E-pistle for September 5, 2014
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E-Pistle
FreeWay Foundation September 5, 2014
The "mere edges" of God's ways
(Job 26:1-14)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Job expresses his exasperation at the useless advice and empty wisdom
of his friends, vv. 1-4.
2. Job reflects upon the creative works of Almighty God, vv. 5-10.
3. Job marvels at the astonishing power of the Lord as revealed in nature; in
the storm on the sea, for example, vv. 11-13.
4. Job comments that these evidences of God's omnipotence are "the mere
edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the
thunder of His power, who can understand!" v. 14.
II. Meditation: on some interesting verses in this chapter
1. "He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on
nothing," v. 7.
2. "He covers the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud over it," v. 9.
3. "He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of
light and darkness," v. 10.
4. "His hand pierced the fleeing serpent," v. 13; Isaiah 27:1.
III. Revelation: on the "mere edges" of spiritual truth seen here
1. Job's perception that God hung the earth on nothing but empty space is
remarkable, because this truth was unknown until many centuries after Job
lived.
2. Job's view of God's throne shrouded by a cloud is unique . . . only much
later in Jewish history is this prophetic insight recorded, Isaiah 6:1;
Ezekiel 1:26-28; Revelation 4:3.
3. Job's reference to a "circular horizon" is many centuries ahead of the scientific
discovery that the earth is round, not flat.
4. Job's most spiritually insightful revelation is that God's hand "pierced" the
serpent, foretelling Christ's ultimate and final triumph over Satan,
Revelation 12:9; 20:2-3, 7-10.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Worship the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the universe . . . Who so far
has spoken to us only in a whisper, but Who someday shall thunder His
power in a magnificent demonstration of His majesty!
2. Recognize that God often reveals deep spiritual truths to His people which
they cannot and do not fully comprehend.
3. Understand that there is absolutely no contradiction whatsoever between
genuine science, accurately proven, and the Word of God, correctly interpreted.
4. Celebrate with great rejoicing the victory which Christ has won!
Let tears run down like a river
(Lamentations 2:1-22)
Dr. Curt Scarborough
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. God, in His anger over the disobedience of Israel, claimed personal responsibility
for the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, vv. 1-10.
2. Jeremiah obviously was an eyewitness to this destruction; he endured the
grief and wept along with the people, vv. 11-17.
3. The broken-hearted people cried out for relief, lifting their hands toward God in
prayer, vv. 18-19.
4. Jeremiah interceded in prayer, asking the Lord to have mercy, vv. 20-22.
II. Meditation: on some key verses in this chapter
1. "The law is no more, and her prophets find no vision (prophetic revelation)
from the Lord," v. 9.
2. "Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions: they have
not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captives, but they have
envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions," v. 14.
3. "How shall I console you? . . . Who can heal you," v. 13.
4. "Let tears run down like a river day and night . . . pour out your heart like
water before the face of the Lord," vv. 18-19.
III. Revelation: on the spiritual truths seen in these verses
1. There is a direct connection between the Lord's commands and the Lord's
revelation; disobedience to divine law blocks prophetic revelation from God,
and accurate visions from God always will conform to and be confirmed by His
holy word, the Scriptures.
2. False prophecies, deceptive visions, and strong delusions are from Satan, and
these messages generally are characterized by the omission of preaching against
sin, II Thessalonians 2:11; I Timothy 4:1-2.
3. A true prophet (preacher/minister) has a compassionate heart which suffers with
the people, and he desires to bring them spiritual comfort and healing.
4. There is a great benefit in crying rather than bottling up one's feelings; tears can
provide an emotional catharsis and help a person's heart to spiritual healing,
Luke 19:41.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Live according to God's commands in order to be able to receive His prophetic
revelation; disobedience to divine law blocks prophetic revelation from God and
accurate visions from God always will conform to and be confirmed by His holy
word, the Scriptures.
2. Judge every prophetic word according to the Scriptures, I Corinthians 14:29.
3. Speak words of comfort and encouragement to persons who are hurting physically,
emotionally, and spiritually, Isaiah 40:1; Matthew 11:28-30.
4. Weep, as did Jeremiah and Jesus, over the sin and blindness of the leaders and
citizens of my nation, Matthew 23:37.
Wit & Wisecrack from Mark Twain: "When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are
against his being able to deceive other people."
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