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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 112

Apr22
Day 112.  Reading Psalms 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 19, 20.
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do you love in these Psalms?

Psalm 6.

Perhaps this was written after David rescued his family from the Amalekites, only to come home and learn King Saul and his “Best Friend Forever” Jonathan had been killed in battle and Israel had been soundly defeated. He mourns and laments the losses.

  • I am weary with my moaning, every night I flood my bed with weeping.
  • My eye wastes away because of my grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.
  • Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
  • The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.

Psalm 8,

(I love this psalm!)

  • O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your Name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.
  • Out of the mouths of babies and infants, You have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
  • When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which You have set in place, what is MAN than You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?

Psalm 9.

  • I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds.
  • I  will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
  • The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
  • And those who know Your Name, put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
  • Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples His deeds!
  • For He who avenges blood is mindful of them; He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Psalm 10.

  • Why, O LORD, do You stand far away?
  • Why do you hide Yourself in times of trouble?
  • In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised
  • In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
  • The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
  • He (the wicked) says in his heart, “God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it.”
  • Arise, O LORD: O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.
  • O LORD, You hear the desires of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. 

Psalm 14.

  • The FOOL has said in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is NONE who does good.
  • The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see IF there are any who understand, who seek after God.
  • THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE; together they have become corrupt; there is NONE who does good, not even ONE.
  • Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the LORD restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalm 16.

  • I say to the LORD, You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.
  • I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
  • I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
  • Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh who dwells secure.
  • You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 19.

  • MAY THE LORD answer you in the day of trouble,
  • MAY THE NAME of the God of Jacob protect you!
  • MAY HE grant you your heart’s desires and fulfill all your plans!
  • MAY THE LORD fulfill all your petitions!
  • O LORD save the king!
  • MAY HE answer us when we call.

Psalm 21.

(I love reading this psalm pointing to David’s love for and closeness to the LORD … before his fall.)

  • O LORD, in Your strength the KING rejoices, and in Your salvation how greatly he exalts!
  • You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
  • For You meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
  • He asked life of You, and You gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.
  • HIS glory is great through Your salvation; splendor and majesty You bestow on HIM.
  • For You make him most blessed forever; You make him glad with the joy of Your presence.
  • For the KING trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.

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Yes, David will fail God horribly, but he was always “a man after God’s own heart.”

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 35

Feb4

Day 35. Reading in Exodus 16 – 18. 

Read the scripture for today. What do you learn about God? Share what you learn with others.

Exodus 16.

.Wow!  Walking through a Sea, seeing their enemies destroyed, experiencing joy, celebration, and worship, a miracle of sweet water from bitter water, receiving a glorious promise of health from God, and an oasis in the desert.   What more could Israel desire?

Food.

Grumble, grumble, grumble, (eight times it’s mentioned that the people grumbled against their situation, Moses, and even the LORD.) What a grumpy lot!! I guess hunger will do that to you. (Think of diets and fasts.)

Anyway, Moses goes to God, and God answers his prayer and their grumbling.  He promises to send them meat for dinner and bread in the morning for the whole day. And He does.  Quail came and covered the camp at sundown. The people caught them, stewed or roasted them, and ate the meat until they were … satisfied? (It doesn’t say.) The next morning, their 40-year daily food supply began to arrive.  “What IS it??? (The meaning of the word “manna.”) 

Quite a novelty – light, sweet, nutritious, and absolutely free. They did not LABOR for it.  They only had to gather it and prepare it into cakes, bread, porridge, or…?? Their choice.  Yummy and two quarts per person was all they needed to fill every tummy.  They loved it. They called it “bread/grain from heaven” and the “bread of angels.” (Psalm 78:25, 105:40) 

The Jews in Jesus’ time remembered it fondly. Jesus said it “pictured” HIM, the true bread of life. (John 6:31-35)

But it wouldn’t be long before these grumblers said they were “tired of THIS manna” and longed for the onions and leeks of Egypt.

  • Oh, LORD, what do I grumble about? (Lots of things!!) Please help me to have a grateful and contented heart!  You are so kind to supply my “daily bread.”

The people had to follow some instructions about Manna, such as eating it all the same day as gathered, except on the 6th day. That day they were to gather double because there wouldn’t be any on the 7th day. But it wouldn’t get stinky and wormy as on other days if “hoarded.”  They had to learn from experience, as WE do. 

This “day of resting” was established for Israel even before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. By His example, God had shown them in creation how to rest after six days of work.  Rest and worship/fellowship with Him.

This daily bread supply fed Israel for 40+ years until they crossed into the Promised Land and could begin eating the foods of the land.  How faithful our God is! (A memorial jar of Manna was later kept in the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle/Temple.)

Exodus 17.

