Persecution and Promise

1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated. – Ezra 4:1-7 ESV

The returning remnant of Judah got off to a great start by reinstituting the sacrificial system and celebrating the feasts that Yahweh had ordained. But it would not be long before they had trouble with the local residents. During the 70 years the exiles spent in Babylon, the land of Judah and Jerusalem had been overrun with squatters. These unwelcome invaders took advantage of the situation by moving into the abandoned towns and villages. Even the vacated homes of Jerusalem became rent-free housing for whoever wanted to occupy them. So, when the exiles began to return in ever-increasing numbers, the local occupants viewed them as unwanted invaders. Their presence was not wanted or welcomed.

In 722 B.C., the Assyrians captured Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. The fall of Samaria marked the end of a 20-year campaign against the Israelites that had been sanctioned by Yahweh Himself. The fall of the northern kingdom was His punishment for their ongoing unfaithfulness and refusal to repent. He had sent countless prophets to plead with the people to change their ways and return to the worship of Him alone. But the calls to repent and the warnings of coming judgment fell on deaf ears and during the 20-year-long Assyrian conquest, tens of thousands of Israelites were captured and deported to serve as slaves to their new masters. As the Book of 2 Kings reveals, the former occupants of Israel were replaced with people from a variety of different nations.

Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day. And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. – 2 Kings 17:23-24 ESV

The text goes on to reveal that “at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them” (2 Kings 17:25 ESV). God was going to protect the integrity of the land He had given to the Israelites as their inheritance. He would not allow it to become a spiritual wasteland occupied only by pagans who worshiped false gods. So, He used natural means to torment the land’s new occupants with supernatural judgment. The news of this “natural” disaster reached the ears of the king of Assyria.

“The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” – 2 Kings 17:26 ESV

In response, the king sent an Israelite priest to “teach them the law of the god of the land” (2 Kings 17:27 ESV). The common belief among the ancient polytheistic nations was that gods were localized deities who ruled over specific geographic domains. So, Yahweh was seen as the local God of Israel and was to be treated with dignity and honor. The Book of 2 Kings reveals that the king’s plan was only partially successful.

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived.

They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. – 2 Kings 17:29, 32-33 ESV

These equal-opportunity idolaters were the ones who had moved into the villages and homes of the people of Judah during their absence. They would have intermarried with the Judahites left behind after the Babylonian invasion. The author of Ezra describes them as “enemies” (Ezra 4:1 ESV), and while they initially display a desire to cooperate with the returning exiles, it doesn’t take long for their true colors to show.

The first interaction between the Judahites and their “enemies” appears cordial. After watching the Judahites offer sacrifices to Yawheh, “the people of the land” approached and presented themselves as fellow God-followers. 

“Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.” – Ezra 4:2 NLT

They failed to acknowledge that they were actually pagan idolaters who only worshiped Yahweh as one more god among many. They had no allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Most of these people were non-Hebrews who had merely adopted the Israelite God out of duress. If He could protect them from the ravaging lions, then they were more than willing to add him to their long list of deities.

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua wisely turned down the offer of these pagan posers. They could tell that “the people of the land” were not the people of God, so they rejected any overtures of cooperation and cohabitation. The remnant that returned was made up of card-carrying members of the tribe of Judah and they were not about to jeopardize their chances of rebuilding and reoccupying the land of promise by joining forces with the opportunistic people of the land. The leaders of the remnant were unapologetic and uncompromising in their response.

“You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, just as King Cyrus of Persia commanded us.” – Ezra 4:3 NLT

This was not the answer the local residents wanted to hear and it didn’t take long for their disappointment to turn to outright disdain.

Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne. – Ezra 4:4-5 NLT

They viewed the returning Judahites as a threat to their way of life and were willing to do anything to thwart their relocation efforts.

What makes this scenario so interesting is that God had sovereignly ordained the return of His people. He had orchestrated all the events leading up to their arrival in the land, including Cyrus’ decree and the funding of their relocation plans. When they arrived in the land, they immediately revealed their faithfulness by reinstituting the sacrificial system and the annual festivals. They offered sacrifices to Yahweh and laid the foundation of the Temple. So why would God allow them to undergo the constant harassment they endured at the hands of their enemies?

From the moment they returned, they suffered a daily barrage of verbal attacks. They were libeled, slandered, and falsely accused by their enemies. As will become evident, the verbal campaign would only intensify, as the local residents became increasingly more frustrated by the Judahites and their relentless rebuilding campaign. And, with each passing day, new caravans arrived bearing additional exiles who added to the numbers and increased the chances that the Judahites would be successful.

This animosity for the people of Judah would last for decades and increase in intensity. Verse 5 mentions that subversive efforts of the people of the land “went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne” (Ezra 4:5 NLT), a period of nearly four decades. Verses 6 and 7 reveal that the opposition campaign extended through the reigns of two additional Persian kings: Xerxes (Ahasuerus) and Artaxerxes.

Years later when Xerxes began his reign, the enemies of Judah wrote a letter of accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Even later, during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, the enemies of Judah, led by Bishlam, Mithredath, and Tabeel, sent a letter to Artaxerxes in the Aramaic language… – Ezra 4:6-7 NLT

This was a long-term and relentless effort to demoralize and defeat the people of Judah. Their enemies used words, bribes, threats, and official letters to undermine God’s plans for His people. Yet, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the people remained committed to the cause. They continued to build even in the face of ongoing opposition. The work was difficult and, at times, discouraging. At times, the people would lose heart and become distracted by the constant harassment. The presence of resistance sometimes overwhelmed God’s promise of success. There must have been days when the weary Judahites wondered if it was all worth the pain and persecution. Would they ever complete the Temple? Would the persecution ever stop? Was Yahweh not powerful enough to deal with this ragtag collection of idol-worshiping pagans?

The people of God could not envision what He had in store for them. But the apostle John shares an insight that would have been an encouragement to them in their plight.

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. – 1 John 4:4-6 NLT

The Judahites would continue to face opposition and endure moments of desperation but they could eventually learn that God was in control. The persecution they faced will only make their eventual success that much sweeter and more significant.

“Without this foretaste of history to reveal the full seriousness of the opposition, we would not properly appreciate the achievements recorded in the next two chapters (5 and 6) nor the dangers hidden in the mixed marriages which Ezra would set himself to stamp out (chaps. 7-10).” – Derek Kidner, Ezra and Nehemiah. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Who Is the God Who Will Deliver You?

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” – Daniel 3:8-18 ESV

This iconic story has been a staple of Sunday School classes for generations. Every child who grew up going to church heard about the exploits of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. But in its telling, the story tends to take on the aura of a Grimm's Fairy Tale. It becomes the fantastic recounting of three brave young men who proved their faith in God by standing up to the evil king and refusing to worship his false god. But their act of bravery didn’t come without cost. Their refusal to obey the king’s edict came with the penalty of death by fire in a blazing hot furnace. This macabre-sounding story is frightening even for adults, let alone children. But with the use of colorful cartoon-like pictures and a sanitized storyline, it has been used  to inspire young children to follow the example of its three brave characters.

Yet, is that the primary message behind the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? So often, in an attempt to make the stories of the Bible more relevant and relatable, we focus on the lives of the characters they contain. We tell our children the story of Daniel in the lion’s den and challenge them to “dare to be a Daniel.” We recount the story of Joseph’s roller-coaster-like life in Egypt but focus on the reward he ultimately received for his faithfulness. We turn his life into a Horatio Alger, rags-to-riches story that portrays God as always ready to reward the patient and faithful. The not-so-subtle message becomes: If you do the right thing, there will always be a happy ending.

The stories of the Bible recount the lives of men and women just like you and me, but they were intended to be the primary focus of our attention. Yes, we can learn a lot about faith from the life of Abraham. We can discover what it means to be a man after God’s own heart by examining the life of David. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego can inspire us to stand up for our convictions. But by making much of men, we tend to make little of God. By focusing on the exploits of the human characters in these stories we tend to lose sight of the One moving behind the scenes and orchestrating every aspect of the narrative.

From the first verses of its opening chapter, the Book of Daniel has been about God. The entire narrative began with a retelling of Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of the city of Jerusalem.

The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. – Daniel 1:2 NLT

The story begins with a reminder that God was in control and behind all that had happened. But He was not done. Just a few verses later, when Daniel refused to eat the king’s food, we read, “God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel” (Daniel 1:9 NLT). As the story unfolds, we’re reminded that God continued to control the affairs of men, including those of the king and the four young Hebrew boys.

God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. – Daniel 1:19 NLT

Chapter two records the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s disturbing dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it. But as the verse above makes clear, Daniel received this ability from the hand of God, and as the story reveals, God was the source behind Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

“…there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.” – Daniel 2:28 NLT

The dream, its interpretation, and its meaning were all the handiwork of God. Daniel was simply the instrument God used to accomplish His predetermined plan, and even Daniel recognized his subservient role in the whole affair.

“…it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.” – Daniel 2:30 NLT

After divulging the meaning of the dream, Daniel confessed, “The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain” (Daniel 2:45 NLT). Even Nebuchadnezzar recognized the divine nature of the day’s events, declaring, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:47 NLT).

When Daniel and his friends were rewarded with promotions, the story took a positive turn. Everything was looking up. God had revealed Himself in power and the pagan king had taken notice. Then chapter three opens up with Nebuchadnezzar’s decision to build a massive monument to his own glory and greatness. But it wasn’t enough that his statue loomed over the plains of Dura, he wanted all the citizens of his kingdom to bow before it. He demanded their unwavering allegiance in the form of abject worship, with death as the penalty for disobedience.

Don’t miss the message. The man who said, “Your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings” was now demanding that he be worshiped like a god. He was declaring himself to be the greatest of gods. The king’s edict demanded all to “bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue” (Daniel 3:5 NLT). This was nothing less than a declaration of war. Whether Nebuchadnezzar realized it or not, he was aligning himself against “the greatest of gods.” His statue was a bold and blatant statement of superiority and supremacy. But what God did next is surprising.

In the dream, God sent a massive bolder to destroy the statue. But in real life, God didn’t order a direct hit on the symbol of Nebuchadnezzar’s power. Instead, He delivered a distinctly different but no less powerful proof of His sovereignty, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would find themselves in the middle of the conflict between God and Nebuchadnezzar.

These men were not trying to make a statement. They had not made a pact to disobey the king’s edict and were not practicing a form of civil disobedience. They were simply doing what they always did, worshiping their God and living their lives in accordance with His will. But their actions were portrayed as evidence of insubordination. Driven by jealousy and hatred for these upstart Hebrews, some of the king’s Chaldean counselors leveled charges against them that were intended to result in death.

“…there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.” – Daniel 3:12 NLT

Frustrated by this report, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the men be brought before him. He repeated the conditions of his edict and warned them of the consequences of their disobedience.

“…if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” – Daniel 3:15 NLT

That last line is critical to understanding the nature of the conflict taking place in this story. This is not about three men standing up for their convictions and facing off with an unjust and unrighteous king. It is about God proving His power and supremacy over the kingdoms of this world. God could have struck Nebuchadnezzar down. He could have ordered a plague to destroy the Chaldeans. But Nebuchadnezzar had issued a challenge. Not only had he erected a statue to declare his glory, but he had boldly asserted that his power was greater than that of God.

Caught in the middle of this conflict between a human king who believed himself to be a god and Yahweh, the greatest of gods, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would have their faith tested. But the story is not about their faith; it is about the One on whom their faith relied. When confronted by the king and given a final ultimatum to bow down or die, they simply replied, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:18 NLT).

Don’t miss the nature of their reply. They clearly see where the battle lines have been drawn. They know that this is a battle for sovereignty. The king had asserted his supremacy and declared his power over their lives. He believed that he held their future in his hands and could force their allegiance simply by threatening them with loss of life. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew better because they knew their God was bigger. The king had power but he lacked true sovereignty. These young Hebrews believed that God was in control, despite the circumstances they faced. In their estimation, even the fiery furnace posed no real threat.

These young men were faith-filled because they believed their God to be faithful. In their youth, they had been exposed to the Psalms and the words of encouragement they bring.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes. – Psalm 118:5-9 NLT

And while they lived long before Jesus took on human flesh and dwelt among men, they displayed the very outlook that Jesus encouraged.

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28 NLT

The point of the story is not the size of their faith, but its source. These three young men were not super-saints or spiritual icons of virtue. They were ordinary men who believed in an extraordinary God who was all-knowing, all-powerful, and fully capable of delivering them. Their willingness to enter the furnace should not be viewed as a measurement of their faith but as a bold expression of their belief in the greatness of their God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

A Matter of Life or Death

18 Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. – Philippians 1:18-26 ESV

Paul opens this section of his letter by reconfirming his determination to rejoice in his circumstances. While news of his imprisonment had been disconcerting to the believers in Philippi, for Paul it had been just another God-ordained opportunity to spread the gospel. If others were attempting to take advantage of his situation by filling the role of messenger in his absence, so be it. As long as Christ was being lifted up, Paul was perfectly okay with it all, even if some of these people were motivated by envy rather than a sincere love for the lost.

