Thurlow Switzer: Pursuing Covenant

The Bible is all about covenant. Covenant is perhaps the most central and vital theme in the scriptures. Covenant is a lost perspective for most people, and this is to their loss. The Bible is a written record of how humans can know, understand and witness God’s revelation of Himself. Covenant is the story of God coming to us in the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Covenant is the earthly manifestation of the Kingdom of God, of which the Church of Christ is the covenant expression, God extending His covenant to and through the Church.

Ps 50:5 – “Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." NKJV

Covenant has to do with the words that are spoken. God made a covenant with Jeremiah and put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Covenant people must speak covenant words if they are to make a difference in our world, in culture and in society.

Jer 1:9-10 – “9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." NKJV

Covenant is not a mechanical formula, nor ideological prescription, but a dynamic relationship between two entities; vertically between God and man, and horizontally between two individuals.

Jer 18:5-11 – “5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” NKJV

Many have misunderstood the primary purpose of prophecy making is a matter of prediction, when in fact, prophecy is much more about understanding how to evaluate man’s ethical response to God’s Word.

In 2 Chron 34, repeated in 2 Kings 22, we see the story of King Josiah, a man who sought to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, to walk in the ways of his father David and purge Judah and Jerusalem of unworthy practices.

2 Chron 34:1-3 – “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.

Starting in verse 14, we see that the stewards of the House of God discovered and brought to King Josiah the long-buried “Book of the Law.”

II Chron 34:14, 18, 21 – 14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. … 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. 19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. … 21 "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book." NKJV

This “Book of the Law” was probably the Book of Deuteronomy, the second giving (”deuteron” = twice, plus “nomy” = law) of the Law of God.

Deut 29:2-4, 9 – “2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them:"You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land — 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day…. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” NKJV

Josiah initiated the re-institution of the covenant and brought about a great national reform in the official thought of society of his day, thereby impacting the culture of the nation. He reestablished the dominion of the Lord. For his commitment to God’s ideals and heart, Josiah was identified as one of the greatest kings of Israel, even of larger esteem than David and Solomon.

2 Kings 23:21-25 – “21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant. 22 Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.” NKJV

We do well today to rediscover our covenant roots and to embrace the highest ideals of what it means to be a covenant people and society. At minimum, the Church of Jesus Christ ought to function according to covenant principles, for then we will be expressing the Kingdom of God on earth. Then we will truly see “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” and this expressed by those who choose to express God’s covenant heart and ways as the salt and light to the world, a city set upon a hill.

As far back as the second century, Irenaeus wrote: “Understanding…consists in showing why there are a number of covenants with mankind and in teaching what is the character of these covenants.” Covenant is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old Testament, and at the same time, provides the nexus point that unites the various branches of theology. All are firmly grounded in Jesus Christ, the center of Scripture.”

There is much to be said about covenant, but for now, consider four practical benefits of covenant in the lives of those who respond to God’s covenant and maintain that covenant by reciprocal faithfulness.

1. A Covenant of Healing (Ex 15:26) "Then the LORD made a decree and a law for them and there he tested them. He said: "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes; if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I AM the LORD who heals you." KJV

2. A Covenant of Eagle’s Wings (Ex 19:4-6) "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although, the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

3. A Covenant of God’s Presence with Us (Ex 33:12-15) "Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, `Lead this people', but you have not let me know whom you will send with me...teach me your ways.…" "The LORD replied, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses said, "If your Presence does not go with me, do not send us from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

4. A Covenant of Love and Faithfulness (Ex 34:6-14, 27) “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.... Then the LORD said, I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world.” NKJV

Scott Jennings: What Will Be Your Finest Hour?

Behind the backdrop of Nazi Germany invading Poland in September of 1939, prompting England to declare war, Winston Churchill was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 10, 1940. As the time came for Churchill to assume power, he was fully aware that he was a man for his time. With his ability to rouse public spirit and his staunch belief in the British resolve, he tackled the war that seemed impossible to win, knowing full well that the British Isles were the crown jewel that Hitler sought most. Facing the most perilous moment of English history, Churchill addressed the nation and the people that he loved,

“If we fail, then the whole world … will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years to come, men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour’.”

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It seems that adversity brings out either the best or the worst in us. We are exhorted to “count it all joy” when we fall into various trials (James 1:2), and yet the natural response of our hearts is often a desire to complain, withdraw, or become fearful in difficult circumstances.

There can be no doubt that God desires for each of his servants to grow in grace and maturity to the point that we can face into dark and troubling times with a response that is based on faith rather than fear … determination rather than despair. Even Jesus, as a Son of the Father, “learned obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). So we also, as sons and daughters of the Most High, are destined to be fashioned and purified by troubles: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:6-7).

