Nowata Methodists Podcast

Some parts of the bible are hard to know how to apply to one’s life. James is roughly the easiest. I love it. It covers very practical issues in terms that are hard to avoid. We need to be cornered like this so that obedience can be rendered wholeheartedly. Nothing is worse than to be unsure of what our Father in Heaven expects. Thankfully, the scriptures are often quite clear. Enjoy!

James 1

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position. But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 2

My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?

If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.

And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.

As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 3

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal.

Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

James 4

What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?

You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.

And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:

“God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.”

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.

Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

James 5

Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire.

You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!

Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,

consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Psalm 47

Clap your hands, all you peoples;

shout unto God with a voice of triumph.

How awesome is the LORD Most High,

the great King over all the earth!

He subdues nations beneath us,

and peoples under our feet.

He chooses our inheritance for us,

the pride of Jacob, whom He loves.

Selah

God has ascended amid shouts of joy,

the LORD with the sound of the horn.

Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises!

For God is King of all the earth;

sing profound praises to Him.

God reigns over the nations;

God is seated on His holy throne.

The nobles of the nations have assembled

as the people of the God of Abraham;

for the shields of the earth belong to God;

He is highly exalted.

Today we get to finish Ecclesiastes. Lots of wisdom here! It is hard to fit it all together, but then, pretty much everything worthy in life is hard in some way. Enjoy!

Ecclesiastes 7

A good name is better than fine perfume,

and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

It is better to enter a house of mourning

than a house of feasting,

since death is the end of every man,

and the living should take this to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke

than to listen to the song of fools.

For like the crackling of thorns under the pot,

so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool,

and a bribe corrupts the heart.

The end of a matter is better than the beginning,

and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,

for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”

For it is unwise of you to ask about this.

Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good,

and it benefits those who see the sun.

For wisdom, like money, is a shelter,

and the advantage of knowledge

is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Consider the work of God:

Who can straighten what He has bent?

In the day of prosperity, be joyful,

but in the day of adversity, consider this:

God has made one of these along with the other,

so that a man cannot discover

anything that will come after him.

In my futile life I have seen both of these:

A righteous man perishing in his righteousness,

and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

Wisdom makes the wise man

stronger than ten rulers in a city.

Surely there is no righteous man on earth

who does good and never sins.

Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?

I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.

While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.

Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

Ecclesiastes 8

Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God. Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.

For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?

As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.

All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.

Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.

When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.

Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.

So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.

Ecclesiastes 9

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

Let your garments always be white,

and never spare the oil for your head.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

The calm words of the wise are heeded

over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,

but one sinner destroys much good.

Ecclesiastes 10

As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil,

so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man’s heart inclines to the right,

but the heart of a fool to the left.

Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking,

and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post,

for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun—

an error that proceeds from the ruler:

Folly is appointed to great heights,

but the rich sit in lowly positions.

I have seen slaves on horseback,

while princes go on foot like slaves.

He who digs a pit may fall into it,

and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

The one who quarries stones may be injured by them,

and he who splits logs endangers himself.

If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened,

more strength must be exerted,

but skill produces success.

If the snake bites before it is charmed,

there is no profit for the charmer.

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,

but the lips of a fool consume him.

The beginning of his talk is folly,

and the end of his speech is evil madness.

Yet the fool multiplies words.

No one knows what is coming,

and who can tell him what will come after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him,

for he does not know the way to the city.

Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth,

and whose princes feast in the morning.

Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles,

and whose princes feast at the proper time—

for strength and not for drunkenness.

Through laziness the roof caves in,

and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.

A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry,

but money is the answer for everything.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,

or curse the rich even in your bedroom,

for a bird of the air may carry your words,

and a winged creature may report your speech.

Ecclesiastes 11

Cast your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will find it again.

Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,

for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

If the clouds are full,

they will pour out rain upon the earth;

whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

He who watches the wind will fail to sow,

and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

As you do not know the path of the wind,

or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

the Maker of all things.

Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not rest your hands in the evening,

for you do not know which will succeed,

whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

Light is sweet,

and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

So if a man lives many years,

let him rejoice in them all.

But let him remember the days of darkness,

for they will be many.

Everything to come is futile.

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young,

and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.

Walk in the ways of your heart

and in the sight of your eyes,

but know that for all these things

God will bring you to judgment.

So banish sorrow from your heart,

and cast off pain from your body,

for youth and vigor are fleeting.

Ecclesiastes 12

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,

before the days of adversity come

and the years approach of which you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them,”

before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened,

and the clouds return after the rain,

on the day the keepers of the house tremble

and the strong men stoop,

when those grinding cease because they are few

and those watching through windows see dimly,

when the doors to the street are shut

and the sound of the mill fades away,

when one rises at the sound of a bird

and all the daughters of song grow faint,

when men fear the heights and dangers of the road,

when the almond tree blossoms,

the grasshopper loses its spring,

and the caper berry shrivels—

for then man goes to his eternal home

and mourners walk the streets.

Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is crushed,

before the pitcher is shattered at the spring

and the wheel is broken at the well,

before the dust returns to the ground from which it came

and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher.

“Everything is futile!”

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.

And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes has traditionally been understood to have been written by King Solomon, son of David, the wealthiest and wisest of the kings. His was the last of the reign of the united 12 tribes. He had more power and wealth than any who came before or after. Even so, he eventually failed God’s standards of righteousness and set his kingdom up for failure.

This book was written as a meditation upon the good life, what it is, and how to live it. It is perhaps the most depressing book ever written. Even so, it helps us to get clear about what is important in life, how it is to be lived, and why it is so important that Christ came in the flesh. Listen or watch to get a sense of what I’m talking about.

Ecclesiastes 1

These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

“Futility of futilities,”

says the Teacher,

“futility of futilities!

Everything is futile!”

What does a man gain from all his labor,

at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go,

but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets;

it hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows southward,

then turns northward;

round and round it swirls,

ever returning on its course.

