The Lord: Our Rock of Refuge

 Psalm 18:25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save a humble people,
    but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my lamp;
    the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true;
    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Some of the Psalms are notable, if for no other reason than their length. We usually like the short psalms - a quick read for comfort or encouragement, but longer ones like this really point out the character of God. In this one, David reflects on years of God's faithfulness to him when he had been on the run, chased by Saul and Philistines alike. God had always been his refuge, watching over him and taking care of him in the darkest of days. (Read it all.)

What Is Your Leviathan?

 Job 41:25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
    at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
    nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
    and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
    for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
    he laughs at the rattle of javelins.

As God is talking to Job, he winds things up with one last challenge: "Consider what men find most fearsome." In the case of his day, it was the monster Leviathan. God proceeds with a chapter-long description of the invincibility of this enemy. No one can defeat him - except God. Leviathan is still under His rule. What is interesting is that the next chapter is the final one in the book of Job, when he repents and is restored. This final illustration from God is the one that turns the tide and resolves the conflict.  God alone can handle our greatest enemies.

God's Discovery Channel

 

Job 39:

26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
    and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
    and makes his nest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
    on the rocky crag and stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey;
    his eyes behold it from far away.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
    and where the slain are, there is he.”

As God is responding to Job to demonstrate how wise He is, in this chapter he describes many of the fascinating creatures He has made and special characteristics for which they are known. In each case he points out that there are so many things they are capable of that make us wonder. They are not because of anything man has taught them to do, but because He is the God of wonders.  The goal is not for us to be in awe of the creature, but of the Creator.  They do these things because He has designed them so. Like Job, we can miss so much of the wonder when we get caught up in ourselves. Stand back and watch the show.

Storehouses of the Snow

 

Job 38:22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
    or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
    and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
    on the desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
    and to make the ground sprout with grass?

It's around the time of year when meteorologists begin to predict how much snow a part of the country or world will receive this coming winter. As we know, it's not an exact science. There is only One Who truly knows. He is actually the once speaking in this passage, addressing Job and his friends. Just as his system of sending rains is amazing (as we saw yesterday), so is the way he stores up and sends His treasures in troubled times.

Look Up and Feel the Rain...

 Job 36:24 “Remember to extol his work,
    of which men have sung.
25 All mankind has looked on it;
    man beholds it from afar.
26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
    the number of his years is unsearchable.
27 For he draws up the drops of water;
    they distill his mist in rain,
28 which the skies pour down
    and drop on mankind abundantly.

As we look at the book of Job as a whole, despite all the negativity in communication between Job and his friends, we find a lot of good truth about God: Who He is, what He is like, and all He has done.  After Elihu gives one last bashing on Job, he turns to God and His greatness. We often appreciate the beauty of His creation but forget His refreshing rain.  Depending on your location, you might today say: "Enough already! We're tired of the rain and flooding!" Or you might say: "What rain? We need more!" But let us all step back and see the system God has created to replenish the earth and marvel at what He has done.

By Them... I Mean You...

 

Job 34:23 For God has no need to consider a man further,
    that he should go before God in judgment.
24 He shatters the mighty without investigation
    and sets others in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
    he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
    in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from following him
    and had no regard for any of his ways,

We find here part of the response of Elihu to the conversation that had been taking place - in particular to Job's self-defense (and self-examination). He accuses Job of self-righteousness in a most piercing way - in the third person.  He talks about the wicked - "they" - as a way of insinuating that Job was wicked. In his mind, and words, Job had lost everything because he had turned away from God.  How often do we do this to people? Talk in generalities when we are trying to point the finger and keep ourselves from looking mean? This itself is very mean.

The Mediator

 Job 33:23 If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand,
    to declare to man what is right for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;
25 let his flesh become fresh with youth;
    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him;
    he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he restores to man his righteousness.
27     He sings before men and says:
‘I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,
    and my life shall look upon the light.’

In these chapters of Job, Elihu steps in to address Job and his three friends.  He rebukes the friends for their gruff way of "helping" Job, and He challenges Job as well. What is needed is a mediator - not only between Job and his friends, but Job and God. This mediator brings reconciliation and redemption. We all need this mediator. His name is Christ Jesus.