MARKSWATSON.COM

Contents On This Page

- Job Part 44
- Job Part 43
- Job Part 42
- A Curse
- Job Part 41
- Encouragement
- Job Part 40
- Job Part 39
- Visitation
- Job Part 38

Job Part XLIV

We will continue out look at Job Next week, God willing!!


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Job XLIII

Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty,
that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to him,
that thou makest thy ways perfect?
(Job 22:1-3 ASV)

Eliphaz it is surmised, is the oldest and wisest of Job's friends. As a result, his words carry a little more weight and if we remember, he was the first to speak when they first arrived and saw Job's sufferings. This is the third speech of his.

He rather than first berating Job, asks him a question. Can a man be profitable to God? Can he? Mankind often thinks much more highly of himself that his own rotten deeds, ignorance and sinfulness deserve. Clearly man in his present state is of no real use to God, if we look at it from Eliphaz' view point. When God was about to rid the world of mankind in Genesis chapter six, he made it plain that man was a mistake and one he was very sorry he made.

But God made a promise. Yes he did and that promise God was going to keep. If not, mankind would have been a mistake that God would probably have broken the mold to, right after the flood! Let none of us think more highly of us as individuals or even as a species than we ought. Humility is always the best policy.

Eliphaz wisely surmises that man is really of no value to God. He asks of God can possibly take any pleasure on what mankind is or does. He then argues that even if Job is a righteous man, what good is that to God and how is it important that God even marks how good we are? Eliphaz appears to be noting that God is far, far above anything we do down here. His ways are inscrutable. He also seems to be reproving Job over his self inflated importance in God's plan as though God has to answer him. God is not under any such obligation to any of us. Eliphaz seems to be implying that even if all of Job's complaints were true and he was as innocent as he claims, what is that to God? This seems to be the gist of his argument.

Is it for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,
That he entereth with thee into judgment?
Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
 And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
(Job 22:4-7 ASV)

Verse for is a little hard to place exactly and the curious can head on over to some Bible sites with commentaries that will give differing views on it. 

Then Eliphaz goes on the direct attack. In verse five he directly accuses Job of great wickedness and infinite iniquity. Eliphaz here moves into dangerous ground for clearly whatever Job's sins were, they were not observed by God, who had a very high opinion of Job and went so far as to say that he rejected evil (Job 1:8). Yet here Eliphaz is accusing him of all manner of wickedness to the degree that his sins were without human comprehension. Then he begins to outline this supposed wickedness of Job.

According to Eliphaz's reasoning, he took a pledge (an IOU) for nothing or something trifling and then impoverished his brother based upon a falsified note or a questionable pledge. He would not refresh the weary and would not feed the hungry.

What does he base these accusations? Nothing more than Job's present troubled state and his own imagination.

But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;
And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear troubleth thee,
Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,
And abundance of waters cover thee.
(Job 22:8-11 ASV)

Verse eight continues Eliphaz's diatribe against Job's imagined evils. It is not clear exactly what Eliphaz is accusing Job of in verse eight, Barnes thinks Eliphaz is likening Job to just such a person who was powerful and could do what he wanted and no one could hinder him.

The idea here seems to be that the reason Job did not go after others was that they were too powerful. Job (in Eliphaz's imagination) only preyed upon the weak and defenseless, like the widows and orphans in verse nine. This, according to the theology of Eliphaz was the reason why Job was now having such problems. He was a wicked man whom God was judging.

Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the height of the stars,
how high they are! And thou sayest,
What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Thick clouds are a covering to him,
so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
(Job 22:12-14 ASV)

Eliphaz then attempts to psychologically analyze Job's reasoning as to why he was so wicked. Job knows that God is way up in heaven and far above man and the earth. So Job figures that God must be so busy that he won't mark wickedness and that God cannot see past the clouds. Since God dwells in heaven and has his affairs up there to deal with, how can he see or even be bothered with what we do? So goes the theoretical reasoning of Job according to Eliphaz's imaginings.

Brothers, we must be careful about falsely accusing others. We cannot see everything. God does - he see's and understands. Eliphaz judged only on the surface and was terribly wrong.

Did not our Lord say, Judge Not?

We will continue with our look at Job next week, God willing!


