Is Your Life a Picture of Christ?

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 41:1) And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed; and behold, he stood by the river.

Chapter 41 begins two full years after the time Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker.  Joseph had asked the butler to remember him and make mention of him to Pharaoh to have him removed from prison, but it had been two years since the chief butler was restored to his position, and he never remembered to mention Joseph.  Now two years later Pharaoh had a dream.

(2) And behold, there came up out of the river seven well favored cows and fat; and they fed in a meadow. (3) And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. (4) And the ill-favored and gaunt cows ate up the seven well favored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

In Pharaoh's dream, he stood by a river and watched seven fine looking fat cows come up out of the river followed by seven ugly and gaunt cows that ate up the seven fat cows.  At this point Pharaoh awoke.

(5) And he slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, plump and good. (6) And behold, seven thin ears, scorched by the east wind, sprang up after them. (7) And the seven thin ears devoured the seven plump and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

After awaking from his first dream, Pharaoh slept and dreamed again. This time he saw seven ears of plump juicy corn come up on one stalk, followed by seven thin and scorched ears springing up after the fat ears and devouring them.  Pharaoh awoke again, realizing it was just a dream.

(8) And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men there; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

The next morning Pharaoh was greatly troubled by his dreams and wished for an interpretation of them.  He called for all the wise men and magicians in Egypt.  The word translated as "magicians" here means "diviners" or "astrologers".  Pharaoh told them all his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for him.

(9) Then spoke the chief butler to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults this day."

This event jarred the memory of the chief butler who had promised to mention Joseph to Pharaoh.  The butler forgot, but God had remembered Joseph and this event was certainly used by Him as a means to deliver Joseph.

(10) "Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker, (11) And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. (12) And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. (13) And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored to my office, and him he hanged."

The chief butler recounted to Pharaoh the incident two years prior when Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker.

(14) Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

Apparently Pharaoh was so perplexed and bothered by his dreams that he was willing to see what this Hebrew prisoner thought of them.  Joseph was brought quickly out of the prison and cleaned up and brought before Pharaoh.

(15) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream to interpret it." (16) And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."

Pharaoh told Joseph that he had had a dream that no one so far had been able to interpret and also that he had heard that Joseph might be able to interpret it.  Joseph answered that it was not he, Joseph, but rather God who would provide Pharaoh with an answer, an interpretation, that would put his mind and spirit to rest.  It is not that Joseph was promising the interpretation would be a peaceful one, but the knowledge of the meaning would give Pharaoh's troubled spirit peace.

(17) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river; (18) And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat fleshed and well favored; and they fed in a meadow; (19) And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill favored and lean fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. (20) And the lean and the ill favored cows ate up the first seven fat cows; (21) And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke."

Pharaoh retold his first dream to Joseph with a little more detail than we first read in scripture.  He had never seen such gaunt ugly cows as the lean ones in his dream, and even after they had eaten up the fat cows, they did not change in their gaunt ugly appearance.

(22) "And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good; (23) And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted by the east wind, sprang up after them. (24) And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears; and I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

Pharaoh then told Joseph his second dream, and then concluded with the fact that there was no one who could interpret his dreams for him.

(25) And Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. (26) The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one."     

Joseph told Pharaoh that both his dreams had the same meaning and that God was showing Pharaoh what was about to happen.  The seven good cows and the seven good ears both represented seven years.

(27) "And the seven thin and ill-favored cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind will be seven years of famine. (28) This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh; what God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh."

Joseph told Pharaoh that the seven gaunt cows and the seven empty ears also represented seven years, seven years of famine.  He reiterated that God was showing Pharaoh what He was about to do.

(29) "Behold, there will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; (30) And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will consume the land; (31) And the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe."

Joseph explained that first there would be seven years of abundance throughout Egypt, followed by seven years of extreme famine so great that it would swallow up all memory of the time of plenty.

(32) "And because the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice, the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass."

Throughout scripture we learn that a thing is always repeated two or three times if it is established by God or if it is to be taken as fact:

"But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." - Matthew 18:16

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. - 2 Corinthians 13:1

At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. - Deuteronomy 17:6

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. - Deuteronomy 19:15

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. - 1 Timothy 5:19

I love this principle established by God!  A truth will always be repeated!  If there is some obscure scripture in the Bible that seems to say something contrary to the Word or something that seems to be a new idea not formerly accepted, if it is a fact established by God, you can be sure it will be repeated elsewhere in scripture!  If you only see it once, then you can know it has been translated incorrectly.  Likewise, if you are unsure if you are walking in the path of the Holy Spirit, you can rest assured that God will confirm the thing to you if it is His will.

(33) "Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. (34) Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up one-fifth of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. (35) And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. (36) And that food shall be in store for the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."

After giving Pharaoh the interpretation of his prophetic dreams, Joseph then went on to give him good advice for a remedy for the evil to come.  He suggested that Pharaoh look for a wise man to oversee the collection of one fifth of Egypt's produce during the seven plentiful years to be set aside in storage for use in the seven years of famine.

(37) And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

That advice sounded good to Pharaoh and to all his servants, as well.

(38) And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" (39) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God showed you all this, there is no one so discreet and wise as you. (40) You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than you."

When Pharaoh asked, "Can we find such a one as this...", I think the point was that they could never find one among the Egyptians who had the Spirit of God.  Since Joseph was the only one with the wisdom of God to see the truth of his prophetic dream, it made sense to him that only Joseph would be right for the job.  Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of his entire household as well as over his kingdom as he was to rule over all the people; only Pharaoh as king on the throne was to have more power than Joseph.

I have to digress a moment as I think about the fact that true wisdom comes only from God:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. - Psalms 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.- Proverbs 1:7

For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. - Proverbs 2:6

There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD. - Proverbs 21:30

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? - 1 Corinthians 1:20

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness". - 1 Corinthians 3:19

Pharaoh called his "wise" men, but there were none with the wisdom of God, except Joseph.  There are times when I look at what is happening in our country, especially with our so-called leaders and wonder how on earth they could do and say and legislate such foolishness when it seems so common-sense obvious that what they propose can't possibly work.  Because it seems so crazy and illogical, there are times when I catch myself asking, "Do they really believe what they say?"  And then I remember that Godless people do not have real wisdom and they can only do foolish things.  I think back to the time the Democrats voted God out of their platform.  Oh, the public and media pressure made them decide to vote Him back in, but a funny thing happened when they tried to take a vote.  You might not know this is you didn't watch it live on C-Span.  It was decided beforehand that they would take the vote and the guy with the floor would say that the yeas had it and the vote passed and so it would be.  But the yeas didn't have it, so he took the vote again, and the yeas still didn't have it.  He took it a third time and still the yeas did not have it. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the podium, but he was returned to the podium to say that the yeas did have it anyway, even though it was obvious to him and everyone else watching that they didn't.  When he stated the change had passed, there was such yelling and booing and hissing, it was chilling!  So we actually have a popular political party in this country that wants no part of God and yet people trust it to lead them?  They trust it to be wise and have their best interests at heart?  Do people really believe that this country can survive without God's blessing?  It boggles the brain, but I guess it boggles only a God-fearing brain, that is, a God-fearing heart.  And clearly evident in scripture those without God in their hearts have no wisdom to see things as they really are.  It's as simple as that. It reminds me of a former pastor of mine who used to say that there was no other explanation for what people without Jesus did.  They were sinners and they did what sinners do, sin!  Now back to Joseph, one even Pharaoh could plainly see had wisdom above all others:

(41) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." (42) And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge over all the land of Egypt, sort of as a prime minister who himself only answered to the king.  The ring was surely the king's signet ring, and was even translated as such in newer translations of the Bible.  The signet ring was used to seal royal documents and by giving it to Joseph, the king demonstrated that those things would be under Joseph's power now.

