God’s-power

Revelation 4

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Read Revelation 4.

After addressing the churches on earth in Revelation 2 and 3, John’s vision of the Lord causes him to be transported to heaven to see what is happening there (v. 1). The purpose of this vision was to convey to John and to us the greatness and holiness of God. Despite all the problems his churches on earth were dealing with, God was not worried. He was sitting on a magnificent throne (v. 3) surrounded by worship (vv. 4-8). And what was the content of that worship? It was to proclaim the holiness of God (vv. 8) and his worthiness for worship (v. 11).

The word “holy” means “set apart.” It is used elsewhere in the Bible of God’s moral purity, his freedom from sin, in the sense that he is set apart from ungodliness. But the word “holiness” is also used just to describe how different God is from us and everything else that exists. The creatures worshipped God for his holiness, for his uniqueness in all things (v. 8). And why was God so different, so distinct? Because he “created all things” (v. 11). God is the only one who understands reality as the Creator–the one who planned and caused it. Even if we could understand everything God knows (we can’t, but go with me here), we still wouldn’t know AS God’s knows because he knows all things as the Creator. We only ever know anything as created beings. This means that:

  • God is infinite; we are finite.
  • God is independent; we are dependent on him.
  • God knows everything because he planned and made everything; we know anything only because he gave us the ability to observe and learn as well as create tools and instruments to help us.

God’s greatness–his holiness–is an inexhaustible truth. This is why living creatures (v. 8) glorify him and why spiritual leaders fall down before him in worship (vv. 9-11).

Before Jesus revealed anything to John about the last days, he reveled to John the power and majesty of himself. This is so that he and we would develop an awe for him that causes us to worship him as the twenty-four elders did.

Did this passage strike you, giving you a new vision of God’s power, greatness and holiness? The spend some time worshiping the Lord for his holiness just as the elders did here in 4:9-11.

2 Chronicles 5:1-6:11, Revelation 4

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Read 2 Chronicles 5:1-6:11 and Revelation 4.

This devotional is about Revelation 4.

After addressing the churches on earth in Revelation 2 and 3, John’s vision of the Lord caused him to be transported to heaven to see what was happening there (v. 1). The purpose of that vision was to convey to John and to us the greatness and holiness of God.

Despite all the problems his churches on earth were dealing with, God was not worried. He was sitting on a magnificent throne (v. 3) surrounded by worship (vv. 4-8).

And what was the content of that worship? It was to proclaim the holiness of God (vv. 8) and his worthiness for worship (v. 11). The word “holy” means “set apart.” It is used elsewhere in the Bible of God’s moral purity, his freedom from sin, in the sense that he is set apart from ungodliness. But the word “holiness” is also used just to describe how different God is from us and everything else that exists. The creatures worshipped God for his holiness, for his uniqueness in all things (v. 8).

And why is God so different, so distinct?

Because he “created all things” (v. 11). God is the only one who understands reality as the Creator–the one who planned and caused it. Even if we could understand everything God knows (we can’t, but go with me here), we still wouldn’t know AS God’s knows because he knows all things as the Creator. We only ever know anything as created beings. This means that:

  • God is infinite; we are finite.
  • God is independent; we are dependent on him.
  • God knows everything because he planned and made everything; we know anything only because he gave us the ability to observe and learn as well as create tools and instruments to help us.

God’s greatness–his holiness–is an inexhaustible truth. This is why living creatures (v. 8) glorify him and why spiritual leaders fall down before him in worship (vv. 9-11).

Before Jesus revealed anything to John about the last days, he reveled to John the power and majesty of himself. This is so that he and we would develop an awe for him that causes us to worship him as the twenty-four elders did.

Did this passage strike you, giving you a new vision of God’s power, greatness and holiness? The spend some time worshiping the Lord for his holiness just as the elders did here in 4:9-11.

1 Chronicles 3-4, Zechariah 2, John 17

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Read 1 Chronicles 3-4, Zechariah 2, and John 17.

