Daily Bible Devotionals

“My enemies look daggers at me. Wide-mouthed they gape at me; with scorn, they slap my cheeks; they gather themselves together against me. God delivers me to the perverse, throws me into the hands of the wicked. I was at peace, and he shook me apart. Yes, he grabbed me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. He set me up as his target – His archers surrounded me. He slashed my innards and shows no mercy, he pours my gall in the ground. He breaks in on me again and again, attacking me like a warrior.” Job 16:9b-14 (CJB)

I have read the book of Job several times, and this is the first time that I noticed how “messianic” many of Job’s statements are. Chapters 16 and 17 are especially messianic and relay specific instances that Jesus suffered. Job can be considered (along with Biblical figures like David, Joseph, and Daniel) as a “type” of Messiah.

Some of the images of Jesus’ suffering are found in Job 16: Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene (v.v. 15-17), Jesus as our High Priest (v.v 18-22)

In today’s passage, the first image is of the suffering of Jesus before the Sanhedrin at Ciaphas’ home:

“My enemies look daggers at me. Wide-mouthed they gape at me; with scorn, they slap my cheeks; they gather themselves together against me. God delivers me to the perverse, throws me into the hands of the wicked.” Job 16:9b-11 (CJB)

“Meanwhile, the men who were holding Jesus made fun of Him. They beat him, blindfolded Him and kept asking him, ‘Now, prophesy!  Who hit You that time?’ And they said many other insulting things to Him.” Luke 22:63-65 (CJB)

The second half of today’s passage paints a graphic image of Jesus’ suffering on the Roman cross:

“I was at peace, and he shook me apart. Yes, he grabbed me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. He set me up as his target – His archers surrounded me. He slashed my innards and shows no mercy, he pours my gall in the ground. He breaks in on me again and again, attacking me like a warrior.” Job 16:12-14 (CJB)

“The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been put on the cross beside Jesus, then the legs of the other one; but when they got to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they didn’t break His legs. However, one of the soldiers stabbed His side with a spear, and at once blood and water flowed out.” John 19:32-34 (CJB)

“Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: ‘Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or by speeches with which he can do no good? Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. Are you the first man who was born or were you made before the hills?  Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, much older than your father.’” Job 15:1-10 (NKJV)

Envy is pride, wounded in competition. Whenever someone is envious of you, regardless of whether you sense any degree of competition with them, just know that they are in competition with you and they feel endangered of losing. Envy is a negative defense mechanism that many people use when they feel threatened by competition. Envy’s goal is always to crush its competitor to the degree that they never rise up in competition again. Envy’s tactics include gossip, misinformation, and false counsel. Envy is what we observe from Eliphaz the Temanite’s conversation with Job, and the competition stemmed from Job’s former status of being “the greatest of all the people of the East.” (Job 1:3b)

When you read the first chapter of Job, did you not sense a bit of competition with Job yourself? When I read that Job was blameless & upright, that he feared God and shunned evil, had a big happy family, the respect of his peers, and great wealth, I compared my life to Job’s. I assumed the difference in our lifestyles must be related to my lack of righteousness to some degree. Just being honest. So, when God allows Satan to come at Job so hard, it rocks our life expectations because we must all admit that (to some degree) we hold to a theological paradigm of “quid pro quo” blessing for righteousness. Job forces us to stop comparing our lives & lifestyles with those of others.  Comparing lifestyles (based on blessing-for-righteousness) is actually a form of competition that is an open door for envy. We should not compare ourselves to others but rather to God’s standard, as He has articulated in His Word, the Bible. Then, our appreciation for Messiah Jesus’ atonement is elevated because we realize we can never earn enough to merit His favor. Our purpose in life is to seek Him and share Him with others, regardless of lifestyle reward.

