Month: May 2019

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, so Job can offer them to the Him. 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 mean material blessings. 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” instructions 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 tell us 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 terrible suffering will come 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 return. 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: 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:  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 him.

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 were getting closer and closer to arresting Him and having the Romans crucify Him, Jesus stepped up His attacks against them. He warned the crowds about their habits, and how they turned their students into sons of hell. He also pronounced seven “woes” or curses against them for their religious practices, which appeared “holy,” but were wholly hypocritical.  Jesus’ words were 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 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 to put ourselves on Jesus’ side, and wonder how the people could have done such things 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 and 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 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 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 works. 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 nor given in marriage in heaven, but are like angels. Then He pointed out 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 closer and closer to 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 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, as 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 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 about 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 He 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 His 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 would 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 not 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 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, andwe 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 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 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 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 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 His teaching was a hard one and 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, 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 be 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)!

Job 18 offers another round of Job’s friend Bildad belittling Job for not admitting his sin.  The language is as flowery as ever, but the gist of the chapter is more of the same: Job if you weren’t sinning you wouldn’t be going through all of this.

As we can imagine, Job is getting more than tired of this constant barrage of accusations.  He fires back once again in Job 19.  This time Job asks why they have continued to attack him “these ten times.”  He points out he is innocent, and even if he weren’t innocent, what right would these “friends” have to accuse him? The matter was between him and God. Job goes on to tell us he has no one who talks with him or listens to him.  All his friends are gone.  His family is either dead or against him.  Even small children make fun of him when they see him rise.  After all that, Job makes an amazing affirmation: I know my redeemer lives and at the last He shall stand upon the earth.  Job says somehow, he is going to see that.

In Job 20, Zophar attacks Job even harder, talking about the punishment that comes to the evil. He talks about being brought to poverty, having one’s food turn to poison in the stomach, and with a number of other illustrations, he points out God will retaliate against the wicked. The assumption is once again that Job is being punished for his sins and is, therefore, being numbered among the wicked at that moment.

Job responds again in Job 21, but this time he points out a reality we must all acknowledge: The wicked do prosper. Sometimes it is only for a season, but sometimes the wicked prosper throughout their lives, and not only they but their offspring. Job rightly notes the wicked are often spared when the poor and humble are not.  Job wasn’t making this case, because he was evil and was asking why he was being punished when so many weren’t. He simply wanted his accusers to understand the fallacy of their arguments. God does not always punish the wicked in this world. They sometimes live good and full lives and go to their graves happy. Job acknowledges at that point the worms eat them the same way they eat the poor, but he wants his attackers to consider their line of reasoning and realize it contains more than one fallacy.

As we return to Matthew 18, we read again of the disciples asking Jesus who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Jesus’ response is familiar to us by now, after our readings of Mark and Matthew:  The greatest is the one who is like a little child. Childlikeness, not childishness, is the stuff of God’s Kingdom. Jesus went on to tell the disciples not to be one who lead one of the little ones astray, and God would go after even one lost one, because it was not His will that even one should perish. Jesus’ call to faithfulness continued with a reminder to “pluck out” or “cut off” an offending appendage and go to heaven maimed rather than to go fully intact to hell. Jesus was serious about our sanctification, that is our becoming more and more like Him. We see this once again as the chapter continues and Jesus talks about forgiving those who sin against us. He told the disciples of the importance of forgiveness. Then He gave a process for going to someone who has sinned against us to restore the person to the body of believers. He closed the chapter by telling a parable about a servant who was forgiven a great debt by his master but wouldn’t forgive a small debt owed to him by a fellow servant. The master punished that servant severely. Jesus summed up the parable by saying that is the same way the Heavenly Father will treat us if we don’t forgive our brothers and sisters from our hearts. Point taken!

In Job 15, Eliphaz speaks again. This time he accuses Job more directly of sin and points out that the evil man’s wealth doesn’t last for long. The common wisdom of the day (which is often still the wisdom of our day!) told Eliphaz Job could not be righteous. Otherwise, he would not be in the condition he was. While this has been the line of reasoning all along, Eliphaz’s comments have become more direct.

Job responds in chapters 16-17, that he could also speak such things if one of them were in his situation, but their “comfort” is not comfort at all. Job continues to profess his innocence and calls on God to show them he is righteous. Job’s comments seem to go back and forth between responses to Eliphaz and the LORD. Job recognizes in his situation the best he can hope for is to go down to Sheol. His life was wasting away and his anguish was great. All of us have times when we’re “down.”  Many of us have times of depression. Job was at the point of desperation. He knew in his heart he was righteous, and yet his “comforters” accused him of sin, while God remained silent. We learn from this moment in Job’s life that sometimes our situation seems hopeless, but as I was reminded long ago: hopeless is not a Christian word. When God is for us our situation is never hopeless, and in Jesus God is always for us! Whether we feel God’s presence, He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. How vital it is to remember that when we are going through the valleys in our lives.