To equip us to become those who overcome in the face of trial, God provides us with detailed accounts of ordinary men and women in the Scriptures who looked disaster, defeat, and death in the eye and changed the course of history, whether in small ways or great. We know the stories of Joseph, Moses, Deborah, Gideon, David, Daniel, Peter and others who, by the grace of God turned incredible adversity into their finest hour for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

But there are other accounts as well … stories of simple believers, like you and me, throughout the course of church history who made a difference because they chose to look at a trial as an opportunity to triumph. May their finest hours described in the paragraphs that follow inspire us to count it all joy …

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TELEMACHUS

In the fourth century there lived an Asiatic monk who had spent most of his life in a remote community of prayer, raising vegetables for his cloister’s kitchen. When he was not tending his garden, he was fulfilling his vocation of study and prayer.

Then one day, this monk named Telemachus felt that the Lord wanted him to go to Rome, the capital of nations – the busiest, wealthiest, biggest city in the world. Telemachus had no idea why he should go there, and he was terrified at the thought. But as he prayed, God’s directive became clear.

How bewildered the little monk must have been as he set out on the long journey, on foot, over dusty roads westward, everything he owned on his back. Why was he going? He didn’t know. What would he find there? He had no idea. But obediently, he went.

Telemachus arrived in Rome during the holiday festival. You may know that the Roman rulers kept the ghettos quiet in those days by providing free bread and special entertainment called circuses. At the time Telemachus arrived, the city was also bustling with excitement over the recent Roman victory over the Goths. In the midst of this jubilant commotion, the monk looked for clues as to why God had brought him there, for he had no other guidance – no superior in his religious order to contact. “Perhaps”, he thought, “it is no sheer coincidence that I have arrived at this festival time. Perhaps God has some special role for me to play.”

So Telemachus let the crowds guide him, and the stream of humanity soon led him into the Coliseum where the gladiator contests were to be staged. He could hear the cries of the animals in their cages beneath the floor of the great arena and the clamor of the contestants preparing to do battle.

The gladiators marched into the arena, saluted the emperor, and shouted, “We who are about to die salute thee!” Telemachus shuddered. He had never heard of gladiator games before, but had a premonition of awful violence. The crowds had come to cheer men who, for no reason other than their amusement, would murder each other. Human lives were offered for entertainment. As the monk realized what was going to happen, he recognized that he could not sit still and watch such savagery. Neither could he leave and forget. He jumped to the top of the perimeter wall and cried, “In the Name of Christ, forbear!”

The fighting began, of course. No one paid the slightest heed to the puny voice. So Telemachus pattered down the stone steps and leapt onto the sandy floor of the arena. He made a comic figure, really – a scrawny man in a monk’s habit dashing back and forth between muscular, armed athletes. One gladiator sent him sprawling with a blow from his shield, directing him back to his seat. It was a rough gesture, though almost a kind one. The crowd roared in laughter.

But Telemachus refused to stop. He rushed into the way of those trying to fight, shouting again, “In the Name of Christ, forbear!” The crowd began to laugh and cheer him on, perhaps thinking him part of the entertainment. Just then his movement blocked the vision of one of the contestants; the gladiator saw a blow coming from his opponent just in time. Furious now, the crowd began to cry for the interloper’s blood. “Run him through,” they screamed.

The gladiator who’s view he had blocked raised his sword and with a flash of steel struck Telemachus, slashing down across his chest and plunging his sword into his stomach. The little monk gasped, and one last time cried, “In the Name of Christ, forbear.”

Then a strange thing occurred. As the two gladiators and the crowd focused on the still form on the suddenly crimson sand, the arena grew deathly quiet. In the silence, someone in the top tier got up and walked out. Another followed. All over the arena, spectators began to leave, one by one, until the huge stadium was emptied.

Certainly other forces were also at work during this time of Rome’s history. But that one innocent figure lying in the pool of blood crystallized the minds of a nation, and that was the last gladiator contest ever held in the Roman Coliseum. Never again did men kill each other for the crowds’ entertainment in a Roman arena. Although he did not live to see the outcome of his actions, surely this was Telemachus’ finest hour.

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JOHN G. LAKE

John G. Lake and his wife, Jennie, were married February 5, 1893. Jennie possessed a wonderful sense of humor, keen judgment, a strong faith in God, and a deep spiritual sensitivity. They loved one another dearly, and the Lord blessed the couple with a marvelous unity and with seven children.

After only two years, calamity struck. Jennie developed a life threatening case of tuberculosis and heart disease that began in 1895 and worsened month by month. It was the onset of paralysis that caused John to throw his Bible against the fireplace mantle in anger and despair on April 28, 1898. It fell open to Acts Chapter 10, and John’s eyes were drawn to verse 38, “… God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil …”. This moment defined his ministry; for with newfound faith he declared to those present that Jennie, now upon her deathbed, paralyzed, racked with coughing fits, and burning with fever, would be healed by her Lord at exactly 9:30 a.m. 9:30 came, and John knelt by her bed and called on the God who heals. At first, John heard a faint sound escape from Jennie’s lips. Then she cried out, “Praise God, I’m healed!” She threw back the covers from her bed, stood up, and they joyously worshipped God together.

