Tag Archives: Sovereignty

Day 278: The “Who” outshines the “why”

Job 4-7

The first of Job’s three friends speaks in Job 4-5. It would have been much better if all three of them would have just kept silent (as they did in Job 2)!

Eliphaz clearly believes in God and understands glimpses of God’s character. I’m sure he means well, but his words are filled with false assumptions and presumptuous claims. But most damaging, he places his own observations and dreams above the truth of God’s word.

For example, in Job 4:7-11, Eliphaz makes sweeping generalizations when he says that the innocent never suffer – only the evil are destroyed. Later he presumes that God is “disciplining” Job (5:17-18) and promises that God will restore all of Job’s blessings if Job learns from the Lord’s reproof. Eliphaz even goes so far as to suggest that Job is a “fool” (5:2-6)!

Poor Job. He has lost everything, and now he must deal with disappointment in his friends (Job 6:14-21).

But the hardest thing that Job has lost is his belief that God loves him.

The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me (Job 6:4, NIV).

Ironically, it is because of God’s great love for Job that God has entrusted him with this trial! Satan suggested that Job’s love for God was really just love for his blessings – not for God, Himself. So God has entrusted his beloved Job to stand firm in this test to prove to Satan that God, alone, is worthy of our love.

And Job’s only comfort through this trial is that he has not “denied the Holy One” (Job 6:10).

So even though Job has sunk into complete despair and is devoid of all hope, he is standing firm in his faith in God. Satan has not won!

But here’s where I relate to Job the most… Job magnifies his pain because he seeks to know the “why” behind the suffering. How many of us have echoed Job’s question to God in the midst of suffering?? “Why me, Oh Lord??!!”

Why have you made me your target? (Job 7:21)

In Frances Bennett’s bible study on Job, (Job, Lessons in Comfort; CEP, 2009), she asserts that we must not seek after the “why” of suffering but the “Who.” She writes, “God teaches from Genesis to Revelation that all we really need to know is Who.”

Job has temporarily misunderstood God. He has assumed that God doesn’t love and care about him. This false belief has led him into hopeless despair. He needs to remember Who God is – and then the why of suffering will fade in the splendor of God’s character!

*Anything I’ve written about these chapters in Job, I have learned from Frances Bennett’s excellent teaching in her bible study on Job. I highly recommend her to you: Job, Lessons in Comfort.

Day 277: God of all Comfort

Job 1-3; Galatians 6

For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like water (Job 3:24).

This, friends, is grief. Job has lost everything.

When he lost his possessions and children, he said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

When he lost his health, he said, “Shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?” (Job 2:10).

But now, after time has settled in, and the reality of his loss becomes heavier, Job curses the day he was born (Job 3:3).

This was it. This was all he could bear. And Satan waited – and watched – and hoped that he had taken away the thing Job cherished more than God.*

But that was impossible, because Job loved God above all else. And because of Job’s love for God, the thought that God, Himself, might have forsaken him… well this was Job’s hardest trial.

For Job didn’t suffer because of his sin. And Job didn’t suffer because of someone else’s sin. He suffered to prove his loyalty to God.

How do we reconcile God’s goodness with the heavenly conversations recorded in Job 1 & 2? How does Job wrestle with these same doubts? This is the crux of Job.

But sprinkled through Job’s test of faith in God’s goodness are lessons in comfort. The word “comfort” finds its roots in the Latin words meaning “with strength.” So we must not mistake comfort for removing the pain. Sometimes the best comfort comes from finding truth in the midst of the pain. For instance, God knew Job’s limits. And he refused to let Satan overstep those limits. This is a comforting truth. Job’s friends come and sit in comforting silence (Job 2:11-13). Even Job offers comfort to his wife, in the form of a gentle rebuke (Job 2:9-10). But ultimately, it is Job’s hope in God that provides him the most comfort (Job 3:23).

Paul, in his final words to the Galatians, gives specific ways to comfort those around us who are suffering…

restore him in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1).
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

Do you see God’s comfort in the pages of Job? I do. I am comforted that God limited Job’s afflictions. I am comforted that God gave room for Job to grieve. I am comforted that all suffering doesn’t come from sin – but that my response in the midst of it could thwart the plans of Satan and bring glory to God! I’m comforted that God had a purpose for Job’s suffering that transcended Job’s lifetime and ripples into our hearts today. I’m comforted by God’s sovereignty, his authority over evil, and yes, His goodness. For even in the midst of suffering, God is still good.

*Job, Lessons in Comfort, by Frances Poston Bennett, pg 24

Day 258: God determines the end-date!

