Job 39
LORD challenges Job’s knowledge verse 1- 12
Know you the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
or can thou mark when the hinds do calve?
Can you number the months that they fulfill?
or know you the time when they bring forth?
They bow themselves – they bring forth their young ones
they cast out their sorrows
Their young ones are in good liking – they grow up with corn
they go forth – and return not to them
Who has sent out the wild donkey free?
or who has loosed the bands of the wild donkey?
whose house I have made the wilderness
and the barren land his dwellings
He scorns the multitude of the city
neither regards he the crying of the driver
the range of the mountains is his pasture
and he searches after every green thing
Will the unicorn be willing to serve you – or abide by your crib?
can you bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow?
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
Will you trust him – because his strength is great?
or will you leave thy labor to him?
Will you believe him – that he will bring home your seed
and gather it into your barns?
LORD challenges Job’s knowledge of an ostrich verse 13- 18
Give you the goodly wings to the peacocks?
or wings and feathers to the ostrich?
which leaves her eggs in the earth
and warms them in dust
and forgets that the foot may crush them
or that the wild beast may break them
She is hardened against her young ones – as through they were not hers
her labor is in vain without fear
BECAUSE God has deprived her of wisdom
neither has HE imparted to her understanding
What time she lifts up herself on high
she scorns the horse and his rider
LORD challenges Job’s knowledge regarding horse verse 19- 25
Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
Can you make him afraid as a grasshopper?
the glory of his nostrils is terrible
He paws in the valley – and rejoices in his strength
he goes on to meet the armed men
he mocks at fear – and is not affrighted
neither turns his back from the sword
the quiver rattles against him
the glittering spear and the shield
He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage
neither believes he that it is the sound of the trumpet
He says among the trumpets – ha, ha
and he smells the battle afar off – the thunder of the captains
and the shouting
LORD challenges Job’s knowledge of eagles verse 26- 30
Does the eagle mount up at your command – and make her nest on high?
she dwells and abides on the rock – upon the crag of the rock
and the strong place – from thence she seeks the prey
and her eyes behold afar off
Her young ones also suck up blood – and where the slain are – there is she
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Know you the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or can you mark when the hinds do calve? (6256 “time” [‘eth] means season, point in time, occasion, a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field.)
DEVOTION: Timing is everything. We want to make sure that we plan things according to the occasion. We need to be organized when we do things.
God was organized when HE created the world. HE had the time of birth and the time of death planned for all creation. HE knows how long we are going to live. HE knows when we are going to die.
The question that HE was asking Job was if he knew the time for every event that was going to happen in the world. HE wanted to know how much Job thought he knew about how God did things.
Too often we have people who act like “know it all’s” and most of the time they are wrong but they will never admit it. God is questioning Job regarding his knowledge of events.
Our knowledge of most events is limited. We have an idea about when a goat should give birth but we don’t know the exact time. We have an idea of when a baby is going to be born but we don’t know the exact time.
Too often we as Job think we know more than we know. God is telling Job and us that we need to rethink what we think we know because HE knows exact time and we only had a estimation or a guess. God doesn’t have to guess!!
CHALLENGE: We need to be ready even when we think we know what is going on in our world. God is not guessing!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. (996 “house” [beyn] means palace, temple, dwelling, a person’s regular dwelling place, residence, habitation, tent, or place to stay.)
DEVOTION: God knows where HE is going to cause all the animals of the world to dwell. HE made this a part of HIS plan when HE created the world. HE didn’t leave out any detail regarding places for all the animals of the world to dwell.
When God has a plan HE knows what HE has to figure out regarding all the needs of the animals HE created. HE didn’t do it without knowing what was necessary.
We might do thinks that don’t include all the factors that are necessary for animals and humans to be comfortable. We think we can plan everything that is necessary for success in making sure that everything is perfect from our frame of reference. The problem is that we don’t know all the factors but GOD did and HE planned accordingly.
Too often we think we know it all and we don’t. Too often we plan but don’t have all the factors that are necessary to make a successful plan but God does.
We have to realize that even when we think that God didn’t know what HE was doing and sometimes we think these thoughts, HE did. HE knows was we need and what all of creation needs and HE included in HIS plan when HE created the world.
