The Trials of the Godly in Israel. Psalm 3

 

Psalm 3. The Trials of the Godly in Israel

 

Trials and sorrows are shared by all godly people, regardless of who they are or in what period of history they live. The comfort given in these Psalms is for all of God’s children.

This is a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. He was in a difficult situation. He had become an outcast and a fugitive from his own city Jerusalem.

Absalom, his son, was in rebellion against David and was seeking his life.

 

As David fled, the enemy was on the sidelines cursing him. In 2 Samuel 12:11 it says, “Nathan said to David, “Thus said the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take your wives and give them to your neighbor.” This was when he was with Bathsheba.

 

God has graciously forgiven David and restored him, but David must reap the results of his sin; and it is in his son’s rebellion that he does it. God did not forsake him. Despite all the problems and troubles that David had, he trusted in the Lord.

 

Even though the whole world was against him, David said he would not be afraid. If you fear God, then you have no man to fear.

 

The Lord is the author of salvation. It is a gift from God. His blessings are upon His people.

 

David believed in the presence of God. We may be down, but God will lift us up.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.

 

Man's Rebellion Against God. Psalm 2

 

Psalm 2 – Man’s Rebellion against God

 

It is an empty futile thing that has brought mankind together. The establishment has joined in with it. Rulers, both religious and political, joining together. “Against the Lord and against the Christ.

Many people are not sure He is God. “…Lord thou art God, which has made heaven; and earth, and by sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?” Acts 4:24-25.

“For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together.” Acts 4:27 This is a movement against God and Christ.

The wheat is growing, the tares are growing, they are both growing together, and He will do the separating.

The Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of liberalism are two different individuals. The liberal’s do not believe in the virgin birth, miracles. They believe He died on the cross but not for the world, nor that Jesus rose bodily.

The Jesus we preach is the Jesus of the Bible, and that is the One against whom is opposition in the world today.

God has made marriage for the welfare of mankind, but they say, “Let’s break their bands asunder.” The ten commandments are cords. God gave them and He gave them to protect mankind. They are thrown out the door today, and now we are experiencing lawlessness. “We want to be free and do as we please.” God says we can’t make it that way. It won’t work.

In the political world there is confusion. In the moral realm there is corruption. In the spiritual sphere there is compromise and indifference. And in the social world there is comfort. This is all so ridiculous that God looks down at us puny people and He laughs. Little man putting themselves in opposition to God won’t be around very long.

God is calling out of this world a people to His name. That is His present purpose. The Lord Jesus executes all the decrees of God. He is the One that is yet to rule. He intends to come to this little planet and put down rebellion. And He will break them with the rod of iron. You and I are living in a world that is moving to judgment day, and God is going to judge. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah.

Two Men, Two Ways, Two Destinies. Psalm 1

 

Psalm 1 – Two Men, Two Ways, Two Destinies                                                                                                                              

Isaiah says that Jesus was a Man of Sorrows. “Surely he has born our griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:4. It was our griefs, not His own that He was carrying.

“Blessed is the man, or happy is the man, who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.” The person who does these things is not a happy person.

Jesus spent time with His Father and knew what His will was and moved into certain areas on that basis. We are to walk by faith. Listening to the counsel of the ungodly is not walking by faith. People who do, get up in the morning, never turn to God in prayer, never thank Him for the food they eat or for life or health. They leave God out of their life.

The sinner may think he is all right, but he is a sinner. The Father laid on the Lord Jesus all the weight of our guilt. We are sinners.

The scorners are atheists. He denies God, exhibits an antagonism and a hatred of God. God is opposed to the scornful and He will scorn them.

The delight of God’s man is in the law of the Lord. He finds joy in the Word of God. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous,” I John 5:3. We are to meditate on the Word of God and allow it to shape our lives. God wants His word to come down like rain so that we who are called can give out the Word of God. It is like a garden that needs tended. It takes time and care because fruit comes forth only at the right season. Our leaf is our testimony that we have for the World for Christ. All God’s children are evergreens.