Paul knew that any success he had enjoyed in his ministry had not been because of his powers of persuasion, but was due to the power of the gospel. In writing to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul reminded them of the treatment he and Silas had suffered in Philippi because of their preaching of the gospel. Not long after their arrival there, they had cast out a demon from a young slave girl. With the exorcism of the demon, she lost her ability to act as a fortune teller for her masters and they lost a much-needed source of revenue. In an act of revenge, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates of the city, where the two men were severely beaten and thrown in jail. Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that all of this had taken place just before he arrived in their town.

You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else. – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6 NLT

Despite all that had happened in Philippi, Paul and his companions boldly declared the gospel in Thessalonica, even in the face of opposition. They did so, not for money or the praise of men, but to please God as His faithful messengers. So, Paul was not concerned with the motives of others; as long as they were preaching salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, he was satisfied and could rejoice. He had never been in the ministry for what he could get out of it. For him, it was a calling, not a job, and He never saw himself as this gifted spokesman using his talents to further the Kingdom of God. He even describes himself as nothing more than a fragile clay jar containing the great treasure of the gospel message (2 Corinthians 4:7). When he wrote to the Corinthian believers, he reminded them that their conversions were due to the power of the Spirit, not his own eloquence.

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NLT

But as Paul writes to the Philippian believers from his house arrest in Rome, he shares with them the tremendous internal conflict he was having. It had nothing to do with a fear of death; he knew that was a possible outcome of his pending trial before Nero and he was perfectly at peace with that. In fact, he flatly stated, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23 ESV). He saw death as a reward, not a punishment. But he also struggled with the desire to continue his ministry among the Philippians and other congregations he had helped to start. As much as he longed to be with the Lord, he felt that his work on Christ’s behalf was far from over. That’s why he told the Philippians, “I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith” (Philippians 1:25 NLT).

One thing motivated Paul’s actions and attitudes – bringing glory to the name of Christ. If he could do that through deliverance from prison and a continuation of his ministry, so be it. But if his trial resulted in a death sentence, he saw that as a gracious deliverance by God from this sin-marred world. When all was said and done, Paul simply wanted to honor Christ in all that he did, which is why he stated, “I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die” (Philippians 1:20 NLT).

Paul was not making much of himself. He was not bragging about his superior spirituality or attempting to set himself up as some icon of righteousness and religious virtue. He was attempting to encourage the believers in Philippi to share the same perspective on life that he had. He didn’t view his arrest and imprisonment as a setback or a sign of God’s disfavor with him. He sincerely believed that it was all a part of God’s will for his life. By maintaining his focus on Christ and trusting in the will of God for his life, Paul had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11 NLT). So, he could say, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12 NLT).

He knew that the Philippian believers were facing their own set of difficulties. They were going to have struggles in their faith journey, just as he had, and he wanted them to stay strong, to remain committed to the cause of Christ, and to see the sovereign hand of God in all that happened in and around their lives.

Paul was convinced that he would be released and would one day see them again. But in the meantime, he wanted to encourage them to keep on keeping on. Later on in this letter, Paul writes these powerful words of testimony and encouragement.

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us… – Philippians 3:14 NLT

Then he follows up this statement of personal conviction and commitment with a call for them to follow his lead.

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. – Philippians 3:17 NLT

In the verses that follow, Paul provides the Philippians with specific details concerning the conduct of all those who claim heavenly citizenship as God’s children. Their journey of faith was not going to be easy or trouble-free, but God had equipped each of them with the indwelling Holy Spirit and placed them in the body of Christ so that they had all the resources they needed to thrive, not just survive what lay ahead.

Paul was torn between two opinions; he was ready to see his Lord and Savior face to face, but he was also anxious to continue his ministry of exhortation and evangelization around the world. He was prepared to face the ongoing struggles of doing God’s will in a fallen world but, should his life end in death, he saw that as a promotion, not a punishment. So, whether he faced a long life serving God that was marked by pain, persecution, and opposition, or if his next step was heaven, he could rejoice because he was in God’s good and gracious hands.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Learning to Trust God

24 “If I have made gold my trust
    or called fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because my hand had found much,
26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone,
    or the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
30 (I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’
32 (the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
    Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
    I would bind it on me as a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
    like a prince I would approach him.

38 “If my land has cried out against me
    and its furrows have wept together,
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners breathe their last,
40 let thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley.” – Job 31:24-40 ESV

Job continues his list of hypothetical if-then scenarios in an attempt to strengthen his claim of innocence. He produces a lengthy and wide-ranging catalogue of potential infractions that would warrant some kind of judgment from God. He is bascially challenging his friends to come up with one solid piece of evidence that might provide proof of their charges of guilt. “If I am guilty,” Job says, “then God can punish me accordingly.” 

But the obvious inference behind Job’s little speech is that he has done nothing wrong. He goes out of his way to list petty “crimes” that everyone commits everyday without suffering the kinds of loss he has faced. He is not trying to minimize the gravity of these “lesser” sins; he is simply pointing out their ubiquitous nature. Whether it’s the sin of lusting after another man’s wife or the mistreatment of household servants, Job claims that his hands are clean. He also demands that he is innocent of neglecting the poor and needy.

“No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
    and all my life I have cared for widows.” – Job 31:18 NLT

He asserts that these kinds of selfish actions are commonplace and yet no one seems to incur the level of judgment that he has had to face. What makes matters worse is that he has refrained from doing these kinds of things and has still lost everything.

Job is demanding proportional justice. He is asking that his punishment match his crime. If he has committed a sin worthy of God’s wrath, then it seems only fair that his judgment be balanced and equitable. He is willing to accept God’s verdict but only asks that it be in keeping with whatever wrong he has committed.

“If I raised my hand against an orphan,
    knowing the judges would take my side,
then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
    Let my arm be torn from its socket!
That would be better than facing God’s judgment.
    For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?” – Job 31:21-23 NLT

From Job’s perspective, his punishment has been disproportional to any sin he may have committed. This once wealthy man was now impoverished and destitute. Yet he declares that he never put his trust in money or gloated over his superior financial status. So, what would have caused God to take away all his material possessions?

Had Job been guilty of idolatry, worshiping the sun, moon, or stars in place of God Almighty, the judges of his community would have dealt with him severely. There were already laws and punishments in place for just such infractions. But what he suffered was far worse than any punitive measures an earthly judge would have meted out.

When Job looked back on all the disasters he had endured, he could more readily accept their occurence if he had been guilty of wishing that same fate on one of his enemies.  

“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
    or become excited when harm came their way?” – Job 31:29 NLT

The answer was, “No!” Job claims to have never wished ill-will on anyone. Yet, he was forced to endure a litany of devastating disasters that had left him nothing. That is the part he was wrestling to understand. He was willing to accept any and all punishment as long as it was deserved. But he could think of nothing he had done that was worthy of the kind of pain and suffering he had endured.

He had not lived a secret life, clandestinely committing his sins behind closed doors and hiding his indiscretions from the eyes of others.

“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,
    concealing my guilt in my heart?
Have I feared the crowd
    or the contempt of the masses,
    so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?” – Job 31:33-34 NLT 

Job wasn’t a hypocrite or a pretender. He couldn’t be accused of being a fraud or an impostor. His former life as an outstanding pillar of the Uz community had been anything but a sham. His righteousness had not been a cleverly crafted veneer designed to hide a secret life of sin and shame. He was exactly what he appeared to be. And yet, he had lost everything.

All Job is asking for is a fair trial. The vigilante justice of his three friends was wearing then and he longed for an opportunity to stand before God and defend himself from all their false accusations.

“If only someone would listen to me!
    Look, I will sign my name to my defense.
Let the Almighty answer me.
    Let my accuser write out the charges against me.” – Job 31:35 NLT

As far as Job could tell, no one had come up with a single piece of evidence that proved his guilt or adequately explained his losses. If they could produce the crime, Job would “wear it like a crown” (Job 31:36 NLT). In other words, he was so confident in his own innocence that he would take their indictment into the throne room of God and boldly give a defense of all his actions. But their accusations were all speculative and unspecific. They were forced to guess because they didn’t know the facts. But Job did and he was confident that God would decide in his favor.

Job was willing to accept punishment – if he was guilty. But that was the rub. He did not believe he had done anything to deserve what he had suffered. His judgment was way out of proportion to any sin he could have committed, and he firmly and consistently denied having done anything wrong at all. 

There is little doubt that Job longed for relief from his pain and suffering. But his greatest desire was to have the integrity of his name restored. His reputation had been ruined, and it didn’t help that his three friends continued to drag his name through the mud as they hurled unsubstantiated rumors and allegations against him. None of this was done in a vacuum. This was a public trial that placed Job in the awkward position of being the “celebrity” defendant whose entire life was put on display for all to see. Rumors ran rampant. Gossip made its way through the streets of Uz as everyone debated the guilt or innocence of this former icon of the community.

This entire scene brings to mind another man who suffered unjust treatment at the hands of his fellow citizens. In this case, it was King David, as he fled from Jerusalem because his son, Absalom, had staged a coup and taken over the throne. As David and his royal retinue made their way out of the city in shame, he was met with a less-than-favorable reaction from one of his own citizens.

As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family. He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him. “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” – 2 Samuel 16:5-8 NLT

David’s companions offered to kill Shimei for his mistreatment of the former king, but David restrained them. Instead, he took a more reasoned reaction to the reproach of Shimei.

“Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” – 2 Samuel 16:11-12 NLT

David was willing to leave the matter in God’s hands. He was able to see the entire affair through the lens of God’s sovereignty. David had a firm belief that God was behind all that happened in his life. That doesn't mean the pain wasn’t real or that Shimei’s words didn’t hurt. In fact, David would later record the state of his feelings at that very moment.

O Lord, I have so many enemies;
    so many are against me.
So many are saying,
    “God will never rescue him!” Interlude

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
    you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy mountain. – Psalm 3:1-4 NLT

David went on to say that, despite the negative nature of his circumstances, he was able to sleep at night because he knew he was under the watchful gaze of God.

…the Lord was watching over me.
I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
    who surround me on every side. – Psalm 3:5-6 NLT

Job demanded resolution and restoration. He would not be happy until his lot in life had been remedied and his former lifestyle had been reinstated. But David was content to accept his situation and rest in the sovereign will of his all-knowing and ever-watchful God. This doesn’t mean that David didn’t desire rescue or vindication. He makes that point perfectly clear.

Arise, O Lord!
    Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
    Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Victory comes from you, O Lord.
    May you bless your people. – Psalm 3:7-8 NLT

David didn’t waste time arguing his innocence or allowing the false attacks of his “ten thousand enemies” to get him down. He kept trusting in the Lord and patiently waiting on Him to set things right. He had full assurance that God would ultimately avenge him and all his enemies would get what they deserved. But in the meantime, he was able to sleep peacefully and wait patiently for God’s will to be done.

job was having a difficult time resting in the will of God. He was far from content with his circumstances and less than willing to trust God to determine the outcome. It’s doubtful that Job was getting a lot of restful sleep, and it seems obvious that he didn’t share David’s view of God’s watchful and protective care. He felt abandoned by God. He believed he had received unfair treatment at the hands of God. And it’s hard to imagine Job saying, “you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high” (Psalm 3:3 NLT). But in time, he will come to see things from David’s perspective and learn to see God as a friend and not a foe.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

My Redeemer Lives

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “How long will you torment me
    and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
    are you not ashamed to wrong me?
4 And even if it be true that I have erred,
    my error remains with myself.
5 If indeed you magnify yourselves against me
    and make my disgrace an argument against me,
6 know then that God has put me in the wrong
    and closed his net about me.
7 Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;
    I call for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,
    and he has set darkness upon my paths.
9 He has stripped from me my glory
    and taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,
    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me
    and counts me as his adversary.
12 His troops come on together;
    they have cast up their siege ramp against me
    and encamp around my tent.

13 “He has put my brothers far from me,
    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed me,
    my close friends have forgotten me.
15 The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;
    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
17 My breath is strange to my wife,
    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.
18 Even young children despise me;
    when I rise they talk against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
    and those whom I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,
    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,
    for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?
    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

23 “Oh that my words were written!
    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
    they were engraved in the rock forever!
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
    My heart faints within me!
28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’
    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’
29 be afraid of the sword,
    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
    that you may know there is a judgment.” – Job 19:1-29 ESV

Job’s response to Bildad echoes his earlier speeches and continues to reflect his unwillingness to concede defeat or confess his innocence. He is worn out and begs his friends to show him some mercy to balance out their relentless attacks.

“How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.” – Job 19:2-3 NLT

Their better-than-thou approach to counseling has left Job feeling beaten down rather than lifted up. Their constant displays of moral superiority and self-righteous certainty have done more damage than good.

“Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.” – Job 19:4-5 NLT

And Job reminds them once again that his real adversary is God. He is the one behind all his pain and misery.

“God has blocked my way so I cannot move.
    He has plunged my path into darkness.
He has stripped me of my honor
    and removed the crown from my head.
He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished.” – Job 19:8-10 NLT

In the midst of all his pain, abandoned by family and friends, Job begs Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz to show him a bit of compassion.

“Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?” – Job 19:21-22 NLT

Then suddenly, as if a light switch was turned on in a darkened room, Job makes this incredibly optimistic statement.