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Job XLII

For what careth he for his house after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
Shall any teach God knowledge,
Seeing he judgeth those that are high?
One dieth in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and quiet:
His pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moistened.
And another dieth in bitterness of soul,
And never tasteth of good.
They lie down alike in the dust,
And the worm covereth them.
(Job 21:21-26 ASV)

Job here continues to correct the false assumptions of his friends. Job's views and theology are both full of faith but also are 'evidenced based' views. His friends keep asserting that somehow God's justice can be easily surmised by simple observance of the world - the rich prosper, the wicked are punished, etc. But Job continues to stubbornly persist that these things are not so, at least not based upon observable phenomenon. Verse 21 would better have been commented upon last week, as it completes the previous thought on how God does often indeed deal with the wicked man and if you remember, Job anticipated the retort by his friends that God often visits the fathers iniquity upon his descendants.

Verse 22 continues on with a new line of reasoning, that God's justice and ways are far beyond that of mere men. God has to judge both the poor and the rich; slaves and kings; men and spirits. Who are we that we should be so misguided and arrogant as to think we can teach God anything? The same idea is expressed in the Prophets (i.e., Isa 40:13). Now it is unclear if Job has any idea of Angels, perhaps not. But that does not mean he was not vaguely aware of a spiritual world with beings that God was both Lord of and whom he had to judge.

Job continues to remark on the different ways the wicked die. He makes it plain that it is not true that they all die a horrible, painful death. Such an idea is fanciful and devoid of reality.

Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the devices wherewith
ye would wrong me. For ye say,
Where is the house of the prince?
And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt?
Have ye not asked wayfaring men?
And do ye not know their evidences,
That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity?
That they are led forth to the day of wrath?
(Job 21:27-30 ASV)

Job here tells them he knows what they are thinking and he see's his friends as persecutors now and see's them imagining all manner of wickedness against him. The next passage is a little difficult to understand, but it appears that Job is calling them out for evidence of their views. Then Job refers to those who travel far and wide and asks if they did not think about asking them of these things for any proof of their assertions ('evidences'). Job asserts that if they had, they would have found out that their theological assertions are simply not true.

Who shall declare his way to his face?
And who shall repay him what he hath done?
Yet shall he be borne to the grave,
And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him,
And all men shall draw after him,
As there were innumerable before him.
How then comfort ye me in vain,
Seeing in your answers there
remaineth only falsehood?
(Job 21:31-34 ASV)

Job then goes on to remark that who is going to charge God with error? Who is going to say, 'God, you messed up'? Who is going to repay him for his alleged errors? God is accountable to no man. He and he alone is sovereign and man's judgment of God based upon his woefully incomplete knowledge. However, there are other views on this passage. Some think Job is not referring to God but is an oblique reference to the godless, whom the humble dare not oppose while they are powerful.

The next passage is not clear to me if he is referring to the man who brings such charge to God or if he is continuing on with the idea of the fate of both the wicked and the righteous. The poetry is rather dark as he says that the dirt clods that cover him will seem sweet and that this is the fate of those before and those who will come after him. Job then chides them for the sorry way they are comforting him and trying to do it with lies. Job is clearly pretty ticked off at his friends.

The argument continues and each side has pretty much hardened their stance. But Job's friends can be chided both for their false theology as well as their cruelty to Job, who needed comfort rather than their sanctimoniousness.

Yet Job was confident in his God, despite all the evil that befell him, the false accusations of these 'friends', the departure of his family and friends, Job maintained his faith in God. This marks Job out as one very remarkable man of God.

We will continue with the words of Eliphaz next week, God willing.

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A Curse

This is one of those subjects that are often best avoided in polite 'Christian' society. But the idea of a curse is a very serious affair and frankly, I am not so sure many 'generic' Christians really believe in and or understand just how serious it is.

In the above passage, God had called out Abraham for a very specific purpose. He was going to use Abraham's obedience and faith as a key instrument to bring salvation to mankind. Obedience because Abraham (at that time Abram) had to do something, he had to get out of his native land and away from his family and go to a place that God did not specify exactly but would reveal at the proper time.

Then he gives him a powerful promise. Anyone who blesses Abraham will be blessed and anyone who curses him will be cursed. As we noted in the last part of Samuel, we see how God does indeed protect his people when they are on a divinely appointed mission. God was going to protect his servant and that he did many times in his long journey.

A curse brothers is a horrible thing. It can entail all manner of evils, illnesses, pain, or poverty. It's something that is a sign of great divine displeasure. The reality of a curse is clearly maintained all through the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) and there are many blessings and cursing within those pages. A curse is almost always based on a person's behavior.