We enter the narrow way by Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. As you continue, the way becomes broader and broader; and this way leads to life. “.. I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

 

Job Repents. Job 42

 

Job 42 – Job Repents

 

God always does that which is in the context of His character. He is always true to Himself. So, we cannot tell God to do something that He cannot do. God is not going to jump through any hoop just because you hold it up.

 

Job is not in any position to question God in anything that He does. He is to trust Him. He is in a new relationship. Job repents in dust and ashes. The step of real repentance is First, you must see yourself as vile. Secondly, you must abhor yourself. Then you must turn to the living God.

 

Job recognized the sovereignty of God. He realized the reason God has permitted him to suffer is to bring him to repentance.

 

Job also comes to a new relationship with his friends. Then he prays for them and offers a sacrifice for them. These friends staked him to a new beginning. It shows here that Job was a good businessman. God gave him twice as much as he had at the very beginning. All the animals were doubled.

 

After this Job lived 140 years. He lived to see his sons and his son’s sons, even four generations. When he died, he was old and full of days.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary

 

Jehovah Vs. Job. Job 38-41

 

Job 38 – 41 Jehovah Vs. Job

 

This lesson shows that God begins where we are and teaches and brings us to where God wants us to be.

There is a storm brewing and God answers Job out of the whirlwind. He says, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?... Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

Paul says in Romans, creation speaks of God, the person of God, and the wisdom of God, the power of God. Creation reveals the greatness of our God. How Great He is! This is the impression we are bound to get, as God speaks of the fact that He is the Creator, and He knows much that man does not know.

God is simply making the point to Job that His creation is beyond the understanding of man. That His creation reveals His greatness. One can know about God through His creation, but creation will not bring a man to a saving knowledge of God.

 

Job 40

 

Job had been attempting to instruct God. He has been attempting to tell God something, and he is in no position to do that because he has been speaking words without knowledge.

Job then says, “I should have kept quiet, Now I see I am vile.” If we could see ourselves as God sees us, we couldn’t stand ourselves. When we get into the presence of God, we will acknowledge that we are vile.

 

Job 41

 

No man is in any position to pass judgement on God. Job says, “I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from you.”

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary

 

Elihu Continues. Job 36& 37

 

Job 36 -37 – Elihu Continues

 

Elihu is saying that God is removed from us, and we cannot communicate with Him because He is so far from us. Elihu is wrong in that.

 

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2 “None calls for justice, nor any pleads for truth; they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” Isaiah 59:3-4.

 

There is one Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, and today we can come to God through Him.

 

Elihu said no one can teach like God. That is a true statement. The teaching of the Lord Jesus is the greatest teaching the world has ever known right down to the present hour.

 

The friends of Job tried to be his counselors. They were trying to take the place of God in this man’s life. Their problem was that their own knowledge was not adequate. No counselor can know all the facts or have all the wisdom that is necessary. Elihu doesn’t know how to approach God, and he is far removed from Him. That is why it is necessary for God to break through.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Elihu Defends God. Job 34-35

 

Job 34-35 Elihu Defends God

 

Job was so busy defending himself that he couldn’t see that God was using circumstances, people, the Sabeans, storms, even Satan himself as God’s agencies to bring this man to a very gracious and wise end. God’s mercy was being displayed. Job had lost sight of that which removed him from God.

When we let circumstances come between us and God, God is shut out, and because of that we lose the sense of His presence. All the while He wants to bring us back to Himself in brokenness of heart and humbleness of mind.

God does not do wickedly. He does not permit the wrong act. You might recall the Amorites, how God extended His grace to them for four hundred years and gave them time to repent, and only after that period did He wipe them out. God is always right. God won’t let anything happen to you unless it accomplishes a worthy purpose.

Elihu was saying that he hoped God will try Job until Job will be able to defend God instead of defending himself.

 

Job 35

 

Job was telling Elihu that his little life isn’t affecting God. Every bit of our life affects God. Our wickedness will hurt somebody and our righteousness may help somebody.

It is God who gives us songs in the night, and He alone can bring happiness to us.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Elihu Speaks. Job 31-33

 

Job 31-33 – Elihu Speaks

 

So, these three men had stopped talking because Job was righteous in his own eye. They had said many things that were true, but they did not answer Job’s problem. They found no answer because there was no answer. Only God can answer a self-righteous man.

