#18 THE FIRST COVENANT

     After relating the stories of Creation, Noah, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, the book of Genesis ends with the account of how Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel, made the way for his whole family to relocate to Egypt during a destructive drought. From this point on, the writers of the Old Testament pivot to writing about the covenant that God made with the nation of Israel. From the first chapters of Exodus to the last words of Malachi, these writers explore the interactions between God and the descendants of Jacob from many different angles. Rather than going through all that has been written (for the present time), I am going to focus on God’s purpose in giving the Law to the Israelites in this post and on an incident in David’s life that opened the door for God to give His only begotten Son to the human race in my next post.

     Have you ever wondered why God picked Moses to lead Israel out of the land of Egypt? I’ve thought about it quite a bit, so I’d like to offer two reasons that may explain God’s line of thought. First, as evidenced in the narrative found in Exodus 3:1-4:17, Moses was stubborn and not afraid to ask questions. Remember that, when God spoke directly to Job in a whirlwind, He told the man to gird his loins like a man? Well, Moses did just that when God spoke to him from a burning bush. Moses was not intimidated and kept pressing God for more understanding. Moses knew his own weaknesses and he may well have been concerned about the reception he would receive from both the Israelites and the Egyptians. Even after God demonstrated how He would work through supernatural signs, Moses still resisted the “call.” God met his need by promising to send Aaron with him to do the speaking. Both God and Moses gained what they wanted through this interchange and great power came out of it.

     As far as the second reason for God’s choice of Moses as the leader of Israel, God may well have picked Moses because he killed a man. Follow my train of thought here–the Israelites really had no concept of the character of God (remember the golden calf incident?), so they gave Satan plenty of opportunities to come before God and accuse them. God needed a man who would intercede for the heedless children of Jacob. Because he had killed a man and found that act to be futile in achieving his goals, Moses had gained the understanding that enabled him to consistently stand before God and to ask Him to be merciful. The pleas of this man overrode Satan’s ploy to destroy the nation of Israel.

     Continuing on, God had two distinct purposes in giving the Law to Moses and the Israelites. First, God wanted to focus their attention on Him. By instituting all the celebrations and sacrifices, God ensured that Jacob’s descendants would remain cognizant of His existence and His power. Without the structure of religious observances, the Hebrews would have forgotten all about Him, and if they had forgotten about Him, they would have been sitting ducks for Satan’s destruction. All the offerings, sacrifices, and holy days were just the means to the end–they acted as placeholders until Christ was able to accomplish what he did on the cross. Secondly,God also wanted to make sure the Israelites understood what destructive behavior was and that destructive behavior has definite consequences. All the rules and regulations were instituted to give direction to this group of people and to prevent chaos as they wandered through the wilderness and settled in the Promise Land. Again, God was intent on limiting Satan’s ability to wipe out the Israelites.

     As we continue on in this series, we are going to investigate how the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ completely overrode this covenant that God made with Jacob’s descendants. With that in mind, I encourage all of us to let go of the rules and regulations that are in the pages of the Old Testament and to focus on the promises that God made to the nation of Israel. When Christ died on that cross, he extended every one of those promises to the whole human race. And, we will also find that, as we cleave to God, we will fulfill the law from the inside out.

     As always, all respectful comments are welcomed!

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell.  All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, September 27th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE OLD TESTAMENT

#14 The Book of Job–Act 5

     In this final act of Job (chapter 42), we have reached the major climax of this story–what was the beleagured man going to do? Thus far, we have seen his immeasurable loss and unbearable physical pain. We have seen him stand against his friends’ sadistic verbal attacks, and we have seen him listen to both Elihu’s and God’s speeches. At this point, the time had come for Job to respond to God and he did just that. Listen to what he said (Job 42:2-6 NASB):

  “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

   Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

   Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.

   I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.

   Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

Job understood and what he understood was the truth because he was set free (John 8:32). Job found his foothold in God’s character and finally comprehended that God was not the source of his intense trouble, but was the way out of it.

     We need to take these words of Job to heart. How many beliefs do we have that are based only on what other people have told us? One of greatest lessons to learn from this story is that our individual walks with God are not to be a game of spiritual telephone. God wants to talk to each and every one of us–this is where our victory over evil begins. While there is a place for talking and brainstorming with each other about the questions we have, the answers that will set us free are the ones that God Himself gives each of us. We need to ask Him and listen to His instruction.