In his envy, Eliphaz wrongly rebukes Job by attacking his 1) Personal experience, 2) Ability to receive God’s counsel, and 3) Going against the tradition of the elders. When the theology is off, the diagnosis is off; thus, the suggested road to recovery and expectations of healing never pay off. We seek God’s Word so we can weigh counsel. Bad counsel comes from bad theology, which leads to competition & envy.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1(NKJV)

“I wish You would hide me in Sh’ol, conceal me until Your anger has passed, then fix a time and remember me! If a man dies, will he live again?  I will wait all the days of my life for my change will come. You will call, and I will answer You; You will long to see what You have made again. Whereas now You count each step of mine, then You will not keep watch over my sin. You will seal up my crime in a bag and cover my iniquity.” Job 14:13-17 (CJB)

In today’s passage, Job introduces the idea of resurrection. More than simply bringing up the subject, Job professes to believe in the certainty of resurrection: “If a man dies, will he live again? I will wait all the days of my life, for my day will come”, “You will call, and I will answer,” and “Whereas now You count each step of mine, then You will not keep watch over my sin.”

It has been put forth by some so-called “experts” that the idea of “the resurrection” is not consistent with Judaism. Well, we see here that the belief in the resurrection predated even the call of Abraham! Furthermore, several generations before Moses, people held to the ideas of sacrifice and atonement for the removal of personal sin and guilt. I love how Job describes God sealing up Job’s crime in a bag and covering his iniquity!

Of course, the resurrection of the dead is an actual occurrence and a promise that followers of Jesus hope for. It allows us to endure suffering to follow the Lord.

“By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.” 1 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) (See also: Romans 6:4-11, John 5:21, John 6:39-54…)

It is comforting for believers to know for certain that we will be resurrected to everlasting life in Heaven. But did you know that non-believers will also be resurrected?

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15 (NASB)

What makes the “good news” of the gospel so good is that the “bad news” is so bad. The reality is that salvation is offered to all who would receive it, free of charge, paid in full by Jesus. Have you accepted His free gift of eternal life? If so, are you sharing the “good news” with others so they, too, can turn to the Lord and be saved?

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Job 13. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Job responded: ‘No doubt you are the only people that matter; and when you die, so will wisdom. But I too have a brain, as much as you, in no way am I inferior to you. Besides, who doesn’t know things like these? Anyone who calls on God, and He answers him, becomes a laughing stock to his friends – they make fun of an innocent, blameless man.  Those at ease have contempt for misfortune, for the blow that strikes somebody already staggering. The tents of robbers prosper, the homes of those who anger God are secure, those who carry their gods in their hands.” Job 12:1-6 (CJB)

Today’s chapter begins with Job answering Tzofar’s merciless rebuke with a bit of country sarcasm. Amid such condescending counsel, Job defends his intellect. Any follower of Jesus who has sat in a secular university classroom has felt Job’s pain! Many in the “intellectual” community believe that believing the Bible means checking your brain at the door!  

Having departed from God’s Word, the World has developed a “wisdom” and “knowledge” of its own, based on observations made from presumptions based on their non-Biblical worldview. Then, they look back at Christians and openly mock them for believing ancient “myths” devised before science could prove them wrong. Many young believers, weak in Scriptural knowledge, have fallen prey to the arguments of such “authority figures.” Scripture predicts the natural downward moral progression of those who depart from God’s Word.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” Psalm 1:1 (NASB)

When a believer departs from following God’s Word, they begin to distance themselves from it by allowing the advice of the wicked to lead them astray. Over time, they find their pursuit has led them to adopt a belief system that is, at best, partly Biblical. They are now standing firm in the way of sinners, and the Bible calls it “wicked.” Then, looking back at the true believers they have distanced themselves from, they mock them as “unenlightened,” “bigoted,” and “self-righteous.” They have exchanged the truth of God for lies.  Believing themselves enlightened, they mock the faith of true believers.  

This is exactly the case with Job’s friends. They had departed from God’s Word and followed the advice of the wicked. (Job 4:12-21) Now, claiming to be enlightened experts on God, they are mocking righteous Job. Have you ever been graced by such “believers”?  I have, and they always seem to show up when I need wise counsel! They are like mirages in the desert: They promise refreshment but leave us ever unsatisfied.