This devotional is about 1 Chronicles 4.

In 2000 Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book titled The Prayer of Jabez based on our passage for today, specifically 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. That book was a monster best seller with over 9 million copies sold. Many people—Christians and non-Christians—following the teaching in Wilkinson’s book have prayed the prayer of Jabez, asking God’s blessing on their lives. They treat this passage, again because of Wilkinson’s book, like it is a secret formula, almost a magic incantation for bringing God’s blessing on your life anywhere you want it.

But 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 is not an incantation or a secret formula to unleash God’s blessings in your life.

To understand Jabez’s prayer, we need to understand that God had promised material prosperity to the Jewish people if they walked in obedience to his laws. This goes all the way back to God’s call to Abram in Genesis 12. There, and in later passages, God promised land to Abram’s descendants.

What made Jabez “more honorable than his brothers” was that he believed God’s promise and asked God to fulfill it in his life. Jabez’s prayer was consistent with the covenant God made with Israel. The other descendants of Judah after David turned to idols as the source of their prosperity. They worshipped other gods in disobedience to God’s law and hoped to obtain more land and more prosperity from these gods. They also abused others to get what they wanted.

Jabez was different and “more honorable” because he had faith in God and prayed consistently with God’s promises for his people.

What Jabez’s prayer teaches us is that God is honored when we pray according to his revealed will—that is, according to what the Bible says.

When we pray in faith asking God to honor his promises to us in the word, God is pleased and will answer us according to his will. No Christian is promised the kind of material prosperity that Jabez prayed for. What God promises to us is to provide for our needs, to give us spiritual power to overcome sin and to become like Jesus, and to be with us as we go spreading the gospel to all the nations.

What if we prayed for those things instead of asking God to heal our chronic problems?

How would that transform our prayer life?

How would it change our church?

What might God do in this world if we prayed like Jabez—not aping his requests but applying the spirit of them to pray according to God’s promises and God’s will as revealed to us in scripture?

2 Kings 25, Haggai 2, John 15

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Read 2 Kings 25, Haggai 2, and John 15.

This devotional is about 2 Kings 25.

Judah’s final defeat to the Babylonians was recorded in this chapter. Although the Babylonians were ruthless to the people of Judah, their ruthlessness was militarily shrewd. Consider:

  • Before invading Jerusalem, the Babylonians used a siege to starve the city, weakening both the bodies of Judah’s army and the spirit of everyone in Jerusalem (vv. 1-3).
  • After Zedekiah, king of Judah failed to escape Jerusalem (v. 4), the Babylonians killed Zedekiah’s sons (v. 7a). So, there would be neither heirs to his throne nor retaliation from his family.
  • Then the Babylonians blinded the king and made him a prisoner (v. 7b).
  • The Babylonians then invaded Jerusalem and burned down “every important building” (v. 9c), including the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace (v. 9). That signaled both complete spiritual and military domination.
  • But before burning the temple, the Babylonians destroyed all of the furniture used in the worship of God (v. 13).
  • They also carried away all the valuable things they found in the temple (vv. 14-17).
  • But, that’s not all; the Babylonians rounded up key leaders in the temple worship (v. 18) and in the government (vv. 19-20). They forced these men to march to Nebuchadnezzar who ordered them executed (v. 21).

All of this was designed not only to defeat Judah but to grind their faces in the dust and emphasize to them that they had been decimated in every way–militarily, spiritually, and administratively. 

Then the Babylonians sent in an administrator who promised they would be safe as long as they submitted to Babylon (vv. 22-24). 

So here we have God’s chosen people and their Davidic king utterly defeated and humiliated by a pagan foreign nation. We understand that all of this happened because of Judah’s idolatry and disobedience to God.

But why did God allow it to happen in such a brutal, thoroughgoing way? 

