Notes for January 13, 2012

Job 14:

Job continues.

1-3: Life is short, and full of trouble.

4: You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; and you can’t get good out of a sinner.

5: God determines our life’s span.

Acts 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

7-14:Does Job deny the possibility of resurrection, or does he say that once a man dies he never comes back to live on earth again to suffer tribulation?

16: God takes account of our every move.

Matthew 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

17:Ziplock freezer bags, anyone?

19:A science observation: waters wear the stones.  How long does it take for this erosion to take place?

Job 15

Eliphaz speaks again; and again he mixes some truth with some tradition and some pride.

2-3:Job, you are full of wind. You don’t know anything; listening to you is a waste of time.

4:Why aren’t you afraid that this will destroy your access to God?

5-6:Listen to yourself.

7-9:Do you begin to think that you know more than we do?

10: We are your elders!

1 Timothy 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

11-13:I can’t believe you’d speak like this.

14-16:Don’t you know that we all are sinners?

17-35:The wicked never prosper. (And that, Job, is the reason for your trouble.)

[print_link]English Language Study Guide for January 13, 2008

Job 14:

Job continues.

1-3: Life is short, and full of trouble.

4: You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear; and you can’t get good out of a sinner.

5: God determines our life’s span.

Acts 17:26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

7-14:Does Job deny the possibility of resurrection, or does he say that once a man dies he never comes back to live on earth again to suffer tribulation?

16: God takes account of our every move.

Matthew 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

17:Ziplock freezer bags, anyone?

19:A science observation: waters wear the stones.  How long does it take for this erosion to take place?

Job 15

Eliphaz speaks again; and again he mixes some truth with some tradition and some pride.

2-3:Job, you are full of wind. You don’t know anything; listening to you is a waste of time.

4:Why aren’t you afraid that this will destroy your access to God?

5-6:Listen to yourself.

7-9:Do you begin to think that you know more than we do?

10: We are your elders!

1 Timothy 4:12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

11-13:I can’t believe you’d speak like this.

14-16:Don’t you know that we all are sinners?

17-35:The wicked never prosper. (And that, Job, is the reason for your trouble.)

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Notes for January 11, 2012

In these chapters Job addresses the accusation that he thinks too little of God and too much of himself.

Job 9

2: Job agrees with Bildad that God will not put away a perfect man, nor will He help evil doers. “But,” Job asks, “how should man be just with God?” If what Bildad has said is true, and Job agrees that it is, who then can be saved?

3: Who can argue with God?

4-12: Job’s theology is revealed as he shows why it is futile to try to justify oneself to God.

4: God is wise and God is mighty-man cannot prevail in a fight with God.

5: God can be angry; and when He is angry, God may move mountains.

6-9: God shakes the earth, commands the sun not to rise and shine, spreads out the heavens, steps on the sea and makes the stellar constellations. Job’s God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, yea of all universes.

10: God does countless things that man cannot comprehend.

11: God can pass by without my knowing He is here.

12: God takes away and no man can stop Him or ask why He does so. It’s true, isn’t it, that some aspects of our lives change: people come and go, wealth increases and decreases, health disappears, etc. and we have no control and no explanation.

14-16: I could never argue with God

22: Trouble comes to all men

25-26: The days go by quickly

29: If I am wicked, as you say, then why do I work so hard to be good?

30-31: No matter how clean I make myself, I can never be clean enough for God.

33: I need a mediator

Job 10

2: Lord, show me why…

7-8: Lord, you made me and you know me inside and out

10-13: Lord, you have been my God for many years

17-22: Lord, may I have a little rest before I die?

 English Language Study Guide for January 11, 2008

In these chapters Job addresses the accusation that he thinks too little of God and too much of himself.

Job 9

2: Job agrees with Bildad that God will not put away a perfect man, nor will He help evil doers. “But,” Job asks, “how should man be just with God?” If what Bildad has said is true, and Job agrees that it is, who then can be saved?

3: Who can argue with God?

4-12: Job’s theology is revealed as he shows why it is futile to try to justify oneself to God.

4: God is wise and God is mighty-man cannot prevail in a fight with God.

5: God can be angry; and when He is angry, God may move mountains.

6-9: God shakes the earth, commands the sun not to rise and shine, spreads out the heavens, steps on the sea and makes the stellar constellations. Job’s God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, yea of all universes.

10: God does countless things that man cannot comprehend.

11: God can pass by without my knowing He is here.