With food established, the congregation of Israel moved on in stages as the Pillar led them to the wilderness of Sin (Shin) and camped at Rephidim.  There, they QUARRELED and grumbled again. Their water skins filled at the oasis were once again empty. “Moses! Give us water! Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst!?”

God told Moses what to do. It took faith to do this. He once again was to take “the rod of God” (that he used to bring plagues on Egypt at God’s command) along with some elders of Israel to witness it and go to the rock at Horeb. “Strike the rock that I will show you and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.” Whoa!

Moses did that and God supplied enough continuous water to quench the thirst of the people and animals while they were camped there.  Moses called that place “Massa” and “Meribah, because the people quarreled and tested the Lord.

THEN!!! (Another test.) The hoard of Amalek came and attacked Israel at Rephidim. Yikes!! (The Amalekites descended from Esau and were nomadic.)  

Moses told Joshua to choose men and go out and fight them.  The plan was that Moses (with Aaron and Hur) would stand up on the hill overlooking the battleground and wage spiritual war. Whenever Moses held up his arms (with his staff), the fighting men of Israel would prevail.  When his arms were tired and drooped, Amalek would prevail.  (Eventually, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock, and they held up his arms. And so war was waged physically and spiritually till the sun went down.  

And Joshua (with God’s help) overwhelmed Amalek with the sword.

Then, God had Moses tell Joshua (and put into writing) His vow. “I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”  Moses built an altar there, claiming, “The Lord is My Banner,” confirming God’s total war on Amalek.

(It would take Joshua, King Saul/Samuel, and finally, Queen Ester & Mordecai to kill the very last of them. But God’s word stood until it was accomplished. Amen.)

Exodus 18.

Whoa!  Guess who came for a visit?  Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian), came and brought to Moses, his wife Zipporah, and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. (Rephidim wasn’t too far from where Moses had lived in Midian.)

Moses went out to meet them and honored his father-in-law by bowing. They hugged and kissed and caught up with everything that God had done for Moses and Israel since he left. Jethro rejoiced with Moses and gave praise to God. “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I KNOW that the LORD is greater than all gods!”

Then, the older, wise Jethro watched as Moses dealt with the problems of the people in the camp.  Both petty and serious problems took all of Moses’ time as he interceded before God and made judgments.

“What are you doing, son?” asked Jethro. “This is not good. You are going to wear yourself out!” And he gave Moses some advice. “YOU bring the weighty things before God concerning his statutes and laws.  But, choose able men to judge over the petty grievances.”

Moses took his advice. He chose men as local judges. He was then free to judge the hard cases they brought to him.  Wow, what an opportune visit.  Moses had his family now and a way to relieve the tremendous load of the people that he carried.  God was so gracious to provide Jethro at that perfect time.

  • Thank you, Father, for caring for me, seeing my wrong choices, and sending others to lovingly correct me.

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 14

Jan14

Day 14. Reading in Job 38 – 39. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

 

Job 38.

.The LORD answers Job. 

This is both a relief and a fear.  It’s a relief because I’m tired of Job’s pompous friends spouting so-called truths about God and Job when they don’t even know what they are talking about.  I’m not sure they are doing it out of concern for Job, or to make themselves look good.

And it’s a fear because wouldn’t YOU be afraid if God showed up in the middle of a heated conversation/argument you were having with a group of friends?  Even if you had repeatedly asked (demanded?) that God come and answer you, wouldn’t His actual voice scare you to death? Notice that everyone is silent now. 

A mighty whirlwind blows between the men, and Yaweh’s voice speaks. “WHO IS THIS who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”  Gulp!  “Dress for action like a man,” God says to Job. “I will question YOU, and you make it known to ME.” 

Court is in session, and the prosecutor is questioning the man in the witness chair. But the accused has no voice. He cannot answer God’s questions. 

“Where were YOU when I laid the foundation of the earth?”  

“Did you separate the land from the waters and make borders for them? Did you cause the earth to rotate and establish dawn and darkness? Do you know where I keep the snow, the hail, or the rain?  Can you make lightning or ice?  Can you move the constellations around in the night sky? 

“Do you know who has put intelligence in a man’s mind?”

“Did you teach the lion to hunt?  Or the raven?”

Job 39.

(It’s just a chapter break, but I can imagine a moment or two of silence in the courtroom while Job remains mute. 

Like an attorney, God then presents items to be entered as evidence.  He lists the unique skills and characteristics He has given to various animals; the mountain goat, the wild donkey, the wild ox, the ostrich, the horse, and the hawk. (All are fearfully and wonderfully made and adapted.)

To the Ostrich God has given a tiny brain (she lays her eggs on the open ground, then forgets about them). But He’s given her beautiful feathers and legs swifter than a horse’s (When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and rider.)   Who would have thought to create such a creature?