The answer is that God wanted to show his people something that Jesus told his disciples hundreds of years later: “Without me you can do nothing.” Jesus said that in John 15:5 but God’s people proved it to be true over and over again.

God’s promise to his people was that in His will they would be unbeatable but outside of his will they would live in constant defeat. God still had plans for redemption for his people, but first he wanted them to experience absolute destruction without him.

As Christians, we don’t operate in a political and military context but the principle underneath this passage is as true for us as it was for Zedekiah and the rest of the people of Judah. We must trust God and be obedient to his commands if we will have any power in this life, any success spiritually. Are you living your Christian life in obedience to God’s word? Have you suffered some defeats and setbacks that might indicate your need to depend on God?

2 Samuel 19, Daniel 9, 1 Timothy 1

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Read 2 Samuel 19, Daniel 9, and 1 Timothy 1.

This devotional is about Daniel 9.

Daniel’s prayer here in chapter 9 is model for how we should pray in concert with the will of God.

First, what prompted Daniel’s prayer was God’s word. Verse 2 says, “I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” It was his reading and understanding of Jeremiah’s prophecy that caused him to pray as he did. The lesson for us here is that the truths of scripture can lead us to pray. Daniel saw a promise in God’s word that had a time-deadline of 70 years so he prayed that the Lord would fulfill that promise. Likewise, when we see God’s promises in scripture that are as of yet unfulfilled, they can motivate us to ask God to make them happen.

Next, Daniel began his prayer with praise. Even though his people were in exile in Babylon, he believed that God was “the great and awesome God” (v. 4), that he was “righteous” (v. 7a), and that he was “merciful and forgiving” 9v. 9). God loves to hear us wrap our requests in worship; when it is our faith in God’s attributes—specific attributes—that compel us to pray, God is glorified and worship in our prayers.

The kernel of Daniel’s prayer, of course, was repentance. He arranged his physical appearance to express repentance (v. 3) and he acknowledged the sins of his nations (vv. 5-7) as well as his personal sins (v. 20: “confessing my sin…”). This focus on repentance was because he was praying for restoration. God’s purpose in exiling Israel was to turn their hearts back to him, so repentance was the proper response to their situation. While the purpose of our prayers is not always repentance, it is always appropriate to confess our sins to the Lord in our prayers. This aligns our hearts morally with his will and causes us to remember that our trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and his atonement for us.

My final observation about this prayer is that the reason for his request was the glory of God. Verse 19 says, “For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” He wanted the restoration God promised because he wanted God to be glorified. When we ask God for things in our prayers, are we thinking about how the answer to our prayers will bring him glory or are we focused merely on improving our situation for the better? While God is loving and compassionate toward us, his love and compassion will ultimately be experienced in eternity; until then, he allows problems and pain and tragedy and other issues because this world has not yet been redeemed. He is more concerned about the growth of his church and the coming of his kingdom than he is about our comfort, so our prayers should be about the things he cares about far more than they are about the things we care about. Too often we have that order inverted.

So, what are you praying about right now? Do the scriptures inform and stimulate your prayers? Are your prayers layered with worship and praise for who God is? Are you confessing your sins and claiming the sacrifice of Christ as the basis for your forgiveness and even your praying? Are you praying for the glory of God?

Joshua 2, Jeremiah 27, Psalms 78-80

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Read Joshua 2, Jeremiah 27, and Psalms 78-80.

This devotional is about Joshua 2.

So much is different this time from the first time the Israelites sent spies into the promised land:

  • The first time, twelve men were sent to be spies—one from each tribe (Num 13:2). This time only two were sent (v. 1).
  • Instead of looking at the land exhaustively (Num 13:17, 21-22), they were told to “look over the land… especially Jericho” (v. 2b), so their task was to survey but with a particular focus on one city.
  • Instead of having to investigate the people, the land, the towns, the soil, and the trees (Num 13:18-20), this time they seemed to be looking more strategically.
  • Another difference was that this time the spies found an ally, although an unlikely one—a prostitute named Rahab (v. 1). Verse 1 says they entered her house “and stayed there.” I suppose that was a strategic decision; a house like hers frequently had men coming and going so maybe they decided it would be easier to avoid detection this way.

