Job 37
Elihu believes God speaks through storms ` verse 1- 5
At this also my heart trembles – and is moved out of HIS place
hear attentively the noise of HIS voice
and the sound that goes out of HIS mouth
HE directs it under the whole heaven
and HIS lightning to the ends of the earth
after it a voice roars
HE thunders with the voice of HIS excellency
and HE will not stay them when HIS voice is heard
God thunders marvelously with HIS voice
great things does HE – which we cannot comprehend
Elihu believes God speaks through snow verse 6- 13
For HE says to the snow
Be you on the earth
Likewise to the small rain
and to the great rain of HIS strength
HE seals up the hand of every man
that all men may know HIS work
Then the beasts go into dens – and remain in their places
out of the south comes the whirlwind
and cold out of the north
by the breath of God frost is given
and the breadth of the waters is straitened
Also by watering HE wears the thick cloud
HE scatters HIS bright cloud
and it is turned round about by HIS counsels
that they may do whatsoever
HE commands them on the face of the world
in the earth
HE causes it to come – whether for correction
or for his land – or for mercy
Elihu believes God controls the weather verse 14- 18
Hearken to this – O Job – stand still
consider the wondrous works of God
Do you know when God disposed them
and caused the light of HIS cloud to shine?
Do you know the balancing’s of the clouds
the wondrous works of HIM which is perfect in knowledge?
How your garments are warm – when HE quiets the earth
by the south wind?
Have you with HIM spread out the sky – which is strong
and as a molten looking glass?
Elihu believes we should show God reverence verse 19- 24
TEACH us what we shall say to HIM
for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness
Shall it be told HIM that I speak?
IF a man speak surely he shall be swallowed up
And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds
BUT the wind passes – and cleanses them
fair weather comes out of the north
with God is terrible majesty
Touching the Almighty – we cannot find HIM out
HE is excellent in power – judgment – plenty of justice
HE will not afflict
Men do therefore fear HIM
HE respects not any that are wise of heart
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Hear attentively the noise of HIS voice, and the sound that goes
out of HIS mouth. (8085 “attentively” [shama] means to hear with intention, listen, heed, obey, understand, examine, obedient, diligently, or hear with interest.)
DEVOTION: How are you listening skills? When someone is talking to you do you really hear what they are saying to you?
Too often we are thinking of other things when some people are talking to us. Sometimes we are thinking of an answer to give while they are still talking. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the person that is talking and so we are only half listening to them. Sometimes we don’t like the people and don’t even care to listen to them.
Not sure how Job was reacting to this young man who was giving him advice that he might not have wanted to hear. He was sure that he was doing what the LORD was telling him to do. He was sure that he had a relationship with the LORD but he was going through a time period where he didn’t understand what God was doing at the present time because he didn’t think his relationship was that bad with the LORD.
We can fool ourselves into thinking that everything is alright between the LORD and us when in reality the LORD wants some things corrected in our lives. Job was going through this type of experience and he was not appreciating this young man telling him that he didn’t have the right relationship with the LORD.
Our responsibility is to listen to others and then evaluate what they are saying through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Too often we don’t take the time to evaluate our present relationship with the LORD.
There are ups and downs in each of our times with the LORD. Sometimes we are listening well and others we are not. We have to pray for wisdom to discern if we are listening well to the LORD.
Sometimes the LORD speaks to us through people we don’t expect to learn from regarding correcting our relationship with the LORD. We have to be open to others.
CHALLENGE: We have to be good listeners. Our first priority is to go to the LORD after we have listened to others and hear HIS voice on the matter.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 God thunders marvelously with HIS voice, great things does HE,
which we cannot comprehend. (3045 “comprehend” [yada]
means to perceive mentally, hear to learn, to realize, to be
aware of, to understand, or find out and discern.)
DEVOTION: God wants us to hear with understanding what HE is trying to say
to us through HIS word to us in the Bible. HE is not trying to say things that we can’t
understand but things that HE knows we can understand if we seek wisdom from
above through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Our devotional times need to be times when things are quiet around us and we can
concentrate on what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us that day. We can’t learn it all
in one day. It takes a lifetime to understand the deep things of God.
We can understand basic things regarding salvation and eternal life but to learn how
to learn to live each day and bring glory to God is a daily learning that continues
throughout the rest of our life.
Remember that we are learning about a HOLY GOD and what HE expects of us. That
is not easy. Some of us are more thickheaded than other. Job was listening but
sometimes not learning as some of us do with our times with those who want to help
us grow in the LORD.
