God Needs to Listen! (Job 13:6-14:22)

Job has tried to reason with the men who have come to encourage him.  However, in Job’s mind he is not gaining any traction.  The counselors are still convinced that Job has unconfessed sin or a specific sin that warrants God’s punishment.  The irony is that Job and the counselors are not in complete disagreement, but Job has been trying to tell the counselors that there is something wrong with the world as they know it.  What is Job going to say to the Lord? What is the basis of Job’s trial?

Is Wisdom Traditional? (Job 12:1-13:6)

We can learn a lot from tradition and from many who have gone before us.  We can learn because they are people who have had struggles, setbacks, and experienced success like we have.  We can learn how to cope in each of these situations from the generations before us.  However, Job does not seem that persuaded by the generations who have gone before him.  In fact, Job pretty much rebukes the counselors for listening to wisdom that is traditional for them.  What is Job’s problem?  Why does Job seem to doubt the credibility of wisdom and those who have gone before him?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Mission (Deuteronomy 4:1-24)

The rebellious generation has been purged and Moses is about to die.  So, Moses addresses the people of Israel exhorting them to remember their God and to remember their mission in the land.  What is their mission in the land?  What is their unique calling as a nation?  What is their purpose as they enter this unique land at a unique time in their history?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Stall (3) (Hebrews 3:1-4:13)

There are times when it is easy for us as New Testament saints to see ourselves in a different place from the Old Testament saints.  In other words their struggle was their struggle and we have a completely different sort of struggle.  Is this a mindset that is consistent with Scripture?  How are we exhorted in Hebrews as a people called to honor the Lord?  What are we to learn from the Old Testament saints?

God is Mercifully Wise (Job 11)

Men have scheduled their time to meet with Job and encourage him.  We have heard two of the counselors and now we have the opportunity to hear from a third counselor. The counselors have not successfully encouraged Job in the Gospel. Job is one who has claimed his own self-righteousness before the Lord claiming that he can hold God accountable.  Is this new counselor going to be the voice of reason who lays out the gospel?  Is there going to be someone who understands that Job is not fighting against God?  Will this speech help Job understand that God is not His enemy, but the very strength of his life?

My Day in Court (Job 9:1-10:22)

We can imagine the frustration that Job feels in the midst of this trial.  His counselors accuse him of sinning, he has been told to repent, and Job has no idea what sinful thing he has done to deserve this trial.  None of the counselors consider that maybe Job’s problem is not directly his sin, but his righteousness.  Job is brought to a breaking point to make explicit that he is really righteous and he wants to appeal to God.  So, when can our righteousness become a problem?  Or is our righteousness never a problem?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Stall (2) (Numbers 20)

What is so rebellious about Moses striking the rock two times?  We might think that this is a question that is out of line, but Moses is commanded to strike the rock in Exodus 17.  Why is it okay for him to strike the rock in Exodus 17, but not okay for him to strike the rock in Numbers 20?  What does Moses do that is so bad?  Is God just a moody being who judges people in a very vindictive and unpredictable way?  What did God intend the people to see through Moses?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Stall (Numbers 14)

One would think that after experiencing the passover, the exodus, and the crossing of the Red Sea that the end of the story for Israel would be, “and they lived happily ever after.”  This is not the way that the story ends.  In fact, the story is still going on even today.  How come the people of God did not find their full rest in the promised land?  How come they did not find their full joy and contentment in the Lord? Does the Lord deprive His people of something or is the problem even deeper? Is there something that applies to us today?

The Righteous will Always Prevail (Job 8)

Job’s friends came together with the purpose to rally around him and encourage him.  Eliphaz has not done a great job of helping Job as Eliphaz implied that Job deserved this suffering.  Now, it is time for the second counselor to try.  Will Bildad encourage Job?  Is there something we can glean from Bildad as he tries to encourage Job?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Celebration (Exodus 15:1-18)

Exodus 15 gives us a picture of a Sabbath celebration.  Moses and the Israelites join together in praising God for the manifestation of His redemption.    We can understand Israel joining together in this victory chorus because this is the conclusion of their 400 some years of enslavement and suffering.   What does this celebration say about the Lord and his provision?  What is the ultimate hope that we see by God delivering His people?  How is this hope very relevant for us today?

