Job 17

Job has had enough                                                       verse 1- 2 

My breath is corrupt – my days are extinct – the graves are ready for me

Are there not mockers with me?

      Does not mine eye continue in their provocation? 

Job asks LORD to defend him                                      verse 3- 5 

Lay down now – put me in a surety with YOU

Who is he that will strike hands with me?

For YOU hast hid their heart from understanding

therefore shall YOU not exalt them

He that speaks flattery to his friends

even the eyes of his children shall fail          

 Job believes strength comes to those will clean hands verse 6- 9 

He hath made me also a byword of the people

            and aforetime I was as a tabret

Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow

            and all my members are as a shadow

Upright men shall be astonished at this

            and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite

The righteous also shall hold on his way

            and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger 

Job’s “friends” twist the truth                                      verse 10- 16 

BUT as for you all – do ye return – and come now

for I cannot find one wise man among you

                        my days are past – my purposes are broken off

                                    even the thoughts of my heart

They change the night into day – the light is short because of darkness

            IF I wait – the grave is mine house – I have made my bed in the darkness

                        I have said to corruption – thou are my father

                                    to the worm – thou art my mother and my sister

And where is now my hope? – as for my hope – who shall see it?

            they shall go down to the bars of the pit

                        when our rest together is in the dust 

 

COMMENTARY:

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers           

: 1        My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. (2193 “extinct” [za‘ak] means extinguish or to have one’s life cut short)

DEVOTION:  Job has had it with his “friends.” He acknowledges the fact that he thinks his speaking is not making sense to his “friends.” He is at the point where he thinks the light of his life is about to go out. He is ready to be buried in the grave.

Everything seems to be heading in one direction in the life of Job and he is willing to stop fighting with those who have come to comfort him. He is ready to just give up. He doesn’t seem to care anymore to listen to their comments about is taking place in his life.

Have you ever thought that this is the end? It seems like circumstances are against you and no one seems to care about helping you out of your time of testing and so it is just time to not say anything and let the light inside of you go out.

God doesn’t want us to get to this point but HE is allowing us to see someone who seems to be at that point and yet continues. He doesn’t plan to end his own life but he thinks the LORD will end it for him soon. He just is going to allow whatever the LORD wants to happen to happen.

We would probably be in the same boat as him if we were going through what he had to go through with no real comforter around. We know that this isn’t the end of the story. We know that Job continued to fight.

So we have to not give up. We can make statements like Job but then we have to come into the presence of the LORD with our comments. HE wants us to be honest with HIM and HE will help us overcome our present circumstances.

Have you ever thought of death? Do you look forward to death? We have to realize that there might be many times we go through circumstances that make us think about what we have accomplished in our life and then ask the LORD if it is over.

CHALLENGE: Thoughts don’t hurt us. It only hurts if we act on wrong thoughts. God intervenes when HE knows the timing is right. 

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers 

: 5        He that speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. (2506 “flattery”                     [cheleq] means smoothness, seductiveness, or deceitful)

DEVOTION: Job is still answering Eliphaz’s comments. He is tired of their false accusations. He is tired of all the health issues. He is just ready to die.

He would like the LORD to defend him. He would like his “friends” to have an understanding heart. He doesn’t want deceitfulness in their speech. He wants them to tell the truth but they don’t understand that he has clean hands. He knows that he is right with God but doesn’t understand all that is happening to him.

Job doesn’t want smooth talk. He wants straight talk from the LORD. He knows that if he used deceit in his speech, his children would be affected. He knows that he has always stated the truth before people and the LORD.

 Job had a wonderful world before all these things happened to him and his family. He had friends. He had wealth. He had sons and daughters. He worshiped the LORD. He told the truth. Then tragedy took place.

Now he has lost his wealth, family and even those he thought were friends. He still had the LORD. His “friends” were denouncing his actions. His “friends” told  him he was a sinner that needed to confess his sin. They did nothing to encourage him. They did everything to discourage him. This word means that they were deceitful in the area of friendship. We need to be individuals who are not deceitful in our friendship. The church is supposed to be a family. We are supposed to work together. The Bible tells us that we are to do many things to “one another.” None of the “one another’s” of the church are deceitful.