All the rivers flow into the sea,

yet the sea is never full;

to the place from which the streams come,

there again they flow.

All things are wearisome,

more than one can describe;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear content with hearing.

What has been will be again,

and what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a case where one can say,

“Look, this is new”?

It has already existed

in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance

of those who came before,

and those yet to come will not be remembered

by those who follow after.

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

What is crooked cannot be straightened,

and what is lacking cannot be counted.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow,

and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

Ecclesiastes 2

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!”

But it proved to be futile.

I said of laughter, “It is folly,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?”

I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees.

I built reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.

I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,

and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines.

So I became great and surpassed all in Jerusalem who had preceded me; and my wisdom remained with me.

Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?

And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness:

The wise man has eyes in his head,

but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?”

And I said to myself that this too is futile.

For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?

Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Ecclesiastes 3

To everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to break down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to count as lost,

a time to keep and a time to discard,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden that God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.

Furthermore, I saw under the sun that in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”

I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.”

For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.

All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?

I have seen that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will come after him?

Ecclesiastes 4

Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The fool folds his hands

and consumes his own flesh.

Better one handful with tranquility

than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

Again, I saw futility under the sun.

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up!

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?

And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom.

I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Ecclesiastes 5

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

As a dream comes through many cares,

so the speech of a fool comes with many words.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.

The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.

This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?

Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 6

There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind:

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

All a man’s labor is for his mouth,

yet his appetite is never satisfied.

What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.

For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

“5For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” -2nd Corinthians 7:5-11 (ESV)

This week we continue with our series on Repentance. We will be referencing the puritan author Thomas Watson’s book “The Doctrine of Repentance” throughout this series. If you would like to read the full book below is a link to a PDF of that book.

https://www.onthewing.org/user/Watson%20-%20Repentance%20-%20Modern.pdf

Today we conclude this story of Job. The Lord makes an appearance and gives a prolonged glimpse of the created order that is frankly pretty awesome. Both Behemoth and Leviathan are depicted as these wild and dangerous monsters that he himself has tamed. The forces of nature of elucidated clearly as the work of his hands, being directed in every molecule by him directly. We get glimpses of the first days of creation, before the world was even made, while ‘the morning stars’ were singing over creation. I wonder what images came to the minds of the ancient Hebrews as they heard these descriptions…

Job 38

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Who is this who obscures My counsel

by words without knowledge?

Now brace yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know!

Or who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its foundations set,

or who laid its cornerstone,

while the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Who enclosed the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

when I made the clouds its garment

and thick darkness its blanket,

when I fixed its boundaries

and set in place its bars and doors,

and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther;

here your proud waves must stop’?

In your days, have you commanded the morning

or assigned the dawn its place,

that it might spread to the ends of the earth

and shake the wicked out of it?

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

Light is withheld from the wicked,

and their upraised arm is broken.

Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea

or walked in the trenches of the deep?

Have the gates of death been revealed to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Have you surveyed the extent of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

Where is the way to the home of light?

Do you know where darkness resides,

so you can lead it back to its border?

Do you know the paths to its home?

Surely you know, for you were already born!

And the number of your days is great!

Have you entered the storehouses of snow

or observed the storehouses of hail,

which I hold in reserve for times of trouble,

for the day of war and battle?

In which direction is the lightning dispersed,

or the east wind scattered over the earth?

Who cuts a channel for the flood

or clears a path for the thunderbolt,

to bring rain on a barren land,

on a desert where no man lives,

to satisfy the parched wasteland

and make it sprout with tender grass?

Does the rain have a father?

Who has begotten the drops of dew?

From whose womb does the ice emerge?

Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,

when the waters become hard as stone

and the surface of the deep is frozen?

Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades

or loosen the belt of Orion?

Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons

or lead out the Bear and her cubs?

Do you know the laws of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?

Can you command the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you?

Can you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Who has put wisdom in the heart

or given understanding to the mind?

Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens

when the dust hardens into a mass

and the clods of earth stick together?

Can you hunt the prey for a lioness

or satisfy the hunger of young lions

when they crouch in their dens

and lie in wait in the thicket?

Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

as they wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

“Do you know when mountain goats give birth?

Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?

Can you count the months they are pregnant?

Do you know the time they give birth?

They crouch down and bring forth their young;

they deliver their newborn.

Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field;

they leave and do not return.

Who set the wild donkey free?

Who released the swift donkey from the harness?

I made the wilderness his home

and the salt flats his dwelling.

He scorns the tumult of the city

and never hears the shouts of a driver.

He roams the mountains for pasture,

searching for any green thing.

Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will he stay by your manger at night?

Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?

Will he plow the valleys behind you?

Can you rely on his great strength?

Will you leave your hard work to him?

Can you trust him to bring in your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.

For she leaves her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand.

She forgets that a foot may crush them,

or a wild animal may trample them.

She treats her young harshly, as if not her own,

with no concern that her labor was in vain.

For God has deprived her of wisdom;

He has not endowed her with understanding.

Yet when she proudly spreads her wings,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

Do you give strength to the horse

or adorn his neck with a mane?

Do you make him leap like a locust,

striking terror with his proud snorting?

He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;

he charges into battle.

He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing;

he does not turn back from the sword.

A quiver rattles at his side,

along with a flashing spear and lance.

Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance;

he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.

At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor.

He catches the scent of battle from afar—

the shouts of captains and the cry of war.

Does the hawk take flight by your understanding

and spread his wings toward the south?

Does the eagle soar at your command

and make his nest on high?

He dwells on a cliff and lodges there;

his stronghold is on a rocky crag.

From there he spies out food;

his eyes see it from afar.

His young ones feast on blood;

and where the slain are, there he is.”

Job 40

And the LORD said to Job:

“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?

Let him who argues with God give an answer.”