We have to trust HIM and realize that HE knows more than we do even when at times humans think they know better than HIM.
CHALLENGE: Trusting God is not easy for humans but we need to make sure that if HE knows what the animals needed, HE knows what we need.
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: 17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. (5382 “deprived” [nashah] means neglect, remove, forget, endow).
DEVOTION: Have you ever wondered what the LORD was doing in your life? Have you ever questioned the purposes of God in a given circumstance? Do we sometimes think that we could do things better than God? Our understanding of the works of God is very limited.
The LORD continues to ask questions of Job regarding HIS creation. HE wonders if Job understands that he will never fully understand what God has done in creation.
This chapter continues the questions of the LORD for Job. HE wants Job to realize that his wisdom is not the same as God’s wisdom. HE wants Job to realize that his power is not the same as God’s power. HE wants Job to know that it is God who gives some animals wisdom and other no seeming wisdom.
God chose not to give the ostrich wisdom and understanding. The ostrich can run faster than a horse at full stride. However, the horse is ready for battle but the ostrich will attempt to hide from an enemy. It doesn’t really put its head in the sand but only bows it’s head when an enemy approaches.
One fact that some don’t know is that the male ostrich usually sits on the egg in the nest at night. A male ostrich will have many female ostriches who leave eggs in one nest, so some of the eggs in the nest will not belong to one of the female ostriches.
The LORD gives humans both wisdom and understanding to a point. All have a general knowledge of the LORD from creation. Some think that creation just happened over time. They think that everything evolved from one cell animals. However, as the LORD describes each animal with its individual characteristics we can conclude that all these characteristics didn’t evolve over time. They were created in the individuals animals.
Those who understand the fear of the LORD have Godly wisdom and understanding, but those who don’t have it only have the world’s wisdom and understanding of what is going on around them. That is one of the differences between the individuals who are saved and serving Christ and those who might practice religion but not really have Christ as their Savior.
Our prayer should be that those around us want the wisdom and understanding of God and are not be like the ostrich. Do the people who know us think that we have wisdom that is from above? Or, Do they think that we are like the ostrich that doesn’t understand what life is all about? There are two types of wisdom described in the Bible: Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Only those who pray for Godly wisdom will receive it from the LORD.
When faced with the challenges of this world do we regularly ask the LORD for HIS wisdom regarding each situation we face each day? If we are presently putting this into practice we need to do it.
CHALLENGE: We can’t just put our head down and think our problems or challenges will go away. Even some Christians practice this type of solution for their circumstances and wonder why things are not getting better. Don’t be one of those!!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 22 He mocks at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turns he back from the sword. (7832 “mocks” [sachaq] means to laugh, to amuse, to be merry, to joke, to provide amusement, to jest, perform entertainment, dance or to be merry.)
DEVOTION: When God created horses HE knew what was going to be expected of them in the future. HE created to be able to do what men wanted them to do in battle. HE gave them the right strength to not fear when they went into battle against another army.
The horse didn’t fear facing the sword. He was made to be used in battles and wars. He was not to run in the wrong direction but into the battle. It is hard to believe that this was all planned before the foundation of the world but God knew what each animal HE created was going to be used for into the future and created them for that purpose.
We need to understand that there are no surprises that we can give God that HE didn’t know before the foundation of the world. HE is omniscient and we can’t seem to comprehend this attribute in our minds at time if ever.
We are surprised at what is happening in our world at time and wonder if God could have known it before the foundation of the world and yet we know that HE did and acted in a way that prepared even the animals for what was going to happen.
Too often we think that something that is happening is a surprise to God but that is not true. It might be a surprise to us but not ever to HIM.
CHALLENGE: We need to have a high view of God. Too often we have a little view of God which is always wrong.
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:27 “Does the eagle mount up at your command [פֶּה, peh (6310), mouth, opening, commandment, word], and make her nest on high?”
DEVOTION: God confronts Job with the fact that he is not able to command or speak to the eagles. Eagles are representative of God’s most majestic creation. That is why the United States has adopted the eagle as a national symbol. God also points out to Job that the eagle is able to fly into and land on inaccessible places by its majestic flight.