Regardless of what they may have thought, they were spotted and their mission and lives were jeopardized (vv. 2-3). While some have faulted Rahab for lying, the scriptures never suggest that she sinned; in fact, she is heralded for her faith and was protected from the death that her questioners received for their unbelief (Heb 11:31).

But above everything else that happened in this passage, Rahab provided the insight that Israel needed to move forward in faith. In verse 9 she said, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.” Later she said it again: “…our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you…” (v. 11).

Out of all the things they learned in their survey trip, this seems to have made the biggest impression on the spies. When they gave their report to Joshua, they used her own words to express their confidence: “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us,” (v. 24).

Both Rahab and the spies understood that this was going to be a spiritual victory; as she put it: “…for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (v. 11). It was not Israel’s military might, superior weaponry, or ingenious tactics that would give them victory. It was the power of God and their faith (this time) in the promises he made to them.

But isn’t it interesting how God provided them with reassurance through Rahab? God could have found fault, I suppose, with them sending spies in the first place. There’s no indication that he directed Joshua to send them. His command was clear, as were his promises of victory, so the very act of sending spies could be seen as an act of unbelief. Instead of rebuking them, however, God gave them Rahab and her words of faith as the final boost they needed.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been ready to do the right thing morally in your life or the wise thing scripturally in your life and, just as you’re about to move forward, God provides just a little bit of reassurance that, yes, he’s in this decision? How gracious of the Lord to confirm his word; how merciful he was to spare a sinful woman like Rahab when she believed in him and acted accordingly. I hope this passage gives you some confidence today as you go out to live for him.

Deuteronomy 33-34, Jeremiah 25, 2 Corinthians 9

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Read Deuteronomy 33-34, Jeremiah 25, and 2 Corinthians 9.

This devotional is about Deuteronomy 34

“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.”

Deuteronomy 34:10-12

How do you replace a man like Moses? In a real sense, you don’t because you can’t. Moses was a unique man, a servant of the Lord. He is rightfully revered by all believers in God because God used him in extraordinary ways.

Yet, it was God’s work in his life, not his own personal greatness that made him the man he was. In addition to his great faith and the amazing works God did through him, we’ve seen a man who ran ahead of God’s timing and killed an Egyptian in his impatience to deliver God’s people.

We’ve seen him become so angry that he spoke and acted independently of the Lord; in fact, it was his sin that caused the Lord to exclude him from entering the land (v. 4b) even though he was healthy and strong on the day of his death (v. 7).

Although Moses was a great man, he was also a man for his times. God chose him, prepared him both sovereignly and through direct revelation to be the leader that Israel needed. However, he was only a man; his greatness lay in the power of his God not in his strength or intelligence or any innate ability. The same God who prepared and used Moses did the same for Joshua (v. 9) so that God’s people would have the leadership they needed to receive God’s promises.

When someone you love, whom God has used powerfully in your life, dies or retires or leaves for another ministry, all is not lost. Far from it. It is idolatry to think that only one servant of God can be used powerfully by him. Spiritual leaders are important, but only because God uses them. When God decides that any leader’s time is up, he will remove and replace that leader in his sovereign will. Trust that.

If you’re a spiritual leader, think about all the weaknesses and failings Moses reported about himself in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He was far from perfect, yet God used him.

Will you trust God to use you, too, despite your weaknesses?

Deuteronomy 8, Jeremiah 1, 1 Corinthians 7

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Read Deuteronomy 8, Jeremiah 1, and 1 Corinthians 7 today.

This devotional is about Jeremiah 1.

It is a privilege to serve the Lord. There isn’t anything like seeing God work through you when you teach, or share the gospel, or serve someone in any other way.

But serving the Lord can be hard. Really hard.

