I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Job concludes by once again declaring his innocence. His list of sins that he has not committed include sins of omission as well as sins of commission. He declares that he has not lusted after women, nor has he refused to help the poor. He has not used his power against the weak, nor worshiped false gods. He did not gloat about his wealth, nor rejoice in the misfortune of others. Job then asks for someone to point out what sin he has committed. He says that if they do, he will happily confess the sin.
At this point Job’s fourth friend, Elihu, speaks out. He was angry with Job because he refused to admit that his suffering was a result of his sin and he was angry with Job’s other friends because they had failed to refute Job’s arguments. He had waited for the others to answer Job because he was younger, but when he saw that they had no more to say, he spoke out. Elihu tells Job that he is wrong to declare that he is without sin and that God is punishing him without cause. He continues to say that Job is wrong to accuse God of not responding to people’s complaints. God does indeed speak, but people do not recognize His words. God gives people warnings in many various ways, including dreams and nightmares. He disciplines them with sickness and other misfortune. Elihu then offers Job the opportunity to say more before he goes on.
Paul asks if he needs a letter of recommendation to the Corinthians or from the Corinthians. He answers this question by declaring that the Corinthian believers are his letter of recommendation. Written not with ink, but by the Spirit of God. This letter is not written on stone tablets but on human hearts. And thus Paul begins to segue into his next point. Before he does that he declares that his confidence is in God through Christ, just as ours should be. Not that he is capable of doing anything on his own, what competence he has to carry out his ministry comes entirely from God. His ministry is to declare God’s new covenant that is not of written laws but of the Spirit.
The old covenant of written laws, which came written on stone tablets, began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look on Moses’ face. Moses’ put a veil over his face to prevent the people of Israel from seeing the glory of God that they could not bear to face under the old covenant. Paul tells us that even today those who seek justification through Moses’ law have a veil over their hearts when they read it such that they do not fully understand the words. That veil can only be removed through belief in Christ. When we turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away so that we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. Then God makes us more and more like Him by gradually changing us into His image. We were created in the image of God, but sin damaged that image. Now God offers us the opportunity to have that image repaired, bit by bit, as we strive to follow Christ and acknowledge that, just as God created us to begin with, we must allow Him to recreate us in His image.
The psalmist declares that the cure for depression is to look for God’s light and His truth and to follow them. If you are depressed, put your hope in God and praise His name. I will look to God’s light for guidance and follow it to where He wants me to go. My prayer to God today is that He shine His light on the path He wishes me to follow and place His Spirit in my heart to direct me on to that path.
The first of today’s proverbs tells us that those who “plant” injustice will harvest disaster. Sometimes people justify committing injustices against others by claiming that others have committed injustices against them. This proverb tells us that doing that is like putting poison in the food I eat today because someone put poison in my food yesterday.
The second proverb tells us that those who share their wealth with the poor will be blessed. In part that blessing is the knowledge that one has fed the poor. This proverb convicts me once again that I must reduce my debt so that I will have more to give to those in need. I must strive to work harder so that I have more resources to help those less fortunate than myself.