Job 37-39
Job 37
Notice all of the stormy imagery. It is thought that as Elihu was speaking, they all noticed that a storm was approaching and Elihu began to use it to describe God's power and wisdom.
V. 9 Notice the whirlwind. Job lost his children to something like this.
V. 13 This is probably the key to what Elihu was driving at. It is not just that God makes it happen, it is the stated motives that guide His hand and His actions.
Vs. 14-24 This is Elihu's final challenge to Job.
V. 15 This argument goes, "If you don't know this, then what right do you have to say what God is doing in this situation you are in?"
V. 19 Job wanted to talk to God. Elihu is suggesting that if Job isn't wise enough to figure out what God can create with a thought, how is he going to really duke it out with God?
Vs. 23-24 Again, Elihu justifies God.
Job 38-39
Job finally got what he wanted. God arrived in the approaching storm. Notice that God speaks to Job out of the very thing that killed his kids.
God never defends His actions in allowing this to happen to Job. At this point, we are the only ones who know the whole story. What God does is describe why Job should just trust Him. To do this, as my uncle says, first God takes Job on a nature hike and then He takes him to the zoo. Isn't it really totally beyond our comprehension how God can direct, control and sustain the entire universe, all of life? There is so much that exists that we don't even know about in the spiritual dimension, on the microscopic level, chemical reactions taking place in deep space (and what is space anyway?). And yet He doesn't even break a sweat to sustain it or create it. He holds it all together and directs it. And we know Him in the person and grace and salvation of Jesus our Lord. "Trust" is an awfully small word when we consider His work in our lives and how He uses us.
The point in all of this is that God's infinite wisdom and intricate sovereignty are so great, that we should trust Him for what we don't understand. If we know God in Christ, we know His love, His salvation and His work on this planet of death. That should be enough for us to trust Him completely, and take up our death daily and follow Him in the harvest.
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10
In Paul's recent suffering he was overwhelmed by the emotions of certain death, and then all the distress and conflict he felt with the church in Corinth. Through that experience of suffering ("death") the Lord gave Paul what he needed to speak to this church.
2 Cor. 4:13-18
Vs. 13-15 In order to understand this you have to read Psalm 116. Paul is quoting verse ten. It is a psalm of deliverance. I bet he read that over and over during this time. Paul expected the leaders and people in Corinth to understand this reference since this was a very Jewish church.
Paul is saying that he and those with him shared the same experience as the psalmist. Even though they were threatened, they still believed and went on speaking for God. Paul says here that they kept on because they knew they would be raised with Christ. Paul knew that God would use that experience, however it turned out, to bring His grace further and to bring glory to His name.
Vs. 16-18 This is so much like what Jesus told His disciples. Jesus said they shouldn't fear those who could only kill the body. It was in all of His teaching that we are to live for the kingdom and leave the rest to Him.
Based on the resurrection and the spiritual reality given by God, we can risk it all for Him.
Notice that the Spirit can use the suffering of today to cause daily renewal and preparation.
V. 18 This assumes that a disciple following Christ in the harvest is learning to see the spiritual. This is not automatic. Many church goers are lost on earth and do not see God working to redeem, or see their part in it.
2 Cor. 5:1-10
This section explains verse 16-18. The point being that the body must die, but God uses that daily process of death to produce all sorts of wonderful things. But I would say that this process of death and renewal only really happens if our eyes are on the harvest and the eternal plan God that is working through Christ, through us, in this world.
V. 1 Notice the contrast between the tent and the house. Remember 1 Cor. 15:42
Vs. 2-5 This says that it is normal for us to groan while we are in this body, but this isn't just any groaning. We all groan. The context of Paul's groaning wasn't just his arthritis, it was his work on earth for Christ and the difficulty of following Christ bearing the body of death. It is a spiritual understanding of what is happening in life, understanding this body of death and understanding that our hope is in the resurrection. Read Romans 8:23. It seems kind of funny to say this, but if a person isn't groaning inwardly, it is very likely they are not in the harvest or a disciple and really don't have a very present longing for the resurrection.
Vs. 6-10 So this is why Paul has that attitude, Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
V. 9 Notice our aim as we live and work in the harvest. Therefore there is not fear, but instead, expectation when we get to verse ten.
This entire spiritual perspective and spiritual life Paul is talking about here can only be found following Christ in the harvest, reaching out to the lost and making disciples who make disciples. If a person is not involved in that, they can never arrive at this heart and mind for Christ.
Psalm 44:9-26
After having read the first eight verses yesterday, were you ready for this? Suddenly it seems like everything reads like Job.
Vs. 8-16 If Job's friends heard this, they would say the people sinned.
Vs. 17-22 But, like Job, they had not sinned.
V. 22 Notice that Paul quotes this in Romans 8:36, "As it is written, 'For thy sake we are being killed all the daylong; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'" If you reread this section of Romans you'll see that there is a very strong theme of being safe in the sovereign plan of God. But safety doesn't mean understanding what God does. Nor does safety mean not suffering during this time on earth.
Vs. 23-26 "for the sake of your steadfast love." We have read all of the historical events that happened in Israel. There will be a few more details in Jeremiah and Daniel, but basically we have everything. So, what could this event have been that was such a distress to Israel? The Sons of Korah wrote for the temple worship and so this must be the southern kingdom. When was there a time when the people were following God closely, but when there was an enemy at hand that was conquering the land. I would guess this was written during the time of Hezekiah when the Assyrian army was capturing the land.
Why was God allowing this? In His purpose, He was accomplishing a million things, changing the face of nations and empires. But why did Judah have to suffer like this? I'm sure there was more than one reason. But if this did happen when I think it did, the depth of their despair would be matched by the height of their praise when God visited the Assyrian army. Just like Job and Paul, suffering preceded praise and truly understanding the depth of God's wisdom.
I really like this old Promise Keepers song. In Christ we follow, wait and call.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMEaJPlFkn4
Proverbs 22:13
This is sort of like the joke, "I exercise every day. I do a half a sit up when I get up in the morning and I do the other half at night when I lay back down." There is some area in all of our lives where we are the sluggard.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
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