Daniel 7-9; 2 Corinthians 1

Today, Daniel shifts from historical literature to apocalyptic literature. Keep in mind that God does not give apocalyptic visions so that we can predict the future. These cryptic visions usually contain strange imagery which is difficult to interpret. So as we breeze through Daniel’s  visions, it will be difficult to invest time in all the many interpretation theories. But we can focus on what we learn about God! Daniel’s visions consistently teach: (1) God is sovereign over all of history, (2)There will be a final judgment, and (3) God’s kingdom will endure forever!

Especially poignant in today’s reading is Daniel’s prayer for mercy from Chapter 9. As Daniel is pleading to God for mercy for Israel as a whole, the angel Gabriel comes to show mercy to Daniel on an individual level. Gabriel says, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved” (Daniel 9:22).

What a comforting personal message from the angel, Gabriel! And even though Gabriel prophesied that Israel’s suffering would continue, his words proved that God had determined the duration of suffering. In other words, there is a predetermined end-date!

This is our hope and encouragement to persevere in the face of affliction!

Paul has much to say about the purpose of suffering in the opening chapter of 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians is an interesting letter. Opponents to Paul’s ministry had infiltrated the church and caused a large rebellion against Paul. Paul wrote a letter (which is now lost; 2 Cor. 2:3-4; 2 Cor. 7:8-16): pleading for the church to repent – which thankfully, most did. But some opponents still remained within the church. Consequently, Paul spends the first 7 chapters defending his apostolic ministry and indirectly refuting his opponents.

One argument against Paul being a true apostle was that he suffered too much! It is in this context that Paul addresses suffering in 2 Corinthians 1.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

God in his grace has designed suffering to produce good in our lives! God’s comfort in the midst of affliction transforms our hearts in a profound way. This enables us to share God’s comfort with others, and also share more in the person of Christ!

The ways of God are beyond understanding!

He controls all of history.
He has a plan to redeem a people.
There is an appointed time for suffering,
And in the end, God’s kingdom will stand in glory forever!

Day 256: Come Awake!

Daniel 3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Oh the folly of this world’s power and might. Who was this Nebuchadnezzar? He was the king of Babylon – the most powerful man of his time. He was so powerful that he commanded the death of others on a whim. He commanded limbs be torn and houses be demolished… and for three men who refused to bow before the golden statue made in his likeness, he commanded that they be thrown into a fiery furnace.

He sounds like a spoiled toddler to me – but unfortunately, he was no toddler. He was the king.

But he wasn’t The King.

Nebuchadnezzar got too big for his britches. He failed to realize he was just a pawn in God’s hand. God tried to warn the king through Daniel… (Dan. 4:27), but unfortunately… he didn’t listen.

“O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will” (Daniel 4:31-32).

How the mighty fall! But do you see that even this severe act of God towards Nebuchadnezzar was an act of grace? Because of God’s humbling hand upon Nebuchadnezzar, he could say, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).

For ultimately, our goal is heaven. It must not be earthly power, success or comfort – for these will all be wiped away. Just as our very bodies are perishable – all the things of this earth will be destroyed in the final day.

But. But…

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55)

This is our hope. This is our song!

Day 255: A Strong Mountain

Daniel 1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-34

Ahh. Daniel. He is a character that shines in the darkness. Daniel was among the first group from Judah to be exiled to Jerusalem. He lived during the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel’s ministry. These prophets didn’t have too many encouraging words about the people of their time! But Daniel and his friends stand in stark contrast. They were faithful, and similar to the way God showed favor to Joseph (Gen 39-41), God showed great favor to Daniel and his friends.

The story recorded in Daniel 1-2 is probably familiar. But don’t let the familiarity steal its wonder! First, God greatly rewarded Daniel’s faithfulness to the law. God wasn’t honoring Daniel’s religious works, God was exalting a heart that strived to stay faithful in and amongst a foreign culture.

But the highlight of this story is God’s revelation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Somehow Nebuchadnezzar realized this wasn’t any ordinary dream, and Daniel’s trust in God’s faithfulness paved the way for God to use Daniel as His ambassador to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon!

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream revealed the future destruction of Babylon and the rise and fall of three subsequent earthly kingdoms. But on a deeper level, the dream revealed the sovereignty and power of God.

This God gave the tyrant-king, Nebuchadnezzar, the dream.

This God gave the faithful, Daniel, the interpretation.

This God would destroy the Babylonian kingdom and all future kingdoms – so that HIS KINGDOM would grow to fill the whole earth and endure forever! 

Listen to Daniel’s interpretation…

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever (Daniel 2:44).

