Job 22-24

"Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does He profit if you perfect your behavior?" (22:3).

Eliphaz might be a poor source of comfort - but he brings to light a great truth here. God doesn't need us. He has nothing to gain by our piety. God never gains anything - He is complete, lacking nothing.

We need Him.  He does not need us.

Job's hope ... "Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold" (23:10).

Read it here.

Job 20-21

Now Zophar gets heated up. These "friends" truly believe that Job is being punished by God because of his wickedness. How horrible must this be for Job? He knows he is blameless - yet he is being torn apart by circumstances and tragedy and then (insult to injury) he is being blamed for it!  As if he deserves what he's getting.

Would you be able claim innocence? Few of us would be able to face calamity with this much true innocence.

Read it here.

Job 18-19

Bildad taps in.  He gets a little testy with Job. He describes Job using the third-person. But it is not lost on Job that Bildad is accusing him of being a wicked man.

Sometimes friends should just stay home in times of adversity.

Yet one of Job's most profound confessions of faith and hope in God comes on the heels of this conversation with Bildad.  Do not miss Job 19:25-27!

Read it here.

Job 15-17

In this corner, Eliphaz tags back into the ring! This dude pulls no punches. He is very accusing toward Job. He doesn't get it. He assumes that Job is "getting what he deserves." We should be slow to draw such conclusions!

Job is fiery in his reply! He wants them to just shut up and leave him alone. He feels broken and now is being kicked while he is down. Tough spot!

Read it here.

Job 11-14

Now Zophar gets in the ring. I like this guy.  He has a very God-centered perspective.

Can you fathom the depths of God

or discover the limits of the Almighty?⁸ They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?⁹ Their measure is longer than the earthand wider than the sea.


But Job is growing weary of the unsolicited free advice. ("No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!"). Job is aghast. Why would God allow such tragedy in his life?

Read it here.

Job 8-10

Bildad speaks. (Who names their kid Bildad?). Now remember, neither Job nor Bildad got to read the first two chapters. They don't know what God is up to. So along the way they will surmise what is right. And sometimes they will say some bogus things.

How do you process the events that surround you? Perfect clarity? Always from God's perfect perspective?  These guys actually get it right far more than I would had I been there!

Read it here.

Job 6-7

"If only my greif could be weighed  and my devastation placed with it in the scales. For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!

How do you make sense of sudden catastrophe? Empathize with a godly man as he wrestles with the sudden and senseless (in his mind) havoc of his life.

Read it here.

Job 3-5

Job and his friends now begin to try and figure out why all this calamity has happened.  Here's the tricky part: None of them know the story of what happened in the first two chapters between God and Satan. They only have the evidence of the earthly events to go by. So have some patience with them - we actually know far more of the story than they do!

This is true for us as well. We rarely have access to God's purposes.  We only respond to what we see, hear and experience. Job gives us a lot to consider!

Read it here.

Job 1-2

He was a man of perfect integrity. Of all the people on the earth, Job was the who caught God's eye.  That also put him in the cross-haris of the evil one.

The book of Job makes the "prosperity gospel" tough to swallow. Perfect integrity in Job actually invited calamity. But God had great purpose in it.

Read it here.

Daniel 11-12

Every prophecy of Daniel came true. Every one. He takes us today to "the appointed time" and "the time of the end." What do you think the chances are that this yet-future prophecy of Daniel will also come true?

The question all of us need to ask: Is my name written in the book (12:1)?

Read it here.

Daniel 9-10

So...Daniel picked up the book of Jeremiah and read it.  What would that be like? He must have gotten to Jeremiah 29:10-14, because that's what prompted his prayer in Daniel 9. The God-centered prayer with its genuine confession and hope for mercy and grace are incredible.

The interaction Daniel has with the angel in chapter 10 is intriguing. Sometimes I wonder what is going on in the angelic world.  Other times I'm glad I can't see it!

Read it here.

Daniel 7-8

Great kings and kingdoms will come and go. But Daniel sees One that will never end!
 