As we return to Matthew 17, we reread the account of Jesus’ transfiguration with Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John witnessed this amazing event, and it was beyond their ability to comprehend. Peter wanted to stay there on the mountain, as we often do when we’re experiencing “mountaintop” moments in our own lives, but Jesus brought them down from that experience. Always the teacher, Jesus told them not to speak of the event until He had risen from the dead, and also told them John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come to prepare the way for Him. When the four men returned to the valley, the remaining nine disciples were struggling ineffectively to cast a demon out of a boy. The boy’s father was desperate for his son to be cured, but the disciples had no success. The man turned to Jesus and asked Him to do something if He could. The man was unsure at this moment whether anyone could help him, but he turned to Jesus. Jesus made it clear anything is possible for those who believe in Him. The man’s answer was so honest, “I believe. Please, help me in my unbelief.” In other words, I have a little faith, so give me more. Give me enough to see my son healed. Jesus healed the boy, demonstrating He is always sufficient regardless of the level of our belief. The disciples couldn’t understand why they failed. Jesus told them sometimes it takes prayer and fasting for success in casting out particular demons. Jesus wants us to understand spiritual warfare is just that–warfare. We can’t assume a “little” prayer will be sufficient to bring about victory. Our enemy, Satan, is a loser, but he isn’t a quitter. He and his minions will fight until Jesus returns and sends them all into the abyss He has prepared for them. Until then, we must remember to believe in Jesus, and to grow and develop that power through prayer, obedience, and calling on the Holy Spirit to empower us more and more with each passing day. The process of living our lives as Jesus’ followers requires we give everything we have, and then letting God do everything we can’t. With that combination victory comes in every area of our lives, because Jesus has promised us it will.

As we turn to Job 11, Zophar speaks for the first time. He follows the lead of his other friends and condemns Job for his sin. Once again in flowery language, he makes the same point: God doesn’t punish the innocent, and we have no right to contest God in any case. The weight of Job’s friends’ arguments gets heavier not because they are breaking new ground, but because they are so consistent in saying the same thing over and over again.

Job responds in chapters 12-14 with three specific emphases. In 12, Job basically says, “Duh!” once again. He tells Zophar he knows everything Zophar has told him and is more aware of God’s punishment of sin than he, but Job declares once again he is righteous. In 13, Job acknowledges that no matter what God does, he will continue to worship Him. In this chapter Job proclaims, “Though he slay me, I will hope in Him.” What amazing faith! While some might have suffered as much as Job, no one who has been so righteous has suffered more than Job, except for Jesus. Isaiah prophesied Jesus would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The same could be said of Job. The key difference, of course, is Job’s righteousness was a relative righteousness. He was not totally blameless as was Jesus. Only Jesus lived a perfect life, and then suffered a brutal execution on our behalf. In chapter 13, Job points out the brevity of life and the permanence of death. He compares us to trees, and notes if one cuts down a tree, a sprout might spring up from the stump, but when we die our lives are over. Job’s hope in life after death is limited or missing, which is why his suffering in the midst of his righteousness is even more distressing. Thankfully, we live after Jesus’ resurrection, so we know life after death is possible, and for those who know Jesus as Savior and Lord it is sure. That doesn’t make our suffering in this life easy, but it makes it easier to bear than Jobs suffering was for him.

As we return to Matthew 16, Jesus has another run in with the Pharisees who want Jesus to show them a sign He is the Messiah. Jesus responds by saying no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. They don’t understand Jesus was talking about Jonah being three days in the belly of a great fish. In the same way Jesus would be in the tomb for three days before He rose from the dead. This conversation led Jesus to warn His disciples of the “leaven” of the Pharisees. As often was the case, the disciples missed the point. They thought Jesus was talking about literal bread, because they had forgotten to bring bread for their journey. Jesus reminded them He had demonstrated how capable He was to provide bread for them. Then they understood it was the Pharisees’ teaching Jesus was warning them to beware.

