Job 3
Job cursed the day of his birth verse 1
After this opened Job his mouth and cursed his day
Job counted the day of his birth as darkness verse 2- 10
And Job spoke
and said
Let the day perish wherein I was born
and the night in which it was said
There is a man child conceived
Let that day be darkness
Let not God regard it from above
neither let the light shine upon it
Let darkness and the shadow of death
stain it
Let a cloud dwell upon it
Let the blackness of the day
terrify it
As for that night – let darkness seize upon it
let it not be joined unto the days of the year
let it not come into the number of the months
LO – let that night be solitary
let no joyful voice come therein
Let them curse it that curse the day
who are ready to raise up their mourning
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark
let it look for light – but have none
neither let it see the dawning of the day
BECAUSE it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb
nor hid sorrow from mine eyes
Job asks “why didn’t I die at birth” verse 11- 19
Why died I not from the womb?
Why did I not give up the ghost
when I came out of the belly?
Why did the knees prevent me?
Why the breasts that I should suck?
for now should I have lain still and been quiet
I should have slept
THEN had I been at rest with kings and counselors of the earth
which built desolate places for themselves
with princes that had gold
who filled their houses with silver
Or with princes that had gold
who filled their house with silver
OR as an hidden untimely birth I had not been
as infants which never saw light
There the wicked cease from troubling
there the weary be at rest
There the prisoners rest together
they hear not the voice of the oppressor
the small and great are there
the servants is free from his master
Job wonders about death verse 20- 26
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery
and life to the bitter in soul
Which long for death – but it comes not
and dig for it more than for hid treasures
Which rejoice exceedingly – and are glad
when they can find the grave?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid
and whom God hath HEDGED in?
for my sighing comes before I eat
and my roarings are poured out like the waters
For the thing which I greatly FEARED is come upon me
and that which I was AFRAID of is come to me
I was not in safety – neither had I rest – neither was I quiet
YET TROUBLE CAME
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. (6 “perish” [’abad] mean to cease existing as a sentient entity, get lost, go astray, not exist, or undone)
DEVOTION: My granddaughter in Alaska, Kaia, was telling her dad that it hurt her soul when she hears those on the bus she rides to school with using foul language. It is hard to live in a world that doesn’t love the LORD. It is hard to face all the trials that we face each day of trying to live for the LORD when the world is heading in the opposite direction.
Now Job has a time when he has lost everything. His children are dead. His possessions are gone. His health is bad. His wife has asked him to curse God and die. So here he sits with his “friends” who in the future are going to condemn him as well.
So he has someone of a pity party and asks why he was ever born alive. He wishes that he had died at childbirth. He only sees darkness. He doesn’t want the sun to shine on him ever again. He is discouraged.
Should Christians ever be discouraged with things that are happening in their lives? Is this normal or abnormal for a believer? I have found that even strong Christians get discouraged at time. Does that mean it is right?
Does the LORD understand how frail we are? YES, HE does. HE knows that when HE allows trials that we can become discouraged but HE also gives us a way to escape from sinning when we are going through the trials HE allows in our life. We are not to dwell in our trials but in the love HE has given us through the provision of salvation.
We are to turn to the LORD while we are going through the trial but this usually doesn’t happen right away. We can tend to dwell on the problem rather than the solution. There is a solution – turning to the LORD in prayer and asking for HIS strength through our present trial.
CHALLENGE: If you are going through a trial remember to pray for strength to come out of the trial with grace and peace that only comes from the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 11 Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost
when I came out of the belly? (1478 “ghost” [gava] means to
breath out, expire, die, be dead, or perish)
DEVOTION: Is it a sin to confess to the LORD what we are feeling? Have you ever had a bad day and wished your life would end? Have circumstances ever bothered you so much that you wished the LORD would return just to take you out of this world? Does the LORD want us to be honest with HIM regarding our feeling?
Job is in such a state of affairs that he wished he had never been born alive. In the last chapter we saw that he had lost everything. His wife told him to curse God. His three friends came and sat with him for seven days and nights without saying a word.
Now Job breaks the silence with a poem wishing he had never lived. He mentioned that God had hedged him in. He knew what his relationship was with the LORD. He didn’t blame the LORD. He just wished he had not gone through this circumstance.
Have we ever felt that way? The two final verses of this chapter seem to imply that Job thought something like this would happen, even though, he tried to live a life that would prevent it from happening.