The news of Jennie’s healing, and the doctor’s stunned reactions, provoked a national curiosity and the Lake’s were instantly thrust into a ministry followed by signs and wonders that ultimately led them to South Africa in early 1908. John and Jennie established the Apostolic Tabernacle in Johannesburg, and in less than a year had started over 100 churches throughout Africa. The work of overseeing these churches kept John more frequently away from home. And while on one such journey to the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, on December 22, 1908, John received the most devastating news of his lifetime. Back in Johannesburg, his beloved Jennie had collapsed. When he arrived home twelve hours later, she had already gone to be with the Lord.

Most accounts of Jennie Lake’s death attribute it to malnutrition and physical exhaustion. You see, when John was away, scores of sick people seeking him out would arrive and wait on his lawn until he returned. So, Jennie would feed them, with what little food she could spare, while they waited. She would try to make their stay as comfortable as possible until John returned. Between this and caring for her own children, she physically neglected her own needs. Her body simply gave out. His wife was dead, and John felt that he was to blame. Others blamed him as well.

It was the darkest of times for John G. Lake. He questioned his calling, his work, his worthiness and ability to continue in the service of the Lord. Wanting to leave it all, he returned to America to ponder his future. There he found that God would not release him, and John could not forsake God. At God’s direction, John returned to African soil in January of 1910, and during the next two years he gave himself to the Lord with abandon. In these two short years, his final years in Africa, he started two streams of churches – the Apostolic Faith Mission and the Zion Christian Churches – both of which still continue on the African continent. By the time he left Africa in 1912, his ministry there had produced 625 congregations, 1,250 preachers, and more than 100,000 converts.

John G. Lake’s darkest moment became his finest hour.

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GILES TILLEMAN

The year was 1544. Brussels, Belgium. Giles Tilleman was being brought to the place of burning, to be martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. A hostile crowd surrounded him, scoffing and jeering. As he and executioner passed a poor man along the way, Tilleman stopped and gave his shoes to him, saying, “Better to do so than to have my shoes burnt, and the poor to perish for the cold.”

He mounted the steps to the platform and took note of the great heap of wood piled for his fire. "Take the greater portion of wood,” he requested, “and give it to those here in need. A little fire will suffice for my death.” The wood was distributed as he asked. Some in the crowd stopped their barbs.

Standing now, bound to the stake, the executioner was ready to strangle him and render him unconscious before the torture of the fire. But, Tilleman refused the noose. “I fear not the fire, but God alone. Do thou what thou must, only do it now.” The crowd fell silent, and many bowed their heads. And thus the blessed martyr, lifting up his eyes to heaven in the middle of the flame, died, to the great lamentation and tears of all who stood by.

In these simple acts of selflessness and faith, Giles Tilleman had his finest hour.

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Dear saint, your finest hour lies before you, and it is likely to manifest in a time of great trouble. May God grant you the grace and strength to “lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of you” (Philippians 3:12).

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The "Telemachus" story is found in many places, but I adapted it from the version told in Charles Colson's book, "Loving God" - Loving God; By Charles W. Colson;Published by Zondervan, 1997;Pg 242 ff

The Giles Tilleman story I adapted from Foxe's Book of Martyrs: Fox's Book of Martyrs a History of the Lives, Sufferings, and Triumphant Deaths of the Primitive Protestants Martyrs; By John Foxe, Xinware Corp; Published by Xinware Corporation, 2007

Jonathan Switzer: So, Be Like Job, Ask Your Questions!

My son, Christopher, asks questions all the time: “Why does the sun move as fast as our car, Daddy?” Of course, Jonathan, the oldest at 9, asked the biggie, “Where do babies come from?” Peter, the youngest recently asked, “Can you throw the ball way up in the sky?” David constantly wants to know, “can we wrestle, Daddy?”

Questions begin almost as soon as talking (maybe before!). They are a big part of the discovery of life.

Often, however, when my sons ask questions, I answer differently from how they expect. “Daddy, can I watch videos all day?” or “Daddy, can I have a piece of gum?” “Why can’t we eat pizza every night?” These questions all tend to get questions as a response. “Do you want to be a couch potato? Do you want to be healthy?” My job as a parent, in these situations, is to help my boys to ask the right questions.

It is important to ask the right questions in life. If we do not ask the right questions, we are likely to end up with the wrong answers.

Job is amazing. It is the first book of the Bible ever written, the first book recording the revelation of God. In it, God uses Job, a righteous man, to help to ask the right questions of life; better yet, to ask the right questions of God. In studying Job’s questions, we can be helped to keep our focus in the right place; on that which is worthy of our focus.

It could be argued that Job’s questions remain the most powerful, searching questions of all time. We are 4-5 thousand years since Job’s life. Yet, his questions are still the most relevant of all questions. They are the covenant questions of a man who trusts God.

