Day 25, January 25 Bible Reading

Day 25,  January 25

Job 40-42   God questions Job / Job answers God / Job is restored

Bonus: God says “Meet My Pets - If You Can’t Handle Them, What makes You Think You Can Handle Me, God?”

Job 40 

• Prepare to be Corrected.  Never think that You Are Always Right. At the end of the day, God demands this of man. [Job 40:2] “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"
  
  

• This was the fatal flaw and contention made by Job’s friends.  They were all about God punishing sinners that they never viewed Him as more than that.  They should have viewed Him as ultimately a forgiver, a restorer.   Instead of looking at why there was suffering, you develop a heart of reconciliation and restoration.
  
  

• 40:3-5 Poor Job.  Cat...er… God got his tongue.  We would be similarly tongue tied also.  Job did the right thing.  He has nothing to say, except that he is indeed vile.  He really has no knowledge of God.
  
  

• 40:6-7 Challenge given.  “Answer me like a man”.  If God came to every man who is reading this, what would be your answer for Him, in how you represented Him at work, in your family, in your life?
  
  

• 40:8-14 Here is a challenge issued by God. If you want to question His judgments, make it void and condemn the way He thinks, so that you can justify yourself, then meet this challenge. Then He will back down and confess that your own right hand can save you.  What was the challenge?  Simply

• Adorn yourself with majesty, splendor, glory and beauty.  Thunder with your Voice like His and have an Arm like His.

• Disperse your rage and do something about it.  Look on the proud and humble them , make them low.

• Tred down the wicked and bring them to dust.

• We all know no one of us can even save ourselves. None of us can even stop the day of our death.
  
  

• 40:15-24 We are told to Look at the Behemoth. What is the Behemoth?  I have no idea.  It is a massive strange creature.  It’s one of God’s personal pets :-) 

• What was most interesting is that God said, He made it along with “you”.  Wait!! He was created along with man? I did not see that in the creation story. He is literally a mighty beast.  This was also interesting
  
  “He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword”

• So he was one of the first creatures.  He is so large that “the Jordan gushes into his mouth”

• So what is the point?  Why bring this up?  (This is a question we should always ask when reading scripture).  The answer will “soon come”.

Job 41

• 41:1-9  We were introduced to the massive land creature the Behemoth.  Now we are introduced to God’s pet in the sea - the Leviathan.  God is almost taunting Job and his friends.  At least I’m sure they were mesmerized.  He asks:

• Can you hook him, fish him out, pierce his jaw with a hook?

• Will he speak softly to you, will you be able to play with him?

• Will your friends Job be able to strike a bargain with him?

• Can you dare put your hand on it?  Try it and remember the battle.  Never do it again lol.

• Shall not one be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
  
  

• Once again, what is the point?  Why bring this up? 

• The Point was, if you can’t handle my Pets, what makes you think you can “Man” Handle Me, God.
  
  

• 41:10-11 Everything under heaven is God’s.  No one came before Him.  Who then is able to stand against Him and overturn His judgment?   This reminds me of a part in Moses law when He said, “All the land is Mine”.  This is a key concept, when we address the issue of restoration as we read the scriptures.
  
  

• 41:12-34  Methinks that God took special pride in Leviathan.  This is one terrible creature.  

He makes the deep boil like a pot;

He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.

 He leaves a shining wake behind him;

One would think the deep had white hair.

33 On earth there is nothing like him,

Which is made without fear.

34 He beholds every high thing;

He is king over all the children of pride.”

I think Job got the point. Leviathan is the King of all the children of pride.  You and your friends were proud Job.  If I can handle him, I can handle you guys.

Job 42 - Job’s Response and Restoration

When God asks you to respond, keep it short.  When God says, I will give you anything, put yourself in jail.

Job got the message.  As we saw during our reading, the point was that God’s plan involves grand creative activity, as well as the ability to overcome ruin and bring restoration.

The point was that suffering is not a surprise to Him.  That He is quite capable of striking, and bringing calamity if He wants to.  But it is always with an eye of restoration.  

The point was that while you are experiencing hurt and trouble, ask God to reveal Himself, look towards restoration, rather than myopically trying to come up with the 1000 of reasons of what went wrong, and why you or someone is to be blamed.

The point is to learn of His ways, and not always to seek only His acts, that is what can He do for you, or how he can deliver you.  Go beyond what you know theoretically, go beyond what you have heard of Him from others, go beyond the “miracles” He has done for you and seek to Know Him, For Yourself, because You Want to See Him without the Trappings, without always coming from the position of what can He do For you..

As Job rightfully said: “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,” “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.”

The Lord accepted Job and his attitude.  He said what Job spoke of me was right.  Job did not put God in a box.

He told his friends to have Job make a burnt offering on their behalf and have Job pray for them else He would have to deal with their folly.

It was interesting that Job’s restoration was also linked to his ability to pray for and I also assume, forgive His friends. 

“And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends”  (Job 42:10) That is something to think about.