READINGS FOR MARCH 4, 2024: JOB 10, MATTHEW 21, PSALM 16:1-6 JOB 10 If we skip to the end of this book, we see that God was not pleased with some of Job’s mistaken ideas. Yet, given the information Job had about God compared to what we have, we can feel pity for him. Remember the concept of “progressive revelation” discussed earlier. Below are errors Job expressed in this chapter, errors we make despite the Biblical resources available to us. Biblical resources don’t help if we ignore or don’t believe them. Consider times we may have thought like Job. Then apply God’s Word to each particular error of Job—and ours.
| Job’s Errors of Thinking | Truth We Now Know from the Bible |
| God was condemning him | “There is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:1-2). |
| God was rejecting him. | Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). |
| God looks favorably on the plans of the wicked. | “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion and despise authority” (2 Peter 2:9-10) |
| God was destroying Job. | “For this momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18). |
| God will not ever forgive our wrongdoing, even if we repent | “In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). |
| Job has no value; he would be better off dead or never to have never lived. | “Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?” (Matt. 6:26). |
| Life would be better without God’s presence | “You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). |
| After death all is totally darkness and gloom. | “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better” (Philippians 1:21-23). |
READINGS FOR MARCH 4, 2024 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 21, PSALM 16:1-6 MATTHEW 21 Roman ceremonial triumphs were described by William Ramsey as “a solemn procession in which a victorious general entered the city in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was preceded by the captives and spoils taken in war... followed by his troops.” This honor was given if “at least 5000 of the enemy [were] slain in a single battle.” Zechariah (c.500 BC) predicted a different triumph: “Behold your King (who fed least 5,000) is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey.” Nonetheless, this strange spectacle prompted all Jerusalem to ask the most important question in all of history: “Who is This?” The shouts of those participating in the procession offered some clues for those with ears to hear:
- “Son of David” (messianic prophecy from Sam. 7:12).
- “Hosanna” meaning please save (Jesus’s prime mission was to save sinners; see 1 Tim. 1:15-17).
- “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (messianic prophecy; see Psalm 118: 22-29).
Thoughts about Jesus’s Clearing of the Temple:
- In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus cleared the Temple at the end of his ministry. In John, at the beginning. Was there one clearing? Differences in language lend support for two separate clearings.
- While the church means people “called out by God,” not a building, church buildings as well as congregations still could be considered “houses of prayer” and not institutions of commerce.
Thoughts about children's praise, barren fig tree, authority for ministry, and 2 parables:
- Jesus quoted Psalm 8 to suggest children can be more spiritually discerning than religious leaders.
- Jesus’s cursing the fig tree dramatized that God’s so called “followers” (people, institutions, or countries) who don’t bear fruit will experience severe consequences (Luke13:6, John 15:6, Matt.3:10).
- In response to religious leaders questioning the authority for Jesus’s ministry, Jesus asked them from where John the Baptist’s derived authority. The fact these leaders were afraid to answer directly revealed they did not care about truth, only staying in power. Jesus’s approach uncovers the heart.
- Parable of Two Sons: Sinners confessing their sins are saved; Jewish leaders who don’t are lost.
- Parable of the Landover: God created a perfect world and delegated stewardship to mankind. Through the disobedience of the Fall, the rejection and killing of God’s prophets, and finally the rejection and killing of Jesus by the Jewish leadership, the Jews would be scattered (diaspora) and the Gospel would be received by the Gentiles. (Rom.11 suggests all Jews will come to Jesus at the end of the age.)
PSALM 16:1-6 How can we find refuge/protection in God? By making Him our Lord. This means obeying everything He commands in the Bible. Otherwise, we make ourselves Lord and are not seeking refuge/protection from God. David states the obvious; we can’t have it both ways. Again, he echoes St. Augustine’s rightly ordered loves, figuratively saying there is nothing good except God (meaning God is the highest value). He also values other believers (i.e., saints) who model faith for him. Let’s give thanks for godly parents, pastors, teachers, authors, even historical figures such as John Wesley. Although it might not seem so, unbelievers have a tough life and no hope in death. Don’t envy them but love them enough to share Jesus with them. Give thanks that we have had the blessing of walking with the Lord and the fellowship of serving with other believers in such purpose-filled lives. Those who lived many years with the Lord have so very much to thank God about. We need to start now.