Then Job answered the LORD:

“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You?

I place my hand over my mouth.

I have spoken once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I have nothing to add.”

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

“Now brace yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

Would you really annul My justice?

Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

Unleash the fury of your wrath;

look on every proud man and bring him low.

Look on every proud man and humble him;

trample the wicked where they stand.

Bury them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave.

Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand can save you.

Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you.

He feeds on grass like an ox.

See the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

His tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

His bones are tubes of bronze;

his limbs are rods of iron.

He is the foremost of God’s works;

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

The hills yield him their produce,

while all the beasts of the field play nearby.

He lies under the lotus plants,

hidden among the reeds of the marsh.

The lotus plants conceal him in their shade;

the willows of the brook surround him.

Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

Can anyone capture him as he looks on,

or pierce his nose with a snare?

Job 41

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook

or tie down his tongue with a rope?

Can you put a cord through his nose

or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Will he beg you for mercy

or speak to you softly?

Will he make a covenant with you

to take him as a slave for life?

Can you pet him like a bird

or put him on a leash for your maidens?

Will traders barter for him

or divide him among the merchants?

Can you fill his hide with harpoons

or his head with fishing spears?

If you lay a hand on him,

you will remember the battle and never repeat it!

Surely hope of overcoming him is false.

Is not the sight of him overwhelming?

No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan.

Then who is able to stand against Me?

Who has given to Me that I should repay him?

Everything under heaven is Mine.

I cannot keep silent about his limbs,

his power and graceful form.

Who can strip off his outer coat?

Who can approach him with a bridle?

Who can open his jaws,

ringed by his fearsome teeth?

His rows of scales are his pride,

tightly sealed together.

One scale is so near to another

that no air can pass between them.

They are joined to one another;

they clasp and cannot be separated.

His snorting flashes with light,

and his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

Firebrands stream from his mouth;

fiery sparks shoot forth!

Smoke billows from his nostrils

as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

His breath sets coals ablaze,

and flames pour from his mouth.

Strength resides in his neck,

and dismay leaps before him.

The folds of his flesh are tightly joined;

they are firm and immovable.

His chest is as hard as a rock,

as hard as a lower millstone!

When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified;

they withdraw before his thrashing.

The sword that reaches him has no effect,

nor does the spear or dart or arrow.

He regards iron as straw

and bronze as rotten wood.

No arrow can make him flee;

slingstones become like chaff to him.

A club is regarded as straw,

and he laughs at the sound of the lance.

His undersides are jagged potsherds,

spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.

He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron;

he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.

He leaves a glistening wake behind him;

one would think the deep had white hair!

Nothing on earth is his equal—

a creature devoid of fear!

He looks down on all the haughty;

he is king over all the proud.”

Job 42

Then Job replied to the LORD:

“I know that You can do all things

and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

You asked, ‘Who is this

who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’

My ears had heard of You,

but now my eyes have seen You.

Therefore I retract my words,

and I repent in dust and ashes.”

After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.

So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s request.

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.

All his brothers and sisters and prior acquaintances came and dined with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him over all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. And each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

And he also had seven sons and three daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, his second Keziah, and his third Keren-happuch.

No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.

After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, old and full of years.

Elihu steals the show again today in his words of condemnation for Job and his compatriots. There is an extended discourse on the Lord and how he governs the clouds and the storm. Lots of talk of God’s justice and righteousness, and how Job simply has to be mistaken about his own righteousness. In the Proverbs after we conclude the chapters in Job, one of the final lines is that nobody ever prevails against the Lord. Job is going to put that to the test tomorrow. For now, consider the last words rendered against Job by a mortal.

Job 34

Then Elihu continued:

“Hear my words, O wise men;

give ear to me, O men of learning.

For the ear tests words

as the mouth tastes food.

Let us choose for ourselves what is right;

let us learn together what is good.

For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous,

yet God has deprived me of justice.

Would I lie about my case?

My wound is incurable,

though I am without transgression.’

What man is like Job,

who drinks up derision like water?

He keeps company with evildoers

and walks with wicked men.

For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing

that he should delight in God.’

Therefore listen to me,

O men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do wrong,

and from the Almighty to act unjustly.

For according to a man’s deeds He repays him;

according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.

Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly,

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

Who gave Him charge over the earth?

Who appointed Him over the whole world?

If He were to set His heart to it

and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

all flesh would perish together

and mankind would return to the dust.

If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to my words.

Could one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn the just and mighty One,

who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’

and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

who is not partial to princes

and does not favor rich over poor?

For they are all the work of His hands.

They die in an instant,

in the middle of the night.

The people convulse and pass away;

the mighty are removed without human hand.

For His eyes are on the ways of a man,

and He sees his every step.

There is no darkness or deep shadow

where the workers of iniquity can hide.

For God need not examine a man further

or have him approach for judgment.

He shatters the mighty without inquiry

and sets up others in their place.

Therefore, He recognizes their deeds;

He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

He strikes them for their wickedness

in full view,

because they turned aside from Him

and had no regard for any of His ways.

They caused the cry of the poor to come before Him,

and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him?

When He hides His face, who can see Him?

Yet He watches over both man and nation,

that godless men should not rule

or lay snares for the people.

Suppose someone says to God,

‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.

Teach me what I cannot see;

if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

Should God repay you on your own terms

when you have disavowed His?

You must choose, not I;

so tell me what you know.

Men of understanding will declare to me,

and the wise men who hear me will say:

‘Job speaks without knowledge;

his words lack insight.’

If only Job were tried to the utmost

for answering like a wicked man.

For he adds rebellion to his sin;

he claps his hands among us

and multiplies his words against God.”

Job 35

And Elihu went on to say:

“Do you think this is just?

You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’

For you ask, ‘What does it profit me,

and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’

I will reply to you

and to your friends as well.

Look to the heavens and see;

gaze at the clouds high above you.