Remember, Job is the victim of two vicious Satanic attacks, allowed by God. Those attacks destroyed his children and wealth and left him sitting on the ground scraping his diseased skin with a piece of broken pottery. Job was innocent and righteous. He asks very legitimate sincere questions of God that drive to the heart of life as we know it.

He starts with why man was created at all. He moves on to why man has to suffer. Then he grapples with how a mere man could ever approach an all-powerful God to get answers. Is it even appropriate to ask such a high God for answers; or to tell Him you think you are not getting justice from Him? This, of course, leads Job to wonder if God can be trusted with justice; if God even cares. Rounding for home, Job wonders if there is any hope for man, which leads him to wonder if the wicked should fear being wicked at all?

Job asks his questions with complete sincerity. Job asks his questions as a man who is in a covenant relationship with God. His questions are covenant questions. He walks a fine line of not accusing God of injustice while wondering why God has allowed an apparent injustice to Job. The apparent injustice leads Job to acknowledge that he has seen, with his own eyes, situations where it seemed that God allowed the wicked to prosper and righteous to suffer.

This is an important lesson: It is righteous for the righteous to ask sincere questions of God as they seek to understand life. (Read that again if you must.) Job shows us how to ask sincere but hard questions; covenant questions. He does not lose his faith, though he asks the toughest of questions. God honors Job abundantly for this.

We should note that Job, as the first book ever written in the Bible, provides the questions that God seems to spend the rest of the Bible answering. Job, like a good novel, sets up the rest of the story of the Bible. Job immediately introduces the plot of the Bible (How to deal with Satan and sin?), the important characters (God, angels, Satan, the righteous, the wicked) and the suspense-filled conflict (Why do the righteous sometimes suffer and the wicked sometimes prosper?). His questions are the great questions that the prophets anticipated being fulfilled by the coming Messiah in the Day of the Lord. His questions are ultimately answered in Christ. Those answers are fully revealed in the Bible’s final chapters, the book of Revelations.

Join with me as we ask God the covenant questions of Job.

Why was I created?

Have you ever had one of those weeks where it seemed like everything was going wrong? Bills come due that you did not expect; you or your family is sick; relationships with friends and family seem to go sour and your dog has an upset stomach leading to messes left around the house…

You know, a “when it rains it pours” type week…

Job’s week is way worse than my toughest ever. However, that does not mean that I too might not start to wonder if life is not just a waste of time. Maybe not others lives, but at least mine at certain points can seem a waste.

Job said it like this; it does us good to read his words! "(Job 3:11-12) Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? 12 Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? (Job 3:16) Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? (Job 10:18-22) "Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. 19 If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! 20 Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy 21 before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, 22 to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."

It should encourage all of us (who are not as righteous as Job, except for justification by faith in Christ), that it was okay for Job, a righteous man, to feel like he was simply done with life. Job is never rebuked by God for his genuine emotional struggle with his suffering.

Nevertheless, his questions pierce to the core issue: Why are any of us created anyway? Is there any purpose to our lives? Who cares? These are all righteous, valid and sincere questions for us to ask God.

God, in scripture, abundantly reveals the answer to these most important questions. He says it one way in Psalms 8, that man is made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor, to rule over the earth. Further, we are told that God sent His one and only son to give us eternal life (John 3:16). Finally, we are given a glimpse of the wedding feast of the Lamb where God’s eternal dwelling place is with man, with no more tears or death (Revelation 20-21).

This is why God created us: To be with us, love us and bless us abundantly forever. Eternal love is the Bible’s resounding answer to Job’s piercing question. Man was created to glorify God and be satisfied with Him forever.

Remember, At Job’s time, a few hundred years after Noah and the flood, the revelation of eternal life had not yet been revealed. As such, Job asks, “(Job 14:14) If a man dies, will he live again?”

Job, therefore, asks the question: Why would God create man? His question, why he was created or born, has rung down through the ages. Later, the prophets began to get magnificent glimpses of the answer to Job’s question: “I know the plans I have for you, to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” When Christ came, the question was answered once and for all, (John 10:10) “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly… (John 17:24) "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”

God created us because He wants to be with us and to share His glory with us forever. Praise God, that Job asked that question way back at the beginning. It is a most important question. It deserved an answer. The magnificent conclusion of the book, the Bible, resolves this great question with brilliant hope.

Why Suffering?

But Job’s suffering was just beginning to squeeze questions out of this righteous man. We, too, have enough suffering that we should pay attention to Job’s questions. They might help us to stay focused in our struggles.

It’s one thing to have a reason for living. It is another thing altogether to have a reason for living that brings enough hope and strength for handling meaningless suffering. Job had major, meaningless suffering.

You and I often face major suffering. Very often we are profoundly confused as to why our suffering is there. Sometimes, it is simply due to our own sinfulness; sometimes, due to other’s sinfulness. But sometimes, as with Job, it is due to an outright, meaningless Satanic attack.