Finish This! (Job 6:1-7:21)

Job’s friends, the counselors, are now beginning to interact with Job.  They grieved with Job, they failed to recognize their friend, and Eliphaz has interacted with Job’s speech or attitude.  Job questioned the wisdom of God, and Eliphaz questioned whether Job really understands God.  How will Job respond?  We noted that the counselor was not consistent with the Lord’s wisdom.  Will Job finally see through this trial and clearly see the Lord?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Instigation (2) (Exodus 12:33-13:16)

The ridiculous claim that the Lord made was that Israel was going to plunder the Egyptians.  This sounds ridiculous because how can a people who are in slavery, have been in slavery for centuries, and are still very much in slavery when the Lord finds them going to triumph over their slave masters?  Our understanding is rather simple: if a people have been enslaved for centuries then it is very likely they will remain in slavery.  However, the Lord promised that the Lord would deliver his people with a mighty hand.  Is the Lord really able to do such a thing?  What does this deliverance-exodus teach us about God’s redemption?

Simply Guilty (Job 4-5)

We heard Job’s frustration of his life in this age.  He is one who does not see the value or the purpose of his life right now.  His speech is asking the Lord to blot him out of existence.  This is not something that is appropriate or correct, and how are his friends going to encourage this man?  We would think and hope that they would provide a counter point to Job’s previous speech.  Eliphaz speaks up, he challenges Job’s speech, and is laying out his view of suffering.  Is this view correct?

Trapped by Life (Job 3)

Job finally breaks the 7 day silence to express his perception of things.  Job does not see the purpose of his life.  Why is this so wrong and how does this show that we too need redefine meaning in terms of the Lord’s bigger picture?  How does Job’s speech fail to see the bigger purpose of life that we might fail to perceive?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Instigation (Exodus 12)

There is little doubt that Pharaoh claiming not to know the Lord is basically Pharaoh saying that the Lord of Israel is no match for him.  The reality is that the Egyptians have held the Israelites for 400 some years and their God has not acted on their behalf so what can their God really do?  Pharaoh heard the Lord’s warning through Moses, and should know that God means business.  So, how much business does the Lord really mean?  Is the Lord really ready to deliver his people from the Egyptian bondage?  What can such a message declare about the Lord’s Sabbath rest?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Setting (Exodus 3)

The Lord has promised that His people will dwell in the land of Canaan.  There have been a few problems along the way.  First, the couple that God called to build His Sabbath people were a barren couple.  How is the Lord going to continue the biological seed of the woman?  Second, Jacob fleeing to Laban and leaving the land.  How can a divided family unite to bring in the promised heir?  Third, the immorality and the strife in Jacob’s family.  Now, fourth, we arrive at the problem of God’s people being enslaved in Egypt.  Can the Lord deliver His people from such an empire?

A Wholly Righteous Servant? (Job 2:1-13)

The Adversary, or Satan, had his chance to remove Job’s hedge that sheltered him from the heat of life under the sun.  Satan is not happy with the result because Job did not, “curse God to His face.”  Is Satan going to drop his accusation against God at this point?  Will the Lord allow further testing to show Satan that the new humanity does love God because of God?

Why Love God? (Job 1)

The story of Job opens with a man who is righteous, fears God, and turns from evil.  This is a man who lives out the wisdom of the gospel as he even sacrifices a burn offering in case one of his children cursed God in their heart.  This is a man who is worthy of blessing and a man who deserve blessing from the hand of God.  So, what sort of wisdom is being communicated to us when Job receives the exact opposite of what he deserves?  What is the driving force of Job’s suffering?  Does Job really love God because of who God is or does Job love God because of what God can do for Job?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Submission (Genesis 49)

Jacob is on his deathbed and now has the opportunity to prophetically speak about the future of his 12 sons.  Will he abuse his prophetic gift and try to put his favored son ahead of the other sons?  Or has this man really learned from this wrestling match that the wisdom of God is manifested through weakness?  How does the Lord show the irony off the Messianic line by coming through a very unlikely son?  Why is this son such an unlikely candidate to bring forth the messiah?

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Surrender (2) (Genesis 48)

Jacob is an elderly man on his death bed.  His favored son Joseph makes it easy for Jacob to bless his grand children by arranging them in their proper place.  Joseph knows that the older is to receive the greater blessing and the younger is to receive the inferior blessing.  Jacob, a supplanter schemer, places his right hand on the younger and his left on the older.  Why does this offend Joseph?  What does this communicate about Jacob’s heart condition?