If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him?

If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

If you are righteous, what do you give Him,

or what does He receive from your hand?

Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,

and your righteousness only a son of man.

Men cry out under great oppression;

they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker,

who gives us songs in the night,

who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth

and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

There they cry out, but He does not answer,

because of the pride of evil men.

Surely God does not listen to empty pleas,

and the Almighty does not take note of it.

How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him,

that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

and further, that in His anger He has not punished

or taken much notice of folly!

So Job opens his mouth in vain

and multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 36

And Elihu continued:

“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you

that there is more to be said on God’s behalf.

I get my knowledge from afar,

and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

For truly my words are free of falsehood;

one perfect in knowledge is with you.

Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one;

He is mighty in strength of understanding.

He does not keep the wicked alive,

but He grants justice to the afflicted.

He does not take His eyes off the righteous,

but He enthrones them with kings

and exalts them forever.

And if men are bound with chains,

caught in cords of affliction,

then He tells them their deeds

and how arrogantly they have transgressed.

He opens their ears to correction

and commands that they turn from iniquity.

If they obey and serve Him,

then they end their days in prosperity

and their years in happiness.

But if they do not obey,

then they perish by the sword

and die without knowledge.

The godless in heart harbor resentment;

even when He binds them, they do not cry for help.

They die in their youth,

among the male shrine prostitutes.

God rescues the afflicted by their affliction

and opens their ears in oppression.

Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress

to a spacious and broad place,

to a table full of richness.

But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked;

judgment and justice have seized you.

Be careful that no one lures you with riches;

do not let a large bribe lead you astray.

Can your wealth or all your mighty effort

keep you from distress?

Do not long for the night,

when people vanish from their homes.

Be careful not to turn to iniquity,

for this you have preferred to affliction.

Behold, God is exalted in His power.

Who is a teacher like Him?

Who has appointed His way for Him,

or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?

Remember to magnify His work,

which men have praised in song.

All mankind has seen it;

men behold it from afar.

Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge;

the number of His years is unsearchable.

For He draws up drops of water

which distill the rain from the mist,

which the clouds pour out

and shower abundantly on mankind.

Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out,

how the thunder roars from His pavilion?

See how He scatters His lightning around Him

and covers the depths of the sea.

For by these He judges the nations

and provides food in abundance.

He fills His hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

The thunder declares His presence;

even the cattle regard the rising storm.

Job 37

“At this my heart also pounds

and leaps from its place.

Listen closely to the thunder of His voice

and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky

and sends it to the ends of the earth.

Then there comes a roaring sound;

He thunders with His majestic voice.

He does not restrain the lightning

when His voice resounds.

God thunders wondrously with His voice;

He does great things we cannot comprehend.

For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’

and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’

He seals up the hand of every man,

so that all men may know His work.

The wild animals enter their lairs;

they settle down in their dens.

The tempest comes from its chamber,

and the cold from the driving north winds.

By the breath of God the ice is formed

and the watery expanses are frozen.

He loads the clouds with moisture;

He scatters His lightning through them.

They swirl about,

whirling at His direction,

accomplishing all that He commands

over the face of all the earth.

Whether for punishment or for His land,

He accomplishes this in His loving devotion.

Listen to this, O Job;

stand still and consider the wonders of God.

Do you know how God dispatches the clouds

or makes the lightning flash?

Do you understand how the clouds float,

those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

You whose clothes get hot

when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

can you, like Him, spread out the skies

to reflect the heat like a mirror of bronze?

Teach us what we should say to Him;

we cannot draw up our case when our faces are in darkness.

Should He be told that I want to speak?

Would a man ask to be swallowed up ?

Now no one can gaze at the sun

when it is bright in the skies

after the wind has swept them clean.

Out of the north He comes in golden splendor;

awesome majesty surrounds Him.

The Almighty is beyond our reach;

He is exalted in power!

In His justice and great righteousness

He does not oppress.

Therefore, men fear Him,

for He is not partial to the wise in heart.”

Proverbs 21

The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD;

He directs it where He pleases.

All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

To do righteousness and justice

is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Haughty eyes and a proud heart—

the guides of the wicked—are sin.

The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Making a fortune by a lying tongue

is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

The violence of the wicked will sweep them away

because they refuse to do what is just.

The way of a guilty man is crooked,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

Better to live on a corner of the roof

than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

The soul of the wicked man craves evil;

his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

and when a wise man is instructed, he acquires knowledge.

The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

A gift in secret soothes anger,

and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous,

but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

The man who strays from the path of understanding

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

He who loves pleasure will become poor;

the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the faithless for the upright.

Better to live in the desert

than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish man consumes them.

He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

A wise man scales the city of the mighty

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

He who guards his mouth and tongue

keeps his soul from distress.

Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—

of him who acts with excessive pride.

The craving of the slacker kills him

because his hands refuse to work.

All day long he covets more,

but the righteous give without restraint.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—

how much more so when brought with ill intent!

A lying witness will perish,

but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

A wicked man hardens his face,

but the upright man makes his way sure.

There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

that can prevail against the LORD.

A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory is of the LORD.

Today we meet a new character in this story of Job. He is a young man who gets fed up with all of the false wisdom of these old men. He finally speaks up to put them all in their places. But are his words really wisdom? Is the man wiser than Job himself? Is this Elihu finally going to help Job to see the truth of his situation?

Job 28

“Surely there is a mine for silver

and a place where gold is refined.

Iron is taken from the earth,

and copper is smelted from ore.

Man puts an end to the darkness;

he probes the farthest recesses

for ore in deepest darkness.

Far from human habitation he cuts a shaft

in places forgotten by the foot of man.

Far from men he dangles and sways.

Food may come from the earth,

but from below it is transformed as by fire.

Its rocks are the source of sapphires,

containing flecks of gold.