The eagle is also a symbol of God Himself used to describe HIS relationship with the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 17:1-10). They were to be in loyal submission to HIM because of HIS rescuing them from their enemies (particularly at the exodus from Egypt).
God continues HIS Socratic method of instructing Job to see the truth about himself by asking questions rather than simply making statements. God seeks for Job to know the truth by causing him to reflect on questions which he cannot answer.
The eagle, then, combines both strength and grace. That is why the Lord chose this as an illustration of Himself. By Job acknowledging that he cannot influence the eagle in any way, he also acknowledges that he is unable to control God’s ways or even understand them fully.
God’s point, then, is for Job to put his faith and confidence in God even when he does not understand what HE is doing. Do you have a challenge before you today that you need to trust God’s sovereignty and provision in?
CHALLENGE: Think about the eagle and trust HIM!! (Mark Wooten- board member)
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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 1- 17
Asks Job questions
Tells about habits of animals
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)
City verse 7
Driver verse 7
Rider and horse verse 18
Armed men verse 21
Captains verse 25
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Trust verse 11
Wisdom verse 17, 26
Understanding verse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
9–12 There was an implied contrast between the wild donkey and the tame donkey in vv.5–8. Here there is an explicit contrast between the wild ox and the tame ox. This animal (Heb. rêm; KJV, “unicorn”; Vul., “rhinoceros”) is believed to be the now-extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius). Next to the elephant and rhino, it was the largest and most powerful land animal of the Bible world. Most of the nine OT occurrences of the word make reference to it as a symbol of strength (cf. Num 23:22; 24:8; Deut 33:17; Ps 29:6 et al.). It was already rare in Palestine in the time of Moses. Thutmose III tells of traveling far to hunt one, and the Assyrians hunted them often in the Lebanon mountains (see Assyrian relief in B. Mazar, Views of the Biblical World [Chicago: Jordan, 1959], iv:129). Once again it is a bit of divine humor to even mention the possibility of this fearsome creature harnessed to Job’s plow, working his fields, or tethered in his barn. For information on all the animals in this chapter, the reader can refer to G.S. Cansdale’s Animals of Bible Lands (Exeter: Paternoster, 1970). (Smick, E. B. (1988). Job. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 1038). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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39:9–12. In contrast with setting wild donkeys free, Job could not tame a wild ox. This animal, perhaps the auroch, resisted domestication. It would not serve Job or stay in his barn overnight, like a domesticated cow. Nor would it submit to plowing. Though unusually strong, it would not do heavy work for man. Nor would it pull a cart with grain from a field to a threshing floor. If Job could not tame even this one wild animal, how could he hope to challenge God’s ways with man? (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. 769). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
It is much disputed among the learned, but is not needful to be known by others, whether there be or ever was such a creature as we call the unicorn; or whether this reem, which is the Hebrew name of it, be the rhinoceros, as some would have it; or a certain kind of wild goat, called oryx, which is very tall, and strong, and untractable; or one of that kind of wild oxen or bulls called uri; which may seem most probable, both from the description of this creature here and elsewhere in Scripture, which exactly agrees with its description given by other authors; and from the description of his work in this place, which must in all reason be agreeable to creatures of that general kind; and from the conjunction of this creature with bullocks in Scripture, Deut. 33:17; and especially Isa. 34:6, 7, where having put lambs, and goats, and rams together, ver. 6, as creatures of the same or very like sort, he mentions bullocks, and bulls, and reems, ver. 7, as belonging to the same general sort of creatures. But this I shall not positively determine here. He that would know more, may see what the reverend and learned Mr. Caryl hath upon this text out of Boetius and others, and my Latin Synopsis on Numb. 23:22. Be willing to serve thee; canst thou tame him, and bring him into subjection to thy command? Abide by thy crib; will he suffer himself to be tied or confined there all night, and to be reserved to the work of the next day, as the oxen do? Surely no. And if thou canst not rule such a creature as this, much less art thou able to govern the world, or to teach me how to govern it, which thou presumest to do. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 1, p. 1022). