Job 40-42
Our last day in Job! This will be fun. Reading God's response to Job made me think of what Paul says in Romans 9:20, "But who are you, a man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me thus?'" It finally made sense to me what Paul is saying. He is simply answering this question in Rome with God's answer to Job. It has nothing to do with justice or fairness. Both Paul and God are saying that knowing God means trusting His actions because of His love and wisdom.
One note regarding the wildlife that is described below, remember that after the flood, things changed slowly. There was a massive climate change that resulted in the decline in the age of people and the dying off of certain types of animals. There were few people after the flood, allowing wildlife to grow undisturbed. Some of the types of animals on the ark may have lived for a time after the flood, but the climate and conditions on earth had changed. There were woolly mammoths, but somehow, through climate or the increased needs of growing human populations, they were killed off, similar to buffalo in North America. People lived close to rivers or where there was a supply of water. Although no one knows what the Behemoth and the Leviathan were, they could have been a large variety of something we have today that lived in those rivers and were a constant threat and challenge to the people.
Job 40
Vs. 1-2 The root of Job's problem had been finding fault with God. He accused God of being unjust.
Vs. 3-5 This is the first of Job's two replies to God.
Vs. 6-14 I think verse seven is funny. "Gird up your loins" (and fight like a ….). Obviously Job couldn't contend with God. Notice that God really has just been asking Job questions.
Vs. 15-24 I have a couple of questions here.
First, what was the Behemoth? It appears to be something that isn't around anymore. It seems that the common opinion is that it was a variety of hippopotamus, sort of what the woolly mammoth was to the elephant. Who knows. Growing up I always saw hippos as docile, fat animals living to get fat. Well here are some fun facts about hippos. Once they were common to all of Africa, including Egypt and the Nile, and Asia, including the areas around the Euphrates and Jordan rivers, and even Europe. No famous explorer of Africa was not attacked by a hippo. One explorer had his boat overturned and had his head and shoulders bit off. Apparently they are incredibly aggressive and on land they can outrun a man, even weighing 4000 pounds (the hippo, not the man). Now that we can kill them with guns, howitzers and atomic weapons, they are in decline because the ivory of their teeth does not yellow like an elephant's ivory, making it highly sought after. George Washington's teeth were not made of wood, but of hippo ivory. So, if there was a variety of hippo back then that was a little bigger, had a bigger tail and was meaner, it could well have been the behemoth. And apparently their tail does get stiff when they are mad, which apparently is always.
Second, why does God even use this illustration? Well, one reason is that they were apparently a hazard to anyone living along rivers, which was a lot of people. Another reason might be to mention that God made this very formidable animal that gave hunting parties fits. But for me it has more to do with the theme of the book: the hidden purpose of God. What was the purpose of that animal? Why did God make it? Who knows, but God knew and designed it as He chose.
Job 41
Enter the Leviathan. Apparently this was another river dweller and again the identity is unknown. It is thought that this could have been a very, very large crocodile.
Vs. 18-21 It is suggested that this could be poetic description of a crocodile coming up for air in the bright sun, the "light" in its eyes, the "smoke" coming out of its nostrils as it lets out air on the surface of the water creating a blowing of vapor that looked like smoke.
Again, even a nature lover might ask God why He made the Leviathan. Would it really be a loss if they went extinct? Does anyone "miss" the T-Rex? If you had lived near a river, you would never have let your kids go play at the shore if these things were around. It would have always been on your mind and trying to exterminate them would have been a generational endeavor.
Job 42
Vs. 1-6 Notice that Job quotes God twice, he confesses and repents.
Vs. 7-9 This is pretty interesting. God calls Job his servant four times. It never says that the friends prayed for Job, but Job prayed for them. God was not upset with Elihu.
Vs. 10-17 Notice the "condition" in verse ten.
Notice that it never mentioned any of Job's kids' names except these three daughters.
Tradition suggests that Job was 70 when this happened to him. And just as his prosperity was doubled after this event, so was his age. That is the suggested reason that he lived another 140 years.
As you read Job now, year after year, you will find new stuff each time you read it. Not only that, as you follow Christ in the harvest, as things happen to you and to others, what you've learned here will be used by the Spirit to teach you and to temper your heart. He will lead you to have a more eternal perspective on this life, and the Lord will lead you into more and more situations where you will learn to let go of expectations in this life on earth. As we follow Christ we learn to trust Him completely, and make Him and what you know of Him, enough to guide us through anything that happens to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCrBczelMwM
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
This is a very well-known and cool part of the Bible. And to think, all of this is being expressed like this because of Paul's suffering and a conflict he's having with a church. It is God's wisdom.
V. 11 Notice that Paul talks about their turmoil and its results as the "fear" of God. This is their motivation for persuading others. The message of the persuasion, we'll see later, is for people to repent and be reconciled.
V. 12 Note that the criticism in Corinth that is against Paul and shredding the church is ever present in Paul's mind as he is writing. It was a weight that Paul constantly bore.
Vs. 13-15 This is Paul understanding the necessity of God making them weak. But instead of being driven by concern for themselves or driven by fear, look what controls them. And look what it made them do. A disciple is always oriented to the harvest, because the love of Christ is revealed in the harvest.
V. 16 Paul once regarded Jesus as the enemy and his followers as heretics. That was before he understood what is happening "spiritually" in the world and in the plan of God. Now Paul says, "we live by faith, not by sight." Our eyes are to be on the spiritual reality, and then we understand the physical in terms of the spiritual. Another way to say this is what Paul says in Romans 8:14, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." We live on earth now understanding things spiritually, seeking spiritual direction, being led daily by the Spirit.
V. 17 Notice that this is a "creation," something made. Salvation is not membership to a club, where membership can be revoked due to bad behavior. It is being made, created. Salvation is something brought into life. This is why once we are saved or "created," we are always saved. You can revoke someone's membership, but you can't "un-create" something.
Vs. 18-21 Two things here. Disciples are always oriented to the harvest. "Ambassadors" is who God made us. To deny this is to get ourselves into a life we were not called to or equipped for. Our joy and strength and purpose is found in following Christ in the harvest.
Second, Paul is making sure they understand that this ministry is not something we grasp, but something that grips us. Paul wasn't putting himself forward, as if this was his career. Paul describes this life following Christ and speaking out to the lost as the irresistible vocation of anyone who has been seized by the love of Christ.
V. 21 This might have been a slight reminder to that Jewish audience and those Jewish super apostles that righteousness is not found in doing things Jewish, but in Christ alone.
Psalm 45
Now, I'm really not given to "spiritualizing" the meaning of the text, saying its real meaning is in something other than the physical event to which it was written. However, there is a prophetic element in lots of the Bible where a verse or event foreshadows something in the future. God shows us this is so. When we get to the NT and see some of the passages that Jesus or others used, we look back and say, "I would have never guessed that would also have a meaning for the future."
This psalm was apparently written for a wedding. But when you get to verse six, you see that this is quoted in Hebrews 1:8, "But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom." God is saying that this verse has to do with Jesus being crowned king. This is also when He takes the church as His bride. So then, let's read the entire psalm as if it is referring to Jesus taking His throne and meeting with His church at the wedding feast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgX_oqdib4
Proverbs 22:14
There really is no such thing as "getting away" with something. If God lets you kick against the door until you "succeed," you are walking into judgment, not blessing.
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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