January 7 - Job 14-16: Job Longs for the Resurrection—Away from His "Comforters"

Today’s Reading: Job 14-16

The Message

English Standard Version

Congratulations! You have made it one week.

Today’s reading starts the cycle of Job’s friends making the same mistakes. This does not mean the passages are less important, but I do not want to bore you with the same observations day after day.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Job remarks on the resurrection. Take note—it’s worth a good look.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Job continues crying out to God, “Man’s life is only a few days and only sorrow! So kill me and get it over with! But you will come and rescue me in the resurrection! That’s when our sin will be removed forever."
Eliphaz replies, “Man’s life is short because they spend them on evil! Why are you going on and on like this?"
Job answers, “You windbags, stop trying to comfort me! I’m innocent and God is punishing me! Surely there is something in the world that can save me from this horrible fate!"

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Job expects his salvation to come either in this life or in the resurrection.

To Job, salvation is not limited to a clean conscience. Salvation means his sins and the punishments that come from them are thrown into the sea. This is why he begs God to kill him. He knows the end will only bring joy and reconciliation.

Eliphaz sounds like a “Negative Gospel" minister.

“Negative Gospel"—a term I have made up for ministers known for having negative views of everything and use all of their energy combating “false doctrines." Take this example, “They have sex with sin and give birth to evil. Their lives are wombs for breeding deceit." Ouch! I’m glad he’s not on the right side! God cannot make things right if we only focus on how man has perverted that plan.

January 6 - Job 10-13: Job's Friends Pervert Justice in God's Name

Today’s Reading: Job 10-13

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Job’s friends, in defending God, actually bring reproach on God’s justice.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Job cries out to God, “Speak to me! What is my sin? You wonderfully created me! Yet if I sinned you would greatly punish me! What is my sin?"
Zophar interjects, “Who do you think you are? If God answered, you would be babbling in the ditch. Give up and repent of you evil."
Job mocks, “I’m sure you speak for all the experts, and when you die there’ll be no one left to tell us how to live" (12:2, The Message). I know how wonderful God is. Why do you defend God this way? Does he need you to defend himself?"

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Job never accuses God of perverting justice.

Job continues to call out to God to bring charges against him. He accepts his fate though he still does not understand why it has come.

Zophar wrongly accuses Job of hiding his sin and being too stubborn to admit it.

This situation feels unsettlingly familiar to me. There have been several times I have tried to convince someone they are a sinner. Why would I do such a thing? If they cannot see where they have sinned, maybe they are correct. If I continue to press someone's sinfulness I may be perverting justice in the name of God. This is important for all Christians to understand. We do not need to defend God. God is the Creator of the universe, remember.

Job firmly derides his friends for perverting justice in God’s name.

Job’s friends do not understand what is going on. They continuously stress Job’s guilt using higher and higher theological language. Job has no other option but to mock their arrogance. It reminds me of how many non-Christians mock Christian’s arrogance on what is “obviously black and white." If things were so black and white, why do Christians need to use highly-complicated theology to get there?

January 5 - Job 6-9: Job's Finds No Relief from His Woes - Or His Friends' Correction

Today’s Reading: Job 6-9 The Message, English Standard Version

This is one of those days reading The Message pays off. If you can, I would definitely suggest reading from it today (click on the link above if you do not have one handy).

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Job does not accuse God of wrongdoing. On the contrary, he continuously praises God for being just.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Job answers Eliphaz, “My misery is too great to be silent!" He calls out to God to end his suffering by killing him. “I have nowhere to hide! Your punishment is coming from all directions and even in my dreams! I don’t know what I did wrong!"
Bildad answered, “What is this jabbering? God doesn’t make mistakes. He only punishes those who are evil."
Job cries, “Yes! I know! He is awesome! But I still don’t know what I did! I feel incapable of making a defense because who could be the judge in my trial? No one but God!"

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Job defies his friends and continues to call out to God for an answer.

Eliphaz basically tells Job to be quiet because God is too awesome to complain to. Bildad tells Job he must be mistaken because God does not make mistakes. However, Job’s grief is too great to be muzzled. He must make sure God knows of his grief.

Job asks God to forgive his sins—even though he does not know what they are.

