Month: January 2021

Genesis 12-15

~ Patricia ~ 8 Comments

If you got a little behind in Job, tuck it away for now and stay with us in Genesis!  Here is a video to recap Job you can watch later.  Video.

Chapter 12: Abram is told to “Go”.  He lives in the Ur of Chaldean.  Ur, located in modern-day Iraq,   was the world’s hub of culture, power, and wealth.  Abram was told to leave this county, these people, and this comfortable household….and he did. THEN, the Lord made him a promise at the age of 75:

The Promise:

“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

ALL peoples on earth will be blessed THROUGH you. This is why we are going to follow every genealogy until Christ. If you did not read last night’s overview, there is the genealogy in the ‘printables’ you will want to peek at.  Let’s now look at the map:

map of Abraham's Journeys

Let’s begin our traveling.  Abram follows the caravan roads (rather than cutting through the desert) Here are some notes if interesting:

  •  Haran: Hebrew word: the road
  • Canaan: which is Israel today.  Go back to Genesis 9, the son of Noah: Ham.
  • Shechem: Hebrew words:  shoulder of the mountain.
  •  Bethel: House of God (El=God).  This is where Jacob will see the stairway to heaven.
  • Ai- means Ruin…hmmm
  • Negev-this is where Isaac is going to be born
  • Hebron- this is where Abraham is going to be buried
  • He builds an altar to the Lord.  Altars are built for 2 reasons-
    • 1.) for offering a sacrifice
    • 2.) as a place of remembrance.

So if he built an altar to the Lord remembering his promise…but does he fully trust it?  I don’t recall God telling him to go to Egypt.  THEN, he takes his smoking hot wife into the land.  It was known in those times that if Pharaoh wanted to have a “conjugal prison visit, if you know what I mean” with your wife, he would just kill you and take her (or like David, send them to war….insert sad face)  So Abram says, “Tell them I am your brother”. I am still trying to figure out if Sarai is born from Abram’s brother Nahor which would make this a “white lie” since cousin and sister are interchangeably in their language.  Anyway….focus Szymanski!!

I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;

Sorry, Pharoah….you didn’t know about this Promise…

Chapter 13:  As the elder person, Abram would have been fully within his rights to decide who gets what portion of land.  Abram voluntarily lets Lot choose.  Lot chooses the plain of Jordan (right on the edge of a party town: Sodom so he can Uber over for some fun)

Genesis 13 Bible Pictures: Abram with his nephew Lot | Bible pictures, Abraham and lot, Bible

God PROMISES again in 13:14 the promises he made to him: I will give you this land and I will give you children.  Abram makes another altar.

Copy Of Abraham Follows God - Lessons - Blendspace

I know this is getting long, I am sorry…Chapter 14, cliff note version: Five cities formed an alliance to fight for their independence against an alliance of 4 cities (this is like Game of Thrones!)  and in the midst of it all Lot (who now has MOVED to the city) gets taken a P.O.W.    So here is how awesome God is:  He takes Abram and a mere 318 men…against thousands, ambushed them at night and gets Lot AND all the stolen goods AND the other captives!Archaeological Evidence For Melchizedek's House of God – Lady Apologist

Melchizedek.  WHO IS HE?

  1. He is a monotheistic Priest and King in a Pagan land.
  2. A Theophany or Christophany is a physical appearance of God/Jesus to a human being.
    • Non-human form (like the burning bush)
    • Human form (like when Jacob wrestled with the man in Peniel)
    • Angel form (Angel of the Lord)
  3. A Typology: a form of symbolism that is prophetic.  In Old Testament typology are people and objects that foreshadow,  point to something that is yet to happen or someone (most often Jesus) who is yet to come.

Hebrew tradition says he is Shem (Noah’s son) But we really don’t know. Out of NOWHERE this King of Salem (King of Peace) ‘future Jerusalem’ comes to accept the FIRST TITHE! He performs COMMUNION.

Genesis 14-18-20 (go underline it)

Then Melchizedek king of Salem  brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,  and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator  of heaven and earth.

And blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Do you understand how much foreshadowing is in just those two verses? This was 600 years BEFORE the priesthood was dictated through Moses as a Levitical line (don’t get confused, we will get there next month  ). 

If this topic interests you…feel free to dig into the book of Hebrews.  Here is a snippet: Hebrews 7 “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.”