The devil wants to confuse us all the time if we are trying to learn how to live a life
that is pleasing to the LORD. He wants us to think that we don’t need to hear others.
He wants us to think that we know it all. HE wants us to think that we are smarter
than anyone else and therefore they are just ignorant.
However, God sometimes uses people we don’t think are too smart to teach us
lessons we need to hear.
We need to listen to all those that the LORD sends into our lives to learn home to
mature in our faith and serve the LORD with gladness. God doesn’t want us to serve
HIM with a sour attitude. HE loves us and wants to teach us what is best and
sometimes uses sources that we don’t seem to think are good enough to help us.
God was using Elihu to prepare Job to hear what God would have to say to him.
CHALLENGE: Are we good listeners even to those we don’t think we need to
listen to? God can use the strangest people to help us understand HIM better.
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: 13 He causes it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for
mercy. (4672 “casueth” [מָצָא (matsaʾ] means to cause to find,
attain. to cause to light upon, come upon, come. to cause to
encounter. to present (offering), to happen])
DEVOTION: Elihu here mentions three purposes of God in arranging the affairs of man. The first is God’s correction of man, and this is what has been emphasized so far by Job’s other three friends. Elihu also notes that God allows things to happen for the land. This can refer to either the physical creation or to the land used symbolically of God’s covenant with Israel. The third thing mentioned is that it is a manifestation of God’s covenant lovingkindness (hesed) for man.
While it is not always clear to us which of these (or more than one) is present in any of God’s actions, it is clear that God has a purpose in allowing things to happen. We often make the same mistake as Jesus’ disciples (John 9: 2-3) and Job’s friends when we decide that God acts primarily in disciplining those who have sinned against Him. Yet it is equally true that God allows calamity into our lives solely for the purpose of showing His glory and His lovingkindness.
We are not told what time elapsed between the trials of Job, nor how long he endured the accusations of his three friends and Elihu. Neither do we know long the man who had been born blind in John 9 had endured blindness. Yet, in both cases God allowed the suffering to continue for longer than we might have thought before He intervenes (again). Often, when we suffer for the sake of the Lord to see His glory, we have to be willing to wait.
What Elihu recognizes is God’s sovereign purpose in all of what happens to us. Nothing happens by accident. God is in complete control of all that occurs, and we can trust Him for this.
CHALLENGE: What do you need to trust God about in your life today? (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 19 Teach us what we shall say to HIM, for we cannot order our
speech by reason of darkness. (2822 “darkness” [choshek]
means the absence of light or illumination, obscurity, secret
place, lack of light in a space, ignorance, or confusion.)
DEVOTION: The problem with humans is that they don’t understand how ignorant they are in some things. One of the things that we are most ignorant is our understanding of who God is.
How can a human being think that they could understand God fully? HE is omniscient. HE understands everything and HE knows the beginning and the end of our lives. HE understands our weaknesses better than we understand them.
HE knows Job’s strong points and his weak points. Job is going through a really rough time and here is this young man telling him that he doesn’t understand what God is doing in his life. It is true but Job doesn’t want to hear it from anyone as he is struggling to understand why God is allowing all these things to happen to him.
He thought that he and God had a good relationship. He thought that he was serving the LORD well.
However, once he lost all his possessions and his children and his wife told him to curse God and die, he was at another stage in his relationship with the LORD. He was confused as to why all these things were happening to him. We face some of these challenges in our relationship with the LORD. Job is not alone.
This book was written for our learning. We need to understand that God does things that we might never understand but we still have to trust HIM. It is not easy but it is what we need to learn right along with Job.
God wants us to mature and maturity comes with challenges and we need to make sure that we are willing to learn even in our old age. Job had a lifetime of seeming blessing and now he was going through a time period of testing and he didn’t like what he was hearing from this young man.
Elihu as not always correct but he was trying to learn as well. He thought he knew enough to instruct Job but he was wrong as well. The LORD is going to allow people in our lives to help us grow in our knowledge of HIM. Sometimes or most of the time the lessons are hard to learn but they must be learned in order to move closer to the LORD.
Even after we have accepted the message of salvation we have so much more to learn about our walk with the LORD. HE is never done teaching us.
CHALLENGE: Give yourself to learning from those around you as they might be messengers from the LORD. Discernment is very important in this area.
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: 23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent
in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not
afflict. (7689 “excellent” [saggiy’] means mighty, great, or
exalted.)
DEVOTION: Some people think that God might have created the world and then left it to work on its own. Some don’t think God even created the world. Here we find that Elihu believed that God not only created the world but HE is still in control of the weather in our world.
