Category: 1 Year Bible Reading Plan

Psalm 13 is a brief psalm of King David. In it he cries out asking how long God will forget him, how long his enemies will defeat him? Then he closes with a quick affirmation of his love for God, his trust in Him, and how God has shown him favor. As we read the psalm we can either think, “Wow! David had a split personality.” Or we can realize David was being honest. How many times in our own lives do we know in our hearts God’s love is sure, His presence is real, and yet we feel as if we are losing the battle and our enemies are going to win? In psalms such as this one, whether short or long, the common theme is praising God whether in the midst of struggle or in times of victory. Here the struggle was quite real to King David, but he started and ended with the premise that God was worthy of praise.

King David started Psalm 14 with the vital truth: The fool says in his heart there is no God. He continued  by noting the foolishness of turning away from God or denying His existence. He acknowledged the evil often thwart the plans of the poor. Then he concluded, as always, with an acknowledgment of God’s power and in this case a call for God to exert His presence among the people of Israel.

In Psalm 15 King David asks a powerful question, “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?” The answer is brief but equally as powerful: those who are blameless and righteous; those who keep their oaths even when it hurts; those who lend money without charging interest; and those who won’t accept a bribe against the innocent. In a word, those of integrity will dwell with God.

Psalm 16 is another brief psalm of King David. In this one he affirms God’s presence, help, and power in His life. He affirms the goodness of God and the blessings he has received at God’s hand. As we read the psalm, we are reminded of how good God has been to us. We are reminded that in general, when we obey God the result is favorable.

As we return to Matthew 28, we see the power of God at work in the resurrection of Jesus. Matthew’s account tells us an angel caused the earthquake that moved the stone outside Jesus’ tomb. That action caused the soldiers posted outside the entrance to freeze in fright. The women, on the other hand, went inside the tomb and found it empty. They were told by the angel that Jesus had risen. They met Jesus as they returned to tell the disciples what had happened. They worshiped Him, and then returned and told the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. When the disciples went to Galilee they found Jesus and worshiped Him, but some doubted. I have always appreciated that statement. Even with Jesus alive and standing in front of them, some of the disciples doubted. Rising from the dead is an extremely uncommon feat, and even though Jesus was the Son of God, His return frightened the group, and caused some of them to wonder how it was possible.  Jesus gave the group what we call the Great Commission, reminding them He was transferring His absolute authority to them, and they were to make disciples as they went throughout the world. The discipleship process would include water baptism, and teaching the disciples to do everything Jesus commanded them. He then promised to be with them always, even to the close of the age. As we reflect on this sequence of events, remember the significance of them. Jesus who was dead was not alive. Jesus called the first believers to evangelize the world. That’s an incredible task, but it started with an even more incredible reality–their Master and Friend rose from the dead. When you find yourself frustrated or down about your call as Jesus follower, remember this moment in history, and remember you, too, have been given Jesus’ authority to carry out His work.

 

 

Psalm 9 includes both praise for who God is and a call for God to vindicate the righteous. One of the common themes of the psalms David wrote is David “reminds” the LORD who He is. He reminds the LORD of His goodness, His protection of the weak, and many other traits. Something I have learned from this over the years is when I am praying, I “remind” God who He is, not that He ever forgets, but I do sometimes. When I praise God for being all-powerful, or acknowledge His goodness, the reminder is more for me than for Him. I’m sure that’s the way it was for King David as well.

Psalm 10 calls the LORD to come out of hiding and pronounce judgment on the wicked. The author, who is not identified, reminds the LORD of all the injustices done by the wicked, and particularly the injustices the wicked carry out against the poor. Then he calls on the LORD to judge the wicked and to show the world His righteousness and power.

Psalm 11 is brief, but it reminds us the LORD is in His Holy Temple in heaven and He sees all. He judges the wicked and upholds the righteous. This theme repeats over and over again throughout the psalms.

In Psalm 12, King David calls on God to “show up.” By this I mean David tells the LORD the evil are prospering, and they don’t seem to be judged. David knows the LORD’s righteousness prevails in the end, but at the moment it seems the wicked are more prevalent than the righteous. As we look around in our world, we might think the same thing. The “rewards” of righteousness aren’t always evident in this life, and it seems the wicked often prosper and benefit. The LORD’s justice always prevails, though, and we need to remember as King David did that the LORD has the final word.