Can we live a good life and yet have bad things happen to us? YES! Remember what was said yesterday in the devotional. God wants us to be more like HIS Son. Therefore HE can either chasten us because of sin in our lives or HE can purge us to mature us when we are living a life that is pleasing to HIM.
Does God always answer the “why” questions we have? NO! The “friends” are going to weigh in the next chapters and their belief is that God only chastens for sin.
Therefore, Job had to do something really wrong in God’s eyes.
Remember that when someone is going through a difficult circumstance, we are not here to discourage him or her but to encourage him/her in the LORD. They might be thinking like Job was thinking in this chapter. It would have been better if they had never been born. That is not a true statement from the LORD’S perspective. HE has a reason for everyone to live.
Everyone has a reason to be alive. God has called some to be followers of HIM. HE has gifted them. HE has provided the strength to face each trial HE sends into their life. HE wants HIS servants to hear the words “Well Done thou good and faithful servant.”
CHALLENGE: Are you going to hear these words when you meet the LORD? You can only if you serve the LORD faithfully. Use your gift for HIS servant. Encourage your fellow believers. Understand that the LORD sends good and bad into a life to keep us dependent on HIM.
__________________________________________________________
: 17 There the wicked cease from troubling: and there the weary be at rest. (3019 “weary” [yagiya] means tired, exhausted, pertaining to extreme tiredness, weariness of strength, or a class of people needing rest badly)
DEVOTION: Have you ever been so tired that you just want to lay down and die? Has there ever been a time when it seemed like no matter how hard you try nothing seems to work and you wish it was all over?
Here we find Job in this state of affairs. He just wants it all to stop. He is tired of all that is going on in his life. He has lost his children and his wealth and his wife just tells him to “curse God and die.”
It seems like a very discouraging place to be. It seems that death is the only answer that will end this current situation in our life. However, that is not what the LORD thinks and it shouldn’t be what we are thinking.
We can be at the end of our rope but we need to realize that the LORD is still on the throne and HE has done this to you for a reason. We might not know the reason but we also might know the reason and know that the LORD is just trying to get us back to the place where we should be with HIM.
Job before all this happened seemed to be in the right place with the LORD but the LORD still wanted to stretch him more. HE does that sometimes to HIS followers to help them to be more fruitful for HIM.
In the end Job had more than he had at the beginning but he didn’t know that was going to happen. We don’t know why the LORD allows some things in our lives. It seems that it would be better to just die rather than to go on with all that was happening but that is not God’s plane.
HE has a reason for all HE allows in our lives. Yes, some of it is of our own making but some of it is from HIM to help us move to a greater service for HIM. Our testimony matters to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Are you going through a Job experience in your life right now? Trust the LORD to know what is best for you and accept what HE is doing. It is for our good!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God has hedged in? (5526 “hedged” [cakak] means to shut off as a protection, to surround completely, overshadow, isolate, shield, or make inaccessible)
DEVOTION: Job is cursing the day of his birth and not the LORD through all the statements made in this chapter. He wished he had never been born. He wished that he didn’t have to face these present circumstances. He thinks he is trapped in his present state and wonders why the LORD would put him through his present circumstances.
He is saying all these things to his “friends” who are going to take what he is saying while in sorrow and accuse him of sinning. He is venting which at times might seem necessary to human beings but from God’s perspective might not be necessary. HE allows us to question why things are happening to us at times but HE doesn’t want us to dwell on these thoughts.
Satan had told the LORD that HE had put a hedge of protection around Job and here we have Job thinking that he is trapped by the LORD with a hedge of bad circumstances.
God still had a hedge of protection around Job because HE had limited what Satan could do to him but Job was not looking at it from the eyes of the LORD. He was looking at it from the human side of suffering. He thought he was trapped in his circumstances but we know that trials don’t last a lifetime but for a moment from the perspective of the LORD but our perspective is very different.
Our perspective has to be one where we believe that anything that is happening in this lifetime is going to end soon. We suffer for only a short time compared to eternity but at the time it seems like eternity.
God brings Job back to the right perspective even while he is answering his “friends” condemnation.
CHALLENGE: The Holy Spirit can help our perspective if we allow HIM to help through our present trials.
