Women in the Word

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2/25/2016 5:36 pm  #111


Re: Job

Job 41 No special thoughts today - other than I sure wouldn't want to come face to face with this leviathan.  I'll just stay out of the water thank you  .

 

2/26/2016 10:13 am  #112


Re: Job

Chapter 42     Wow, so much in just this one chapter -- a beautiful end to a tough story!

Then Job answered the LORD, and said      (v1)

We can respond to the LORD! Dialogue with Him is good.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.  (v5-6)

Knowing about the LORD and hearing about the LORD are one thing.  Seeing Him for who He really is, changes us.  We see ourselves for who we are, with all our "ick".  And we want to be different.  We want to be like Him.

And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.  (v7)

God can get angry with us when we don't speak rightfully about Him as He did with the friends. But when we do speak rightfully about Him, He may praise us as He did Job. 

I also noticed that Elihu (the last one to speak) is not mentioned.  Wonder why?

Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. (v8)

If I understand the offerings correctly, the burnt offering was to show complete submission to God. Though these men served God, they needed to completely submit to Him.  Not an easy thing for any of us.

But then they needed to go to Job - whom they had accused of sinning.  They needed to humble themselves before their friend.  Again, not an easy thing for any of us. 

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. (v9)

All three men did as the LORD commanded!!!!!  Yippee!!   Makes me asks... Will I humble myself before God and man when I have done wrong?

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.  (v10)

Job's chains fell off when he prayed for his friends.  It's hard to pray for those who have hurt you; it's even harder to pray for them when they are right there with you... but when we do... when we forgive... when we love...our chains are gone!!

Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (v.11)

When he was at his lowest, his family was not there.  This was one of Job's hurts:  He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. Job 19:13-14    Now we see these relationships have been restored!  God is good!

And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.  (v14-15)

None of the names of Job's previous children were mentioned, nor are the names of his sons.  But his daughters are named -- and they are to be partakers of his inheritance, something that did not occur at that time.  Gill's commentary points out that he made no difference between male and female -- a picture of us in Christ:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  Romans 8:17

God is good!

 

2/29/2016 9:06 pm  #113


Re: Job

LoriMI wrote:

Chapter 42    

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.  (v10)

Job's chains fell off when he prayed for his friends.  It's hard to pray for those who have hurt you; it's even harder to pray for them when they are right there with you... but when we do... when we forgive... when we love...our chains are gone!!

I noticed this also. That Job got healing when he extended mercy and forgiveness and served others.

Matthew Henry says, "And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those that had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for the transgressors."

What a perfect image as we approach Resurrection Sunday.

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2/29/2016 9:08 pm  #114


Re: Job

Job 42

42:7 After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.
 
Well it seems that God was rebuking Job, but that His wrath was aroused against Job’s friends. I was trying to figure out what the difference is in what Job’s friends said, and what Job said. Also, Elihu was not mentioned, so he must not have said anything that bad.
 
I wish I had started in Chapter 42 to know to look carefully and note what everyone said. Alas, I had to go back and review the previous chapters to make sense of this chapter.
 
In reviewing I saw in summary
Eliphaz: says God corrects those who do wrong; Job has sinned and is being punished
Bildad: God is always just, if you see Him He will deliver you; if Job was pure God would help Him
Zophar: wished God would openly expose Job’s wickedness
Job: Questions God and feels he is being wrongfully mistreated; Job questions God’s justice too I thought, or at least he says that he should have a chance to answer God about justice
Elihu: Job should not question God and God is just
 
42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.
42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
 
The only thing I can see different is that Job questions God and says He does not understand, he is under the impression that God is causing his suffering. But I guess although he questions God, he did not try to define God’s character. It seems Job just lacked understanding.
 
I suppose God was so mad at the friends because they tried to speak for God and say what God does and does not do. They spoke also of God’s character, but much of it seemed to be accurate to me, just wrongly applied. God does not in this world always punish the wicked and the blessings of the righteous are not always what we would think are blessings But the bottom line is that God says they spoke wrongly about Him.
 