As we return to Matthew 27, we read again the account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, His condemnation by the crowd, His crucifixion and burial. We’ve read this account before several times now. As I reread it, two things stood out to me: 1) Judas “repented” of his sin of turning Jesus over, but he really didn’t. He was sorry for what he had done. He gave the money back to the religious leaders, but he didn’t repent, that is he didn’t change his mind, nor did he turn away from what he had done and back to God. Instead, he languished in his sorrow, and decided to kill himself in his remorse. The devil won twice: first when Judas sinned by betraying Jesus, and then when Judas ended his life rather than being restored from his sin. As we read in John’s gospel, after Jesus’ resurrection He restored Peter to fellowship. Peter had sinned by denying Jesus three times, yet because Peter repented, turned away from the sin, changed his mind about it, and returned to God, he was able to receive restoration. Then he lived a fruitful life for Jesus. We must learn both from Judas’ failure to repent and Peter’s willingness to do so, how important it is to repent and turn back to God when we have sinned.

The second truth that stood out to me in this reading of Matthew 27 is how much it seemed Pilate wanted to do the right thing regarding Jesus, which was to release Him. Yet, in the end Pilate listened to the voice of the crowd. It’s easy to condemn Pilate, but we have all been in a situation where we knew the right thing to do, but the crowd was doing the opposite. I haven’t always done the right thing in that moment, because it’s always the hard thing. It’s hard to stand against the crowd whether the “crowd” is only a handful of people or a huge multitude. Pilate missed the opportunity to act righteously, because he was more concerned with pleasing the crowd. In our lives, we will face the crowd many times, and the only way we will choose what’s right in that moment is to follow Jesus faithfully when it is just Him and us.

Having just completed Job, as we turn to Psalm 5, we see King David held the common view of his day that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. Job reminds us this is not always true, though it is generally true. King David calls on the LORD to remember his righteousness, and to judge his enemies’ wickedness toward him. We can do the same in our lives. The LORD’s code of justice is consistent and sure. As we call on the LORD to judge those who have hurt us, we have an additional step to take, because of Jesus’ coming in our lives: we are called to forgive our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. The principle of the LORD’s justice remains, and in addition to it we have the principle of forgiveness. King David understood forgiveness. As we’ll see when we get to Psalm 51, in particular, David knew his own need for forgiveness and called on the LORD for it. Yet, at other times, he was more likely to lean on the LORD’s justice than to ask for the LORD to forgive His enemies. That will always be our tendency. Forgiveness is the higher calling.

Psalm 6 finds King David crying out to the LORD for protection and deliverance from his enemies. This is no mild petition as he tells us he has cried out day and night and his couch is wet with his tears. David was going through a time of deep pain and affliction. But in the final verse he acknowledges the LORD will ultimately vindicate him. This is a common aspect of David’s psalms of lament, or psalms in which he begins with a strong cry to the LORD concerning his despair, his being abandoned, his sense of hopelessness. While many psalms start with this tone, nearly every one ends with an affirmation of the LORD’s faithfulness, or an affirmation of praise to Him. As I was reminded many years ago in seminary, “Hopeless is not a Christian word.” While King David lived long before Jesus walked the earth, He, too, believed hope was the final word, because He believed in the goodness, faithfulness and steadfast love of the LORD.

In Psalm 7, King David cries out to the LORD to vindicate his righteousness, to examine his life and to judge the wicked. This is another common trend in the psalms, particularly the psalms of David. He asks the LORD to look into his life, to examine it for sin and fault and to judge what he finds. David does acknowledge the need to confess our sins in this psalm, and David’s process is helpful:  Live in righteousness; confess our sins when we fail, and receive God’s restoration.

Psalm 8 is a “creation psalm,” which means it offers us a picture of God’s majestic creation. Indeed, it starts with the words, “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens!” As the psalm continues, King David wonders at this reality: as wonderful and majestic as the LORD is, He has set humanity at the pinnacle of His creation. He has made us a little than the angels! That is an incredible reality. We aren’t divine. We aren’t majestic, and yet the LORD regards us so highly–amazing!