Listen to Job’s questions about suffering. It is right for us to sincerely ask the same questions! (Job 3:20-23) "Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, 21 to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, 22 who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? 23 Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? (Job 7:12) Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you (God) put me under guard? (Job 7:17-21) "What is man that you (God) make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, 18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? 21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more." (Job 10:4) Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? 5 Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a man, 6 that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin- 7 though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?”

Job expresses misery, bitterness, a desire to be dead, powerlessness, bondage, vulnerability to probing, and almost hopelessness. Further, Job feels that God makes it worse by scrutinizing his every move. God, Job thinks, has hedged him in and put him under guard. God examines him, testing him, never looking away. Job feels no relief. His suffering is immense.

Can you relate? Ever felt like God himself was responsible for your suffering; that God seemed to enjoy making you suffer? Ever wonder if God is sitting up in heaven watching us squirm and enjoying it?

Job wants to know where the suffering comes from and why God allows it. We probably all want to know the same thing. We should be glad that Job shows that a righteous man is allowed to sincerely ask this question.

So, God, why does it seem like You put us under a microscope examination when we go through suffering and agony, especially when it seems we don’t deserve it?

Interestingly, the book of Job itself answers this question. The answer is that Satan is the cause of meaningless suffering. Satan himself desires to make even the righteous suffer. It is Satan’s very nature. When he attacks us, he wants us to feel as if there is no hope. In a powerfully, deceptive twist, Satan likes to drive us insane feeling like we can never get away from God’s scrutiny. Satan is the author of cruel, legalistic scrutiny in the midst of torturous, meaningless suffering.

That is not to say that some (or even much) of the suffering we face is not due to our own sin. I personally am not as righteous as Job. Very often, I am simply reaping what I have sown. My own sin is the cause of my agony.

However, Satan, gleefully, takes my agony and adds to it in every way possible. This is why Paul warns us not to give the devil a foothold in our lives (Eph. 4:27). God, on the other hand, encourages us to call out to Him in our time of need; to repent of our sins, humble our selves and ask for help. When we do, God promises to hear our cry, forgive us and come to our aid.

The answer to Job’s question about suffering is that sin and Satan cause suffering. Sin is a major cause of suffering. The other cause is Satan, who always looks to pile suffering on both sinners and the righteous.

God is not the cause of meaningless suffering. Satan is. However, God allows Satan to get away with perpetrating meaningless suffering, even on the righteous, for a season. During that season, a finite period of time, it becomes abundantly clear that Satan and his followers are unjust, vile and cruel. Then God comes, judges and punishes Satan for his clear wickedness; and vindicates the righteous.

Again, our sin causes suffering for us; the wage of sin is death. That is God’s just decision. If we repent, however, then God brings relief.

Finally, (and very, very important to Job’s situation), at times, Satan irrationally attacks us for being righteous and choosing God. When that happens, God allows the attack and suffering for a season, after which He saves and vindicates the righteous and avenges their suffering. God did this with the prophets of old. He did it with Christ (the only 100% perfect suffering man) and with the saints down through history. He will do it once and for all on the final Day of Judgment.

Christ is the answer to Job’s question about meaningless suffering. Christ took the sin of the world on his shoulders. He did not deserve it. It would have been meaningless except that Christ gave it meaning. He destroyed Satan’s power, took the keys of hell and death and ascended to the Father. What seemed meaningless was actually the redemption of the world. Why did Christ, the righteous man, have to suffer? To destroy the power of sin, death and Satan; to make a way for all things to be restored. In order to do so, God ordained that the righteous would suffer Satan’s attacks for a season. Christ himself suffered Satan’s attacks only for a season.

Job’s suffering squeezed out of Job this vital question that Christ would one day answer. It was no walk in the park for Job. However, mankind, all through history has been served by God’s revelation of spiritual warfare through Job.

Thank you, Job.

But Can we Trust God to Deal with Injustice?

My youngest son (2yrs old) has a bit of a tendency to scream/cry. It has been carefully developed, tweaked and, masterfully, perfected. By paying attention to what exactly gets Mom and Dad’s attention, out of a crowd of four brothers, Peter has skillfully crafted a scream/cry that elicits the quickest response from Mom and Dad. He might just want something that one of his brothers has, meaning that he is just being selfish, but his cry will bring Mom and Dad’s laser-like attention. Too often, it has helped Peter to get what he wants, at the expense of justice for his brothers.

Over time, his scream/cry, “wolf”, has led Peter’s mother and I to moderate our response and learn to ask what happened from his brothers before we start meting out our swift, merciless discipline. This is much to Peter’s chagrin. He’d had quite a racket going for a while there. Of course, it is a parent’s bitter/sweet joy to watch their child come to terms with what true justice is like. They hem and haw, pout and try to throw temper tantrums.