We end with Abram professing his Faith in the Lord!  God won this “318” Battle for him!

Chapter 15: “After this”: After he fought some major kings,  Abram was afraid of retaliation…So what does God say “DON’T BE AFRAID, I AM YOUR SHIELD”.

In the days of Abraham, if a person did not have an heir, the estate went to your ‘top servant’.  Abram’s servant was Eliezar.  Abram’s like “God, I am getting pretty old, and you have not given us Viagra yet!” (paraphrase of course) Oh how I love Abram…He’s a mess…verse 6: He believed the Lord…but in verse 8: “How can I know”….

So God seals the  Promise with a Covenant!

Image result for Genesis 15

This is not one of those, “cut your hand and let’s shake on it”.  The animals are huge and they are cut vertically in half and spaced out.  The blood would pool up…lots of it,  and God in the form of fire, would pass through it creating an Everlasting Covenant!  Notice, Abraham was put to sleep: this is a one-sided covenant.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

BUT….Not before saying…

13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

If you have a study bible you will see in your margin or at the bottom a cross-reference to Exodus 12:40  Look it up!

 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.  At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt.

Patriarch Overview (Genesis 12-50)

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Back to Genesis Tomorrow!  We are going to cover 360 years in just 2 weeks!!  Buckle up, kids!!

  • The History of Abraham (12-25)
  • The History of Isaac (26-27)
  • The History of Jacob (28-39)
  • The History of Joseph (37-50)

Timeline: it is about 400 years after the flood.  We will begin with an Unconditional Covenant.  Covenant, by the way,  means an agreement, a  promise, a contact, an oath, that God will not break.  At the beginning of this section, we will read about the Covenant with Abraham.  The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional (one-sided…not an “If…then” promise).   God makes a covenant with Abraham, then repeats the Covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac, then repeats it a third time with Abraham’s grandson Jacob. This is why we will see throughout the Bible: “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers”.

We have been in Job for 2 weeks so let’s read the scripture we left off in Chapter 11 in Genesis: This will help as you read.  I do not print every visual, but this is one I printed and wrote on for notes.   Click here if you would like to print.Image result for terah family tree

“Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.  While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.  Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.  Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

  Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.”

Abram (his name will be changed to Abraham) Unsettled – Sister Talk: Faith

Understanding where Abram lived will give you a better picture of what was being asked of him.  The land: Ur of the Chaldeans was the wealthiest city. The history in this region exceeds that of the land of Egypt and its pyramids

The great Ziggurat of ancient Ur was built by King Ur-Nammu who ruled the area of ancient Ur around 2100 BC. This would’ve been approximately 250 years after the flood.Ziggurat of Ur (Artist's Impression) (Illustration) - Ancient History Encyclopedia

Archaeologists estimate that there were approximately 24,000 people living in the city of Ur during the time of Abraham. The people of ancient Mesopotamia worshiped many gods, and the people of Ur worshiped their chief god named Nanna, the moon-god.

So God is going to choose Abraham to leave here 😳

Joshua 24. When Joshua renews the Covenant in the Promised Land he talks about the history of Abraham and says to all the people: 2“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants.” 

Extra Credit: if you want more read Act 7 😁

See you tomorrow.  I am so excited!

 Job 40-42

~ Patricia ~ 3 Comments

Last day of Job.  I woke up extra early to give myself time to read this.  It is an amazing read!!

In years past, I have concentrated on the Behemoth and the Leviathan.  What are they?  Of course, my research comes up with lots of fun guesses: Rhino, Elephant, Hippopanoumus,  Dinosaur, Lockness Monster, Crocidile, Whale?  But that’s not what I thought about this year.  What is huge, out of control, untamable, and scary in our lives, is NOTHING to the God of the universe.  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Job is given an opportunity to speak again.  He says something that gave me a lot to think about this morning:

5 My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.

All the suffering and calamity that Job endured, made worse by his friends making false accusations about Job and about God comes to a climax.  What was the outcome? Job now sees the greatness, majesty, and sovereignty of God.

Chapter 42 is the end of the court case for Job.  What was the verdict?   THE Judge vindicates Job and rebukes his friends.  BUT, God is gracious and by means of a sacrifice and prayer, he offers an atonement for their sins.  This book points to the need for the forgiveness of our sins that only God can provide on the Cross through Jesus.  