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!” – Job 19:25-26 NLT

Job is suffering inexplicably and unexpectedly. He is being relentlessly attacked and accused by his friends for his apparent wickedness. Yet, he is somehow able to cry out, "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

What is he saying? At the least, he is expressing belief in a God who will one day vindicate him and prove him to be innocent. He holds out hope that his sufferings are not the result of sin and are not some form of divine punishment for wrongs done. Job knows that he will be redeemed in the end. He may die, but he will stand before the Lord with a new body and be innocent of any wrongdoing.

The word Job uses for "Redeemer" is  גָּאַל (ga’al, “to redeem, protect, vindicate”). Listen to what the Net Bible study notes have to say about this rich word:

"The word is well-known in the OT because of its identification as the kinsman-redeemer (see the Book of Ruth). This is the near kinsman who will pay off one’s debts, defend the family, avenge a killing, marry the widow of the deceased. The word 'redeemer' evokes the wrong connotation for people familiar with the NT alone; a translation of 'Vindicator' would capture the idea more. The concept might include the description of the mediator already introduced in Job 16:19, but surely here Job is thinking of God as his vindicator. The interesting point to be stressed here is that Job has said clearly that he sees no vindication in this life, that he is going to die. But he knows he will be vindicated, and even though he will die, his vindicator lives. The dilemma remains though: his distress lay in God’s hiding his face from him, and his vindication lay only in beholding God in peace."

In the face of the unrelenting onslaught of his friends' accusations, Job is anxious for someone to vindicate him (to clear, as from an accusation, imputation, suspicion, or the like: to vindicate someone's honor). He longs to have someone stand up for him and he knows that the only one who can and will do so is God Himself.

His friends seem unwilling to show him mercy, so Job is left with God alone as his future source of hope and restoration. He has resigned himself with his pending death but he believes that he will stand before God one day with a new body and a clean record.

“I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!” – Job 19:27 NLT

Job was able to face death because he placed his hope in the reality of eternity. In his desperate situation, his only recourse was to trust in a God who would one day redeem him and restore him. As bad as his life was, Job could face it only because of his belief in God and his hope in an eternal destiny.

So what about us? How do we face the trials and tests of life? Where do we focus our attention? Yes, Job was fully aware of his suffering. He was not living some Pollyanna dream where he refused to face reality. He was in pain. He was hurting. But he kept going back to the only thing he could trust – God.

There was a lot he didn't understand about God and his own circumstances, but he did know that God was just, righteous, and merciful. He also held on to his fragile belief that there was more to life than the here and now. He had to keep believing that there was a future life ahead of him and it was there that his vindication would be complete. His honor would be restored. Even his body would be renewed. It was that belief that kept Job going in the face of extreme difficulty. And we have the same hope.

We have a Redeemer who will one day vindicate us. He will welcome us into His presence as righteous and completely sinless. We will have restored bodies and hearts that are free from sin. And in the last part of Job's statement, I think we get a glimpse of the future reality of Christ's triumphant return to earth as the conquering Messiah. "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last" (Job 19:25 NLT).

There is a day coming when Jesus Christ will return to earth, not to suffer and die, but to rule, restore, and reign. That is our hope. That is our future. That is why we can cry out along with Job, "I know my Redeemer lives!"

He will set all things right. He will vindicate and avenge His own. And we will be revealed to be what we have always claimed to be: God's children.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Folly of a Faulty View of God

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Truly I know that it is so:
    But how can a man be in the right before God?
3 If one wished to contend with him,
    one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength
    —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
    when he overturns them in his anger,
6 who shakes the earth out of its place,
    and its pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    who seals up the stars;
8 who alone stretched out the heavens
    and trampled the waves of the sea;
9 who made the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10 who does great things beyond searching out,
    and marvelous things beyond number.
11 Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;
    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?
    Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’” – Job 9:1-12 ESV

Job was convinced of his own innocence but he wasn’t quite sure how to state his case before God Almighty. Bildad had brought up the topic of God’s justice and Job took no issue with his friend’s assessment. His only point of contention was with Bildad’s insistence that he “seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy” (Job 8:5 ESV). That all sounded well and good but how was a mere man to come before the God of the universe and hope to stand a chance of declaring his own innocence? Despite his strong belief in his innocence, Job asked, “…how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?” (Job 9:2 NLT).

Eliphaz had boldly proclaimed, “If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him” (Job 5:8 NLT). But Job insists that Eliphaz’s confident assertion is easier said than done.

“Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
    But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
If someone wanted to take God to court,
    would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
For God is so wise and so mighty.
    Who has ever challenged him successfully?” – Job 9:2-4 NLT

Job found it easy to confront and contradict his two friends, but to hope to stand before God and demand a fair trial was something he couldn’t fathom. He was more than confident debating Eliphaz and Bildad; after all, they were only human and were hampered by their unenlightened, earth-bound perspectives. But God is all-wise and all-knowing. As the sovereign God of the universe, He “is wise in heart and mighty in strength” (Job 9:4 ESV). How was Job supposed to come before God and hope to stand any chance of arguing his case with any success? He pessimistically concedes, “Who has ever challenged him successfully?” (Job 9:4 NLT).

In this doleful response to the counsel of his friends, Job reveals the extent of his reverence and awe for God. He displays a strong understanding of God’s sovereignty but it is tinged with a hint of resignation. For Job, God was a distant and disembodied deity who was to be feared. There is no sense of intimacy or personal friendship expressed in Job’s description of God. In his mind, God was the “unmoved mover,” a phrase coined by the Greek philosopher, Aristotle. He wrote, “…there must be an immortal, unchanging being, ultimately responsible for all wholeness and orderliness in the sensible world" (Sach, Job. “Aristotle: Metaphysics”. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.).

Job’s concept of God was that of an invisible, all-powerful deity who created the universe and was fully capable of doing with it whatever He wanted to do.

“Without warning, he moves the mountains,
    overturning them in his anger.
He shakes the earth from its place,
    and its foundations tremble.
If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
    and the stars won’t shine.” – Job 9:5-7 NLT

Job was awed by God’s power but not comforted by God’s presence in his life. He could not conceive of this great God giving him the time of day or listening to his pleas of innocence. Job couldn’t fathom why the One who hung the stars in the heavens and maintained the order of the entire universe would ever bother to care about someone as insignificant and unimportant as him.

Job’s humility is to be admired but it reveals a woeful understanding of the nature of God. His concept of God, while accurate, is incomplete. He has no idea just how much God loves and cares for him. Like his two friends, Job is blind to what is going on in the unseen realms. He is oblivious to the conversation that God had with Satan, in which the Almighty declared His pleasure with him.

“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” – Job 1:8 ESV

“Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” – Job 2:3 ESV

Job seems to believe that his all-powerful God has no time for or interest in him. This “unmoved mover” is too busy caring for the universe to take note of some insignificant human living in the land of Uz. Job admits that God “does great things too marvelous to understand” (Job 9:10 ESV), but he concludes that God is too busy to deal with his petty problems or listen to his pleas for assistance.

Job displays an all-too-familiar concept of God that is shared by far too many believers today. This idea of a great God in the sky who has no time or interest in the billions of helpless, hopeless earth-bound creatures scurrying across the planet is alive and well today – even among professing believers. We may pray to this God, but we don’t actually believe He hears or will answer. We give lip service to His grace and goodness but live as if He is too distant or disinterested in what is going on in our lives to do anything about it. He may help others but He probably won’t help us. He keeps the lights of the universe on but He’s too busy to do anything about the darkness enveloping our lives. This pessimistic perception of God is all too prevalent in today’s world and fully embraced by many who would declare themselves to be faithful God followers.

And these very same people would wholeheartedly agree with the gloomy perception of Job.

“…when he comes near, I cannot see him.
    When he moves by, I do not see him go.
If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
    Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’” – Job 9:11-12 NLT

But this one-dimensional view of God is unbiblical, inaccurate, and unhelpful. It paints a distorted view of God that is unmerited and diminishes His glory. The Scriptures paint a starkly different image of God.

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
    He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
    he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

The righteous person faces many troubles,
    but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. – Psalm 34:17-19 NLT

The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
    he is filled with kindness.
The Lord is close to all who call on him,
    yes, to all who call on him in truth.
He grants the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
The Lord protects all those who love him… – Psalm 145:17-20 NLT

God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
    and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! – Psalm 46:1-3 NLT

Job didn’t have access to these truths. He had no Bible to open up and read about the goodness of God, so his entire understanding of God was based on his own experience. He was confined to judging God based on circumstantial evidence. In looking at his life, Job could remember a day when he was blessed by God. He had enjoyed good health, financial success, and the joy of a happy home life. His God was good and so was his life. But then, in a moment’s time, all that changed. He lost everything. The blessings were replaced with curses that were unbearable and inexplicable. He couldn’t understand what was going on but was firm in his belief that he had done nothing to deserve such a fate.

In hopeless resignation and spurred on by the unhelpful counsel of his two friends, Job began to draw unhealthy conclusions about God that would do more harm than good. He could only conceive of God as a righteous and unapproachable judge who had no patience or time to hear the petty complaints of a mere human. Job wanted to defend himself and testify to his own innocence but didn’t believe he would get a fair hearing. His faulty view of God left him in a state of resentment and frustration because he couldn’t imagine the “unmoved mover” being moved by his plight or persuaded by his pleas of innocence. And his growing resignation will result in an ever-increasing sense of despair that, left unchecked, will turn into disdain and doubt.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

With Friends Like These…

1 “Has not man a hard service on earth,
    and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?
2 Like a slave who longs for the shadow,
    and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,
3 so I am allotted months of emptiness,
    and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4 When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’
    But the night is long,
    and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;
    my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle
    and come to their end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is a breath;
    my eye will never again see good.
8 The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
    while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.
9 As the cloud fades and vanishes,
    so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;
10 he returns no more to his house,
    nor does his place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;
    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
    that you set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I would choose strangling
    and death rather than my bones.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever.
    Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.
17 What is man, that you make so much of him,
    and that you set your heart on him,
18 visit him every morning
    and test him every moment?
19 How long will you not look away from me,
    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
    Why have you made me your mark?
    Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
    and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in the earth;
    you will seek me, but I shall not be.” – Job 7:1-21 ESV

Job pulls out all the stops, unleashing a torrent of pain-induced questions mixed with a heavy dose of invectives against his so-called friend, Eliphaz. He has had enough of listening to pious-sounding advice that only intensifies his misery while raising more questions than answers.

Job’s statements recorded in this section contain direct attacks on Eliphaz as well as more veiled questions aimed at God. It is partly a self-defense and a soliloquy. Job seems to be letting his inner thoughts pour out with no attempt to manage their intensity or worry about the impact they may have on the hearer. He can no longer constrain his growing frustration and allows a barrage of pent-up anger to flow from his lips unabated.   

But even considering his circumstances, Job’s words are shocking to the ears. As followers of God, we can’t help but question the propriety of his unfiltered and ungodly-sounding speech. Can he say the things he is saying? Is it okay for someone to talk like that, especially to God? It all sounds so unfaithful. The degree of his pessimism appears to be off the charts. Where's his faith? Just listen to his words:

"I hate this life! Who needs any more of this? Let me alone! There's nothing to my life – it's nothing but smoke." – Job 7:16 MSG

A believer isn't supposed to think like this, let alone talk like this, is he? Just listen to the way he addresses God.

"Let up on me, will you? Can't you even let me spit in peace?" – Job 7:19 MSG

How can he get away with that? Shouldn't we say something? Shouldn't I quote a verse to him? Doesn't he need a good dose of Romans 8:28?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Or how about 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18? That's a good one. "Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." This guy just needs someone to read him the proverbial riot act and tell him to shut up and shape up.

But wait a minute. Before we blow into another person's despair with our gems of wisdom and some ill-placed and taken-out-of-context Scriptures, let's try to understand where they're coming from. Let's enter into their situation and feel their pain. Let's share their grief. Let's get into their shoes and try to experience what they are going through.

Too often, we try to alleviate someone else's misery because we want it to go away for our sake, not theirs. We want the other person's pain to go away because it causes us to doubt. It tests our faith. Listen to what Job said about his friends: "They arrive so confident – but what a disappointment! They get there, and their faces fall! And you, my so-called friends, are no better – there's nothing to you! One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear" (Job 6:20-21 MSG).

You see, pain is – well, painful. It is hard to watch someone suffer and even more difficult to walk into someone else's heartache and simply be there for them. We want to fix it. We want to pray them out of their situation. We want to counsel them back into wholeness. And while there’s nothing wrong with prayer or biblically-based counsel, God may simply want us to go through this moment with them to provide love and concern. He may not want us to fix them; He may just want us to care about them.

There is something uncomfortable about Job's words in this chapter. He is being brutally honest and it assaults our Christian sensibilities. He is saying things that "good" Christians should not say. He is being TOO honest, and it makes us squirm. But in the midst of his pain, Job has lost all his pious inhibitions. He is beyond worrying about what others think about him because he is fighting for his life. Loss has a way of peeling away the layers of pretense and getting us down to the bare reality of life. It causes us to question, and those questions make others uncomfortable.

But why does the pain and suffering of others make us uncomfortable? It’s usually because we don't have the answers. Of course, those of us who have grown up in the church have the standard Sunday School answers. We know a handful of verses we can apply to a given situation but most of us don't speak from experience. We have been programmed with the proper responses but our words don’t always reflect a personal point of reference.

