So here is the deal, we all have our favorite version of the Bible to read. When I have a teen Bible study I use CSB, when I am at church I often open ESV, when I study by myself I use NIV. I know some people get really passionate about why one is better than the other BUT…if God can talk through a donkey to speak to Balaam, surely a different version can be used sometimes.
So the next 2 weeks you might glance at the schedule and think…”how long are we in Job….I am ready to get back to Genesis!” So if you need to switch it up a little, look at a different version. (You know you are getting old, when these switching versions is the craziest thing you did all day 😂)
Here is a side by side of 2 different versions to try…..
Job 6-9 agenda:
- Job replies to Eliphaz
- Bildad takes a turn at giving advice
- Job will reply again
Eliphaz is suffering and wants God to just end his life to stop the pain BUT he has one comfort:
10 At least I can take comfort in this:
Despite the pain,
I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
Job says to Eliphaz:
Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
Hmmm, do I slip in criticism when I counsel a friend in a trial? 😞 Too often!
When God described Job he said:
- “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
When you read Job’s responses, look for wisdom and truth that you may need:
17 “What are people, that you should make so much of us,
that you should think of us so often?
18 For you examine us every morning
and test us every moment.
19 Why won’t you leave me alone,
at least long enough for me to swallow!
Even though he begs God to step back for a moment he recognizes that God thinks so much of us, every day, every moment He is with us.
(There were many gems in his response)
Chapter 8: Next, Bildad takes the talking stick:
The book of Job is a good reminder that we cannot be a “single” scripture Christian. Dangerous. We need to know who is saying it, why, and in what context. (See below)
4 Your children must have sinned against him,
so their punishment was well deserved.
5 But if you pray to God
and seek the favor of the Almighty,
6 and if you are pure and live with integrity,
he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
I just read the NT and I don’t recall this ever being stated. JUST like when getting advice from friends we need to filter it through God’s character as a whole before taking it.
Well! Put your PREACHER voice on for Chapter 9! You know the one I am talking about (I use the voice from the preacher in that Eddie Murphy movie “Coming to America”) Because JOB comes back STRONG! “His wisdom is profound, his power is vast…He moves Mountains without their knowing it…
Well, my voice says ” His wisdom is profounda , his power is vasta….He moves Mountainsaaaah”
I know some of you weren’t even born in 1988 so if you want to be able to know what I am talking about…here you go! Click here for the voice.
I hope you know that any “light jokes” I make is just because I feel great when I am in the Bible!
Chapter 9 might be your favorite chapter ❤️ Click here to reread it.
If Job (you) was taken to court, and God was the Judge what would the verdict be? What do you have that Job does not?
Job 9:
29 Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.
So what’s the use of trying?
30 Even if I were to wash myself with soap
and clean my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,
and my own filthy clothing would hate me.
32 “God is not a mortal like me,
so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33 If only there were a mediator between us,
someone who could bring us together.
34 The mediator could make God stop beating me,
and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35 Then I could speak to him without fear,
but I cannot do that in my own strength.
From the earliest days, we have an innate desire for a mediator, a comforter. Without realizing it, Job is pointing forward to Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
1 John 2:1 “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
2 Cor. 1:5 “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
One more for my friend Randall:
Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Reading the Bible - 2021 