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Day 11

Read this daily devotion from God's Word

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Scripture

Job 17-20; Acts 2:1-4; Revelation 1:9-11; NKJV                 

Job 17

1 "My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. 2 Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? 3 "Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me? 4 For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. 5 He who speaks flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children will fail. 6 "But He has made me a byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit. 7 My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows. 8 Upright men are astonished at this, And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite. 9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger. 10 "But please, come back again, all of you, For I shall not find one wise man among you. 11 My days are past, My purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day; 'The light is near,' they say, in the face of darkness.13 If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness, 14 If I say to corruption, 'You are my father,' And to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister,' 15Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?"

Job 18

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2 "How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak. 3 Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight? 4 You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place? 5 "The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine. 6 The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out. 7 The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down. 8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare. 9 The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him. 10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road. 11 Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet. 12 His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side. 13 It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs. 14 He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors. 15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling. 16 His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above. 17 The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned. 18 He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. 19 He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. 20 Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened. 21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God."

Job 19

1 Then Job answered and said: 2 "How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words? 3These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me. 4 And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me. 5 If indeed you exalt yourselves against me, And plead my disgrace against me,6 Know then that God has wronged me, And has surrounded me with His net. 7 "If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice. 8He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths. 9 He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every side, And I am gone; My hope He has uprooted like a tree. 11 He has also kindled His wrath against me, And He counts me as one of His enemies. 12His troops come together And build up their road against me; They encamp all around my tent. 13 "He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. 14 My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten me. 15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth. 17 My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. 18 Even young children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me. 19 All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me. 20 My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 "Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me! 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh? 23 "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!24 That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! 28 If you should say, 'How shall we persecute him?'-- Since the root of the matter is found in me, 29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment."

Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2"Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer, Because of the turmoil within me. 3 I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer. 4 "Do you not know this of old, Since man was placed on earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? 6Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds, 7 Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' 8 He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, Nor will his place behold him anymore. 10 His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth. 11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it will lie down with him in the dust.12 "Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue, 13 Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his mouth, 14 Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him.15 He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16 He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper's tongue will slay him. 17 He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.18 He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment. 19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, He has violently seized a house which he did not build.20 "Because he knows no quietness in his heart, He will not save anything he desires. 21 Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last. 22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him. 23 When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, And will rain it on him while he is eating. 24 He will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through. 25 It is drawn, and comes out of the body; Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors come upon him; 26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent. 27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house will depart, And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath. 29 This is the portion from God for a wicked man, The heritage appointed to him by God."

Acts 2:1-4

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Revelation 1:9-11

9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

Job 19:20 My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21 "Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me! 22 Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh? 23 "Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!24 That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever! 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! 28 If you should say, 'How shall we persecute him?'-- Since the root of the matter is found in me, 29 Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment."

# 1 - Why Job?

Job is interesting for many reasons:


-Job is unique amongst all literature and all figures.

-Job likely lived before Mosaic sacrificial systems were established or was a Gentile who walked with God.

-The book presents the earliest defined look at the heavenly realm and how power is handled in that realm.

-The discourse within drills down on the frailty of man and the supremacy of God.

-Job as a central character is one to learn from, but more so teaches us so much about God.

-Job's friends try to explain what Job did to bring this upon himself, which is understandable, but wrong-1:1.

-Unbeknownst to Job (see highlighted verse above), Job's words are written for us, and we can glean from the entire situation today as God's people. Putting Him in proper perspective, on High. Poetic elements included, this is a beautifully authentic look at the reality of life. A hard and fast dose of the apparent clash and obvious conjunction of the reality of God and the presence of evil, are presented here as being truths that are reconciled in God's holiness and His pure love of autonomously given free will. This is wisdom.

#2 - Babel Reversed

We recently read how the nations were divided, disinherited, and dispersed at Babel (Gen 10-11). At the event that birthed the church, known as Pentecost, the effects of Babel were reversed. Jews, who had been driven out by Assyrian forces centuries before, were gathered back for the commemoration of Pentecost. When the events of Acts 2:2-4 happen, the same nations from Babel are represented hearing the miracle of speech in their native foreign tongues. Comparing these two events, how does the Church being born reverse the dispersion at Babel?

Acts 2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.