In obedience to the Lord Job offers a sacrifice to cover sins and prays for them.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 

His daughters’ names give us a picture of the joy Job felt in his restoration: “The first daughter he named Jemimah “Day Light”, the second Keziah “Sweet Smelling” and the third Keren-Happuch “Beautiful Color”. 

Did Job pass God’s test for Satan?  Go back to Chapter 1

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. -Romans 8:18

 

Is the book of Job a real story or an allegory? - BibleAsk

The End.

Job 38-39

~ Patricia ~ 7 Comments

Well, Job asked for a “trial” to plead his case. More importantly, he just wanted to hear from God.  He believed in God’s Sovereignty and knew if he could just hear from Him he would have Peace.   So he finally gets to hear from God.  However, I think in Job’s head this trial would have gone a little different.  He thought he was going to plead his case.  Instead, he is left speechless! ❤️

Chapter 38 and 39.  The first verse alone is actually all that Job needed to hear.

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm.

The LORD=Yahweh.  Yahweh is the self-existent eternal God- “I AM”. He is completely whole within himself, and he is eternal  – he has always existed, and he always will. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.

Job has asked WHY (nothing wrong with that).  He was looking for answers? (nothing wrong with that either)  But He does not answer Job directly.  Instead, He reminds him us WHO HE IS.  We need to trust God for WHO He is, not for what he does.

God begins with over 60 rhetorical questions that cannot be answered by humans.  Our view of God tells us a lot about our relationship with God.

God describes how he is the Creator of not just the earth, but the galaxy.  He tells the oceans how far they can go in a tide, and where the light is to shine.  He directs rain, snow,  and hail for His purposes. Nature reports to Him ( v. 35).  He grows crops and orchestrates the food chain/web.  He gives strength to the animals that need power, and agility to the smallest creatures. He created each detail in the animal kingdom.

Do not skim chapter 38/39, you may miss His awesomeness.  Click here to listen to it.

What gave you wonder?  I will share mine.  Rain. I thought about how heavy water is, yet God keeps it suspended in the air until He commands it to fall.  I thought about how we say “I hope it does not rain.  When in reality, when it rains we should be sitting in awe and offering thanks.  I am amazed at my own selfishness that I think of rain as an inconvenience, not as God’s provision and blessing for the earth”.

 

Job 35-37

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

Chapter 35

Do our sins change God? Our sins affect us and the people around us.

8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,
    and your righteousness only other people.

I am going to touch on something sensitive but true.  We I am very guilty of this.

9 “People cry out under a load of oppression;
    they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
    who gives songs in the night,
11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth
    and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’
12 He does not answer when people cry out
    because of the arrogance of the wicked.
13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
    the Almighty pays no attention to it.

The message version says this:

“When times get bad, people cry out for help.
They cry for relief from being kicked around,
But never give God a thought when things go well”  (The Message)

Ouch!

Chapter 36/37

I am always amazed when I read the ‘daily’ reading and it matches current events.  Not sure why I am amazed…He is Amazing.  But I must have read this 10 times and the entire time the only visual I saw was:
Have Faith.  I got this❤️
God-Holding-the-World-in-His-Hands-900 – The WORD Detective

One of the students said, “If the water is evaporating from the ocean, then how come rain doesn’t have salt in it?”  Well, I knew the scientific answer BUT out of my mouth I may or may not have said “Because God is smart enough to design rain for growing crops and drinking water”.  But I love how Elihu used the words “distills it “.

26 How great is God—beyond our understanding!
    The number of his years is past finding out.

27 “He draws up the drops of water,
    which distill as rain to the streams;
28 the clouds pour down their moisture
    and abundant showers fall on mankind.
29 Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
    how he thunders from his pavilion?
30 See how he scatters his lightning about him,
    bathing the depths of the sea.
31 This is the way he governs the nations
    and provides food in abundance.
32 He fills his hands with lightning
    and commands it to strike its mark.
33 His thunder announces the coming storm;
    even the cattle make known its approach.

This is Our God.  Trust Him, he can handle anything!

Jan 12th: (tomorrow) is a perfect time to start!

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

If you are currently reading, accountability can be very powerful.  Invite someone to jump in with you.  We have 3 days left of Job and then we are full speed ahead in Genesis.

(You can catch up and read Job anytime)

If you have not started and would like to read the Bible Chronologically start tomorrow.