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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Ver. 9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, &c.] Whether there is or ever was such a creature, as described under the name of an unicorn, is a question: it is thought the accounts of it are for the most part fabulous; though Vartomannus says he saw two at Mecca, which came from Ethiopia, the largest of which had a horn in his forehead three cubits long. There are indeed several creatures which may be called monocerots, who have but one horn; as the rhinoceros, and the Indian horses and asses. The Arabic geographera speaks of a beast in the Indies, called carcaddan, which is lesser than an elephant and bigger than a buffalo; having in the middle of the forehead an horn long and thick, as much as two hands can grasp: and not only on land, but in the sea are such, as the nahr whal, or Greenland whale; but then they do not answer to the creature so called in Scripture: and, besides, this must be a creature well known to Job, as it was to the Israelites; and must be a strong creature, from the account that gives of it, and not to be taken as here. And Solinusc speaks of such monocerots or unicorns, which may be killed, but cannot be taken, and were never known to be in any man’s possession alive; and so Ælianus says of the like creature, that it never was remembered that any one of them had been taken. Some think the rhinoceros is meant; but that, though a very strong creature, and so may be thought fit for the uses after mentioned, yet may be tamed; whereas the creature here is represented as untamable, and not to be subdued, and brought under a yoke and managed; and besides, it is not very probable that it was known by Job. Bochart takes it to be the oryx, a creature of the goat kind; but to me it seems more likely to be of the ox kind, to be similar to them, and so might be thought to do the business of one; and the rather, because of its great strength, and yet could not be brought to do it, nor be trusted with it: for the questions concerning it relate to the work of oxen; and as the wild ass is opposed to the tame one in the preceding paragraph, so here the wild ox to a tame one. And both Strabo and Diodorus Siculusg relate, that among the Troglodytes, a people that dwelt near the Red sea, and not far from Arabia, where Job lived, were abundance of wild oxen or bulls, and which far exceeded the common ones in largeness and swiftness; and the creature called the reem in the original, has its name from height. Now the question is, could Job take one of these wild bulls or oxen, and tame it, and make it willing to do any work or service he should choose to put it to? No, he could not. Or abide by thy crib? manger or stall, as the tame or common ox will; who, when it has done its labour, is glad to be led to its stall and feed, and then lie down and rest, and there abide; see Isa. 1:3. but not so the wild ox. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 502–503). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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9–11. Having, from the view of such creatures being provided for, taught Job the unreasonableness of his repining, the Lord next sends him to learn another lesson from the unmanageableness of the larger beasts of the field. And hence as plainly shews the folly of man in being restive to divine government. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Job–Psalms (Vol. 4, p. 145). 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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LOVING THE BRETHREN
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light. 1 John 2:10
As Christians look at their fellow men and women, they see people exactly like themselves before their eyes were opened, and now they are sorry for them. They begin to love hateful persons instead of hating them. They say, “We are all in the same position,” and they begin to have an eye of compassion for them. Their knowledge of the love of God in Christ makes them love other people even as they have been loved themselves. They are new men and women with a new outlook; they are in a new realm. They feel the love of God in their heart, and they want to love Him and glorify Him, and they know they can glorify God most of all by being new men and women, by living as Christ lived and thereby showing and proving that they are indeed true disciples.
Christ our Lord put this perfectly once in the parable of the man who was a servant and was in trouble. He went to his lord and pleaded for forgiveness, and that lord forgave him. But there was another man who was a servant under the first servant who came to him and made exactly the same plea, but the forgiven servant took the other by the throat and said, “No, I won’t let you off—you have to pay to the last farthing.” Well, said our Lord (Matthew 18:23-35), that man must not think he has been forgiven, for the man who does not forgive will not be forgiven.
What this means is that you and I can only be happy about the fact that we are Christians if we find this loving, forgiving spirit within ourselves. It is idle for us to say that we know God has forgiven us if we ourselves are not loving and forgiving. People who say they are in the light but who hate and do not forgive their brother are in darkness even now.
A Thought to Ponder: It is idle for us to say that we know that God has forgiven us if we ourselves are not loving and forgiving.
From Walking with God, pp. 64-65, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Brothers should not go to court against brothers, especially before unbelievers.
