Tag: OT
Job’s friends
What did Job’s three friends have wrong, and what did they have right?
Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, have historically been known for offering lengthy speeches that resulted in their being condemned by God (Job 42:7–9). At one point Job, weary of their unhelpful rhetoric, told them, “You are miserable comforters, all of you!” (Job 16:2). But did they get everything wrong? Perhaps they got a few things right.
Job’s friends did at least three things right that can be seen in Job 2:11–13. First, they came to him when he was suffering. Second, they empathized with him: “they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads” (verse 12). Third, they spent time with him. Verse 13 states they were with him for seven days before they offered their advice. They commiserated with their friend in silence.
But their silence did not last forever, and these three men gave a series of speeches to Job, recorded in chapters 4—25. The speeches of Job’s three friends include many inaccuracies, primarily involving why God allows people to suffer. Their overarching belief was that Job was suffering because he had done something wrong. As a result, they repeatedly encourage Job to admit his wrong and repent so that God would bless him again.
God clearly condemned their advice: “I am angry with you [Eliphaz] and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me” (Job 42:7). For this reason, we should always be careful about how we interpret individual verses from Job. It is unwise to pull an isolated verse from the book of Job and use it to understand God—if the verse comes from a speech of Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar, then we have no guarantee that it accurately reflects the character of God. As with any single verse, we must look at the context.
Though, in the end, Job erred in overstating his righteousness (Job 42:1–6), he had done nothing to deserve his suffering. The trials Job endured were not related to his behavior. Instead, God used the sufferings as a test and as part of His sovereign plan in Job’s life. Following Job’s time of suffering, God blessed Job with twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10).
Much can be learned from the example of Job and his friends. When we are aware of a friend who is hurting, we can follow the positive example of these men by going to the person, mourning with him, and spending time together. Our physical presence with a hurting friend can be a great comfort in and of itself, even if we have no words to say.
In addition, we can gain wisdom from what Job’s friends did wrong. We should not assume that troubles are the sure sign of God’s judgment (cf. John 9:1–3). Instead of telling a hurting person to admit his wrong and repent (when we do not know the reason for the suffering), we can join together and encourage a friend to endure faithfully, knowing God sees our pain and has a purpose for it.
When we turn our focus to God, we can offer great encouragement and hope to those in need, helping those who suffer to see God at work. This is a great application of Romans 12:15: “Mourn with those who mourn.” When we are willing to enter into the pain of a suffering friend, we follow the example of Jesus, who came to bear our pain and suffer in our place. Our help to those in need is ultimately a way we serve Christ (Matthew 25:40).
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away
What does it mean that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away in Job 1:21?
Few of days and full of trouble
What does it mean that man is few of days and full of trouble (Job 14:1)?
Job’s suffering
How long was Job’s suffering?
Hedge of protection
What is a hedge of protection?
In the first chapter of Job, God points out to Satan that Job is “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). Satan replies, “Does Job fear God for nothing?…Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” (verses 9–10). It is common for Christians to adapt this verse and pray a “hedge of protection” around a friend or family member, but few people understand the original inspiration behind the phrase.
In the time of the Old Testament, wild animals were much more prevalent in the Middle East than they are today. The Bible mentions lions (Judges 14:5), wolves (Jeremiah 5:6), bears (1 Samuel 17:34), leopards (Hosea 13:7), and hyenas (Isaiah 13:22). Although stone walls could keep predators away from living areas and livestock, the walls would have to be very tall and would take a long time to make. Wood was not plentiful enough to waste on a fence. Instead, a hedge of thorn bushes could be induced to grow around a living compound. Thorn bushes would be too dense to crawl through, too sharp to chew through, and too deep for all but the most determined leopard to jump over. A hedge would also be a deterrent to sheep and goats seeking to escape their pen. As Satan is compared to a “lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), a thorn hedge is an appropriate metaphor for the protection God gives His followers.
Is it wrong to ask God for a hedge of protection around yourself or someone else? Absolutely not. In addition to putting on the armor God gives us (Ephesians 6:13-17), there is nothing wrong with asking for God’s protection. As seen with Job, a hedge is an apt illustration for what God’s protection looks like.
Life is in the blood
What is the significance that life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:14)?
Thousands of years before scientists understood the complex and extraordinary life-sustaining properties of blood, the Bible informed that “the life of every creature is in its blood” (Leviticus 17:14, NLT). In ancient Israel, blood was not only a metaphor or symbol for life; it was equivalent to life itself. In most occurrences where blood was shed in Scripture, it meant that life had ended. To remove the blood is to terminate life.
