God Can Set The Boundaries For Our Days - Job 38-39

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’?

Imagine telling a profession of quantum physics that they don’t know basic math.   Imagine insinuating to a heart doctor they are failing in the basics of taking someone’s temperature.  Imagine telling an engineer they are inept at building something with LEGO blocks.   These things would be utterly ridiculous.  Yet, imagine telling God He doesn’t know what He is doing with your life! Utterly ridiculous! 

This is Job’s plight, however, at this point in the story.  He has lost everything.  He has nothing left.  Even now, the friends who came to console him, have judged him.   He claims God has abandoned him.   Job has called God out.  He is claiming God is inept at caring for him.   In this section of Job, however, God now gets to talk.  God’s opening line to Job must have been a shock to Job’s system:

Job 38:2-3 (ESV)

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Dress for action like a man;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.

Imagine in the midst of all this to suddenly hear God’s voice!   Job is about to be examined by God about what he knows about the universe that God created. The one Job is part of.  In the above lines Job is questioned about his ability to control the seas.   God simply asks him if he has control over the boundaries of the seas, like God does? 

Throughout this section of Job, God never answers Job’s burning question as to “why” did all this happen to him.  Instead God moves Job’s eyes away from himself and onto God’s majesty and glory.   It is easy for us to try to out-master God.   We know what is best for us, or so we think.    God is in control of the universe.  He knows what is best for us.  He wants the best for us.  When we focus on us and our circumstances we lose sight of who God is.  God has to often come in an ask, “Who is this that darkens the counsel by words without knowledge.”    Let us not get so focused upon our own desires that we forget that God has set the boundaries for the seas.  He therefore can set the boundaries for our days. 

God Sustains Us In Times of Trouble - Psalms 57-59

Psalms 57:3 (ESV)

He will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

Psalm 57 is a prayer of David when he is hiding from Saul in a cave.  We don’t know if these type of songs/prayers were written at that very moment, or later in his life.  It is hard to imagine David carrying a scroll and pen to write with as he fled from Saul.   Yet, the pain he was feeling certainly comes through his writings.   

He begins the psalm with great assurance:

Psalms 57:1-2 (ESV)

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM SAUL, IN THE CAVE.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

In verse three, therefore, we read this great refrain that God’s steadfast love and faithfulness will sustain David.   This is the hope, power and encouragement to all believers.   Notice how Psalm 91 states the same thing:

Psalms 91:1-4 (ESV)

My Refuge and My Fortress

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

We can be assured that in the midst of our struggles (even when others are trampling after us) that it is God’s faithfulness that is our shield and buckler.   We rejoice in His ever presence and constant care.   Not because we deserve it all the time, but because He simply promised to provide it all the time.   

Beware of Those Who Bring Gifts - 2 Samuel 15-19

2 Samuel 16:1-4 (ESV)

When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.” And the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.’” Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.” And Ziba said, “I pay homage; let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

We have to be careful of those who come bearing gifts.   We don’t always know if their heart is true or false.  Solomon said it this way:

Proverbs 21:27 (ESV)

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

how much more when he brings it with evil intent.

Proverbs 26:23 (ESV)

Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

The Greeks said it this way:

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. 

Our society says it this way:

Beware of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  

In the above story of David fleeing Jerusalem because his son, Absalom, was revolting against him, Ziba comes with gifts for David and his friends.   Ziba, a steward for Mephibosheth, claims that Mephibosheth has also revolted against David and wants to simply help David in his escape.   Later we will read that Mephisbosheth has a completely different story (Read 2 Samuel 19:24-30.)   

David will sort it out, but this first act of the plot can be deceiving.   Ziba was simply trying to when favor more than he was trying to meet needs.   He will get some financial and moral boast out of this act.  But it is obvious that there was some deception in play.   

We have to be aware of those who may try to win us with a bribe.   Bribes are powerful:

Proverbs 17:8 (ESV)

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

Proverbs 17:23 (ESV)

The wicked accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the ways of justice.

Ecclesiastes 7:7 (ESV)

Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Be careful when others come with gifts.  Their heart may not be entirely with you. 

Where God Commands, He Equips - Exodus 25-29

Exodus 25:23-30 (ESV)

“You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. And you shall make  for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. And you shall make  its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

The phrase And you shall make occurs so many times in this book it is hard to count.  The word for make in the Hebrew is used over 3,500 times in the Old Testament and 650+ of them it is translated make.  They are told to make, in this section, the Table for the Show Bread.  But the focus of this post is more on this notion of the nation of Israel being  told to make all these things from the Mercy Seat to the Tent to the Ark of the Covenant to the Curtains, etc.   

To put this in perspective, they are living in tents in the wilderness.   They are moving from place to place.  Their enemies are all around them.   They are gathering mana from heaven each morning for food and drinking water that, at times, has to be brought out of a rock.  In the midst of all this they are told to make all the items for the Tabernacle and there is not Home Depot for centuries.   

