January 25, 2011
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have finished talking. They are all convinced that Job is a hypocrite and that the only reason a person would suffer is because of sin in their life. They saw God as a reactionary god. Job knew he had not committed any sin that resulted in the "punishment" he was receiving. But, therein lies the problem. Job thought he was being punished, when in truth, God had allowed Satan to attack Job because he was an "honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil!"
Wow! Job was given what we were given; the opportunity to witness the Hand of God in his life.
Elihu begins to speak. He has listened while everyone else talked, and now he can sit quiet no longer. He too assumes Job has sinned, but his argument was against how everyone else (including Job) viewed God. (Psalm 8 - "What is man..."?) Who are we to question or accuse God? God owes no one an explanation. Elihu passionately speaks about who God is.
Jane's (Her Name is Jane) KJV Bible has cross-references printed down a center column on each page. While reading this section, I noticed Jane had circled the cross references for Job 34:21.
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar have finished talking. They are all convinced that Job is a hypocrite and that the only reason a person would suffer is because of sin in their life. They saw God as a reactionary god. Job knew he had not committed any sin that resulted in the "punishment" he was receiving. But, therein lies the problem. Job thought he was being punished, when in truth, God had allowed Satan to attack Job because he was an "honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil!"
Wow! Job was given what we were given; the opportunity to witness the Hand of God in his life.
Elihu begins to speak. He has listened while everyone else talked, and now he can sit quiet no longer. He too assumes Job has sinned, but his argument was against how everyone else (including Job) viewed God. (Psalm 8 - "What is man..."?) Who are we to question or accuse God? God owes no one an explanation. Elihu passionately speaks about who God is.
Jane's (Her Name is Jane) KJV Bible has cross-references printed down a center column on each page. While reading this section, I noticed Jane had circled the cross references for Job 34:21.
- Job 31:4
- II Chronicles 16:9
- Psalm 34:15
- Proverbs 5:21
- Proverbs 15:3
- Jeremiah 16:17
- Jeremiah 32:19
I looked up the verses. Every verse has the same message. God knows; He's watching; He's aware of everything; and He sees what is good and evil.
While looking up and reading Jeremiah 16:17 - "I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; so their sin is not hidden from my eyes," I noticed Jane had also circled the cross references for Jeremiah 17:7 - "But the person who trusts in the LORD will be blessed. The LORD will show him that he can be trusted." I looked up those cross references for that verse.
The cross references for Jeremiah 17:7 (that Jane also had circled) are all about God blessing those who trust and wait on Him. The last verse circled was Isaiah 30:18. It reads, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him."
Isaiah 30 is what Jane asked me to read in September '07, just days before my first deposition. When I finished reading the chapter Jane spoke and said, "Read the part about wait on the LORD again." I didn't remember reading that, so starting from the end of the chapter, I used my finger to trace the words saying to myself, "wait on the LORD, wait on the LORD. What if it's not in here? Jane thinks it is in here! What am I going to do? Wait on the LORD, wait on the LORD." And there it was in Verse 18, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him." It goes on to say in Verse 21, "If you go the wrong way, to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the right way. You should go this way." Wow!
It is such an encouragement to be reminded that: 1) God knows; He sees what is happening; He's aware; He's watching; and 2) God blesses those who trust and wait for Him.
I began to wonder. Were there other times Jane had circled cross references in her Bible? Had I just missed them before? I decided to look and see. So starting from where I was reading in Job, I leafed through all the pages in her Bible from Job back to Genesis. I found only one other time. It was for Deuteronomy 32:35 - "I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly." I looked up the cross references (Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30). Again, wow! The ONLY cross references Jane has circled in her Bible SENDS me to verses throughout the Bible with the following message just as "the storm" is picking up velocity:
1) God knows, He's aware, and He's watching.
2) Blessed are those who trust and wait on Him.
3) Vengeance is the LORD's!
This is HIS battle not ours. God is still using Jane to "speak" to us. This time through what she has circled in her Bible. Is it a coincidence that these three cross references are the ONLY ones she has circled? I think not. Is it a coincidence that even though I began keeping a journal while reading through the Bible over two years ago that this is the EXACT time we find them? I know not.
