Month: February 2020

When God Makes Creation a Classroom

1-3 Elihu lit into Job again:

“Does this kind of thing make any sense?

First you say, ‘I’m perfectly innocent before God.’

And then you say, ‘It doesn’t make a bit of difference

whether I’ve sinned or not.’

4-8 “Well, I’m going to show you

that you don’t know what you’re talking about,

neither you nor your friends.

Look up at the sky. Take a long hard look.

See those clouds towering above you?

If you sin, what difference could that make to God?

No matter how much you sin, will it matter to him?

Even if you’re good, what would God get out of that?

Do you think he’s dependent on your accomplishments?

The only ones who care whether you’re good or bad

are your family and friends and neighbors.

God’s not dependent on your behavior.

9-15 “When times get bad, people cry out for help.

They cry for relief from being kicked around,

But never give God a thought when things go well,

when God puts spontaneous songs in their hearts,

When God sets out the entire creation as a science classroom,

using birds and beasts to teach wisdom.

People are arrogantly indifferent to God—

until, of course, they’re in trouble,

and then God is indifferent to them.

There’s nothing behind such prayers except panic;

the Almighty pays them no mind.

So why would he notice you

just because you say you’re tired of waiting to be heard,

Or waiting for him to get good and angry

and do something about the world’s problems?

16 “Job, you talk sheer nonsense—

nonstop nonsense!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/35-aa2df4bc77f2bf611858cf4bb0d20fa4.mp3?version_id=97—

Those Who Learn from Their Suffering

1-4 Here Elihu took a deep breath, but kept going:

“Stay with me a little longer. I’ll convince you.

There’s still more to be said on God’s side.

I learned all this firsthand from the Source;

everything I know about justice I owe to my Maker himself.

Trust me, I’m giving you undiluted truth;

believe me, I know these things inside and out.

5-15 “It’s true that God is all-powerful,

but he doesn’t bully innocent people.

For the wicked, though, it’s a different story—

he doesn’t give them the time of day,

but champions the rights of their victims.

He never takes his eyes off the righteous;

he honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly.

When things go badly,

when affliction and suffering descend,

God tells them where they’ve gone wrong,

shows them how their pride has caused their trouble.

He forces them to heed his warning,

tells them they must repent of their bad life.

If they obey and serve him,

they’ll have a good, long life on easy street.

But if they disobey, they’ll be cut down in their prime

and never know the first thing about life.

Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance,

always blaming others for their troubles.

Living it up in sexual excesses,

virility wasted, they die young.

But those who learn from their suffering,

God delivers from their suffering.

Obsessed with Putting the Blame on God

16-21 “Oh, Job, don’t you see how God’s wooing you

from the jaws of danger?

How he’s drawing you into wide-open places—

inviting you to feast at a table laden with blessings?

And here you are laden with the guilt of the wicked,

obsessed with putting the blame onGod!

Don’t let your great riches mislead you;

don’t think you can bribe your way out of this.

Did you plan to buy your way out of this?

Not on your life!

And don’t think that night,

when people sleep off their troubles,

will bring you any relief.

Above all, don’t make things worse with more evil—

that’s what’s behind your suffering as it is!

22-25 “Do you have any idea how powerful God is?

Have you ever heard of a teacher like him?

Has anyone ever had to tell him what to do,

or correct him, saying, ‘You did that all wrong!’?

Remember, then, to praise his workmanship,

which is so often celebrated in song.

Everybody sees it;

nobody is too far away to see it.

No One Can Escape from God

26 “Take a long, hard look. See how great he is—infinite,

greater than anything you could ever imagine or figure out!

27-33 “He pulls water up out of the sea,

distills it, and fills up his rain-cloud cisterns.

Then the skies open up

and pour out soaking showers on everyone.

Does anyone have the slightest idea how this happens?

How he arranges the clouds, how he speaks in thunder?

Just look at that lightning, his sky-filling light show

illumining the dark depths of the sea!

These are the symbols of his sovereignty,

his generosity, his loving care.

He hurls arrows of light,

taking sure and accurate aim.

The High God roars in the thunder,

angry against evil.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/36-548ca4682b3f8d0db99158b19889393f.mp3?version_id=97—

1-13 “Whenever this happens, my heart stops—

I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath.

Listen to it! Listen to his thunder,

the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.

He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon,

lighting up the earth from pole to pole.

In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice,

powerful and majestic.

He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.

No one can mistake that voice—

His word thundering so wondrously,

his mighty acts staggering our understanding.

He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’

and the rain, ‘Soak the whole countryside!’

No one can escape the weather—it’sthere.

And no one can escape from God.

Wild animals take shelter,

crawling into their dens,

When blizzards roar out of the north

and freezing rain crusts the land.

It’s God’s breath that forms the ice,

it’s God’s breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.

And yes, it’s God who fills clouds with rainwater

and hurls lightning from them every which way.

He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—

commands them to do what he says all over the world.

Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love,

he makes sure they make their mark.