     Before we look at how Job put what he had learned into action, let’s talk a little about repentance. Sometimes the way I’ve heard the concept of repentance explained, I would believe that it entails intense spiritual activity–something like the effort of dieting or quitting smoking. Thus, for some people, the thought of repentance is intimidating. Repentance is not intimidating. Repentance is simply turning to God–that’s it. When Job said he repented in dust and ashes, he didn’t remain in the ash pit. What he was saying was that everything that he had based his faith on–in other words, everything he had done as a believer–was worthless. He retracted everything he had believed and done. Starting at that moment, his faith was based on God’s character and on His character alone. He turned around, and that’s repentance!

     Going on, if we had any doubts that what Job’s three closest friends had said were anything but sadistic untruths, Job 42:7-9 dispels them. God instructed the three to make a significant burnt offering in Job’s presence so Job would have the opportunity to pray for them. This prayer represented Job’s forgiveness for his three friends and was his first “test” of his renewed faith. If Job hadn’t prayed for them or forgiven them, then he would be a hypocrite because his friends misunderstandings were no greater than his own.

     The next couple of verses really show the individual nature of the understanding of God that sets us free. Job 42:10-12 talks about Job’s brothers and sisters who had not been present during the give-and-take between Job, his three friends, Elihu, and God. They came with the purpose of comforting Job “for all the adversities  that the Lord had brought on him.” In their compassion for him, they each gave him money and a ring of gold. The lesson to be learned from this tibit of information–just because God gives each believer understanding that sets him/her free doesn’t mean that everyone else will have that same understanding. We need to keep our eyes on Him.

     Have you ever wondered why the Book of Job ends with a description of Job’s three daughters? Well, if we look back in the first verses of chapter one, we see that Job was concerned about his sons when he sacrificed after their “partying.” Even though he also had daughters, he did not recognize their importance during these offerings. Well, while God was working with Job to reorientate his faith, He must have ministered to Job about his attitude towards women. After disregarding his first set of daughters, Job made it a point to give his second set of daughters an inheritance along with their brothers. Personally, I find this fact interesting–perhaps as we ask God for understanding, He will bring us to the point of accepting everyone as equal before Him. We all have an inheritance that will come through each of us repenting and asking God for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

     In my next post, we will be looking at Abraham and what it meant to be a friend of God’s. Please feel free to comment, but remember any comment that is disrespectful to anyone will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, August 11th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in JOB/SUFFERING

#13 The Book of Job–Act 4

    In Act 3 of the Book of Job, we reached the preliminary climax when Elihu was able to begin to break through the stalemate that Job and his friends had reached. After the young man finished speaking, the four older men remained silent–a good sign that they were beginning to think things through. However,God didn’t leave Job hanging but came upon the scene in order to answer Job’s earlier heartfelt cry, “…behold  my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me…” (Job 31:35). A whirlwind appeared and God spoke to Job out of it. In order to understand the power of God’s words, we need to work through what He said to Job (chapters 38-41).

     Over the years, I have heard a number of people explain God’s statements to Job as being a non-answer to the man’s questions. From their perspective, God seemed to be boasting or telling Job that, because He is who He is, Job just needed to grin and bear. Let me offer you a different point of view–one that gets to the essence of God’s relationship with the human race and to the power of evil against the human race. First, we need to remember Job’s position at the point God spoke to him. The man had suffered the unbelievable loss of his family and possessions, the tormenting physical pain of being covered head to foot with boils, and the unrelenting condemnation from his closest friends. Job’s faith in God had taken a beating and he was struggling to hold on to the One he had faithfully worshipped. As far as Job was concerned, the foundation of everything he believed was crumbling.

     Next, let’s look at Job’s situation from God’s perspective as the Problem-Solver. Before He could explain to Job why the destruction came, God had to secure the man’s faith. The first thing God did was to help Job overcome the mindset of being a victim by telling the man that he did not know what he was talking about and that he needed to stop whining and to start thinking things through. Then God extended His hand to Job and pulled him up onto the rock of Himself. You see, everything that Job had understood about God had come from what other people had told him (Job 42:5)–the minute God started talking about His own character, Job’s theory of God became reality. (The difference between hearing about God and hearing God was like hearing about how good a banana split tastes and actually eating one.) God had a distinct purpose in “boasting” about Himself, and that purpose was to give Job a firm foundation to stand on.

