October 28, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Job? Here’s today’s reading:
Job 40 (NIV)
1 The Lord said to Job:
2“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.…..Continue Reading
God humbles Job (and Job responds rightly!) here and these verses remind me of Paul in Romans 9:20 when he writes:
“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
God, you are God, and I am not…ultimately, God shows great mercy in hearing our questions, and shows loving kindness in our doubts, fears, and weakness…but He does us a great mercy in these chapters of reminding us that He answers to no one. He cannot be put in the wrong, for His very nature defines what is right. But how often my sinful heart wants to place Him in the wrong, suggest that He isn’t good, or that He doesn’t take care of me, or that His grace is not sufficient for me. For in this is found our greatest sin, that of idolatry…the desire of my human heart to be its own god. But there is only one God, and He will not share His glory with another…thanksgiving and praise be to Him who sits upon the throne, and who in His great love for us has chosen to redeem broken, sinful people, that we might be reunited with Him for all eternity!!!
Job is humbled when he confronts God and realizes that he is vile before God. God than goes on and describes the Behemoth. This large animal God made the same day that He made mankind on day 6 of creation. Verse 15 This creature is given in great detail. God says that he is the chief of the ways of God implying that he was the largest land animal. God also says besides eating grass like an ox his tail is like a cedar implying that his tail was very long and large. To me this and the rest of the description tells me it was a dinosaur . It could be no other than the Barosaurus the largest of the Sauropods. I remember when I first became a Christian at the age of 20 I started reading my Bible through every year. I don`t know if it was the first time through or the second but I read about these two creatures in Job 40 and 41. In the Living Bible it said it was a hippopotamus and some said a elephant. Neither of these two matches the description for they have tiny tails. Also they are not larger than any other land animals then or now. So I was confused and realized latter what it was in Job 40. Can you imagine my surprise when I realized what it was. I was taught the lie that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago well before mankind. The same with Evolution. Mankind did not evolve and all the so called evidence has been disproved. Mankind was created in the image of God. The science evidence continually proves the Bible. Evolution is suppose to be improving but what actually is happening is that our bodies and minds are breaking down. With our DNA every generation we lose information not gain it. This is because of sin. I am not a science person but a history person. I strongly recommend getting the book Traced by Nathaniel T. Jeanson. You can get it through Answers in Genesis. From DNA we can trace our roots back to Noah, and his sons. Again science is proving the Bible right. Of course we know the Bible is true because God is truth. May the Lord bless us all.
Job 40; 1 Samuel 16-17
Job 40
Job 40
Job 40. Again, Job cannot answer God, no surprise there…but, vss 7-14 is quite telling, didn’t catch it before. Want to know how you can save yourself?
Sorry, none of us qualify! Gordy
Once again we have 2 chapters that are similar and very much related to the past 2 as well. What is unique at the beginning here is God addresses Job directly and Job responds humbly recognizing what we all should, that we really have no right or reason to question God. And yet how often do we? We really can’t reply to Him and our best pose before Him is with our hands over our mouths. He is the One who speaks and we are the ones who should listen. I was also struck by the second part of verse 8 where God ask “would you condemn me to justify yourself”? Isn’t that often the thing we do when we justify disobedience and blame God for misunderstanding or having a bad standard? Isn’t it exactly the angle that satan took with Eve in the garden..God is keeping you from something that will benefit you. Well he uses the same argument with us today, so let’s be aware when it is happening to us.
Otherwise the rest of 41 and 42 continues to exalt God in His control over things that overwhelm us. Now that is not to say that we don’t need to hear that over and over, and be humbled continually by the awesome nature of creation and how we are very small in the context of it. And if we are overwhelmed by something God has created and He thereby is over it, how much greater does God become. Which should ultimately cause us to believe and trust Him more in every aspect of life and not settle for the shiny scraps that the world and sin and satan offer us all the time. God is always bigger and better!
What struck me is the importance of listening to God. We spend a lot of time talking in life with people and in our prayers with God. But what can we say to God?!?! job is reminded once again and in turn reminds us that God is in control of the calm and the storm and we must most often be still and know He is God!
Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
Reminds me of Isaiah’s response to seeing the throne room.
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
“Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” Be still, listen and learn for when God speaks, he has something very important to say. He will give us something to think about and clarify how great and awesome He is.