Elihu is a Buzite from an Arab tribe. Elihu speaks because he is angry because Job spent his time justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry because the three friends had been condemning Job.

Elihu had waited. He thought these older men would come up with something very wise. However, the length of days did not always indicate knowledge or depth of wisdom.

Elihu recognizes there is only one sure authority, and that is the Word of God. He is preparing the way for God to answer.

Job had been bruised, but he still was not contrite. Only God can deal with one who thinks he knows it all.

Elihu really wants to say a lot, but he will not say it. Apparently the Spirit of God held him back.

 

 Job 32,33

 

Elihu speaks by the Spirit of God. “if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” I Peter 4:11. Any ministry is powerless, valueless, and fruitless unless a man is speaking as the oracles of God. Elihu wants to stand as a mediator between Job and God. Elihu tells Job that God is greater than man and not responsible to man. He doesn’t have to give an answer to us. He only asks us to trust Him. Elihu said God instructs men through discipline. We are the objects of His deep and tender and unchanging love, but we are also subject of His wise and moral government. God permits trouble to come to His own and he chastens every son whom he receives. That is the great purpose that is behind all that has been happening to Job. God is going to bring it to a great end.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Job a Great Fellow. Job 30

 

Job 30 Job a Great Fellow

 

Job starts out by saying “I was such a great fellow and now look at me.” Who is to blame for this? Whatever happened, it is because God is good, never because God is not good. Whatever happens is because God is working out something beneficial in the life of a believer.

Job is a proud man. He justifies himself instead of justifying God. He blames God. He is implying that God is wrong in punishing him.

There is nothing but wrath for the self-righteous. And there is nothing but grace for the self-judged.

Humility is a quality that we admire and look for in others.

It is a characteristic of human nature to be proud. But pride characterizes the human family.

The day of the Lord will be against everything high and lifted. It is wisdom for us to take the low and broken place today, for it is the low place that gives us our best view of God and His salvation. “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18. This matter of being humble and contrite is a problem for all believers today, especially those who are in the Lord’s service. “Jesus Christ made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant.” Phil. 2:7

Job could not see why he should be judged so severely when he is such a wonderful fellow. He was a good man. But he has this terrible blind spot: pride.

If you are in Christ Jesus, you are saved, but regardless of who you are, your life is not measuring up to God’s standard.

Job has discussed everything about his life, but he has not made a confession of pride. Job is righteous in his own eyes, but Job is not righteous before God.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Poem of Creation. Job 28 & 29

 

Job 28 & 29 – Poem of Creation

 

God has put silver and gold and iron and precious stones into the earth. There are precious stones which have never been discovered. The earth also produces food -bread for us to eat.

God can cause the earthquake. Job talks about all the minerals and precious stones but there are things which are even more valuable. Wisdom and understanding. Job tells his friends that they have not found wisdom. The wisdom that Job hoped his friends would bring to him is a wisdom beyond the understanding of man.

 

We find that Job was filled with pride. He uses the personal pronoun “I” or “me” fifty-two times. Someone once said, “When you’re wrapped in yourself, it makes a mighty small package.” Job’s pride was a real problem between him and God. He did not know himself, and he did not know God as he should. He was self-righteous and self-sufficient.

 

Job 29

 

There was a man from his youth who served God. He was prosperous, a man of influence. The old men would take their hats off and bow to him. Even the princes and the nobles were silent. Nobility didn’t speak in his presence unless he asked them to do so. He provided pensions for the aged. He helped the poor. He took care of the widows. People came to him for advice. One cannot think of anything that Job didn’t have. He dwelt in honor, affluence, and influence. He knew what abundant living really was. He had feared that all this material substance could be wiped out and taken from him in a moment, and it was.

We see nothing of a broken and contrite spirit in Job.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Job's Eighth Answer. Job 26-27

 

Job 26 -27 – Job’s Eighth Answer

 

Job tells his three friends that they talk a lot but have no answers. None of them could answer the question as to why Job is suffering. Job continued by saying, “God reached out in space and covered it – He can cover the empty place….and He is before all things, and by Him all things consists.”