Elihu gives us a good description of how the LORD is in control of the rain, snow, wind and animals to name a few. The LORD is said to use weather to warn those who are moving away from HIM. Elihu is trying to tie this in to what his happening to Job. He believed that God sends weather to correct and/or to show mercy. If those who are caught in these weather conditions realize that they need to repent and ask the LORD to forgive them.
God is beyond us. HE is unknowable from a human perspective. HIS power is beyond our understanding. The word “Almighty” is hard for us to understand with our limited knowledge and strength. HE is unbeatable. HE is supreme.
Some people are trying to tell us that HIS power is limited. Some feel that HE is not fair in HIS judgments. However, HE is always right in what HE does. HE is never unfair. HE is always full of mercy and grace toward HIS children.
Some translations say that HE will not violate HIS justice and abundant righteousness. We limit God. HE does things without any advice from anyone. Elihu believes that HE will not afflict a righteous person. He allows God to have three reasons for having weather condition to come but will not allow God to have more than one reason for sending affliction. We limit God the same way. Trust HIM!!! HE is ALMIGHTY!!!
Don’t let anyone tell you that what is going on in our world today is not a warning from the LORD about our present spiritual condition. The weather is just one way the LORD warned people in Job’s day and the same is true today. Listen to the warning!!!
CHALLENGE: God is not happy with where we are allowing our world to turn. We need to witness to all those around us
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 2, 5, 10, 14, 15, 22
HIS voice verse 2, 4, 5
HE directs verse 3
HIS lightning verse 3
Commands snow and rain verse 6
Seals the hand of every man verse 7
HIS work verse 7
Breath of God verse 10
HIS counsels verse 12
HIS mercy verse 13
Wondrous works verse 14- 16
HIS clouds to shine verse 15
Perfect in knowledge verse 16
Quiets the earth verse 17
Spreads out the sky verse 18
In charge of weather verse 22
Terrible majesty verse 22
Almighty verse 23
Excellent in power
Excellent in judgment
Plenty of justice
Doesn’t respect any that are wise of heart verse 24
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Elihu verse 1
Heart trembles
We cannot comprehend God
All men know HIS work
Wants Job to teach others
what to say to God
Job verse 14, 19
Teacher
Men fear God verse 24
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Correction verse 13
Mercy verse 13
Fear of the LORD verse 24
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
37:24 The last word of Job’s friends is Elihu’s typical wisdom admonition, which is similar to the “conclusion of the matter” at the end of Ecclesiastes, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (cf. 28:28). Leaving the Hebrew untouched, line b can be read two or three ways—as a negative rhetorical question (NIV) expecting a positive answer,159 or as a statement that God will not look with favor on those who are wise in their own opinion (KJV, RV, ASV, RSV, AB, NASB, GNB, NCV, NIV footnote). Still others reverse the subject and object of the second line reading “all who are wise look to him” (NEB) or the opposite, “Whom none of the wise can perceive” (NJPS; cf. NAB, N. Habel).160 Because the expression “wise in heart” is elsewhere never pejorative, it is best to understand this final sentence of Elihu as a positive statement that God will not reject a blameless man (8:20), but look with favor on those with integrity. (Alden, R. L. (1993). Job (Vol. 11, pp. 366–367). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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Elihu’s final word was a recommendation that Job revere (or “fear”; cf. comments on 1:1) God, which would mean doing away with self-conceit or pride (thinking of oneself as wise in heart; see niv marg.). Fearing God involves recognizing God’s supremacy and man’s inferiority because of his finiteness. Once again Elihu put his finger on Job’s problem—pride before God (cf. 33:17; 36:9). (Zuck, R. B. (1985). Job. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 765). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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With all his verbosity and lack of humility, Elihu did say some good things that Job needed to hear. Elihu’s use of rhetorical questions in Job 37:14–18 prepared Job for the series of questions Jehovah would ask him in Job 38–41. Unlike the three friends, Elihu assessed Job’s problem accurately: Job’s actions may have been right—he was not the sinner his three friends described him to be—but his attitudes were wrong. He was not the “saint” Job saw himself to be. Job was slowly moving toward a defiant, self-righteous attitude that was not at all healthy. It was this “know-it-all” attitude that God exposed and destroyed when He appeared to Job and questioned him.