As we return to Matthew 26, it is the final “countdown” to Jesus’ crucifixion. Indeed, Jesus starts the chapter by telling His disciples He will be arrested and crucified. The events of the chapter are extensive. They start with a woman pouring an expensive bottle of perfume on Jesus, which starts a major discussion among the group. Some were upset at the “waste” of money, but Jesus made it clear the woman’s action was one of great love and sacrifice. It would be remembered throughout history, and it has. Judas left the group to conspire with the religious leaders to betray Jesus. Then the group celebrated what we call the Last Supper together. During that time, Jesus told the group one of them would betray Him. Each wondered if it were he. Then Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper by reinterpreting the Passover meal as a time of remembrance of His establishing a new covenant between the LORD and people sealed in Jesus’ own blood. After the meal the group sang some hymns and went to the Mount of Olives. There Jesus told them they would all desert Him. Peter promised he would never leave Jesus, even if it meant going to prison or death. Jesus told Peter He would deny Him three times. After this, Jesus told all the disciples to pray, and took Peter, James, and John to another place apart from the rest and asked them to pray for Him. Then Jesus went and prayed by Himself with His Heavenly Father. The gist of Jesus prayer was, “I don’t want to die on the cross, but if it’s Your will, then I’m ready.” After praying He returned to the three and found them sleeping. He roused them and told them to pray again. This sequence was repeated three times. Then Judas came with soldiers and they arrested Jesus. One of the disciples cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant, but Jesus put a stop to that approach. He was arrested and taken for a “trial,” by the Jewish religious leaders. They had bribed false witnesses to testify against Jesus, but they couldn’t get their testimony straight. Finally, Jesus was asked if He were the Son of God and said He was. This was all the religious leaders needed to condemn Him. Meanwhile, Peter had followed Jesus at a distance and was waiting outside with others around a fire. In the next period of time, a servant girl and others accused him of being one of Jesus’ followers. He denied it–three times. At the third denial, he remember what Jesus said and went out and wept bitterly.

This rapid sequence of events to us, must have seemed like an eternity to Jesus. He knew He was heading to the cross, and we know from His prayer in Gethsemane He wasn’t looking forward to it. Jesus agony in the garden was not because He was afraid to die. He tells us in the Gospel of John that is why He came. He knew He was going to die, but the agony was caused because He knew He would be enduring the sin of the world on the cross, which would separate Him from His Heavenly Father. We cannot imagine such a situation, but we benefit from it infinitely. Jesus’ exchanged His innocent life for ours, and as a result, we are freed from sin and death now and forever! No wonder Jesus called the new lives we receive from Him being “born again,” in John 3. The change is so dramatic and so radical, nothing else could describe it.

Today, we turn to the Book of Psalms, the “Prayer Book” of the Bible. Many of the Psalms were written by King David. Others were written by priests and Levites who served David. This great king’s influence on the people of Israel, and on Christians the world over is inestimable, because the psalms touch every aspect of our lives. The psalms offer praise and thanksgiving to God. They cry out to God in despair. They question God’s goodness and then reaffirm it. They remind us again and again of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. As we read through these 150 psalms over the next weeks, we will be calling on the LORD to meet us in every area of our lives, and we will be praising Him in every area of our lives!

Psalm 1 is a brief one calling us to godliness. The psalm compares and contrasts the way of the godly with the way of the wicked. The godly person is like a treat planted beside the waters, having a constant source of health and growth. As we live in relationship with God through Jesus, our lives stay healthy and grow strong. That has always been God’s plan for our lives and as we live it, we bring Him glory and our lives blessing.

Psalm 2 speaks of the reign of the Lord’s “Anointed.” The word anointed in Hebrew is the word from which we get the English word Messiah, so this Psalm can be about any of the Kings of Israel, because each was God’s anointed. It can also be about Jesus “The” Anointed One of the LORD. The point is clear: no one can overcome the LORD’s anointed. He is set in place by the LORD, and whether it is nations raging against Him or any other foe, the LORD’s anointed will prevail. This is most significantly true of Jesus, “the” Anointed One!

Psalm 3 shows us the Psalms are not in a particular order, because it is a Psalm of David, which he wrote (or more likely prayed) to the LORD during the time when his son, Absalom, attempted to overthrow Him. The psalm is a plea for the LORD to protect him against his enemy, and to cause his enemy to be defeated. This was a prayer which the LORD answered quickly, as Absalom’s rebellion was over nearly as quickly as it began.

