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AUGUST 23
Job 8-11
As you read Job, here are a couple thoughts to consider:
First, what kind of man was Job? Just think, he didn't have the Holy
Spirit within him and he didn't have a Bible. Yet, even when God allowed this
to happen to him, with his friends brutally accusing him, Job held on to his
knowledge of God; and it saved him from ruin. He was definitely "one of a
kind" on the earth.
Second, was it OK for God to use Job like this? Remember the death of
Stephen and all those people Paul locked up and voted to kill? Those people
hadn't sinned either. Was it OK for God to do that? Is it OK for God to use you
like that too, and take away all you have to further some purpose of His that
you don't understand? Does God somehow become unjust and unfair? Our love for
God, our trust in Him and our understanding of our salvation in our Lord is
what makes or breaks us on earth.
Job 8
Vs. 1-4 Bildad the Shuhite (shoe-height) was one of those short men of
the Bible. The topic of justice is where Job and his friends run off course.
They all had the view that things, such as what Job was experiencing, came as
the result of sin and God's justice/punishment. Notice this jab at what
happened to Job's kids.
Vs. 5-7 Everything here is true, if in fact a person had sinned; but
Job hadn't. What is wrong here is that this isn't a statement of spiritual
fact. It is an accusation and a call to repentance.
Vs. 8-10 Bildad is telling Job to look at experience on earth over the
long years of humanity up to that point.
Vs. 11-19 The idea here is that just as papyrus can't grow without a
marsh, no one gets treated like Job without sin being present.
Vs. 20-22 This is both a warning to Job and a call to repentance. This
is all good truth; but used like this on the wrong man, it is the hammer of
Satan himself, pushing Job toward doubt, anger and self-loathing.
Job 9
Vs. 1-2 Job uses the words of Eliphaz's vision about a man being
righteous in the sight of God. Job wants to know how you might appeal God's
"judgment." He was now assuming that God had judged him.
Vs. 3-10 Job knew that he wouldn't be able to answer back to God
because of God's wisdom, though he was only thinking of God's
"wisdom" as in knowing Job's deepest sins. What is so interesting in
all of what Job says is that he is only inches from the truth. He understood
God's wisdom in creation. When God speaks to Job in the last chapters, He will
use much of what Job says here to correct Job. Job doesn't understand that
"bad things" do not mean he sinned. Job doesn't understand that in
His wisdom, love and purpose, God can bring hardship into our lives without
being unfair and unjust.
Vs. 11-12 Job knew of God's authority and that he wouldn't be allowed
to speak back to God.
Vs. 13-21 Job says many times that he is innocent, but he knows that if
God wanted to find something, He would. Job didn't understand forgiveness. All
he can think is that his situation is a result of God holding on to a grudge
regarding Job's sin.
In reading this I got a twinge of what Paul says in Romans 9:20, But who are you, O man, to answer back to
God? I'd bet that Paul knew these verses in Job.
Vs. 22-24 This is where Job steps out of bounds. He accuses God of
destroying the blameless and the wicked in judgment. Job is right in that he
was blameless. He was wrong in assuming God had judged him. Although Job didn't
see the bigger picture we saw in chapter 1, it still was a matter of trust. In
a sense, the fact that his friends were judging him, and accusing Job of sin,
pushed Job in this direction. Job hadn't cursed God, but now he was showing the
limits of his understanding and trust of God. Job was accusing God of
injustice. Job should have known that God could not pervert justice, and it
should have led him to silence.
V. 23 These are hard words against God. Remember that Job had lost all
of his children at one time. He is still mourning.
Vs. 25-35 Job thought again that he would die soon and there was no way
to find justice on earth before God. The fact that he was in so much pain and
misery made it impossible to cleanse himself or speak to God.
Job 10
Vs. 1-7 Here Job's understanding of God has fully run aground. God
wasn't contending against him. It is interesting to think that Job's friends
pushed him to this. It is also interesting that God knew that Job and his
friends had this enormous misunderstanding of His ways. God is teaching and
allowing them to show their hearts and the flaws in their understanding. So,
why is God showing US all of this?
Vs. 8-12 Job understood God's part in the making of men and in showing
men love and mercy, but then why was God suddenly destroying Job and forgetting
that love that He had shown Job?
Vs. 13-17 This is like accusing God of having always been waiting for
Job to slip.
Vs. 18-22 What is interesting is that even though Job had a limited
understanding of God's goodness and justice, he held it so tightly, that even
in this tragedy, it really kept Job out of trouble. Somehow he never doubted
his innocence or God's just, loving character. He just couldn't put it all
together. Could we have done any better even though we know more than Job did and
we have the Spirit?