(43) And he made him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Bow the knee!" And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh put Joseph in the second chariot indicating he was to be second to Pharaoh, and there were probably guards attending him who called out to the people as Joseph rode by.  They may have cried out something like, "Bow the knee", to let the people know this man deserved respect.  However, as it turns out, the original word "abrek" is used only this one time in scripture and the translators really weren't sure exactly what it meant.  In fact, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions defines it as "a shout made to announce Joseph’s chariot".  It may have been only a shout to let the people know that there came a man of power and distinction, and not a command to bow to him.

(44) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without you no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." (45) And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah; and he gave him as wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

With his words, Pharaoh made it known by his power as king, that everything every man in the land did was under Joseph's rule.  Pharaoh called Joseph "Zaphnath-Paaneah", the meaning of which is not clearly known, but most early scholars believe it meant something like "revealer of secrets".  Joseph's wife's father, Potipherah, is not to be confused with Potiphar, his old boss.  Joseph was now not only out of prison, but went about the entire land of Egypt as chief officer of it.

(46) And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

Joseph had been in Egypt about thirteen years by this time, as he had been sold into slavery when he was seventeen or very shortly after (Gen. 32:7).

(47) And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. (48) And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. (49) And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

For the next seven years the land produced abundant crops, as Joseph had predicted from Pharaoh's prophetic dreams from God.  As he had said, Joseph gathered, or more likely managed the gathering of, one fifth of the food to be stored in the neighboring city of where it was gathered, so it would be accessible to the same people from which it was gathered during the time of famine.  So great was the amount of corn that was gathered that Joseph lost count for it seemed innumerable, and that was just the fifth portion that was collected.

(50) And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah priest of On, bore to him. (51) And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house."

During the seven years of abundance, Joseph's wife bore him two sons.  He named his firstborn son "Manasseh", which literally meant "causing to forget", because God had so blessed him now that he was able to forget what his brothers had done to him and all his toil and trouble in captivity in Potiphar's house and in prison.

(52) And the name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Joseph named his second son "Ephraim", which literally meant "double fruit" or "fruitfulness", because God had blessed him there in that land of his captivity and made him fruitful with two sons of his own.

(53) And the seven years of plenty that were in the land of Egypt ended. (54) And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said; and the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

Just as Joseph had said, the seven years of plenty ended and famine struck, but there was food in all the land of Egypt because of the food that had been stored in all the cities throughout that land.

(55) And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do." (56) And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

When the people in Egypt began to hunger because they had no food, they cried out to Pharaoh who referred them to Joseph to do as he directed.  Joseph then opened up all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians.  This was food he had gathered from the people and then sold it back to them.  There is no reason not to believe that Joseph bought the food from the people's abundance with Pharaoh's money and now sold it back to them.  It is quite probable that he was able to buy it cheaply when there was so much, but there is nothing to indicate that Pharaoh was profiting greatly off the backs of his people.  Rather he was wisely (through Joseph) taking care of his people in time of need.

(57) And all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

It was not just in Egypt that the famine was severe, but in all the countries, and they also came to Joseph in Egypt to buy food.

I believe the moral of this chapter is first that God alone gives wisdom.  Follow Him, and He can raise you up out of any situation.  Joseph, in a dungeon prison, was patient and trusted God, and was faithful to God's word, to live morally, giving glory to God, and he was exalted to the highest position in all the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.  Of course, not everyone can be made second in command, but each can be blessed and exalted in his own station in life to be used by God according to His will.  Doing God's will is to be blessed.  Biblical scholars say there is more to the story of Joseph, that he is a picture of Christ, rejected by his people, sent to what would seem a sure death, but raised up by God to be a savior to his people, as we will see later in scripture.  Certainly, we are not all called to be pictures of Christ, but then again, perhaps we are.  Yes, I do believe I am seeing for the first time that perhaps our lives should be pictures of Christ!  We are called to be like Christ:

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:6

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. - Ephesians 5:1-2

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. - Galatians 3:27

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. - Romans 8:29

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10

Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. - Ephesians 4:24

And there are so many more!  We are called to be pictures of Christ!  And just think about how many times people turn to Christ when they have reached rock bottom.  So many of us could give testimonies like that.  God raised us up from death to be like Christ.  I never really thought of my own life being a picture of Christ's, but God really does raise each one of us who are saved in Christ from death, whether we consider it rock bottom or not, it is a certain eternal death from which we are saved:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:11

Wow!  I've never before thought of myself as being a picture of Christ, and I'm not!  But I do believe that could be God's plan for each of us.  He raised us from death to be Christ-like and to show others the way out of death.  More than that, Jesus said:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 28:19

"Verily, verily, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. - John 14:12

More than just telling people about Jesus, we are to make disciples of them, and we are to do greater works than Jesus!  Now if we were to come from unsaved death to salvation and then on to making disciples and doing greater works than Jesus, I do believe that would be a perfect picture of Christ!  How do we do greater works than Jesus?  I believe the word translated as "greater" may refer to greater in number or greater in reach "because I go to My Father".  Jesus said once He went to His Father, all who were saved would receive the Holy Spirit.  So although no one person could be greater than Jesus, the impact in the world would be greater with so many disciples each with the Holy Spirit of God.  Wow!  It all really makes me feel inadequate.  I love this current Bible study!  I am seeing things in scripture I have never before seen, and am better learning the things for which I should strive.  To be a picture of Christ--that seems far-fetched, but I can see it should be my goal.  Thank you, Jesus!

The Result of Rejection of God

I was very saddened to see celebratory comments about Obama's support of "full marriage equality" on Facebook recently.  I was equally saddened and even sickened by the excitement over Hollywood "stars" and their financial support for Obama and his endorsement of same-sex marriage.  This is just one more step in a further rejection of God and His righteous laws in this country.  There are countless reasons why it is not good for a society to promote homosexuality, but I don't even care to debate that.  When I first started this blog, I was very concerned about the social issues and the destructive direction of our country's laws.  But as time goes on, I have come to realize that we are nearing the end times and the salvation of this country is not what is important, but rather a person's salvation in Christ.  Oftentimes a person is brought to salvation because things are so bad and he is at the end of what HE can do and turns to God.  So things being bad in this country can actually bring about good things.  But to celebrate the bad?  There are people who really believe they are being loving and respectful of others by supporting homosexuality and elevating it to the status of God-ordained marriage with no regard to what God said about it.  It makes me sad for the people who do not realize what it is they do, for God made it very clear that it is nothing to be celebrated.  He called homosexuality an abomination (Lev. 18:22 and Lev. 20:13) and the Bible said that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be used as examples to those who would afterward live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6 and Jude v. 7).

The apostle Paul described at length the progression of a people who reject God in Romans 1.  They know God, but reject Him, and professing to be wise, change the truth of God into a lie and serve God's creation more than Him (verses 20-25).  When they reject God, their hearts are darkened (v. 21), and God turns them over to their unnatural same-sex affections (v. 26-27).  Then they become a people filled with all sorts of wickedness, "fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful" (v. 29-31), and even though they know the judgment of God, they do it anyway and enjoy the company of others who do it, too. (v. 32)  The book of Jude speaks of these things similarly. Growing depravity is not something to celebrate!  But for the first time, I think I am really seeing that this growing acceptance and celebration of homosexuality is the result of rejection of God and not in itself a sin that brings the wrath and punishment of God.  Homosexuality is a sin like any other sin or abomination to God.  God hates divorce; God hates pride.  There are many things that are abominations to God.  What is happening in our country is the natural progression of depravity foretold by God because we have rejected Him.

