Tag Archives: Job 37-39:30

August 31, 2014 Bible Study — Looking Beyond Our Pain and Suffering

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. As I read today’s passages, I sensed a theme and a thread running through them. But as I wrote my thoughts about them, that thread eluded me. I pray that the Spirit work through the words I did write in order to convey the message He has for those who read this.

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Proverbs 22:13

    There are people who constantly imagine dangers which preclude them doing actual work. Accomplishing anything involves a certain amount of risk, but those who wish to avoid any effort always imagine the risk to be greater than it is.

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Psalm 44:9-26

    The psalmist reminds us that sometimes hard times come upon those who are faithful to the Lord. There are times when we will face trials and difficulties because of our faithfulness to God. However, God will not forget us and will deliver us when His plans are complete.

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2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10

    We may face troubles because of our faith and because we preach the Gospel to others. However, let us never allow such troubles to silence us. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that if we truly have faith, we will feel compelled to tell others about the Gospel despite any troubles which might ensue. As more people hear the Gospel message, some of them will recognize God’s grace to deliver them from their sins (which cause them misery). The result of this will be an outpouring of thanksgiving bringing glory to God.
    In the meantime, let us not focus on the difficulties and troubles which we experience in this life, rather, let us focus on the glory which will follow. In the grand scheme of things, the troubles we face today are small things that will last only a short time. They will soon be gone. We cannot truly see the glory to which God is bringing us, but it will last for all eternity. Currently, we live in bodies which are breaking down and falling apart. As we get older, we acquire pains and are less able to accomplish physical tasks. Our current bodies are like tents, great for a temporary shelter, but not a permanent place to live. When these bodies will no longer serve and we die, God will give us bodies that are like houses, a place to live permanently. It is not that we seek the death of our current bodies, rather we should crave the new, eternal bodies which God will grant us. While the death of our earthly bodies will bring an end to our suffering and pain, let us not seek death. While we are yet in these bodies we can serve God and do good so that others may come to know and worship Him. Let us not fear death because when it arrives for our bodies, we will then be at home with the Lord.

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Job 37-39:30

    Elihu goes into the conclusion of his monologue by stating that thinking about God’s power causes him to tremble with fear. Further, our imagination is not capable of conceiving the extent of God’s power. What we can see of His power is but a small sample of its grandeur. We do not have the ability to even make a coherent argument before God, let alone make a case defending our actions before His judgement. We cannot even look directly at the sun on a clear day, how can we hope to present ourselves before God?
    Finally, God Himself answers Job’s complaints. God asks a list of questions which demonstrate how our limited knowledge and wisdom leave us unable to understand all that God does. We cannot hope to comprehend all of the things which God does because we do not have sufficient knowledge. There are things which go into the actions God chooses to take that are not only beyond our knowledge, but beyond our ability to know.

August 31, 2013 Bible Study — >Where Were You When I Laid the Foundations of the Earth?

     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.

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Job 37-39:30

     Elihu continues, telling Job that his heart pounds when he thinks of God’s voice and wondrous power. He describes some of the ways in which God speaks and some of his wondrous acts. Then he asks Job a rhetorical question. He asks Job if he understands how God does these things. Elihu concludes by saying that since Job is so wise as to understand these things, he should teach others what to say to God.
     When Elihu had finished speaking, God answered Job from a whirlwind. God starts by asking Job some questions. He asks him if he was there when the earth was created? The whole of chapter 38 is a beautiful rebuttal to those who think they know how the world came to be and that they can dismiss God as unimportant. I will quote here one example I found especially poignant:

Where does light come from,
and where does darkness go?
Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
and you are so very experienced!

Chapter 39 continues with more examples of things which exceed human understanding and demonstrate the limits of human wisdom.

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     When God begins speaking to Job He asks the question which Ken Ham paraphrases so brilliantly when people tell him that this earth was created in some way that contradicts the Genesis account. God’s words here:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Ken Ham asks:

How do you know? Were you there?

There are many who challenge this as an easy question to answer, but that is because they do not listen to the whole follow up. That question is directed at those who dogmatically insist that there is no God because the whole universe came into being by random chance. It is a question about how do you know what you know and, more importantly, how do you know what you do not know? It is only when we recognize the limits to what we know that we can start to accept that God is beyond our ability to fully understand, that we have to take something on faith and it may as well be God.