Today the church is struggling because we have lost a lot of the family atmosphere. We have way too much “sibling” rivalry. We have too many starting their own kingdoms. We have too many who don’t like to share. We have even some deceitfulness.  We have some that use seduction to get families to go someplace else to church. We have some smooth talkers. Our responsibility is to reach the world for Christ.

Too often we find that some are reaching into other churches instead of the world. We need more Christians who are true friends to each other in their own churches. Let us be a friend to those who worship with us. Let us honor the LORD.

CHALLENGE: No sheep stealing from other churches. Reach those in your neighborhood who are going nowhere for proper Biblical training. Salvation is the key to starting the Christian life. Then good Biblical training should happen.

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: 8        Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. (8074 “astonied” [shamem] means to tremble, cause to tremble, to be or make uninhabited or deserted, cause desolation, to be or make uninhabited or deserted)

DEVOTION:  Job was an upright man that the LORD was testing. His “friends” were saying everything they could to discourage him and they were succeeding. He was trying to understand what God was allowing in his life but he still didn’t understand.

We think that only those who are sinners should be going through what Job is going through but that is no always the case.

Here we have a man that was honoring God in his life and yet the LORD allowed all kinds of trouble to enter his life as well. He lost his family. He lost his possessions. His wife told him to curse God and die and yet he still honored the LORD.

He needed friends who would be a comfort to him but they were anything but a comfort. He was brought to his knees and yet he tried to honor the LORD. I don’t know what our reactions would have been to all that happened to him but even the little trials HE has allowed in my life has caused me to ask questions.

God knows what each of us can take to get us to truly worship HIM in spirit and in truth. It is not easy to follow HIM in hard time. It seems easy when it seems like HE is blessing us but during hard times we have questions.

Job had questions but was willing to listen to the LORD when HE talked with him. Are we willing to listen to the LORD during hard times as well as easy times?

CHALLENGE: God allowed Job to go through hard times even when he had been faithful. We need to realize that hard times help us to mature quicker than easy times.  

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 9        The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that has cleanhands shall be stronger and                                   stronger. (2891 “clean” [taher] means pure, ethically clean, being from from moral impurity,                               unmixed, unalloyed, genuine, or flawless)

DEVOTION:  How do we clean our hands of sin? The Bible tells us that we have to go to the LORD in repentance and HE will forgive our sins. Job has gone to the LORD many times in his life and in the lives of his children. He has offered sacrifices to the LORD for himself and his children.

If the righteous or those who are right with God move forward it is only after confession of sin and the realization that God loves us and wants to help us each day to face whatever is going on in our life.

HE wants us to get stronger and stronger in our belief that HE is there to encourage us with HIS love and HIS blessings. Even hard times are a blessing HE wants in our lives to help us understand that we are not facing our troubles alone. If our fellow believers are not there to help, we can still get stronger and stronger. This only happens as we depend on the Holy Spirit to give us direction and understand that Christ died to help us face the trials of life the same way HE did before going to the cross.

HE is the only one who had really clean hands. Yet HE had to face those who were religious on a daily basis. They were the ones who wanted to kill him because HE showed them that their thinking was wrong.

Clean up your hands with the strength the LORD gives you to grow stronger and stronger in HIM. Our prayers have to be genuine when we are discouraged with events in our life. CHALLENGE:  Our call for help to HIM will be answered.

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                         : 15     And where is now my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? (8615 “hope” [tiqvah] means expectation, optimistic outlook, grounds for feeling hopeful about the future, or a confidence in regard to a good and beneficial future)

DEVOTION:  What is our expectation as we try to life our lives in a way that is pleasing to the LORD? Our expectation is a good life of service and a place reserved for us in heaven. We want to know that our name is written in the book of life that will be opened on judgment day. We want to have rewards given to us because of our service to the LORD. We would even like to have crowns to throw at Jesus’ feet after we have faced our time before for Judgment Seat of Christ.