I couldn't help but notice that "debate" was among the wickedness above, and boy, does that speak to me!  I do realize that we seem to be in so much strife these days. Although it pains me to sit idly by while the country is hell-bent on destruction, I am beginning to truly see that fighting the symptoms does no good.  The reason this country accepts a president who voted to kill innocent babies born alive after botched abortions and cheers when he announces that homosexuals should marry, and can dismiss his blasphemous comments about Jesus Christ as "frivolous", is because they have first rejected God and his amazing gift of grace through Christ. It's not Obama we should be fighting.  There will always be ungodly and corrupt leaders.  It's not even the mainstream media that gives him a free pass.  It's not homosexuality itself (or abortion, or pornography, or any single immoral issue).  We won't get anywhere attacking sinners or even their sins.  We are all sinners and are only accepted by the grace of God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are covered by His sacrificial blood.  While I am still deeply saddened by what I see happening, I can see that merely fighting the social issues battles will never solve the problems.  Changed hearts as a result of salvation in Christ is the only thing that will change this country.  Now that's real CHANGE in which we can all have hope and real faith!  Remember that long list of progressive wickedness above?  The apostle Paul gives a similar list in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (v. 9-11)

"And such WERE some of you", but now they have been saved by Jesus Christ!  I also love this one from Deuteronomy, chapter 4, one of my scripture memory passages from the old KJV:

But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.(v. 29-31)

If you seek the Lord your God will all your heart and soul, and turn to Him and are obedient to Him, He will not forsake you....even in the latter days.  So it's not too late!  But there is one word of caution in another scripture:

Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

"WHILE He may be found" indicates there will come a time when He will no longer be found.  So we need to call on Him now!  And we don't have to be perfect and sinless before we call on Him.  Get our hearts fixed on Him and He will show us the way!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Meanwhile, I will try to keep my debate to a minimum, and continue with my Bible study in this blog.  The Bible is the only source for truth and wisdom in this crazy mixed up world where right is called wrong and wrong is called right.  The Bible says there is NO wisdom apart from God, only foolishness, so I'd like to continue to study truth and wisdom, and share study notes from an in-depth word study and a few insights from some of the greatest Biblical scholars.

As part of my Bible study, I am using some great free resources I have found on the internet.  First, I decided to study the Bible chronologically, and am using a time-line created by Skip Andrews.  You can view that time-line here.  In addition, I use e-Sword, a wonderful software program by Rick Meyers, which allowed me to choose what Bible translations I wanted to study, even several for comparison if I so chose; it also has Biblical dictionaries and a variety of commentaries for insight.  It has a wonderful scripture memory tool that I have immensely enjoyed as I have never been very good at remembering scripture word for word.  I highly recommend both of these resources.

I spent so long in the book of Job, that I need to be reminded that this is a chronological Bible study. According to the last chapter of Job, he lived 140 years after his trial of patience, which means Job was alive during the time of Abraham and his family.

Stephen, speaking before a religious council, gives a synopsis of the lives of Abraham and his family, in Acts, chapter 7.

(Acts 7:1) Then the high priest said, "Are these things so?" (2) And he said, "Men, brethren and fathers, listen; the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, (3) And said to him, 'Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.' (4) Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. (5) And He gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on; yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him, when as yet he had no child.

I don't think I will do an in-depth word study on this recitation by Stephen of Abraham's life, but will wait until I begin the actual study of Abraham next time.  I would argue that Stephen talking about something that had already happened doesn't belong chronologically before it happened, but I have committed to this time-line, and wouldn't want to change now.  So far these verses are pretty self-explanatory. 

(6) And God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years. (7) 'And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage I will judge,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.' (8) And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. (9) And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him,

The "patriarchs, moved with envy", almost seems like it should be an oxymoronic phrase, but it is a marvelous reminder that the Bible greats were human as we are and made many mistakes.  We'll get into details when I get back to the in-depth study of Abraham next time beginning in Genesis, chapter 12.

(10) And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. (11) Now there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. (12) But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. (13) And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. (14) Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. (15) So Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, he and our fathers. (16) And were carried over into Shechem and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

And now a word from Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. (2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river in old times, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. (3) And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants, and gave him Isaac. (4) And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

Like a whole episode flashback from a television movie or series, here ends the present, and next time we'll go back to study Abraham.

Multiplying Words Without Knowledge, or Stupidity in the Bible

(Job 35:1) Elihu spoke moreover, and said, (2) "Do you think this is right, that you said, 'My righteousness is more than God's'? (3) For you said, 'What advantage will it be to You? What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?'

Job never said his righteousness was more than God's, but Elihu further qualifies his interpretation of Job's meaning by adding what Job indeed said. I'm not sure that Job really said those things, either, but it may have seemed he insinuated them when he said God destroys the perfect and the wicked. This passage reminds me of a commercial I heard on Christian radio one time, and the moral of it really stuck with me. When we fall into the trap of mind-reading and start acting on what we think the person means, and not on what they really meant but may not have expressed well, then we are acting on a lie. I don't believe for a moment that Job believed he was more righteous than God. He was just lamenting the fact that he tried to do good, but look where it got him.

Actually, when you look at what Elihu said Job had said, there is really nothing wrong with "What advantage will it be to You?" There is no advantage to God when we are righteous. God doesn't NEED our righteousness. He can act with or without it. It is always about OUR good.

"What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?" Again, taken literally the way Elihu expressed it, it's merely a pondering question. Obviously, from the benefit of knowing the end of the story, we know God is still working this to Job's benefit. He may not can see it at this point, but the vast bigger-picture ways of God are not finished yet. Part of following our Lord is to do His will. We want to do His will because we know it is far better than what our puny human minds can contemplate. In this case, Job was indeed blessed more abundantly by God, and the story of Job has been an example of faith for hundreds of years to countless souls. And if you want to lament the death of his children, if they were true followers, then they will be with their Lord, which is a far better place than still living on earth. Believers never have to fear dying, and although we may grieve selfishly because we miss them, because we love them we would never want them to be removed from that better place. If Job's children were not believers, then they were never going to be believers; you can have faith in that. The all-seeing God knows His people!

(4) "I will answer you, and your companions with you."

Elihu states he will now answer Job and his friends, and one can assume he means to better explain Job's situation. Whether he plans to truly answer Job's questions or plans to answer what he, in error, thinks Job thinks, remains to be seen at this point.

(5) "Look to the heavens and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than you. (6) If you sin, what do you (accomplish) against Him? Or, if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to Him? (7) If you are righteous, what do you give Him? Or what does He receive from your hand?"

So far, so good. Elihu points out that God's ways are higher than our ways, and that indeed, God is not hurt nor does He profit from anything man does.

(8) "Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit the son of man."

In this case the "son of man" seems to mean "generations of men". Job's (or any man's) actions do not hurt or profit God, but they may hurt or profit mortal men, and even generations to come. We sometimes forget this when we want to blame God for what seems to us senseless acts that we know He alone could have prevented. When my precious Daddy died way too young of a painful cancer 23 years ago, I was angry at God for months, probably even a couple of years or more. Then one day I realized that man had created cancer, not God. The things we do to our environment, the additives in our food, the additives we put on our skin and use every day, are full of carcinogens. Once again, men become fools thinking they are so wise making things better and better with chemicals! We have brought disease to ourselves. I am sure it is even more painful to see a young child suffer and die with cancer, or a young mother who dies and leaves small children. God surely could have prevented or reversed that! Yes, He could have, and in some cases He does perform miraculous healing. But why does He choose to heal some and not others? Well, only the sovereign Lord knows that, but He is always about the greater good, His ways being higher than our ways. Often people in the very worst of circumstances, only then, turn to the Lord. I believe often He may allow these things to happen in order to bring His people back to Him. Recall Jesus's words in Matthew 18:8-9 that say it's better to enter heaven maimed or blinded in one eye than to be whole and cast into hell. Whatever it takes to save us!! What a merciful God we have! The sweet children who suffer and die go to be with Him, so they are much happier, and through grief and despair, perhaps their parents are able to join them. It is hard for us to understand how God could sacrifice an innocent little child like that, but then again, He sacrificed His own son to save us sinners. He loves us ALL!