Could Job ever have created the intelligence, strength, and fierce eye-sight of the hawk or eagle, and trained them where to build their nests so their young would be safe? 

  • I can’t imagine being on the stand in any court, let alone where God is the prosecutor AND judge. I would be scared to speak too.  I am SO thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ is my Advocate, my Defense Attorney. He speaks for me. He intercedes and pleads my case. Though I am guilty, He holds out the evidence of His own blood to show my crimes have been paid for.  My sentence has been served. Oh, Hallelujah!

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 12 & 13

Jan13

Days 12 & 13. Reading in Job 32 – 34 and 35 – 37. (Posted on Monday.)

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what you found meaningful. We can encourage each other.

.Job 32.

There’s a new guy on the block. Elihu has been there the whole time, but as the youngest, he’s kept quiet until now. His views differ from the three “wise” old men who spoke before him.

“I am young in years, and you are aged. Therefore, I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.”  “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.  Therefore, listen to ME. Let ME also declare my opinion.“

He says he’s about to burst from waiting to answer! “I MUST speak, that I may find relief; I MUST open my lips and answer. I will not use flattery toward ANY person.”

Oh, dear. I’m not sure I want to hear what this young whippersnapper will say.

  • Lord, help me remember that wisdom comes from YOU. You are the only wise God. Help me not to disdain either the aged or the young enthusiast or to center my whole life on the words of one person/group. May I always look to You and your Word with help from the Holy Spirit.

Job 33. 

Right off, Elihu puts Job at ease, identifying with him as one also is “pinched off from the piece of clay.”  He’s human, fallible. He assures Job he has no need to fear him as his words will not be heavy on him. But he tells Job he’s wrong in saying God does not answer him.

Elihu lists two ways that God speaks to man. 1) in dreams or visions, God warns man. 2) in pain, God rebukes man.  Hmmm.

He tells Job that God allows suffering to bring a person to Himself and for spiritual benefit. (This seems true, at least in my own life.) Then Elihu offers Job a chance to speak. If not, Elihu tells Job to listen, “for I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34.

Elihu then goes on with HIS speech to both Job and the other three men.  He gets a lot correct, but there are some parts he mis-remembers, attributing to Job what his other “comforters” said. (For example, Job said he was sinless, which he did not claim.)  However, Elihu does mention some pretty awesome truths about God in his speech, saying He is just, holy, impartial, and omniscient.

Sadly, Elihu starts to echo the three who went before him, “Job speaks without knowledge; his words are without insight. I would that Job was tried to the end because he answers like a wicked man. He adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”  (Sigh.)

(Three more chapters of Elihu tomorrow.)

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Job 35.

“Shame on you, Job.” is basically what Elihu says (in his wisdom). He tells Job that it doesn’t matter if he sinned or not because God is ‘too high’ to be affected by them. “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him?”

He tells Job why God does not answer his prayers and questions. It’s because of pride (vs. 35:12), a wrong motive, and he’s not patient enough.  Oh, Elihu, you are not so wise as you say. YOU don’t know much about Job’s condition either. It’s your own “human” understanding. 

  • Lord, I am like Elihu sometimes, if only in my thoughts. I think I can figure out “the mind of God” by my own human reasoning. “SURLY, this must mean that!” I say.  Humble me, Lord. Your ways and thoughts are so much higher than mine.  Teach me not to judge. Teach me to wait. Help me see my own needs.

Job 36.

Now that Elihu has leveled Job to the ground, he presumes to instruct Job about God’s opinion. (“I have yet something to say on God’s behalf.”) He now seems no different from the three older gentlemen before him. THEN he adds the words that make me choke. “For truly, my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.”   What???  Poor Job.

But Elihu does say something new in verse 15. “He (God) delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.” 

  • Suffering, trials, and persecution do make us more open to God’s words. Sometimes, that’s the only time I will listen. A gentle tap on the shoulder will go unnoticed, but a “slap up alongside my head” will get my attention.  Illness, sorrow, or a rebuke from a loved one will undoubtedly send me to prayer and His word. Why is this so? Oh, Lord, soften my heart!

Job 37.

