Lesson 7 - Job

Many people think that only the good come from God, the story of Job is proof that this is not the case.

3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 and the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. (Job 2:3-6)

When Job had boils from head to foot, Job's wife said to him "dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die." Even though she said this, he didn't "sin with his lips."

In chapter 3, however, Job's tone changed. He cursed the day he was born. He wished for his death, he became what he despised. Even though his friends said he only had 6 troubles and that in seven there shall no evil touch thee, he still cursed his birth and wanted God to take him. Then Job said, "20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. 21 Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. 22 This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destoryeth the perfect and the wicked" (9:20-22).
He continues to say:

• "9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? ... 16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his" (12: 9&16).
• "9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons" (13:9-10).
• "9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me... 11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly and turned me over into the hands of the wicked" (16:9&11).
• "3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; 4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. 5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me" (27:3-5).

When God finally speaks, he is enraged, and rightfully so. He, in short is stating that Job, or anyone for that matter, does not truly know anything. "Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?" (39:1). "Knowest though the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?" (38:33).

Job then responded to the Lord by saying: "4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further" (40: 4-5).

This story ends, however, with Job saying " 2 I know that thou canst do everything and that no though can be withholden from thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (42: 2-3,5-6). The Lord then told Jobs friends that his wrath was kindled against them and that Job would have to pray for them as he would accept Jobs prayer. Job prayed for them and "the Lord also accepted Job" (42:9). After this, "the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before" (42:10).

Job's story tells me a lot of things. It tells me that:

1. God controls Satan and all the evil in the world. The deceived and the deceiver are his.
2. That even a man who God holds on a pedestal can fall into the hurt and pain that can surround him.
3. Even when we stumble, the breath of life is within us all.
4. We cannot even begin to comprehend that which God knows. Who are we to say we are better than the Almighty?
5. If we don't love the people we meet or if we mock them, who's to say that we did not just mock a messenger of God or God himself?
6. we can say to much when we are talking with God. "Thou protests to much"
7. Even when we curse him, or our birth, he will still be there to forgive us and to accept us once again. He is the only one that can give and take away. He can bless you or curse you. He is the first and the last.

"What I've Overcome" - Fireflight

I've got this passion, It's something I can't describe,It's so electric, It's like I've just come alive, I feel this freedom, Now that my past is erased, I feel the healing, I've found the meaning of grace(I found grace)

If only you come see me yesterday, Who I used to be before the change, You'd see a broken heart, You'd see the battle scars, Funny how words can't explain, How good it feels to finally break the chains, I'm not what I have done, I'm what I've overcome

I know I'll stumble, I know I'll still face defeat, These second chances will define me, So I'm moving forward, I'm standing on my two feet, I've got momentum, I've got someone saving me (got someone saving me)

If only you could see me yesterday, Who I used to be before the change, You'd see a broken heart,You'd see the battle scars, Funny how words can't explain, How good it finally feels to break the chains, I'm not what I have done, I'm what I've overcome

I make mistakes and I might fall, But I won't break, I've got someone saving me

If only you could see me yesterday, Who I used to be before the change, You'd see a broken heart, You'd see the battle scars, Funny how words can't explain, How good it feels to finally break the chains, I'm not what I have done, I'm what I've overcome, I'm what I've overcome, I'm what I've overcome.

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To know Jesus, you must know the scriptures; you must know the Old Testament.

Lesson 4 - Walls

"Walls" are barriers meant to keep people in, out, or safe from what they fear. Everyone has walls that they put up. Some people put up wall just to see who cares enough to break them down, others put up walls so that others can't see the pain they are going through; still, others put up walls to keep themselves away from what they fear. Countries, throughout history, have put up walls. Germany put up a wall not only to keep the west out of the east, but also to keep East Germany in, the Great Wall of China was built to keep others out of China, the wall of Jericho was built to keep enemies out, etc. So if both people and countries put up walls, they must have a great purpose. God told many people in the Bible to build a wall, just as He told many people to knock them down. For instance, God told Joshua

See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compas the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him. - Joshua 6:2-5

This is what the KJV states; however, in the Archeaological Bible, which is KJV, adds an article which states:

Jericho's mud brick walls crumpled in a heap at the base of the retaining wall (6:20). Archaeologists suggest that an earthquake took place and that the fallen bricks formed a ramp by which the Israelites surmounted the retaining wall. (Archaeological Bible, 319)

Hebrews 11:30 states that: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." So this could mean that God caused an earthquake because the people believed in what God had told Joshua and responded to it. Thus, by faith and the power of God, the wall of Jericho came crumpling down.
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How exactly does this correspond to the walls that people and countries build today? Well in regard to countries, it is merely a warning that you cannot keep someone out that wants to be in, you cannot hide from your fears to protect what you feel is yours, just like Boarder Patrol in America always seems to fail at keeping people out that we don't want in. In regards to people, however, some of the same rules apply.