Paul speaks of this same eternal kingdom in today’s reading from 1 Corinthians! Paul cites Jesus’ resurrection as the proof of this eternal kingdom. His resurrection represents the firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:23) – or the first of many others who would one day be raised from the dead. At the end of the age, when all have been resurrected into new life, Paul says…

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:24).

This is the fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream! Christ is the stone which destroys all other kingdoms to pieces and grows into a strong mountain which fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:35)! And we are a part of that mountain! Thanks be to God!

Day 235: God’s desire for a People

Isaiah 16-18; Romans 15:14-33

Isaiah continues his oracles for the nations in today’s reading. And Isaiah broadens his message to include the whole world in Chapter 18…

All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear! (Isaiah 18:3)

In other words, pay attention to the works of the Lord! He holds the nations in his hands. No ruler or authority will ever be more powerful than the God of Israel!

Isaiah not only reveals God’s absolute power and sovereignty in these chapters, but also God’s compassion. From the oracle concerning Moab…

And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no songs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no treader treads out wine in the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
 (Isaiah 16:10-11)

Even though God brought judgment on the proud nation of Moab, it grieved Him to watch the people of Moab – people created in His image – turn away from Him and choose lesser gods.

God not only wants good for us, He knows what is good for us! And it grieves Him to see us choose lesser gods.

Paul finds his purpose in the compassionate heart of God…”to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:16).

Paul understood God’s great desire has always been to have a people. Paul could look back through history and see that everything God has ever done, and everything that He will ever do… will be for the purpose of gathering a people for himself.

And God wants you to be a part of His people!! He knows what is good for you, so do not grieve the heart of God. Rather, trust in His goodness – his strong-arm to save and His grace to change you. Turn to Him in repentance and faith and rest in the compassionate heart of God.

Day 234: God’s plan for the nations

Isaiah 13-15; Romans 15:1-13

In Isaiah, we begin the oracles against the nations. These type of judgment oracles are typical of the prophecy genre. They show that God is sovereign, not just over Israel, but over the Gentile nations as well.

In Romans, Paul stresses again that God’s plan for salvation has always included the Gentiles.

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy (Romans 15:8).

That’s a mouthful, but oh, the riches contained in that verse!! Christ’s life, death and resurrection proved that God’s word was true. Every Old Testament promise was fulfilled in Christ. And because of Jesus, the way has been opened for all to receive his mercy and enter the Kingdom of God!!

Isaiah’s judgment oracles should remind us to run away from God’s judgment by running into His kindness… Let the truth of the gospel sink into your heart and cause you to wonder at the awesome power and goodness of our God!!

Day 233: The source of salvation

Isaiah 10-12; Romans 14

Consider the context of Isaiah’s writings… Syria and the northern Kingdom of Israel were threatening Judah. King Ahaz reached out to the great world power, Assyria, for help – and then Isaiah looked into the future to see that Assyria was God’s chosen instrument of judgment against the Northern Kingdom of Israel – Assyria would completely destroy Israel – and most of the cities of Judah – but God would not allow them to destroy Jerusalem.

So it is in this context in which Isaiah is writing – he writes that Assyria is just a tool in God’s hands – that this world-super-power would be utterly destroyed – as judgment for the destruction of God’s people.

And then Isaiah looks forward to the day when God would gather his remnant and the Messiah would rule in peace.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-2).

Out of the stump… God’s judgment would reduce Israel to a stump, but from this stump would come the Messiah! And from the Messiah would come salvation! This salvation was a supernatural salvation – the kind that King Ahaz scorned for a short-sighted, political savior.

Where do you look for salvation?

Do you look to Christ, alone, for salvation – or, like Ahaz, do you look for help from worldly sources? Our salvation is based on grace that comes through faith. Romans 14 reveals that the gospel of Jesus Christ nullifies many of the Jewish “ceremonial” laws. These laws were sacred to Israel because it gave them a way to be symbolically righteous. In other words, if they adhered to the strict diet, observed the festivals and performed ceremonial washings, they could be clean.

But those things don’t save!!!! Jesus came and set us free from the demands of the law ! We are free to obey by faith – so there is no room for judgment.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:7).

Both Isaiah and Paul were trying to focus the eyes of their readers on the source of salvation. Ahaz was looking to Assyria for help. The Jews were still relying on their laws to gain righteousness. Both pursuits were in vain.

Jesus is the beginning and the end, the source of all things. He is our Salvation. In Him, alone, we will trust!

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2).