Elihu then “waxes eloquent” about the majesty of God in creation. This is wonderful to read. All creation does reveal God like Psalm 8 says,  “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.” (vss. 1-2)  “When I look at Your heavens the work of Your fingers, the moon, and stars, which You have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (vss.3-4)  

Elihu reminded Job (and us) that all the mighty things God does in the heavens and with weather are for a purpose. “Whether for correction or for His land, or for love, He causes it to happen.” (vs. 13)

  • Wow. I had to stop and think about this. Yes, I believe God is totally sovereign in all things. Yes, there is always a purpose to what He does (His glory and our good, according to Romans 8:28), although, like Job, we may never know (can’t even begin to comprehend) what that is. 
  • Just now (January 2025), I’m thinking of the total disasters that wind and fires have brought to Los Angeles County in the last week.  God is sovereign. This fiery “apocalypse” was NOT out of His control. Many do and will ask, “Why?” (And many will gladly place the “blame” on anyone.) It is a “wake-up” call, whether to the hearts of believers and unbelievers or merely to earthly officials and their responsibilities.
  • Job didn’t know the reason for his suffering (or for his friends’ badgering, for that matter). But we get a glimpse of the purpose in the first chapters. That in Heaven, before the evil one, GOD GETS GLORY for Job’s faith in his suffering. 

Thank you, God, for using Elihu to say this one thing, if nothing else. 

And it’s good that this young, wise “kid” ends his speech by pointing Job (and us) to God and His Majesty because God stands ready to speak in the next four chapters.  ARE WE READY TO HEAR?

 

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 10

Jan10

Day 10. Reading in Job 24 – 28. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other in Him.

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Job 24.

Job continues to refute Eliphaz’s statement that the wicked are punished for their sins and suffer (i.e. himself).

LOOK at the rich, he says, they do NOT suffer! They prosper, even though they do the very things God hates (mistreatment of the poor, widows, and orphans as well as freely committing murder, theft, and adultery). They grow richer, more powerful, and successful. 

Job’s accusation to God is quite bitter in verse 12. “…God charges no one with wrong.” But in verse 24 he seems to renege. “They (wicked) are exalted a little while, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others.”

  • I often vacillate like Job, thinking all the millionaires and billionaires of the world just keep getting richer and do not suffer for the way they cheat and treat others.  But, when I study Revelation, I also see God’s wrath.  He will judge, we can be sure of that!  But right now, he is “patient, not willing that any perish.” 
  • And who am I that I should escape judgment. ONLY BY HIS MERCY and GRACE in “His looking at Jesus and forgiving me” do I have hope.

Job 25.

Bildad’s third comeback is brief. “Dominion and fear are with God. He has might. He is Light.”   “How can man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm.” …be right before God?

Job 26.

A brief reply by Job magnifies the Lord God, showing His power and wisdom in creation. Job even states two modern truths 1) the earth “hangs” in space. It’s not held up by an elephant or the shoulders of Atlas, and 2) the earth is a circular globe and NOT FLAT. (vss. 7, 10)

 (This chapter is only a portion of his reply to Bildad (and the others) that covers chapters 26-31.)

Job 27.

Curiously, Job here defends his own integrity. He says nothing he has done has caused this great calamity to come on him. (And he is correct.)  Not bragging in himself, nevertheless he says “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go: my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.”

  • This is actually how we should resist the devil when he comes to us with accusations. If we have confessed and repented of our sin, his accusations are not valid. We should “resist him.” The Holy Spirit will “convict” us of sin and send us to the cross of Christ. But Satan “accuses” us of sin and offers no hope.

In contrast, Job asks, “What is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?” 

  •   Job 27:19-23 says, “He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off. The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in headlong flight. It claps its hands at him and hisses at him from its place.” 

WHOA!   These verses emphasize to me to speed with which our “stuff” can be gone.  These remind me so much of the catastrophe which has hit the Los Angeles area just this week, where, in just hours, thousands of people have lost all they have in wind-blown fires.  The Palisades Fire completely burned up a very high-end, wealthy neighborhood over night with 100 MPH winds whipping flames out of control.

  • Father, give me compassion for all these people!  And keep me from holding my “stuff” tight and depending on it.  May I look ALONE to You, God, from where everything comes, even my life,

Job 28.

Job now tells his “friends” about wisdom. (His is no less that what they claim theirs to be.)  Their advanced ages do not automatically produce wisdom.  In verses 12-18, he asks twice, “Where shall wisdom be found? From where does wisdom come?

In these verses, he sounds like Solomon in Proverbs 1:7 – 2:9.  Wisdom is worth more than silver and gold. It’s more precious than onyx, sapphire, and other precious jewels. It’s price is above pearls, crystal, coral, and topaz.

So where can one get such a precious commodity? Job tells us in verse 29. “Behold, the FEAR OF THE LORD, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.”  (See Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 7

Jan7

Day 7. Reading in Job 14 – 16. 

I’m rereading through God’s Word again this year, but I’ll write/blog about it differently. Instead of only an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal.

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what was meaningful to YOU. We can encourage each other.

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Job 14.

As a lawyer before God the judge, Job pours out his frustration. Some of it is not pretty. He knows that even a newborn infant is born with sin and will die at God’s discretion. He knows he will die and asks God to leave him alone so he can enjoy his time left. 