     Now, let me share what may be a new concept for you. After God had secured Job’s faith, He explained to Job just what had caused all his trouble. When God started talking about the behemoth and the levithan (Job 40:15-41:34 NASB), He was talking about Satan. Using figurative language, God explained to Job the power Satan possessed to come against the human race with destruction, and He also explained the inability of humans to overcome Satan through their own efforts. Within God’s words to Job, there are two statements that explain both what happened to Job and what the man could do about it.

     In Job 41:34, God stated, “He (the levithan) looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.” Here was the crux of Job’s trouble. If we look at what Job had said to his friends in Job 29, we can see that Job had based his faith in God on what he did, not on who God is. Unintentionally, because he didn’t understand, Job had fallen into the trap of pride. As a result, he had a great deal of fear operating in his life–remember when we were introduced to Job, he was constantly sacrificing for his sons because he was “afraid” they had cursed God (Job 1:4-5).  Then, in his first speech to his friends, he said that what he had feared had come upon him (Job 3:25). This inadvertent pride and its resulting fear played into Satan’s hand because he takes advantage of what humans don’t understand.

     Now comes the best part of all. Let’s look at Job 40:19 (NKJV)–”He (the behemoth) is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword.”–and work through its meaning. First, since the behemoth represents Satan, let’s remember that Satan’s original state of being was Lucifer, the premier angel known as the Day Star. Also, let’s establish that the sword of Satan’s maker, God, is His word (Ephesians 6:17). Put these two concepts together and we have the solution to Job’s and all human suffering. If we want to stop the death, loss, and destruction that Satan brings, then we need to hear God’s word and use it. And, we must remember hearing about God’s word and hearing God’s word are two entirely different things! The first we can get from fellowshipping and listening to other people while the second we can only get from fellowshipping and listening to God Himself. God wants our faith to be grounded on who He is and not on who other people say He is.

     My next post will wrap up Job’s story as we think about his response to God and the result of his renewed faith. We’ll also look at what we can take away from what we have read and discussed in this series of posts. After we finish with Job, we will continue with three Old Testament believers and then go on to Jesus who accomplished much more than what we imagined.

     As always, please feel free to comment–just be respectful of everyone because God loves us all and His love is absolute–perfect, complete, and real!

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, August 7th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in JOB/SUFFERING

#12 THE BOOK OF JOB–ACT 3

    While Job and his three friends were “debating” the cause of all Job’s horrible pain, a young man had been listening carefully to what was being said. Elihu (meaning “God Himself”) had remained silent through the whole discourse, but when he saw that the men had reached a stalemate, he spoke up (Job 32-37  NASB). Elihu’s first words to the men acknowledged their honored position as elders, but then he let them have it. He first told Job’s friends that, with all their accusations, they had not once refuted or answered Job’s words–their comments were totally ineffective. Then, Elihu proceeded to explain to Job just why his concept of God was full of flaws.

     Before we look at the gist of what Elihu said, let’s think about how he had received the knowledge of God that he had. We talked earlier about the wall that Satan had insinuated between the human race and God when he conned Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Remember when I likened the wall to the two-way mirror found in today’s interrogation rooms and talked about the intercom button located on that wall? Well, Elihu must have found the intercom button because much of what he said to Job was later supported by the New Testament writers. Because he had spent time interacting with God, Elihu was able to share what he had learned from Him. And, he spoke  in such clear and concise terms that Job was able to understand what he was explaining.

     As we consider part of what Elihu said, we can find the main thrust of his words in Job 34:10-12 where he states this:

Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.

Far be it from God to do any wickedness, and from the Almighty to do wrong.

For He pays a man according to his work, and makes him find it according to his way.

Surely, God will not act wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

Elihu was right on with this concept because, in the New Testament, James 1:13-17 tells us that God has nothing to do with evil and that humans are the ones who have the responsibility of choosing good. Listen to how James concluded his line of thought, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above…from the Father of lights…no variation or shifting  shadow.” (Do we really hear this? God is not the cause of our problems–God is good and His goodness does not change.) Elihu was right, and by blaming God for his intense trouble, Job showed how wrong he was in how he read his circumstances.

     But, Elihu did not stop with just explaining that God does not cause evil to happen. He went on to answer the question that has dogged the human race since the Garden of Eden: Why do bad things happen to good people? In Job 36:7-12, Elihu lays out the dynamic of evil coming against the righteous. Let’s look at a list of his main points in this excerpt of his speech:

•  God does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous.

•  God has seated the righteous on thrones and exalted them forever.

•  The righteous can be bound in fetters and caught in chords of affliction.