No bird of prey knows that path;

no falcon’s eye has seen it.

Proud beasts have never trodden it;

no lion has ever prowled over it.

The miner strikes the flint;

he overturns mountains at their base.

He hews out channels in the rocks,

and his eyes spot every treasure.

He stops up the sources of the streams

to bring what is hidden to light.

But where can wisdom be found,

and where does understanding dwell?

No man can know its value,

nor is it found in the land of the living.

The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’

while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

It cannot be bought with gold,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

in precious onyx or sapphire.

Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it,

nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention;

the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it,

nor can it be valued in pure gold.

From where then does wisdom come,

and where does understanding dwell?

It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing

and concealed from the birds of the air.

Abaddon and Death say,

‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

But God understands its way,

and He knows its place.

For He looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

When God fixed the weight of the wind

and measured out the waters,

when He set a limit for the rain

and a path for the thunderbolt,

then He looked at wisdom and appraised it;

He established it and searched it out.

And He said to man, ‘Behold,

the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ ”

Job 29

And Job continued his discourse:

“How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

when His lamp shone above my head,

and by His light I walked through the darkness,

when I was in my prime,

when the friendship of God rested on my tent,

when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

when my steps were bathed in cream

and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

When I went out to the city gate

and took my seat in the public square,

the young men saw me and withdrew,

and the old men rose to their feet.

The princes refrained from speaking

and covered their mouths with their hands.

The voices of the nobles were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

For those who heard me called me blessed,

and those who saw me commended me,

because I rescued the poor who cried out

and the fatherless who had no helper.

The dying man blessed me,

and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

justice was my robe and my turban.

I served as eyes to the blind

and as feet to the lame.

I was a father to the needy,

and I took up the case of the stranger.

I shattered the fangs of the unjust

and snatched the prey from his teeth.

So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest

and multiply my days as the sand.

My roots will spread out to the waters,

and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.

My glory is ever new within me,

and my bow is renewed in my hand.’

Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my counsel.

After my words, they spoke no more;

my speech settled on them like dew.

They waited for me as for rain

and drank in my words like spring showers.

If I smiled at them, they did not believe it;

the light of my countenance was precious.

I chose their course and presided as chief.

So I dwelt as a king among his troops,

as a comforter of the mourners.

Job 30

“But now they mock me,

men younger than I am,

whose fathers I would have refused

to entrust with my sheep dogs.

What use to me was the strength of their hands,

since their vigor had left them?

Gaunt from poverty and hunger,

they gnawed the dry land,

and the desolate wasteland by night.

They plucked mallow among the shrubs,

and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

They were banished from among men,

shouted down like thieves,

so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis,

among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

They cried out among the shrubs

and huddled beneath the nettles.

A senseless and nameless brood,

they were driven off the land.

And now they mock me in song;

I have become a byword among them.

They abhor me and keep far from me;

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,

they have cast off restraint in my presence.

The rabble arises at my right;

they lay snares for my feet

and build siege ramps against me.

They tear up my path;

they profit from my destruction,

with no one to restrain them.

They advance as through a wide breach;

through the ruins they keep rolling in.

Terrors are turned loose against me;

they drive away my dignity as by the wind,

and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.

And now my soul is poured out within me;

days of affliction grip me.

Night pierces my bones,

and my gnawing pains never rest.

With great force He grasps my garment;

He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.

He throws me into the mud,

and I have become like dust and ashes.

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer;

when I stand up, You merely look at me.

You have ruthlessly turned on me;

You oppose me with Your strong hand.

You snatch me up into the wind

and drive me before it;

You toss me about in the storm.

Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death,

to the place appointed for all the living.

Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man

when he cries for help in his distress.

Have I not wept for those in trouble?

Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

But when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, darkness fell.

I am churning within and cannot rest;

days of affliction confront me.

I go about blackened, but not by the sun.

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

I have become a brother of jackals,

a companion of ostriches.

My skin grows black and peels,

and my bones burn with fever.

My harp is tuned to mourning

and my flute to the sound of weeping.

Job 31

“I have made a covenant with my eyes.

How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

For what is the allotment of God from above,

or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

Does not disaster come to the unjust

and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

Does He not see my ways

and count my every step?

If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has rushed to deceit,

let God weigh me with honest scales,

that He may know my integrity.

If my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has followed my eyes,

or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

then may another eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife,

or I have lurked at his door,

then may my own wife grind grain for another,

and may other men sleep with her.

For that would be a heinous crime,

an iniquity to be judged.

For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon;

it would root out my entire harvest.

If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant

when they made a complaint against me,

what will I do when God rises to judge?

How will I answer when called to account?

Did not He who made me in the womb also make them?

Did not the same One form us in the womb?

If I have denied the desires of the poor

or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

if I have eaten my morsel alone,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

though from my youth I reared him as would a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing,

or a needy man without a cloak,

if his heart has not blessed me

for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless

because I saw that I had support in the gate,

then may my arm fall from my shoulder

and be torn from its socket.

For calamity from God terrifies me,

and His splendor I cannot overpower.

If I have put my trust in gold

or called pure gold my security,

if I have rejoiced in my great wealth

because my hand had gained so much,

if I have beheld the sun in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

this would also be an iniquity to be judged,

for I would have denied God on high.

If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin,

or exulted when evil befell him—

I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by asking for his life with a curse—

if the men of my house have not said,

‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

but no stranger had to lodge on the street,

for my door has been open to the traveler—

if I have covered my transgressions like Adam

by hiding my guilt in my heart,

because I greatly feared the crowds

and the contempt of the clans terrified me,

so that I kept silent

and would not go outside—

(Oh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my signature.

Let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser compose an indictment.

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder

and wear it like a crown.

I would give account of all my steps;

I would approach Him like a prince.)—

if my land cries out against me

and its furrows weep together,

if I have devoured its produce without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

then let briers grow instead of wheat

and stinkweed instead of barley.”