A Terrible Beauty Streams from God

14-18 “Job, are you listening? Have you noticed all this?

Stop in your tracks! Take in God’s miracle-wonders!

Do you have any idea how God does it all,

how he makes bright lightning from dark storms,

How he piles up the cumulus clouds—

all these miracle-wonders of a perfect Mind?

Why, you don’t even know how to keep cool

on a sweltering hot day,

So how could you even dream

of making a dent in that hot-tin-roof sky?

19-22 “If you’re so smart, give us a lesson in how to address God.

We’re in the dark and can’t figure it out.

Do you think I’m dumb enough to challenge God?

Wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?

No one in his right mind stares straight at the sun

on a clear and cloudless day.

As gold comes from the northern mountains,

so a terrible beauty streams from God.

23-24 “Mighty God! Far beyond our reach!

Unsurpassable in power and justice!

It’s unthinkable that he’d treat anyone unfairly.

So bow to him in deep reverence, one and all!

If you’re wise, you’ll most certainly worship him.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/37-eb4be1a96a94f736b80dcc7cd6c313e4.mp3?version_id=97—

Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?

1-11 And now, finally,Godanswered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:

“Why do you confuse the issue?

Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?

Pull yourself together, Job!

Up on your feet! Stand tall!

I have some questions for you,

and I want some straight answers.

Where were you when I created the earth?

Tell me, since you know so much!

Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!

Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?

How was its foundation poured,

and who set the cornerstone,

While the morning stars sang in chorus

and all the angels shouted praise?

And who took charge of the ocean

when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?

That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,

and tucked it in safely at night.

Then I made a playpen for it,

a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,

And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.

Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’

12-15 “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’

told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’

So you could seize Earth like a blanket

and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?

As the sun brings everything to light,

brings out all the colors and shapes,

The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked—

they’re caught in the very act!

16-18 “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,

explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?

Do you know the first thing about death?

Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?

And do you have any idea how large this earth is?

Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.

19-21 “Do you know where Light comes from

and where Darkness lives

So you can take them by the hand

and lead them home when they get lost?

Why, ofcourseyou know that.

You’ve known them all your life,

grown up in the same neighborhood with them!

22-30 “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,

seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,

The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness

for times of trouble and battle and war?

Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,

or to the place from which the wind blows?

Who do you suppose carves canyons

for the downpours of rain, and charts

the route of thunderstorms

That bring water to unvisited fields,

deserts no one ever lays eyes on,

Drenching the useless wastelands

so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?

And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,

the mother of ice and frost?

You don’t for a minute imagine

these marvels of weather just happen, do you?

31-33 “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,

or distract Orion from his hunt?

Can you get Venus to look your way,

or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?

Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations

and how they affect things on Earth?

34-35 “Can you get the attention of the clouds,

and commission a shower of rain?

Can you take charge of the lightning bolts

and have them report to you for orders?

What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?

36-38 “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,

and storm-savvy to the rooster?

Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds

or tip over the rain barrels of heaven

When the earth is cracked and dry,

the ground baked hard as a brick?

39-41 “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey

and satisfy the appetite of her cubs

As they crouch in their den,

waiting hungrily in their cave?

And who sets out food for the ravens

when their young cry to God,

fluttering about because they have no food?”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/38-3349f8169b8e5d3b29ea63d3aca92e5b.mp3?version_id=97—

1-4 “Do you know the month when mountain goats give birth?

Have you ever watched a doe bear her fawn?

Do you know how many months she is pregnant?

Do you know the season of her delivery,

when she crouches down and drops her offspring?

Her young ones flourish and are soon on their own;

they leave and don’t come back.

5-8 “Who do you think set the wild donkey free,

opened the corral gates and let him go?

I gave him the whole wilderness to roam in,

the rolling plains and wide-open places.

He laughs at his city cousins, who are harnessed and harried.

He’s oblivious to the cries of teamsters.

He grazes freely through the hills,

nibbling anything that’s green.

9-12 “Will the wild buffalo condescend to serve you,

volunteer to spend the night in your barn?

Can you imagine hitching your plow to a buffalo

and getting him to till your fields?

He’s hugely strong, yes, but could you trust him,

would you dare turn the job over to him?

You wouldn’t for a minute depend on him, would you,

to do what you said when you said it?

13-18 “The ostrich flaps her wings futilely—

all those beautiful feathers, but useless!

She lays her eggs on the hard ground,

leaves them there in the dirt, exposed to the weather,

Not caring that they might get stepped on and cracked

or trampled by some wild animal.

She’s negligent with her young, as if they weren’t even hers.

She cares nothing about anything.

She wasn’t created very smart, that’s for sure,

wasn’t given her share of good sense.

But when she runs, oh, how she runs,

laughing, leaving horse and rider in the dust.

19-25 “Are you the one who gave the horse his prowess

and adorned him with a shimmering mane?

Did you create him to prance proudly

and strike terror with his royal snorts?

He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited,

then charges into the fray.