Psalm 4 is another Psalm of David. In this one he cries out for the LORD to answer Him when he calls. It is also a call for those who cry out to the LORD to have patience and to wait for an answer. David tells us in our anger not to sin, which is a statement we find again in Ephesians 4. Many of David’s words in the Psalms make their way into the prayers and teachings of the New Testament as we would expect. After all, the psalms were much loved by the Israelites, and were memorized as a means of praising and petitioning the LORD in times of joy and need.

As we return to Matthew 25, Jesus tells three parables of the coming Kingdom. The first is the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. In this parable ten virgins are wedding for a wedding feast, but the groom is delayed. This delay of the return of the main character, often the master or landowner, but in this case the bridegroom, tells us of Jesus being away for a time before His return. In this case, each of the virgins has a lamp to light the way after dark. Five of them brought extra oil for their lamps, so they would be ready if the bridegroom were delayed, but the other five didn’t. As the ten waited for the bridegroom time passed and each virgin’s lamp became low on oil. The five who were prepared refilled their lamps, but the five who weren’t had to go and get more oil. The bridegroom returned while they were gone. The obvious point of this parable is: Be ready! How often we hear that command from Jesus. We don’t know when Jesus will return, but we know He calls us time and time again to be ready when He does.

The second parable is often called The Parable of the Talents, because it is about three servants who were giving differing amounts of their master’s money to manage while he went away. The amount of money they received was in a measurement called “talents,” which was a certain weight. The three servants received differing amounts “according to their ability.” One received five talents, the next one two talents, and the third one talent. The parable helps us see we will be held accountable for what the LORD has entrusted to us when He returns and not all held to the same standard. That’s why comparison is such a tool of the devil. If he can get us to waste our time wondering why we don’t have certain gifts, or a certain amount of wealth when others do, or if we are prideful, because we have more than others, then we won’t use our time investing those gifts and wealth in advancing the master’s kingdom. When the master returned, both the servant who received five and two talents were reward equally for being equally faithful. They had differing amounts of money entrusted to them, but they both did their best in managing it. Only the third servant was punished, and he was punished because he wasted the opportunity to serve his master. Notice, the third servant didn’t lose his master’s money. He preserved it. But the LORD doesn’t call us to tread water with our lives. He calls us to invest them in advancing His Kingdom with the gifts and resources He entrusts to us.

Finally, Jesus tells us when He returns every person will be separated into one of two groups: the “sheep” or the “goats.” The sheep represent the righteous ones, and the goats represent those who were unrighteous. The interesting point in the parable is both groups will be brought before the LORD and He will tell the one group they were faithful by meeting His needs, and the other group they were unfaithful because they didn’t meet His needs. Both groups will be confused, until Jesus explains that in serving others, particularly the least among us, we serve Jesus, and when we don’t serve others, we don’t serve Jesus. The parable makes it clear again that Jesus expects us to be found serving actively when He returns. This time before Jesus returns is not a time of sitting idly by, or even just sitting and praying, but it is a time for serving those around us in Jesus’ name.

In Job 41-42, the LORD makes His closing comments to Job, and Job confesses his inferiority in the situation. After this, the LORD turns His attention to Job’s friends and tells them to bring sacrifices to Job, for Job to offer them to the LORD. The LORD tells them, He will accept them for Job’s sake and they will be forgiven. As the book ends, the LORD restores Job’s wealth and family. In fact, in the end of Job’s life he has twice the wealth he had at the beginning of the book. He has seven sons and three daughters, and the respect of all around him. The Lord restored Job to his former position and more. This isn’t always the case with righteous people. Jesus Himself, the only fully righteous man who ever lived, was condemned and crucified. But the rule of thumb is obedience to God produces blessing, and the blessings of God often means material blessing. As we go about our lives, we must remember the lessons we have learned from Job: Sometimes good people suffer in this life. Sometimes bad people prosper. In the end the LORD loves and justifies the righteous, even if it doesn’t happen fully until the end of this life and we receive our reward in the next.

As we return to Matthew 24, we find Jesus offering “end time” instruction to the disciples. Jesus’ doesn’t tell us exactly when He will return, or the precise signs that will take place before He returns. He does tells there will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and other natural disasters. He tells us these are only the beginning of the end. He tells us false Messiahs will come. He tells us there will be terrible suffering before His return. But as for the moment of His return, it will be as in the days of Noah. In those days life was going about as normal. People lived their lives, got married, had children, and then one day the flood came and everyone but Noah and his family were wiped out. In the same way Jesus’ return will be like the coming of a thief in the night. Therefore, we must be ready. Jesus uses the illustration of a master who has gone away, leaving his servants in charge. Once again, the point is to be ready when the master returns. As I have said so often over the years: Jesus doesn’t tell us when he will returns. He tells us to be ready when He returns. That is the bottom line: Be ready!