__________________________________________________________
: 26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet, yet trouble came. (7267 “trouble” [rogez] means turmoil, disquiet, rage, trepidation, an event causing stress and pain, agitation, commotion, or perturbation)
DEVOTION: It seems that Job thought bad things could happen in his life even though he loved the LORD and was trying to serve HIM to the best of his ability. It was he was waiting for the shoe to drop in his life. He didn’t seem to rest in the idea that everything was going to be good throughout his life.
Sometimes we have times of great blessings and yet we wonder if the LORD was going to allow a time of frustration to enter into our life. We didn’t think we deserved to have just times of blessings because we know that we are sinners and that there are sinners all around us each day.
In this chapter we find Job showing a side of him that he wished he had never lived when he was born. He didn’t want to face all the turmoil that was happening around him at this time. He wanted to only have times of safety, rest and quiet in his life. This was not happening at present.
We can go through times when everything seems to be going right. The LORD seems to be blessing and then something bad happens and we wonder it life is worth living.
We are not thinking Biblically if we don’t expect both good and bad while we are here on this earth. Even when we are faithfully serving the LORD, HE does allow trials to enter our lives to help us to mature more in the faith. HE allowed HIS Son to go to the cross when HE was here on this earth to die for our sins. HE was NEVER a sinner. HE was here to pay the penalty for our sin. HE was a righteous sacrifice without spot or blemish. HE was tempted in all areas that we are tempted yet without sin.
When Christ came to this earth, HE knew HIS purpose was to die for our sins. We should know that while we are here on this earth we are going to sin and have consequences of our sins but we must also know that after we become a follower of Jesus Christ the Father looks at us through the Son and sees someone who has the Holy Spirit working in our lives to help us understand that we are blessed of HIM and will spend eternity with HIM but while we are here on this earth, we will have times of failure and blessing.
Job was experiencing a time of testing and was venting his feelings to his friends. He was not denying the LORD but wondering why he was born to experience such pain. We can identify with the pain to a lesser degree but yet we all experience times of pain and wonder why.
We have to remember that we deserve the Lake of Fire for eternity but for the grace and mercy of the LORD. It still hurts when we go through times of trouble.
We have to realize that the LORD is going to send times of trouble our way to help us to mature in HIM. Job was very mature but the test was great and he needed to return to a place of comfort from the LORD.
CHALLENGE: What are we going to do with our times of stress and pain when they come into our lives? Are we going to curse the day we were born or ask the LORD for grace to help us through our trial?
___________________________________________________________________
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)
_________________________________________________________________
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Sovereign, Creator) verse 4, 23
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)
Job verse 1- 26
Cursed his day of birth
Day of darkness is what he is living in now
Untimely birth I had not been able
to see light
Wanted to be in a place where the wicked
cease from troubling
What was greatly feared has come upon him
Trouble came
Kings verse 14
Built desolate places
Counsellors verse 14
Built desolate places
Princes verse 15
Had gold
Filled their houses with silver
Prisoners verse 18
Rest together
Hear not the voice of the oppressor
Servants – free of their master verse 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Cursed verse 1, 8
No joyful voice verse 7
Wishing to be dead verse 11
Wicked verse 17
Oppressor verse 18
Misery verse 20
Bitterness verse 20
Fear/afraid verse 25
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Safety verse 26
Rest verse 26
Quiet verse 26
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Die verse 11, 21
Give up the ghost verse 11
Grave verse 22
_____________________________________________________________
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________
QUOTES regarding passage
The last of Job’s rhetorical questions comes in vv.20–23. To paraphrase: Why is light given to a man who is miserable (v.20a)? Why is life given to a man who has no future (v.23a)? His suffering was so intense both physically (v.24) and mentally (vv.20b, 23b) that death in comparison would be an exquisite pleasure, like finding hidden treasure (vv.21b–22?). The very thing he dreaded the most happened. It thus appeared to him that the very God who had put a hedge of protection and blessing about him (1:10) subsequently hemmed him in with trouble and distress (vv.23c, 26).
