said it was “good.”  So, the word has a wide meaning but in our language today it would mean prosperous (which is how the NIV translates the word).   Those that fear the Lord have some type of “tob” life and that is always characterized as a good thing.   

3. (vs. 13b) - The man that fears the Lord will be assured that his offspring will also have some time of “tob.”  David writes they will “inherit the land.”  This probably has some restrictions on obedience.   David’s son Solomon certainly is an example of “tob” after David’s death.  However, David’s son Absalom did not.   

4. (vs. 14) - The man that fears the Lord will have an intimacy with the Lord, to the extent that God will give him divine revelation and make Himself known to him.   Note the same promise from the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 8:10-12 (ESV)

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws into their minds,

and write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor

and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

for they shall all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,

and I will remember their sins no more.”

5. (vs. 15) - The man that fears the Lord will be kept from harm because His eyes on the Lord. That enables God to pluck him from the traps and nets of the world.  When we are looking in the wrong place our feet will end up in the wrong steps.   When we are looking straight at the Lord we can be assured our steps are on a safe path. 

Fear the Lord - God benefits us when we do.