In Job 38-40 the LORD finally answers Job. The answer isn’t a response to Job’s questions and accusations, but a statement that He is God and Job is not. He asks Job over and over again, “Where were you when…” or “Do you know…” and then completes the sentences with such matters as measuring the ends of the earth or where, when and how many different wild animals give birth to their young, or take care of them. The bottom line of the discourse is the LORD made it quite clear to Job that He is God, and He has the right to determine what happens, and Job doesn’t have the right to question Him.  Job confesses that is the case. He pledges silence before the LORD. While it looks as if the LORD is telling Job that Job is not really innocent, as we will see in tomorrow’s closing summary of Job, the LORD sides with Job, and calls on Job to act as priest for his “friends,” because they need to be forgiven for their false accusations before Job.

As we return to Matthew 23, we are reminded how great the gulf is between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day.  While they are getting closer and closer to arresting Him and having the Romans crucify Him, Jesus steps up His attack against them. He warns the crowds about their habits, and how they turn their students into sons of hell. He also pronounces seven “woes” or curses against them for their religious practices, which appear “holy,” but are wholly hypocritical. Jesus’ words are so antagonistic, the Pharisees would not have stood and taken them, except for the huge crowds standing by. At this moment, the crowds were still on Jesus’ side, and any move by the Pharisees would have brought their indignation or worse. As we’ll see over the next few days, that reality would change dramatically, to the point that these same adoring crowds would become co-conspirators in Jesus’ being condemned to death. As we read this chapter and the next few days’ posts, it will be easy for us to put ourselves on Jesus’ side, and wonder how the people could have done such a thing in turning against Him. We all want to think we would have stood up and protected Him. The truth is: no one did. We do well to remember how easy it is to side with Jesus from the resurrection side of the conversation. Before Jesus was condemned, crucified, and rose again, it must have been far more difficult to see how black in white the difference was between Jesus and His accusers.

In Job 34-35, Elihu continues his monologue against Job. In these chapters he accuses Job more harshly, and tells us Job is a liar, that he is wrong, that he cannot contend against God, because no one can. Once again, in most cases, Elihu would be right, but not this time. As we will see in our next post as we hear God’s response, Job was in the right, and all four of his “friends” were wrong. We must give Elihu credit for stepping forward and speaking up, when many in his position would remain silent. What we must not do, though, is assume that just because someone is bold enough to speak that he or she is right. We live in a time when those who yell the loudest think they are right. The truth is when we are right, we don’t have to yell. Elihu would have done well to “think twice and speak once,” rather than speaking twice, before he gave deep thought to his words.

Elihu continues in chapters 36-37 with a long list of God’s attributes, and an occasional poke at Job to ask, “Do you know this about God? Does God put the dishonest in power?” Again, much of what Elihu tells us is true. The problem for Elihu is he operates with the assumption that God never advances the cause of the unrighteous, which history shows us God does. The Book of Daniel definitely shows us God even uses pagan kings to advance His ultimate purpose. Elihu continues to operate under the assumption a righteous man will not be punished. Therefore, Job cannot be a righteous man. While the assumption is generally true, it is not always the case. We can’t turn general principles into absolutes, because their exception proves the principles, while making us wrong in the process.

As we return to Matthew 22, Jesus teaches a parable about a rich man who invites many to the wedding of his son, but none of the invited guests will come. Then the man invites anyone who will come. When the guests come, one doesn’t have wedding clothes and is cast out. What’s the point of the parable? The Jews were the “invited” guests, but they turned Jesus down. Then everyone in the world is invited to come to Jesus. Those who respond are welcomed, but even those who respond must come through the “door” of Jesus, and any who will not will be cast out.