This is a gut-wrenching section of scripture. Job is on the brink of madness because he cannot understand why God would reject him. Yet never does he question God’s righteousness. He is humble even to the point of asking for forgiveness from sins he does not even know he has.

Once again, Job’s friends are (mostly) correct but their message is to the wrong person.

Please never tell a person their children died because the children were sinful. Even if the person died from a drug overdose and was a terrible person. God never makes things right by condemning the already-dead. Neither should we.

January 4 - Job 1-5: Job Loses Everything but Faith

Today’s Reading: Job 1-5

The Message

English Standard Version

Today we switch books from Genesis to Job. The reason Job is here in the order is that no one knows when it was written. Since it does not fit in the story of Abraham we will read it here before his story begins. Genesis will return on January 16.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Eliphaz feels the need to give Job a “come to Jesus, everything’s great there" message.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Job was a good man who was “honest inside and out." He had ten children and was very rich. The Accuser (Satan) confronted God, “Job only serves you because he’s rich!" God granted him all Job possessed, including his beloved children. Job still served God.
The Accuser returned, “Job only serves you because of his health!" God granted him Job’s health. Large boils appeared from his head to his foot. Job still served God.
Job had three close friends visit him. In a fit of agony Job cursed his very existence. Eliphaz called to be more faithful to God.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God does not set all things right by making all people rich/middle class/poor.

One of the difficult problems of reading the book of Job is the rush to quick lessons. “Serving God does not always lead to prosperity!" is often shown from these verses. However, they do not take into account Job’s previous, and subsequent, settings. Job was a rich man and would return to being a rich man without any change to his devotion to God. Obeying God does not always turn out to make someone rich—but being poor is also not an automatic sign of devotion to God. Serving God goes much deeper than how much a person has. This is why Job is able to bless God even when he loses everything.

God does not set all things right by making all people healthy.

See the previous point. Serving God does help someone stay away from many horrible diseases, but it does not prevent bodily decay. Yet suffering is not a sign of devotion to God. Serving God through suffering is.

Calling to God for death is not a sin.

“What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning?" (3:23, The Message). Job is facing the worst troubles of his life. The only response he has during this time is to question his very existence. Yet in all of this he allows God to maintain control—the opposite of a sin. He questions God’s handling of his life without telling God to leave him alone.

A person does not always need to hear a “come to Jesus" message.

As a minister, this one hurts. I read Eliphaz’s statements and think he’s doing such a great job preaching! Then I realize Job has no reason to come to God—he’s the most devoted follower of God. Eliphaz’s lesson comes across as arrogant and pedantic. So do mine, when I do not really understand the person’s suffering. Telling God’s greatness to a person who has lost all meaning to life is not evangelizing. Sometimes sufferers need someone to sit and suffer with them. Unfortunately, this will happen over and over again in the book of Job. Prepare for awkward moments.

January 3 - Genesis 8-11: Man Populates the Earth

Today’s Reading: Genesis 8-11

The Message

English Standard Version

Hint: When you reach the genealogy section, don’t pronounce the names in your head. That way you will read the important parts without feeling overwhelmed by the Hebrew names.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Every major culture in the world has a story about a catastrophic flood with one family surviving.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

God makes the flood waters recede from the earth. Once out of the boat, Noah and his family made an animal sacrifice. Smelling the sacrifice, God promised not to destroy the earth again because of man’s sin. God blessed Noah and his sons and gave them responsibility over the earth.
Many years later, all people living on the earth decided to make a great tower which would make them famous forever. When God saw what they wanted to do he decided to confuse their language to scatter them around the world. Because of this the place was named “Babel."

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God decided to no longer punish the whole world because of man’s sin.

It is difficult to say that God “changed" as a result of the flood. However, God decided no longer to punish his creation because of the sin of man. The earth would continue to be under the curse given because of Adam and Eve’s sin, but it would no longer be collateral damage to punish humans.

God gave all animals for humans to eat.

Compare Genesis 2:29-30 and Genesis 9:2-3. At first God did not give meat for man to eat. After the flood God allowed Noah to kill and eat animals.

Noah cursed Ham because he did not make things right.