And it shall come to pass,
when all these things are come upon thee,
the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee,
and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations,
whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee,
and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God,
and shalt obey his voice according
to all that I command thee this day,
thou and thy children, with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul; that then Jehovah
thy God will turn thy captivity,
and have compassion upon thee,
and will return and gather
thee from all the peoples,
whither Jehovah thy God
hath scattered thee.
(Deu 30:1-3 ASV)

I think of the long history of the people of Israel. I think of their first exile to Babylon, but also what I consider the far more important exile which took place after the Romans came in 70 AD. Israel was scattered all through the world. For centuries they wandered and lived as foreigners and 'outsiders' in just about every place they went. Some European nations had periods of time where they expelled the Jews, hated them and treated them with deep contempt. This went on for nearly two millennia. How did Moses prophecy what would happen to the Jews if they did not do as God had commanded them, the God who did all manner of miracles for them and freed them from their slave chains in Egypt?

And thou shalt become an astonishment,
a proverb, and a byword,
among all the peoples
whither Jehovah
shall lead thee away.
(Deu 28:37 ASV)

The whole chapter of Deuteronomy chapter 28 describes the blessings and curses that will befall Israel, wholly dependent in on their obedience to or rebellion against God's commandments. When Israel entered into the covenant with the Lord, I just am not so certain they took the Lord at his word and that God has a long memory... the longest in the universe. It is not a mistake that we Christians should repeat. Let Israel's travails be a clear example to us. God will keep his word and deal quite harshly with those who reject him, his word and his ways. Particularly those who entered into covenant with him. Once we have been born into the Kingdom of God by the work of the Holy Spirit, we have entered into a new covenant; a new 'contract' signed, if you will, in the blood of Christ.

We must also remember that God will do his part in the work of salvation, or in any divinely appointed task he has assigned us, but that we must do ours as well. One thing we must do is to keep our faith - mental belief coupled with actual obedience.

It's not talked about much but the NT does have a curse mentioned for those who turn away from God.

For as touching those
who were once enlightened
and tasted of the heavenly gift,
and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and tasted the good word of God,
and the powers of the age to come,
and then fell away, it is impossible
to renew them again unto repentance;
 seeing they crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put him
to an open shame. For the land which
hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it,
and bringeth forth herbs meet for them
for whose sake it is also tilled,
receiveth blessing from God:
 but if it beareth thorns and thistles,
it is rejected and nigh unto a curse;
whose end is to be burned.
(Heb 6:4-8 ASV)

The principle is not at all dissimilar to what we saw in Deuteronomy 28; there is the blessings that comes from God and then there is the clear prospect of a curse. All depending on the 'fruit' that the 'ground' bears.

By their fruits ye shall know them.
Do men gather grapes of thorns,
or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit;
but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Therefore by their fruits
ye shall know them.
(Mat 7:16-20 ASV)

We must lay these things to heart and not ignore them or think them of little account - the divine 'accountant' is coming and he is a most exacting fellow, he expects a spiritual profit; a basket of good fruit for all the investment he has made and brothers, he had better get it! See the parable of the fig tree in a vineyard (Luke 13:6ff).

How is it that the prophet Malachi talked about the Priests in his time? God was sore upset with his religious representatives. The men who were supposed be guiding Israel. You will see below what God thought about them.

And now, O ye priests,
this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear,
and if ye will not lay it to heart,
to give glory unto my name,
saith Jehovah of hosts,
then will I send the curse upon you,
and I will curse your blessings; yea,
I have cursed them already,
because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold,
I will rebuke your seed,
and will spread dung upon your faces,
even the dung of your feasts;
and ye shall be taken away with it.
And ye shall know that I have sent
this commandment unto you,
that my covenant may be with Levi,
saith Jehovah of hosts.
(Mal 2:1-4 ASV)

Some of you may say that is only meant for the priests under the old law. You would be mostly correct. This is not a generalized threat to all of Israel, only to the priests, the House of Levi.

However...