INSIGHT
When we come to Christ, we give up our title to all earthly possessions, and we receive eternal possessions that are fabulous beyond imagination. All of the riches of Christ are ours as co-inheritors with Him; all those things that we might have viewed as possessions must now be seen as “on loan.” We are now merely administrators, stewards of these things that belong to the Lord. We must hold them loosely with an open hand, not as possessions, and use them as we believe Christ would.
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WALKING WITH GOD
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1 John 2:3
Are you keeping God’s commandments? Keeping His commandments does not mean I just put on the wall a list of specific injunctions and do my best to keep them. Rather, it means that I am always concerned to be living the Christian life as fully as I can, that my great object is to be well-pleasing in His sight. I know what He wants me to do; I find it in the Old and New Testaments. I have the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount that apply to me, and I have the whole moral, ethical teaching of the New Testament.
Those are His commandments, and I have to keep them. “And if you can say quite honestly,” says John in essence, “that you are very concerned about doing that; if you can say you are striving to do that and that is your ambition in life, you can know that you are in Him, for to know Him is to walk as He walked.” “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (verse 6). That puts it perfectly once and forever.
The Bible often describes our life as a walk. “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24); “Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Then read what God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:1—“Walk before me, and be thou perfect.” “I,” said Jesus Christ, “am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Then listen to Paul saying the same kind of thing: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
This is a wonderful picture of the Christian life. It is a journey; we walk along, and what John says here quite simply and without any explanation is this: “If you say you are in Him, then you ought to walk as He walked.”
A Thought to Ponder: The Bible often describes our life as a walk. (From Walking with God, pp. 51-52.)
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The Dispensation of Grace
“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” (Ephesians 3:2)
So-called “dispensationalism” has had both its advocates and opponents among Bible-believing Christians. The Greek word translated “dispensation” (oikonomia), from which we derive our English word “economy,” actually means an “economy,” or also a “stewardship.”
The number and nature of the various “dispensations” or “economies” through which the Creator has dealt with His human creation during the course of history has been the subject of considerable discussion and variation among commentators. Possible distinct dispensations might include the post-Eden economy instituted after sin and God’s curse came into the world, the post-diluvian economy established by Noah after the Flood, and the economy begun by Abraham when God began to work especially with the nation of Israel. However, none of these are actually called “dispensations” in the Scriptures, so any such listing is bound to be somewhat arbitrary.
There are two dispensations, however, specifically called such in Scripture. One is the “dispensation of the fulness of times,” when God will “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). This will be the eternal economy of the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22).
Then there is this present “dispensation of the grace of God.” We, like Paul, have been called as “stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). So, like Paul, each of us could say that “a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” (1 Corinthians 9:17), and that “I am made a minister [or ‘servant’], according to the dispensation of God which is given to me” (Colossians 1:25). Thus, the dispensation of grace is a real stewardship responsibility committed to each believer.
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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The Christian’s Lifestyle: Our Relationships
“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21)
Our calling is to walk worthy.
Our gifts are perfect and complete.
Our behavior is changed by the new man.
Our wisdom is to understand the will of the Lord.
Our control is being filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:22 through 6:9 presents a basic primer on human relationships in dynamics that impact most of our lives, our families, and our places of employment. Our relationships are to be carried out by submitting (ourselves) to one another in the fear of God. That key wordhupotasso is itself instructive. It is a compound of the preposition “under” and a word that means to arrange in order. Thus, to arrange under, in order.
In the home, the submission (order, arrangement) is compared to the Lord’s house, the church. Wives are to be arranged under the husband (emphasis on authority) just as the church is under the authority of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:22-24). Husbands are to be under the responsibility of love (emphasis on sacrifice) just as Christ gave His life on behalf of and for the benefit of the church (Ephesians 5:25-33).
Children are to be under the arranged order of correct behavior (emphasis on obedience) just as the fifth commandment so requires for the protection and promotion of well-being and longevity (Ephesians 6:1-4).