Another thought along the same lines on why some people are healed and others are not: again God knows the bigger picture. He knows what will happen if one is saved, and what will happen if one is not. What is the greater good? What will save His lost sheep? Just like the hypocritical leader and nation described in the last post, if people are continually blessed when they are doing wrong, they may be ensnared into believing they are doing right. Tragedy often brings us closer to God. And we must remember the tragedy was not caused by God, but He does, in fact, allow it.

(9) "Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; they cry out because of the arm of the mighty."

We are back to the people Job may hurt with his wickedness from verse 8.

(10) "But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, (11) Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?'"

Apparently Elihu is making a point that the oppressed do not reach out to God when they suffer. "In the night" is a picture of "in the midst of trouble". God has given men wisdom to know Him, but they forget Him and don't think to call on Him in their times of trouble.

(12) "There they cry, but none gives answer, because of the pride of evil men."

The oppressed cry, but there is no one to answer them because they don't cry out to the right One. Whether they are crying ABOUT the pride of evil men that has caused the trouble, or because their own pride keeps them from calling on God, either way, they do not look to their Creator.

(13) "Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it."

God will not hear empty hollow words or lies.

(14) "Although you say you will not see Him, yet judgment is before Him; therefore trust in Him."

Elihu seems to be turning his point about how the oppressed do not call on God to Job. Paraphrased, "Just because you don't look to Him, He and His righteous judgment are there; therefore you should trust in Him."

(15) "But now, because it is not so, He has visited in His anger; yet he doesn't know it in great extremity: (16) Therefore does Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplies words without knowledge."

It looks like Elihu believes that because Job did not turn to God, God has visited him in anger, although we have to believe that an apparent righteous and Spirit-led man as Elihu must have meant chastisement rather than vengeful anger. Otherwise, I would have to say Elihu has really lost it by this point, and should have stopped talking in the last chapter! I had to chuckle when I looked at the original meaning of the word that was translated as "extremity". It means "stupidity"! Elihu says Job was so stupid he didn't even know why God had visited him in anger. Well, now I know Elihu has gone too far. He may have started talking feeling led by the Holy Spirit, but I am sure he let his own ego take over at some point. Elihu concludes this chapter by saying that Job has been speaking senseless and meaningless words in his complaints against God, and that he speaks without any real knowledge. And we, knowing the rest of the story, could say that last part about Elihu, as well!

"Multiplying words without knowledge"...I could not help but get an image of the so-called intelligent of our day, who "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools". Paul tells us in Romans 1:22 how people reject God, changing "the truth of God into a lie" and become fools, wise in their own eyes.

Elihu's Wisdom from the Holy Spirit

Continuing a Bible study of Job:

(Job 32:1) So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. (2) Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. (3) Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

At least they thought that Job was being righteous in his own eyes, but they had just failed to convince Job on any of their points because they argued from false principles. This angered Elihu; his friends condemned Job when they had found no reason to, and Job seemed to be all about himself, justifying himself rather than glorifying God.

(4) Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were older than he. (5) When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was aroused. (6) And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, "I am young, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not show you my opinion. (7) I said, 'Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.'"

Elihu was younger than Job and his three friends who had previously spoken, and was respectful of them, allowing them to speak and not interrupting them. After they had ceased speaking, and he had taken in all of their vain conversation that apparently went nowhere, he could hold his peace no longer.

(8) "But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty gives him understanding. (9) Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgment."

The Holy Spirit of God can give man wisdom and understanding at any age. Great men or old men are not always wise just because of their position or age, but when the Holy Spirit of God gives His inspiration to man, the man may have Godly understanding if he listens.

(10) "Therefore I say, 'Listen to me, I also will show my opinion.' (11) Behold, I waited for your words; I listened to your reasons, while you searched out what to say. (12) Yes, I paid attention to you, and behold, none of you convinced Job, or answered his words; (13) Lest you should say, 'We have found out wisdom; God thrusts him down, not man.'"

Elihu points out that he did wait until they had all finished speaking before offering his opinion. He listened to them, but they did not really answer Job. So rather than having them falsely satisfied that they had the wisdom and understanding of God, he will now speak, obviously feeling he is speaking under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

(14) "Now he has not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches."

Because Elihu did not partake in the conversation up to this point, Job has not directed any of his comments to him, and he indicates he will not answer Job with any of their false words.

(15) "They were amazed, they answered no more, they left off speaking. (16) When I had waited (for they did not speak, but stood still, and answered no more), (17) I said, 'I will answer also my part, I also will show my opinion.' (18) For I am full of matter; the spirit within me constrains me. (19) Behold, my belly is like wine which has no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles."

Once again Elihu points out that he waited until Job's friends quit speaking. Perhaps his friends were astonished or filled with wonder that they could not convince Job with their wisdom, but the word translated as "amazed" meant more completely "dismayed, discouraged, or broken down", so they were simply exhausted with trying to convince Job, and quit trying. Elihu implies he is so full of inspiration from the Holy Spirit that he feels about to burst. The Holy Spirit constrains, or better translated with another of the original word's definitions, presses upon him to speak.

(20) "I will speak, that I may be refreshed; I will open my lips and answer. (21) Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person; neither let me give flattering titles to man. (22) For I know not to give flattering titles; (in so doing) my Maker would soon take me away."

As he is about to burst, Elihu will be relieved to at last speak. To accept a man's person is to show partiality, so Elihu determines not to show partiality nor offer flattery in his speech. Our modern day way of speaking, and evidently the way of the KJV translators in 1611, who added the phrase "in so doing", would make the gist of verse 22, "I know better than to give flattering titles, or else my Maker would strike me dead." "In so doing" was not in the original text. Additionally, whenever we read "I know not" or any other word and then "not" in the Bible, it means "I do not know" or "I do not (whatever)", so the real meaning of the first part of that verse is that Elihu doesn't know how to offer flattery. Whether it is not in his nature or he has just learned not to do it, he is pointing out that he will not be offering any false flattery when he speaks. "My maker would soon take me away" is a little more difficult to understand exactly. He might mean that he does indeed fear the wrath of God if he were to do something he knew were wrong, such as fearing and revering man rather than God. It might be a more matter of fact statement that Elihu knows he will leave this life at some point and will have to answer to his Maker for his actions. I have my own thought on this that I did not read from any other commentary. Just maybe Elihu meant that if he spoke any flattering words, adding to what the Holy Spirit was telling him, that that Spirit would be taken away. It's a thought that doesn't change the sense of this passage.

(Job 33:1) "Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words."

We begin chapter 33 with Elihu directing his words to Job.

(2) "Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue has spoken in my mouth. (3) My words will be of the uprightness of my heart, and my lips will utter knowledge clearly."

I believe the sense here is that Elihu will speak to Job as truly as he can what he feels the Holy Spirit is speaking to him.

(4) "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life. (5) If you can answer me, set your words in order before me, stand up. (6) Behold, I am as your mouth in God's stead; I also have been formed out of clay."