Job is looking for hope during real discouraging times. He is asking a question that we all need to ask ourselves and the LORD. Can God see expectation in our lives that is pleasing in HIS sight?

God wants us to be optimistic, not pessimistic in our outlook of life. This is not easy every day of our life but it should be regular in our life. We need to teach ourselves from the Word of God that God gives us expectations each day of service to HIM.

We are here to reach other with the message of salvation that we have learned the hard way from our personal experiences. HE is a forgiving God and never gives up on us as HIS children.

CHALLENGE: Our outlook regarding our times can either be good or bad. We need to make sure that we realize that because of Christ we should always have a bright outlook on our future.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

      THOU                                                            verse 4 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)    

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

                   Friends                                                           verse 5

                        Children                                                         verse 5

                        People                                                             verse 6

                        Father                                                             verse 14

                        Mother                                                           verse 14

                        Sister                                                               verse 14 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Corrupt                                                          verse 1

Mockers                                                         verse 2

Provocation                                                    verse 2

Flattery                                                           verse 5

Hypocrite                                                       verse 8 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

Understanding                                               verse 4

Sorrow                                                           verse 7

Upright                                                           verse 8

Innocent                                                         verse 8

Righteous                                                       verse 9

Clean hands                                                   verse 9

Wise                                                                verse 10

Hope                                                               verse 15 

Israel (Old Testament people of God)

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events) 

      Grave                                                             verse 1, 13

      Bed in darkness                                             verse 13

Corruption (death)                                        verse 14, 16

Bars of the pit                                                verse 16

Rest together in the dust                              verse 16

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QUOTES regarding passage

17:1 Each line translates two words in Hebrew. There is no good way to divide them three and three to produce two lines. “Broken” in “spirit” is an idiom shared by both cultures and languages, Job’s and ours. “Cut short” is uncertain, occurring only here; but something like that must be intended. “Grave” is in the plural, “graves,” referring to the “graveyard” (NJPS) or “cemetery” (AAT). (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, p. 188). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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My breath is corrupt. Marg. or spirit is spent. The idea is, that his vital powers were nearly extinct; his breath failed; his power was weakened, and he was ready to die. This is connected with the previous chapter, and should not have been separated from it. There was no necessity of making a new chapter here, and we have one of those unfortunate breaks in the middle of a paragraph, and almost of a sentence, which are too common in the Scriptures.

The graves are ready for me. The Hebrew is plural, but why so used I know not. The Vulgate is singular—sepulchrum. The LXX. render it, “I pray for a tomb (sing. ταφῆς), but I cannot obtain it.” Possibly the meaning is, “I am about to be united to the graves, or to tombs.” Schultens remarks that the plural form is common in Arabic poetry, as well as in poetry in general. (Barnes, A. (1847). Notes on the Old Testament: Job (Vol. 1, p. 297). London: Blackie & Son.)

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MY ║breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, ^athe graves are ready for me.

My breath is corrupt, i.e. it stinks, as it doth in dying persons. Or, my spirit is corrupted, or spent, or lost, i.e. my vital spirits and natural powers are wasted; my soul is ready to leave the body. My days are extinct; the lamp of my life is wasted, and upon the point of going out, and that in a snuff. The graves, i.e. the grave; the plural number being put for the singular, as sepulchres, 2 Chron. 21:20. cities, Judg. 12:7, asses, Zech. 9:9, are put for one of each of these. Are ready for me; open their mouths as ready to receive me. The sense and scope of this verse is the same with the former. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 962). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)

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“My breath is corrupt (or, ‘my spirit or vital energy is destroyed’), my days are extinct (or, extinguished, as a lamp or taper whose flame is expiring), the graves are ready for me” (or, the place of graves, or chambers of the tomb, are destined for me,—Heb., ‘are for me,’ or, ‘are mine’). Job takes a calm but gloomy view of his condition. Now views himself always as a dying man. Speaks the language of deep despondency. Vital powers exhausted. Energy of spirit broken. The lamp of life all but extinguished. His only expected home the grave. This mentioned now—(1) As his reason for desiring to have his case speedily tried and his character vindicated; (2) In opposition to the flattering prospect held out by his friends as the result of his repentance. (Robinson, T. (1892). Job (pp. 103–104). New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company.)