This is an absolute miracle of God as He instructs them, provided for them when they left Egypt (with the goods the Egyptian showered with them when they left), and provided talented people with skills in these crafts to created this magnificent Tabernacle in the wilderness.  It could be disassembled in a moment and transported over rough terrain, only to be reassembled and up in operation upon arrival to its next location.  

Many miracles are recorded in the Bible.  This is probably not one that is often referred to when we count them.  But where God calls, He equips.  Where God demands we make He provides the ability to do so.   Nothing God calls us to do is every absent God’s power to do it.  

Married or Single For Christ? 1 Corinthians 6-7

1 Corinthians 7:8-9 (ESV)

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

To find clarity about the above text we have to understand what is both happening in the Corinthian church and what Paul’s instruction and mindset is regarding marriage and being unmarried.  

The Corinthian church is in the midst of a sexual deviant city.   Many of the men coming to Christ would have already had multiple wives.  Many of the women would have already been divorced by an unbelieving man who simply wanted a new wife.   The church actually sent a message to Paul asking about some clarity regarding marriage and even sexual activities in the marriage.   Note:

1 Corinthians 7:1-4 (ESV)

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

With this background it is important to understand that Paul thought being single in Christ was a spiritual gift.  Note:

1 Corinthians 7:6-7 (ESV)

Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

This spiritual gift from God came with the beauty of not having these sexual desires that those who do marry have.  In verses six and seven Paul’s statement that it is better to marry than to burn with passion, is not meant to be a limitation or a negative condemnation of believers who has sexual urges.  What Paul is saying is that the gift of being single, to serve the Lord, comes with the strength to resist those urges.  Those who are called to marriage are not given that strength and, therefore, should marry, least the need for sexual relationships become a weakness in their walk. 

Paul is firmly telling the church that there is a place for marriage (that comes with sexual urges) and there is a place for being single in the church (that focuses more on complete devotion to Christ) and the gift of not having those same urges.   

Paul is not promoting one life style over the other. He is not condemning one over the other.  He is stating to them that God puts us in the situation He wants us and therefore we need to stay in that situation, being gifted and equipped by God for it.  This is why he ends the letter this way:

1 Corinthians 7:20-24 (ESV)

Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

He Has A Plan For Us! Luke 1-2

Luke 1:16-17 (ESV)

And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

The “he” in the above passage is a baby to be born to an old priest named Zechariah and his equally old wife Elizabeth.   The baby’s name would be John.  Later he would be referred to as John the Baptist.   Before he was born he was given the above mission.   

We may think that unusual, but it is not. Yes, the announcement of his birth and the outline of the works he would do are unusual, but this is not uncommon in the life of God’s people. It is the norm.  Notice what Paul says to us about our lives:

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The key verse in the above is verse 10.   We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  

We might want to stop and think in our lives as to why we are on this planet.  In the above we are told why:  God has a purpose for us. He prepared those works beforehand that we should walk in them.   

God has a plan for us for today and tomorrow.  Our job is to obey His word and allow His sovereignty to direct us in our walk with Him.  Here is how Solomon framed it:

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

The heart of man plans his way,

but the LORD establishes his steps.

If we make our plans based upon God’s word, we will walk the steps established by God.  

God Keeps His Covenant - Jeremiah 32-26

Jeremiah 32:36-41 (ESV)

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

“Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

As Jeremiah records these words from God he is held captive by the king. Why?

Jeremiah 32:3 (ESV)

For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;

Jeremiah’s prophecy is the equivalent of someone today telling their nation they are going to be taken captive by another nation. It was not a populist message.  Jeremiah was the lone person saying all this.  So King Zedekiah canceled him by putting him in prison.  But that did not keep Jeremiah from speaking the truth.   Most of the truth was along the same lines that Zedekiah feared; that God was going to punish them all.   

However, the above lines are one of the few in the book where Jeremiah outlines God’s favor on Israel.   In fact, in the previous chapter God even instructed Jeremiah to buy land from his cousin.   He bought the land and put the deed in a jar.   This was a vivid picture to the king and Israel that God was still going to be faithful to His convent and bless Israel.  There would be a remnant that God would bless.   

God had made a covenant with David and nothing was going to break that covenant.  Note:

Jeremiah 33:19-22 (ESV)

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the LORD: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

God was going to put this covenant into the hearts of Israel.   He did that when Jesus, His Son, died on the cross.  God fulfilled the covenant with David through His Son, Jesus.  He has placed faithfulness into the hearts of those who believe in Jesus by giving us the Spirit of God.  God fulfilled His covenant in no way the nation thought it would be fulfilled.  God fulfilled His covenant in our hearts.