Thus conclude the words of Job.

Job 32

So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,

and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he. But when he saw that the three men had no further reply, his anger was kindled.

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared:

“I am young in years,

while you are old;

that is why I was timid and afraid

to tell you what I know.

I thought that age should speak,

and many years should teach wisdom.

But there is a spirit in a man,

the breath of the Almighty,

that gives him understanding.

It is not only the old who are wise,

or the elderly who understand justice.

Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;

I too will declare what I know.’

Indeed, I waited while you spoke;

I listened to your reasoning;

as you searched for words,

I paid you full attention.

But no one proved Job wrong;

not one of you rebutted his arguments.

So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom;

let God, not man, refute him.’

But Job has not directed his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your arguments.

Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say;

words have escaped them.

Must I wait, now that they are silent,

now that they stand and no longer reply?

I too will answer;

yes, I will declare what I know.

For I am full of words,

and my spirit within me compels me.

Behold, my belly is like unvented wine;

it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and respond.

I will be partial to no one,

nor will I flatter any man.

For I do not know how to flatter,

or my Maker would remove me in an instant.

Job 33

“But now, O Job, hear my speech,

and listen to all my words.

Behold, I will open my mouth;

my address is on the tip of my tongue.

My words are from an upright heart,

and my lips speak sincerely what I know.

The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Refute me if you can;

prepare your case and confront me.

I am just like you before God;

I was also formed from clay.

Surely no fear of me should terrify you;

nor will my hand be heavy upon you.

Surely you have spoken in my hearing,

and I have heard these very words:

‘I am pure, without transgression;

I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

Yet God finds occasions against me;

He counts me as His enemy.

He puts my feet in the stocks;

He watches over all my paths.’

Behold, you are not right in this matter.

I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

Why do you complain to Him

that He answers nothing a man asks?

For God speaks in one way and in another,

yet no one notices.

In a dream,

in a vision in the night,

when deep sleep falls upon men

as they slumber on their beds,

He opens their ears

and terrifies them with warnings

to turn a man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

to preserve his soul from the Pit

and his life from perishing by the sword.

A man is also chastened on his bed

with pain and constant distress in his bones,

so that he detests his bread,

and his soul loathes his favorite food.

His flesh wastes away from sight,

and his hidden bones protrude.

He draws near to the Pit,

and his life to the messengers of death.

Yet if there is a messenger on his side,

one mediator in a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

to be gracious to him and say,

‘Spare him from going down to the Pit;

I have found his ransom,’

then his flesh is refreshed like a child’s;

he returns to the days of his youth.

He prays to God and finds favor;

he sees God’s face and shouts for joy,

and God restores His righteousness

to that man.

Then he sings before men

with these words:

‘I have sinned and perverted what was right;

yet I did not get what I deserved.

He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,

and I will live to see the light.’

Behold, all these things God does to a man,

two or even three times,

to bring back his soul from the Pit,

that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

But if you have something to say, answer me;

speak up, for I would like to vindicate you.

But if not, then listen to me;

be quiet, and I will teach you wisdom.”

All Job today. All looking at how God stays his hand against the wicked in life and being confounded and frustrated about it. His friends continue to try to assassinate his character in order to make him worthy of God’s treatment of him. He says he will stand by his integrity until death (which he is praying for). This is a hard one for Christians. Most of our theological frameworks preclude the possibility that any man can be righteous before God. Yet in the end (spoiler alert), no charges are leveled and rightly placed on Job. And while his friends are shamed by the Lord for what they offer, they are indeed right that the Lord could and would restore his fortunes.

Keep meditating on his Word day and night!

Job 22

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

“Can a man be of use to God?

Can even a wise man benefit Him?

Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous?

Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you

and enters into judgment against you?

Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your iniquities endless?

For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers

and deprived the naked of their clothing.

You gave no water to the weary

and withheld food from the famished,

while the land belonged to a mighty man,

and a man of honor lived on it.

You sent widows away empty-handed,

and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

Therefore snares surround you,

and sudden peril terrifies you;

it is so dark you cannot see,

and a flood of water covers you.

Is not God as high as the heavens?

Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

Yet you say: ‘What does God know?

Does He judge through thick darkness?

Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us

as He traverses the vault of heaven.’

Will you stay on the ancient path

that wicked men have trod?

They were snatched away before their time,

and their foundations were swept away by a flood.

They said to God, ‘Depart from us.

What can the Almighty do to us?’

But it was He who filled their houses with good things;

so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

The righteous see it and are glad;

the innocent mock them:

‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire has consumed their excess.’

Reconcile now and be at peace with Him;

thereby good will come to you.

Receive instruction from His mouth,

and lay up His words in your heart.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.

If you remove injustice from your tents

and consign your gold to the dust

and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,

then the Almighty will be your gold

and the finest silver for you.

Surely then you will delight in the Almighty

and lift up your face to God.

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows.

Your decisions will be carried out,

and light will shine on your ways.

When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’

then He will save the lowly.

He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 23

Then Job answered:

“Even today my complaint is bitter.

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

If only I knew where to find Him,

so that I could go to His seat.

I would plead my case before Him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

I would learn how He would answer,

and consider what He would say.

Would He contend with me in His great power?

No, He would certainly take note of me.

Then an upright man could reason with Him,

and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

If I go east, He is not there,

and if I go west, I cannot find Him.

When He is at work in the north, I cannot behold Him;

when He turns to the south, I cannot see Him.

Yet He knows the way I have taken;

when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

My feet have followed in His tracks;

I have kept His way without turning aside.

I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth

more than my daily bread.

But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him?

He does what He desires.

For He carries out His decree against me,

and He has many such plans.

Therefore I am terrified in His presence;

when I consider this, I fear Him.

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me.

Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,

by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job 24

“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?

Why may those who know Him never see His days?