Job on the ash heap was able to see the stars at night. He called attention to the greatness of God as He is revealed in the heavens by His wonderful creation. Job knew God as a Creator, Understood Him as a Redeemer; but Job did not know God as a Sustainer and the One who loved him. He did not understand that God would not let anything happen to him unless it would minister to him.

“As God lives, who hath taken away my right, and the Almighty, who hath embittered my soul (all the breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils); my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Job 27:1-4

Job tells them that he will never admit the charges that his so-called friends have brought against him. He says, “I will not remove mine integrity from me.”

These friends have not led him to self-judgement but have only ministered to a spirit of self-defense. Job is vindicating himself. The fact that his friends were wrong does not mean Job is right. He is hard as nails in his integrity.

 

The assurance of salvation is wonderful to have, but you can be a hardboiled sinner, thinking you have assurance of salvation, when all you have is a great big ego.

Job is putting everyone who disagrees with him on the other side. They are his enemies. They are wicked and unrighteous. He is saying the wicked may prosper but God will eventually judge them. Riches will make no difference.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Job's Seventh Answer Job 23-25

 

Job 23 -25 Job’s Seventh Answer

 

Job expresses a deep longing for God. He is beginning to sense that he is being sifted by God and that God will bring him through his trials. He doesn’t need a throne of judgment; he has already been there. He wants to defend himself. No one can go to God and defend himself. We all must go before God to plead guilty before Him. All of us are guilty.

Any man that has a longing for God in his heart is going to find Him. God will meet him. He is close.

Job said, “I am being tested for a purpose. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t understand it, but God is using this in my life.” God has never promised that we will miss the storm, but He has promised that we would make it out safely. Some of the lessons in the Word of God cannot be learned just by studying them. They are learned by experience.

Job lists the sins of others. Some are dishonest, they remove the landmarks of the land. They take advantage of other people, even those who are in need. Job asks, “Why does this happen?” They have committed murder, and they have robbed, they have committed adultery; this whole evil group is permitted to go down to the grave like all the others. Job says, “I just don’t understand it. I want to know why I am picked out, why I am the one being treated in this way.”

It is the same question that comes into the minds of many people. Job does not understand God, and we will find that Job doesn’t understand himself either. And yet Job has a great faith in God with the limited knowledge that he has.

 

Chapter 25 – Bildad’s Third Speech

 

Bildad says, “The Law of God is that He will punish sinners.” And yet he wonders why Job doesn’t break if he is a guilty sinner. Bildad needs to remember that God’s ways are past finding out.

How can a man who is born of woman be clean in God’s sight? That’s the question. Bildad did not have the answer. Only the Lord Jesus Christ has the answer to that question.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

 

Eliphaz's Third Speech. Job 22

 

Job 22 – Eliphaz’s Third Speech

 

Here in Job, we see an intellectual battle and a spiritual battle. You and I are fighting a spiritual battle.

Eliphaz asks, “Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?” He is asking, Job, you sure think a lot of yourself, but what do you suppose God thinks of you?

Some people think they make a real contribution to God and that He is fortunate to have them on His team. They think that when they get to heaven, it will be improved because of who they are.

We need to recognize that man is not profitable to God. Jesus said In Luke 17:10 “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded of you, say, we are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” We need to recognize our dependance upon God – our great need of Him. We are to be looking to Him instead of trying to impress Him with who we are and what we are doing.

Eliphaz has already accused Job as acting as if God might gain some benefit from his good behavior. He also accuses Job of sending widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. He goes on to warn Job that God is on high and takes note of all these things. This is the explanation for his illness and all the tragedy that has happened to him – according to Eliphaz.

Eliphaz asked Job to accept Christ when he has already accepted Christ. These so-called friends are treating him as if he is not even related to God at all. Eliphaz assumes that God is Job’s enemy, but that is not true.

God is not at enmity with this world. God is reconciled to this world. Christ did this for us. His arms are stretched out saying, “You can come to Me, but you must come My way. You must come by the One who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, but by Me.”