Finally, they come to realize that resistance is futile. By God’s grace, they come to accept Mom and Dad’s consistent standard of right and wrong. Eventually, even, a child can come to have a good attitude about the application of justice in the home, because they have a clear sense that they are being treated with fairness; they come to understand they have responsibilities to share and be kind as well.

In a similar way, the next major question from Job strikes at the heart of our great fears: Can God be trusted to deal with injustice against us?

The reason Job struggles with this question is because there are many times when it appears that the righteous suffer and the wicked thrive. If that is so, where is God? Why does a good God allow this? Why is Job innocent and yet still suffering?

Job puts it like this: “(Job 9:24) When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he (God) blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it? (Job 9:29) Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? (Job 13:23-25) How many wrongs and sins have I committed? (Job 13:23-25) Show me my offense and my sin. 24 Why do you (God) hide your face and consider me your enemy? 25 Will you torment a windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff? (Job 14:1-3) "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. 2 He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. 3 Do you fix your eye on such a one? Will you bring him before you for judgment? (Job 24:1) "Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

Job even wonders if a mere man is important enough for God to care about bringing him justice. He says this: (Job 10:2-12) “I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. 3 Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?” (Job 10:8) "Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? 9 Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? 10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, 11 clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?

God had allowed Satan a season to work his vile, cruelty on Job. To Job, it felt like God himself was responsible. Job did not understand what God was doing, (setting Satan up to attack and be ambushed by the ultimate righteous man, Christ). As a result, Job goes to God with his questions. He even asks, “If it is not God then who is it?” The answer is that it is not God but Satan. Nevertheless, it seemed to Job that it was God himself. Job wonders if God will set a time of judgment or if it is vain to expect God to bring justice.

Think about it. God formed you and me. He created us. God’s works are truly wonderful. Why would he make such a beautiful creation like you and I… and then turn and make us suffer?

This is precisely the point of all God’s revelation in the Bible. God desires us to have abundant life. Mankind, because of sin, gave Satan authority. Satan has wielded that authority with all of the tyrannical cruelty that he can muster. Through tempting man to keep on sinning, trapping us in cycles of sin and suffering, Satan gleefully destroys the lives of men and women everywhere.

How Would a Mere Man Even Approach Almighty God to get Justice?

Job, of course knows that something is wrong. He knows that he does not deserve punishment. However, he wonders how a mere man could even approach God about that. (Job 9:2) "… But how can a mortal be righteous before God? (Job 9:12) If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?' (Job 9:14) "How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? (Job 9:19) And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him? (Job 23:13) "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. 22 "Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? (Job 26:14) And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

Job goes on to wonder if a mere man could ever even understand basic wisdom. (Job 28:12-13) "But, where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? 13 Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.” (Job 28:20-21) "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air.”

Many people today will paint God out to be a big bully in the sky. He is harsh and threatening and unapproachable, they say. “Who would want to serve an unapproachable God?” they say.

On another occasion my son was doing something and I angrily lashed out for him to stop. Almost immediately, my son began to cry. I could see by the type of cry that he felt that he was being rebuked wrongly. I was abruptly brought face to face with my own self-centered emotional outburst. My son was right and I was wrong. He was crying because he knew that arguing with Dad was a no-no. He felt trapped. Would his father let him explain? Would his father be willing to listen? Would his father be just?

Job was the first to grapple with this reality about God. There is a season of doubt a believer goes through wondering how anyone could truly seek out justice from God.

It is a legitimate question. God is truly awesome. He is to be feared. Job anticipates this, with his questions about wisdom. Solomon says, (Prov. 1:7) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

The proper answer to these questions is equally fearful. No man can approach God alone. It is always wrong for us to accuse God of injustice. Job did not know that it was not God, but Satan that was the perpetrator of the injustice.

Nevertheless, if God were somehow not just, we have to admit, we would be powerless to stop him. Job, knowing this to be the case, almost despairs of getting justice. This is almost enough to put him over the edge into doubt.

If it is not God, Job asks, then, who is it? This reality, that no man can approach or judge God, leads to Job’s final set of questions.

What Hope is There for a Man?

Job begins to wonder if this life is all there is: Job 14:13-14 "If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! 14 If a man dies, will he live again?” Job wonders who could pay the price to satisfy God’s apparent vigorous demands. Job 17:3 "Give me, O God, the pledge you demand. Who else will put up security for me?” As a result, Job despairs that only the grave is his destiny. Job 17:13-16 “If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness, 14 if I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'My mother' or 'My sister,' 15 where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? 16 Will it go down to the gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?" In fact, Job wonders if prayer itself is even worthwhile. Job 21:15 “Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?' Job genuinely wonders if there any hope then for man. Job 31:2 "2 For what is man's lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high?”

