Today's Bible Blog

“I will instruct you in the power of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal. Behold, all of you have seen it; Why then do you act foolishly?”

1. We need preachers who will present God from the pulpits as He has presented Himself.

The ways of God are broad indeed. No person can put a handle on Him and simply say that God is this way or that way. God acts in love and anger. He rightfully uses kindness and wrath. He counsels and he keeps quiet. The person who lives his life acting as though God is one dimensional is very foolish.

2. God’s revelation of the destiny of those who do not honor Him.

“This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty. Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;

And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

His survivors will be buried because of the plague, and their widows will not be able to weep.

Though he piles up silver like dust and prepares garments as plentiful as the clay, He may prepare it, but the just will wear it and the innocent will divide the silver.

He has built his house like the spider’s web, or as a hut which the watchman has made.

He lies down rich, but never again;

He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.

Terrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away in the night.

The east wind carries him away, and he is gone, for it whirls him away from his place. For it will hurl at him without sparing; He will surely try to flee from its power.

Men will clap their hands at him and will hiss him from his place.”  Job 27:1-23 (NASB)

These words are not simply a condemnation on individuals who choose to not honor God. These words speak of the predetermined result that God has designed into the fabric of creation. The wicked can appose these words and they can even laugh at those who believe in God, but in the end, the wicked will have nothing to show for all of his endeavors.  Recently, a person of a prominent family committed suicide. This person came from a family who had everything that this world offers. Tracing back in that family, we see at one time they were considered royalty. They initially gained their wealth by making and selling illegal products early in the 20^th century. While the rest of the country was suffering through the Great Depression, they were operating untouched by the law to supply chemically addictive products to a depressed world. One by one they have fallen, some to violence, some by personal corruption, and some to suicide. How is it you ask that people who “have it all” can end this way? It is because God said so. They did not seek anything beyond this world while they were in this world and so they were swept away unprepared into eternity to face the God they denied.

Looking into eternity,

Bill

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“For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God requires his life?”
“May my enemy be as the wicked and my opponent as the unjust.For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God requires his life? “Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? Will he take delight in the Almighty? Will he call on God at all times?

I do not think there could be a more dividing question in all the Earth. For the person who does not know God, this is the bottom line. On one day, at one moment, at the last heart-beat, each one of us will be cut off from the living. At that point, time will cease to exist and we will enter eternity without a hold on this life. We will be as helpless as a vapor being whisked away by the breeze. It is not just that we will leave ones behind. We will be going before them. But, where will we go? When the one who gave God no concern in life cries out, will God hear him? The answers are found in the questions that Job asks.

1. “Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?

Yes, there is distress in death. I am amazed how people who do not believe in an afterlife are so sure that that death brings “nothingness”. How is it that people put confidence in their lack of knowledge? The distress of death begins when the hint of it is near. It may be waiting for a diagnosis. Then, distress comes harsher and more certain with the certainty of the affirmation of a doctor that death is near when the person has no hope of the miraculous, because miracles come from the divine and that person has rejected it.

2. Will he take delight in the Almighty?

Did he take delight in Him while he was alive? He chose not to believe God in this life, why would God show him favor or even hear his cry in death? Besides that, what confidence would a dying person have in a God who was not only not given a thought but even more blasphemed back on Earth?

3. Will he call on God at all times?

               Did he call on God while he was alive? Did he trust God with his life? Were the plans of life made with God in mind? When the love of life that brings joy and family was found, was thanks given to God?  When careers were in full-swing, was acknowledgment given to the one who granted it or was the credit kept for self?  If no gratitude was extended in life, why should help be extended in the distress of death?

Job’s enemy was not his friends and it was not God. His enemy was the devil himself, a fallen angel. God offers no help for the fallen angels and neither does He offer it to those who will not believe on His Son. However, you my friend are alive, for now. These next words are for you. If you are looking at death as the end, you need to extend your sight.