Job’s friends’ heresy was centered on prosperity. Think of it as Christian Karma: Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to the bad. The pride of such “theology” refuses to recognize that God’s ways are not always so predictable. Prosperity is not always the merit of the believer or under the control of the faithful. God has His purposes, and man has his obligation to faithfully follow God through His Word.

“Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: ‘Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated? Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?’” Job 11:1-3 (NKJV)

In today’s chapter, another of Job’s “friends” offers his counsel in the form of a rebuke.  It seems he feels like a little “tough love” is in order. Now, there is nothing wrong with tough love. There are times when sin must be directly confronted. And things get more complicated when we have to confront sin in our friends’ lives.  

Let’s remember that one of the most “friendly” and compassionate things we can do is to lead a friend back to repentance. We should always be gracious and compassionate when intervening in such issues, especially with friends. Still, we must be willing to risk friendships (possibly losing those friends forever) to lead people back to the right relationship with the Lord. Ultimately, it is for their benefit. Godly rebuke is a blessing to those who will accept correction.

But what about the scenario where a “counselor” has departed from God’s Word? This is an all-too-common experience. It is doubly worse when such “counselors” claim to speak from the Bible! Here, we can learn from Job’s friends. Once a person distances himself from a correct understanding of God’s Word, he also distances himself from the attributes of a believer who has a right standing with the Lord, namely, compassion, grace, mercy, gentleness, and empathy.

But notice how cold and hateful Tzofar the Na’amati is! They don’t say, “Job, help me understand why you feel this way.” This “friend” launches straight into accusation and condemnation. You see, a departure from God’s Word leads to bad theology. Bad theology leads to wrong assumptions, and wrong assumptions lead to false counsel and ham-fisted delivery.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 (HCSB)  

I generally do not receive rebuke with immediate contriteness & humility. I don’t know anyone who does. It is because sin is foolish, and it takes a moment for God’s Spirit to override our foolishness and convict us of our actions and attitudes. But, once we accept God’s Word on the matter, we turn from that sin. Rightness has been restored.

Things get complicated when we have experienced a history of “wrong rebuke,” where people have misused the Bible and given us false counsel. We tend to throw up our defenses even when a true believer with proper knowledge of Scripture corrects us. That is why we must seek the Bible ourselves: to know God’s Word and live according to it. At times, we will even be called to discern the difference between Godly Biblical counsel and those who misinterpret or misuse Scripture.

“Do You have eyes of flesh? Do You see as humans see? Are Your days like the days of mortals? Are Your years like human years, that You have to seek my guilt and search-out my sin? You know that I won’t be condemned, yet no one can rescue me from Your power. Your own hands shaped me, they made me; so why do You turn to destroy me? Please remember that You made me, like clay; will You return me to dust?” Job 10:4-9 (CJB)

God knows how it feels to have “eyes of flesh” and to “see as humans see.” Not only did He create humanity, but He also chose to redeem the World as a human.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.” John 1:1-4 (CJB)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NKJV)

Jesus, the “God-man,” came into this World as a man - fully God, yet fully man - to seek and save the sinner.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly, for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. But God demonstrated His own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6-8 (CJB)

So, exactly, who is a “sinner”?  Everyone is a sinner.

“…for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

“As it is written, there is no one righteous, no, not one,” Romans 3:10 (NKJV)

As the man, Jesus, God can truly empathize with our human condition. But more importantly, Jesus came to save us. His salvation is not some uncertain Heavenly event set aside for the dead.  Salvation is sudden, and it is certain. Alongside the promise of Heaven, Jesus came to give us abundant life here on earth. The knowledge of His reconciliation gives us the peace to endure all manners of hardship. This kind of peace seems foolish to those who consider themselves wise in this World!  