Next, we find the religious leaders offering Jesus a series of “tests.” I put tests in quotes, because nothing a human being devises to trick or test Jesus will work. As we read each one, we see how quickly Jesus thinks, how clearly He understands the Scriptures, and how far ahead of us He is. The “tests” they offered Jesus included asking Him whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. The “test” in this question was if He said, “Yes,” they would say Jesus was against Israel, but if He said, “No,” they would turn Him over to the Romans. Without hesitation, Jesus turned the question on them by asking them to show Him a Roman coin. He asked whose picture and inscription were on it? They said it was caesar’s. He told them to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. What genius! He didn’t answer their question with one of the only two options they saw, but with a third, which left their allegiance to God as the true question. The next challenge came from the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection from the dead. They asked a question about a woman who was married to seven different brothers in succession as each brother died. They asked Jesus whose wife she would be in the resurrection since each had her as wife? Jesus’ answer to this one was they didn’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God. He told them we are neither married or given in marriage in heaven, but are like angels. Then He pointed out that God told Moses He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–is not was–Therefore, the resurrection is a reality. Finally, when they asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses, He responded immediately, “Love the Lord, Your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. (My paraphrase.)” The religious leaders realized this was the right answer. To top things off, Jesus asked the Pharisees how the Messiah could be the Son of David, when David called Him “Lord”? Jesus’ interaction with the leaders delighted the crowds, but infuriated the religious leaders, which drew them more and more toward their plan to arrest Jesus and have Him crucified.

In Job 30, Job continues his final appeal to God and any who will listen. He points out that the poor and outcast, who would have looked up to him in the past laugh at him. He is lower than the low. He speaks of God battering him, casting him about on the wind, and of the physical pain he endures night and day. Sometimes, when a person has become addicted to alcohol or other drugs, we say he must “hit bottom,” before he will seek help. Job has hit bottom. His life can’t go any lower. Remember, this was not of his doing. He didn’t abuse alcohol or any other drug. He didn’t sin. He was the victim of Satan’s abuse, and God gave permission for it to happen. After all, Satan’s power is always limited.

Job makes his final appeal in chapter 31. In area after area of his life, Job appeals to God and tells him, “If I have…” and then states a sin he could have committed, but didn’t.  He tells God if I have committed this sin, or this sin, or this sin. If I have not helped the poor, the widow, the fatherless… if I have done anything wrong show me, judge me. Job calls God out. He tells God his suffering is unjust and wants an answer for why he is experiencing it. As we read the chapter, as I read the chapter, I think, “Wow! I could not put that list together and stand faultless before God. Who could?” Yet, Job states his case clearly and boldly. He is innocent. The last words of the chapter are: The words of Job are ended. After argument and counter argument, after anguished cry to God and friends, after thousands and thousands of words, Job’s words are ended. He has nothing left to say. At this point, we might expect a response from God, and that is coming, but before that we have one more accusing voice: Elihu. We haven’t heard his name or known he was present, but he has watched and listened as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have mounted their attacks against Job, and failed. Now, he takes his turn.

Elihu starts his response in Job 32 and it continues through Job 37. Today, we will consider only chapters 32 and 33. In chapter 32, Elihu tells us why he didn’t respond to Job sooner. He states he is a young man, and he wanted to give his elders their opportunity. The problem is Job justified himself rather than admit his guilt, and Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were unable to answer Job’s arguments. Elihu tells us his words burn within him, he is like a wineskin ready to burst. We are being set up for the righteous indignation of youth that is about to spew out over the next five chapters. Elihu knows all the answers, such is the way of youth. His certainty of the truth, combined with the zeal of his age produces a long, passionate speech, in flowery language that sounds true. It sounds true, because much of it is true. The general truths Elihu will spout in succession fail in one major point: what is generally true was not true of Job. Let’s start with the first example of this, which we find in Job 32. Elihu tells Job God responds to us in two primary ways: through dreams and through illness. The implication is: if Job wanted to understand what was going on, he could turn to his dreams, or he could take a look in the mirror. The extent and duration of his illness was enough to show Job that God’s judgment was on his life. This seems reasonable, and it would seem even more reasonable if we lived in Job’s time, when material and physical blessing was considered as an affirmation of obedience, while material and physical scarcity and disease were considered part of God’s curse on disobedience. We have mentioned throughout Job how we often consider such “evidence” today in the same way. But Job is the exception to the rule. He was a righteous man who was cursed by God. We’re already in on that secret, because we know God has given permission to Satan to attack Job. Elihu doesn’t know this. He will find it out soon enough, but for now Elihu’s self-righteous attack on Job sounds reasonable. The problem is it was wrong. We must learn from Elihu that things are not always as they seem, so when we are ready to go on the attack, we must be sure our information is true and our motivation is love. When we are ready to speak the truth in love to someone who has sinned, our motivation will be pure and the results can be restorative.