But ye are an elect race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for God's own possession,
that ye may show forth the
excellencies of him who called you
out of darkness into his marvellous light:
who in time past were no people,
but now are the people of God:
who had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy.
(1Pe 2:9-10 ASV)

Yes, we true Christians are a priesthood as well. Again, representatives of God. So let us take such words as we find in Malachi with seriousness. The old Levitical priesthood was one that was not eternal, it was passed on from generation to generation. We are part of something much more permanent and yes, important. Therefore, our responsibility is also that much greater. We must not spurn God's word or hold his words and commandments in light regard. That is the way to very great error. We must not pollute the gospel message any more than the priests were not to pollute the offerings to the Lord (see Gal 1:8-9).

We who serve God, let us keep faith with him in all things so that we may obtain the blessing and not anger the Lord and incur his displeasure. Or worse, his curse.

***

These times? Brothers I see a nation and world heading into a curse. Right now I think God is trying to get our attention but that phase is not going to last forever. I look at our nation and the things going on and I am shocked at the trends in it.

America is changing and its spiritual moorings with God are being slowly unhinged as the nation continues its spiritual drift. Sex-sin is in, God is out; drugs are in, Church is out; false narratives and fake news are in and God's truth is out. I suspect we are a nation that if it does not change its ways, will receive from the hand of the Lord one thing in particular... a curse. I hope and pray that does not occur. Americans have certainly received a great many blessings from God's hand and have been in a great many ways, the envy of the world. But how has the country repaid him?

I hate to write on such a negative subject, but this morning I kind of got a most troubling word from the Lord that I am not going to share, but it did have to do with the whole idea of the curse.

[Note: This piece should not under ANY circumstances be construed (or deliberately misconstrued) to be against Israel or the Jewish people. Too many men in Church history have abused the scriptures and twisted them to incite hatred of the Jewish people. This site is absolutely against any form of hate, including and especially anti-Semitism. Jesus Christ was a Jew and I am and will continue to be one of his followers and maintain a love for the Jewish people as I am commanded to love all men.]

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Job Part XLI

Job begins his retort to Zophar's speech with both an entreaty that Zophar and has friends listen to his words and follows with a bit of dry humor and says they can continue to mock him when he is done, until then, suffer that he may speak.

As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
Mark me, and be astonished,
And lay your hand upon your mouth.
Even when I remember I am troubled,
And horror taketh hold on my flesh.
(Job 21:4-6 ASV)

Job here I think tries to correct a misconception in the minds of his comforters. He is not nearly as concerned with their opinion of him as they seem to think, his argument and complaint is not with them, but with God. He needed comfort and support from his friends and instead he got sermonized by men who clearly did not really know or understand God. They have engaged in this debate that to Job was irrelevant, because his controversy was not with these so called friends, whose comfort they offered Job was like laying on a bed of nails.

Job is upset and why should he not be troubled by all that has befallen him. We should keep in mind that Job has on other occasions appealed directly to God to argue his case before him. This appears to be another occasion (vs 4).

Job then goes on to say (paraphrasing), look at me? are you not astonished!? How could we modernize and make it more colorful and down to earth for today? 'Come on man, look at my face... I look like something out of horror flick and could scare away all the neighborhood kids just by walking down the street!' (see Job 30:8-11).

His friends should have put their hands over their mouth in silent astonishment rather than their constant needling of him.

Job says that even as he remembers these things he is afraid when he thinks of all the evil that has befallen him. It still scares him; his kids dead, his wealth gone, he now sitting in the city dump scraping his skin with shards of a broken pot.

Wherefore do the wicked live,
Become old, yea, wax mighty in power?
Their seed is established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.
(Job 21:7-9 ASV)

Job here returns to his old argument and rebuts the fanciful theology of Zophar, stating clearly that what happens to the wicked is clearly not what Zophar and his friends say it is. He has seen the wicked do pretty well, their household and bloodlines established - they are secure and God does not punish nor chastise them; completely contrary to Zophar's 'make up your own facts' theology. What Zophar and his friends have said simply did not line up with reality.

Their bull gendereth, and faileth not;
  Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
They sing to the timbrel and harp,
 And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in prosperity,
And in a moment they go down to Sheol.
And they say unto God, Depart from us;
For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
(Job 21:10-14 ASV)

Job here recounts in poetical language just how good the wicked live. This idea of them wasting away is simply not reflected in any reality except in the 'creative theology' that resides in the minds of Job's friends. But Job hits an important point in verse 14 and it's one we should talk about just a bit.

The point he makes is that all the good times, prosperity and partying, they make the soul of the wicked man hardened and contemptuous of God. In that passage they tell God to depart, 'get lost' - they say to the Almighty, we don't want to know anything about you! Such is the wicked boast of many a rich and powerful man who made their bank account and belly swell as a result of the evil dealings.