Next, we come to the turning point in Jesus’ ministry. In Mark’s gospel it comes at the middle of his account. Here, we are in chapter 16, a bit past the middle of Matthew’s account. Jesus confronts the disciples with the question of who the crowds think He is, and then with the more important question, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, and Jesus affirms Him for receiving the answer from God. Sadly, only moments after affirming Jesus is the Messiah, Peter tells Jesus He should not die on the cross. Jesus rebukes Peter and let’s all the disciples know following Him is costly. He tells them those who save their lives will lose them, but those who lose them for His sake will find them. He ends with a statement that is hard to understand.  He says that some who were standing there would not die before all of this came to pass.  The all of this must refer to Jesus’ death and resurrection, because all but one of the disciples did see that.  As we reflect on Mark 8 and Matthew 16, we must respond to Jesus’ question, too.  Who do you and I say Jesus is?  Only when we answer with the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and devote ourselves fully to Him, will we understand the fullness of His blessing, and the depth of the responsibility we have in following Him.

In Job 8, Bildad offers his first monologue to Job. He tells Job his children were killed for their transgression, and it is time for Job to repent. He tells Job if he will repent God will make his latter days greater than his beginning. This is quite a promise and reflects the belief system of that day. Bildad appealed to the tradition that had been established before their lifetimes, reminding Job that their lives were like a shadow. It is a good thing to rely on the wisdom of those who have come before us, especially when the appeal is to the wisdom of God and his people. The problem in this case is Bildad as Eliphaz before him, based their assumptions of Job’s situations on the “norm.” Normally, people reap the consequences of their sin, and when terrible consequences take place, the assumption is they must have been preceded by terrible sin. This was not true in Job’s case. While Job’s case was an extreme exception to the “rule,” Job’s case establishes for us that the “rule” of bad things happening to sinful people and not to good people is more of a guideline than a rule!

Job responds in Job 9 & 10. His first few words of response are directed at Bildad and it’s as if he says, “Duh!” Of course, punishment comes from sin.” Then he turns his attention to God and says he is not guilty, but even so how can he go against God? He states no one can stand before God whether that one is in the right or the wrong. He acknowledges God is the judge, but he does not understand why he is being judged when he has committed no sin. He calls again for God to end his brief, miserable life. We can understand Job’s comments and questions, and even his desire to be done with suffering, at least if we have ever suffered when we haven’t been at fault. While in the back of our minds, we are probably still thinking, “Really? Is it possible Job could be in the right here, fully in the right?” It doesn’t seem possible, and Job admits he isn’t perfect, but as we will see in the last few chapters of the book, God sides with Job in the matter of his righteousness. Once again, we need to remember never to agree with the enemy, when we are being accused, but always to agree with God, whatever He says about us.

As we return to Matthew 15, we find the Pharisees once again attacking Jesus’ disciples for not following the traditions of the elders. In this case they didn’t practice the ceremonial hand washing ritual before they ate. While we might think it a bit disgusting that the disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate, Jesus took on the Pharisees’ attack with a great deal of energy. When they asked, “Why do your disciples break the traditions of the elders…?” Jesus responded with His own question, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your traditions?” Jesus was having none of the Pharisees ritual and tradition taking the place of God’s commands in their lives. The specific example He gave was the Pharisees broke the 5th Commandment to honor one’s father and mother, by saying the money they would have used to support their parents was set aside for God’s purposes. Jesus challenged this hypocrisy, and also pointed out to the Pharisees it isn’t what we put into our bodies that defiles, but what comes out of them. He was speaking specifically of the attitudes and desires of our hearts. If those are evil, then we are truly defiled. The disciples didn’t understand Jesus’ comments, so He explained them clearly. The key in our lives is to have clean hearts, so our lives will reflect Jesus’ values and the fruit of the Spirit. Then whatever we ingest with hands clean or dirty won’t matter. (I’m not saying, don’t wash your hands. I’m saying hand washing, as so many other traditions we have are secondary matters and not matters of what Jesus sees as right or wrong.)

Matthew offers us two more of Jesus’ miracles in this chapter. First, Jesus healed the child of a foreign woman, but only after initially rejecting her request, because she was a foreigner. Jesus came only to minister to the “lost sheep of the people of Israel.”  That does not mean Jesus’ salvation was only for the Jews. It means His personal ministry was only for them. He equipped the disciples for a world-wide ministry, but in his brief ministry He only ministered in Israel. The second miracle was the feeding of the four thousand along with healing many other people. This was a corporate miracle in which Jesus met the needs of all who came to Him. He met their physical needs both for food and health. This gives us another glimpse of what it’s like in the Kingdom of Heaven: There is ample food and total wellness for all. While Jesus is always most concerned about our spiritual well-being, His earthly ministry shows us He is concerned about our bodies and souls as well as our spirits!