What does this chapter teach us? What is its function as part of Scripture? Job’s attitude is certainly not normative—just the opposite. We should hardly look to this chapter to tell us what to believe about the state of the dead. What we can see in the chapter is how even a man of great faith can fall into the slough of despond. That one as great as Job should have such a struggle of faith is a source of support to those similarly afflicted, especially when viewed in the light of the rest of the Book of Job. God prefers we speak with him honestly, even in our moments of deepest gloom than that we mouth innocuous cliches far removed from reality. (Smick, E. B. (1988). Job. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 891). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
______________________________________________________________
3:20–22. For the fourth of five times in this soliloquy, Job asked, “Why?” (cf. vv. 11–12, 16, 23; also cf. 7:20; 13:24) Since he had been conceived and born, and since he was not a stillbirth, he longed to die then as an adult. That would end his suffering. And yet death did not come. Referring once again to the subject of light and darkness as indicative of life and death (cf. 3:3–9; Ecc. 11:7–8; 12:2), he asked, Why is light given to those in misery, and life (cf. Job 3:23) to the bitter of soul? To Job it seemed incongruous that people like himself who are physically miserable and inwardly bitter are “given” life (cf. v. 23) when they really don’t want it. The Hebrew word for “misery” is related to the noun for “trouble” (v. 10). Neither those who wait quietly (long for death) nor those who search for it find it. Death … does not come. Like buried treasure, it is not found. When sufferers finally do reach the grave, Job said, they are glad and rejoice because death releases them from pain. (Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 723–724). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
____________________________________________________________
The last half of the lament is a description of the world of the dead, the place the Jews called Sheol (Job 3:13–26). That’s where Job wanted to be! The Old Testament does not give a complete and final revelation of life after death; that had to await the coming of the Savior (2 Tim. 1:10). Job saw Sheol as a shadowy place where the small and great rested together, away from the burdens and sufferings of life on earth. Job would rather be dead and have rest than be alive and bear the misery that had come to him. After all, he was in the dark as far as his future was concerned (Job 3:23), so he might as well be in the darkness of Sheol. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
______________________________________________________________
Since he was conceived and born, Job now wishes that he could die. Life is intolerable; death is preferable. He is troubled that death is so elusive to those who long for it. Death is a time to be celebrated. But access to the grave is restricted because God has hedged man in. Job then refers to his apprehensions, perhaps both past and present. Trouble is coming. Either Job is expecting more suffering or perhaps he knows that his words have aroused his comforters and they soon will be adding theological frenzy to his woe. (Schultz, C. (1995). Job. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 344). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
________________________________________________________________
Ver. 20. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, &c.] That labours under various calamities and afflictions, as Job did, being stripped of his substance, deprived of his children, and now in great pain of body and distress of mind; who, since he died not so soon as he wished he had, expostulates why his life is protracted; for that is what he means by light, as appears from the following clause, even the light of the living, or the light of the world; which though sweet and pleasant to behold to a man in health, yet not to one in pain of body and anguish of mind, as he was, who chose rather to be in the dark and silent grave; this he represents as a gift, as indeed life is, and the gift of God: the words may be rendered, wherefore does he give light? that is, God, as somea supply it, who is undoubtedly meant, though not mentioned, through reverence of him, and that he might not seem to quarrel with him; the principle of life is from him, and the continuance and protraction of it, and all the means and mercies by which it is supported; and Job asks the reasons, which he seems to be at a loss for, why it should be continued to a person in such uncomfortable circumstances as he was in; though these, with respect to a good man as he was, are plain and obvious: such are continued in the world under afflictions, both for their own good, and for the glory of God, that their graces may be tried, their sins purged away or prevented, and they made more partakers of divine holiness; and be weaned from this world, and fitted for another, and not be condemned with the world of the ungodly: and life unto the bitter in soul; whose lives are imbittered to them by afflictions, comparable to the waters of Marah, and to wormwood and gall, which occasion bitterness of spirit in them, and bitter complaints from them; see ch. 13:26 and 23:16 and 27:2. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 211). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
_____________________________________________________________
20–26. These questions and conclusions, if dictated by the Spirit of grace, would have gone much further to have softened the sorrows of the man of Uz, in looking to the Lord, than all the vehement expressions we read before. But alas! a mind under the impulse of temptation makes sad work of it, and, like Jonah, if the gentle and tender expostulation of God puts the enquiry, Dost thou well to be angry? for the moment, will boldly and impudently say, as he did, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Jonah 4:9. But did Jonah think so when the boiling anger of the moment was over, Jonah, chapter 2? Did Job think so when he prayed, Job 42:5, 6? (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, pp. 15–16). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