Christ dealt with this issue in his ministry and a relevant passage on this can be found below.

And he said unto them,
Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness:
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man brought
forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying,
What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow
all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years;
take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him,
Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee;
and the things which thou hast prepared,
whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God.
(Luk 12:15-21 ASV)

What this man did was complete folly. The Greek word for 'foolish' (vs 20) is G878 in Strong's Greek.

This is where Christ enlightens us, that the man's soul now is required of him and he may have had a lot of money in the Roman bank account of his day, but he was not rich towards God.

So the man in Job 21:14 is expressing this same folly that Christ spoke of in Luke. Job was close to the truth of the matter that his friends were either too blind or too puffed up with spiritual arrogance to see.

Yet Peter also speaks about such people in his second letter. He sums it up with this verse.

the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly
out of temptation, and to keep
the unrighteous under punishment
 unto the day of judgment;
(2Pe 2:9 ASV)

In short, the Lord is giving the wicked man the rope he will need to hang himself, the wood needed to build the scaffold, and the shovel required to dig his own spiritual grave.

What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand:
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity cometh upon them?
 That God distributeth sorrows in his anger?
That they are as stubble before the wind,
And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children.
Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it:
Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
(Job 21:15-20 ASV)

In verse 15, the wicked man continues his mockery of God and demonstrates their contempt for him.

In verse 16, the phrase 'prosperity is not in their hand' probably means that while they have good things, often all the good things this life has to offer, it is not theirs really, it's God's to give and take at his discretion. Job separates himself from such men and their ways; their counsel are things he wants nothing to do with.

Job follows by appearing to answer Bildad's question on the light of the wicked being put out (Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine  - Job 18:5). He asks how often their candle is put out and their destruction come? How often does this really happen?. This is the real question Job is asking here.

The rest of the passage is not as clear as it might seem, but it appears that what Job is doing is anticipating an argument from his friends and answering a previous contention that God will visit the sins of the evil man upon his posterity. They may argue that maybe what Job puts forward is true, if so then they would argue that the sins of the fathers will visit the children (Exodus 20:5). This doctrine is also being debated by Job, but let us remember that this book was almost certainly written long before the Book of Exodus and the Mosaic Law.

We shall continue our look a Job next week, God willing!!!

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Encouragement

Grace and peace to each of you. In these difficult times I always want to make sure that I do my best to encourage each of you who comes by the site. I know how hard life can be and this walk of faith can at times be difficult and the last thing I want to be is one of those sites that harp on the negative, the disasters and casting a dark light on everything, as is the habit of some. 

We can often become discouraged and confused when things don't turn out the way we wanted or hoped. In such times we need to remember the proverb.

Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart,
And lean not upon thine own understanding:
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
And he will direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes;
Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:
It will be health to thy navel,
And marrow to thy bones.
(Pro 3:5-8 ASV)

In times when we don't understand why something is happening to us, this is what we need to do. Trust in the Lord - with all of our hearts. It's what David  had to do before he rose to the throne and it's what Job had to do. Both had to have at sometime, felt almost betrayed and abandoned by the God in whom they trusted. But each hung in there - through thick and thin and kept faith with God. Job was restored and doubly blessed and David did ascend to the throne, according to God's promise. But they had to wade through a proverbial swamp full of crocodiles and walk through the valley of the shadow of death first. But they kept moving forward did not look back and kept faith with God, despite the dangers.

What? You think its has been easy doing this blog? It's not has hard as it used to be, but there are times it has been exceptionally difficult. But I had my orders from the Lord and I carried them out. I say this to each of you so that you won't get discouraged when the harsh realities of life come crashing in your front door. A major illness in the family, a death, the loss of a job, a major expense you simply cannot pay for, you get very sick or maybe you have to do time for a crime you never even thought about committing - these things happen, they can happen to anyone.

But your job is to not give into despair and bitterness. We must never rail against God and put the blame on him for the troubles in our life. Chances are there is something here God wants to teach you and you won't realize what the lesson is until it's over. It's often that way with me. I had to learn some things the hard way and as the last big trial was ending the Lord just spoke to me and let me know that if I had learned one key lesson, the trial would come to an end. It did. There is no chance I will forget that lesson as I think I will have to go through a 'remedial' course in the school of hard knocks if I ever do.