Day 232: A swirling symphony

Isaiah 7-9; Romans 13

Before we dig into the text, we need to understand more about the book of Isaiah as a whole…

Isaiah can be divided into three sections:

  1. Chapters 1-39: Written for Isaiah’s contemporaries, the rebellious people living in Judah under the Assyrian threat (during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah). They were tempted to look to political saviors instead of to God.
  2. Chapters 40-55: Looked beyond the future destruction of Jerusalem and was written for the remnant of Jews living as exiles in Babylon.
  3. Chapters 56-66: Looked even further forward in time and was written for the restored Jews including all people until the end (which includes us!)

Isaiah 7-9 is part of a larger section (that will conclude tomorrow) that is written in the context of the military threat against Judah from neighboring Israel and Syria (2 Kings 16). Isaiah comes to king Ahaz of Judah and exhorts him to trust in God – even encouraging him to ask for a sign, but Ahaz refuses, and instead turns to Assyria to rescue him from the hands of Syria and Israel.

God, in his grace, gives a sign anyway (7:14-15). He promises that after the birth of a certain boy, and before the boy reaches the age to discern right from wrong, both Syria and Israel will be conquered (7:17). God’s word proves true, but even though the imminent threat to Judah is averted, Ahaz’s sin of looking to Assyria instead of to the Lord will bring about a greater future threat – in the form of Assyria, itself (7:7:17-18)!

…behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel (Isaiah 8:7-8).

Here Isaiah predicts Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah (2 Kings 18:13 – 19:37). He took all of Judah except Jerusalem. Do you notice how the nations are like puppets in the hand of God?! Romans 13 alludes to God’s sovereignty over rulers as both his instruments of blessing and of judgment. Even the great and mighty Assyria was subject to God’s will!

Just after Isaiah predicts Sennacherib’s invasion, he looks forward to the day when God will execute justice over all the nations (8:9-10) and establish and uphold David’s throne with justice and righteousness forever (9:7)!

What makes the book of Isaiah so beautiful (and complicated) is that he weaves the present with the future so seamlessly. Judah’s tragic choice of a political savior forces Isaiah’s eyes forward – first to judgment through the Assyrian army and then further forward in time to how God will save the faithful remnant of Israel!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Isaiah’s work is a symphony of words swirling into the climax of the saving work of Jesus and the restoration of all that is good and right! I think our time in Isaiah is going to be rich :)

Day 230: God’s Redemptive History

Isaiah 1-3; Romans 11:25-36

We begin Isaiah today, and what a glorious book it is!! The whole gospel is beautifully woven throughout the book…

It is important when reading Isaiah to remember that future events can be compared to a mountains in a horizon. It’s impossible to tell the distance between the mountains in the horizon. So as Isaiah describes future events, sometimes he is referring to the close mountains – or relatively short future events – such as the Babylonian exile. And other times he is referring to mountains farther in the distance – such as the coming of the Messiah – and oftentimes, he groups mountain ranges together! So his prophesies can have multiple layers and meanings.

His style is very poetic, and the language is beautiful, but ultimately, Isaiah leads us to Christ.

It is fitting that we are beginning Isaiah right alongside the last half of Romans 11, because these verses in Romans can only be understood in the context of all of history. Remember, Paul is trying to prove that God has not rejected his people. Yesterday, Paul argued that God had saved a remnant, but in the last half of the chapter, Paul looks forward to the day when the fullness of Israel will be saved!

Paul summarizes both past and future “history” in verses 11:30-32…

  1. vs. 30a: “For just as you were at one time disobedient to God…” Paul is speaking to the Gentiles, and for most of ancient history, God allowed the nations to walk in their own way while He focused on Israel.
  2. vs. 30b-31a: “but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient…” Most of the Jews stumbled over Christ and rejected the gospel – whereas the gospel multiplied among the Gentiles. We are still living in this part of history – where a large number of Gentiles have received and are continuing to receive God’s mercy, alongside a small remnant of Jews.
  3. vs. 31b: “in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy.” Paul is teaching that at some point in history, the Jews will receive mercy – just as the Gentiles have – and great numbers of Jews will be saved!

Paul’s last two points coincide with Isaiah’s message of hope for Israel’s future…

It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3).

Do you see how Isaiah describes blessing for the nations because the word of the Lord has gone out from Jerusalem? This is both a description of our current age and the age to come…Isn’t it amazing how we are seeing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesies made thousands of years ago??!!!

But we must return to Paul’s teaching in Romans… He concludes 11 chapters of systematic gospel theology by summarizing the WHOLE of history in this one statement… “For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all” (11:32).

Do you see the depth of grace in this statement? He has planned – from before the creation of the world – for all to receive mercy – both Jew and Gentile!

As we consider God’s great plan of salvation, which originated before the world was created and continues until the end of the age, we echo Paul’s doxology!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?” (Romans 11:34-35)

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (11:36).