Just ask Jeremiah. God’s word came to him when he was young (v. 6) and the Lord told him that before he was conceived by his parents, God had chosen him to be a prophet to the nations (v. 5). There’s no way to refuse that call, but Jeremiah tried. He was disturbed (“Alas…,” v. 6a) by God’s call and tried to tell the Lord that he was not ready because he was too young (v. 6b). God responded that his age and lack of preparation didn’t matter because God was going to send him and tell him what to say (vv. 7, 9).

Then the Lord’s message arrived and it was not a pleasant one. God told him that Judah, Israel’s last remaining tribe in the land and Jerusalem, Judah’s capitol, were about to be invaded from the north (vv. 14-15). God’s wrath for Judah’s idolatry and unbelief (v. 16) was about to be poured down on them like a boiling pot of water–the very image Jeremiah saw (vv. 13-14).

Nobody likes to bring bad news. It must be terrible to be the doctor who has to tell someone they have a terminal illness. But that’s the message God had for Jeremiah to deliver–lots of threats that God’s judgment was coming.

God’s power was only way anyone could preach unrelentingly the kind of judgment God foretold through Jeremiah. And that’s exactly what God promised–his power. In verse 8 we read, “‘Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” Later, in verse 19, God once again promised his deliverance when he said, “‘They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” Twice, then, God promised, “I am with you and will rescue you.” Jeremiah’s task was difficult, but he wasn’t doing it alone.

The same is true with us. Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (v. 20b). It is not easy to serve the Lord, but with the promise of his presence and power, we have more than enough to be effective. So trust in God’s promise to be with you today and serve him accordingly.

Numbers 16, Isaiah 40, Acts 15

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Read Numbers 16, Isaiah 40, and Acts 15.

This devotional is about Isaiah 40.

The last verse in today’s reading from Isaiah, 40:31, is one of the best-known passages in the book of Isaiah for many people. It is a verse that gives encouragement to hope in the Lord when we are weak. Not surprisingly, then, many believers find it uplifting to read and recite when they are discouraged. That is an excellent use of the verse; even more so when you read the whole chapter.

  • The passage opens by offering comfort for God’s people who have suffered in judgment for their sins under foreign oppression (vv. 1-2).
  • Verses 3-11 tie that comfort to the coming of the Messiah:
    • Verses 3-4 were applied to John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ
    • Verses 5-11 mostly describe the promises that Christ will fulfill when he establishes his earthly kingdom.
  • Verses 12-26 describe why the Lord will be able to bring such comfort to his people and fulfill these promises. He can do it because he is infinite. God eclipses everything we think is large on earth or the rest of the universe (v. 12).  God can also comfort his people because of his complete knowledge and wisdom (his omniscience, vv. 13-14). In the shadow of God’s infinite power, infinite wisdom, and infinite knowledge, other nations which seem so strong and imposing to us are insignificant (vv. 15-17).

What about other gods, though? Please; they are not worth mentioning in the same breath with the true God. Those idols were created by human beings who foolishly bow down and worship them (vv. 18-20).

But those who worship false gods should not act like they’ve never heard of the true God. God is everywhere—sitting “enthroned above the circle of the earth” (v. 22) and taking down powerful human rulers at will (v. 23).

There is no other god like the true God. Nothing escapes his notice (v. 27) or is beyond his capabilities (v. 28). Faith in him, then, calls us to look to him for strength.

Are you trying to handle everything in your life on your own? No matter how capable you are, you can’t carry the weight of the world.

But God can and he calls to you to come to him and look to him for strength to live each day out for his glory (v. 31).

Leviticus 14, Isaiah 9:8-10:4, Acts 2

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Read Leviticus 14, Isaiah 9:8-10:4, Acts 2.

This devotional is about Acts 2.