Such a lesson does not appeal to me!

The key for each of us who serves the Lord is this - we all have to go through trials. There is no way around it. So if it happens to you, don't be shocked or dismayed. It goes with God's plan.

fear thou not, for I am with thee;
be not dismayed, for I am thy God;
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Behold, all they that are incensed
against thee shall be put to shame and confounded:
they that strive with thee shall be as nothing,
and shall perish. Thou shalt seek them,
and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee:
they that war against thee shall be as nothing,
and as a thing of nought. For I, Jehovah thy God,
will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee,
Fear not; I will help thee.
(Isa 41:10-13 ASV)

Things gone awry? Feel like a hundred boulders just landed right on top of you? Brothers we have a God who loves us and will take care of us if we fully put our trust in him. You got enemies? The passage above makes it plain that they won't be around long. Just hang tough, God see's what they are doing. He has not forgotten about you or their deeds. Let them finish digging their own graves - they may be only 5-and-a half feet down - let them get that extra 6 inches of digging completed. Save the manual laborers the sweat needed to do it. Your God is indeed looking out for you. But you must - absolutely MUST put your trust in him and do what he tells you.

So no matter what you are going through, keep faith with God. Don't get discouraged and don't, whatever you do throw in the towel on your faith. That is exactly what the devil wants you to do. Invariably, he is targeting your faith - the key ingredient in our salvation.

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Job Part XL

We continue here with the last two verses of Job's response to Bildad.

Job Part XXXIX

Visitation

There are some themes I particularly like writing about. And there are those I don't. This is one I don't like to very much. But none of us who knows God should ever ignore this one. Today, we are going to talk about the time of visitation. When God visits a nation or a people who have been wayward. I have quoted this passage before, but I think it meet it is used again.

Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice,
saying, Cause ye them that have charge
over the city to draw near,
every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
And behold, six men came from the way
of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north,
every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand;
and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen,
with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in,
and stood beside the brazen altar.
And the glory of the God of Israel
was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was,
to the threshold of the house:
and he called to the man clothed in linen,
who had the writer's inkhorn by his side.
And Jehovah said unto him,
Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem,
and set a mark upon the foreheads
of the men that sigh and that cry over
all the abominations that are done
in the midst thereof. And to the others
he said in my hearing, Go ye through
the city after him, and smite:
let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity;
slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin,
and little children and women;
but come not near any man upon whom is the mark:
and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began
at the old men that were before the house.
 And he said unto them, Defile the house,
and fill the courts with the slain:
go ye forth. And they went forth,
and smote in the city. And it came to pass,
while they were smiting, and I was left,
that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said,
Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy
all the residue of Israel in thy
pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me,
The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great,
and the land is full of blood, and the city
full of wresting of judgment: for they say,
Jehovah hath forsaken the land,
and Jehovah seeth not. And as for me also,
mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity,
but I will bring their way upon their head.
And behold, the man clothed in linen,
 who had the inkhorn by his side,
 reported the matter, saying,
I have done as thou
hast commanded me.
(Eze 9:1-11 ASV)

This is the whole chapter and I think we all have read this passage in the past and it gave us all some pause; something to step back and very seriously consider. The basic theme is Israel had sinned and done so grievously. God was having no more of it and was exceedingly angry. He was going to put a stop to it and this was it. We don't know who these men were who carried out the commandment of the Lord. They may have been angels - that is what I think, though some commentators think they may have been some of Nebuchadnezzar's generals; those mentioned in Jer 39:3.

What follows is the inevitable result of sin and rebellion. God finally brings in judgment. Not chastisement, not rebuke but judgment. Judgment usually has some aspect of finality about it.

God did not show mercy in the above passage. Those days were over. Those who were appointed to carry out this punishment were forbidden to show any of it (9:5). God can visit his people and he can visit nations and peoples and this kind of visitation can destroy a kingdom or even empire. Think about Belshazzar and what happened when God judged that empire. God did not wait around to accomplish his aim. The hand wrote on the wall and hours later it was fulfilled (Dan 5:30).

Israel was rebuked by Christ Jesus for not knowing the hour of her visitation.