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2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10

     Paul quotes the psalmist as saying, “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Paul tells us that because he knows that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise him and those who listen to his message, he cannot help but tell people about the Gospel. As God’s grace reaches ever more people will cause those who believe to give thanks for the greater glory to God. Paul never gave up because his spirit was being renewed every day, even though his body was wasting away. Paul was able to accomplish this because he did not look at the troubles he faced in this life, rather he looked at the things of God which cannot be seen.
     Paul expresses his full confidence in God. Telling us that he would rather die and leave this earthly, corrupted body to be with Christ, but willing to stay within his earthly body for as long as God had use for him here. This whole passage gives us a model which we should strive to follow. Paul regards this life as something to be endured in service to God, but longed for the day when he would join Jesus in heaven, whether through death and resurrection or through transformation upon the Lord’s return. This made any trials or pains which he faced eminently endurable because the worse they were from a human perspective the more they demonstrated that God was honoring him by allowing him to share in Christ’s suffering.

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Psalm 44:9-26

     In today’s psalm, the psalmist tells us that God has allowed his enemies to triumph over him and made him experience suffering. All of this has happened despite the fact that he has remained faithful to God. Despite being in this situation the psalmist trusts in God to rescue him from his troubles.

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     There will be times when our life goes through something like this. But let us remember the message of Job, that God will answer our cries in His time. And let us remember Paul’s expression of faith and keep our focus on the unseen glory of God. God will use our suffering to bring glory to His name and will reward us for our faithfulness according to His plan.

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Proverbs 22:13

     The lazy person will take any excuse to avoid working.

August 31, 2012 Bible Study

     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.

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Job 37-39:30

     Elihu concludes by telling Job that God is more powerful than we can even imagine. He controls the thunder and the snow and the rain. God causes large bodies of water to freeze over. Elihu than challenges Job, asking him if he understands how God controls the weather. If Job can do that, then, and only then, is he competent to question God’s judgement. Elihu tells us that we cannot look at the brightness of the sun in the sky let alone the brightness of God’s glory.
     After Elihu concludes, God answers Job. God asks Job if he was there when the Earth was created. God asks Job if he can cause morning to happen? Has he explored the depths of the sea? God goes on to ask Job a long series of rhetorical questions about his knowledge and his power. I read this list of questions that God asks of Job and realize that mankind has answered some of them, but not all. And even most of those we have answered our answers are incomplete. Mankind has spent centuries studying how different aspects of the weather work and our understanding is still incomplete. And what understanding we have comes from many people combining their knowledge over all that time. Ultimately, we were not there when the Earth was created, we can only guess at what happened by extrapolating from things that we see happening today. How often do scientists go back and re-examine their assumptions about how the Earth was formed on the basis of new discoveries?

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10

     Paul starts off with saying that he speaks because he believes. Do we speak what we believe? If we are afraid to speak out what we believe about Jesus and the resurrection of the dead, does that suggest that perhaps we do not really believe it? I think that Paul is indeed suggesting that if we believe we will speak, those around us will know our beliefs. Paul goes on to say that he is not discouraged by the infirmities of his earthly body. He tells us that the pains and dysfunctions that he suffers and which are steadily getting worse, either as a result of aging or of the hardships he endured, are of no consequence next to the spiritual renewal he is receiving. He does not focus on what can be seen and experienced but instead focuses on the unseen which is yet to come.
      Paul tells us that our earthly bodies are a tent which will be replaced by an eternal house, our heavenly bodies. Paul makes an important point here. One which we often overlook when we speak of heaven. He tells us that we will indeed have bodies in eternity. We will not just be disembodied spirits. There is some kind of physical reality to heaven, although it is one that is beyond our ability to comprehend. Paul expresses his desire to to enter heaven not as a desire to leave his body, but as a desire to enter his heavenly body. I had never noticed that this passage is a partial defense against gnosticism, which tends to view our physical bodies as evil to be suppressed. But he, also, defends against those who fear death, pointing out that as long as we remain in our earthly bodies we are physically apart from God. When we leave these earthly bodies we will enter into heavenly bodies in the presence of God. He concludes this section by proclaiming that whether he remains in this body or enters into his heavenly body his goal is to serve God.

Does anybody know the name of this plant?

Psalm 44:9-26

     In yesterday’s psalm, the psalmist told us how God won victories for those who were faithful. He gave full credit to God for his successes. Today, he speaks of the trials he now faces. This psalm tells us that sometimes those who trust and follow God will experience hardships and trials they do not understand. Yet even in those times we must call on the Lord. God’s love is unfailing and He will not try us beyond our ability to endure.

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Proverbs 22:13

     This proverb is fairly simple. The lazy person can always find an excuse to avoid hard work. We need to examine, I need to examine whether my reasons for not doing something are legitimate. or just an excuse not to work. I know that I excel at coming up with excuses not to do things, or to put things off. I must strive to be more faithful in carrying through on those things I choose to do.