Job: Realistic in his complaints, yet trusting in God.

Many times we're able to say to other people with problems, "Start seeing the glass as half full, be grateful just to be alive, look at the bright side," and other nice phrases to try to encourage them. Sometimes these people know that we're just trying to be kind and sometimes they actually resent all those phrases because they know that no one understands how they really feel.

 Three friends of Job traveled to his home and sat and mourned with him for seven days and nights. They respectfully didn't say anything until Job spoke first.  Once Job began to speak, they each one by one tried to offer him advice or offer reasons for his troubles. They showed good friendship by their presence but none of their words were helpful or welcome.

Job responded to his three friends in Job 21:34

³⁴ “How can your empty clichés comfort me?
All your explanations are lies!”

Everyone talks about Job, how he remained faithful during his difficulties and how he received double for all he lost at the end, yet we smooth over the fact that Job actually complained. His losses were real: all of his children killed at once, all of his livestock destroyed or stolen, the deterioration of his health, and the ruination of his reputation. It is true that Job never lost his unshakable faith in the goodness of God or faith in his own integrity, but it's a false notion to say that he never complained.

 It is a fact that Job's initial reaction to the news that all the oxen and donkeys were raided, all the sheep were burned, all the camels were taken, and a strong wind knocked down the house killing his children was to fall to the ground and worship.

 Job "fell to the ground and worshipped, saying, The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, Blessed by the Name of The LORD." (Job 1:20-22)

When Job was afflicted in his body, his wife said, why don't you curse God and die. Job responded,
"You speak as one of the foolish women speaks, Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10)

In spite of the two verses of faith outlined above, Job did complain. It's like knowing what is right to say and think,  yet at the same time feeling like our problems are so unfair.

When Job's three friends heard of his troubles they came and sat on the ground with him for a week.  "After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth." Not only did Job lament the day he was born, he also complained about the unfairness of life, how the ungodly seemed to prosper. In chapter 21, Job laments,

⁷ “Why do the wicked prosper,
growing old and powerful?
⁸ They live to see their children grow up and settle down,
and they enjoy their grandchildren.
⁹ Their homes are safe from every fear,
and God does not punish them.
¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to breed.
Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.(Job 21:7-10)


He continues in chapter 21:

²³ One person dies in prosperity,
completely comfortable and secure,
²⁴ the picture of good health,
vigorous and fit.
²⁵ Another person dies in bitter poverty,
never having tasted the good life.
²⁶ But both are buried in the same dust,
both eaten by the same maggots. (Job 21:23-26)


In chapter 14, below, he even questions the importance of human life, saying there is more hope for a tree than for man:

⁷ “Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.
⁸ Though its roots have grown old in the earth
and its stump decays,
⁹ at the scent of water it will bud
and sprout again like a new seedling. (Job 14:7-9)

Is this not complaining? But thank God that even in all Job's complaining, he knew that God was still in control and still majestic and that he (Job) had not sinned against God and he was still secure in his own integrity.

In Job 13:15-16 he says, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so I will defend my own ways before Him. He also shall be my salvation."

In Job 19:25 he says, "For I know that my redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God."

This recalls what David wrote in Psalms 17:15
¹⁵ Because I am righteous, I will see you.
When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.

and what John the Apostle wrote in I John 3:2
² Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

Job did not have a bible to read, there was no way he had received his faith from the written Word. Yet he knew prophetically that he would see God in the end. In Job 19: 23, he actually said, "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!"There is no way he could have known that his words would be inscribed in a book for us! Job also wished that he had a mediator, saying,

"Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor!' (Job 16:21) Praise God that we have a mediator: The Lord Jesus Christ!  Hebrews 7: 23-25 tells us that Jesus will always intercede on our behalf:

²³ There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. ²⁴ But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. ²⁵ Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. (Hebrews 7:23-25)

and Romans 8:34 tells us ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us."