Eliphaz is not representing God accurately, neither is he any comfort to Job

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

 

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Job's Sixth Answer. Job 21

 

Job 21 – Job’s Sixth Answer

 

Job agrees with them that the wicked will be punished but insists that this does not apply to his case.

 

He is not taking his complaint to men; he is appealing to God. Job points out a fallacy in their argument. The wicked do not always suffer in this life; they may prosper. They are not always cut off; sometimes they attain old age, their property remains intact, and their children are able to inherit it. Like others, they go down to the grave but without catastrophe striking them beforehand.

 

We know certain family names that stand for money, and they have no reputation for godliness. We find them in politics and in high society. They don’t seem to suffer as other people suffer.

 

Job tells them he doesn’t belong in that class. He is not wicked. He says the wicked have no more problems than the average person. Death is no respecter of persons, and the time comes when death knocks at the door of the wicked. There comes a time of judgment.

 

God will permit the sinner to live it up down here if that’s what he wants to do. The goodness and the forbearance and the long-suffering of God should lead us to repentance.

 

“The wicked is reserved for the day of destruction.”

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

 

Zophar's Last Speech. Job 20

 

Job 20 – Zophar’s Last Speech

 

Zophar holds to the theory that Job is a very wicked person because of the law that the wicked must be punished.

 

Sometimes it seems that the wicked hang on for a mighty long time. But it is true that finally they do come to judgment. His life is brief.

 

God has set eternity in our hearts, because it is there, and man is going to move on into eternity.

 

Zophar is calling Job not only wicked, but a hypocrite. His whole speech describes the fall of a wicked man. He says such a man may attain eminence, but that just simply means that his fall is going to be greater. His implication is that that is what has happened to Job. He suggests that such a man is like

Fuel which will be consumed. He says nothing can escape the wicked man’s greed; he will be reduced to poverty. God shall cast his fury of wrath upon him. He will become a raging flame, and all his prosperity will go up in flames – there will be no avenue of escape.

 

Him implication is that the “wicked man” is Job.

 

Job is ready to answer him. He is going to defend himself, and he comes on strong.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

 

Job Answers Bildad Again. Job 19

 

Job 19 – Job Answers Bildad

 

Job’s so-called friends were breaking down his defense. They were not right, but neither was Job. Job thought that, because they were wrong, he would be right. Job should have never replied to his friends at all. Unfortunately, most of us think we must defend ourselves.

The friends that know us don’t need an explanation, and our enemies won’t believe us anyway.

Job should have listened to what they said, then told them good-bye and shown them the front gate of the city. But Job was determined to vindicate himself.

His friends were not able to point out any error in Job, and the implication is that he isn’t aware of any error in himself.

Job said that God was treating him harshly and there must be an explanation for it. He further states that his friends have forsaken him, his acquaintances are estranged from him, his friends have forgotten him, the maids that lived in his house count him as a stranger, his servants will not answer his call, and his wife is a stranger to him. Even the young children have despised him. He is so thin that his bone clings to his skin, and “….I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” He asks his friends for pity.

The Devil, through his friends, has been able to bring Job to the place where he is not humble but is still trying to vindicate himself before God.

These friends have not broken him down completely. He has a living, real faith in God. He knew he would be raised again. He knew that in the flesh he would see God. He knew that even if the worms destroyed his body after death, yet in his flesh he would see God. He believed in the resurrection of the dead.

The bodies of the dead in Christ, will be put to sleep, but the spirit will go to be with Christ immediately.

Despite all their accusations, Job has kept his faith. He believes the Redeemer is coming and that he himself is numbered with the redeemed.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Job and Bildad. Job 17 & 18

 

Job 17 – Job Thinks He is Dying

 

Job thinks he is dying, and his friends are standing around mocking him These men who had come to comfort him are debating with him and condemning him. It is possible to be a hard-boiled Christian and not be very helpful to the poor sinners of this world.

There are times for harsh words. God will be harsh with Job, but He is also going to comfort him, and God is going to restore him. God is a God of judgment, and the God of mercy and the God of grace.

Job pleads that he his friends do not butter him up. He says that corruptions and decay are closer to him than his mother or father. His body, which is so weary and so sick, is ready to return to the dust.