____________________________________________________________
3:26 Three negatives on three verbs make up the first three quarters of v. 26. The first good thing Job lacked was not šālôm (“peace”) but a similar word, šālâ, which also means “peace” (12:6). Instead of these irenic conditions, Job found that only “turmoil” came his way. In death even the wicked appear to be free from turmoil, but in life turmoil was the righteous Job’s constant companion. It is easy to understand how such pain could have caused Job to lose sight of the pleasantness that had once filled his life so that now he longed to forfeit life for peace and rest. (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, p. 80). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)
______________________________________________________________
Job shares a secret at the close of his lament (vv. 25–26): before all his troubles started, he had a feeling—and a fear—that something terrible was going to happen. Was it an intuition from the Lord? Sometimes God’s people have these intuitions, and it motivates them to seek God’s face and pray for His help. Is that what Job did? We don’t know, but we do know that he was a broken man whose worst fears had now been realized. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (Job 3:1–26). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
__________________________________________________________________
(rōgez). Trouble, turmoil, wrath, rage. Can refer either to external disturbances or troubles or to inner emotional agitation as in anger. Job uses this term for external disturbances (3:17, 26; 14:1). The RSV and ASV correctly prefer a similar meaning in Isa 14:3 (cf. KJV “fear”), as is shown by other elements in that context. God’s wrath is expressed by this term (Hab 3:2; cf. also the raging of the war horse, Job 39:24). Its meaning in Job 37:2 (KJV, ASV “noise”; RSV “thunder”; BDB “rumbling”) is not clear. (Bowling, A. (1999). 2112 רָגַז. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 831). Chicago: Moody Press.)
____________________________________________________________________
3:23 The Hebrew line begins simply, “To a man whose way is hidden.” The verse is not a tricolon but a typical bicolon. The phrase “why is life given?” has been added from v. 20. “Light” could have been supplied rather than “life.” Job sensed that he had lost the way. The road he ought to take was obscured. He felt that life took a wrong turn, but he did not know where. He only knew that it led him into the misery of loss and ill health. In the second line he indirectly charged that God “has hedged” him in. This picture of hostile forces surrounding him appears in more elaborate form in 19:6, 8, 12. It is ironic that the Satan charged God with putting a “hedge” around Job to protect him. Putting these two passages together, we learn that hedges can make one feel safe and protected or fearful and threatened. In both instances it was God who put the hedge around Job. (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, pp. 78–79). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
___________________________________________________________________
3:23–24. Job again asked why (the fifth “why” in this chapter; cf. vv. 11–12, 16, 20) life should be given (cf. v. 20) to someone who does not want it. Job’s way (“path”) was hidden (cf. “hidden treasure,” v. 21) so that he could not see where he was going. In fact Job said God had hedged him in. Here for the first time Job asserted that God was the cause of his affliction. Satan had used the word “hedge” to refer to God’s protection of Job (1:10). Now Job used the word to refer to God’s restrictions on him. His suffering limited his freedom of movement. Therefore Job was sighing rather than eating; his illness had made him lose his appetite. And his groaning was unending like the water of a waterfall. The word for groans is used of the roaring of a lion (4:10; cf. Ps. 32:3). (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. 724). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
_______________________________________________________________
3:23 hedged in. Satan spoke of a hedge of protection and blessing (1:10), whereas Job spoke of this hedge as a prison of living death. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Job 3:23). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
_____________________________________________________________
When you are hurting, you may say and do a lot of things that you later regret. Job’s suffering was so great that he forgot the blessings that he and his family had enjoyed for so many years. Had he never been born he would never have been the greatest man in the East! But pain makes us forget the joys of the past; instead, we concentrate on the hopelessness of the future. Job’s friends heard his words but did not feel the anguish of his heart, and they took the wrong approach to helping him handle his trials. They argued with his words instead of ministering to his feelings.
….. He closed his curse with four “why?” questions that nobody but God could answer. It is easy to ask why but difficult to get the right answer. There is nothing wrong with asking why, as long as we don’t get the idea that God owes us an answer. Even our Lord asked, “Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46) But if the Lord did tell us why things happen as they do, would that ease our pain or heal our broken hearts? Does reading the X ray take away the pain of a broken leg? We live on promises, not explanations; so we shouldn’t spend too much time asking God why.
….. Job shares a secret at the close of his lament (vv. 25–26): before all his troubles started, he had a feeling—and a fear—that something terrible was going to happen. Was it an intuition from the Lord? Sometimes God’s people have these intuitions, and it motivates them to seek God’s face and pray for His help. Is that what Job did? We don’t know, but we do know that he was a broken man whose worst fears had now been realized. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (Job 3:1–26). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
_____________________________________________________________
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?