Then, Job seems to vacillate between believing and not believing that there is life after death.  Even an old tree that’s been cut down hopes to sprout again at the taste of water. But where is a man after he’s laid in the grave?   

Job asks God to “hide him in the grave” until His wrath passes. To appoint a set time to remember him. “If a man dies, shall he live again? (His answer seems to be Yes.) “All the days of my service, I would wait, till my renewal should come. You would call, and I would answer You.”

  • There are times of stress and anxiety when I would just like to go to sleep and stay there till the troubles are past.  I don’t want to face, endure, or deal with problems. I can sympathize with people sunk in extreme troubles who numb themselves with sleeping pills, alcohol, drugs, etc.  To a tiny degree, I understand what they and Job are experiencing.   
  • Oh, Lord, help me to cling to you for my strength and to be compassionate towards others.

Job 15.

Old Eliphaz is back. He’s now condemning Job for attacking God!  “Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash, that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?”

He condemns Job for thinking he knew more than “the old men of wisdom” who were there with him.  Eliphaz says, “What do YOU know that WE don’t know? Both the gray-haired and the aged are here, (we are) ones older than your father.”   

  • What he says is NOT TRUE. I have white hair, I am “aged,” but I am certainly NOT WISE! Age does not automatically equal wisdom. You’ve heard of ‘old fools’?”

Then (nose in the air, I picture) Elephas berates Job. “I (a gray-haired wise one) will show you. Hear me, and what I have seen, I will declare.” Then he explains how it’s the WICKED MAN who writhes in pain, who hears dreadful news, whose prosperity is destroyed, who does not believe he will return from the dead.  (Yep, he’s pointing at Job.)

The next part is funny because WE know what happens to Job in the last chapter.  Eliphaz says that a wicked man’s (Job’s) wealth will not return, he won’t depart from darkness, and emptiness will be his final payment.  HA!  Just you wait, Eliphaz!

Job 16.

I don’t know how Job can keep coming back. Under such a hostile barrage, I would be squirming, face in the mud, unable to open my eyes.  But Job (you have to cheer for him) speaks back.

He calls these wise men “miserable comforters” with “windy words that have no end.” Job says, Yeah, if he were healthy and “wise” like them, HE could speak like they do.  “I could join words together against you and shake my head at you. I could strengthen you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.” (He’s being sarcastic.)

But then, Job slips into depression and laments what God has done to him. (Don’t blame him for this. Think of his loss, sorrow, pain, and miserable, finger-pointing friends. Even JESUS, on the cross, cried out, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?)

  • Surely, now God has worn me out
  • He has shriveled me up
  • He has torn me in His wrath and hated me
  • He has gnashed His teeth at me
  • I was at ease, and he broke me apart
  • He seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces
  • He set me up as His target; His archers surround me.
  • He breaks me with breach upon breach
  • He runs upon me like a warrior.

(These could almost describe his friends!)  And yet… OH, SEE HOW JOB TRUSTS!!! 

“Even now, behold my witness (advocate) is in heaven, and He who testifies FOR me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God that HE would argue the case of a man with God, as a Son of man does with his neighbor.”

  • Yes, let me remember too that I have an “advocate in Heaven,” one who pleads my innocence before God because of His own shed blood. (Like the song says, God looks on HIM and pardons ME.) And I have the Holy Spirit who dwells in me and comforts me.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 5 & 6

Jan6

Days 5 & 6. Reading Job 6 – 9 and 10 – 13.

(Sunday & Monday posts are together.)

I’m rereading God’s Word this year. And I hope to blog about it differently. Instead of writing only an overview of the text, I want it to be more personal.

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and write “in the comments” what you found meaningful. We can encourage each other.

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Job 6 

Job has just listened to a long speech by his friend, Eliphaz, who has accused him of sinning.  “That’s why you are suffering,” he seems to say. “Repent and get better.”

Yes, Job is a sinner, as we ALL are, since Adam & Eve’s gross disobedience in the garden. But a specific sin is not the reason for Job’s horrendous state of loss, poverty, and ill health.  

Job is frustrated.  He doesn’t deny he’s a sinner, but he does say, “I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”  He asks his friends to look at him, really LOOK. “Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake. Is there any injustice on my tongue?“

Job 7.

Then Job turns his weary eyes upward and speaks his woes to God. He pours out his complaints to God,  just like I do when I’m having a hard time.

  • “Why is this happening, God?  Have you forgotten me?  What have I done to deserve this?  I’m just human, as You well know!  Maybe I should just die.” 

Job 8.

It’s time for Job’s second friend to offer his wisdom.  Bildad is also sure that Job’s sin has caused his troubles and that he should repent if he wants out of them.  “If you are pure and upright, surely He will rouse Himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.”