 

 

Job 18 – Bildad Speaks Again

 

Bildad starts out by telling Job if he would just stop talking and start listening to them they might just get somewhere. If his friends were to stop talking and start listening, they might learn something. God is preparing Job to hear His voice, and later he will listen.

Bildad asks Job why he holds his friends in contempt, when it was really them who held Job in contempt. His friends are no longer friends at all. He continues by asking Job if he thinks God is going to run the universe just to suit him. His anger and contempt are not going to release him from the trap he is in.

They spoke of the trap as a sin in his life that he is not confessing. Bildad is telling Job that he had brought this on himself and without confessing he will remain trapped. He said that disease shall waste the body of the wicked. That is a true statement, but not applicable to Job. Bildad talks of Job’s children and grandchildren which are all dead now. It is cruel of Bildad to talk to Job in this way. Bildad classes Job with the wicked and tells him he is at the end of his road. They believe that Job is wicked and that he is hiding some secret sin, and they will not accept any other reason for his suffering.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Job's Second Reply to Eliphaz. Job 16

 

Job 16 – Job’s Second Reply to Eliphaz

 

Job tells Eliphaz that he hasn’t said anything new to him. He also tells him; he is a miserable comforter and should be ashamed to speak as he has.

He tells his friends that if their situations were reversed, he could have given a little speech of condemnation against them.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest you also be tempted.” Gal. 6:1.

Don’t go to preach, don’t go to debate. Our Lord illustrated meekness when he washed the feet of those who were his own.

If you are going to wash someone’s feet, you can’t put yourself above him, look down upon him, point your finger, and begin to preach at him. You will need to kneel and take the place of a servant to wash feet.

It’s too bad Job’s friends didn’t approach Job in that way. They came preaching at him. Realizing that, Job tells them that if he were in their position, he could do the same. He said he would want to strengthen them and comfort them. Restore fellowship to them.

He further realizes that God has permitted this to happen to him but feels God has made a doormat out of him.

Job stood on the threshold of death during all this time and felt at any moment he might die. His friends ministered to a spirit of self-vindication.

There are many people who sit on judgment upon God. That is what Job is doing here. He is justifying himself by saying, “not for any injustice in mine hands.” He is saying God is wrong in letting this happen to him.

 

Today we have and Intercessor. An Advocate. We have one who pleads for us before God. “For there is One God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  I Tim. 2:5

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Eliphaz Speaks a Second Time. Job 15

 

Job 15 – Eliphaz Speaks a Second Time

 

Eliphaz began by telling Job that he is windy and speaking empty words. He is attacking Job to try to break him down and make him confess.  That is not the way to treat a man in trouble like Job is. He says Job is his own accuser and talks as if he knows something. He tries to put Job in a very bad light. He does not bring Job to the place where he can see that he is a man who has a great lack and a great need. There is no comfort for Job from his friend.

He says wisdom is on their side and not on the side of Job.

 

When the Lord Jesus Christ dies, He did not die only to redeem mankind; but in His plan of redemption there is to be a new heaven and a new earth that will come because He has redeemed us.

 

Telling Job that the heavens are unclean in His sight may be true, but it is not applicable to Job and his condition than it is to any other human being.

 

Eliphaz, instead of being a comforter, is a debater. He is not adding anything new but is playing the same old record over again.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Job Speaks on Death. Job 13 & 14

 

Job 13 & 14 – Job Speaks on Death

 

In the last part of Chapter 13 Job expresses the desire to know how many sins and iniquities he has so he will understand why he is being treated as he is. He feels that he is rotting away. He cannot see any point to his suffering at all.

 

Chapter 14 Job asks, “when the sun goes down, what happens to the shadow? It is gone. Like a flower that has been cut down, or as a shadow that disappears, is my life. And yet God sees me and deals with me.”

 

“If a man die, shall he live again?” Even in death Job knows that God is going to call him, and he will answer that call. Death is not the end of it all.

 

In chapter 19 we will read that Job says, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Job 19:25-27.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com. J. Vernon McGee Commentary and NKJ Bible and Nelson’s Quick Reference.