Job's friends had not walked in his sandals. They had never been through what he was experiencing, so they couldn't relate and it made them uncomfortable. But if any one of them had suffered the kind of losses Job had, they would probably have said less and hugged more. They would have allowed their friend to vent, understanding that it was part of the healing process.

Is there a time to speak up? Certainly. But sometimes it is enough just to show up; to give those who are going through tragedy a chance to express their grief, vent their anger, and ask their questions. God can handle it, so why can't we? I think it’s because, in the back of our minds, we don't like to witness the suffering of others because it raises doubts in our own minds. Where is God? Why does He allow good people to go through difficulties? If it can happen to them, what guarantee do I have that the same thing won’t happen to me?

Suffering causes us to doubt. It tests our own belief system. But that's okay. Part of the reason God placed us within the body of Christ is that we might go through difficulty together. I can learn from the heartache and hurt of others. I can grow from their difficulty – alongside them. Job's friends could have learned a lot – if they would have only listened.

Job made it clear. He was in pain and he was no longer willing to keep quiet.

“I cannot keep from speaking.
    I must express my anguish.
    My bitter soul must complain.” – Job 7:11 NLT

And while Job’s skin was covered with sores, his mind was filled with questions. He couldn’t understand what was happening to him. He desperately needed to know he was still loved because he felt completely abandoned and alone. And in a desperate attempt to seek solace and comfort from God, he cried out, “Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone” (Job 7:21 NLT).

It was at that moment that Job needed his friends to show up and wrap their arms around him. He needed to know he was not alone. He needed to be reminded that his God still loved him. But as we will see, Job’s friends failed to hear what he had to say. Rather than listen and love, they will take turns berating their beaten-down friend and attempting to set themselves up as his spiritual superiors and moral betters. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Turning to God Even When Our World Turns Upside-down

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
    and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
    therefore my words have been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison;
    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
    or the ox low over his fodder?
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
    they are as food that is loathsome to me.

8 “Oh that I might have my request,
    and that God would fulfill my hope,
9 that it would please God to crush me,
    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10 This would be my comfort;
    I would even exult in pain unsparing,
    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
    And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13 Have I any help in me,
    when resource is driven from me?” – Job 6:1-13 ESV

As might be expected, Eliphaz’s words provided little or no comfort to Job. His response to his friend’s lengthy lecture came in the form of a defense. Job was in deep pain, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. As he weighed out his unexpected losses, he found the burden of them too great to bear. Even all his long-held beliefs about God were coming under attack as he tried to make sense of all that had happened. Job admitted that his earlier words had been rash and impulsive, but he was having a difficult time understanding why God had suddenly turned His back on him.

“For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
    Their poison infects my spirit.
    God’s terrors are lined up against me.” – Job 6:4 NLT

He reluctantly agreed with Eliphaz’s assessment that God was behind his pain and suffering, but he refused to acknowledge any guilt or confess any sin. As far as Job could tell, his losses were arbitrary and undeserved. This led him to defend his right to complain. Like a donkey in need of food, Job was “braying” for relief. His words were nothing more than an expression of his pain and suffering. It was only natural for a man who had lost everything to cry out and demand that someone relieve his agony.

From Job’s perspective, other people seem to have the right to complain about the smallest discomforts or disappointments, but he gets chastised for expressing his dissatisfaction with the deaths of his ten adult children, the loss of his entire fortune, and the failure of his own health. He was a beaten-down man and defended his right to vocalize his frustrations and questions. And Job wanted Eliphaz to see things from his perspective.

As far as Job could tell, he was under attack by God Almighty and he couldn’t fathom why. He had been given ample time to assess his circumstances and search his brain to discover what sin he might have committed to deserve the wrath of God. But instead of a list of sins to confess, Job had derived comfort in his own integrity. Despite all that had happened, Job had not turned his back on God. He was confused but remained faithful.

“At least I can take comfort in this:
    Despite the pain,
    I have not denied the words of the Holy One.” – Job 6:10 NLT

While Job had not lost His belief in God, he had lost his will to live. He was no longer able to see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. There was no silver lining on the dark cloud that overshadowed his life. Job couldn’t imagine a future without his children or a day when his joy might return. As far as he could tell, his financial losses were too great to overcome, and his health showed no signs of improvement. 

In his depressed state, all that Job could think about was death, and he begged God to put him out of his misery.

“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant my desire.
I wish he would crush me.
    I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.” – Job 6:8-9 NLT

Even in this, Job revealed his belief in the goodness of God. He still believed that God, as the sovereign Lord over all things, was ultimately responsible for man’s fate. Job instinctively knew that his life was in God’s hands and so he appealed to God’s mercy and begged that his unfortunate life be brought to a quick and painless end. And these do not appear to be empty words spoken in the heat of the moment. Job is serious and sincere. His words reflect his abject sense of despair and utter resignation.

“I don’t have the strength to endure.
    I have nothing to live for.
Do I have the strength of a stone?
    Is my body made of bronze?
No, I am utterly helpless,
    without any chance of success.” – Job 6:11-13 NLT

It would be easy to assume that Job is expressing his words to Eliphaz. Through the use of hyperbole, he was exaggerating the extent of his pain and defending his innocence against the unjust accusations of his so-called friend. But Job’s words come across more like a prayer to God than a defense of his own innocence. Even though he refers to God in the third person, he demonstrates a belief that God can hear every word he says. He doesn’t shake his fist in the face of God and demand recompense or restoration. He simply expresses his desire for the pain to end and he calls on God to be gracious and grant his desire.

These are the words of a man in deep despair. Not only is he suffering from the pain of loss but he is also having to wrestle with his confused and conflicted understanding of God. He had spent his entire life walking with God, so much so that God deemed him to be “a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8 ESV). He was a man of integrity and faithfulness. All throughout his life, Job displayed a healthy fear of God and a strong aversion to evil. And yet, here he was suffering unparalleled pain and having to grapple with its cause and meaning.

Even Job’s wife had struggled to find any semblance of hope in his meteoric fall from grace, so she encouraged him to give up his ill-fated quest for godliness and end it all.

“Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” – Job 2:9 ESV

But Job refused to take his wife’s ungodly counsel. He was not willing to give up on God or his desire to live in a way that was pleasing to God. Job wanted to die, but not enough that he would ever curse His God. Instead, he pleaded with God to take his life. He placed his faith in the faithfulness of God and pleaded for mercy in the form of relief from his pain and suffering. It was all the hope he had left. But even that small glimmer of hope in the midst of the overwhelming darkness of life revealed that Job still believed in God. He couldn’t explain his suffering. He was at a loss as to why his life had taken such a dark turn, but he never stopped believing in the sovereignty of God. He knew his life was in God’s hands and so he turned to the giver of life to request a reprieve from the pain of life.

But while Job waited for God to respond, he took the opportunity to address Eliphaz. He was unwilling to sit back and take his friend’s verbal assault without defending himself. Assumptions had been made. Accusations had been leveled. Now, it was Job’s turn to set the record straight. He was hurting but Job still had a lot of fight in him, and Eliphaz was about to get a much-needed lecture on bed-side manners and counseling etiquette.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

When Saying Nothing Is Sound Advice

17 “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
    therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he binds up;
    he shatters, but his hands heal.
19 He will deliver you from six troubles;
    in seven no evil shall touch you.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
    and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
    and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
    and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 You shall know that your tent is at peace,
    and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
    and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
    like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27 Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
    Hear, and know it for your good.” – Job 5:17-27 ESV

Much of what Eliphaz has to say is true but he is approaching Job’s situation from a point of ignorance. He is speaking about matters that are outside his realm of understanding. And while there is a hint of truth in his words and his efforts appear to come from a good place, his well-intended rhetoric paints God in a poor light and portrays faithful service to God as a means to an end. In other words, if you do good things for God, He will reward you.

His message to Job is less a call to repentance from sins committed as it is a call for Job to change his ways. In essence, he is advising Job to replace his bad behavior with good behavior. According to Eliphaz, that little formula is the key to reversing Job’s fate and restoring his fortunes.

At first glance, Eliphaz’s advice seems biblical and sound. He recommends that Job readily accept what can only be explained as the discipline of the Lord. In saying this, Eliphaz has drawn the conclusion that Job is guilty of something and his suffering is nothing more than a sign of God’s loving discipline. And this statement seems to resonate with the words of the author of Hebrews.

…have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” – Hebrews 12:5-6 NLT

This passage is an almost verbatim quote from the Old Testament book of Proverbs, and when you see it in its immediate context, it appears to have been written with Job in mind.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
    Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Then you will have healing for your body
    and strength for your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and with the best part of everything you produce.
Then he will fill your barns with grain,
    and your vats will overflow with good wine.

My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
For the Lord corrects those he loves,
    just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. – Proverbs 3:5-12 NLT

But having read the opening chapters of the book of Job, we know that Job is not being punished by God. His suffering has come at the hands of Satan. Yes, God is the one who gave the enemy permission to test Job’s integrity and loyalty, but none of the attacks were a form of discipline or judgment.

“Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” – Job 1:12 ESV

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” – Job 2:6 ESV

It is true that God lovingly disciplines His children but we cannot automatically assume that all suffering in this life is evidence of this truth. We live in a fallen world in which evil exists and sinful people commit heinous crimes against one another. Disease and sickness are a constant threat. Natural disasters are commonplace. And, as the Scriptures remind us, there is an ongoing spiritual taking place all around us, but invisible to our human eyes. The apostle Paul warns us about this in his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:11-12 ESV

And this is exactly the kind of counsel Eliphaz should have given Job. Rather than automatically assume that Job was guilty of sin and undergoing the discipline of God, Eliphaz should have encouraged his beleaguered friend to recognize the reality of spiritual warfare. Perhaps Eliphaz lacked a well-developed doctrine of the supernatural and was not well-versed in the ways of Satan. It seems apparent that his concept of God was not fully developed because he has a rather one-dimensional view of the Almighty. Eliphaz’s theology seems to portray God as either a rewarder or a punisher. If men do well, they get blessed by God. If they do poorly, they experience His judgment.

Once again, Eliphaz seems to be partially right. The author of Hebrews seems to corroborate Eliphaz’s view of God.

…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. – Hebrews 11:6 ESV

But one must take this verse in its context, where the author is unpacking the definition of faith and illustrating it through the lives of the Old Testament saints. Nowhere in the chapter does the author describe God’s rewards as physical health or financial windfalls. In fact, he describes these people as having exhibited faith, but “all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised” (Hebrews 11:39 ESV). In other words, their faith and faithfulness did not produce health, wealth, or prosperity. In fact, their lot in life was anything but easy or rewarding.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. – Hebrews 11:35-38 ESV

Eliphaz’s entire premise is built on a faulty foundation. His reasoning is simplistic and based solely on a cause-and-effect model. Job had done something bad, therefore he was being punished by God. If Job would start doing good, he would be blessed by God.

To Eliphaz, the circumstances surrounding Job’s life were clear. He had sinned and was reaping the just rewards of his folly. But if Job would simply alter his behavior, the nightmare would be over and God would put a hedge of protection around him.

“He will save you from death in time of famine,
    from the power of the sword in time of war.
You will be safe from slander
    and have no fear when destruction comes.
You will laugh at destruction and famine;
    wild animals will not terrify you.” – Job 5:20-22 NLT

But again, this is a simplistic view of God and a less-than-helpful way to understand the nature of life in a fallen world. God does not promise His children a trouble-free existence. He does not exist to make our earthly life a walk in the park and even our best behavior cannot immunize us from suffering and pain.

Not long before His own death, Jesus warned His disciples:

“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:32-33 ESV

Not long after having been stoned and left for dead, Paul entered the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22 ESV). It is likely that as Paul spoke these words, his body bore the visible signs of his stoning. He was like a walking illustration of his very words. The walk of faith is not easy and the children of God are not immune to suffering, sickness, persecution, or distress. It is as Jesus promised, a time marked by many trials and sorrows.

Eliphaz was promising Job a return to normalcy and a trouble-free life.

“You will know that your home is safe.
    When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
You will have many children;
    your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!” – Job 5:24-25 NLT

Eliphaz believed that if Job changed his ways, God would restore everything back to the way it was. But this pollyanna outlook flies in the face of Job’s own words.

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” – Job 2:10 ESV

Job was not blaming God for his circumstances; he was simply acknowledging God’s sovereignty over all things. He knew that God was in control and he was willing to rest on the goodness of God. That is why he could say, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21 ESV).

Eliphaz would have done well to speak less and listen more. He could have learned a lot from Job but he was too busy giving out unsolicited and highly unhelpful advice

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Beaten Down? Look Up

1 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said:

3 “Let the day perish on which I was born,
    and the night that said,
    ‘A man is conceived.’
4 Let that day be darkness!
    May God above not seek it,
    nor light shine upon it.
5 Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
    Let clouds dwell upon it;
    let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 That night—let thick darkness seize it!
    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
    let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Behold, let that night be barren;
    let no joyful cry enter it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the day,
    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.
9 Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
    let it hope for light, but have none,
    nor see the eyelids of the morning,
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,
    nor hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not die at birth,
    come out from the womb and expire?
12 Why did the knees receive me?
    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,
    as infants who never see the light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
    and there the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners are at ease together;
    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
    and the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
    and life to the bitter in soul,
21 who long for death, but it comes not,
    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice exceedingly
    and are glad when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
    whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
    and my groanings are poured out like water.
25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
    and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” – Job 3:1-26 ESV

Suffering and sorrow don’t come with expiration dates. The saying, “time heals all wounds” may be true but it doesn’t explain how long the wait may be before the healing comes and the pain goes away. In Job’s case, time passed but the grief that accompanied his losses failed to dissipate. He continued to struggle with residual physical as well as psychological pain. The arrival of his friends must have meant a lot to Job and he probably appreciated their willingness to sit with him in silence for seven days as he attempted to process all that had happened.