As we return to Matthew 21, we read of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Matthew offers us a couple of details we don’t find in the other gospel accounts. One of those details is unusual: he tells us Jesus rode into town on two donkeys. The detail is derived from the Old Testament prophecy Matthew quotes and his interpretation of it. The second detail is more important. He tells us Jesus went to the Temple and drove out the money changers, then healed the sick and lame who came, and then the children shouted praise and blessings about Jesus. The Pharisees challenged Jesus about this, but Jesus responded that this fulfilled Scripture, and was not willing to let it stop. This moment, the Triumphal Entry and the people’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of David, was the one moment when folks recognized Jesus for who He was, if only for a moment.

The next morning, as Jesus and the disciples were walking back into Jerusalem, Jesus cursed a fig tree, because it didn’t have fruit on it. It withered. When the disciples saw this they were amazed, but Jesus used the example to tell them if they had faith and did not doubt, they would receive what they asked for in Jesus’ name. As Jesus entered the Temple, the religious leaders asked Him where He received His authority. Jesus answered with a question, “Where did John the Baptist receive his authority?” The religious leaders realized they were trapped. If they said from God, Jesus wold ask them why they hadn’t listened to him. If they said from men, the crowd would rise up against them. They answered, “We don’t know.” Jesus told them He would tell them where His authority originated either.

Jesus went on to tell a couple parables. The first was about a man who had two sons, and he asked each to go work in the field. One said, “Yes,” but didn’t go. The other said, “No,” but later went and worked in the field. Jesus asked the religious leaders who did his father’s will? They said it was the one who said no, but went. Jesus used that to tell them the tax collectors and other sinners would enter heaven before them.  Next, Jesus told a parable of a vineyard owner who rented his vineyard out to others. When it came time for the harvest, he sent representatives to collect his share. The workers, attacked those the owner sent. Finally, he sent his only son, thinking they would respect him. Instead, they killed him, thinking they would keep the vineyard for themselves.  Jesus told of the wrath the owner would send on them.  The Pharisees realized the parable was about them, and wanted to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid, because the crowds loved Jesus. Jesus was setting Himself against those He knew would arrest Him, but He was unafraid, because He had come to redeem us, and the events taking place were all moving Him toward that end. The accounts we read here, show us the true nature of self-righteous leaders, and the true wisdom of Jesus. We do well to learn from them, because the tendency for all of us over time, is either to lean more deeply into our relationship with Jesus, or to move toward “religion.” We want to be sure we’re always deepening our relationship with Jesus.

Job 26-29 all belong to Job. He rambles through a number of different phases of his appeal to being righteous. He tells us he is righteous. He tells us the unrighteous don’t prosper, which is generally true, even though Job has made us aware in previous chapters that the unrighteous do sometimes prosper. Finally, he recalls the times when God blessed him, when people respected him, when his life was extremely good. As we read through these four chapters, we see the evidence of Job’s righteousness. He does not seem like a man who is hiding sin. He does not seem like a man who would fail to admit his faults. As we’ll see tomorrow, Job’s summary of his situation continues, and, indeed, we’ll come to the end of Job’s defense of himself.

As we return to Matthew 20, we read again Jesus’ Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. The parable recounts a vineyard owner who hired day laborers throughout a particular work day starting early in the morning, and then hiring people every few hours throughout the day. The last workers were hired one hour before the end of the day. The first workers hired had agreed to work for a denarius, which was a day’s wage. The rest of the workers were told the land owner would pay them what was right. When the landowner paid the workers, he started with the ones he hired last, and he paid them a denarius. In fact, he paid each of the workers a denarius. When those who were hired first, and who had agreed to work for a denarius came for their pay, they received a denarius. They were upset at this, even though it was what they agreed to be paid. The landowner asked them why they were upset? Didn’t he have the right to be generous to the other workers. After all, it was his money. The point of the parable is each of us are the Lord’s workers. Some of us have worked for Him for a long time. Others haven’t even been “hired” yet. That is some haven’t even trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord at this point. Those who wait until the last moment before Jesus return will still be saved. They will still be “paid” the same, that is they will enjoy eternity with Jesus. What’s the point of this parable for us? We are to be grateful to God for our inclusion in His Kingdom, and we are to welcome those who make it in at the last minute. After all, none of us earned our salvation anyway. Jesus’ blood shed on the cross paid our entrance. Our “wages” are more than fair, given that each of us deserves to endure eternity in hell. We must always remember not to let our human sense of justice to overturn God’s great grace, mercy and generosity.