Men move boundary stones;

they pasture stolen flocks.

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless

and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

They push the needy off the road

and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert,

the poor go to work foraging for food;

the wasteland is food for their children.

They gather fodder in the fields

and glean the vineyards of the wicked.

Without clothing, they spend the night naked;

they have no covering against the cold.

Drenched by mountain rains,

they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.

The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;

the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.

Without clothing, they wander about naked.

They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

They crush olives within their walls;

they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

From the city, men groan,

and the souls of the wounded cry out,

yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.

Then there are those who rebel against the light,

not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.

When daylight is gone, the murderer rises

to kill the poor and needy;

in the night he is like a thief.

The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight.

Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.

In the dark they dig through houses;

by day they shut themselves in,

never to experience the light.

For to them, deep darkness is their morning;

surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!

They are but foam on the surface of the water;

their portion of the land is cursed,

so that no one turns toward their vineyards.

As drought and heat consume the melting snow,

so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

The womb forgets them;

the worm feeds on them;

they are remembered no more.

So injustice is like a broken tree.

They prey on the barren and childless,

and show no kindness to the widow.

Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty;

though rising up, they have no assurance of life.

He gives them a sense of security,

but His eyes are on their ways.

They are exalted for a moment,

then they are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like heads of grain.

If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?”

Job 25

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“Dominion and awe belong to God;

He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.

Can His troops be numbered?

On whom does His light not rise?

How then can a man be just before God?

How can one born of woman be pure?

If even the moon does not shine,

and the stars are not pure in His sight,

how much less man, who is but a maggot,

and the son of man, who is but a worm!”

Job 26

Then Job answered:

“How you have helped the powerless

and saved the arm that is feeble!

How you have counseled the unwise

and provided fully sound insight!

To whom have you uttered these words?

And whose spirit spoke through you?

The dead tremble—

those beneath the waters and those who dwell in them.

Sheol is naked before God,

and Abaddon has no covering.

He stretches out the north over empty space;

He hangs the earth upon nothing.

He wraps up the waters in His clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.

He covers the face of the full moon,

spreading over it His cloud.

He has inscribed a horizon on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

The foundations of heaven quake,

astounded at His rebuke.

By His power He stirred the sea;

by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

By His breath the skies were cleared;

His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

Indeed, these are but the fringes of His ways;

how faint is the whisper we hear of Him!

Who then can understand

the thunder of His power?”

Job 27

Job continued his discourse:

“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—

the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—

as long as my breath is still within me

and the breath of God remains in my nostrils,

my lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will not utter deceit.

I will never say that you are right;

I will maintain my integrity until I die.

I will cling to my righteousness and never let go.

As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.

May my enemy be like the wicked

and my opponent like the unjust.

For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,

when God takes away his life?

Will God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

Will he delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

I will instruct you in the power of God.

I will not conceal the ways of the Almighty.

Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves.

Why then do you keep up this empty talk?

This is the wicked man’s portion from God—

the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;

and his offspring will never have enough food.

His survivors will be buried by the plague,

and their widows will not weep for them.

Though he heaps up silver like dust

and piles up a wardrobe like clay,

what he lays up, the righteous will wear,

and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon,

like a hut set up by a watchman.

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;

when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

Terrors overtake him like a flood;

a tempest sweeps him away in the night.

The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;

it sweeps him out of his place.

It hurls itself against him without mercy

as he flees headlong from its power.

It claps its hands at him

and hisses him out of his place.

Do all the wicked really get punished in this life? Lots of Hebrew scriptures indicate that they do. However, when one watched people, one finds that a great number of evil people flourish until their dying day, which is often late in life surrounded by loved ones. Meanwhile, many of the righteous suffer. Does the injustice of this affect us the way that it should? Do we have a sober relationship with our Father in heaven, who pours his rain in the good and bad alike, and invites both the good and bad to his banquet? Are we willing to follow him, serve him, love him, die for his name, even if he requires that we suffer? These are the questions Job helps us to ask. The final answers do not come until Christ appears.

Romans continues to be a fount of wisdom and comfort to those who love the Lord and seek his face. God is faithful, and nothing can thwart his plans!

Job 18

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

“How long until you end these speeches?

Show some sense, and then we can talk.

Why are we regarded as cattle,

as stupid in your sight?

You who tear yourself in anger—

should the earth be forsaken on your account,

or the rocks be moved from their place?

Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished;

the flame of his fire does not glow.

The light in his tent grows dark,

and the lamp beside him goes out.

His vigorous stride is shortened,

and his own schemes trip him up.

For his own feet lead him into a net,

and he wanders into its mesh.

A trap seizes his heel;

a snare grips him.

A noose is hidden in the ground,

and a trap lies in his path.

Terrors frighten him on every side

and harass his every step.

His strength is depleted,

and calamity is ready at his side.

It devours patches of his skin;

the firstborn of death devours his limbs.

He is torn from the shelter of his tent

and is marched off to the king of terrors.

Fire resides in his tent;

burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.

The roots beneath him dry up,

and the branches above him wither away.

The memory of him perishes from the earth,

and he has no name in the land.

He is driven from light into darkness

and is chased from the inhabited world.

He has no offspring or posterity among his people,

no survivor where he once lived.

Those in the west are appalled at his fate,

while those in the east tremble in horror.

Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked

and the place of one who does not know God.”

Job 19

Then Job answered:

“How long will you torment me

and crush me with your words?

Ten times now you have reproached me;

you shamelessly mistreat me.

Even if I have truly gone astray,

my error concerns me alone.

If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me

and use my disgrace against me,

then understand that it is God who has wronged me

and drawn His net around me.

Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response;

though I call for help, there is no justice.

He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;

He has veiled my paths with darkness.

He has stripped me of my honor

and removed the crown from my head.

He tears me down on every side until I am gone;

He uproots my hope like a tree.

His anger burns against me,

and He counts me among His enemies.