Elihu encourages Job to take a stand and answer him, if he can, after he has finished speaking, as Elihu and Job are equals in God's eyes. The original KJV reads "I (am) according to thy wish in God's stead". The word translated as "wish" actually means "mouth". It can also mean "word", and the sense the KJV's translators were trying to convey was that it was like breath blowing a word or saying, so Elihu's words, thoughts, and wishes were as Job's; they were equal in God's eyes.

(7) "Behold, my terror will not make you afraid, neither will my hand be heavy upon you."

Elihu may mean that he will not be as rough as Job's friends had been, or perhaps he alludes to Job's previous statement from Job 9:34, "Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His fear terrify me."

(8) "Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of your words, saying, (9) 'I am clean without transgression; I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. (10) Behold, He finds occasions against me; He counts me as His enemy; (11) He puts my feet in the stocks; He marks all my paths.'"

Elihu intends to show that he has been listening to Job and begins by referring to Job's own words. However, Job never used the exact words that he was without transgression; as a matter of fact at one point Job indeed said in Job 9:20, "If I justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me; if I say, I am perfect, it will also prove me perverse." However, Job did say that he was pure and righteous. Although some of the time I felt Job may have been speaking of his enemy counting Job as his enemy, rather than God doing it, he does seem to imply it is God in some places, like in Job 10:6, when he talks about God inquiring and searching out his sins. In Job 13:27, Job said exactly, "You put my feet also in the stocks, and watch closely all my paths."

(12) "Behold, in this you are not just; I will answer you, that God is greater than man. (13) Why do you strive against Him? For He does not give an account of any of His matters."

Elihu states that Job has not been correct in his conclusions about God. God and His plans are greater than man's and we don't always understand them. I am reminded of the scripture in Isaiah 55:9, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

(14) "For God speaks once, yes, twice, yet man does not perceive it. (15) In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, in slumbering on the bed, (16) Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, (17) That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man."

God does often show us His ways, but we fail to see. He shows us wonders in His creation and in His Word, and His Holy Spirit often speaks directly to us, but we don't recognize it as the Spirit of God, and dismiss it. He shows us things in dreams that we either forget or once again don't recognize as from Him. Most of the time, when there is that confirmation of something, or that "coincidence" that turns you away from something, you can be sure the Spirit of God was at work! God can change our direction in life and humble us before Him. Sometimes we may be "brought down" for our good, to save us from our own selfish pride and arrogance. I am reminded of the apostle Paul and the thorn in his flesh that kept him humble and dependent on his Lord.

(18) "He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. (19) He is chastened also with pain on his bed, and with strong pain in many of his bones, (20) So that his life abhors bread, and his soul, succulent meat."

God keeps us on a right track and saves our lives and eternal souls. Wow! If we could really get our minds around this passage! Sometimes God allows bad things to happen for our ultimate good! How many times do we want to be angry at God for something we think He did or didn't do, when all the while our loving Father is working things for a more excellent good that we can't see at the moment?! If we would only learn that our heavenly Father is ever-loving and faithful and merciful and just learn to trust Him because we know He knows best, how much more peaceful our lives would be! Of course, we do good and do what we can, but when it is out of our hands, we trust God.

(21) "His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. (22) Yes, his soul draws near to the grave, and his life to the destroyers. (23) If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man his uprightness, (24) Then he is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom.'"

Wow! The opinions on verses 23 and 24 are as varied as I have seen in this study! The messenger could be an angel or perhaps someone led by the Holy Spirit to lead the person to salvation. The word translated as "interpreter" also means "ambassador", an authorized representative; it comes from a root word which also means "intercede". Thus it is someone who will intercede for him. Does he lead man to his own uprightness, or does he show the man His uprightness, that of the Lord, his Savior? Either way, the only uprightness that will save him is that of his Lord. Again, I'm not sure if the "he" in verse 24 is "he", the angel or interpreter, or "He", Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us all, as He paid the price of our sins. Once again, either interpretation works. The sense is that upon the man's death bed, he is saved from the pit of hell. How many times do we hear of people hitting rock-bottom and only then turning to their only true salvation? So rather than affliction being the punishment of a vengeful God, it is actually a merciful act of a loving Father turning His children back to Him and therefore saving their eternal lives. How wonderful that He loves us enough to do whatever it takes to bring us to Him! And perhaps unfortunately, it takes more to bring some of us back than it does others. Our heavenly Father knows just what it takes, and He works all things for ultimate good. If we really understood that, we could always trust God and fear not.

(25) "His flesh will be fresher than a child's; he will return to the days of his youth; (26) He will pray to God, and He will be favorable to him, and he shall see His face with joy, for He will return to man His righteousness."

"Fresher than a child's"...a beautiful picture of what we are told in the New Testament happens when we are born again! Ephesians 4:24 says, "And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Colossians 3:9-10: "Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him." Elihu, obviously inspired by the Holy Spirit, is telling Job essentially the same thing the Apostle Paul told the churches almost 2000 years later! God's plan has always been the same! Since the fall of Adam, God has mercifully and lovingly sought to return man to Himself and restore Him.

(27) "He looks upon men, and if any say, 'I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me', (28) He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life will see the light. (29) Lo, God works all these things oftentimes with man, (30) To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living."

Elihu reiterates that God uses all the ways he described before to bring a soul to Him. Again very akin to something Paul would later say in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

(31) "Mark well, O Job, hearken to me; hold your peace, and I will speak. (32) If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you. (33) If not, hearken to me; hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom."

Elihu urges Job to pay close attention to him, but he is also a fair man who would do Job justice and not pervert what he said and attribute wrong motives, as his friends had done.

Job As Wise Counsel

Continuing a Bible study of Job:

(Job 29:1) Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, (2) "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; (3) When His candle shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; (4) As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tent; (5) When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; (6) When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me;"

Job longs for the time when he felt God's presence all about him, when his family was still with him, and when he felt blessed by God in all that he did. Butter and oil flowing abundantly indicates a rich life.

(7) "When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!"

I looked to the old theologians and Bible historians who explained that Job was a magistrate. Courts of justice were held at the gates or entrances to cities. There Job took his seat as a judge. Even if this is an assumption not apparent in the scripture, at the very least, it means that Job was very open and seen in public, and as he will go on to say, very well respected.

(8) "The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged arose and stood up; (9) The princes refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths; (10) The nobles held their peace, and their tongues cleaved to the roofs of their mouths."

Young and old alike, and even noblemen, gave Job the ultimate respect, in the public square.

(11) "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; (12) Because I delivered the poor who cried out, and the fatherless, and him who had none to help him. (13) The blessing of him who was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."

Job insists he helped the poor and defenseless, and they praised him. This is in response to his friends' assertions that he oppressed people and "sent widows away empty".

(14) "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was like a robe and a diadem."

Job says he was clothed from head to toe in righteousness as with a robe and turban, and therefore judged righteously.

(15) "I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. (16) I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out."

Job was the defender of the blind, lame, and poor. Any cause that was brought before him, he thoroughly examined in order to judge fairly.

(17) "And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth."

Job had rescued the poor and defenseless from the wicked, who are portrayed as beasts of prey.

(18) "Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.'"

Job said to himself and believed that he would live a long contented life, safe and secure in his home. The KJV does not use quotation marks to indicate exactly what Job was saying. The NKJV and other newer translations use quotation marks around verses 18, 19, and 20, as if they were all part of one quote from Job. As verse 18 is in the future tense, and the other two verses are in the past tense, I believe that Job made the brief comment in verse 18 about how he felt secure, and then went on to explain why in verses 19 and 20.

(19) "My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. (20) My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand."