Next, Jesus tells the disciples once again that He is going to be arrested, tried, found guilty, and crucified, but that afterwards He will rise again. Their response? James and John’s mother comes and says, “When you come into your Kingdom, will you let my sons sit on your right and left?” It was like asking if they could be the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. When the other ten disciples heard about this they were extremely upset. We don’t know why, but it was probably because they wished they would have thought of asking. Jesus settled the group down by reminding them the greatest in the Kingdom of God are not those who lord their positions over others, but those who serve the most.

Finally, Jesus heals a couple of blind men based on their faith. It is always a helpful matter for us to examine such healings and to ask, “Whose faith?” That is whose faith brought about the healing? Jesus tells the blind men it was their faith. We know that on other occasions it was the faith of a friend who brought about the healing, as when the four men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed, and seeing “their” faith He healed the man. At other times no mention of faith is made, meaning Jesus simply healed the people. When we need healing in our lives, we pray in faith. We call on others to pray for us. We rely on the goodness of Jesus. Then we trust the outcome. Jesus reminded us the thief, that is the devil, comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but He came to bring us life in all its abundance. Good health is certainly part of that abundance. We don’t always get it when we pray for it, but that is the direction we pray, knowing God’s goodness is on our side.

In Job 22, Eliphaz steps up his accusations of Job, accusing him of multiple serious shortcomings, such as exacting pledges of your brothers without cause,  stripping the naked of their clothing, and withholding water from the weary. After railing this way for some time, he tells Job God will show mercy if he turns from all this. Obviously, none of Job’s friends are hearing any of his responses or, if they are, they aren’t buying into his innocence, or his thinking that only God has the right to accuse him.

Job responds again in Job 23 and 24. First, he talks about the inapproachability of God, and then he turns once again to how the wicked tend to prosper. While the topics are the same, Job isn’t being repetitive for the sake of it. He has been worn down by the duration of his loss and suffering. Day after day he wakes up in pain, or has spent another restless night. He knows he hasn’t caused these problems through sin, because he hasn’t sinned.

In Job 25, Bildad offers a brief retort that is not a personal attack on Job. Rather he asks the question, “How can anyone be righteous before God?” He points out that the light is not bright in God’s presence, so how could a man have any hope of being righteous? Bildad’s point is well-taken, yet we will soon see God is on Job’s side, and not on Bildad’s.

As we return to Matthew 19, the Pharisees come to Jesus once again to test Him. This time they ask questions about divorce. Jesus reaffirms the Genesis 1-2 position that God created marriage between a man and a woman in the fabric of creation. When the Pharisees pointed out that Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife, Jesus responded that was because of human hardness of heart, and not because God intended it that way. The disciples sided at least partially with the Pharisees, pointing out if marriage is a permanent situation, it would be better not to marry. Jesus noted that His teaching was a hard one and that not everyone could accept it. That does not mean it isn’t true for everyone, but only that some wouldn’t accept it.

Next, parents brought their children for Jesus to bless. The disciples thought this was a waste of time, but Jesus rebuked the disciples for such an attitude, and blessed the children, showing us once again how important children were to Him.

The closing episode in the chapter is the account of Jesus’ interaction with the rich young man, who wanted to know what to do to inherit eternal life. While the man told Jesus he had followed the Law of Moses since he was a child, but when Jesus challenged him to give away all his money to the poor, and gain riches in heaven, and then to come follow Him, the man went away sad. He couldn’t part with his wealth. Jesus told the disciples it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This was news to them, and even in our day, the idea that having wealth is an impediment to following Jesus is hard to swallow. Jesus pointed out that all who make financial sacrifices or relational sacrifices for Him in this life will b rewarded many times over in the next. The question for us is always whether we are willing to give up the things we cannot keep (material blessings and relationships) to gain what we cannot lose (a deeper and permanent relationship with Jesus here and now and for eternity)!