  • I’ve only mildly experienced this kind of judging.  But, I confess, I  have criticized others and often given them my “superior” advice, just like Eliphaz and Bildad.  “If only they would do this! (or NOT do that!), then they wouldn’t be in this mess!” “They should have prayed first or listened to that sermon.”  “If they would just follow good habits, they wouldn’t be sick, or fat, or….. !”
  • O LORD, how like Job’s friends I am!  You’ve said “Judge not, lest you be judged,” and still I do it. EVEN THIS MORNING!!!   I confess, Lord. Cleanse me and help me to imitate Your great mercy for others!

Job 9.

Job responds to Bildad’s lofty speech, saying that he KNOWS God is the holy, wise, and powerful Creator and that Job himself is powerless and low.  But then, he asks if God is FAIR?  “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”  Job feels helpless. Desperate, he cries, “I shall be condemned; why do I labor in vain? If I wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, yet You will plunge me into a pit….”  WOW!

  • How often have “I” said, “That’s not fair!”  Or even thought, “GOD is not fair.”  But I need to remember that He is sovereign. He controls everything in perfect wisdom.  I do not have the mind of God. His thoughts and ways are SO MUCH higher than mine.  (Isaiah 55:8-9)  And so, even if I never see the whys and wherefores of what’s happening in my life, I NEED TO TRUST HIM ALWAYS.  “If He slays me, yet will I trust Him,” should be my heart’s desire as it was Job’s (Chapter 19).

Then Job says something that immediately causes thanksgiving to flood into my heart…..because I remember Jesus.  Job says, speaking of God, “There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.” 

Hallelujah!  We have Jesus Christ!  

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  Hebrews 7:25, speaking of Jesus, says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

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July 10.

Job is still answering Bildad’s comments, but he’s appealing to God as well. He asks the question WE ALL ASK — Why? “Let me know WHY you contend against me. Does it seem good to You to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, and favor the designs of the wicked?”

Deep in his heart Job KNOWS God loves him, he just can’t figure out all this disaster. “You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. YET these things you hid in your heart; I KNOW this was your PURPOSE.

  • I really DO KNOW that God loves me, but like Job, I need to grab hold of that rock of truth with all my strength and BELIEVE it, especially during trials.

Job 11.

Next, Job’s third “friend” speaks. Zophar is like the two before him.  And he’s shocked that Job claims innocence. He pounds Job with his need to repent of his sin.  

“If you prepare your heart, you will stretch out your hands toward Him. If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away, and let not injustice dwell in your tents. Surely THEN you will lift up your face WITHOUT BLEMISH.”   “And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.”

  • Ah, Lord, I am so like Zophar sometimes!!  At least silently, I often think if someone experiencing trials would just “Straighten up and fly right,” their problems would go away.  O Lord, so much do I lack wisdom, and compassion, and, well, ALL the fruits of the Spirit.  I confess and repent of this hard-heartedness! Soften my heart.

Job 12

Now Job fires back using sarcasm.  Oh, are YOU the only ones with wisdom? I have understanding as well.  “I, who called to God and He answered me, a just and blameless man…am a laughingstock to my “friends.” Ha!

Then Job reveals some of his wisdom about the SOVEREIGNTY of God. ‘Who does not know that “the hand of the LORD” has done this?  In His hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding. If He tears down, none can rebuild; if He shuts a man in, none can open.”

THAT’S RIGHT, JOB! Rest in the Sovereignty of Almighty God!

Job 13.

Job continues to speak back to his “friends.” But he’s getting tired of their constant “know-it-all” condemnation.  “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.  What YOU know, “I” also know; I am NOT inferior you you.”  

Then Job nails his friends once again, “As for YOU, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all. Oh that you would keep silent!”   “Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay. Let me have silence. “

Then Job tells them what he REALLY wants.   “I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.”  ” I will speak, and let come on me what may.”   “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him: yet I will argue my ways to His face.“

Whoa, Job, better watch out what you ask for!!!  

  • You know, our God is Almighty. He opposes the proud, the unbelieving, the idolater, BUT He is not afraid of one of His children calling out to him in fear, anger, and desperation.  He’s tough. He can withstand our puny fists pounding against his massive, steel-hard chest.  He loves us.  He loved Job.

Job looks to God, as in a courtroom.  “Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. Only grant me two things, then I will not hide myself from your face. 1) Withdraw your hand far from me, and 2) Let not dread of you terrify me.  THEN call and I will answer.  OR, let me speak and You reply to me.

And then Job presents his case (questions) before God.  (Chapter 14, tomorrow.)

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 356-357

Dec23

   Day 356-357—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.  NOTE: Sunday’s and Monday’s studies will be posted on MONDAY,

Day 356 – Hebrews 7 – 10 (Melchizedek, Better Covenant, Redemption, Sacrifice, Faith)

Read a quick review of Melchizedek and Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20.