In the workplace, those who serve are to serve as though they were serving the Lord, not men (Ephesians 6:5-8). Those who lead and own are to relate to their servants as though they were serving the servants, recognizing that one Master is over all (Ephesians 6:9). These instructions are really quite simple. We do not need to complicate them. (HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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The Word of God often goes against all reason. Consider Joshua, a military strategist so brilliant that his campaigns are still studied today. He is standing afar, looking at the city of Jericho, pondering how to conquer it. The angel of the Lord appears to him saying, “Walk around the city several times and shout. That ought to do it!”
Can you imagine the response from the standpoint of military strategy? It is sheer nonsense. Yet it is a test of faith and obedience. Joshua believes and obeys, and the fallen walls are history. (Quiet Walk)
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UNDERSTANDING CHRIST
For the works which the Father gave me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. John 5:36
When you are faced with something that perplexes you about our Lord, the first thing to do is always to start with the Lord Himself and not with what He is doing. I am not surprised that people ask the questions they do about Christ, because if they are not right about His person, they will never understand His activities, and it is really for this reason that they cannot understand His death. The disciples only understood the meaning of His death after the resurrection; it was in the light of the resurrection that they knew He was the Son of God, that they began to understand the meaning of His death upon the cross. No one will ever understand the doctrine of the cross unless he has grasped the doctrine of the person.
This, in effect, is what our Lord was telling John the Baptist in Matthew 11:2-6: “John, you cannot understand what I am doing. But are you trusting Me, do you really know who I am, are you right about Me? You see, your question has led you to doubt Me in other things. You have allowed the things I am not doing to raise a query in your mind about My person. John, come back to the beginning, be right about Me. These are the things that I am doing. Only the Messiah could do these things; here are the works that authenticate Him. As I said to the people the other day, “For the works which the Father gave me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me?” (John 5:36).
A Point to Ponder When you are faced with something that perplexes you about our Lord, the first thing to do is always to start with the Lord Himself and not with what He is doing. (From The Heart of the Gospel, pp. 48-49, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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- THE ADVOCATE, PART 1
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
How does Christ accomplish our restoration to fellowship with God? John puts it here in these verses in a very beautiful way. Christ does it, says John, by being our advocate. “If any man sin”—if any of you should happen to fall into sin—then you, we, all of us together—”have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” John uses the same [Greek] word in his Gospel, in chapter 16 verse 7, where our Lord said that He would send us another comforter. So what is an advocate? An advocate is one who represents another. He stands before a court, and he presents the case of someone else; he represents this person and puts forward the pleas. And John tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is, for all who believe on Him and trust Him, “an advocate with the Father.”
However, this word merits our closer attention. We must never think of it as if the Lord Jesus Christ were there pleading for us before an unwilling God. You will find that certain hymns suggest that, and statements have often been made that sound as if God were opposed to us and as if God, who is utter righteousness and absolute perfection, is insisting on His pound of flesh and insisting upon His right to punish us for our sins. They picture the Lord Jesus Christ as pleading desperately and urgently, trying to persuade the Father and at last succeeding in getting Him to change His opinion.
But that is an impossible suggestion, and we must be very careful not to view this idea of advocacy in that way. It is impossible because we are told so plainly and clearly in the Word of God that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). So as we consider the advocacy, let us get rid of the idea that God is unwilling and that He is one who is not prepared to forgive.
A Thought to Ponder: We must never think of it as if the Lord Jesus Christ were there pleading for us before an unwilling God.
(From Walking with God, pp. 36-37, By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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In His Steps
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” (Psalm 37:23)
There is nothing more satisfying to a believer than to be living in the will of God for his life. And it is good to know that God actually delights in leading us along that way that He is laying out for us. There are numerous Bible verses to this effect. One of the most familiar is “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
That verse gives us a basic principle for knowing His way. We need to seek His leading in everything! Of course, it may not be an easy path. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).
Even if the path seems difficult at times, it is a good path because it honors Him. “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). He is the good Shepherd, and if we lose the way for a time, He can bring us back. As the prophet said: “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
An important check to be sure we are not drifting far off the path is to be sure we don’t disobey or question His written Word. “Order my steps in thy word,” we should pray each day (Psalm 119:133). Then He promises: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
It may not be an audible voice, but we can hear. Jesus promised: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Then we can say, as the ancient servant testified: “I being in the way, the LORD led me” (Genesis 24:27).
(HMM)
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