Christians use the phrase, “the Day of Pentecost” to describe the event in this chapter. To us, the “Day of Pentecost” is when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in a way that could be observed. There was “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind” (v. 2) and the sight of “what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (v. 3). These were supernatural, outward, observable evidences of a spiritual reality which is that “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 4a). The result of being “filled with the Holy Spirit was that they “began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (v. 4b). There has been a lot of discussion in recent church history about whether what the disciples experienced here is supposed to be the normal Christian experience or whether this kind of power was unique to that time in church history. A devotional on this passage is not the best place to talk about that dispute.

What is important to understand, however, is what happened after this demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power, after Peter’s message of the gospel, and after “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (v. 41). What happened after the Day of Pentecost is “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (v. 42). They did not devote themselves to speaking in tongues or doing other miraculous works. In fact, verse 43 references “wonders and signs performed by the apostles” not “performed by everyone.” No, what followed this experience was great teaching and fellowship around God’s word and prayer as well as “praising God” (v. 47a) and having “those who were being saved” added “to their number” (v. 47b). In other words, the effect of God’s power was salvation, teaching, fellowship, and worship.

We need God’s power as much as they needed it on the Day of Pentecost and the days that followed. And, we have the promise of God’s power, too, just as they did then. What we should be looking for as believers is not the proof of God’s power through miracles but the results of God’s power in true spiritual change–people coming to Christ, hungry for God’s word, fellowship, and prayer. May God give us hearts that desire these things more than we desire great, dramatic displays of his power.

Leviticus 10, Isaiah 6, Psalms 42-44

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Read Leviticus 10, Isaiah 6, and Psalms 42-44.

This devotional is about Isaiah 6.

King Uzziah was one of the most enigmatic kings Israel ever had. He reigned over Judah (the Southern Kingdom after Israel was divided following Solomon’s kingship) for over 50 years. In terms of the economy and military, Uzziah was successful. But it was his spiritual leadership that made him such an enigma. At the beginning of his reign, when he was assisted by the prophet Zechariah, he was a righteous ruler, leading God’s people back toward obedience to God’s word. But, as he became more successful and more powerful, he became arrogant, even entering the Temple like a priest to burn incense before God. God punished Uzziah with leprosy and his reign, which started with so much promise, ended disappointingly.

As we saw in Isaiah 6:1, the year of Uzziah’s death was when Isaiah saw his vision of God. For the good of his people, who were so lacking in spiritual leadership, God raised up one of Israel’s greatest prophets by giving him a compelling vision of our God. The theme of Isaiah’s vision is stated in verse 3: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The word “holy” means “separate, set apart,” and when the Bible talks about the holiness of God, it does so in two distinct (but related) senses.

One way in which God is “holy” or “set apart” is in his nature. Because he is the Creator, he alone is uncreated and uncaused. That means God is unique from everyone else in creation. The Bible says that we were created in God’s image, so we are like God but he is not like us. His power, his glory, his eternal existence, the fact that he is everywhere present in the fullness of his being—these truths and others make God unique; they make him holy in the deepest essence of his being. That is the primary thing Isaiah saw in his vision of the Lord. Verse 1 says he was “high and exalted, seated on a throne,” which describes God as separate from his creation. He is exalted, he is ruling, he is distant because no created thing has any business coming near him. In fact, verse 1 ends by saying, “and the train of his robe filled the temple.” I’ve always wondered about that phrase, but as I think about it today I think I see the point. The temple was the place where God said his presence would live among his people. It was the place people could go to worship and to have their sins forgiven. It was a place where they could learn about God and talk to him in prayer. It was a special place, a sanctuary in the truest sense of the word. And, yet, does God really live there? According to Isaiah’s vision, no; only the tails of his tuxedo reside there. The most worshipful, awesome day a Hebrew person had in the Temple was just a mere coattail experience of who God really is. Why? Because he is holy; we can understand who he is and what he is like, but never from the lofty perspective that he occupies.

The first aspect of holiness, then, is the difference between the creator and the created ones. He is exalted in ways that we never will be nor could be. He is unique, set apart, different from any and all of us by his very nature as God.