Why is light given? these words are conveniently supplied out of ver. 20, where they are, all the following words hitherto being joined in construction and sense with them. Whose way is hid, to wit, from him; who knows not his way, i. e. which way to turn himself, what course to take to comfort himself in his miseries, or to get out of them; what method to use to please and reconcile that God who is so angry with him, seeing his sincere and exact piety, to which God is witness, doth not satisfy him; or what the end of these calamities will be. Whom God hath hedged in; not with a hedge of defence, like that chap. 1:10, but of offence and restraint, i. e. whom God hath put as it were in prison or pound, or like cattle in grounds enclosed with a high and strong hedge, over or through which they cannot get; so that he can see no way nor possibility to escape, but all refuge fails him. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 928). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
_____________________________________________________________
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!!)
________________________________________________________________
Nahum 1
Nahum warns Nineveh to turn from idolatry and to be true to her vows.
INSIGHT
Nahum is sent from God to urge repentance again. This message must seem absurd. In the ensuing years, Nineveh has grown into the most powerful city in the known world. Her walls seem impregnable. Water totally surrounds the city, and inside there is a self-sufficient agricultural system. Feeling independent, she does not repent. The Babylonian army marches through the breach in the wall–and Nineveh falls. The Word of God is sure! (Quiet Walk)
______________________________________________________________
THE COVENANT OF GRACE
I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God. Exodus 6:7
God has made certain promises. So what is the great central promise that He has made in the covenant of grace? He has promised to be a God unto man. That is the great promise: “I will be to you a God.” Do you see the importance and significance of this? God had been the God of Adam, but Adam sinned against Him and fell; he became the slave of Satan and broke the connection with God. And the remarkable and astounding thing is that God turned to man and assured him in the covenant of grace that He had a way whereby He could still be a God to man. “I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God” (Exodus 6:7).
Make a note of that because as you go through the Scriptures you will find that this great promise is repeated time and time again. You will find it in Jeremiah 31:33; 32:38-40. You will find it in Ezekiel 34:23-25; 36:25-28; 37:26-27. You will find it in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 and in Hebrews 8:10 and, in a marvelous way, in Revelation 21:3 where we read: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.” That is the final state. So you see that is the very essence of God’s promise in the covenant of grace–that what had been broken by sin and the Fall was going to be restored. And the supreme blessing therefore, the ultimate blessing, the blessing of blessings, is that God is my God, and that I have a right to say, “my God.” And the whole of salvation is included in that.
How often do we tend to define salvation in terms other than that? Yet the greatest thing a human being can ever say since the Fall is this: “God is my God.”
A Thought to Ponder
The greatest thing a human being can ever say since the Fall is this: “God is my God.”
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 226-227, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
___________________________________________________________________
Our Rock: The Creator
“Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:18)
Just before his death, Moses predicted the coming apostasy of Israel in a prophetic “history” of Israel. Not only did his prophecy come true for the nation of Israel, but the same could be said for much of Western Christianity today.
Moses recounted the fact that Israel had been blessed greatly of the Lord, but instead of drawing closer to Him, they grew “fat, and…Forsook God which made [them], and lightly esteemed the Rock of [their] salvation” (Deuteronomy 32:15). The use of the term “rock” refers to the rock that Moses struck, yielding water to sustain them in the parched desert region. The rock followed the people on their journeys and provided an ever-present reminder of God’s marvelous provision. (If one should further doubt as to the identity of the Rock, “that Rock was Christ,” 1 Corinthians 10:4.) They totally forgot, however, the God of their creation and salvation, and sacrificed to demons, old gods, and to any new gods around (Deuteronomy 32:17).
God has given us life, and without His daily sustenance all life would cease. How foolish it is to attempt to live life without the One “that begat” us—who gave us life and even now maintains it. All too often the Creator God is excluded from our churches, our government, and our schools. Even many Christians live their lives as practical atheists, making decisions and living their lives just as if no God exists. Let us recommit ourselves to giving the rightful place in our lives and in our sphere of influence to “the Rock that begat” us.
“I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he” (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).
(JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
______________________________________________________________
Heeding the Warnings
Whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:33
When a pickpocket tried to pilfer my property while I was on vacation in another country, it wasn’t a surprise. I’d read warnings about the danger of subway thieves, so I knew what to do to protect my wallet. But I never expected it to happen.