But the time came when Job couldn’t hold back his frustration and anger any longer, and the blunt-force nature of his honesty leaves us feeling a bit uncomfortable. While we can probably relate to what he has to say, we find it strange to see them in writing and even more disconcerting to think about anyone saying them out loud.

And what we read in chapter 3 seems to contradict the Job we were introduced to in chapters 1 and 2. This blameless, upright, and God-fearing man (Job 1:8), had faced the unexpected and unprecedented losses of his family and fortune with unparalleled faith and resilience.

“Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21 ESV

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” – Job 2:10 ESV

But now we’re given a starkly different look at this suffering servant of Yahweh. The cumulative effect of his losses had produced a burden that Job found too great to bear any longer. He was ready to give up and hand over his “faithful servant” badge. With the passing of time, some of his physical wounds had healed but his heart was raw, land he had come to a place where his suffering was no longer bearable or justifiable. He couldn’t rationalize his way out of his own growing sense of futility and frustration. None of it made any sense and, no matter how he analyzed the data, none of it left him with a particularly favorable view of God.

In a blatant display of anger, he cursed the day he was born. Job could see no meaning to his existence. With the devastating loss of his ten adult children and the complete dismantling of his means of livelihood, Job could see no purpose for his life.

“Let the day of my birth be erased,
    and the night I was conceived.
Let that day be turned to darkness.
    Let it be lost even to God on high,
    and let no light shine on it.” – Job 3:3-4 NLT

In a sense, Job is declaring his birth to have been a cosmic mistake. After carefully considering all his losses, he can’t conceive of a reason to keep on living. And his growing sense of futility is completely understandable. After burying all his children and picking up the pieces of his shattered life, Job is having a difficult time seeing the silver lining on the dark cloud that has become his life.

“Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own.
    Let a black cloud overshadow it,
    and let the darkness terrify it.” – Job 3:5 NLT

He simply wants the darkness to completely consume his life and put him out of his misery. And while reading his emotionally charged words leaves us feeling uncomfortable, it also makes Job highly relatable. He has fallen from his pedestal of faith and become one of us. Gone are the pithy and pious-sounding platitudes about God’s goodness and his willingness to accept the good and the bad from God’s gracious hands. And rather than bragging about leaving this life the same way he entered it – naked – Job is now declaring his desire to have been stillborn.

“Why wasn’t I born dead?
    Why didn’t I die as I came from the womb?
Why was I laid on my mother’s lap?
    Why did she nurse me at her breasts?” – Job 3:11-12 NLT

“Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child,
    like a baby who never lives to see the light?” – Job 3:16 NLT

At this point in his life, Job could see no redeeming value in continuing to exist. He couldn’t fathom a better tomorrow or a day when the pain would be replaced with joy and hope. The darkness was overwhelming. And sadly, that darkness was preventing him from glimpsing the goodness of his God. Job had reached a low point in his life, where despair morphed into doubt and heartache robbed him of all hope. His reasoning powers had been diminished by his circumstances, and his faithfulness had been weakened by his own sense of powerlessness. He echoes the sentiments of Solomon, written in the book of Ecclesiastes.

I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die. – Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 NLT

To say that Job was pessimistic would be a gross understatement. One might easily describe him as clinically depressed, even suicidal. And this is such a contrast to the man God described as “blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity” (Job 2:3 NLT).

The circumstances of life had left Job beaten down and unable to look up to God for help and hope. His statements are not in the form of a prayer. His poetic-sounding speech is not directed to God, but seemingly uttered into the vacuum of his pointless existence.

“Why is life given to those with no future,
    those God has surrounded with difficulties?” – Job 3:23 NLT

He had come to the conclusion that his life no longer held any meaning or purpose. And he seems to blame God for all that had happened. It was God who had surrounded his life with difficulties. So, if all his problems were from the sovereign hand of God, how or why should he expect God to reverse course and bless him? Like so many of his contemporaries, Job was convinced that both blessings and curses came from God. Blessings were considered to be proof of God’s favor. Disease, pain, and financial loss  were evidence that one had offended a holy God and were under His curse.

So, given the sheer scope of Job’s trials, it is no surprise that He had drawn the conclusion that he was under an irreversible and wholly unavoidable curse. And his pessimism reaches an all-time low with the his final statement:

“What I always feared has happened to me.
    What I dreaded has come true.
I have no peace, no quietness.
    I have no rest; only trouble comes.” – Job 3:26 NLT

He had feared the worst, and it had come true – in a big way. But what Job failed to realize was that God was not done yet. Job’s problems, while great, were not insurmountable. The darkened state of his future was not a foregone conclusion. There were things to which Job was ignorant. There were details concerning his life story that were as yet unrevealed. He was completely unaware of the spiritual battle taking place in the unseen realm. The conversations taking place between God and Satan were out of sight and out of mind. He had no way of knowing that this entire sequence of events was being carefully orchestrated from heaven – not as curses to punish him for wickedness, but to reveal the power and providence of his God.

Job was being tested, to see if he truly believed in the sovereignty, goodness, and greatness of his God. And while his little diatribe doesn’t portray a man of vibrant faith, it does reveal a man whose fallen humanity was all too real and whose need for a glimpse of God was all too necessary. And the good news is, God was not done yet.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Far From Fair Weather Friends

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. – Job 2:11-13 ESV

Amid all his sorrow and suffering, Job gets a visit from three of his closest friends. Each of them had received news of Job’s losses and made plans to leave their respective towns and rendevous in Uz to provide moral support to their mutual friend. We know from chapter 32, that another friend named Elihu joined them at some point. At this point, we know nothing about these men, other than their names but in time their individual personalities will become increasingly more evident.

But for now, all we know is that they graciously agreed to gather in Uz to check on the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of their friend. It is important to note that what motivated their travel plans was “this evil that had come upon” Job (Job 2:11 ESV). The Hebrew word for “evil” is הָרָעָה (raʿ) and it refers to that which is bad, wicked, malignant, or simply disagreeable. But it would appear that these men had all come to the same conclusion. Whatever had happened to their friend was the result of evil, and it will soon become clear that they assumed that Job had done something to deserve the distress and devastation he was experiencing. They believed there was a cause-and-effect rationale behind all that had happened to Job and they would soon deem it their responsibility to help Job confess whatever sin he had committed to merit God’s judgment.

Yet, upon their arrival in Uz, the well-meaning and highly motivated friends of Job find their friend’s condition far more distressing than they could have ever imagined. The skin disease from which Job suffered had left him virtually unrecognizable. Their shock and distress at Job’s alarming physical state left them stunned. But soon, their silence soon gave way to mournful cries of pity as “they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief” (Job 2:12 NLT). This rather theatrical display of emotions was probably not what Job had expected and, most certainly, not what he needed at the moment. This dramatic demonstration was intended to convince Job that they felt his pain and could somehow relate to all that he had suffered. This is not to suggest that these friends were insincere or simply putting on a show of false sympathy. They were doing what was culturally customary in that day and age. The sincerity of their actions is evidenced by their willingness to sit in silence beside their grieving friend for a full seven days as he continued to mourn Job his staggering losses.

No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. – Job 2:13 NLT

No doubt, this show of mutual support meant a great deal to Job. He had just lost all ten of his adult children and the only words of comfort and counsel he got from his wife was to curse God and die (Job 2:9). He had been left alone to wrestle with the import of his situation, so the arrival of his friends would have been a source of great encouragement. Their decision to join him in Uz was a sign of their love and affection for him, and their willingness to sit in silence while Job mourned demonstrates that they were there for the long haul. Their visit was not a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, and they were in no rush to return home. They quietly waited, biding their time until Job was ready to hear what they had to say. And, as we will see, they were not at a loss for words; they were simply waiting for the right time to share their insights into Job’s circumstances.

These men demonstrated the truth of the proverb: “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need” (Proverbs 17:17 NLT). In Job’s time of need,  his friends were there for him. Their presence was palpable and tangible. Even as they sat alongside him in silence, their close proximity served as a balm for the pain Job was having to endure. His trials were no less difficult, but he no longer faced them alone.

Yet, the arrival of Job’s friends would not be without its own set of difficulties. These compassionate companions would soon break their silence and begin to share their personal insights into Job’s predicament. Once the seven days of mourning had passed, they would begin to offer up their well-reasoned assessment of Job’s situation and outline a strategy for remedying the problem.

But Job will beat them to the punch. His patient endurance will run its course and he’ll take the opportunity to take exception with God’s providential plan for his life. Surprisingly, the blameless Job will end up cursing his ill-fated life and express his preference for an early death. His carefully constructed facade of faithfulness will begin to crumble under the weight of his burdens. It’s not that Job no longer believes in God; it is that he no longer has the strength to endure the weight of his own sorrow and suffering. But God will show no surprise at Job’s outburst. He will hear His servant out and then allow Job’s friends to share their collective wisdom. But ultimately, God will step in and set the record straight. The entire ordeal surrounding Job’s life will be given an explanation and the sovereign plan of Almighty God will be exposed for all to see.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Trust in the Midst of Trials

1Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. – Job 2:1-10 ESV

Satan was not satisfied. Despite Job’s surprising response to the last round of devastating calamities, Satan refused to believe that Job would not eventually break. This man had lost everything but had maintained his hope and faith in Yahweh.

“Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21 ESV

So, on the next occasion that Satan found himself in the presence of God Almighty, he once again questioned the sincerity of Job’s professed allegiance and vehemently objected to God’s glowing assessment of His suffering servant.

“Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” – Job 2:3 NLT

Satan simply wrote off Job’s display of “integrity” as nothing more than a case of self-preservation. As far as Satan could see, Job was content because he had remained physically unscathed. He had lost his fortune and his family but he was still alive and well. From Satan’s pride-filled perspective, it appeared as if Job was giving God praise because he was glad to be alive. But if God would remove the protective clauses from His previous command, Satan knew he could get Job to cave.

“Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!” – Job 2:4-5 NLT

In the earlier test that Satan proposed, God had prohibited any direct assault on Job’s physical well-being.

“Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” – Job 1:12 NLT

This led Satan to conjecture that the real key to destroying Job’s faithfulness to God would be a frontal assault on his personal comfort. The rather enigmatic phrase, “skin for skin” has been much debated over the centuries and we will have no way of knowing exactly what it means. But from the context, it would appear that Satan is demanding that God give him permission to get under Job’s skin – literally.

While Job had lost a lot in the first test, he still had his health. He and his wife could have more children and, in time, he could rebuild his lost fortune. But Satan believed that Job would crumple like a cheap suit if the gloves came off and the pain became physical rather than emotional in nature.

For Satan, the goal remained the same. He was out to get Job to curse God.

“…stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” – Job 1:11 ESV

“…stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” – Job 2:5 ESV

Satan was convinced that he knew the secret to Job’s faithfulness and would be able to expose the self-centered nature of Job’s apparent “blamelessness.” But God knew better. He knew Job well and was not afraid to see His servant face another test of his integrity. Yet, once again, God added a prohibition.

“Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” – Job 2:6 ESV

Satan, though powerful, was prevented from doing outside the prescribed will of God. He could test Job but would be unable to kill Job. Whatever physical attack Satan conjured up in his mind could not lead to Job’s death. He could make Job wish for death but he was prohibited from taking Job’s life.

Satan wasted no time. The text states that he “struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot” (Job 2:7 NLT). No timeline is given but Job’s period of mourning after the loss of his ten children was followed by a sudden bout with a crippling skin disease. Job is described as sitting among the ashes, where he “scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery” (Job 2:8 NLT). This once prominent patron of his community is pictured sitting in the midst of the town dump where the refuse was burned. His diseased condition has left him a social pariah with no friends or family members willing to provide him with comfort or care. In fact, even his wife encourages him to throw in the towel and end it all.

“Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” – Job 2:9 NLT

She was essentially telling Job to give up the charade. From her vantage point, she viewed Job’s stubborn attempt to keep a stiff upper lip as a waste of time. She believed Job to be under a curse from God and the sooner her husband admitted it, the sooner his suffering would stop.

Yet, even when he found himself covered with sores from head to foot, Job responded, "Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" (Job 2:10 NLT). Through it all, Job held on to his integrity and His God. He understood something about the character of Yahweh. He knew that God was good and that there was a purpose behind all that had happened. It didn't make it any less painful or any easier to accept, but it provided Job with a sense of peace and a semblance of sanity in the midst of all the suffering.