“Therefore, since we have now come to be considered righteous by means of His bloody sacrificial death, how much more will we be delivered by His life, now that we are reconciled! And not only will we be delivered in the future, but we are boasting about God right now, because He has acted through our Lord Jesus the Messiah through whom we have already received reconciliation.” Romans 5:9-11 (CJB)

“For He is not merely human like me; there is no answer that I could give Him if we were to come together in court. There is no arbitrator between us who could lay his hand on us both. If He would remove His rod from me and not let His terrors frighten me, then I would speak without fear of Him; for when I’m alone, I’m not afraid.” Job 9:32-35 (CJB)

Job understood that it was impossible to take God to court. He understood that he could never bring forth a case against God’s character because God is flawless and perfect in all His ways. Still, Job could not understand why he was undergoing such hardship. One of Job’s frustrations was focused on the great gulf that separated God from man. If only God were a man! Perhaps mankind could relate to Him. If only He could relate to mankind! Perhaps He would be gracious and merciful towards us. Enter Jesus: God, made flesh, fully God and fully man.  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.” John 1:1-4 (CJB)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NKJV)

Now that we see how God can relate to us on a human level let’s look at Job’s next frustration: Who could arbitrate between God and man? Arbitration is a legal process used in lieu of taking a case to court. In arbitration, a third party (the Arbitrator) negotiates a settlement between the two “at odds” parties, whereby justice is served. In mankind’s case, God has done nothing wrong! Therefore, arbitration is out of the question. So, how can imperfect man commune with perfect God? Enter Jesus: our advocate.

“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 (NKJV)

With Jesus as our advocate, we have no need for arbitration. Messiah Jesus settled our “sin debt” to God by personally fulfilling our “righteousness obligation” on the cross. Now, turning from our sin and accepting Jesus’ offer of atonement does not stop the efforts of the Accuser (Satan) to persuade God to judge us to the full extent of the Torah. But, at the same time the Accuser is ranting against us, our Advocate (Jesus) simply raises his nail-scarred hands and says something to the effect of, “Their debt is paid in full. The Torah’s requirements have been fulfilled through Me. They are blameless and righteous in Your sight, Father!”

“Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:  ‘How long will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?  Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?  If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression. If you would earnestly seek God and make your supplication to the Almighty, if you were pure and upright, surely now He would awake for you, and prosper your rightful dwelling place. Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.” Job 8:1-7 (NKJV)

Several years ago, I received a phone call from a friend who was considering placing his mom in an asylum. “Her dementia has become too much to handle,” he explained. His mom’s symptoms were textbook dementia and borderline Alzheimer’s. For instance, she would wear two or three outfits on top of each other, insist they had doctor appointments in the middle of the night, and call the police because she was convinced family members were trying to kill her. In her mid-70s, she displayed the behavior of women in their late 80’s. There was only one problem. She did not have dementia. She had a urinary tract infection. Thank the Lord that one doctor suggested an antibiotic because she was back to normal within a few days.

When the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment and expectations for healing are wrong, and sometimes with devastating consequences! This was the case with Job’s friends. Each was convinced God was judging Job for some secret sin, to the point where they became indignant whenever Job defended his character. Never mind Job’s testimony about himself; let’s consider Job from God’s testimony.

“Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’” Job 1:8 (NKJV)

Have you ever been wrongly judged? I have. Between the years 2008-2010, there was a massive financial downturn. One-in-four homes in Southern California were in danger of foreclosure. I know because I lost my home in that downturn. So, there I was, a minister of the gospel who had left Middle America to follow God’s call to Southern California. I firmly believe that God provides whenever He guides, so it was a major blow to my faith paradigm when we lost our home, so I had a serious decision to make. Was I going to curse God and die, as Job’s wife recommended, or was I going to hold on to God’s Word that EVERYTHING works together for the good (Romans 8:28)?  My wife and I chose to hold on. Other people chose to judge us.

If you are ever in foreclosure, you can’t qualify for another mortgage for three more years. Three years later, a pastor offered me a job outside of California. Had we saved our CA home with its pre-collapse mortgage, we may not have been able to heed God’s new call in another state. Sometimes He provides long-term by not providing short-term. Hard times may be unrelated to our personal righteousness and more related to His plan!