Though he was without a mediator, Job asserted his own righteousness, saying,

¹⁰ “But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
¹¹ For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food." (Job 23:10-12)

The words Job treasured were not in the bible that we know today. It's possible that Job could have heard the spoken words of the Law, which were read aloud to the people by priests. Certainly, the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ had not yet occurred so Job must have looked to God's creation for his knowledge of God's majesty. Some of the most beautiful passages in the bible concerning the creation are in the book of Job:


⁷ God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ He wraps the rain in his thick clouds,
and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the moon,
    shrouding it with his clouds.
¹⁰ He created the horizon when he separated the waters;
he set the boundary between day and night.
¹¹ The foundations of heaven tremble;
they shudder at his rebuke.
¹² By his power the sea grew calm.
By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.
¹³ His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
and his power pierced the gliding serpent.
¹⁴ These are just the beginning of all that he does,
merely a whisper of his power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”(Job 26:7-14)



At the end of Job 31, Job's conversations with his three friends is over, and a younger man named Elihu, respectfully submitted his opinions to the discourse. Elihu, unfortunately also blames Job for contending with God.

In chapters 38- 41, The LORD himself challenges Job with hard questions. Is this a response to Job's complaints? Also, since Job's knowledge of the majesty of God seemed to stem from his observation of the natural world God created, these questions are based on the creation itself.  Some of the questions The LORD asked Job are:

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" (Job 38:4)

"Who shut in the sea with doors?" (Job 38:8)

"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know it's place?"
(Job 38:12)

"Who is able to stand against Me? Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine." (Job 41:10-11)

After hearing God question him that way, Job immediately repented. God told Job's three friends that they had not spoken of Him what was right, as His servant Job had. He instructed the friends to prepare burnt offerings and Job would pray for them! (Job 42:8)

The LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends! (Job 42:10) The LORD gave Job twice as many herds as he had before and blessed him with seven more sons and three more daughters. Job 42:11 says that, "all Job's siblings and acquaintances came to visit and they each brought Job a piece of silver and a gold ring."  Job 42:16 says, "Job lived 140 years and saw four generations of children and grandchildren."


Yes, his latter days were better than his former days, but it must have been hard to trust what the end would bring. Although he voiced his complaints during his trials,  he never let go of the fact he was righteous before God and that God was still worth trusting!

Queen Esther - The Interceder

It's curious that the only two women in the Bible to have a book named after them are Esther and Ruth. The great Judge Deborah could have had a book, but of course she was included in the book of Judges.

 Although the main idea of the book of Esther is Esther's being in a position to become a great intercessor for her people, the book also features her cousin Mordecai, who had adopted Esther after the deaths of her parents .Although it was Moredcai's great faith and his "behind the scenes" actions that put Esther in a position to save her people, the book itself is named for Esther. Just as Deborah pointed out in Judges 4:9 that a woman would get the credit for killing the enemy, Esther, in this case gets the credit as well. The woman in Judges who killed Sisera was Jael, the woman who saves her people in the book of Esther is Queen Esther, who although was Jewish, became the wife of the powerful King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) of Persia.

 Esther as intercessor is also a preview of our great intercessor to come, our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 8:34 tells us:

³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

 

Before Esther became queen, the queen was Vashti. Vashti was deposed for the simple reason that she didn't come to the king when he called her. Sometimes in life it seems that the punishment doesn't really fit the crime. We who have faith have to remember that everything happens for a reason. In our human minds we might think,"this isn't fair," but the things that happen turn out for our best in the long run. Queen Esther would have never been in a position to save the Jews if Queen Vashti had remained queen.

 

So once Vashti was deposed and the king regretted his hasty action, his servants advised him to gather a supply of beautiful young women so that he may choose one to replace the queen. Esther ended up being one of these women. From the outset she had favor with the king's servant over the women and he gave her the best maidservants and the best place in the women's house. Esther, at her cousin's advice, did not reveal that she was a Jew.

 

While this was going on inside the palace, outside the palace her cousin Mordecai overheard a plot against the king. Mordecai often sat within the king's gate, although it was not revealed that his cousin was inside the citadel.  Mordecai relayed the information about the plot to Esther, who reported it to the king. This incident was written in the king's book.

 

Inside the palace, after one year of preparation, Esther was taken into the king. He was pleased with Esther and she eventually became queen.

 

One of the king's servants named Haman was promoted to second in command to the king. All the other servants ( and apparently all the people who sat at the gate) were required to bow down to Haman when he passed by. Mordecai would not bow down to him. Obviously by this time the palace officials knew that Mordecai was a Jew, but they did not know about the connection between him and the queen. Haman was angry about Mordecai's refusal to bow down to him and plotted to kill all the Jews on a certain day. He even convinced the king to write a decree that this killing would take place throughout the provinces. Haman picked the day by drawing lots (called pur.)