But that did not mean that Job was out of the woods. All the events that had taken place would provide him with ample opportunity to wrestle with his concept of God, and he would receive unsolicited help from his well-meaning friends. Job's suffering was going to reveal a lot about himself and a lot about his God. He would wrestle with concepts regarding God's sovereignty and His love. He would have to come to grips with whether God could be trusted.

As his suffering continues, Job will go from resting in God to blaming God. He will even accuse God of wronging him (Job 19:6-7). But God never blasts him for his doubt or punishes him for his hasty words. Instead, He comforts Job and eventually restores him.

All throughout this story, we see a picture of a faithful, loving God who is active behind the scenes. He is aware of our suffering and has a plan for them. He is not caught off guard or found asleep at His post. He is fully aware and He cares. Suffering is a part of life lived in a fallen world. Will we allow it to change our perception about God, or learn to see Him in the midst of it? "We take the good days from God--why not also the bad days?" (Job 2:10 MSG).

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
Yet grumble in days of rain
Shall I love You in times of plenty
Then leave You in days of drought
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me
In Your love I will abide
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper
And true only when I’m filled
Are You King only when I’m carefree
And God only when I’m well
You are good when I’m poor and needy
You are true when I’m parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You’re still God in the darkest night

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

It Is Well With My Soul

13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. – Job 1:13-22 ESV

We've all had seasons of pain in our lives. We've all experienced a time when we have had to face extreme disappointment, unexplained suffering, or devastating loss. And in those times of trouble, we’re always tempted to question God regarding His love, power, faithfulness, or at times, even His existence.

So, the story of Job is one with which we can relate. Here is a man who had it all: Wealth, material possessions, a lovely family, and a vibrant relationship with his God. Then tragedy strikes. Not once, but four times. In a series of catastrophic events, Job loses everything. All of his livestock are stolen or destroyed. In a matter of hours, his net worth drops like a rock. He is financially ruined. On top of that, he receives news that every one of his children has been killed in a freak accident. All ten of them.

Job's world had been rocked, and his life would never be the same. Everything he knew about his God was about to be challenged. Understandably, Job sunk into a deep depression. In time, he would even curse the day he was born.

At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. He said: “Cursed be the day of my birth, and cursed be the night when I was conceived. Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let it be shrouded in darkness. Yes, let the darkness and utter gloom claim it for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it." – Job 3:1-5 NLT

But what was Job’s immediate response in the aftermath of his tragic losses? How did he react after hearing that his entire fortune had been decimated by foreign marauders and his children had been killed in a freak accident?

The text simply states that Job “arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:20 ESV). He mourned and he worshiped. He grieved and he gave glory and honor to Jehovah.

The Hebrew word for “worshiped” is וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ (šāḥâ) and it can literally be translated as “bowed down” or “to prostrate oneself.” Despite all that had happened, Job didn’t shake his fist in the face of God, demanding answers and casting blame; he simply worshiped.

In the midst of all his pain and darkness, Job might be tempted to curse the day of his birth, but NOT HIS GOD. No, Job did not turn his back on God; instead, he bowed before Him in humble adoration. At the loss of all his possessions and his children, Job exclaimed, "I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The LORD gave me everything I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!" (Job 1:21 NLT).

He was able to praise God, even though his world had been devastated. And, amazingly, Job didn’t write off his loss to fate, bad luck, misfortune, karma, and some form of kismet. He admitted his belief that his sovereign God was behind it all. He wasn’t blaming God; he was simply declaring his unwavering belief in God’s ultimate control over all things. His wealth and his children had been gifts from God. He had not deserved or earned them. And Job understood that it was the height of hypocrisy to accept the good things that God gives but then curse Him when those things were taken away. In the very next chapter, after suffering an additional unexpected and inexplicable tragedy, he states, "Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" (Job 2:10 NLT).

Through it all, Job held on to his integrity and His God. He understood something about the character of Jehovah God. He knew that God was good. He knew that God must have a purpose behind all that had happened. It didn't make it any less painful or any easier to accept. In fact, Job would spend the next days wrestling with his concept of God. He would be challenged by his well-meaning friends. Job's suffering was going to reveal a lot about himself and a lot about his God.

This faithful saint would find himself wrestling with his concepts regarding God's sovereignty and His love. He would have to come to grips with whether God could be trusted. And in time, as his pain and suffering escalated, Job would go from resting in God to blaming Him. The day would come when he would even accuse God of wronging him (Job 19:6-7). But God never blasts him for his doubt or punishes him for his hasty words. Instead, He comforts Job and, as we will see, eventually restores him.

All throughout this story, we see a picture of a faithful, loving God who is active behind the scenes. He is aware of our suffering and has a plan for them. He is not caught off guard or found asleep at His post. He is fully aware and He cares. Suffering is a part of life lived in a fallen world. Will we allow it to change our perception about God, or learn to see Him in the midst of it?

"We take the good days from God – why not also the bad days?" – Job 2:10 MSG

At this point in the story, as Job tries to come to grips with the immensity of his losses, he holds on to his belief in the sovereignty of God. He clings to his confidence in God’s goodness and seeks to view his tragic circumstances through the lens of God’s sovereignty and love. Job didn’t like what had happened. He was not rejoicing in his losses or thanking God for the deaths of his children. He was simply expressing his trust in the goodness of God. 

But for those of us reading this story, it is difficult to see the goodness of God when we know that this entire sequence of tragic events is little more than a test of Job’s faithfulness. God had bragged about Job’s integrity and spiritual vitality.

“Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” – Job 1:8 NLT

But Satan had argued that Job’s display of moral fortitude was nothing more than payment for services rendered. According to Satan, Job’s faithfulness was tied to the degree of God’s goodness. As long as God kept Job healthy, wealthy, and wise, Job would continue to worship. But Satan argued that if God suddenly turned off the top of His goodness, Job would turn his back on God.

“You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” – Job 1:9-10 NLT

And God agreed to put Satan’s hypothesis to the test.

“All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” – Job 1:12 NLT

But why would God allow Satan to touch one of His servants? How could this be the will of a loving, gracious God? It seems out of character and incongruent with our understanding of God. And yet, we know that there is a spiritual battle waging behind the scenes that pits the sovereign God of the universe against Satan, the prince of this world.

Ever since the fall, Satan has been attempting to thwart the redemptive will of God. He has been waging a relentless war against humanity, those made in God’s image, in a vain attempt to steal their allegiance and displace God’s authority over their lives. Even the apostle Peter warned his first-century readers that this battle was still going on in their day.

…humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. – 1 Peter 5:6-9 NLT

Job was experiencing the very real presence of a spiritual battle that had been taking place since the beginning of time. The presence of Satan in the story of Job’s life should not surprise or disappoint us. No human being is immune from the attacks of the enemy. His hatred for humanity is immeasurable and only surpassed by his hatred for God. He views Jehovah as a manipulative and oppressive overlord whose followers worship Him out of fear and only for the hope of reward. Satan can’t imagine worship that isn’t bought and paid for.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, one of his ploys was to offer payment for services rendered.

…the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” – Matthew 4:8-9 ESV

Hungry, tired, and seemingly alone in the wilderness, Jesus responded to Satan’s offer of wealth for worship by stating, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10 ESV).

That was the last of Satan’s temptations of Jesus. He went for broke and lost. He offered Jesus his kingdom and Jesus turned him down. And what we must realize is that this test of Jesus’ faithfulness was the will of God. That very same chapter in Matthew opens with these words: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1 ESV).

It was part of God’s plan that His Son be tested, and it was part of God’s plan that Job be tested. But these tests were not intended to reveal anything to God. He was well aware of the outcome in both cases. God did not doubt His Son’s faithfulness and He did not doubt the faithfulness of Job. It was Satan who had doubts. It was the enemy who could not fathom faith even in the face of suffering. Satan had a lot to turn about the goodness of God and the effect it can have on God’s people. True worship is not a form of payment for services rendered. It is a willing response to the goodness of God that shows up in times of tragedy as well as blessing.

God’s people are not fairweather friends, but faithful followers who strive to trust and obey even when God’s presence seems unapparent and His power seems insufficient. When the trials and temptations of life come, may we sing the praises of our great and good God.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul

It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

It Is Well with My Soul lyrics © So Essential Tunes, Integrity's Hosanna! Music, Cfn Music, Be Essential Songs, Streetvoice International Limited, Mercy/vineyard Publishing, Julian Reid Publishing Company

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

When Times Get Tough…

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. – Job 1:6-12 ESV

Having established Job’s spiritual credentials and material status, the author suddenly transfers the scene from Earth to heaven, where a divine council is taking place between the Lord (Jehovah) and the “sons of God.” This abrupt change in locations provides the reader with a stark reminder of the spiritual and supernatural scope of this entire story. In every man’s life, there is always far more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye. As Job lives out his seemingly blessed but rather pedestrian life on Earth, there are events taking place in the heavenly realm to which he is completely oblivious. As Job offers his morning offerings to the Lord on behalf of his children, he has no idea that he is the topic of a discussion taking place in heaven.

The text states that “the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord” (Job 1:6 ESV). The phrase “sons of God” has been much debated over the centuries, but is generally believed to be a reference to angels.

The “sons of God” in the OT is generally taken to refer to angels. They are not actually “sons” of Elohim; the idiom is a poetic way of describing their nature and relationship to God. The phrase indicates their supernatural nature, and their submission to God as the sovereign Lord. – NET Bible Study Notes

The fact that God has periodic meetings with His angels is not surprising, but what should catch our attention is the description of Satan being among them. His name in Hebrew is śāṭān, and it means “adversary” or “one who stands against.” Our concept of Satan usually associates him with the fallen angels who were cast out of heaven for their rebellion against God. The Book of Ezekiel provides what is believed to be a reference to Satan’s former beauty and vaunted position as one of God’s divinely created beings.

“You were the signet of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” – Ezekiel 28:12 ESV

Yet, this “anointed guardian cherub” (Ezekiel 28:14 ESV) grew discontented with his divinely ordained status as an angel and chose to lead a rebellion against God. Ezekiel goes on to describe what happened.

You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,
    till unrighteousness was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God… – Ezekiel 28:15-16 ESV

The prophet Isaiah provides further insight into the downfall of this pride-filled “son of God.”

“How you are fallen from heaven,
    O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
    you who laid the nations low!
You said in your heart,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
    I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
    in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
    I will make myself like the Most High.’” – Isaiah 14:12-14 ESV

As a result of his attempted coup, Satan and all those who joined him in his failed rebellion were cast out of heaven.

“Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground…” – Ezekiel 28:17 ESV

But this doesn’t mean that Satan no longer had access to God. This passage in Job would indicate that Satan continues to have the freedom to enter into God’s presence. The Book of Revelation reveals that Satan’s permanent fall will not take place until the end times. The “accuser of the brethren” will not face his full and final punishment for his earlier crime until Jesus Christ returns in His glory.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” – Revelation 12:7-10 ESV

So, the arrival of Satan in the throne room of God should not surprise us. How else would the accuser of the brethren level his charges against God’s people? And, as Job 1:6-12 reveals, Satan used his access to the Almighty to accuse the seemingly faithful Job of duplicity and disingenuousness. According to Satan, Job was only in it for what he could get out of it. As long as God blessed him, Job was a happy camper. So Satan proposed a test of Job’s allegiance to God.

“Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” – Job 1:9-11 NLT

Satan can’t fathom any other reason to explain Job’s faithfulness to God. As far as he can tell, Job is nothing more than an opportunist who will quickly turn his back on God as soon as things take a turn for the worse. 

But God knows the truth about Job. He can see into His servant’s heart and discern the true nature of Job’s obedience. So, God agrees to allow Satan to test the faithfulness of Job but He places limits on how far Satan can go.

“Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” – Job 1:12 NLT

This part of the story makes us uncomfortable. The idea that invisible, supernatural beings might be discussing our faithfulness and debating our allegiance is more than a bit disconcerting. While we go about our daily lives, could there be divine discussions taking place where our future well-being is at stake? But the real point of this story is not that God is having arbitrary conversations with angels regarding the faithfulness of His human followers, but that there is a spiritual battle taking place in the unseen realms. The apostle Paul reminds us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

Satan is real, and his hatred for mankind is great. He especially loathes all those who worship God and remain faithful to Him regardless of the circumstances of life. He cannot imagine how anyone would serve God in the face of difficulty. He has no concept of allegiance or faithfulness. He sees men as nothing more than groveling servants hoping for a handout from the Almighty but always ready to turn their backs on their Provider as soon as the pipeline of blessings dries up.

“Cynicism is the essence of the satanic. The Satan believes nothing to be genuinely good—neither Job in his disinterested piety nor God in His disinterested generosity.” – Lloyd Anderson, The Hidden Beauty of Hebrew Genealogies

Job was about to be tested. His season of unbridled success and problem-free existence was about to come to a screeching halt. And like Job, we've all faced seasons of pain and unexpected suffering in our lives. We've all experienced a time when we have had to encounter extreme disappointment or devastating loss. And in those times of trouble, we are always tempted to question God regarding His love, power, faithfulness, or at times, even His existence. So the story of Job is one with which we can relate. Here is a man who had it all: Wealth, material possessions, a lovely family, and a vibrant relationship with his God. Then tragedy strikes. How would he fare? What would he do? They say that when times get tough, the tough get going. But will that be true of Job? Only time will tell.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Grace to Grow

12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. – Hebrews 12:12-17 ESV

Even with your eyes focused on Jesus, the Christian life can be difficult. As sons and daughters of God, we will experience His loving discipline so that we might share in His holiness. As the author of Hebrews reminded us, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).