Hebrews 7.

The author discusses Melchizedek, king of Salem (peace), king of righteousness (zedek) and a priest of the Most High God. He tells how Abraham, coming home from rescuing his nephew Lot from an invading army, gave this priestly/kingly man a tithe (10th) of the loot. And Melchizedek blessed Abraham.

This was WAY before Israel’s priesthood was set up on Mt. Sinai, with Aaron, the Levite, as High Priest.  In a way (the author of Hebrews says), Aaron, the High Priest, paid tribute to Melchizedek, “being still in Abraham’s loins.” (He had no children at that point.)

Melchizedek is also said to have had “no beginning of days nor end of life” as a priest forever. He was a priest not based on the law (like Aaron) but on the power of an “indestructible” life. The author compares Jesus to this mysterious man, without beginning or end of days, but HIS ministry is much more excellent.  

The first covenant of law could make nothing perfect, so a new one was needed, allowing us to draw near to God. “Consequently, Jesus can save to the uttermost, those who draw near to God through HIM since He always lives to make intercession for them. 

Jesus is a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  HE HAS NO NEED TO OFFER SACRIFICES DAILY like other priests, first for their own sins, then the people.  Jesus did this ONCE FOR ALL when he offered up HIMSELF.

Hebrews 8.

Jesus, as High Priest, is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a more excellent ministry than the old one.  He can mediate better because the new covenant has better promises and is faultless. In this new covenant, God says He will put His Law on their hearts and minds, not stone tablets, and His people will know Him.

He will be merciful toward their iniquities and will remember their sins no more!

Hebrews 9.

The author then reminds readers how the old covenant worked, with the Holy and Most Holy places in the “tent of worship.”  Behind the second curtain was the ark of the covenant and God’s presence.  No one could go into this place except for the High Priest, and that only once per year… carrying the blood of the sacrifice. 

But Christ, as high priest, entered ONCE FOR ALL into the most holy place through HIS OWN BLOOD. Doing this, he obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION.  He appeared ONCE FOR ALL to put away sin by sacrificing himself. 

Hebrews 10.

Under the old covenant, the sacrifices were a reminder of sins every year. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”  Now, we have been sanctified (made clean, holy) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.

When Christ had offered FOR ALL TIME A SINGLE SACRIFICE FOR SINS, He sat down at the right hand of God. “For by A SINGLE OFFERING, He has perfected FOR ALL TIME, those who are being sanctified.”

Jesus. the perfect, sinless High Priest, offered Himself a spotless sacrifice and opened the new and living way for us through the curtain so that we can now “draw near (to God) with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” 

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Day 357 – Hebrews 11 – 13 (the FAITH chapter & heroes of the faith, witnesses for us to endure too, discipline as sons, acceptable worship, final instructions)

Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11 is called the “Faith Chapter” or the “Saint’s Hall of Fame.” In it, the author defines faith and how it’s to be used. He lists heroes of faith from the Old Testament, sixteen by name (including women), and many others by deeds or means of death. These all have served and glorified God.

DEFINITION: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (verse 1)

WHAT IT INVOLVES: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (verse 6)

From righteous Abel to the prophet Samuel, men and women have lived and died for God, loved and obeyed Him, trusted and spoke for Him without shame or fear, and many paid for it with their lives. 

These heroes “conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong through weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to fight, and some women received back their dead by resurrection!! 

(I can think of some names that come to mind here, can you?”

Others were tortured for their faith, suffered mocking and flogging, even chains and imprisonments, stoning, beheading (killed by the sword), and even being sawn in two!  They were destitute, afflicted, mistreated, and lived in deserts, mountains, dens, and caves.  OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY!

And YET, they did not “see” the promised Messiah they spoke about and waited for like WE HAVE!  (How totally blessed we are!)

Hebrews 12.

“Therefore, SINCE we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those heroes listed above), let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith.  He, for the JOY that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus, as God’s Son, endured much hostility against Him. And so we, as God’s children, must endure “discipline” too.  God disciplines us (through suffering/persecution) for OUR GOOD, so we may share His holiness.  It doesn’t seem pleasant at the moment, but later, it “yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” to those trained by it. 

So…. lift your drooping hands….strengthen your weak knees….and make straight paths for your feet.   And “let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (by persecution or death), and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 13.

The author encourages readers to continue in brotherly love, hospitality to strangers, and prayer and support for those imprisoned for their faith.  They are to be faithful in marriage, not love money but be content with what they have.

They are to “remember their leaders (in prayer and financially), the ones who first spoke the Word of God to them.”  They are to consider the fruit of those men’s ministry and imitate their faith.  They are to pray and support their leaders and also to submit to and obey them (for THOSE MEN will have to give an account one day).