Looking into eternity,

Bill

And Jesus says, “I am here with the sons and daughters God has given me.” Since all of these sons and daughters have flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood to be like them. He did this so that by dying he would destroy the one who had power over death (that is, the devil). In this way he would free those who were slaves all their lives because they were afraid of dying. So Jesus helps Abraham’s descendants rather than helping angels. Heb 2:13-16 (GW)

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Then Job continued his discourse and said, “as God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul, for as long as life is in me, and the breath of God is in my nostrils, my lips certainly will not speak unjustly, or will my tongue mutter deceit.”Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach any of my days.

Job’s words serve as an unshakable platform for anyone who would stand to speak publicly. His resolve to be true throughout his dissertation and not waver to the left or right and not lift up his chin in arrogance or lower his face with a fallen countenance should be observed by all preachers and teachers.

So often, those who answer the charge to speak go off center and are side-tracked in their thoughts and so they both lead others and themselves astray. They end up either trying to appease their own curiosity or to say something clever and attempt to win the favor of men. Oh, for a man like Job who would stand and speak fearlessly of the truth.

“As God lives”, binds him to the Ancient of days and for as long as life is within me, obligates him to himself. His oath is that he will never use his God-given platform to utter one word of falsehood. Oh, that a preacher could perform this in our pulpits.

Finally, he says until he dies, he will not give in for any reason and justify those who do not speak the truth. He will hold fast to His righteousness to the point that he will not be able to look back on any part of his life and say, “I wish I had served the Lord”, because he has!

Look for the truth my friend, but do not look here on earth among men.

Looking into eternity,

Bill

 

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The departed spirits tremble under the waters and their inhabitants. Naked is Sheol before Him, and Abaddon has no covering. He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them. He obscures the face of the full moon and spreads His cloud over it. He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke. He quieted the sea with His power, and by His understanding He shattered Rahab. By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent. Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?” Job 26:1-14 (NASB)

There is so much that we cannot see. For instance, we cannot see the spirits of men once they depart from this life and we cannot see the inside of the grave where the soul apart from the body is kept.

We cannot see what is or is not in the deep northern sky. Have you looked into the North at night lately? While we now know how water condenses in the atmosphere, we still are amazed by it. Who has not looked at the moon in the winter and noticed the ring around it?  Sure, we know it is ice crystals in the atmosphere, but we still look and sometimes we count the stars that are seen between the ice ring and the moon.

Even though we can take a garden hose and spray the air and make a rainbow ourselves, when one appears in the sky, we stop what we are doing to look at it and marvel. I have seen a double and even a triple, how about you?

Not only does God quiet the sea with His voice, He even walked on it.

He looks at the proud, “ra’hab” (Not Rahab the harlot), rahab, the proud people who like to boast of their strength and He strikes them down at His will.

While there is much to know about God that has not been known, what He has made known is the most valuable and beautiful part of Himself. Jesus! If you want to see Him, you must look where he is.

Looking into eternity,

Bill

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Then Job responded, “What a help you are to the weak! How you have saved the arm without strength! What counsel you have given to one without wisdom! What helpful insight you have abundantly provided! To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit was expressed through you?

Oh My! Job sounds sarcastic. I have been told that the people of God are never to be sarcastic. Depending upon which translation you use, Job’s thoughts are formed either as questions or statements. Regardless of the manner in which it is translated, the result is the same. Bildad, is a person who leans on his own understanding. That is a very limp crutch!

In today’s society, advisers are put upon a pedestal and they repeat words from people they have never known. Dr. Phil, the latest court TV judge and every other talking head on the airwaves is celebrated even though they apparently do not own any words of heavenly wisdom.

What would you say to the person who has lost everything? Would your BA, MA or PHD give you what is necessary to lift a man’s countenance up and give him substantial hope when all he can see is his own diseased feet?

Would you speak on your own accord or on behalf of a greater one? Would your contribution bring joy or hope? Outside of the Spirit of God, there is no comfort to those who are beaten down in this world. There is one who made this comment and had the Spirit to give it power. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”. Matt 11:28 (NASB)

Looking into eternity,

Bill

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