Learning to live a life of holiness in the midst of a world and culture that is diametrically opposed to it is anything but easy. But holiness is to be our goal because holiness is God’s will for us.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification… –1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV

Sanctification refers to our ongoing transformation into holiness marked by the increasing presence of righteousness. Ultimately, God’s goal for us is our glorification, the day in which we will be completely free from the influence of sin and totally righteous in His eyes, both positionally and morally. Paul puts it this way: “but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved” (Romans 8:23-24 ESV).

He told the Galatian believers, “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” (Galatians 5:5 ESV). Redeemed bodies, free from the effects of the fall and a righteousness unhampered by a sin nature – that is to be our hope. That is to be our goal. Yet, while it is something promised to us in the hereafter, we are to strive for it in the here and now.

We are to “strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 ESV). The Greek word translated “strive” is diōkō and it means “to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavor to acquire” (Greek Lexicon :: G1377 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible). But it can also mean “to persecute, in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one.”

In this world where enmity and hostility are the norms, we are to pursue peace with all men. When the world returns our love with hatred, we are to persevere and continue to love regardless of what happens. And we are to pursue holiness in the same way, persistently and purposefully. It will not be easy. That’s why the author tells us, “take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong” (Hebrews 12:12-13 NLT).

Notice that this is not to be an individual journey, but a shared one. The life of sanctification is to be a community affair.

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless… – Hebrews 12:15-16 NLT

We have a mutual responsibility to our brothers and sisters in Christ to see that we all strive after holiness. No one is to be left behind. The pursuit of holiness is not a solo event; it is a team sport. We are members of the body of Christ and so, we are in this together.

The author warns us against three things: gracelessness, bitterness, and unholiness. Back in chapter four, he wrote, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 ESV). Grace is undeserved favor or “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith” (Greek Lexicon :: G5485 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible).

Grace is made available to us by God. But to live gracelessly is to attempt to live our lives without His help and apart from His strength. Yet, holiness is impossible without God’s help. We can’t make ourselves holy; it is a work of the Holy Spirit within us. But we can become grace-less through prayerlessness. We can fail to tap into God’s life-giving grace when we refuse to spend time in His Word and the fellowship of His people.

And gracelessness can lead to bitterness. When we fail to live in God’s grace, availing ourselves of His power, we become defeated. Our pursuit of holiness becomes nothing more than a self-fueled effort in futility. We try and fail. We strive, in our own strength, and experience nothing more than disappointment and disillusionment. This “root” can spread unseen through the body of Christ, strangling the life out of the fellowship and damaging its witness. When we see our brothers and sisters in Christ failing to avail themselves of the grace of God, we must be willing to step in and speak up. Gracelessness is infectious and highly dangerous. It can become like cancer, spreading unseen through the body of Christ, sapping the life and vitality of the people of God.

And the end result of gracelessness and bitterness is unholiness. The author describes it as defilement. The Greek word is miainō and it means “to defile, pollute, sully, contaminate, soil” (Greek Lexicon :: G3392 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible). It was a word often used to refer to the dyeing or staining of a cloth. Gracelessness can lead to bitterness and bitterness can end up contaminating the body of Christ, leaving it less than holy.

The author uses Esau as an example of unholiness. The slightly older twin brother of Jacob, Esau sold his birthright to his younger sibling for a bowl of porridge. Driven by his passions and his physical appetites, he gave up what was of value for what was temporal and, ultimately, worthless. And while he would live to regret his decision, it was irreversible. Esau was consumed with the here and now, and for the fleeting pleasure of a bowl of stew, he sold his future birthright. John Calvin describes someone like Esau as…

“…those in whom the love of the world so holds sway and prevails, that they forget heaven as men who are carried away by ambition, addicted to money and riches, given over to gluttony, and entangled with other kinds of pleasures, and give the spiritual kingdom of Christ either no place or the last place in their concerns.” – William B. Johnston, trans., Calvin’s Commentaries: The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews and the First and Second Epistles of St. Peter

The walk of faith can be long and arduous, but it is not impossible. Peter would have us remember, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV).

Through His grace, we have what we need to strive after holiness. We may experience drooping hands and weak knees, but we have the power of the indwelling Spirit at our disposal. Holiness is not only possible but it is inevitable for the Christ-follower because it is the promise of God. And our pursuit of it in this life reveals our confidence that we will receive it in full in the life to come.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Great Gain But Not Without Pain

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
    nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:3-11 ESV

As we live our lives on this planet, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He is to be our focus. We must constantly remember that He has returned to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father and, yet, He has promised to come back one day so that we might receive our glorified bodies and spend eternity with Him.

In the meantime, we must deal with the unmistakable reality that our earthy lives are marked by difficulties and even the discipline of God. This is why the author of Hebrews tells us to “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself” (Hebrews 12:3 ESV). The word, “consider” is translated from the Greek word, analogizomai, which means “to think over, consider, ponder” (Greek Lexicon :: G357 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible).

In addition to fixing our eyes on Jesus and His resurrected and glorified state in heaven, the author wants us to give careful consideration to all that Jesus went through during His earthly ministry. His time on earth was anything but easy. He was the Son of God, yet He experienced rejection, ridicule, temptation, testing, and false accusations. He was considered a liar and a lunatic. He was called a “glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19 ESV). He was regularly accused of blasphemy. There was even a vicious rumor that He was an illegitimate child because Joseph wasn’t His real father.

His own family thought He was crazy. The Jewish religious leadership hated Him and plotted to kill Him. To many, He was nothing more than a novelty act, a traveling miracle worker who performed inexplicable, jaw-dropping signs and wonder. To others, He was a means to an end – either for healing or even a free meal.

And to top it all off, His life ended in death, leaving the impression that His earthly ministry had been a brief and abysmal failure. But through it all, He had been doing the will of His Father in heaven.

Earlier in this same letter, the author wrote, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:7-9 ESV).

Notice that the author qualifies what he says with the words, “in the days of his flesh.” He is specifically talking about Jesus’ incarnation, the time He spent on earth in human form. During the thirty-plus years of Jesus’ life, He experienced something He had never had to go through before: What it means to live life as a human being. He knew what it meant to grow tired, to experience pain, to hunger and thirst, to feel loneliness and sorrow. He regularly spent time in prayer to His heavenly Father, crying out "with loud cries and tears.” And he learned obedience through what He suffered. In other words, He learned what was required for a human being to obey God in the midst of all the pain, suffering, and temptations that come with life on this planet.

In chapter four, the author reminded us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 ESV). Jesus knew firsthand what it was like to suffer while serving. He knew what it felt like to experience the pain of rejection while attempting to obey the will of His Father. And He knew what it was like to obey God even when doing so would result in His own death.

But the author reminds us that few, in any of us, have had to suffer as Jesus did.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. – Hebrews 12:4 ESV

We have not been required to experience what Jesus went through. Yet we are encouraged to “not grow weary of fainthearted.” We are to view ourselves as sons and daughters of God, living under His loving discipline, as He molds and shapes us into the likeness of His Son. God disciplines us because He loves us, in the same way a human father lovingly disciplines or corrects his son. God always has our best in mind. He longs to see us grow in Christ-likeness and increase in dependence upon Him. He wants to see us filled with and controlled by His indwelling Spirit. He desires for us to learn to rely on and rest in Him.

God “disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10 ESV), and while the discipline of God may seem painful and unpleasant at the moment, we must always remember that it will result in “the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).

God is out to make us increasingly more holy because our holiness is His ultimate goal (1 Thessalonians 4:3). In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul made an interesting and seemingly paradoxical statement: “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame (Romans 5:3-5 ESV).

We rejoice in sufferings. Why? Because they teach us endurance, and endurance improves our character, and as we experience the change in our character, our hope in God is strengthened. In the end, our hope in the promises of God will not disappoint us because the day is coming when all our suffering, trials, tests, and lessons in discipline will be over. We will complete God’s earthly school of sanctification and experience our “graduation,” the glorification of our bodies, and the reward of our eternal state.

John tells us, “Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 ESV).

This is why we must constantly focus our eyes on Jesus, remembering what He endured and rejoicing in the reality of where He is. He suffered, but He was glorified. He was crucified but brought back to life. He came to earth but eventually returned to heaven. And one day, He is coming back to get us. When that moment arrives, our days of suffering, discipline, testing, and trials will be over.

This is what led Paul to say, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 ESV). So, as we wait, we must keep our eyes on the prize. We must constantly remind ourselves that where Jesus has gone is where we truly belong. This world is not our home. It is a temporary and far-from-perfect part of our spiritual journey through which we must pass on our way to our final destination. And while the journey may at times seem difficult and the lessons of life may feel unfair, we must remember that God loves us and is transforming and preparing us for something far greater and better than this life could ever offer.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Firmly Fixed Faith

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV

Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so close. How?

Let us run. To where?

With endurance. For how long?

Looking to Jesus. Why?

After providing us with a long list of the faithful from history past, the author of Hebrews gives us the application: We are to do as they did.

We are to live as they lived. Each of their lives are witness to the faith life to which we have been called. It is not easy, but is filled with moments of apprehension and periods of doubt. We are told to have an assurance of things hoped for and a strong conviction in things we can’t even see. We are encouraged to take God at His word and rest in the promises He has given us, even when they seem doubtful and their fulfillment is so far out in the distance as to make them seemingly out of reach.

The two verses above are beautifully composed and provide a wonderful summary of the previous chapter, but do we believe them? Better yet, do we heed the counsel they provide? The four simple questions found at the beginning of this blog are legitimate and beg for answers. I will attempt to answer them but in reverse order.

First, why should we look to Jesus, and, better yet, what does that even mean? The New English Bible translates it as “keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.” The New International Version says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.” The English Standard Version has “looking to Jesus.”

The Greek word is aphoraō and it means “to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something” (Greek Lexicon :: G872 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible). This definition provides us with invaluable insight into what it means for us to look to Jesus. This word does not refer to a casual glance or one-time look but to an ongoing focus bordering on fixation. We are to look to Jesus and not take our eyes off of Him and, in doing so, we inevitably have to take our eyes off of other things.

But first things first. What does it mean to look to Jesus? How are we supposed to pull that off when we can’t even see Him? The Scriptures provide us with some insight. Jesus Himself told the Jewish religious leaders,  “But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69 ESV). Stephen, just moments before he was stoned to death, received a vision of Jesus.

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” – Acts 7:55-56 ESV

Paul provided the believers in Rome with insight into the location or whereabouts of Jesus. “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34 ESV). On another occasion, Paul told the Ephesian believers that the Father of glory “raised him [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:16-21 ESV).

So where is Jesus? He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. So when the author of Hebrews tells us to look to Jesus, to fix our eyes on Jesus, he is not simply telling us to rely on Him. He is encouraging us to remember where He is and what He is doing at this moment. Paul tells us, “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34 ESV).

Jesus is in heaven, and it is from there that He intercedes for us. It is from there that He will one day return for us. And it is to there that He will take us.

Just prior to His death, Jesus told His disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3 ESV). Heaven is our destination. Eternal life with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son is the objective. We must never forget where Jesus is because that is where we are going. That is the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of God. Our salvation culminates with our glorification. 

When will our glorification take place? We don’t know. Which is why we need endurance. Jesus didn’t tell us when He would return. He didn’t tell us how long we would have to wait. But that is where faith comes in. It is the assurance of things hoped for. But do we hope for His return? Do we long for His coming? Do we prefer heaven over earth and our future life to our current one?

Like Abraham, are we “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10 ESV)? We must remain fixated on where Jesus is because that is where we belong and where we are going. And we are to run in that direction. That must be the primary aim and objective of our lives. To do so effectively,  we must lay aside every weight and sin which clings so close. The things of this earth can only inhibit our progress toward heaven, not enhance it. Earthly things can become distractions and weigh us down from the pursuit of our heavenly calling. That is why the apostle John reminded us:

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

Jesus is to be our model for life. When He lived on this earth, He had a clear focus and calling. He knew why He had come and what He was to do. He also knew where He was going. The author of Hebrews tells us this concerning Jesus:

…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2 ESV

Jesus endured. He had a future-focused faith. He ran the race with endurance, looking forward to His return to heaven and His reunion with His Heavenly Father. He knew His time on this earth was temporary. His suffering would be intense but impermanent. His humiliation would result in His resurrection. His death would end in life. His agony would result in glory.

We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. To do so, we have to take our eyes off the things of this world. We can’t live as if this is our home. We can’t afford to act as if this is our final destination. Focusing on where Jesus is will help us remember that heaven is where we belong. Our true home will be with Him and God the Father. Paul summed it up well when he wrote. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 ESV).