Job 11
Vs. 1-7 Zophar (literally, friend) gets unfriendly and totally nasty
with Job. In fact, all of his friends will get meaner and meaner as they
desperately try to "save" him.
Vs. 8-12 This is so close to what God will say later about His wisdom,
but this is totally directed toward God's wisdom in seeing and punishing Job's
sin. Verses 11 and 12 are cruel attacks on Job.
Vs. 13-20 This is another version of "turn to God and He will turn
to you," except that Job hadn't turned away from God. I suppose Zophar was
trying to show he really loved Job after he just said Job was dumber than a
donkey. Nice guy.
1 Corinthians 15:1-28
There is a lot of great stuff in these verses. Enjoy.
Vs. 1-2 This message was being called into doubt, but Paul showed that
it had worked on them.
Vs. 3-7 The message was linked to the resurrection, and the
resurrection was a broadly known fact for which there were many, many
witnesses.
Vs. 8-11 This might show that it may have been a point of contention
that Paul wasn't one of the original Twelve. Here Paul defends himself a
little. He will defend himself a lot in 2 Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians we'll
see more clearly that Paul was being put down by others in Corinth as a 2nd
rate apostle.
Notice the "tension" of Paul's working: it was God's grace,
but Paul worked hard. The Spirit wrote these words, saying that Paul worked
harder than, literally, "all" of them. Yet, it was the grace of God working in Paul. There
is a reason why most of Acts is about God's work through Paul, and why God used
Paul to write most of the New Testament letters; but it's God's working, not
Paul's. Paul understood that God both enabled and drove him.
The point in this section is the final verse, Whether then it was I or THEY, so WE preach and so you believed.
Vs. 12-19 As I suggested earlier in the letter, Paul wrote with emotion
and I think there is some emotion here. And, the logic is very tight. If you
have some time, try reading this chapter out loud a few times. This is a great
portion of Scripture. Verse 19 is very powerful. Even unbelievers understand
the truth in this confession that if believing in Jesus is just for this life,
it is a waste of time. The resurrection, the close of the age, and the
fulfilling of the plan of redemption are always linked together and they are
always in view.
Vs. 20-28 Notice that there is no mention of Satan here. The last enemy
to be destroyed is death. Paul will talk about death's defeat one more time in
this passage. One interesting note is that when Jesus talks about the church,
He says, the gates of Hell will not
prevail against it. The gates of Hell were looked at as the entrance to
death, not the office building of the bad angels. The gates of Hell were like
the "broad gate" to destruction, or like an open mouth ready to
devour those who had died. Obviously it preaches better if those gates are the
military headquarters of the enemy; but in the resurrection, Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor.
15:54b). What to do? Preach both.
Isn't it interesting how the plan of redemption, the close of this age,
and the resurrection are all linked together? Everything in our lives in Christ
is focused on those coming events. We can never lose sight of the harvest, because
it is the field of this life. How can we ignore it? Yet, many believers do.
Among the people we are trying to reach in the harvest, the fear of death
reigns. The promise in Christ is life. Hebrews 2:15 - and deliver all those who through fear of death were
subject to lifelong slavery.
Psalm 38
Vs. 1-11 Doesn't this sound like Job? This was David's experience and
was the true result of his sin. It might have been because of his lying that
resulted in a town and family of priests being slaughtered, or it could have
been his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. David's guilt was real and deserved.
Reading this, you can see that what Job's friends were saying was biblical, but
horribly misapplied to Job.
V. 12 As a result, people were waiting for David to fall.
Vs. 13-14 Unlike Job, David was quiet in his suffering. He was broken
because his punishment was just. Job kept talking, egged on by his friends,
because he thought God was being unfair. Once David confessed his sins, he was
forgiven and knew to be silent before God in the face of the accusations of his
enemies.
Vs. 15-16 Still, David knew of God's heart and faithfulness. And, God
had made promises to David.
Vs. 17-20 In spite of David's brokenness and confession, his enemies
only wanted his ruin - not justice or reconciliation.
Vs. 21-22 David's plea to God was based on what David had learned of
God's love and faithfulness.
Since we are not Job, we need psalms like this to encourage us to
confess our sin and trust God for His forgiveness and love.
Proverbs 21:28-29
V. 28 I guess this not only means that false witnesses die with their
lies and that truth endures, but it also speaks of the legacy of these two men
in the lives of others.
V. 29 Again, the idea here is truth. The upright doesn't need to do stuff
or live in a way where he has to pretend that things are other than they are.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, 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 (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm
doing this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that
will keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are
reading. Remember, the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a
supplement, a disciple’s commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we
will keep following our Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making
disciples, who make disciples. Being in
the Word every day, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the
essential essence of being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full presentation
of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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