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17:6 Again “God” is not in the text, but the insertion is justified on the basis of the pronouns. This section is called “More Complaint” because it picks up where v. 2 left off, Job speaking of “mockers” (v. 2) who use him as a “byword” (cf. 30:9, where both those English words occur). Job has indeed become a “byword” because of the expression in Jas 5:11, “the patience of Job,” although that was not the sense Job had in mind. “Spit” (tōpet) occurs only here; and together with the following word, “in face,” it has given rise to several alternative translations, though the NIV is with the majority.⁴⁷ In this respect Job intimated the archetype of righteous sufferers, Jesus (cf. 16:10; Matt 26:67). (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, p. 190). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

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17:6–9. Job’s wish for a court spokesman and for bail from God was followed by another expression of hope and then a note of pathos. People sneered at him, speaking of him in a byword (lit., “a proverb”; cf. 30:9), and they spat (cf. 30:10) on his face, a most insulting, abhorrent act. So intense was his grief (ka‘aś, “agitation”; cf. 5:2, “resentment”; 6:2, “anguish”; 10:17, “anger”) that even his eyesight was dimmed, possibly by tears (cf. eyes in 16:16, 20; 17:2, 5), and he was emaciated (a shadow; cf. 16:8).

Anyone who was upright and innocent would be appalled at (cf. 18:20) such outlandish treatment of Job. By this Job implied that his disputants were not upright. Even so, he would hold to and even grow in his convictions, certain of his righteous position before God. (Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 739). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)

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Ver. 6. He hath made me also a by-word of the people, &c.] Either Eliphaz, or God; for whatsoever befell him, whether more immediately by the hand of God, or by any instrument, he ascribes it to him, as being suffered in Providence to befall him; as when he became a by-word or proverb to the people in common, to whom an example might be set by one or more of Job’s friends. The name of Job is to this day a by-word or proverb among men, both for his poverty and his patience; if a man is described as very poor, he is said to be as poor as Job; or if very patient under his afflictions, he is said to be as patient as Job; but as neither of these are to the disgrace of Job, something else seems rather intended here, even something to his reproach; as when a man was represented as a very wicked man, or an hypocrite, it used to be said, such an one is as wicked a creature, and as arrant an hypocrite, as Job: and afore-time I was as a tabret; the delight of the people, who, when he appeared in the public streets, came out and went before him, singing, and dancing, and beating on tabrets, and such-like musical instruments, to express their joy upon the sight of him; but now it was otherwise with him, and he whom they could not sufficiently extol and commend, now knew not well what to say bad enough of him; such a change in the sentiments and conduct of men must needs be very chagrining: or afore-time I was as a lord, as Ben Gersom, from the use of the word in Dan. 3:2, as he supposes; he was like a lord or nobleman, or as one in some high office, and now as the off-scouring of all things; or it denotes what he was before them, the people, in their sight at present, and should be: the word used is Tophet, which Aben Ezra takes to be the name of a place, and as it seems of that place where children were offered to Molech, and which place was in being, and such practices used by the Canaanites in the times of Job; and this place, which was also called the valley of Hinnom, being afterwards used for hell, led the Targum to paraphrase the words thus, and hell from within shall I be; and so Sephorno, in appearance hell to all that see me; and in general it may signify that he was, or should be, avoided, as any unclean place, very ungrateful and disagreeable, as that place was; or as anything abominable, and to be loathed and rejected, and this way go several interpreters; though some think respect is had to the punishment of tympanization, in which sufferers were beat upon in several parts of their bodies, as if men were beating upon a tablet or drum, which gave great pain and torment, see Heb. 11:35, 37 and with such-like cruelty and indignity Job suggests he was or should be used; and therefore begs for a surety, for one to interpose and plead on his behalf, let the carriage of men to him be what it will, that is here referred to; compare with this Psal. 69:11. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 332–333). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the “us” of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish “I.” Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to
another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life. (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 90).