May all Glory and Honor be given to Christ the King.
I believe.
Addendum: 1/2/15 ~ Oh how grateful I am that I began this journal over five years ago and that there is a record of what all God has done. I am in awe of how God works and provides for those who trust Him. It is the start of a new year. My husband and I went walking this morning and surrendered everything to the LORD—again. It is so comforting to KNOW that HE knows; that HE is aware; HE is watching; HE blesses those who trust and wait on HIM; and that "the storm" is HIS battle.
Job 34:10 - "God can never do wrong! It is impossible for the Almighty to do evil."
Job 34:30 - "He keeps the wicked from ruling and trapping others."
Job 37:23 - "The Almighty is too high for us to reach. He has great strength; he is always right and never punishes unfairly."
WE KNOW:
Next Entry: Job 38:1 – 41:34
While looking up and reading Jeremiah 16:17 - "I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; so their sin is not hidden from my eyes," I noticed Jane had also circled the cross references for Jeremiah 17:7 - "But the person who trusts in the LORD will be blessed. The LORD will show him that he can be trusted." I looked up those cross references for that verse.
- Psalm 12:2
- Psalm 34:8
- Psalm 125:1
- Psalm 146:5
- Proverbs 16:20
- Isaiah 30:18
The cross references for Jeremiah 17:7 (that Jane also had circled) are all about God blessing those who trust and wait on Him. The last verse circled was Isaiah 30:18. It reads, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him."
Isaiah 30 is what Jane asked me to read in September '07, just days before my first deposition. When I finished reading the chapter Jane spoke and said, "Read the part about wait on the LORD again." I didn't remember reading that, so starting from the end of the chapter, I used my finger to trace the words saying to myself, "wait on the LORD, wait on the LORD. What if it's not in here? Jane thinks it is in here! What am I going to do? Wait on the LORD, wait on the LORD." And there it was in Verse 18, "Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him." It goes on to say in Verse 21, "If you go the wrong way, to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, "This is the right way. You should go this way." Wow!
It is such an encouragement to be reminded that: 1) God knows; He sees what is happening; He's aware; He's watching; and 2) God blesses those who trust and wait for Him.
I began to wonder. Were there other times Jane had circled cross references in her Bible? Had I just missed them before? I decided to look and see. So starting from where I was reading in Job, I leafed through all the pages in her Bible from Job back to Genesis. I found only one other time. It was for Deuteronomy 32:35 - "I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly." I looked up the cross references (Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30). Again, wow! The ONLY cross references Jane has circled in her Bible SENDS me to verses throughout the Bible with the following message just as "the storm" is picking up velocity:
1) God knows, He's aware, and He's watching.
2) Blessed are those who trust and wait on Him.
3) Vengeance is the LORD's!
This is HIS battle not ours. God is still using Jane to "speak" to us. This time through what she has circled in her Bible. Is it a coincidence that these three cross references are the ONLY ones she has circled? I think not. Is it a coincidence that even though I began keeping a journal while reading through the Bible over two years ago that this is the EXACT time we find them? I know not.
May all Glory and Honor be given to Christ the King.
I believe.
Addendum: 1/2/15 ~ Oh how grateful I am that I began this journal over five years ago and that there is a record of what all God has done. I am in awe of how God works and provides for those who trust Him. It is the start of a new year. My husband and I went walking this morning and surrendered everything to the LORD—again. It is so comforting to KNOW that HE knows; that HE is aware; HE is watching; HE blesses those who trust and wait on HIM; and that "the storm" is HIS battle.
Job 34:10 - "God can never do wrong! It is impossible for the Almighty to do evil."
Job 34:30 - "He keeps the wicked from ruling and trapping others."
Job 37:23 - "The Almighty is too high for us to reach. He has great strength; he is always right and never punishes unfairly."
WE KNOW:
- This battle is not ours, it belongs to the LORD
- He blesses those who wait and trust in Him
- God is in control, and that is ENOUGH!
Next Entry: Job 38:1 – 41:34
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