The second aspect of God’s holiness is the one we usually think of—his complete freedom from sin in any way. Isaiah felt this deep in his spirit when he saw the first aspect of God’s holiness. His response to this vision in verse 5 was “Woe to me! […] I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” When Isaiah saw God depicted in his naturally separate state, he became acutely aware of his own sin. To put it another way, when Isaiah saw the holiness of God’s nature, he became aware of his own lack of moral holiness and feared the consequences.

This vision prepared Isaiah to become a man who railed against the godlessness of his culture with very few results (vv. 8-13). It was a difficult calling, but his understanding of God in this passage and the purifying God graciously did for him gave him everything he needed to be faithful. Isn’t this what we need when living the Christian life becomes so deeply taxing? We need to see God in the scriptures and understand how magnificent, how powerful, how utterly other-worldly he is. Knowing that gives us the power we need to live an other-worldly life for him.

Exodus 19, Job 37, Luke 3

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Read Exodus 19, Job 37, and Luke 3.

This devotional is about Job 37. 

The Bible makes a distinction between Job’s three friends and Elihu, the speaker in this chapter of Job. Compare Job 2:11 to Job 32:1 and Job 42:7:

  • In Job 2:11 we were told that “Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite…” came to see him after they heard about his trouble. There was no mention of Elihu in this text.
  • In Job 32:1, Scripture says, “these three men stopped answering Job….” That statement was in preparation for Elihu’s speeches which began in that chapter.
  • In Job 42:7 God confronts Eliphaz and says, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” Again, no mention was made of Elihu by God. Elihu was not charged with failing to speak the truth about God like the three friends were, but he also wasn’t commended for speaking truth like Job was.

Also, Job did not respond to Elihu’s speeches, but he did respond each time to the words of the other three men. What is the meaning of Job’s silence toward Elihu?

Because of these issues, interpreting Elihu’s speeches is a point of contention among scholars. Some think Elihu spoke the truth and prepared the way for God’s speeches which began in Job 38. Others think Elihu is a fool, so Job and God just ignored him as Proverbs 26:4, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him,” recommends.

I tend to agree with the interpretation that says Elihu was a fool, although it is still curious to me that God didn’t claim to be angry with him like he was with the other three friends. But, Job 42:7 vindicates Job and God explicitly said that Job “spoke truth about me.” Given that, how could Elihu rebuke Job and yet be speaking the truth?

In our reading for today, Job 37, Elihu expounded on the greatness of God. In verses 1-13, he described God’s sovereign rule over the weather. Then, he pointed, in verses 14-18, to Job, asking rhetorically, how God does all this? Finally, in verses 19-24, Elihu concluded that God’s greatness precludes us from ever speaking to him. He said:

  • “…we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness” (v. 19b).
  • “The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power” (v. 23a).

Elihu does suggest that God will listen to “all the wise in heart” (v. 24b), but he does not seem to think that Job is one of them. Elihu’s theology is that God is too great, too detached to notice, listen to, or care about anyone except the elite believer–“the wise in heart” as he described them in verse 24b.

That is wrong.

Yes, God is great. His power and being are beyond our understanding. He is greater than we can comprehend and our being is insignificant in every way compared to him. But, that does not mean that God fails to notice or care about us. Just the opposite is true; God is so great, so wise, so powerful that he knows each of us better than we can imagine and he cares about us more than we can possibly realize.

If you feel insignificant, unimportant, and unnoticed, please realize that God sees you and knows you perfectly. He is never too busy to listen or too big to care. As majestic and powerful as God is, he is equally loving and knows everything there is to know about us.

Don’t be afraid, then, to pray, even if your request seems small and unimportant to anyone but you. Don’t believe the lies that God doesn’t know who you are or doesn’t care about your needs. It is not your righteousness or wisdom that gives you a voice before the Lord; it is his grace and love for you that guarantees his attention.