•  If the righteous are bound and caught, God will tell them what caused them to magnify themselves (their works and/or their transgressions).

•  God opens the ears of the righteous and commands them to return from evil.

•  If the righteous hear and serve God, they will be blessed.

• If the righteous refuse to hear God, they will die without knowledge.

There we have it, folks–the righteous suffer either because they have turned away from God (transgressions) or because they have misconceptions of God (works). As Job found out, a believer can eschew evil and do all the “right” things and still be clobbered by destruction. What Job did not understand was that God will talk to the righteous and explain the things they do not understand. As Elihu told him, if the righteous listen, they will overcome the destruction–if they don’t listen, they will continue to be victimized and never know why.

     As much understanding as Elihu had, he still only had part of the picture. Although he was able to explain to Job that God was not the One who caused such horrible things to happen to the older man, Elihu could not explain why the evil had happened. That was going to have to be a matter to be discussed between God and Job which is exactly what happened next and which is what we will discuss in my next post.

     As always, feel free to comment. Comments must be respectful or they will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

 

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patriciazell, August 3rd 2009 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in JOB/SUFFERING

#11 The Book of Job–Act 2

     As we begin reading the second act of Job’s story (Job 2:11-Job 32:1), we find that three of Job’s friends–Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar–made an appointment together to go to Job to mourn with him and to comfort him. They did okay with the mourning part which involved weeping and sitting in silence for seven days, but when Job began talking with words that cursed the day he was born, their quiet sympathy quickly turned into stern rebuke.  Job began with the statement that he had been afraid of destruction coming upon him and tried everything he could to stop it, but to no avail. He said God was the One who had hedged him in with evil (Job 3:23, 25-26). (Now, before we go any farther, let’s remember God did not bring the destruction on Job–Satan did. And, keep in mind that in Job’s story, like many others, the reader knows more than the characters know.) Eliphaz was the first one to respond to Job, and he immediately insinuated the reason Job had been afflicted was because he had sowed iniquity (Job 4:7-8). When Job strongly defended himself, the great debate was on. As the argument escalated, Job’s three friends became quite sadistic–let’s face it, the man was in intense pain and they were intent on goading him into confessing “his great sin.”

     I’m not going to go through the different spiels each character spoke, but if you decide to read through them, keep this in mind–not one of the four men knew what he was talking about. They all misunderstood God. As I said above, Job misunderstood the “why” of his circumstances and was wrong to blame God for his destruction. But, his friends were also wrong because Job had not sinned and did not deserve what he was suffering. Over the years, I have heard people quote either what Job said during  this exchange or what his friends said, and I have cringed every time. Even if what any one of them said sounds good–it was not truth. How do I know that? Remember what Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). Neither what Job said nor what his three friends said set Job free. The whole argument ended up in a stalemate, and Job was still in pain.

     Even though no one in this discussion spoke truth, some of what Job said is important for two reasons:  a couple things he said provide insight into his most basic  misconception about his relationship with God, and he made some requests of God during his season of complaining that God did answer. First, in Job 29 , the beleagured man talked about the glory of his earlier days–read it and then read Job 31:24-34 where he listed all the sins he had not committed. Now, let me ask you a question–in these passages, what did Job base his relationship with God on? All the man talked about was what he had or had not done. Where was God in all of this? Job didn’t understand that the character of God is the foundation of a believer’s faith, not what the believer does or does not do. In fact, Job didn’t understand God’s character at all as is evidenced by the way he alternated between praising God and cursing Him.

     Finally, let’s look at several requests that Job made and that God answered. In Job 13:20-22, the man asked God not to withdraw His hand from him and not to let His dread make him afraid. Then, listen to what Job said next–”Then call and I will answer; or let me speak, then reply to me” (NASB). As we will see in an upcoming post, God answered that prayer big time. Job also made two other requests that have directly affected us. Job 19:23 records some more of Job’s words, “Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!” (NASB). Then, at the very end of his raucous debate with his friends, Job cried out “Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, that my Prosecutor had written a book!” (NKJV) Let’s see now, Job is believed to be the earliest book of the Bible written, and Job desired to have his words written in a book and to have God write a book. Do you think  the existence of our Bible might be the direct answer to Job’s prayers?

     In my next post, we are going to see the preliminary climax of Job’s story as a young man named Elihu takes the stage. Let me leave you with a tidbit to think about–the name “Elihu” means God Himself.

     Please feel free to comment, but please remember that any disrespectful comments will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 28th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in JOB/SUFFERING
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