So, even though God said nothing about Elihu, the man did have a helpful ministry to Job. Unfortunately, Job wouldn’t accept it. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Patient (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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37:24 does not regard. God is the Righteous Judge who will not take a bribe or perform favors in judgment. Thus, in his concluding speech, Elihu had pointed both Job and the reader up to God, who was ready, at last, to speak (38:1). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Job 37:24). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 24. Men do therefore fear him, &c.] Or should, because of his greatness in power, judgment, and justice; and because of his goodness, in not afflicting for his pleasure’s sake, but for the profit of men; and therefore they should reverence and adore him, submit to his will, patiently bear afflictions, serve him internally and externally, with reverence and godly fear. He respecteth not any that are wise of heart; that are wise in a natural sense: these are not always regarded by God, or are his favourites; neither temporal blessings, nor special grace, or the knowledge of spiritual things, are always given to the wise and prudent, Eccl. 9:11; Matt. 11:25. Or that are wise in their own conceit; there is a woe to such; and there is more hope of a fool than of him, Isa. 5:21; Prov. 26:12. Or he is not afraid of them, as some choose to render the word; he fears not to reprove them and correct them for their faults, or the schemes they form to counterwork him; for he can take them in their craftiness, and carry their counsel headlong. Or every wise in heart shall not see himd: the world by wisdom knows him not; nor can any look into his heart, his thoughts, purposes, and designs, and into the causes and reasons of his actions; nor have those that are truly wise perfect vision and knowledge of him now, 1 Cor. 13:9, 12. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 493). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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14–24. Elihu having very fully set forth God’s sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness, now calls upon Job to pause over the whole, and with a more sober coolness, and dispassion, see how utterly unsuitable and unbecoming it must be, in any of God’s creatures, to presume to scan his works, or to become unsatisfied with any of his appointments. There is a vast deal of sound reasoning and argument in the whole of Elihu’s discourse both as it is referred to the reproof of Job, and his three friends: and it should seem, from the silence of both Job and them, they were all much more calm and temperate, in consequence of Elihu’s sermon, than before. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, p. 138). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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The Strength of the Lord
“I will go in the strength of the LORD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.” (Psalm 71:16)
Since God the Creator is omnipotent, if we can go in His strength, there would seem to be no limit to what could be accomplished. The book of Psalms, in particular, over and over again testifies that God indeed is our strength. For example: “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:1-2).
But how do we appropriate God’s strength, and how is it manifested in our own lives? The answer is not what most would expect. “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:10-11). “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
Our text itself indicates that going in the strength of the Lord is essentially to “make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.” Speaking of God’s righteousness (not ours) in the fear of the Lord and the leading of the Spirit, hoping only in His mercy, manifests the strength of the Lord.
Furthermore, “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). And, finally, the apostle Paul, who surely exhibited the strength of God in his life as much as anyone ever did, testified that “he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). His grace and His joy, shining through our own weakness, enable the man “whose strength is in thee” to “go from strength to strength” (Psalm 84:5, 7) in His service. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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There are two times in history when God parts water for the Israelites-once at the Red Sea as they flee from the Egyptian army and again at the Jordan River as they enter the Promised Land.
The Red Sea experience receives more acclaim, but the Jordan River experience is just as miraculous. The water parts for a distance of almost 20 miles as the nation passes over on dry ground during the flood stage.
God is faithful to accomplish His good purposes for His people. (Quiet Walk)
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ACCEPTING AND SUBMITTING
The common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:37
If it were a matter of understanding and abstract reasoning, then this Gospel of the New Testament and salvation would just be for a handful of people in this world. You would have to be an expert philosopher; you would have to go to colleges and universities to be trained in philosophy. So there would be no gospel for the common, ordinary man. But thank God, here is a Gospel that tells us that “the common people heard him gladly.”
Philosophers cannot preach to the poor; the poor could not follow them, and all the Greek philosophers have nothing to say to such people. But the Gospel is preached to the poor. Here, then, is a proof of the whole thing. It is not understanding that is essential; it is accepting and submitting; it is giving yourself to Jesus Christ.
So we see that the message of the Gospel is that if you are in trouble and in difficulty about Him, don’t stop with arguing and going around in circles. I say this with feeling because I have known myself what that means. I did it for years, arguing and reasoning, and you come back exactly to where you began. I do not hesitate to say that if you persist in trying to understand the essence of this Gospel, you will die in the same position as you are now, you will never understand. Do what John the Baptist did, go to Christ as you see Him in the Gospels.
That is why, by the grace of God, the Gospels have been written. We cannot go see Christ in the flesh, but we can go to the Gospels and have a look at Him. And this is what we see: We are struck by the way He expounds the Scriptures in a way no one ever did before.