His troops advance together;

they construct a ramp against me

and encamp around my tent.

He has removed my brothers from me;

my acquaintances have abandoned me.

My kinsmen have failed me,

and my friends have forgotten me.

My guests and maidservants count me as a stranger;

I am a foreigner in their sight.

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,

though I implore him with my own mouth.

My breath is repulsive to my wife,

and I am loathsome to my own family.

Even little boys scorn me;

when I appear, they deride me.

All my best friends despise me,

and those I love have turned against me.

My skin and flesh cling to my bones;

I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,

for the hand of God has struck me.

Why do you persecute me as God does?

Will you never get enough of my flesh?

I wish that my words were recorded

and inscribed in a book,

by an iron stylus on lead,

or chiseled in stone forever.

But I know that my Redeemer lives,

and in the end He will stand upon the earth.

Even after my skin has been destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God.

I will see Him for myself;

my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger.

How my heart yearns within me!

If you say, ‘Let us persecute him,

since the root of the matter lies with him,’

then you should fear the sword yourselves,

because wrath brings punishment by the sword,

so that you may know there is a judgment.”

Job 20

Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer,

because of the turmoil within me.

I have heard a rebuke that insults me,

and my understanding prompts a reply.

Do you not know that from antiquity,

since man was placed on the earth,

the triumph of the wicked has been brief

and the joy of the godless momentary?

Though his arrogance reaches the heavens,

and his head touches the clouds,

he will perish forever, like his own dung;

those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

He will fly away like a dream, never to be found;

he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

The eye that saw him will see him no more,

and his place will no longer behold him.

His sons will seek the favor of the poor,

for his own hands must return his wealth.

The youthful vigor that fills his bones

will lie down with him in the dust.

Though evil is sweet in his mouth

and he conceals it under his tongue,

though he cannot bear to let it go

and keeps it in his mouth,

yet in his stomach his food sours

into the venom of cobras within him.

He swallows wealth but vomits it out;

God will force it from his stomach.

He will suck the poison of cobras;

the fangs of a viper will kill him.

He will not enjoy the streams,

the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;

he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;

he has seized houses he did not build.

Because his appetite is never satisfied,

he cannot escape with his treasure.

Nothing is left for him to consume;

thus his prosperity will not endure.

In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed;

the full force of misery will come upon him.

When he has filled his stomach,

God will vent His fury upon him,

raining it down on him as he eats.

Though he flees from an iron weapon,

a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

It is drawn out of his back,

the gleaming point from his liver.

Terrors come over him.

Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.

A fire unfanned will consume him

and devour what is left in his tent.

The heavens will expose his iniquity,

and the earth will rise up against him.

The possessions of his house will be removed,

flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

This is the wicked man’s portion from God,

the inheritance God has appointed him.”

Job 21

Then Job answered:

“Listen carefully to my words;

let this be your consolation to me.

Bear with me while I speak;

then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.

Is my complaint against a man?

Then why should I not be impatient?

Look at me and be appalled;

put your hand over your mouth.

When I remember, terror takes hold,

and my body trembles in horror.

Why do the wicked live on,

growing old and increasing in power?

Their descendants are established around them,

and their offspring before their eyes.

Their homes are safe from fear;

no rod of punishment from God is upon them.

Their bulls breed without fail;

their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.

They send forth their little ones like a flock;

their children skip about,

singing to the tambourine and lyre

and making merry at the sound of the flute.

They spend their days in prosperity

and go down to Sheol in peace.

Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone!

For we have no desire to know Your ways.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands,

so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?

Does disaster come upon them?

Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?

Are they like straw before the wind,

like chaff swept away by a storm?

It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children.

Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.

Let his eyes see his own destruction;

let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.

For what does he care about his household after him,

when the number of his months has run out?

Can anyone teach knowledge to God,

since He judges those on high?

One man dies full of vigor,

completely secure and at ease.

His body is well nourished,

and his bones are rich with marrow.

Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,

having never tasted prosperity.

But together they lie down in the dust,

and worms cover them both.

Behold, I know your thoughts full well,

the schemes by which you would wrong me.

For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house,

and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’

Have you never asked those who travel the roads?

Do you not accept their reports?

Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,

delivered from the day of wrath.

Who denounces his behavior to his face?

Who repays him for what he has done?

He is carried to the grave,

and watch is kept over his tomb.

The clods of the valley are sweet to him;

everyone follows behind him,

and those before him are without number.

So how can you comfort me with empty words?

For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

Romans 14

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables.

The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:

“As surely as I live,

says the Lord,

every knee will bow before Me;

every tongue will confess to God.”

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.

Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.

It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.

Romans 15

We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”

For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus,

so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.

For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,

so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles;

I will sing hymns to Your name.”

Again, it says:

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

And again:

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and extol Him, all you peoples.”

And once more, Isaiah says:

“The Root of Jesse will appear,

One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles;

in Him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God.

I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,

by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about Him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.”

That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

But now that there are no further opportunities for me in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to visit you,

I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.

So after I have completed this service and have safely delivered this bounty to them, I will set off to Spain by way of you.

I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.

Romans 16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.

Welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her with anything she may need from you. For she has been a great help to many people, including me.

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.

Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman.

Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who have worked hard in the Lord.

Greet my beloved Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord.

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them.

Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.

Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the churches of Christ send you greetings.

Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.

I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings.

Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past

but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith —

to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

During the season of lent we will be going through the book “The Doctrine of Repentance” by the Puritan author Thomas Watson. This will be one of six sermons during the season that we will be going through to understand what repentance is and how it should be a crucial part of our Christian walk.

If you would like to read the book below is a link to a free digital version of the document.

https://www.onthewing.org/user/Watson%20-%20Repentance%20-%20Modern.pdf

And if you have more questions you can join us for a weekly bible study that will be taking place on Wednesday nights at 7PM!