Like a healthy tree by the waters, Job flourished and prospered. His glory and strength were continually refreshed and renewed. I see that the KJV added the "was" in verse 19 and the first "was" in verse 20 for clarity. The NKJV, NIV, and other translators of newer texts, decided the word should be "is" and included it as part of Job's quote started in verse 18. Although that might could have been understandable if those were the only verbs in the verses, I still maintain that verses 19 and 20 are in the past tense, as indicated by "lay" in verse 19 and the second "was" in verse 20.

(21) "Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. (22) After my words they did not speak again, and my speech dropped upon them."

Interestingly, the word translated as "dropped" also means prophesied, so men listened to Job as he prophesied to them. I am seeing Job's quote a little differently now. He may not have been talking about his personal comfort, glory, and strength, but judging by verse 21, he may have been feeling confident and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God!

(23) "And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths wide as for the spring rain."

The men were as eager for a word from Job as a thirsty land was for water.

(24) "If I laughed at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down."

I suppose because they gave Job's words such respect and the words carried so much weight and importance, that even if he were to be casual and joking, they wouldn't believe he was joking, but would take every word very seriously. Perhaps it just means simply that if Job were to laugh at them, they would not be offended.

(25) "I chose their way for them, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners."

Job was their guide and counselor. He may have meant literally that he was their chief and king as supreme magistrate and as captain in the army, or perhaps he meant it metaphorically, but either way, men definitely looked to him for his wisdom, judgment, and advice. Job is attempting to vindicate himself from his friends' charges of guilt and hypocrisy by showing he was a man greatly respected and appreciated for his wise counsel to all, and his help to the poor and needy.

Where is Wisdom Found?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, Job is still speaking in chapter 28:

(Job 28:1) "Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. (2) Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone."

Job starts by saying that there surely are wonders of the world that man has been able to discover. The theologian Adam Clarke points out beautifully that this "chapter is the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world".

(3) "He sets an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death."

The pronoun "He" refers to man who mines precious stones from the depths of the earth, appearing even to have gone to the regions of the shadow of death.

(4) "The flood breaks out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten by the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men."

Waters that are so far below the ground that they are not known to man, break forth through mining the earth.

(5) "As for the earth, out of it comes bread, and under it is turned up as if it were fire. (6) The stones of it are the places of sapphires, and it has dust of gold."

Out of the earth comes food, and below that? Job could be referring to coal, which was fuel for fire, or maybe he refers to something like molten lava boiling below the surface of the earth.

(7) "There is a path which no bird knows, and which the vulture's eye has not seen; (8) The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it."

Man, as a miner, is able to dig deep into the earth to a place that neither beast nor bird with the keenest sight has ever seen.

(9) "He puts forth his hand on the rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots. (10) He cuts out rivers among the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. (11) He binds the floods from overflowing, and what is hidden he brings forth to light."

Interestingly, John Wesley thinks this passage is speaking about God. But some theologians think it continues with the miner. I see no reason why these verses can't be describing the miner. After all, man does have some power in the earth. That is why he often, in pride, believes he has more power than he actually does. The miner does indeed dig through rock. He can blast away mountains. He can dig out streams and dam them up. What is hidden below the surface of the ground or under the water can indeed be brought to light. A miner sees many precious things hidden in the earth.

(12) "But where will wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?"

The "But" cinches it for me. If the previous verses had been talking about God, why would there now be a "But"? Although man can do these seemingly marvelous things and unearth these wonders, there is no real wisdom and understanding in doing these things. Just because man can reach into the bowels of the earth and dig out wonders of God never before seen, he cannot really know the true wisdom of God. He may have knowledge of many earthly creations of God, and may have some understanding of how God has worked in nature on this earth, but he cannot really know the mind of God just by unearthing these wonders.

I suppose even if the previous passage of verses 9 through 11 had been speaking about the wonders of God, as John Wesley said, rather than what man can do, verse 12 would still make sense. Even though we see these marvelous wonders of God on earth, it does not mean we have complete understanding of Him. Either way, the context is the same. No matter what man sees and knows of God here on earth, he cannot know the mind of God.

(13) "Man does not know its value; neither is it found in the land of the living."

Man does not even know the value of true wisdom and understanding of God, and there is not enough in all the world to equal the value of it.

(14) "The deep says, 'It is not in me', and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' (15) It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price. (16) It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. (17) The gold and the crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it will not be for jewels of fine gold. (18) No mention will be made of coral, or of pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. (19) The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it; neither will it be valued with pure gold."

Job recites a poetic list of all the wonderful and valuable treasures of the earth that cannot come close to the value of true wisdom.

(20) "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? (21) Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air."

Since wisdom is not known in all the world, and nothing comes close to it here on earth, Job asks from where then does it come.

(22) "Destruction and death say, 'We have heard the fame of it with our ears.'"

This is an interesting side note of Job's. Although, no one on earth knows wisdom, death and destruction have heard of it? Does he mean that, in death, souls will have more understanding? I do know a day is coming when all will know God and every knee will bow to Him, but this verse seems to suggest that the dead only have a partial knowledge of it at this point; they've only heard of it, they can't really say for certain what it is. So when souls depart this earth, do they have an inkling of what is to come at that point? I can see this verse another way. Perhaps after reviewing what happened in a certain destruction and death, we can garner some wisdom, learning from the past, so to speak. Think of all the Biblical wisdom that has been given to us for our learning, but even in this, we can say we have read about it, we have heard about it, but we cannot really KNOW it.

(23) "God understands its way, and He knows its place, (24) For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, (25) To make the weight for the winds, and He weighs the waters by measure."

Man may be able to discover some secrets of the earth. He may be able to dig through mountains and dig out creeks, but it is God who made those mountains and made the waters that will flow into those creeks. God knows exactly what is necessary to hold back the oceans and He has the power to unleash them by the wind that He alone controls.

(26) "When He made a law for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, (27) Then He saw it and declared it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out."

God declared His creations. God saw it, that it was good. He declared it through his marvelous works of nature, that they declare the glory of God. Our words "searched it out" aren't really sufficient for the meaning of the original word, "chaqar", which denotes a perfect intimate knowledge.

(28) "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

The best we can attain of true wisdom and understanding on this earth is to fear the Lord and depart from evil. That is the charge God left for us. The word translated as fear also means reverence. Fearing the Lord is having a reverential fear that He is the One who holds your life in His hands. It's not that we have to be constantly afraid that He will strike us down for no reason, but we understand that He has the power to do so, but He loves us and wants the best for us, which is everlasting life with Him in eternity. Evil necessarily has to be as God describes it to us. The best we can do here on earth is to follow the Lord and follow the commandments He left for us, and that will be wisdom and understanding here on earth. We cannot have God's perfect intimate knowledge, but we can have what He gives us through His Holy Spirit when we seek to follow Him.

A Lesson in Judging Not

Continuing with a Bible study of Job, Job answers his friends who accuse him of being guilty of sin in order for God to bring such calamity on him.

(Job 12:1) And Job answered and said, (2) "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you."

Job begins with a little sarcasm, that his friends must be the only wise men in the world!

(3) "But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?"

Job says that he understands the things they speak of as well as they do; who wouldn't know those things? Job knows in his heart that his situation is not the clear-cut black and white case of "you reap what you sow" that his friends try to make it. Actually, the word translated "understanding" here also means "the heart". In this speech, Job wants his friends to really understand his heart, the way God judges people.

(4) "I am like one mocked by his neighbor, who called upon God, and He answered him; the just upright man is ridiculed."

Job feels mocked by his friends and neighbors, godly men who converse with God. Although he is a just upright man, he is mocked and ridiculed.

(5) "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease."

This is a rather difficult scripture to understand. The general consensus among the early commentaries is that the idea here is that when a man is in prosperity, as with a blazing torch, he is regarded as a guide, example, or light. But when he slips into adversity, he is regarded as an almost extinguished lamp that is now held in contempt and cast away. I'm not sure that explains the one "that is at ease". Maybe he that rests no longer needs the lamp and tosses it aside, just as someone who used to be in high regard, is tossed aside when he falls into adversity.