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“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”

—Leviticus 1:4 

Our Lord’s being made “sin for us” is set forth here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was made by the elders of the people. The laying of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other places of Scripture the original word has the meaning of leaning heavily, as in the expression, “thy wrath lieth hard upon me” (Psalm 88:7). Surely this is the very essence and nature of faith, which doth not only bring us into contact with the great Substitute, but teaches us to lean upon him with all the burden of our guilt. Jehovah made to meet upon the head of the Substitute all the offences of his covenant people, but each one of the chosen is brought personally to ratify this solemn covenant act, when by grace he is enabled by faith to lay his hand upon the head of the “Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” Believer, do you remember that rapturous day when you first realized pardon through Jesus the sin-bearer? Can you not make glad confession, and join with the writer in saying, “My soul recalls her day of deliverance with delight. Laden with guilt and full of fears, I saw my Saviour as my Substitute, and I laid my hand upon him; oh! how timidly at first, but courage grew and confidence was confirmed until I leaned my soul entirely upon him; and now it is my unceasing joy to know that my sins are no longer imputed to me, but laid on him, and like the debts of the wounded traveller, Jesus, like the good Samaritan, has said of all my future sinfulness, ‘Set that to my account.’ ” Blessed discovery! Eternal solace of a grateful heart!

 

“My numerous sins transferr’d to him,

Shall never more be found,

Lost in his blood’s atoning stream,

Where every crime is drown’d!” (Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.)

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                     Daily Hope

Today’s Scripture
Acts 26:1-32

Solomon was given wisdom by the Lord and this gift was used to instruct and assist mankind with his writing of Proverbs. Through his short instructions, we are taught truths that equip us to stand confidently before men and assemblies. Solomon’s statement in Proverbs 15:2, “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly…” is certainly beneficial to remember in our world today. 

Here in Acts, we see Paul was given permission by King Agrippa to speak and to explain his charges and imprisonment to the king. Paul must choose his words with precision as Agrippa is knowledgeable and well acquainted with the Jewish people and culture. His understanding came from an ancestry which included King Herod (Grandfather), the king who feared Christ’s birth, Herod Antipas, the murderer of John the Baptist and present when Christ was crucified, and finally Herod Agrippa I who had James executed and Peter imprisoned. His lineage was woven closely to the early Christian story, and he was very familiar with many of the key characters of this movement.

Paul’s usage of his testimony is a masterful defense strategy that allows him to tie the gospel with his imprisonment. He begins with a short history of his pre-conversion life as a Jewish leader, moves quickly to his conversion experience at Damascus and the Lord’s command to be a minister for Him going forward. Finally, Paul states his post-conversion lifestyle and ministry that led to his arrest and imprisonment. 

Festus, the governor, after listening to this testimony, exclaims Paul’s madness but is silenced by Paul’s statement that all this is factual and known to Agrippa (vv.25-26). Agrippa is almost persuaded to become a follower of Christ as Paul speaks but instead adjourns the discussion.

Paul’s words stir the hearts of the listeners, and all walk away, it appears, considering his words. Proverbs again offers a valuable reminder to us regarding our words, “And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men” (18:15-16).

Whether it is Paul or one of us, we can use our opportunities to tell the story of Christ and what He has done for us. People will provide moments to share our faith if we are sensitive and prepared. Write out a two-minute testimony following Paul’s method of how your life was before Christ, how you came to know Christ and how it affects your life in the present. Practice it with someone that you are comfortable with before sharing it in public. You never know when you will have the opportunity to present Jesus to someone.     (With an Expectant Hope, Pastor Miller)

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Acts 17
As Paul continues his journey, he establishes churches.
INSIGHT

It is often necessary to establish common ground with others in order to win an audience for the Gospel. Paul uses a point of common ground when he begins talking to the people of Athens about the idol bearing the inscription: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”(17:23). Catching their interest, Paul develops his argument to present to them the living Christ (vv. 30-31). This skillful message is used by the Holy Spirit to bring men and women to Jesus Christ.   (Quiet Walk)

