{"id":7783,"date":"2020-02-20T20:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T03:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=7783"},"modified":"2020-02-20T21:13:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T04:13:35","slug":"job31_21-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/job31_21-40\/","title":{"rendered":"A Game You Can\u2019t Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Job 31:21-40 \u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 31:21-40.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Job 31:21-23 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 21-23:\u00a0\u00a0In verses 16-22 Job denies taking advantage of the poor, the widow and the fatherless.\u00a0\u00a0In verse 23 he says he did not sin in this way because of his fear of the Lord and the destruction that God could bring if he sinned in that way. It\u2019s as if Job took seriously Jesus\u2019 parable on the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46 without even hearing it.\u00a0\u00a0In that parable, Jesus describes himself as a King who rewards or punishes people based on how they treated the most vulnerable in society.\u00a0\u00a0This parable is where Jesus famously says, \u201cWhatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me\u201d (Matthew 25:40) and \u201cwhatever\u00a0you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’\u201d (Matthew 25:45).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God cares about how we treat the most vulnerable around us.\u00a0\u00a0He cares about it so much that He takes it personally.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Job 31:24-28 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-28:\u00a0\u00a0In verses 24-28 Job denies worshiping wealth (v24-25) or worshiping other idols (v26-27).\u00a0\u00a0Job says that if he had done these things, he would have sinned, been worthy of judgment, and \u201cbeen unfaithful to God on high\u201d (v28).\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0You can\u2019t worship the Lord and something else at the same time, whether that something else is money, status, pleasure, a plan, a relationship, the god of another faith or another person.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>As Jesus says, we are to \u201cworship the Lord and serve Him only.\u201d (Matthew\u00a04:10)<\/p>\n

Job 31:29-40 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him–
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against his life–
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if the men of my household have never said, ‘Who has not had his fill of Job’s meat?’–
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler–
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have concealed my sin as men do, by hiding my guilt in my heart
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense–let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I would give him an account of my every step; like a prince I would approach him.)–
\n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,
\n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
\n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then let briers come up instead of wheat and weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 29-40:\u00a0\u00a0Here Job denies ever gloating over his enemy\u2019s misfortune (v29), cursing another person (v30), refusing to take care of strangers (v31-32), or refusing to confess his son out of fear of being humiliated (v33-34).\u00a0\u00a0He also denies mistreating the tenants who worked on his fields (v38-40).<\/p>\n

Sandwiched in between these final denials, in verses 35-37 Job expresses his longing for God to hear his case and to answer Him (v35).\u00a0\u00a0Job calls God his accuser and welcomes Him to write down His accusations against Him (v35).\u00a0\u00a0When Job says \u201cI would wear [God\u2019s accusations] on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown\u201d, he means that he is not afraid of God\u2019s accusations (v36) and is confident that he will be able to defend himself on every point and prove himself righteous (v36-37).<\/p>\n

Job\u2019s words here remind me of another parable Jesus once told about a Pharisee and a tax collector who prayed (Luke 18:9-14).\u00a0\u00a0The Pharisee boasted about his own righteousness while the tax collector simply admitted that he was a sinner and asked God for mercy.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus says it was the tax collector who admitted his need for God\u2019s mercy who went home justified and righteous.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus told this parable to rebuke those \u201cwho were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else\u201d (Luke 18:9).\u00a0\u00a0Jesus ends the parable by saying, \u201cFor everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.\u201d (Luke\u00a018:14).\u00a0\u00a0Because Job was \u201crighteous in his own eyes\u201d (Job 32:1), Job would later be humbled by God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Trying to show God how good you think you are is a game you can never win.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0For we can never meet God\u2019s standards no matter how hard we try.\u00a0\u00a0Instead of coming to God like a Pharisee trying to prove how righteous you think you are, come to God humbly, recognizing your need for His mercy.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As 1 Peter 5:6 says, \u201cHumble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father<\/strong>, thank You for showing me today that You care about the way I treat those who are the most vulnerable.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for also showing me that there is no way I could ever reach Your standards.\u00a0\u00a0But thank You that when I humble myself before You, admitting my need for You, You will lift me up in due time.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 31:21-40.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Job 31:21-23 (NIV)\u00a0
\n21\u00a0\u00a0if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
\n22\u00a0\u00a0then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
\n23\u00a0\u00a0For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.<\/p>\n

On verses 21-23:\u00a0\u00a0In verses 16-22 Job denies taking advantage of the poor, the widow and the fatherless.\u00a0\u00a0In verse 23 he says he did not sin in this way because of his fear of the Lord and the destruction that God could bring if he sinned in that way. It\u2019s as if Job took seriously Jesus\u2019 parable on the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46 without even hearing it.\u00a0\u00a0In that parable, Jesus describes himself as a King who rewards or punishes people based on how they treated the most vulnerable in society.\u00a0\u00a0This parable is where Jesus famously says, \u201cWhatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me\u201d (Matthew 25:40) and \u201cwhatever\u00a0you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’\u201d (Matthew 25:45).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7786,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions\/7786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}