Can you hear the powerful answer to Job’s questions catapulting out of scripture!? Yes, there is such a thing as eternal life after death. Yes! Christ has paid the price, put up the security payment, to satisfy God’s vigorous demands. Yes! Yes! Hope has descended to the very gates of death, into the dust. Christ went to the grave and took the keys of hell and death, then ascended to the Father!

It goes on! When we pray, God hears and responds! Our prayers are not a waste. They come up before Christ as incense as He vindicates the righteous in Revelation! Man’s lot, his heritage from God is eternal life, sharing God’s glory with God forever!

These questions, however, had not been answered fully in Job’s time. They lead Job naturally to wonder if there is any value in righteousness; why not just be wicked? He asks: (Job 21:7) “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” In frustration, he notes the irony: (Job 21:17-22) "Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? 18 How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? 19[It is said,] 'God stores up a man's punishment for his sons.' Let him repay the man himself, so that he will know it! 20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what does he care about the family he leaves behind when his allotted months come to an end?”

But Job does not lose hope! He righteously digs deep and finds hope in God.

Job is confident that wickedness is not right, that God will judge it. (Job 27:8-10) “For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? 9 Does God listen to his cry when distress comes upon him? 10 Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times? (Job 31:3) Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? 4 Does he not see my ways and count my every step? (Job 31:13-15) "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, 14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? 15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?”

Job is frustrated and confused. However, he is not hopeless. Listen to his confidence in God.

He cries out, (Job 19:25) “I know my redeemer lives and I will see his face on the earth.” He finds hope when he says, (Job 14:14) “I will wait for my renewal to come.” Job diligently hangs on when he says, (Job 16:19-21) “Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. 20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; 21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.”

God’s Answers

Remember, Job does not get answers to all of his hard, covenant questions. However, he never forsakes his trust in the Lord. As such, he is vindicated by God. God restores him to a place of blessing. (Though Job does not get all the answers, the rest of the Bible written after Job, the other 65 books, thoroughly answers all his questions in Christ.)

Nevertheless, there is a key passage in God’s response to Job. God asks Job if he is able to tame the Behemoth or the Leviathan. Can Job, God asks, put a hook in Leviathan’s mouth and tame him? (Job 40:15-41:34) The rhetorical answer is an obvious, resounding NO.

Why is this so important, you ask? This is vital because God alone can tame Leviathan and the Behemoth. God alone can tame Satan and the beasts of Daniel and Revelation. When it comes to spiritual warfare strategy, we must trust God, who alone knows how to defeat Satan. Job says it best in his final response to God’s scathing reply, “I know you can do all things, no plan of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2)

The Apostle Paul seems to understand this well. He says, (Eph 3:8-13)…the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 … to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

The answer to Job’s questions is God’s righteousness. Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of the Living God who alone is able to destroy Satan, the Leviathan/beast. Sinful man is made righteous by Christ’s blood. Christ, by His own righteousness, destroyed the power of the devil, sin and death. We, saints, patiently wait for the day of the Lord when He splits the eastern sky; opens the seals, trumpets and bowls of wrath; throws the dragon into the lake of eternal fire and marries His Bride, the church of Jesus Christ; when there will be no more sorrow, suffering or tears.

Summary:

So, let’s do a quick summary walk through Job’s basic questions and the Bible’s answers.

• Why did God give any of us breath? To show us His unfailing love and share His glory with us forever.
• Why does God allow suffering? With the righteous, He only does so for a season, to expose Satan’s vile, wickedness and ultimately to defeat Satan’s works. With the wicked, suffering may be eternal punishment for their sin.
• Can God be trusted with justice? Yes, it is Satan that cannot be trusted. God gives him a season to expose him and his followers after which God brings Satan to justice and vindicates the righteous.
• Is there any way for a mere man to approach an Almighty God about justice? No, alone we could never approach God. However, YES, Christ is our advocate and intercessor. Christ’s blood has made a way for us to come boldly to the throne of grace to get help in our time of need.
• Is there hope for mankind, a reason to not be wicked? Yes, Christ will ultimately judge all at the great white throne. He will throw Satan and his followers into the lake of eternal fire. He will wed His bride, the church, and share His glory with them forever. The dwelling of God will be with man.

Finally, is this hope enough to strengthen us in the midst of meaningless suffering? Yes. There is no other hope available. When all else fails, we still have reason to hope, for God has revealed His power and made it abundantly clear that His sovereign plan both defeated sin and death and will defeat Satan once for all. Suffering will come to an end. There will be no more tears, no more sickness and war.

It is not an easy path. There will be suffering. We saints will be victims of suffering. However, in the end, suffering itself will be destroyed. Christ will establish justice in all the earth.

What a story. What questions. What answers. I pray my sons find answers to all their questions; and those of their generation.

Lynda Switzer: Two or Three Gathered in His Name

I marvel at the many examples in nature that God gives us every day that beautifully illustrate foundational truths in Scripture. Recently we enjoyed a few days of R and R at a condo beside a peaceful, Pennsylvania lake. Throughout the week we had many opportunities to observe the community of ducks that made the lake their home. In the morning, I’d take my Bible and sit out on our little porch. Each day my meditation was punctuated with new illustrations from the duck families.