He ends with a doxology. ‘Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant….equip you with everything good, that you may do His will.

To Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen”

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 352

Dec18

   Day 352—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.

Day 352 – 1 Timothy 1 – 6 (Paul’s letter to Timothy, warnings, the gospel, gifts, overseers/deacons, church instructions/warnings, the good fight.)

This is one of two letters Paul wrote to his “beloved son in the faith.”  After being released from house arrest in Rome, Paul & Timothy (and others) traveled to Ephesus. When Paul went on to Macedonia, he left Timothy in Ephesus to oversee the church. Now, Paul writes encouragement & instructions to him.

1 Timothy 1.

Paul reminds Timothy that he left the young missionary in Ephesus to clear out any false teachings that had begun there, especially by legalists who emphasized keeping the law of Moses. “The law is good if one uses it lawfully, for the ungodly and sinners.”

1 Timothy 2.

Paul urges Timothy to pray (in supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings) for all people, kings, and those in high positions so that they may lead peaceful and quiet lives.  He reminds Timothy that Christ Jesus Himself is the ONE mediator between God and men. “I desire that in every place that men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.”

1 Timothy 3.

Paul then lays out the qualifications for overseers and deacons who lead in the church. “They must be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, NOT a drunkard, NOT violent, but gentle, NOT quarrelsome, and NOT a lover of money.  He must be able to manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive. He must NOT be a new convert. He must be well thought of by outsiders.” 

WOW!!

Paul assures Timothy that he hopes to come there soon, but in case of delay, he might know how they ought to behave in the household of God, the church of the Living God.

1 Timothy 4.

He warns Timothy that some will depart from the faith, devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons.  If he warns the brothers to beware of these things, he will be “a good servant of Christ Jesus.”

He urges Timothy to train himself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and the life to come.  

“Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth. Set the believers an example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to public reading of Scripture, exhortation, and teaching.  Don’t neglect the gift you have by prophecy and the laying on of hands.” 

1 Timothy 5.

Paul instructs him further. “In the church, do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters in all purity. And honor true widows.” 

“As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear. Keep yourself pure.”

1 Timothy 6.

Paul reminds them, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and cannot take anything out of it.  If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For, the LOVE OF MONEY is a root of all kinds of evil.”

“But you (Timothy), O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” 

Then Paul bursts into doxology!  “He, who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who ALONE has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom NO ONE has ever seen or can see. TO HIM, be honor and eternal dominion!  Amen.”

Paul ends his letter by urging his son, “O, Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Grace be with you!

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 349-350 (Part 2)

Dec16

   Days 349 & 350—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.  NOTE:  Sunday & Monday studies are posted together on MONDAYS. This is Part Two.

Day 350 – Ephesians 1 – 6 (Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, greetings & blessings & prayer to them, Salvation by grace & faith alone, the gospel to Gentiles, special prayer, gifts to the church, armor of God)

Ephesians 1.

Paul greets these believers and reminds them of their blessings in Christ Jesus. God chose them before the foundation of the world, predestined them for adoption as sons through Jesus, redeemed them through Christ’s blood, forgave their sins, and gave them an inheritance.  Then Paul writes a glorious, extended prayer in thanks for them and for their spiritual growth.

Ephesians 2.

Paul explains how salvation comes by GRACE through FAITH.  They were spiritually DEAD in sin, living in all the wicked passions of their flesh, by nature children of wrath.

“But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” 

“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the GIFT of God, not a result of works, so no one may boast.”

Ephesians 3.

Paul then tells of the “mystery” that was revealed to him by God, that he should also minister to the Gentiles (like them), making them fellow heirs (with the Jews), members of the same body, and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel. 

His fervent prayer for them is “that according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, and that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.”

(Wow… and we can be in that prayer too! Read it again!)

Ephesians 4.

Paul urges the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

He reminds them how God gave each of the churches gifted leaders, such as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor-shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to-and-fro by every wind of false doctrine. 

They are to “put off” their old selves and be renewed to “put on” the new self, created in the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness.   Then, he lists more of the ways Christ shows Himself in their actions, words, and thoughts. 

Ephesians 5.

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And WALK in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

“WALK as children of the light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good, right, and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

“Look carefully then how you WALK, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of your time because the days are evil.”

Ephesians 6.

‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.   Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and have done all to stand. 

  • Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth
  • and having put on the breastplate of righteousness
  • and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
  • In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one
  • and take the helmet of salvation,
  • and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
  • Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

(I wonder if Paul looked over at the Roman soldier guarding him in prison to come up with the armor of GOD necessary for believers?)

Next, he sends greetings, telling the church that Tychicus will tell them everything happening to Paul and encourage their hearts (and bring news of them back to him.)

“Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”