A Thought to Ponder It is not understanding that is essential; it is accepting and submitting; it is giving yourself to Jesus Christ. (From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 20-21, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture
Romans 5:12-21
As I was growing up, I was constantly compared to my brothers. Having five brothers made the comparisons come often as I had to live up to my older brothers and be an example to the younger ones. Whether it was sports, hunting or cars, we were either associated with or contrasted to one another.
A contrast is drawn between two rulers of mankind, Adam and Christ. The word “one’ is used eleven times in this passage and assists us to determine who is the ruler of man. Each ruler (Adam or Christ) commands a kingdom.
Adam’s reign is stated as one that is over death and condemnation (vv.12, 16,17-19). Because of Adam’s sin, all mankind is condemned to death as all have sinned. This judgment is imposed upon Adam and the human race due to disobedience and rebellion. Paul’s statements that by one man (Adam) all mankind was judged to be guilty and under judgment from God. This judgment and death spread to all men and resulted in separation and death.
Christ, in contrast, is stated to have a kingdom that He rules. As a result of Christ’s obedience, the grace of God “abounds to many” (v.15). Whereas Adam’s sin brought death to all, Christ’s obedience results in justification, righteousness, and grace to all who believe (vv. 16, 19-20). The free gift is offered to all mankind but is only given to those who choose to move from the kingdom of death and condemnation to the kingdom now offered by Christ leading to eternal life.
The contrast is stark, life or death, light or darkness, condemnation or justification. These two kingdoms are presented by Paul so that man can see the drastic contrast that exists because Adam’s one act of disobedience and Christ’s act of obedience. Adam chose to disobey, and all mankind paid for that trespass. Christ chose to be obedient and to die on the cross. By that one act, all mankind has the opportunity to become righteous before God!
You had no choice to be born “in” Adam but you do have an option to move from the old life to a new life “in” Christ by having a second birth and being born into Christ’s family and kingdom. That is why Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John3:7). Accept the offer of the new life and live it abundantly. Jesus encourages us with these words, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b).
With an Expectant Hope,
Pastor Miller
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WALKING IN THE LIGHT
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7
John is fond of the phrase, “walking in the light”; how often this idea occurs in his Gospel, and here it is again. It is not obvious on the very surface that if you take this in an absolute literal sense it can mean only one thing, and that is absolute perfection. If to walk in the light as God is in the light is taken strictly literally, as it is expressed here, there is only one deduction to draw: As Christians our only hope of forgiveness and therefore of being Christians at all is that we should be absolutely perfect as God Himself is perfect.
But clearly that is impossible! Which of us is perfect? Which of us is without sin? “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (verse 8); we cannot, therefore, be absolutely perfect. So immediately we find that this phrase of walking in the light as God is in the light must be interpreted in terms of the way in which John customarily employs this picture. And the key to that is to be found in the phrase in 1 John 1:6 where we read about walking in darkness: “If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
We interpret this verse about “walking in the light” as the antithesis and the exact opposite of “walking in darkness.” Therefore it does not mean that I claim absolute perfection; but it does mean that I claim that I now belong to a different realm, to the kingdom of light and to the kingdom of God.
A Thought to Ponder: I now belong to a different realm, to the kingdom of light.
(From Fellowship with God, pp. 126-127, .Dr, Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Unintentional Prophet
“And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation.” (John 11:51)
Even after seeing the miracle of Lazarus restored to life, high priest Caiaphas refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah and was more firmly resolved than ever to have Him put to death. He used the excuse that Jesus might cause the Romans to destroy the Jews’ religious system. So he said, “It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not” (John 11:50).
Like Balaam, forced to prophesy what he did not intend (Numbers 24:10-13), Caiaphas was made to predict the true significance of Christ’s coming death. Instead of His death being “expedient for us”—for Caiaphas and his system—it was indeed “expedient that one man should die for the people” (John 18:14).
This is a remarkable divine irony. Caiaphas, the chief religious representative of God to the people of Israel, should have known the Old Testament prophecies and gladly welcomed Jesus as the promised Messiah. Instead, he organized His trial and condemnation. Yet he was divinely inspired (without knowing or intending it) to point out the real mission of Christ to the Jews and the whole world—that of substitutionary sacrifice for their sins. It is also interesting that in 1992 the bones of this same Caiaphas were discovered in a tomb underneath the modern city.
So far as we know, Caiaphas died still rejecting Christ. Nevertheless, following Christ’s substitutionary death, the evidence for His glorious resurrection (eternal, not temporary like that of Lazarus) became so clear and compelling that “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7). Caiaphas did, indeed, manage to get Jesus crucified, but the result was salvation for multitudes.
(HMM, The Institute for Creatin Research)
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We now have a Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.