So here is the schedule for them (or you if you never started this and wish you had)

January 13th: Genesis 1-3 Click for reading.
January 14th: Genesis 4-7 Click for reading.
January 15th: Genesis 8-11 Click for reading. 

If you are on a laptop, at the top of the site there is a menu.  Click Posts by Book.  Click Genesis. (The bottom post will be the Overview)

If you are on a phone, click Menu at the top and then click Posts by book.  Genesis. (The bottom post will be the overview)

If this is a desire of your heart, I hope you will consider joining us.

 

Job-32-34

~ Patricia ~ 7 Comments

I want to now take a moment to talk about the 3 friends one last time now that we heard all their arguments (so glad that is over).  These men were “sources” of information.  Where do you get your “spiritual” “religious” or “biblical” information?   There are 3 inadequate sources some might fall prey to.

  • Experience
  • Intellect
  • Tradition

Experience: You determine Truth by your senses, feelings, and emotions.  Eliphaz thought wisdom came from his experiences in life, and that he had God all figured out.

Intellect: Zophar! You determine truth by your ability to reason what is right or wrong, good or bad, we use intellect to figure logic.  God did give us a brain, but oh how we use it wrong sometimes.  I think “overthinking” is one of the hardest things not to do.

Tradition:  “That is what we do”  You structure your beliefs by what you have inherited.    Our dependence on tradition is a way to clearly escape responsibility for knowing the Word of God. Bildad did this.

Although all 3 sources can be good in life.  They need to be filtered through the Bible.

“Elihu” (“He is My God”) may have been a relative of Abraham since a man named Buz was a descendant of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

Elihu, has been there the whole time biting his tongue because he is the “kid” in the room. He can’t take this conversation any longer and explodes.  Am I fan of Elihu? Well, he is a bit too brash and dogmatic for me (I have Facebook posts I can read for that 😂)   With that said, Elihu speaks a lot of truth and states God is just, and we do not have to know His motives.

I probably should not have inserted my opinion on Elihu, so let me tell you what I love about him.  He UNDERSTANDS WISDOM surpasses knowledge because of the source!  Wisdom comes from God.

6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

“I am young in years,
and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
not daring to tell you what I know.
7 I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit[ in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not only the old  who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right……

13 Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God, not a man, refute him.’

Chapter 32 is Job entering the scene.  I totally get this!  Sometimes I just have to “get it out or I am going to burst”.

Chapter 33 and 34

  • GOD is the Creator!  Elihu says:: 6 I am the same as you in God’s sight;
    I too am a piece of clay.
  • We are Sinners:  He quotes Job:
      • 8 “But you have said in my hearing—
            I heard the very words—
        9 ‘I am pure, I have done no wrong;
            I am clean and free from sin.
        10 Yet God has found fault with me;
            he considers me his enemy.
        11 He fastens my feet in shackles;
            he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

            • Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
            • Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 
  • God communicates with us:
      • 14 For God does speak—now one way, now another
  • God is a Deliverer:
      • 26 then that person can pray to God and find favor with him,
            they will see God’s face and shout for joy;
            he will restore them to full well-being.
        27 And they will go to others and say,
            ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right,
            but I did not get what I deserved.
        28 God has delivered me from going down to the pit,
            and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’
  • God is Sovereign:
      • 10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding.
            Far be it from God to do evil,
            from the Almighty to do wrong.
  • God is Just:
      • 12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
            that the Almighty would pervert justice.
  • God does not show favoritism
      • 19 who shows no partiality to princes
            and does not favor the rich over the poor,

Job is accused of shaking his fist at God:

37 To his sin he adds rebellion;
    scornfully he claps his hands among us
    and multiplies his words against God.”

Elihu’s speeches were out of anger and served as a “vent”, to all 4 men, but specifically at Job.  There are times he misquotes Job.  The most obvious is in 34:6 misinterpreting Job’s words that he claimed to be sinless.  Job never claimed to be sinless, he actually admits sin in 7:21 and 13:26.

A good lesson I have learned since reading the Bible is in times of strategy sometimes silence is the best remedy.

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger. Prov. 15:1

Job 29-31

~ Patricia ~ 5 Comments

Job’s Final Defense

These 3 chapters might be my favorite in the book.  I keep going back to why God chose Job.