Shem, Japheth, and Noah were angry with Ham not because he saw his father naked in his tent but because he saw him and did not cover him. Instead he went to his brothers to tell them of what he saw. If he had covered his father he would not have been cursed.
Foreshadowing: Ham became the father of the Canaanites. These would be the people who the Israelites, the children of Shem, would later conquer and force to be their slaves.

God confused everyone’s language at the tower of Babel because they wanted to make themselves famous.

God’s reason for changing their language came from their attempt at becoming famous apart from God. Becoming famous (or making a name for yourself) because of God is something Christians could aspire for. However, even this is dangerous.

January 2 - Genesis 4-7: Sin Overtakes the World

Today’s Reading: Genesis 4-7

The Message

English Standard Version

Hint: When you reach the genealogy section, don’t pronounce the names in your head. That way you will read the important parts without feeling overwhelmed by the Hebrew names.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

See how each generation cares less and less for setting things right.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Adam and Eve give birth to two sons: Cain and Able. Both sacrifice to God. Cain’s was not approved, which angered him greatly. God warned him this anger would overtake him. Cain instead killed Able. As punishment, God required Cain to spend his days cursed from the earth. Adam and Eve had another son Seth who became like his father.
Year after year, each generation grew further and further away from God. Eventually they thought only of evil. So God chose the one man whose family followed Him and saved them from a flood which wiped out the entire world.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God’s warning to Cain was to keep things right between Cain and his brother.

Even God’s warning to Cain was not focused on his actions. God did not tell Cain, “Don’t kill Able. That would be wrong." His answer is a warning—your anger will make sin (taking control from God) overcome you. Cain’s sin did not start at the murder. It started when he allowed his anger to control him.

Cain was protected by God even after murdering Able.

What is strange is that God protected Cain with a mark instead of leaving him out on his own. God did not want to punish Cain with death. Why would God do such a thing? Because God’s intentions are to make all things right, not exact punishment on all. God could make things right through sparing Cain.

Seth called on the name of the Lord.

This was much more than saying the word “Lord." If sin is taking control from God, calling on the name of the Lord means giving control to God. True conversion means giving control of all things to God.

God chose Noah because he was “a good man, a man of integrity in his community" (6:9, The Message).

I find this definition interesting. Not only was Noah understood to be good by God but a good man by his community also. What a great statement for anyone, especially someone who calls on the name of the Lord. We as followers of the Creator of the universe should naturally be people of integrity among our community.

January 1 - Genesis 1-3: The Gospel Begins

Today’s Reading: Genesis 1-3

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Death does not enter the world until after Eve and Adam sinned.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Genesis tells the story of beginnings. God creates everything in six days, resting on the seventh. He created a helper-companion for Adam, Eve. He declared the “Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil" off-limits—offenses punished with death. The serpent told Eve they would be like God if they ate the fruit. Eve and Adam eat. The serpent was punished with no legs; the woman was punished by being lorded over by her husband; and the man was punished by working hard the Earth. All are punished with (eventual) death. God kills to make leather clothes for them and expels them from the Garden of Eden.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God created the Universe!

All creation screams “God’s Creation!" How powerful is the Creator of the Universe! How wonderful it is that he created us in his image!

God created man in His image, but the knowledge of good and evil came later.

God gave us the ability to choose to obey him or not. Yet he did not give Adam and Eve the ability to know what is good and what is evil. That came later. That’s interesting.

The snake’s challenge was to Eve’s pride.

The serpent told Eve she would “see what's really going on" and that she would know “everything, ranging all the way from good to evil" (3:5, The Message). Eve wanted that type of knowledge, to be like God. Eve wanted to be equal with God, to have the same control God has. That is what sin is—trying to take control from God.

God brings death and destruction into the world because of Adam’s sin.

The guiding thought this morning is important because Genesis 1-3 gives the reason the Gospel—God setting all things right—must exist. First, God created all things right—meaning never to die. God warned Adam and Eve if they ate of that tree they would die. Adam and Eve brought death and destruction into the world through their sin because they were cut off from what could sustain their life forever—the Tree-of-Life. God must make all things right in this world because sin—entering through Adam and Eve—has upset that order.

Because of this sin all humans know what is right and wrong and can choose to either make things right or not.
However, the first death was not Adam’s or Eve’s but animals from God’s creation to make clothes for Adam and Eve.