And there are countless millions of faithful “witnesses” who have gone ahead of us into God’s presence and whose lives bear witness to the truth of God’s word and the reality of His promises. They cheer us on from their vantage point in heaven, shouting out their words of encouragement to keep the faith and run the race with endurance. They have achieved their eternal reward and eagerly and enthusiastically challenge us to fix our eyes on Jesus and our hope fixated on the finish line of faith.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Testing of Our Faith

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. – Hebrews 11:17-19 ESV

This story deserves a second look. There are four little words that should raise a certain amount of suspicion and create a bit of confusion in our minds – “when he was tested.” The account of this story found in Genesis says, “After these things God tested Abraham” (Genesis 22:1 ESV). But why did God test Abraham? The Hebrew word for “tested” is nacah and it can mean “to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test” (Hebrew Lexicon :: H5254 (KJV). Blue Letter Bible). Again, why would a good God test Abraham? We might also ask why an omniscient, all-knowing God would need to test Abraham. What was the purpose of the test? Was it to prove, test, or try Abraham’s faith? Wouldn’t an omniscient God have known what the outcome of such a test would be? Didn’t he already have a ram ready to serve as a substitute offering in place of Isaac? Was God really waiting to see what Abraham would do?

On further examination, it would appear that God was testing Abraham, not for His own enlightenment, but for Abraham’s. God already knew the outcome. The psalmist would have us remember that God is all-knowing.

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. – Psalm 139:1-4 NLT

God did not need to know what Abraham would do. But Abraham needed to know what God would do in response to his obedience – even in the face of an impossible, illogical request. The test was for Abraham.

There is another story that speaks of God’s testing. It is found in the book of Exodus. It took place early in the story, immediately after the Israelites' deliverance from
Egypt and God’s miraculous parting of the Red Sea.

Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them… – Exodus 15:22-25 ESV

In recording this event, Moses used the same Hebrew word, nacah. God tested them. But notice the difference between the two stories. In this case, the people of Israel, who had just witnessed God’s divine deliverance, arrive at Marah and immediately begin to complain about the lack of water. Remember, they had seen God send ten plagues upon the people of Egypt. They had seen Him destroy Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. But when they found themselves in the wilderness without water, they grumbled and complained, saying, “What shall we drink?”

They didn’t even take their problem directly to God, the one who had delivered them. Instead, they went to Moses, and he delivered their complaint to God. Despite their complaining, God took care of their need and provided them with sweet water. There he tested them. But again, who was the test for? Did God not know how they were going to react? Was He not fully aware of their hearts and completely unsurprised by their reaction? Wasn’t He the one who led them right to that spot, fully knowing that there was no water? The answer to all three questions is “Yes.” God knew. So, this test was for them.

After God miraculously provided them with drinkable water, He said to them, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer” (Exodus 15:26 ESV).

God wanted them to know that He could be trusted. He wanted them to know that He was all-powerful. He was testing their knowledge of Him and their faith in Him – for their benefit. The lack of water at Meribah revealed to them that they didn’t know or trust God. It revealed their lack of faith. When they had stood on the banks of the Red Sea with the army of Pharaoh bearing down on them, Moses had told them, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today” (Exodus 14:13 ESV). And God had delivered them. But as soon as they faced their first problem, they doubted God. They failed the test.

But Abraham passed his test – with flying colors. God was not surprised. He knew Abraham would be obedient. He even had a ram caught in a thicket to serve as the stand-in for Isaac. But that day Abraham learned a great deal about himself and about His God. His faith grew. His hope in God's promises increased. His conviction deepened that those things promised by God, though as yet unseen and unfulfilled, would actually happen. God was good for His word.

The test was for Abraham’s benefit, not God’s. He learned what true obedience to God looks and feels like. In a way, Abraham was testing the faithfulness of God, counting on Him to come through. He even told his son, Isaac, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8 ESV). He was putting all his faith in God, counting on Him to spare his son or even raise him back to life should he have to follow through with God’s command and take his life.

God was not testing Abraham in order to see what he would do. The test was so that Abraham could see what God would do. The result of the whole affair was that Abraham’s faith in God increased. The apostle Peter gives us an insight into the tests we face in this life.

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. – 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT

Like Abraham, our faith will be tested at times. We will find ourselves facing situations and circumstances that will reveal whether our “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). Will we allow the lack of water to cause us to complain? When God leads us to do something we find unreasonable or uncomfortable, will we balk at His request and refuse, or will we obey? God knows exactly what we will do. He is never surprised. But the question is whether we know what God will do, and are we willing to trust Him with the outcome? Paul gives us a word of encouragement.

For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! – 2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

This present life is filled with troubles, trials, and tests that take us by surprise and catch us off-guard. We don’t see them coming and their sudden appearance in our lives presents us with a test of our faith. They are not so much tests to determine what we will do as much as they are opportunities to examine our trust in God. What will He do? How is He going to respond to our trials and difficulties? Abraham passed his test not because he picked up the knife to take the life of his own son, but because he believed God would somehow fulfill all the promises He had made, even if Isaac died in the process.

God had assured Abraham, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (Hebrews 11:9 ESV). That promise was good enough for Abraham. God had said it and Abraham believed it. And nothing, including the potential death of Isaac, was going to keep God from doing what He had promised to do. 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Faith Factor

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. – Hebrews 11:1-3 ESV

What exactly is faith? How do you know when you have it? When do you know that you are living by it? The author of Hebrews, like the apostle Paul, spent a great deal of time defending the doctrine of faith. They both believed it was essential to salvation and a non-negotiable part of the Christian life. The author of Hebrews even goes so far as to say that “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” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV).

Both Paul and the author of Hebrews borrow a phrase from the book of Habakkuk, “but the righteous shall live by his faith,” to support their position on faith. For each man, faith and righteousness were inseparable. You couldn’t have one without the other. To attempt to achieve the kind of righteousness that God demands, apart from faith, would be impossible and illogical. He had given His Law to the people of Israel to show them the extent of the righteousness He required and to reveal the utter futility of trying to live up to His righteous standard in their own strength. They couldn’t do it.

God knew they would be unable to keep the Law, so He provided them with the sacrificial system to atone for the sins they would inevitably commit. As the author has already revealed, the law and the sacrificial system were “but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities” (Hebrews 10:1a ESV).

The people sinned and then offered sacrifices for those sins, year after year. But this unending cycle of sin and sacrifice could never bring about true righteousness. As the author pointed out in the last chapter, these repetitive sacrifices “were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Hebrews 10:1b NLT).

The Law was intended to reveal God’s righteous standards and expose man’s sin. Paul explained, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are” (Romans 3:20 NLT). God’s mandated sacrificial system demonstrated that His wrath against sin was real and required the shedding of blood to atone for those sins.

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. – Hebrews 9:22 NLT

The blood of bulls and goats could only provide temporary atonement for sins, so God sent His Son to provide a permanent solution to man’s sin problem and a way to escape the sentence of death hanging over his head. But this new plan of salvation would require faith – “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV).

Faith is always forward-looking. It is based on the yet unseen and the as-yet unfulfilled. Peter gives us a wonderful glimpse of what faith should be like for us as believers:

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT

The author of Hebrews shared a similar admonition.

…let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. – Hebrews 10:22 NLT

We are to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23 ESV). He praised his readers for their willingness to endure difficulties and trials with joy.

You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. – Hebrews 10:34 NLT

They were willing to put up with loss in this world because of their confidence in the promise of God that assured them of great gain in the world to come. They were “not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction,” but instead, they were “the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved” (Hebrews 10:39 NLT). Their faith was future-oriented because they firmly believed in the promises of God. They had an assurance of things hoped for and a conviction of things not seen. That is exactly what Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to keep doing.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT

If we take our eyes off the hope of God’s future promises, we will find it hard to endure the present trials of this life. If we live as if this earthly existence is all there is, then we will grow weary, disappointed, and disillusioned. The “great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3) the author referred to earlier in his letter will begin to appear weak and ineffective. But it is essential for every believer to understand that God’s salvation includes our future glorification. There is more to our faith than simply the assurance that we have been saved and our sins are forgiven. We will one day be redeemed and given new bodies. We will be freed once and for all from our battle with indwelling sin.

Our faith must always have a future focus. The apostle John, as a loving pastor, reminds us, “Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT).

That is our hope. That is the basis of our faith, and the author of Hebrews will spend the rest of this chapter demonstrating what this kind of faith looks like in real life, using Old Testament saints as examples of a future-focused faith lived out in real life. This list of long-deceased individuals who lived long before the incarnation of Jesus is intended to provide us with hope. They illustrate that God’s redemptive work has always been based on faith. From Abel and Abraham to Noah and Moses, each of these children of God demonstrated faith in the faithfulness of God. Their lives are living examples of what it looks like to have “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV).

In their own way, each of them revealed their trust in God by stepping out in faith and relying on nothing more than His word. Abel offered the very best of his flock, potentially sacrificing his future livelihood but trusting that God would care for his needs. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son because he fully believed that God would keep His promise to produce a great nation from his offspring. Noah built and entered the ark, based on nothing more than the promise of salvation offered by God. And Moses took a leap of faith and delivered the people of Israel from their captivity in Egypt with little more than a sight-unseen promise from God about a land of their own.

Faith is the unifying factor in each of their stories. And, according to the apostle Paul, faith is still the sole means of accessing the salvation and future glorification that God has in store for each of His children.

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:15-17 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Potential Trouble in Paradise

1 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. 3 They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, 4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them. On their gods also the Lord executed judgments.

5 So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6 And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. 8 And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 9 And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10 And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 12 And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. 16 And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. 17 And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18 And they set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 20 And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. 21 And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 And they set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. 32 And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33 And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 And they set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. 36 And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). 37 And they set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

38 And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

41 And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 And they set out from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. 45 And they set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. 46 And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47 And they set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho; 49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

50 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. 53 And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54 You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. 56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.” – Numbers 33:1-56 ESV

The people of Israel are almost home. After more than 40 years in the wilderness, they stand on the eastern bank of Jordan River waiting for God’s command to cross over and begin their conquest and occupation of the land of promise. The day they had long been waiting for had finally arrived. There had been a lengthy delay, but now it was time to enjoy what God had promised so long ago.

But as with most things associated with God, the blessing was tied to a requirement. He had one last instruction to give them before they took possession of the land, and it was a fairly significant one. They must drive out all the people who were living there. On top of that, they had to destroy all the idols and pagan shrines erected to the gods of the land. They were to smash every vestige of idol worship they found. In other words, God expected them to clean house before they set up house.

Sounds simple enough doesn't it? But if you're the least bit familiar with the story of the Israelites, they didn't exactly follow God's instructions to the letter. They took a few liberties. It's almost as if the enemy (Satan) was standing there just as he had been in the garden of Eden, asking the question, "Surely, God has not said…"

I can just hear Satan whispering in their ears, "You don't have to get rid of ALL the idols, just most of them." Or maybe he worded his temptation this way: "You might want to leave one of the pagan shrines intact, just in case Yahweh doesn't come through for you."

And as far as ridding the land of all its occupants, Satan probably did his best to convince the people of God just how politically incorrect and insensitive this might appear to the rest of the people in the region. They probably thought to themselves, "We don't want to get off on the wrong foot with our new neighbors, do we?"

And God seemed to know that the people would have second thoughts about His command, so He warned them what would happen if they failed to obey.

"But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them." – Numbers 33:55-56 NLT

“Disobey me,” God says, “and you will live to regret it.” This was not a suggestion, but a command. God expected them to follow His requirements without delay or deviation. He had a good reason for what He was asking them to do, and He knew exactly what would happen if they chose to disobey Him. If the Israelites failed to remove the land's occupants, their enemies would become a constant threat and a thorn in their side. They would never learn to live amicably together. So, cleansing was critical for spiritual survival.

In his commentary on the book of Numbers, Dr. Thomas Constable writes, "The repetition of 'all' (Numbers 33:52) stresses the importance of completely clearing the land of its inhabitants and their religious paraphernalia. God wanted to clean up the land spiritually and to make it a 'holy land.' The land was a gift from God to His first-born son, Israel (Numbers 33:53). God warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they were not completely obedient (Numbers 333:55-56). The Canaanites would be a constant source of irritation to them, and God would deal with His people as He planned to deal with the Canaanites."

God wanted to purify the land spiritually and make it holy. That reminds me of what God wants to do with my life. He wants to clean it up spiritually and set it apart for His use. He is about removing anything in my life that might defile or defeat me. He wants to clean house.

But I tend to hang on to certain remnants of my past. I want to give the enemy some footholds in my life where he can live at peace. I want to keep some of the idols that were there before God came to occupy the land. I find the idols comforting. They bring me a little bit of peace and assurance. But God wants to purge my life of any vestiges of the past. He wants to make all things new. To receive all the blessings the Promised Land had to offer, the people had to obey God fully. The same thing is true for us today. To enjoy all the blessings our new life in Christ offers, we must obey God fully. God makes this clear in His Word.

…throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. – Ephesians 4:22 NLT

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. – Colossians 3:9 MSG

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don’t live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don’t participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires. – Romans 13:12-14 NLT

God was looking for change in the lives of the Israelites. He wanted to purge and purify them, and that process began with a thorough cleansing of the land. His desire was to rid the landscape of their lives of any and all vestiges of the past.

Like the Israelites, we must take our set-apart status seriously.  We must remove all the idols and false gods that might draw us away from full reliance upon Him. If we do, we will be blessed. If we don't, we will always find ourselves doing battle with past enemies and tempted to worship the false gods of our former life. Cleansing is always the key to blessing.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.