 

Job's Reply to his Three Friends. Job 12 &13

 

Job 12 & 13 – Job’s Reply to his Three Friends

 

He says, “You three think you have all the answers. You are the people, and wisdom will die with you!” Job knows as much as they know. The problem is that they have not spoken to the situation as it really is. They did not speak of a God of mercy and a God of grace, but a God of law. They brought in experience and tradition and legality, but they didn’t bring in the truth.

God is to be praised and honored. This is a good lesson in this book.

He tells them, “You three are in a comfortable position and you are able to give advice to me, but I am slipping, I am falling, and you have no word for me at all.”

That is the time we need someone to help us and comfort us.

Job would like to bypass his friends and appeal to God directly. He wants to reason with God. If only someone had been there to tell Job about the grace and the mercy of God and how God wanted to help him.

 

In Chapter 13 he tells them that when they are accusing him of committing some sin and that God is judging him, they are walking deceitfully for God. They are not representing God as they should. Job says God is going to judge them for misrepresenting Him.

Job statement of faith was “Thou he slays me, yet will I trust in Him, but I will maintain mine own ways before Him.” This means he will go into the presence of God and will defend himself there.

The minute we go into the presence of God to start defending our self, we will lose the case. When we stand before Him, we can only plead guilty, because He knows us. He is the moral ruler. We should cast our self on the mercy of the court. God has a mercy seat. That is the only way to escape the penalty. “He shall be our Salvation.” Salvation is Jesus Christ. You either trust Him or you don’t. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Job is frightened and is telling God what to do. We must admit that a lot of our praying is giving orders to God. But God doesn’t move that way. God says, “I have a plan, and I am going to work in your life.” The primary purpose of prayer is to change us.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com. J. Vernon McGee Thru the Bible

 

 

Zophar Speaks. Job 11

 

Job 11 – Zophar Speaks

 

Eliphaz spoke as a man of experience. Bildad was like the scientist who thinks he can look at rocks and tell you how old the earth is. Zophar puts emphasis on the law.

He declares Job is trying to talk his way out of his situation. This is not true of Job. Zophar accuses Job of lying. He thinks he knows what God will do under a certain circumstance. He feels that Job ought to listen to him because he has the final word and that his word is, in fact, the word of God.

 

 Since God isn’t speaking. Zophar speaks for Him. The words he says to Job is really a blow, not a comfort.

 

He says the fact that Job is suffering as much as he is shows that Job is a lot worse than his friends even dreamed he was. He asks Job, “Canst thou by searching find God?” No man can discover God; God is revealed. The only way you can know about God is what He is pleased to reveal of Himself to us.

 

Zophar gives a long speech about God which is tremendous. It just doesn't touch the need of Job. He goes on to say, “if you would just deal with your sin that is in your life and quit fighting it, God would hear and answer your prayers and restore you.” He predicts the absolute and complete judgment of Job. It is an attack upon Job.

 

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com. J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

Job Continues His Answer to Bildad. Job 10

 

Job 10– Job Continues His Answer to Bildad.

 

Job cannot understand why he must suffer while there are wicked men who are not suffering. There are times when we all ask this question.

He wonders whether God sees him in his true condition.

 

There is a Man in the glory who understands. He knows exactly what we feel.

 

Job said that he found himself in a very awkward situation. “God knows that I am not wicked, and yet I cannot get out of His hand. I must go through all this, and I don’t see why I should be put through this.”

 

Job needed a little humility. Patience and humility are a fruit of the Holy Spirit produced in your life through trying experiences. God is going to produce both humility and patience in Job.

 

It wasn’t that Job was a naturally patient man, that quality would have increased his self-confidence and his conceit. His patience broke down, and he was crying out to God in impatience.

 

We see that God was making him patient, and God was giving him humility.

During this time of testing, death was something he desired. He felt that death would put him out of his misery. He wishes for complete oblivion. To wish you hadn’t been born is a complete waste of time, wishing you were dead won’t help either. When people face death, they really want to live.