The ducks almost always swam together. One would lead the flock, but then another would move forward and the community would follow. When the babies swam by, they were always accompanied by one or more full-grown ducks. There was a 15-20 feet dam just down the lake from where we were staying. The ducks would swim right up to the edge of the dam and many would situate their webbed feet so they could sit on the very edge of the dam with the water flowing under them over the dam. I watched as some of the ducks struggled two or three times before they securely steadied themselves on the edge of the dam. Those ducks who had previously secured their position at the dam’s edge, looked and quacked like they were encouraging others attempting the feat. After a sudden downpour, the duck community in front of our condo was greatly multiplied; they were very excitedly quacking their communications to one another. Once or twice we watched many of the flock flap their wings and “do a low fly over” the glistening surface of the lake. Only occasionally one would swim by all by himself, but he seemed out of sorts and in a hurry to find the rest of the flock.

Reflecting on the duck community, I see many examples that relate to Christians in community. In the Old Testament, God called forth one man, Abram, and his family to make a great nation that He chose to bless and to make that nation a blessing to all the nations. Years later, the children of Israel moved as a community into slavery in Egypt. Then, in community Moses led them out of the Egyptian tyranny. God established the Biblical feasts to bring the Hebrew community together to worship Him at various times through the year. Many of the Psalms express David’s heart of praise calling the people of God to “let us exalt His name together.”

Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, 20, “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Jesus encourages us to meet in community, to pray in community, to ask and believe in community for the purposes that are upon His heart. He sent out the disciples two by two. He shared with the Twelve the intimacies of His heavenly Father’s heart. One hundred and twenty prayed and waited upon the Lord in the Upper Room and God’s Spirit empowered them to preach His Word. They rejoiced and praised our living Lord in the refreshing rain of the Spirit in a much greater exuberance than the community of ducks who seemed so excited and refreshed after the sudden downpour of rain.

The I Peter 2 passage that encourages us “like newborn babies to crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it we may grow up in our salvation,” a few verses later teaches us that we “also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.” Like the baby ducklings who were accompanied by mature ducks, God’s heart is that as new believers come into the Body, He’ll use us to help build them into His living Body as together we become His holy priesthood. Even as the ducks seemed to share leadership in the flock, God chooses to use one and then another of us to lovingly “priest” and care for each other as we flow in the Spirit in the community of believers.

Like those ducks who struggled to steady their webbed feat at the edge of the dam, often we face spiritual feats – huge mountains, dark valleys - and we’re not sure whether we can make it. In those moments, our Christian brothers and sisters who come alongside us in community offer words of hope - that we can make it - that God is mightily at work in us; He’ll never forsake us. They strengthen our faith in El Shaddai – our God who is more than enough for every situation we face.

And then there’s that one lonely duck that was furiously swimming by himself and looking so eager to get somewhere and find somebody. Sometimes the hurts, pains, and persecutions of the Gospel and of our own flesh can get to us if we’re not careful. We try to tiptoe around forgiveness issues with those within and without the Body of Christ, and the thoughts begin to flood our souls – we’ll just “go it alone. We don’t need anybody else to worship God.”

True, God speaks to individuals and comes and ministers to us when our whole being would just like to isolate like He ministered to Elijah at Horeb, with the baked bread over the hot coals, the jar of water, the touch from the angel of the Lord, and the cave. Yes, the Word of the Lord came – not in the powerful wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in a gentle whisper, and asked Elijah what he was doing. However, God reminded him that He had reserved seven thousand in Israel whose knees had not bowed down to Baal. Yes, the Word of the Lord reminded Elijah of the community of faithful God-worshipers.

Years ago the Lord ministered to me a consecration about which He often reminds me. In those moments when I’d just like to isolate, go bury my head in a pillow and forsake the assembling together with my brothers and sisters, my faithful, heavenly Father mercifully corrects me and lovingly prods me to get up, get dressed, and get to that meeting with my Christian brothers and sisters. For He teaches me by His Spirit that in those times when I might choose in my flesh to isolate that He has a such a powerful, specific blessing and spiritual encouragement for me with the saints. He also has brothers and sisters waiting with whom He wants me to pray and be encouraged concerning His purpose and destiny for me that day.

In a day and time when many in Christ’s Body appear to throw church and community meetings aside as “irrelevant,” it is increasingly paramount for us to come together in passionate worship; to faithfully share His Word with one another; to pray in faith with our brothers and sisters in the Lord and to feast at the table of His Word. Our gatherings are strategic times to invite the lonely and disheartened to “come, let us go up to the house of the Lord where together God will teach us of His ways.” Then His Word will come forth in our lives – His living Word that we can carry forth to a world that is starving of soul and spirit for true, Biblical community.