 

Mordecai found out that the Jews' lives were in danger. He sent a message to Esther inside the palace and asked her to plead with the king for the lives of her people. Esther responded by saying she could only go before the king if he beckoned her. Anyone who approached the king uninvited would be executed. Mordecai, even in the face of annihilation of his people, still had faith that God would save the people even if Esther couldn't, yet Mordecai still implored his cousin to try. In Esther 4:14, Mordecai says,

¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

 

Esther approached the king and he held out his golden scepter (the indication that it was all right to come before him.) She asked him to invite Haman to a banquet she was preparing.

 

That night the king couldn't sleep so he asked that the royal archives be read to him. In the archives was the story of how Mordecai had thwarted an attempt on the king's life. The king asked his servants if  Mordecai had been rewarded in any way for his action. The servants said no, he had not been rewarded. The king then asked "Who is in the court?' As it happened, (of course as God ordained,) Haman was just entering the court. Haman was actually on his way to suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged. Before he could speak, however,  the king ordered Haman to honor Mordecai.

 

Isn't it beautiful that the one who was plotting his destruction became the person to honor Mordecai?

When Haman went home and complained to his wife what had happened, she said, "If Mordecai is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him. "

 

At the first banquet Esther prepared, she invited the king and Haman to a second banquet. At the second banquet, Esther revealed her background and told the king that her people were going to be killed. She also revealed that the person responsible for her people's peril was sitting right there. It was Haman. The king, in anger walked out but walked right back in. As he walked in he saw Haman falling over Esther begging for his life. The king mistakenly thought Haman was attacking his queen right there. The king had Haman hanged on the very pole that Haman had erected to hang Mordecai.

 

Esther revealed too that Mordecai was her cousin. Mordecai was promoted within the palace. Esther reminded the king that the order still stood against her people throughout the provinces. The king responded that whatever was already written could not be revoked, but the king wrote a second decree,  giving the Jews permission to defend themselves against any enemy and to "take the spoils" of those who would attack them. The Jews killed all their enemies over a two day period but did not take any spoils. After two days of destroying their enemies, Mordecai sent out a decree that the two days following this defense of their lives would be called "Purim," because of the "pur" or "lots" that were cast to determine the days of slaughter.

 

 

 

 

Nehemiah - Living Stones Built Together: A Group Effort Made Up of Individuals

Twenty years after Ezra had left Persia and gone back to Jerusalem to help build the Temple and reestablish worship there, Nehemiah, the cupbearer for the king of Persia, heard that things were still in a state of disrepair in Jerusalem. Nehemiah fasted and prayed for six months before he approached the king of Persia for permission to go to Jerusalem. In his prayer he:

1. Praised first (addressed God as great.)
2. Confessed the people's sin.
3. Reminded God of His promise that if the people repented, God would bring them back from the nations they had been scattered into.
4. Asked for success in approaching the king for permission to go.


While Nehemiah worked rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, three of his "haters" tried to get him to come down and meet with them. He knew that their intent was to stop him from building. The names of the "haters" were Sanballet, Tobiah, and Geshem. In our effort to build up our confidence in the finished work of Jesus, the enemies could be named Anxiety, Distraction, and Doubt. We have to say to them like Nehemiah said to his enemies in Nehemiah 6:3, "...I am doing a great work...why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?"

Anxiety, Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? Phil.4:6 says "Don't be anxious about anything."

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Distraction, Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? Luke 10:38-41 describes what happened when Martha was so distracted with cooking and serving that she neglected to choose the "good part," of being in the presence of Jesus:

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Doubt, Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? Mark 11:23, says that if I have no doubt, that I will receive answers to my prayers.

²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

The Bible, in I Peter 2: 4-6 says that we are all "living stones," being built up together, making up God's Church.

⁴ Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”(also in Isaiah 28:16)

 

So as living stones, refusing to come down from the work, ignoring Anxiety, Distraction, and Doubt, we are also built up together. The rebuilding in Nehemiah is a group effort.  Although Nehemiah was the master builder (just as Jesus is our master builder and chief cornerstone,) the work was done by many people and the site was guarded by many people, armed with swords, spears and bows.