He laughs at danger, fearless,

doesn’t shy away from the sword.

The banging and clanging

of quiver and lance don’t faze him.

He quivers with excitement, and at the trumpet blast

races off at a gallop.

At the sound of the trumpet he neighs mightily,

smelling the excitement of battle from a long way off,

catching the rolling thunder of the war cries.

26-30 “Was it through your know-how that the hawk learned to fly,

soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?

Did you command the eagle’s flight,

and teach her to build her nest in the heights,

Perfectly at home on the high cliff face,

invulnerable on pinnacle and crag?

From her perch she searches for prey,

spies it at a great distance.

Her young gorge themselves on carrion;

wherever there’s a roadkill, you’ll see her circling.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/39-413b7ec20f4d60b395fc18d815eb94d7.mp3?version_id=97—

1-2 Godthen confronted Job directly:

“Now what do you have to say for yourself?

Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?”

I’m Ready to Shut Up and Listen

3-5 Job answered:

“I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me.

I should never have opened my mouth!

I’ve talked too much, way too much.

I’m ready to shut up and listen.”

I Want Straight Answers

6-7 Godaddressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said:

“I have some more questions for you,

and I want straight answers.

8-14 “Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?

Do you have an arm like my arm?

Can you shout in thunder the way I can?

Go ahead, show your stuff.

Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do.

Unleash your outrage.

Target the arrogant and lay them flat.

Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.

Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!

Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—

faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.

I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—

you can surely save yourself with no help from me!

15-24 “Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you.

Grazing on grass, docile as a cow—

Just look at the strength of his back,

the powerful muscles of his belly.

His tail sways like a cedar in the wind;

his huge legs are like beech trees.

His skeleton is made of steel,

every bone in his body hard as steel.

Most magnificent of all my creatures,

but I still lead him around like a lamb!

The grass-covered hills serve him meals,

while field mice frolic in his shadow.

He takes afternoon naps under shade trees,

cools himself in the reedy swamps,

Lazily cool in the leafy shadows

as the breeze moves through the willows.

And when the river rages he doesn’t budge,

stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.

But you’d never want him for a pet—

you’d never be able to housebreak him!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/40-b4f82f076df9259544c81def9a4d69a8.mp3?version_id=97—

I Run This Universe

1-11 “Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod

and stuff him in your creel?

Can you lasso him with a rope,

or snag him with an anchor?

Will he beg you over and over for mercy,

or flatter you with flowery speech?

Will he apply for a job with you

to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?

Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?

Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?

Will you put him on display in the market

and have shoppers haggle over the price?

Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,

or drive harpoons into his huge head?

If you so much as lay a hand on him,

you won’t live to tell the story.

What hope would you have with such a creature?

Why, one look at him would do you in!

If you can’t hold your own against his glowering visage,

how, then, do you expect to stand up tome?

Who could confront me and get by with it?

I’min chargeof all this—Irunthis universe!

12-17 “But I’ve more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast,

his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape.

Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin

or putting those jaws into bit and bridle?

And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth

filled with row upon row of fierce teeth?

His pride is invincible;

nothing can make a dent in that pride.

Nothing can get through that proud skin—

impervious to weapons and weather,

The thickest and toughest of hides,

impenetrable!

18-34 “He snorts and the world lights up with fire,

he blinks and the dawn breaks.

Comets pour out of his mouth,

fireworks arc and branch.

Smoke erupts from his nostrils

like steam from a boiling pot.

He blows and fires blaze;

flames of fire stream from his mouth.

All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle.

To meet him is to dance with death.

Sinewy and lithe,

there’s not a soft spot in his entire body—

As tough inside as out,

rock-hard, invulnerable.

Even angels run for cover when he surfaces,

cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence.

Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide,

harpoons ricochet wildly.

Iron bars are so much straw to him,

bronze weapons beneath notice.

Arrows don’t even make him blink;

bullets make no more impression than raindrops.

A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling;

he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke.

His belly is armor-plated, inexorable—

unstoppable as a barge.

He roils deep ocean the way you’d boil water,

he whips the sea like you’d whip an egg into batter.

With a luminous trail stretching out behind him,

you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard!

There’s nothing on this earth quite like him,

not an ounce of fear inthatcreature!

He surveys all the high and mighty—

king of the ocean, king of the deep!”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/41-743800a7bb3d45ce33607dbda8242e86.mp3?version_id=97—

I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me

1-6 Job answeredGod:

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.

Nothing and no one can upset your plans.

You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,

ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’

I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,

made small talk about wonders way over my head.

You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.

Let me ask the questions.Yougive the answers.’

I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!

I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!

I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”

I Will Accept His Prayer

7-8 AfterGodhad finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here’s what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has.”

9 They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did whatGodcommanded. AndGodaccepted Job’s prayer.

10-11 After Job had interceded for his friends,Godrestored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the troubleGodhad brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.

12-15 Godblessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

16-17 Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/85/32k/JOB/42-79a97125774468eaf2b457d025602a00.mp3?version_id=97—