Psalm 83

“O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!” (v1). Threatened by their enemies, God’s people called out to Him for direct, miraculous intervention. They knew from history that their ancestors (like Deborah and Barak against Sisera, (v9-10) had faced terrible battles and been victorious through God’s power. In this new challenge – many nations allied together against Israel, v6-8 – they asked again for God to make their enemies “like chaff before

...

Romans 5

“We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (v11). Paul says we can also rejoice in “the hope of the glory of God” (v1) and “our sufferings” (v3). All this rejoicing is because we are secure in the present: our relationship with God has been repaired by Christ, and the Spirit has poured God’s love into our hearts (v5). And, despite suffering, our future is good: we won’t face God’s wrath (v9), and we will partici

...

Job 18-19

"How long will you torment me and break me in pieces with words?” (19:2).  Job’s “comforters” continued to accuse him of wrongdoing (ch 18), adding frustration and anger on top of his sorrow. Rather than support him, Job’s friends and family avoided him, not wanting to be near him in his grief or get involved in his troubles.  “My close friends have forgotten me … All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me” (v14-19).  Job was left alone

...

Job 17

“Where then is my hope? Who will see my hope?” (v15).  At his lowest point, Job thought (wrongly) that all the good parts of his life were history; the future was only dark. “My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart” (v11). He couldn’t make any new plans without some assurance that things would change; he was stuck.  Without a sure knowledge of life beyond death, he despaired: “my spirit is broken” (v1).

“If I make my bed in darkness …” (v13).  Our

...

Job 16

“Surely now God has worn me out …” (v7).  Job acknowledged God’s sovereignty over the world, so he thought his suffering was directly caused by God.  “I was at ease, and He broke me apart” (v12).  Job’s “miserable comforters” (v2) and their “windy words” did nothing to console him; their insistence that he had brought tragedy upon himself only made him angrier.  He felt mistreated, yet he clung to God.

“Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me

...

Job 15

“What do you know that we do not know?” (v9).  The dramatic argument continued, with Job’s accusers sure that he was recklessly defying the wisdom of elders (v10), and Job himself sure of his own innocence. Eliphaz said that Job’s sin was obvious, because a wicked man always fails in life: “he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the earth” (v29).  Yet life does not always follow a logical path. 

“What is man, that he can be

...

Psalm 82

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (v3).  The psalmist depicts God judging other “gods” (human rulers, who were given divine titles in the ancient world) in light of how they treat the weak and vulnerable.  He condemns them for using their power unfairly: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” (v2).  God announces the responsibility of those with power and money: “Rescue the we

...

Romans 4

“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (v13).  After explaining that faith in Jesus covers our sins, Paul made it clear that Abraham and his descendants, the Israelites, were also justified by faith and not law.  God’s promises of blessing were made to Abraham before he was circumcised (a symbol of the law, v10), simply on the basis of Abraham’s faith. 

King David

...

Romans 3

“Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God” (v1-2).  Because Paul declared that being Jewish didn’t save anyone, he then had to explain what “advantage” there was in God’s covenant with them.  The answer was “the oracles of God”: God had graciously given the Jews His law, shining a light on the path toward a good life under His rule.  Their unfaithfulness did not

...

Job 14

“If a man dies, shall he live again?” (v14).  Job didn’t have the secure hope of eternal life. Common beliefs about death, in his time, involved a murky underworld (Sheol) from which nobody could return (v13). Job struggled with the finality of death, knowing that we are not like plants that repeatedly live and die in a “circle of life” (v7). We are unique and irreplaceable individuals, and death is tragic.  Job longed for a kind of “renewal” that would bring light into th

...

Job 13

“Though He slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to His face” (v15).  Job’s friends wanted him to quietly accept his troubles and ask for mercy.  But Job refused to listen to their “proverbs of ashes” (v12). He was furious and grieving, yet he still had faith in God.  He didn’t hide behind a false image of “everything’s okay;” to the astonishment of his friends, he poured out his anger and pain: “Why do You hide Your face and count me as Your enemy?” (v24).

...

Job 12

“Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” (v9).  Job and his friends argued about who truly understood the situation he was in.  Job’s friends believed the traditional explanation that Job’s sin must have produced his suffering.  Job knew that he was innocent, yet he couldn’t figure out why God had made him a “laughingstock” (v4). Ultimately, Job admitted, God alone is wise; judges, priests, counselors, and leaders of men can be deceived

...

Job 11

"Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?” (v7).  Zophar, like Job’s other friends, accused him of “babbling” and testing God’s patience with “a multitude of words” (v2).  Zophar believed Job should stop questioning and repent (v14).  Trying to understand the “deep things of God” was pointless.   But Job had to endure suffering in his own honest and talkative way.  No matter what it looked like to others, Job knew that he had bee

...

Job 10

“Why did you bring me out from the womb?” (v18).  Job’s troubles and frustration with being unjustly accused – his friends all thought that God was punishing him – caused him to question his life’s purpose.  He believed that God had “fashioned and made” him (v8), but he could not discern anything good in his life.  How could injustice and suffering be worthwhile?  What was the point?  “Are not my days few?” (v20). Job wanted answers before he died.

“You have granted me life

...

Psalm 81

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (v10).  The psalmist declared that the same God who brought Israel out of slavery – “your hands were freed from the basket” (v6) - wanted them to receive blessing in the Promised Land.  God had rescued them and brought them there to walk in obedience: “O Israel, if you would but listen to Me! There shall be no strange god among you” (v9).

God redeemed us from sin

...