(6) "The tents of robbers prosper, and they who provoke God are secure, into whose hand God brings abundantly."

Job uses this fact to refute his friends' assertions that the wicked do not prosper. They often DO seem to prosper in this world, therefore prosperity and adversity can be no measures for man's spiritual state or righteousness.

(7) "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (8) Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. (9) Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, (10) In Whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?"

Job may be making a dig at Zophar's lofty statement that no one can know God. In so many words, he says you need not go to heaven, you need not go to hell, as Zophar had insinuated, but just look around you in all of nature. Even the animals have as much wisdom as his friends appear to have!

(11) "Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? (12) Wisdom is with the ancient, and with length of days, understanding. (13) With Him are wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding."

Job may be saying here that while it is true that wisdom comes from age and experience, these things cannot be taken without question. They should be tested and proven, because after all, God is the only One with true and complete wisdom and understanding.

(14) "Behold, He breaks down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. (15) Behold, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; also He sends them out, and they overwhelm the earth. (16) With Him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His."

God is almighty, and basically, everything in opposition to Him is powerless.

(17) "He leads counselors away plundered, and makes the judges fools. (18) He loosens the bonds of kings, and binds their waist with a belt."

In other words, He takes away their authority and allows them to be bound as captives.

(19) "He leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. (20) He removes the speech of the trusty, and takes away the understanding of the aged. (21) He pours contempt on princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. (22) He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings to light the shadow of death."

Not only is everything powerless to Him, but nothing can be hidden from Him.

(23) "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. (24) He takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. (25) They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man."

(Job 13:1) "Behold, my eye has seen all this; my ear has heard and understood it. (2) What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you."

Job's friends have told him nothing new. He knows as much as they do about the things they have spoken about up to this point.

(3) "But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. (4) But you are forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians. (5) O that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom."

His friends are no help, and Job wishes they would just be quiet; he desires to speak to God Himself!

(6) "Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. (7) Will you speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for Him? (8) Will you accept His person? Will you contend for God?"

Job is asking his friends if they speak for God, but he obviously views what they have been saying as "wicked" and untrue.

(9) "Is it good that He should search you out? Or as one man mocks another, do you so mock Him? (10) He will surely rebuke you if you secretly show partiality."

Paraphrased, "So you act for God, but what if He were to really search your hearts? You mock Him with your empty speeches! He will surely rebuke you!" Showing partiality or being a respecter of persons means judging a person either favorably or unfavorably without evidence. Job is undoubtedly referring to himself being judged unjustly by his friends.

(11) "Will not His excellence make you afraid, and the dread of Him fall upon you?"

Paraphrased, "Does not the awe and magnificence of Him and the terror He can wield not make you afraid?"

(12) "Your mementos are like ashes, your bodies like bodies of clay. (13) Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what may. (14) Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hands?"

Verse 14 is a little difficult to understand, but in light of what Job has been saying, I believe what is meant in the last passage is loosely, "You, my friends, offer nothing, so be quiet and leave me alone. I will speak my part, whatever the consequences, putting my life on the line, come what may."

(15) "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will defend my own ways before Him. (16) He also shall be my salvation, for a hypocrite shall not come before Him."

No matter what God does to him, Job trusts his Savior completely. It is obvious that Job also feels in his heart that he is completely innocent of hypocrisy, for he knows he could not come before Him if he was a hypocrite.

This is a very good lesson and such an important thing for us to remember; only God knows the heart of a man. It's easy for us to judge. Job's friends, who were obviously good religious men, judged the situation by the "rules" they had been taught, especially, "You reap what you sow"; therefore, Job must be guilty, even if he did not know it. Again I say, what a beautiful lesson! I think "judge not" is taken to an extreme in this day and age and used to excuse anything and everything, including those things immoral and against God. We are told in scripture to judge righteously, and to judge evil. We are to judge the fruits of a man. And we tell the truth in love. However, in this case, there had been no evil fruit of Job's to judge. Had his friends seen Job doing wrong, they could have shown him the error of his ways, telling him the truth in love. But they went too far, and seeing no evil fruit, they proceeded to judge Job's heart. I truly believe this is what is meant by "Judge not". We are to judge the evil actions, but only God can judge the motives of the heart. And we can be sure that if a person's heart is truly seeking after God, then He will lead them to the truth. Think of Saul who persecuted the Christians. He truly believed he was doing the work of God, and God showed him the truth of his ways, and he became a follower of Christ.

(17) "Listen carefully to my speech, and to my declaration with your ears. (18) See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be justified."

Continuing with the thought that only God judges the heart, I believe that is what Job is trying to get his friends to do, "Really listen and really hear what I am saying."

(19) "Who is he who will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall perish."

Who will contend with Job now, for he has set his cause before God. Perhaps Job feels he must defend himself or burst. It's hard to exactly discern the meaning of this scripture. Maybe Job feels if he didn't defend himself, he would be condemned to death because no one else would defend him.

(20) "Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You:"

Now Job directs his comments to God:

(21) "Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. (22) Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You answer me. (23) How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. (24) Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy?"

Job asks that God not terrify him with His awesome power, but let him speak with Him. He asks God to show him his transgressions and to tell him why he has lost favor with God.

(25) "Will You break a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue the dry stubble?"

In comparison to God's awesome power, Job is like a dried up leaf blowing in the wind.

(26) "For You write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth."

To Job, it seems God must have kept a record of his sins from his youth and indiscretion before he had understanding of God's laws.

(27) "You put my feet also in the stocks, and watch closely all my paths. You set a print on the soles of my feet. (28) And he, as a rotten thing, decays, as a garment that is moth eaten."

Continuing with his thought that God must have kept a very close record of every small thing he did in his youth, he feels He has watched and kept a record of every step. Then Job speaks of himself in the third person, describing his demise under such a severe record from the awesome God.

The One Source for Truth

In this time when our leaders cannot be trusted and the "news" media cannot be trusted, there is only one place we can go for truth, to our heavenly Father and His written Word. Jesus told us that we must watch what is going on; we are to watch and pray.

"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." - Luke 21:36

We are not to be ignorant of the times, but we must not place our faith in people, our government, or in a secure future here on earth. These are definitely perilous times, but our God did not leave us defenseless. He gave us Jesus Christ to save us from death, real eternal death:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

To those who accept His gift of salvation, He gives His Holy Spirit:

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." - John 16:13

In addition, there is the Bible, God's written Word, available to anyone who will pick it up and read it. That Word was left for our instruction and for our wisdom. There is no wisdom outside of God.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. - 2 Timothy 3:16

For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. - Proverbs 2:6

There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD. - Proverbs 21:30

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— - 1 Corinthians 1:30

All are necessary for real wisdom and truth: salvation in Jesus Christ with Him as the Lord of our lives, fellowship and prayer with the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit to lead us in truth, and the Bible as God's written Word and our guide for living. We must have the covering of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus for our sins first and foremost. That is what allows us to be able to approach the Holy God of the universe. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit to lead us in truth when we are saved by Him. But we must not stop there. I believe immersion in the written Word of God is necessary, too. After all, there are many spirits out there competing for our souls.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. - 1 John 4:1

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. - 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

Many false religions have been started by people who had a vision. There is one sure way to know if the spirit that is leading you is the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit masquerading as the Holy Spirit:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. - 1 John 4:1

How can we test the spirits? We see if they line up with the Word of God:

These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. - Acts 17:11

The Bereans did not take the word of Paul and Silas; they searched the scriptures DAILY to see if what they told them was true. If only we all did the same! There would not be so many false religions and so many deceived people falling for false doctrines and "wise" worldly ideas. We would all have the true wisdom of God, which is the ONLY wisdom. Man's wisdom is foolishness.

