Job 12

WEEK 16                                                       Job 12  

FRIDAY  Reflections

Job here speaks the word many have felt if not spoken themselves; “I have become a laughingstock… men at ease have contempt for misfortune.”

 

People who are at ease miss the point and can’t appreciate what all is happening. Hearing these words reminds me of the term “armchair quarterbacking.” These are the guys who sit at home and always know the right play the quarterback ought to play. They may never have actually played in college or at all, but they know better. Of course, everyone thinks they know better when they stand on the outside of a situation. Yes, sometimes they might be correct, but usually, armchair quarterbacks aren’t right, because they are trying to understand from a place of ease and not in the thick of things.

 

Job is correct in pointing out that these people are out there. They were there 4000 years ago and they are here today.

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Job 12:1-25

(1)  And Job answered and said,

(2)  No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

(3)  But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

(4)  I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

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

(6)  The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

(7)  But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

(8)  Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

(9)  Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

(10)  In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

(11)  Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?

(12)  With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

(13)  With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

(14)  Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

(15)  Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

(16)  With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.

(17)  He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.

(18)  He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

(19)  He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.

(20)  He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

(21)  He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

(22)  He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

(23)  He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again.

(24)  He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

(25)  They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

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Luke 16

WEEK 16                                                    Luke 16  

THURSDAY  Reflections

“‘Whoever can be trusted with very little can also, be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Luke 16:10-12

According to Jesus how you know if someone can handle a big important thing is to see how they handle little thing. This challenges us to be faithful in the little things of this world because if we aren’t we won’t be trusted with the really important thing.

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Luk 16:1-31
(1)  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
(2)  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
(3)  Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
(4)  I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
(5)  So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
(6)  And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
(7)  Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
(8)  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
(9)  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
(10)  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
(11)  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
(12)  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
(13)  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(14)  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
(15)  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
(16)  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
(17)  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
(18)  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
(19)  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
(20)  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
(21)  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
(22)  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
(23)  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
(24)  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
(25)  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
(26)  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
(27)  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
(28)  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
(29)  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
(30)  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
(31)  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

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Psalm 13

WEEK 16                                                  Psalm 13  

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

The Bible I am looking at now has a caption* above chapter 13: "A prayer of distress and faith." It perfectly describes the psalm. There are times in our lives when we probably utter a prayer exactly like this. A prayer that says everything is going wrong, but I am still going to trust God. This is not a prayer of defeat though. This is a prayer of defiance. It is the prayer of someone who knows that faith in God has greater rewards than anything we can see. Yet it is a prayer for help.

 

This prayer reminds me of the three Hebrew children who stand before the king and say "God is more than able to save us, but if not we will not bow" (Daniel 3:17-18 my own paraphrase).

 

There are times when we may feel forgotten and forsaken, we aren't. We need to keep trusting even when things don't go right. We don't see the whole story, God does and he will reward us even if it isn't in this life. This faith may not be the defiant kind that stands up to the king, but if it holds on to God in weakness then it will prevail. In fact, it may be the stronger faith, though it looks weaker.

 

Keep holding on.

 

*Captions are added by the publisher of this Bible to help the reader find or understand the content in a portion of the Bible. They are not a part of the original text but can be useful.

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Psa 13:1-6
(1)  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
(2)  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
(3)  Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
(4)  Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
(5)  But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

(6)  I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

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Genesis 35

WEEK 16                                                Genesis 35  

TUESDAY  Reflections

 Genesis 35:2 “...Put away the strange gods that are among you...”

 

In this chapter, Jacob makes the journey which takes him from being the one God promised to be in covenant with, to being in covenant with him. It starts with a call from God, which is always the case. God reaches out to us. After that call Jacob accepts the call and does something which we may not have realized he was doing before, stops worshiping other gods. He not only makes that decision for himself but for all those that are part of his family.

 

We don’t hear if there are any complaints, though I am sure there were, we do see that Jacob hides these idols away and leaves them behind. This is a great reminder of what we should do with our idols. Don’t just stop worshiping them, leave them behind. Why? Because it is easy to start worshiping what you still carry with you.

 

Finally, I notice once Jacob set aside the idols it says the fear of the Lord fell on the nations around him. This is a reminder that when we are doing what God wants, living how God wants us to, he will protect us so we can complete the work we are called to do. No, I am not saying there will never be trouble, sorrow, suffering or death, (look at the life of Paul, there was plenty). What I am saying is that we do not need to worry because God will give us what we need to complete the task he has set before us.

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Gen 35:1-29
(1)  And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
(2)  Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
(3)  And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
(4)  And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
(5)  And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
(6)  So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
(7)  And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
(8)  But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
(9)  And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
(10)  And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
(11)  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
(12)  And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
(13)  And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
(14)  And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
(15)  And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
(16)  And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
(17)  And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
(18)  And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
(19)  And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
(20)  And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
(21)  And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
(22)  And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
(23)  The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
(24)  The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
(25)  And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
(26)  And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
(27)  And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
(28)  And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
(29)  And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

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Genesis 34

WEEK 16                                                Genesis 34  

MONDAY  Reflection

This chapter doesn't look at the actions of God but the actions of men. In this case, the actions specifically of Simeon and Levi. As the story goes these two brothers were angry that Shechem raped their sister (reading this in the King James Version this might be missed). Since Shechem was the son of a king he may have thought there would be no consequences. Perhaps because he thought he loved her and now wanted to marry Dinah he could maybe make it right (it's impossible to tell).

 

There are two things that stand out, first the utter absence of Jacob's thoughts or actions. Where is the father who should have stood up for his daughter? It is no wonder that Diane’s brothers felt they need to step in. It seems Dad kept silent. Second, was the way Simeon and Levi used what was intended as holy (circumcision) to exact revenge. I wish it were not true, but people have used the doctrines of the church to inflict pain on people. I want to point out that I believe Shechem needed to be punished, but what Simeon and Levi did was not punish but exacting revenge. On a side note, they made a profit off the revenge too, which truly bothers me.

 

When we see this story, we have a great example of the anti-hero. This is an example of everything a follower of God should not be. We need to stand against wrong and not ignore it. We also shouldn't use God’s word to seek revenge, and we shouldn’t use evil to get a profit.

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Gen 34:1-31

(1)  And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

(2)  And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

(3)  And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.

(4)  And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.

(5)  And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.

(6)  And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.

(7)  And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

(8)  And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.

(9)  And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.

(10)  And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.

(11)  And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.

(12)  Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.

(13)  And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:

(14)  And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

(15)  But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;

(16)  Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.

(17)  But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.

(18)  And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.

(19)  And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.

(20)  And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,

(21)  These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.

(22)  Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.

(23)  Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.

(24)  And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.

(25)  And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.

(26)  And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.

(27)  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.

(28)  They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,

(29)  And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.

(30)  And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.

(31)  And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

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