Ephesians 2:20-22 tells us   ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

 

 

One of the most partially quoted passages of scripture is Nehemiah 8:10 "for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

 

The people were gathered in the open square. Nehemiah was the govenor and Ezra was the scribe and priest. The people had begun to cry because the Book of the Law was read aloud in the square. The people, knowing they had not kept the Law, wept when they heard the words being read. In response to their weeping, Ezra encouraged them with the phrase "The joy of the Lord is your strength.."

With this encouragement, the people were able to worship! The prayer they offered up to God is written in Nehemiah 9: 5-38. The people actually signed the prayer and took an oath to follow God's laws. In chapter 12, the Levites and priests who lived in the surrounding areas moved into Jerusalem to resume their roles as worshippers.Nehemiah 12:27-47 describes the arrangements of the singers and musicians at the Temple. Verse 44 describes the storehouses for the offerings.

 

Amazingly enough, while Nehemiah was called away back to Persia, the people reverted back to their own ways and even defiled the Temple.The storehouse for the offerings had become a room for Tobiah, one of the enemies of the rebuilding.  The Levites and singers were no longer being supported and had gone back to their fields. The people were treading grapes and buying goods on the Sabbath and the men had again, married foreign women.  When Nehemiah returned, he reversed the practices that had taken place and asked God to remember him for his good.

 

Holding on to our position as "living stones" is wrought with temptations, but  God promised  in Phillipians 1:6 that the "good work He started in us, He will complete."

The Book of Ezra: You Can Go Home Again

The end of the book of  II Chronicles and the beginning of the book of Ezra are exactly the same. After the God's people had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians and held for seventy years, Babylon was overtaken by the Persians. The Persian king, Cyrus, decided that He wanted to build a house for God in Jerusalem. How this king came to even believe in the God of the Israelites is somewhat of a mystery. But God can use even a non-believer to bless His people. When King Nebuchanezzar of Babylon had enslaved God's people, he also took all the gold and silver vessels from Jerusalem. When King Cyrus sent the people of Judah back home to rebuild the Temple, he also sent back the riches that had been previously stolen. In other words, he said, "Here's your freedom and here's your riches."

No sooner had the people received this great favor, along came the "haters" to frustrate their plans. After King Cyrus was gone, the haters wrote a letter to the new king Artaxerxes saying, "stop these people from rebuilding Jerusalem, they will rebel and you, oh king, won't get your proper tax dollars." The king followed their advice and decreed that the work be stopped. However, when the work is God's work, it cannot be stopped. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the people and the people resumed their building. The govenor of the province asked the people why they were still building. In their answer they chronicled how the Temple had been built generations ago by the great king Solomon, and how because of disobedience the people were taken into captivity and the Temple was destroyed. However, in the first year of the reign of Cyrus, a decree was made that the Temple be rebuilt, and this decree was in the royal archives. A search was made and the decree was found and Artaxerxes allowed the people to finish building.

The scribe named Ezra isn't mentioned until Chapter 7. Ezra was sent by King Artaxerxes with an official letter and money to buy the bulls, lambs, rams, and grains for the sacrificial worship. Ezra didn't just depend on the king's permission and the king's contributions for the journey and for the contributions for the items to be used in worship, Ezra depended on The King, our Father in heaven. Ezra counted the families making the trip with him and noticed that there weren't any Levites present. He hastily recruited Levites, knowing that only Levites could serve God as priests. In chapter 8 he proclaimed a fast "that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods."

In chapter 9 Ezra realized that many of the officials had married foreign women.Thank God that now we are all God's people, because we believe in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection, and we have His Spirit in our hearts, so there are no "foreigners" in God's kingdom. This was not the case before the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. Ezra was a strict follower of God's law and this intermarriage between the Jews and the pagan nations bothered him tremendously. Ezra again fasted and then prayed. His prayer is outlined in verses 6 through 15.


" ⁶ And I said: “O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. ⁸ And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. ⁹ For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, ¹¹ which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. ¹² Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ ¹³ And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this, ¹⁴ should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!”

After all this, in Chapter 10, the priests and officials agreed to put away their foreign wives  and chapter 10 is the last chapter of the Book of Ezra. However chapter 9 verses 8-9 speak to us down through the generations,  describing the time of grace that we are living in today. We were once slaves to sin, we were in bondage, but God himself gave us a remnant to escape, a peg in His holy place through the sacrifice of His Son.  The Temple (and by extension, Jerusalem) is a place where God dwells. Today, that place is in our hearts.