While we should be watching what is going on in the world today, we need the daily study of God's Word as the standard by which to measure the fruit of men's actions. Jesus said:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. - Matthew 7:15-20

By their fruits you will know them! I'm sorry, but even though our president may throw around a few Bible references and talk about hope and change and a greater good, he is to be judged by his fruits. Consider that he has the most pro-abortion record in history, to the point of voting THREE TIMES for the murder of babies BORN ALIVE OUTSIDE THE WOMB because of a failed abortion attempt. Consider his actions on the world stage by immediately repealing the Mexico City policy and spreading and increasing abortions worldwide. Consider his repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and his other promotions of homosexuality. Consider his complete lawlessness when he seeks to ignore laws and rulings he doesn't like, as with immigration laws and rulings against his Obamacare. A good tree CANNOT bear bad fruit; only a bad tree bears bad fruit. It's just that matter of fact.

I just read something I had not previously heard about Corrie ten Boom. She believed, more than just reading the Word, we should start trying to memorize the Bible! She believed the antichrist would destroy Bibles and the only Bible some of us may have in the end times is what we have memorized and hidden away in our hearts. I also heard tell of the testimony of a man who spent a long time in solitary confinement. He survived by singing hymns and reciting scripture. He commented he wished he had paid more attention in church so that he might have remembered more scriptures!

I found a wonderful free tool for Bible study in e-Sword. It has a scripture memory tool which allows the user to enter scriptures of his choosing, and be tested on them for as long as needed until they are truly embedded in his heart.

In the past, I have enjoyed reading chronologically ordered Bibles. It is very interesting to read multiple accounts of the same event at the same time as it gives a complete description of the event. In addition, I enjoy reading the psalm that was sung at the same time as the event which inspired it. In the past, I have read through the Bible, and when starting over, have chosen a different version or method of study when I began again. So every time I began a new Bible study, I was reading a different version. I have come to realize that only the King James Version is to be trusted. In my current study, I am using an online Bible from Blue Letter Bible, but there are many to choose from. I am reading both the King James Version and the New King James versions. I believe the KJV is the most reliable and I have discussed this before. But there are times when the NKJV just makes it a little easier to understand without the "thee's" and "thou's", etc. I found a chronological study online that is not its own Bible, but allows you to use your own Bible and gives you the chronological order in which to read it. It is entitled A Chronological Bible Reading Schedule by Skip Andrews. In addition, I am making my Bible reading more comprehensive this time by using Strong's Concordance to give me the original meaning of any word that may be a little difficult to understand, especially if I notice a difference in the KJV and the NKJV of the text. If I need further understanding, I use the many commentaries found on my downloaded e-Sword program. As I gain a complete understanding of each scripture, I rewrite it in my own journal, in the language I understand best. It is almost always the KJV, with some of the NKJV's newer American words instead of the old English. Occasionally, when I don't understand the Old English word, but the NKJV seems to have altered the meaning, then I use the Strong's and find the best translation that I can personally understand. While I am doing this exhaustive study and journaling this time, when I come across scriptures that really speak to my heart or ones I just want to remember, I enter them into the scripture memory tool in my e-Sword program. It's taking a lot longer to read my Bible this time around, but I believe I will have a much more thorough understanding when I am finished.

Since I am transcribing the Bible verses in a computer journal anyway, I want to start posting it here on this blog with any study notes and with any comments on correlations to current events. After all, the Bible is the ONE source for truth! Watching today's news (and lack thereof!) and current events through the lens of the Bible can take on a whole new meaning. I hope this blog will find readers and fellow students of the Bible who would like to join in a discussion. I welcome any comments or even debate, as the Word of God always stands true. It's true that we may not always see it 100% accurately:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12

However, I am confident that with Jesus Christ as Lord, communion with God in prayer and thanksgiving, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can receive much knowledge and wisdom from the scriptures!

What Is the Answer to Every Problem Today?

Isn't it wonderful that there is truly just one answer to every problem? How simple it makes it for us! In a time when life seems so very complicated, it is quite comforting to know that the answer is, always has been, and always will be the same! We need our Lord Jesus Christ! That's it! The god of this world, Satan, has twisted and complicated the issue since the dawn of man, deceiving people away from their one true answer and help, but his actions will never change the truth. God's laws are as absolute and true as gravity, and our beliefs about that will never change it.

My advice for anyone going through anything is simply to READ YOUR BIBLE! That's it! No matter what the problem, I know that God will lead anyone to the truth through His Word. I don't have all the answers, but I know the One Who does! He holds the truth about everything that was; everything that is going on now, and that includes the world, culture, and our own personal relationships; and everything that will be in the future. And His Holy Spirit is alive and well and actively working in the hearts of people on earth right now to do His will. He says that if anyone actively seeks Him with all his or her heart and soul, they will find Him!

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. - Deuteronomy 4:29-31

When you are in distress, even in the last days, no matter what you have done in the past, when you turn to Him and obey Him, He will be there for you! What a wonderful promise! Often, when we are in distress and at rock-bottom, that is when we finally turn to God in prayer. While an ongoing relationship with God may be the most important relationship we have, I believe it needs to be more than just prayer. That is because we have an active enemy constantly trying to deceive us and lead us away from God's truth. Satan himself can appear as an angel and deceive us!

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. - 2 Corinthians 11:14

Imagine! If an angel of light were to appear to you and teach you "words of wisdom", you might very willingly be caught up in it all! That is, unless you knew that what the angel was saying was not exactly true. Maybe it sounded good at first, but you knew that it was a lie designed to be enticing, but one that would lead to destruction. There is only one way to really know that, and that is to know the Word of God! That is why my answer to everything is, "Read your Bible."

The real answer for all people is that they need Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and that He is the only way to God because He alone is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He is the only way that we can come to the almighty God of the universe when we are but filthy rags! But there is a purposeful deception being taught in the world today that all paths lead to God. If all we did was to go to church and pray to the god taught by many churches, we could be worshiping a false god, and be eternally lost. That is why Jesus said there would be people who would call Him Lord, who would believe they had prophesied in His name, who would believe they had cast out demons, and had done wonderful good things, but He would turn them away and they would not enter heaven.

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' - Matthew 7:21-23

The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do the will of God in Heaven, Jesus's Father in Heaven, to be exact! How can we know that will, if there are those who constantly purposely seek to deceive us? We can read God's Word in the Bible! God said He would never forsake us; He would never desert us with no means of knowing what we truly needed in order to have eternal life in Heaven. That is why my advice is always to read your Bible first! The answer to eternal life is found in the Bible. But maybe you don't even know that you need Jesus Christ. Maybe you don't even know enough to care about eternity. Maybe you are more concerned about your daily troubles. The answer is still the same. The Bible holds God's wisdom for living here on earth, and truly living eternally with Him. He will lead you to what you truly need.

Maybe you are a Christian who knows Jesus as Lord, but has lost his or her way because of all the deceptions in the world today. Maybe things seem so difficult today. The answer is the same. Read your Bible! God knows what you need, even when you don't! He is the Creator, the One who knew you before you were born! He knows where you have been and where you will be years from now. He knows your heart when no one else does! He alone can help you! I believe He can and will save people even without their reading of His Word. He can reach His lost sheep by any means, but life could be a lot simpler if they know His will. He has left us a manual for living, so why not use it? If we truly believed that it really did hold the answer to all our problems, I don't think we'd hesitate to use it. Well, it DOES!