Elihu just reproved Job for questioning God and God’s justice. He was a jerk in the way he communicated it, but I apparently he did not say anything offensive to God.
 
So, since I still do not fully grasp this, I looked to commentaries.
 
From Matthew Henry
 
Job's friends had wronged God, by making prosperity a mark of the true church, and affliction a certain proof of God's wrath. Job had referred things to the future judgment and the future state, more than his friends, therefore he spake of God that which was right, better than his friends had done.
 
John MacArthur said that Job exercised presumptions and made allegations of unfairness against God, but his friends spoke wrongly about God; they made wrong statements about His character.
 
Application
I was just thinking that we should be careful in speaking “for” God. We would be wise not to think that we can speak for God and only speak what is explicitly in His word. Anything further we should present as our opinion, understanding or interpretation.

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2/29/2016 9:49 pm  #115


Re: Job

Job 42:5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
 
Do we want to really know and see God? This tied into what I was reading on another blog.

This other blogger wrote that happiness is not the aim of our lives, but being conformed to the image of Christ is.
 
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:29)

 
"The aim of your life should be to have Christ living through you. It should be to be looking more and more like Christ everyday:"
 
That just really hit me right where I have been over the last year of Old Testament readings.

We have heard of who God is and even intellectually know who He is, but do we really see Him, do we really know Him, do have intimacy with Him?
 
Oh that we would would really not have cares for this world, and not get so hung up on this world but have hearts that just want to know and love Christ and long for intimacy with Him.

Give me nothing but Jesus. Like the song, you can have all of this world, but give me Jesus! Do we really mean that? Do we really not want the things of this world only Jesus?
 
I don’t say this to minimize real pain that people are dealing with in the physical earth, but to encourage us to seek hearts that are truly and fully in love with God.
 
I have heard this before, and have even counseled others along those same lines. But for some reason it just hit me lately in a more real, tangible way. That is where I have been at lately.
 
Technically my life is pretty good and I have a good husband, but that does not change the fact that life always includes times of sadness, and a measure of disappointment or unmet longings.

As I was meditating on these things I am writing it actually brought tears to my eyes. Not tears of sadness, but of joy in the love and intimacy and presence of God.
 
This read through the Bible program has really gotten me out of my regular Bible reading of mainly the New Testament epistles or the cursory reading of the Old Testament "stories."

Going back to a lot of these Old Testament books, I was not exited about rereading a lot of these Old Testament books. But I said, OK God, what do you want to show me here.

So, I thought, "well what can I learn from Genesis?"  And I realized, that by seeing how God interacts with the beginning of mankind and the forefathers of the faith, that I can learn about God's character and nature.  
 
So often, our society perverts God into either being all sweet and soft or all vindictive and vengeful.  Well, as believers, let's read the Word to find out who God is in His entirety.  Yes, he is kind and loving, and yes He will judge the guilty.  But He is so much more, let's get insight into His Holiness, mercy, grace, etc.

Then reading Leviticus I was confronted with His holiness.

Numbers showed us God's faithfulness even in the face of unfaithful people.

Reading Job I am confronted with His sovereignty and my absolute obligation to bow before His authority.

The first step in falling in love with someone is to know them deeply and intimately.  Reading the Word, including the Old Testament can give me a deeper understanding of God's attributes so I can continue this love journey with Him.

Doing one chapter allows for more in-depth study and gives me time to read, reread, and reread and reread the chapter. It lets me just sitting with it and meditating on it.
 
This has allowed me to really dig so much deeper into the person and character of God. I have been confronted with His holiness, His sovereignty and my call to submit under His complete and utter authority in my life, but while trusting in His complete love for me and His pure justice.
 
It has helped me focus on His presence in my life and His real tangible relationship with me. I just feel that I am being drawn into a sweeter closer love for Him. I feel myself truly starting to mean that I only want Jesus and sincerely want nothing more. That is becoming more and more of a reality for me.

As we deeply pursue His word we will know Him better and build a more intimate, passionate relationship with Him that can transform our hearts and lives.

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