Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67
Ray has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical, insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.
Below are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Sparre Home Page | Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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23 Nov 11
Good morning, special ones.
Lots of kiddie chaos around me at present. And now Thano has gone to work…leaving gramma and grampa to contain it all…mostly gramma. I’m having to learn to strengthen my focus muscle.
Lots on my list too. We’ll see if we’ll be able to cross anything off by the end of the day.
May your day play out to be a blessed one.
Love, Dad/Ray
23 November 2011
Job 33
Focus: “But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.” Job 33:1.
I guess I’ll force myself to hear Elihu out, but I can already tell it’s going to be tough to have to sit through four more chapters of his entire speech. His self-flattering pretentious arrogance oozes through everything I’ve heard so far—causing me to kind of choke even on the good stuff he has to say. He’s the kind of guy who wouldn’t pray like young Samuel, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10), but rather, “Hear, for thy servant speaketh!” If he didn’t come on so strong like some radio or TV voice who introduces a big-gun preacher with words like, “Let’s now welcome this man of faith and power whom God has raised up for this very hour!” he would be a bit more bearable, but that’s about how he introduces himself. And if he turns me off thousands of years later, just think how Job was made to feel. It was misery upon misery.
Here is Elihu claiming that he is the oracle of God to present wonderful words of wisdom, set the records straight, and really make a difference. But it’s just like what we observe today in the political arena—what he has to present is really no different from all the others—it’s the same old “#$B%^&S*!” in a little different wrapper. With all his “superiority” I see no evidence so far of him saying things superior to the other guys.
This whole scenario has moved far away from its original intention of supportive “comfort” and has become more like a courtroom trial to determine whether or not Job is INNOCENT or GUILTY. Of course, we can easily recognize that Job’s verdict is predetermined—he’s condemned as clearly GUILTY in the eyes of all four of these “friends.” With Elihu now on the stand, he continues to testify against Job and makes an attempt at quoting Job. Without having a manuscript of Job’s speech, here’s how he presents that quote: “But you have said in my hearing — I heard the very words —'I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt. Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths” (vv. 8-11). What do you see here? Did Elihu get it right? Did Job really say exactly that? Nope! Job never claimed that he was a flawless specimen of moral perfection. He did claim, however, that he had no clue as to what his violation was, if there was one to deserve the consequence of his present circumstances, since he has lived with integrity before God to the best of his ability. Here’s what he did say: “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul, as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit. I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live” (Job 27:2-6). After all, any kid would like to say, if he could, “If I’m going to be benefited by my spanking, I need to know what I’m being spanked for. Otherwise it’s just abuse.” Speaking of children, the debate is almost like one among kids. Job says, “If this is a spanking, I don’t know why!” The others say, “Yes you do!” “No I don’t!” “Do too!” “Do not!” “Do too!” I think that Latin add-on is appropriate here—“ad infinitum.” In other words, there is no end to the argument.
If you are of average stature, do you know what happens when you tell jokes to pygmies? It goes right over their heads. Job was saying things to his pygmy “friends” with similar effect. Nothing new. Even Jesus encountered the same thing in my New Testament reading for today. His own disciples were saying, “We don’t understand what he is saying” (John 16:18). The last statement Jesus makes in John 16 would have been very encouraging for Job. It was encouraging for Jesus’ disciples, and should be for us too. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” - Thomas Jefferson