In Leviticus chapter 17, God gives instructions regarding sacrifices and offerings, particularly on the proper slaughtering of animals. The people of Israel were to bring each animal to the tabernacle entrance for the priest to offer. The blood of the animal was never to be treated as common food; it belonged to God, who is the giver of life (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4; Psalm 139:13). Thus, the blood of animals had to be drained and offered to God on the altar.
Blood was God’s ordained means of effecting atonement: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life” (Leviticus 17:11). Atonement for sin was achieved by sacrificing an animal’s life in substitution for one’s own life. The shedding of blood was the most critical element—it was the blood of the guiltless substitute offered on the altar that served as payment for the people’s sins (Leviticus 16:15).
Through God’s ordained system of sacrifice in the Old Testament, the Lord laid the groundwork for a message that would not be fully grasped until later: “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Hebrews 10:1, NLT).
The full meaning of “the life is in the blood” would only be revealed in Jesus Christ: “That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer’” (Hebrews 10:5, NLT). It has always been God’s will for humans to be made right with God by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time (Hebrews 10:10). In the Old Testament, the priests offered animals’ blood over and over again, but this repeated shedding of blood never permanently removed the curse of sin (Hebrews 10:11).
When Jesus came and offered up His life—pouring out His blood on the cross—the perfect sacrifice had finally been made: “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins” (Hebrews 9:14, NLT).
All those from times past, present, and future who put their faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, are made right with God: “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:25–26, NLT). The apostle John saw a future multitude of believers in heaven who “have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.” They have been purified from sin and “clothed in white” (Revelation 7:13–14).
Because of the Old Testament system, Christ’s followers could comprehend what He was doing when He shed His blood on the cross. And today we can better see what His sacrifice means. Just as physical life is in the blood of animals, eternal life is in the blood of Jesus Christ. Physically, our existence depends on blood to sustain life, and, spiritually, our lives depend on the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10; 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:22). Through those ancient sacrifices repeatedly offered in the Old Testament, we are led to appreciate that death—the shedding of blood—has always been the cost of securing eternal life for sinful humans.
Believers are cleansed, forgiven, and made right with God by the blood of the Lamb, God’s guiltless substitute. The life that Christ emptied of its blood now pumps everlasting life into our veins. Oh, how astounding it is that God would shed His own blood to pay the penalty for our sins!
David and Nabal
What is the story of David and Nabal? (1 Samuel 25)
The story of David and Nabal is found in 1 Samuel 25. Nabal is described in 1 Samuel 25:2 as a property owner who “was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.” He was a harsh man (“surly and mean” in verse 3), married to a kind woman named Abigail.
During the time that David and his troops were on the run from King Saul, they found themselves near Nabal’s flock during shearing season. As they were low on supplies, David sent men to Nabal to request some food. Nabal sent David’s servants back with insults for David, and David commanded his troops, “Each of you strap on your sword!” (1 Samuel 25:13). Four hundred men prepared to attack Nabal’s home.
The story of David and Nabal continues when one of Nabal’s servants told Abigail about the situation. “Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her servants, ‘Go on ahead; I’ll follow you’” (1 Samuel 25:18–19). Abigail gave the provisions to David’s men, and her prudent action caused David and his men to bless her and return to their camp. Nabal, his family, and servants were saved through her actions, although Nabal was unaware of what his wife had done.
Nabal got drunk that night, and Abigail still did not mention her activities to him. “Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died” (1 Samuel 25:37–38).
When David heard of these events, he offered Abigail a marriage proposal: “David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, ‘David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.’ She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, ‘I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.’ Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five female servants, went with David’s messengers and became his wife” (1 Samuel 25:39–42).
On a negative note, the chapter concludes with the information that David’s first wife, Michal, had been taken from him and given to someone else. Also, David had a wife named Ahinoam, likely making Abigail his third wife. Abigail is later recorded as the mother of David’s second son, Daniel (1 Chronicles 3:1), also called Chileab in 2 Samuel 3:3.
Though considered a man after God’s own heart, David’s relationships with women were his weakness. In 1 Samuel 25, it is Abigail who is highlighted as the kind servant, while David is presented as a warrior with an expanding group of wives. This stark contrast in the story of Abigail provides some insight into the life of a woman living in difficult times. Abigail’s kindness and decisive action saved the lives of many and changed her life completely.