...and I saw One like a son of man
coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before Him.He was given authority to rule,
and glory, and a kingdom;
so that those of every people,
nation, and language
should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away,
and His kingdom is one
that will not be destroyed.
Read it here.

Daniel 5-6

"The writing is on the wall."  Eve wonder where that phrase came from?  You'll read about it today.

And "Daniel and the Lion's Den?" Yep, you'll read that one, too. Yet another nearly-universal cultural metaphor that we need to take a fresh look at.

After today's reading you will ask: When will pride-filled people understand that there is a God who can humble any human in an instant - without even breaking a sweat?

Read it here.

Daniel 3-4

The moral of this story: God is able to humble those who walk in pride (4:37).

The Fiery Furnace. This story has become so well known that it has become a cultural reference point to going through trials ("being tried by the fire"). Take the preconceived notions you've had away and read these chapters with fresh eyes and perspective.

Remember that the king that is building this gargantuan statue to be worshipped is the very one who in the last chapter was giving praise to the one, true God. How quickly we forget! When will you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men?

Read it here.

Daniel 1-2

"Daniel determined that he would not defile himself" (1:8).  Defile himself from what? The finest food and beverage money could buy! Daniel and his friends were establishing themselves as men devoted to God ... and God blessed them tremendously! "No one was found equal to Daniel" and his godly friends.

Before long, the king ended up falling before Daniel proclaiming, "Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries" (2:47).

All because Daniel chose to live unashamedly for God.

Oh to be a Daniel.

Read it here.

Ezekiel 45-48

Ezekiel's prophecies continue to be elusive. Is he speaking of a yet-future Temple and restoration of sacrifices and land? How do we understand that in light of the "new and living way" brought to us in final sacrifice of Jesus (Hebrews 10)? Is it a way for God's people to commemorate what God did for them (in the way that Messianic Jews celebrate the Passover seder)?

Mysterious to me. Ezekiel, you baffle me here. But I'll keep searching.

Read it here. 

Ezekiel 43-44

What a devastation to see the glory of the Lord depart. What a joy to see it return. No wonder Ezekiel falls facedown.

Read it here.

Ezekiel 40-42

There is some mystery here.  What is the purpose for the future temple that Ezekiel describes in such detail? Scholars scratch their heads a bit on this one.  I think one plausible explanations is as follows...

God reiterated His promise of covenantal blessing, in spite of Babylon's destruction, but it as always was conditional on the people's obedience. But the vision would only be open to those Jews who were sincerely ashamed of the sins that got them exiled (Ezk. 43:11). This was a vision of an offer, rather than a prediction. Just as the Lord through Moses promised Israel to bless their crops, their families, their finances, and their nation as a rewarcd for obedience, the Lord sharpens up His promise by including a temple that would be even finer than the one they had. But this was an offer that went unclaimed -- a coupon that went uncashed. Not because the Lord failed, but the people failed. This temple was one more part of the Old Testament code of promise, which no sinner can ever be good enough to fulfill. The vision described something that could have been (from the standpoint of God's power) but never was (because the people were never sufficiently repentant or faithful to enter into all that God had to offer). Ezekiel's temple -- the temple that never came to be -- is one more part of why Israel needs a Savior who can save them not just from the guilt of their sins, but from its corruptive power as well.

Read it here.

Ezekiel 37-39

The Valley of Dry Bones - one of the most memorable images in the book of Ezekiel!  And this prophecy of restoration is followed by a prophecy of unprecedented wrath - gory and uncut. May this drive us to be on the restoration side of God's future prophecies!

Read it here.

Ezekiel 34-36

Woe to the shepherds who do not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the injured, bring back the strays, or seek the lost.

What in the world were they doing?  Feeding themselves instead of the God's flock.

So God steps in.  Woe to the shepherds.  But relief for the flock!

And then this awesome promise of a new covenant: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you...I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances." (36:26-27).

Read it here.