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DIVINE OFFICES OF CHRIST

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Philippians 3:21
Christ is said to hold and to fulfill certain divine offices. First of all, creation: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). You will find the same thing repeated in Colossians 1:16, and again in Hebrews 1:10. But we are also told that He preserves everything. Hebrews 1:3 refers to His “upholding all things by the word of his power.” And again in Colossians 1:17 you find that “by him all things consist.”
Notice also that He did not hesitate to claim the power to forgive sins. He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). He also claimed power to raise the dead; you find that mentioned several times in John 6:39-44: “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the l ast day.
The apostle Paul claims that Christ also has power to transform our bodies: “…who shall change our vile body [or this body of our humiliation], that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:21).
A Thought to Ponder: Christ did not hesitate to claim the power to forgive sins.
       (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 268-269, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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God’s Remnant
“It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.” (2 Kings 19:4)
These words were part of King Hezekiah’s plea to Isaiah for help in prayer against Rabshakeh and the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem. It marks the second time in which this particular word is used for “the remnant,” the first being in Genesis 45:7, when Joseph assured his brothers that God had sent him into Egypt to preserve for Israel “a posterity” in the earth. However, this word (Hebrew sherith) is prominent later in the writings of the prophets, who frequently refer to the faithful Israelite “remnant” during times of apostasy.
The same doctrine appears in the New Testament. Speaking of the children of Israel during the time of their dispersion among the nations because of their rejection of Christ, Paul says: “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5). There are many Jews even today who have received Jesus as their Messiah and personal Savior, even though Israel as a nation still rejects Him.
This biblical doctrine of the remnant applies especially to faithful Israelites who witness to God’s truth even in times of national apostasy. Nevertheless, the principle seems also to apply to so-called Christian nations as well—such as the nations of Europe and America. Although nominally “Christian,” each of these nations, like the church at Sardis, “hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Revelation 3:1), as far as true biblical Christianity is concerned. Nevertheless, in each, there is still a remnant of real, believing Christians, and these have the great responsibility to maintain a true witness for Christ in just such a time as this. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

 

April 13

IN THE GARDEN

C. Austin Miles, 1868–1945

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these things to her. (John 20:18)

It was in 1912 that music publisher Dr. Adam Geibel asked author and composer C. Austin Miles to write a hymn text that would be “sympathetic in tone, breathing tenderness in every line; one that would bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying beds.” Mr. Miles has left the following account of the writing of this hymn:

One day in April, 1912, I was seated in the dark room, where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter, John 20—whether by chance or inspiration let each reader decide. That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power and charm.

As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried, “Rabboni!”

My hands were resting on the Bible while I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches. A woman in white, with head bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came to the tomb, upon which she placed her hand, she bent over to look in, and hurried away.

John, in flowing robe, appeared, looking at the tomb; then came Peter, who entered the tomb, followed slowly by John.

As they departed, Mary reappeared; leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing, so did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched and looking into His face cried, “Rabboni!” I awakened in sun light, gripping the Bible, with muscles tense and nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it has since appeared. That same evening I wrote the music.

* * * *

I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses; and the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing; and the melody that He gave to me within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him tho the night around me be falling; but He bids me go—thru the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling.

Refrain: And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

         For Today: Matthew 20:28; Matthew 28:5–9; John 20; Romans 5:6, 10, 11

Let your mind join Mary and the disciples in the garden when Christ first appeared to them following His resurrection. Respond as did Mary—“Rabboni!” (my Master). Carry this musical truth throughout the day— (Osbeck, K. W. (1996). Amazing grace: 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions (pp. 116–117). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.)

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Ironically, we live in a world that exalts self-love, self-satisfaction, self-promotion. For the world, it is considered virtuous to exalt self. But as pastors, we are forced to live in a counterculture way by being models of selfless humility in a world that sees that as a weakness.  (p. 9,The Shepherd as Leader by John MacArthur)

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You could stare at an anthill a long time before coming up with this list of qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Yet Paul holds these up as proof of the presence of God in a person’s life, the “fruit of the Spirt.” Where God lives, those qualities flourish.

                          (p.58 rumors of another world by Philip Yancey)

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