Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 6:1-13.  Let’s go!
 
Job 6:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Then Job replied: 
2  “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! 
3  It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas– no wonder my words have been impetuous. 
4  The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me. 

On verses 1-4:  To paraphrase Job, “There’s no way you can measure how much pain I am in right now (v2-3).  For some reason I’ve become God’s target (v4).”  The fact that the Holy Spirit allowed such words to be in the Bible shows that God wants us to be real and honest with Him about how we feel.  Your emotions are not too much for Him to handle, so come to God honestly.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 5:1-16.  Let’s go!

Job 5:3-4 (NIV) 
3  I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
4  His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

On verses 1-7:  In chapter 4 Eliphaz broke the silence by calling Job a weak hypocrite, a sinner who deserved the trouble he got (verses 7-11), and a prideful person that God has crushed (v12-21).  Now here in chapter 5 Eliphaz calls Job a fool.  Eliphaz suggests that Job is like a fool who prospered for a short while, but because of resentment and envy (v2), Job ended up suddenly being “cursed” (v3), his children endangered (v4), his reputation “crushed” (v4) and his wealth consumed by others (v5).  Eliphaz is saying that this kind of trouble doesn’t just happen or come from nowhere (v6).  Rather, just as sparks fly upward, human beings are inevitably destined to experience trouble because of their sin (“man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (v7).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 3:1-26.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-26:  Job is now in emotional, physical and spiritual anguish, so much so that he curses the day he was born.  In our culture we tend to celebrate people on their birthday.  In cursing the day of his birth, Job was basically saying, “After all the trouble and pain I have experienced, I wish I had never lived.  I wish I could die right now.”  If I had to break it down even more, verses 1 to 20 are Job asking the question, “Why did I have to live?” while verses 21 to 26 are Job asking the question, “Why can’t I die right now?”   For Job, death seems to be the only rest he can look forward to (v13-19).

What can we learn from all this?

Notice that Job finally opens up after 7 days of sitting in silence with his friends (see Job 2:13).  Imagine if Job’s friends had given up on the 6th day and said, “Job’s never going to talk.  Let’s just go.”  It shows that when a person is in great pain, you need to give them time to open up.  Also, when they finally do open up, don’t be surprised if their words are difficult to hear. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 1:13-22.  Let’s go!

On verses 13-22:  In one day, four messengers come to Job, one after another, each delivering horrifying news: Sabeans attack and carry off Job’s donkeys and oxen (v13-15), fire from God (possibly lightning) falls and destroys his sheep (v16), Chaldeans attack and steal Job’s camels (v17), and by far most tragically of all, a hurricane-like wind causes the house in which Job’s children are partying to collapse, killing all of Job’s children (v18-19).  Notice that in two cases, the loss came as a result of attacks by people.  In the other two cases, the loss came as a result of “an act of God”.

In response, Job tears his robe and shaves his head in mourning.  Rather than cursing God or accusing God with wrongdoing (v22), Job falls to the ground in worship and speaks some of the most famous words in the book of Job:

Job 1:21 (NIV) 
21  …”Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 5:12-20.  Let’s go!

James 5:12 (NIV) 
12  Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

On verse 12:  Years before James wrote verse 12, Jesus would say something similar:

Matthew 5:34-37 (NIV) 
34  But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 
35  or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 
36  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 
37  Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.