1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

Then God allowed Satan to take his children, his home, his money, his job, his respect, and his honor.  What does God say to Satan again:

2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Chapter 29: Job now sits and recalls his ‘yesteryear’. He remembers the days before the conversation God had with Satan (that he does not know about).  Going down memory lane is a double-edged sword.  We remember the good times, but we sadly want those days again.  However, Job really is like no other man on earth, he STILL puts God at the top of his list.

The first “loss” he missed was his relationship with God:

“How I long for the months gone by,
    for the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!

Keep reading down the chapter.  THEN his children, THEN his job, THEN his place in the community where he was a helper to the poor.  He remembers the days when he was not like the friends that do not comfort him: he was a comfort to others: “I sat like one who comforts mourners”

Chapter 30:  This was a contrast from the end of 29 ‘Then verse Now’

  • verse 1: “But now..
  • verse 9: And wow…
  • verse 16: “And now

Job gives a  final “defense”.  Read closely to really feel how awful, lonely,  and physically painful Job’s life is.  He is back to pleading his case before God.  He just wants to hear from God.

Chapter 31:  THIS is my favorite chapter so far.  We do not interpret the Bible, scripture interprets scripture.  But I believe the Bible is a personal communication between the reader and God.  One verse means nothing to me, and it may rock your world.  That is God speaking to you.  For one brief moment, Job spoke my language “If/Then” (for those who do not know me, I am a middle school teacher).  However, it is not God that says “If/then”, it is Job.  He fully submits to the Lord “If I did this…Then I deserve…” (even more calamities than have already been be put on him)

If you have time (ha!  you do!) go back and circle the “Ifs” and underline the “Thens”.  He surrenders his past and says If I have done these…Then judge me even further”

Verse 1-12 (Do I Covet) Have my eyes gone astray? (Yes, I watched the Bridgertons last week!)

Verse 13-23 (Social Injustice)  Have I put myself first ignoring the poor? (I do not want my Christmas credit card bill)

Verse 24-28 (Idolorty) Is my security in my job, my money, my “stuff”.  (Is it hot in here or am I having a heat flash) 😞

Verse 29-34 (Pride that we are better than another) “I hope they get what they deserve” Oh the humanity!  Do you know what I deserve?

      • 29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune
            or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
        30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
            by invoking a curse against their life—

Job throws himself on the mercy of the court  in front of the Judge and says: “THEN…”

  • 10 then may my wife grind another man’s grain, 
        and may other men sleep with her.
  • 22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
        let it be broken off at the joint.
  • 28 then these also would be sins to be judged,
        for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
  • 40 then let briers come up instead of wheat  and stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Job 24-28

~ Patricia ~ 4 Comments

Chapter 24: The human side of Job.  Have you ever looked around at all the evil in the world?  Why doesn’t God intervene?  Child molesters? Rapists? Murderers, Human trafficking, etc.  Why does God allow or seem to ignore this injustice?  In chapter 24 Job asks what many of us ask?  Why doesn’t he judge them sooner?  If I even try to answer that doesn’t that make me one of the 3 “friends”?  But what I do know is

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 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 Timothy

However, I rest in the assurance that God sees everything

:22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
    though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
    but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
    they are cut off like heads of grain.- Job 24:22-24

Here is a quick Visual to show you we are nearing the end of the Dialogue. Job structure (draft) | Job bible, Book of job, Bible study help

Chapter 25-Bildad

6 short verses.  He does not choose to answer any of Job’s questions or even bothers to offer new ideas but basically summarizes what Eliphaz said.  HOWEVER, he does end with

6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
    a human being, who is only a worm!”

(I picture him looking at the maggots coming from the soars on Job when he says this).

However, what we have,  that Bildad did not have is the Bible to filter this through.  Yes, the Bible tells us in Romans that “we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” but in Romans  8 it says 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” 

In John,  Jesus says 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 

VERY Far from the Book according to Bildad. Maggots.

We now hear from Job for six chapters.  He ends his dialogue and moves into his monologue.

Job:

  • questioned God
  • wrestled with God
  • he even argued and pleaded with God
  • But he NEVER
    • denied God
    • blasphemed God
    • despised God
    • doubted God’s authority or sovereignty

He continued to SEEK God.

Chapter 26- This is one of those chapters you read in the Message.  Whenever you spot sarcasm, switch over (this is the only book of the Bible I do this, so don’t panic about flipping too much). Click here for it.