 

A lot of God’s saints today have proud, hard hearts. Sometimes God must deal with us as He dealt with Job.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better. If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Job Answers Bildad. Job 9

 

Job 9 – Job Answers Bildad

 

Much of what Bildad had said was true, but his words hadn’t met Job’s needs. Job needed the gospel at this point. He needed to know how a man could be just before God. He needs his questions answered, and his friends are not answering them. Job feels like God is far removed from him. He knows God as the Creator of the stars and universe, but he doesn’t know anything about God’s tender mercy. Job knows that he wouldn’t stand a chance if he came in the presence of God.

 

Job does not say he is a perfect man before God, but he does say that he is a pretty good man, a righteous man. He recognizes that before God, he could not defend himself.

There are many today who, because they don’t know the Word of God, feel that they will be able to stand before God and meet His standards and are well-pleasing to Him.

 

The only Man who ever met God’s standards was the Lord Jesus Christ. He shows us by His life that we cannot meet God’s standards, that we need a Savior. By His death He can save us.

 

Job’s complaint was, “If there were only Someone who could put His hand in the hand of God and could put His other hand in my hand and bring us together, then I would have a mediator.”

 

Paul wrote in I Tim. 2:5; “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.”

Job speaks in the bitterness of his soul. He is tired of life, and he is going to say exactly how he feels. He is plain and honest about his sad plight and his wretched condition.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Bildad the Shuhite Speaks. Job 8

 

Job 8 – Bildad the Shuhite Speaks

 

Bildad is one who thinks he knows everything. He begins by telling Job that listening to him is like listening to the wind blow.

To be hurtful, he tells Job that the reason Job’s children were destroyed was because they were sinners. Bildad had no right to say that, and we know that wasn’t the reason because of Satan’s meeting with God in heaven.

He further tells Job that if he were lily white, as Job has given the impression, God would hear his prayer and heal and restore him.

 

We know that when all this is over, Job will greatly increase because God is going to double everything he had.

Bildad’s statement, “We are but of yesterday and know nothing.” Is true, but Bildad doesn’t feel like he knows nothing. He means that Job knows nothing. However, the statement was true of Bildad. Bildad says the past will teach us. Man assumes more than he could possibly know.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:14. The only way we can learn about eternal things is from the Word of God.

 

Bildad accuses Job of being a hypocrite because he thinks Job has been covering up something.  He tells Job that’s as good as leaning on a spider’s web. When trouble comes, it won’t hold you.

 

Will God “cast away a perfect man”? No, He won’t. There is none. “…There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10

He finishes by telling Job that he has come to nothing because he is a great sinner. Bildad is no more helpful than Eliphaz was.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible. Nelsons Quick Reference Commentary.

 

Job Answers Eliphaz. Job 6 & 7

 

Job 6 & 7 – Job Answers Eliphaz

 

Job begins to explain how terrible his grief is. He tells Eliphaz that he needs to understand what Job’s question was because Eliphaz missed the point altogether. Job tells him that he is crying out and Eliphaz can see his misery but shows no pity at all. He says he wouldn’t be crying out if nothing was hurting him. He goes as far as to say that he wishes God would destroy him, get rid of him, let loose His hand and cut him off. He wants to die. He says he had nothing to live for and he is tired and can’t stand any more. He tells Eliphaz that he should have shown pity and sympathized with him, but he didn’t. He said their sympathy was like an oasis in the desert, but it was only a mirage. He said they are like a pool that is covered with ice and snow. It is deceitful.

He told them if they had something useful to say, he will listen because he is teachable. What they had said already was good, but it didn’t touch Job’s case at all.

These three men didn’t understand the true situation, and all three would conclude that Job had sinned and won’t confess the truth. Since he won’t confess his secret sin, he is being judged.

 

Chapter 7

 

Job is a very sick man, and his friends seem to ignore that. It has been said that a friend is one who knows you and still loves you. These friends really don’t know Job.

Job senses that he is being tried, but he hasn’t any notion what is really behind all of this. He admits that he has sinned, but he says he is getting more than he deserves.

When a man’s integrity is broken down, he becomes an easy mark for Satan. This is the thing that happens to many people today who attempts to fight life alone. He begins to hit the bottle or drops into sin. Satan has a chance to attack him because the man’s integrity has broken down. This is the situation with Job.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and New King James Bible.