People that put up "walls", put them up for a reason. Some walls are in the form of a facade, some are in the form of shyness, some are in the form of wildness, some are in the form of music; still, they are there for a purpose. They are setting a boundary that they "don't" want crossed, or, in some cases, do want crossed. However, just as the walls that surrounded Berlin and Jericho fell, the walls that we put up fall. We put them up and feel alone, but man was not meant to be alone. We are social beings. Being alone can hinder a person, not make them better as sitting in your thoughts can lead to madness. When someone tears down the "walls" that we put up, we feel like someone truly understands and cares for us. However, do we really build "walls" at all? We build obstacles to make it harder to find the real us, we hid behind something so that we can appear to be better than we are, we even, sometime, have a separate personality that everyone sees, even our loved ones. These, while "walls"/obstacles, are not impenetrable. I know that I put up "walls" so that I can see who cares and so no one really sees who/what I am. However, a wall can be, by force, knocked down. So, when we put up a wall, what are we really doing?

We, when we hid from what we fear, hid from who we are, or try to keep out those who want to know the real us, are really being unholy in the sense that holy means clearly visible and that everything is known about that object or person. To be who you are with no "walls" is to be closer to God as you would not be lying to anyone, including yourself. To hid from anything is to fear when the only thing to fear is "fear itself" or "the LORD". So to be scared and put up a wall is to, in essence, want control over the situation/fear. This only shows that we, as humans, truly are "of little faith" for, if we had faith as the Israelites did as they walked around Jericho, we wouldn't have to put up any wall because we would not be scared or worried.


Thus, in conclusion, to put up a wall is to be scared due to a lack of control, to be scared due to a lack of control is to have a lack of faith in God and what he can do. When God puts a wall around you, you are safe from harm. When you put up a wall, you only increase your harm as God cannot help those who think they have it all under control. To give all of your so-called control to God is to have faith in Him. When you have true faith in Him, you will get up and follow Him. You won't be left behind, you will be protected, you will live a freer life.


This, however, is easier said than done.





As a side note, I am not doubting in the slightest that the events that Joshua 6 depict did not happen, I can believe that, because of God's power over nature as he calmed the storm, that he could have induced an earthquake at the moment when these events occurred to make the wall fall.

A Lesson A Day...

Today I bought the Archaeological Study Bible. This is a Bible that incorporates Biblical Culture and History to shed light on things that might otherwise be taken out of context or misunderstood. Nate Helm-Anderson, my pastor, told me that this would be an amazing Bible to invest in and, though I have only had it for 2 hours, it has already shed light on some things that I was confused about.

As I sit here reading this Bible and thinking also about the recent posts I have submitted, I had a thought. While I know that no one really reads my blog anymore, I could always have a lesson a day to always remind myself of what I've read and learned. I have a total of five Bibles, 2 are KJV and the remaining 3 are different versions. I can take from each of these Bibles along with the most recent investment of the Archaeological Bible to form my opinion of what I have learned. Taking from the days events that I live, I can then go through and find verses that reflect my day. A format will be in order to give consistency, while consistency in life or faith is not what I'm going for, it is more of a path so that I always know what to say about a day/reading.


The Possible Format -

1. A poem, much like earlier today, a quote, or a verse from the Bible.
   
2. A synopses of my day.
3. A lesson learned from that day or a feeling from that day.
4. Bible verses that resemble or go along with the lesson learned.
   
5. A song that resembles through lyrics the feelings that I felt throughout the day.
6. The ultimate conclusion about the lesson and the Bible verses.

This is a possible format where all, some, or none could be present in a given day. Some times a song might reflect my feelings more so than words that I could come up with. Thus, each day that I am able to write on this blog I will. However, a promise to write on here is not made.

I will try to do this for at least 30 days straight, while the promise is not there. After 26 days of doing something without fail, it will become a habit. This is my goal, to make a habit out of reading the text/ listening to it with the KJV CD's that I purchased, and discussing what I have learned from the days text reading/ events. In many ways, my earlier post resembles this; thus, I will leave you with that thought.