Job answered:

“Well, you’ve certainly been a great help to a helpless man!
    You came to the rescue just in the nick of time!
What wonderful advice you’ve given to a mixed-up man!
    What amazing insights you’ve provided!
Where in the world did you learn all this?
    How did you become so inspired?

😂

Chapter 27: I honed in starting at verse 13 where Job summarized the theology of the friends.  I know we talked about their belief in the Doctrine of Restitution, but this made my head explode how “works-based” their religion was.  Works based for “blessings”.

Chapter 28

Wisdom?  What is it?  My research books are scattered on my desk, so I decided to look it up.   Here are some:

Wisdom: the ability to make good use of knowledge. (NIV)

Wisdom: knowledge, understanding, applying knowledge and insights to life situations. (Henrietta Mears) God-given ability, rather than human common sense.

Wisdom: using facts I know and truths I understand to make the right decisions in my daily life. (Children’s Bible) 🤓

Very Interesting.  Some words that stood out to me…Use, applying, God-given, using, decisions, and daily life.   Many of us have people in our lives that are so smart, know the Bible, extremely educated, but are they wise?  or just knowledgeable?

Job 28:20 says “Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? then in vs 28 it say “The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding”   (I now see the connection of the “application use”)

Back to the Dictionary: Fear of the Lord?  It says ”profound reverence and awe toward God, or to think of God with awe and wonder because I understand His great power.  The Hebrew word (Strongs Concodanance) used originally in Scripture was  yir’ah, which is a noun..meaning  A RESPECT. 

So it is our faith that allows God to take our knowledge and transform it into wisdom for use and application in our everyday life.

Go back to the first Chapter and the conversation between God and Satan.  How does God describe Job

“8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” The original words in Hebrew for blameless and upright are Tam (meaning good moral sense, the same word later to describe Jacob) and  yashar (meaning straight or level).

God never said he was sinless.  God said he is Wise.

Job 21-23

~ Patricia ~ 10 Comments

I had time on my lunch break yesterday so I read “ahead”.  I will admit, I had many questions.  What is he saying? I am confused? Uggg Poetry!  But I work with 2 ladies and we bounced the scriptures off of each other and we made “some” sense of it.    (I will admit, I love like this book, I am anxious to get back to Genesis 😂)

Job is flipping the script.  If the friends are telling him to repent, be righteous so he can “prosper” as he once did…then why do the ‘wicked’ (unbelievers) live prosperous lives every day?   George Clooney, Brad Pitt,  Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe, Uma Thuman, Jodie Foster, Bruce Willis….they seem to be doing ok.

“Why does good stuff happen to bad people and bad stuff happen to good people”…timeless question!!

Job starts with “Listen (Linda 😂),  carefully to my words”.  Job knows that they have not “listened”, they have their responses ready before they even hear his words.  Then he flips their theory.  It should have stopped them and given them a moment to think.

7 Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?
8 They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
    the rod of God is not on them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth their children as a flock;
    their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their years in prosperity
    and go down to the grave in peace.
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’

Chapter 22- FINAL ROUND.  Round 3

Did Eliphaz listen to him?  Nope!  He then starts throwing “possibilities” to Job of what he might have done to sin…

  • “Is it for your religion that he rebukes you?
  •  Is not your wickedness great?
  • Are not your sins endless?
  • Did you demand security from your relatives for no reason?
  • Did you strip people of their clothing, leaving them naked?
  • Did you withhold water to the weary and food from the hungry?
  • Did you think you were a powerful man?
  • Did you send widows away empty-handed?
  • Did you break the strength of the fatherless?
  • Then in verse 13 Elipahz paraphrases what Job has been saying…but paraphrases it incorrectly, twisting what he was saying (because he was not listening!

(He can make 100 guesses, they are all wrong!)

Eliphaz does have some pearls of wisdom about submission and repentance.  But there are 2 factors here:  Job does not know about the conversation between God and Satan so he has nothing to reveal.  Next, Eliphaz was tying it to “external” prosperity…we submit for internal prosperity.

Chapter 23. 

My heart breaks for Job.  He has no explanation for such a calamity, other than the advice from his friends that he has secret sins he needs to repent from.  He longs to talk to God!  He feels so lost.

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

Hang in there….we can get through this book.