Fortunately, the young man who grabbed my wallet had slippery fingers, so it fell to the floor where I could retrieve it. But the incident reminded me that I should have heeded the warnings.
We don’t like to dwell on warnings because we think they’ll get in the way of enjoying life, but it’s imperative to pay attention to them. For instance, Jesus gave us a clear warning while sending out His disciples to proclaim God’s coming kingdom (Matthew 10:7). He said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven” (vv. 32–33).
We have a choice. In love, God provided a Savior and a plan for us to be in His presence for eternity. But if we turn away from God and choose to reject His message of salvation and the real life He offers for both now and forever, we lose out on the opportunity to be with Him.
May we trust in Jesus, the One who chose to save us from being eternally separated from the One who loves and made us. (By Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread)
_________________________________________________________________
“He was numbered with the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
Why did Jesus suffer himself to be enrolled amongst sinners? This wonderful condescension was justified by many powerful reasons. In such a character he could the better become their advocate. In some trials there is an identification of the counsellor with the client, nor can they be looked upon in the eye of the law as apart from one another. Now, when the sinner is brought to the bar, Jesus appears there himself. He stands to answer the accusation. He points to his side, his hands, his feet, and challenges Justice to bring anything against the sinners whom he represents; he pleads his blood, and pleads so triumphantly, being numbered with them and having a part with them, that the Judge proclaims, “Let them go their way; deliver them from going down into the pit, for he hath found a ransom.” Our Lord Jesus was numbered with the transgressors in order that they might feel their hearts drawn towards him. Who can be afraid of one who is written in the same list with us? Surely we may come boldly to him, and confess our guilt. He who is numbered with us cannot condemn us. Was he not put down in the transgressor’s list that we might be written in the red roll of the saints? He was holy, and written among the holy; we were guilty, and numbered among the guilty; he transfers his name from yonder list to this black indictment, and our names are taken from the indictment and written in the roll of acceptance, for there is a complete transfer made between Jesus and his people. All our estate of misery and sin Jesus has taken; and all that Jesus has comes to us. His righteousness, his blood, and everything that he hath he gives us as our dowry. Rejoice, believer, in your union to him who was numbered among the transgressors; and prove that you are truly saved by being manifestly numbered with those who are new creatures in him. (Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.)
___________________________________________________________
Heedfulness v. hypocrisy in ourselves
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. 1 John 5:16.
If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we shall become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf. The revelation is made to us not through the acuteness of our minds, but by the direct penetration of the Spirit of God, and if we are not heedful of the source of the revelation, we shall become criticizing centres and forget that God says—“… he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.” Take care lest you play the hypocrite by spending all your time trying to get others right before you worship God yourself.
One of the subtlest burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them, and as we intercede on His line, God says He will give us “life for them that sin not unto death.” It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede.
Is Jesus Christ seeing of the travail of His soul in us? He cannot unless we are so identified with Himself that we are roused up to get His view about the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so whole-heartedly that Jesus Christ will be abundantly satisfied with us as intercessors. (Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.)
_______________________________________________________________
SANCTIFICATION IN THE LIGHT OF THE RESURRECTION
“who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” Romans 4:25
It is only in the light of the resurrection that I finally have an assurance of my sins forgiven. It is only in the light of the resurrection that I ultimately know that I stand in the presence of God absolved from guilt and shame and every condemnation. I can now say with Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) because I look at the fact of the resurrection. It is there that I know it.
You notice how Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15:17 when he says, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” If it is not a fact that Christ literally rose from the grave, then you are still guilty before God. Your punishment has not been borne, your sins have not been dealt with, you are yet in your sins. It matters that much: Without the resurrection you have no standing at all; you are still uncertain as to whether you are forgiven and whether you are a child of God. And when one day you come to your deathbed you will not know, you will be uncertain as to where you are going and what is going to happen to you. “Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25). It is in the resurrection that I stand before God free and absolved and without fear and know that I am indeed a child of God.
So you see the importance of holding on to this doctrine and why we must insist upon the details of doctrine, and not be content with some vague general belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are concerned about your life in this world and the fight against the world, the first thing to do, says the apostle Paul, is to take an overall look at the great doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord.
A Thought to Ponder: Without Christ’s resurrection you have no standing at all. (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 144-145, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
_________________________________________________________________
We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.