For the days shall come upon thee,
when thine enemies shall cast up
a bank about thee, and compass thee round,
and keep thee in on every side,
and shall dash thee to the ground,
and thy children within thee;
and they shall not leave in thee
one stone upon another;
because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation.
(Luk 19:43-44 ASV)

Christ was right there among them, the Messiah they had waited for and yet they despised him, hated him and eventually murdered him. They also had John the Baptist who proclaimed the coming of the Lord, beheaded. Let us keep in mind that what Christ was saying about Jerusalem, deeply moved him, he was not happy about this at all as he wept over the city and its spiritual state (Luke 19:41), The hour of visitation is nothing that we should yearn for or be happy about. But we should be aware in woeful anticipation that one day, if there is no repentance and the sins continue, it will arrive.

When? That is always the question people ask. It will happen when God commands it, not when we think it should happen. Our job as saints is to make sure that we are accounted like those above whom the Lord spared and marked out for protection in that day. How did Peter put it?

Beloved, I beseech you
as sojourners and pilgrims,
to abstain from fleshly lusts,
which war against the soul;
 having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles;
that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers,
they may by your good works,
which they behold, glorify God
in the day of visitation.
(1Pe 2:11-12 ASV)

Now we don't know for sure what visitation Peter is referring to, but I think it has a general meaning. Any kind of divine visitation where God checks up on and 'weighs' the actions of the sons of men, individuals, the Church, nations or the world in general.

We as Christians should always be ready for any kind of divine visitation, personal, collective or national.

But when is the visitation for America coming? I do not know. The Lord has not shared that information with me, but I do think he is still very much in the 'get them to repent' mode of dealing with the nation and world. God is not done yet with America. The problem as I see it is that America, much of it is done with God. By that I mean truly honoring and obeying him and doing those things that please him. In some quarters there seems to be an open defiance of him and his ways.

Yet God is not blind to much of the good that is still here in the Nation. Despite all of our sins and evils, Americans are still some of the most charitable people on earth. God see's both the good and the bad in every one of us.

Many of you can't wait to get this over and move into the Kingdom of heaven. Some of you are a bit impatient for God to deal with the world and its sins. I say this to each of you who feel this way - wait, chill out and don't get ahead of God. All things will happen at their appointed time. God's time, not ours. He has an overall plan for the last days and America's fate and day of destiny will be determined by God, not our impatience. God has his own plan and his own reasons for doing things the way he does them. It's not my way and it's not your way. It's his way and we must never forget that God is sovereign.

Yea, since the day was I am he;
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand:
I will work, and who can hinder it?
(Isa 43:13 ASV)

This is God's affair and this is God's justice, not yours or mine. We too must each stand before him and give account, as all the sons of men must do. We must learn to fully submit to God's eternal wisdom and love of righteousness and justice. God has a plan of which we humans only play a part in. Remember there is another aspect to this whole end-time drama. There are the angels; those who remained loyal and those who turned on the Lord that also must be factored in. There are probably other aspects to this that we simply have no way of being privy to. Don't think God has explained everything to us. I can assure you he has not. We only, as Paul phrased it, see through a mirror darkly and only to the degree God allows.

But for the world? Those who know not God? Those who defied and mocked him and those whom he sent?

And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
and in the desolation which shall come from far?
to whom will ye flee for help?
and where will ye leave your glory?
They shall only bow down under the prisoners,
and shall fall under the slain.
For all this his anger
is not turned away,
but his hand
is stretched out still.
(Isa 10:3-4 ASV)

The day of visitation is a day of horror and anguish. So let us be aware of the lateness of the hour and not be caught unawares as many probably will be.

Moreover, let us not sit on pins and needles waiting for the end time drama to play itself out to the end. We should keep busy with whatever God has for us to do. As I said the other day, God does not like idleness. We have all heard the saying about the devil finding work for idle hands.

So let us do as we are commanded 'occupy' till the Lord comes, live our lives in quiet humility, living a life righteous and holy; full of honor and truth. The day of visitation will come and when it does, most of us will wish we had not been around to witness it, so many troubles that day will bring.

And Jehovah, the God of their fathers,
sent to them by his messengers,
rising up early and sending,
because he had compassion on his people,
and on his dwelling-place: but they mocked
the messengers of God, and despised his words,
and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah
arose against his people,
till there was no remedy.
(2Ch 36:15-16 ASV)

But let we who serve our God always remember this aspect of God's character. God is a no non-sense God and he has a no non-sense attitude about unrepentant sin and evil - individually or collectively.

Loving though he is, he simply will not abide evil.


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Job Part XXXVIII