12: God takes away and no man can stop Him or ask why He does so. It’s true, isn’t it, that some aspects of our lives change: people come and go, wealth increases and decreases, health disappears, etc. and we have no control and no explanation.

14-16: I could never argue with God

22: Trouble comes to all men

25-26: The days go by quickly

29: If I am wicked, as you say, then why do I work so hard to be good?

30-31: No matter how clean I make myself, I can never be clean enough for God.

33: I need a mediator

Job 10

2: Lord, show me why…

7-8: Lord, you made me and you know me inside and out

10-13: Lord, you have been my God for many years

17-22: Lord, may I have a little rest before I die?

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What’s wrong with a .jpeg Jesus or a .gif God?

There was a time when men believed that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

Is not the very act of icon-izing God a lie that portends to portray God in flesh, however so abstractly?

These images of God are just that-the imaginations of man.

We need less of the artists’ rendition and more of God’s revelation.

Our God is not measured in pixels and palette, but in power and promise.

Romans 11:33 (“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! “) doesn’t speak of color depth.

Faith does not come by seeing. (Romans 10:17)

If burning the curious arts books at Ephesus was an act of faith that God blessed with spiritual growth (Acts 19:18-20), then maybe we need to rethink the role of religious art today.What’s wrong with a .jpeg Jesus or a .gif God?

There was a time when men believed that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

Is not the very act of icon-izing God a lie that portends to portray God in flesh, however so abstractly?

These images of God are just that-the imaginations of man.

We need less of the artists’ rendition and more of God’s revelation.

Our God is not measured in pixels and palette, but in power and promise.

Romans 11:33 (“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! “) doesn’t speak of color depth.

Faith does not come by seeing. (Romans 10:17)

If burning the curious arts books at Ephesus was an act of faith that God blessed with spiritual growth (Acts 19:18-20), then maybe we need to rethink the role of religious art today.

Notes for January 6, 2012

Genealogies revisited. As before, the descendants of the other sons are listed, and then follows the detailed account of the son through whom the Messiah would come.

Genesis 10

2-5: The sons of Japheth

5: isles of the Gentiles. Weren’t all people “Gentiles”? And, what of this division by “tongue”? Weren’t all people of one language and one speech (Genesis 11:1)? Most likely this verse is a comment on the post-Babel world.

6-20: The sons of Ham

8-10: Nimrod, a mighty one in the earth, a mighty hunter before (against?) the Lord. His kingdom began at Babel in the land of Shinar(Genesis 11:1-9). Interesting, non-Biblical and totally unverifiable, traditions about Nimrod abound.

11: Nimrod built Ninevah, which would become the capital of the Assyrian empire.

18-19: The Canaanites were to become a godless people who opposed God and His people.

Ge 10:18-19; 12:6; 13:7; 15:21; 24:3, 37; 34:30; 38:2; 50:11; Ex 3:8, 17; 13:5, 11; 23:23, 28; 33:2 34:11; Nu 13:29; 14:25, 43, 45; 21:1, 3; 33:40; De 1:7; 7:1; 11:30; 20:17; Jos 3:10; 5:1; 7:9; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 13:3,4; 16:10; 17:12, 13, 16, 18; 24:11; Jud 1:1, 3-5, 9, 10, 17, 27-33; 3:3, 5; 2 Sam 24:7; 1 Kings 9:16; 1 Chron 2:3; Ezra 9:1; Neh 9:8, 24; Obad 1:20; Zech 14:21.

Simon the Canaanite was one of the Apostles (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18).

19: Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin is remembered until this day. Genesis 18-19; Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24.

21-32: The sons of Shem

25: In the days of Peleg was the earth divided. Does this refer to the division of one central land mass into the various continents (so-called “Pangea”); or does this refer to the division of a unified humanity into various language and social groups; or something other?

Genesis 11:1-26

Unity is the cry of the day; everyone wants unity, whether within the country or among countries. In this chapter we see what happens when men are unified in their detest for God.

1-9: The Tower of Babel

1: One language, and one speech. And it wasn’t English.

2: Dwelling in the plain. They had been journeying. Were they looking for a suitable place to settle?

3: Tempered bricks. Construction and the building arts came early in the pages of man’s history.

4: Building our way to heaven. Did they really think that they could construct so high a tower? Did they really think that heaven was a place that could be reached by human endeavor? God does not live in a temple made by human hands (Acts 17); and no amount of work(s) will raise a man out of his sin and into the presence of God

Making ourselves a name. And they did. But instead of fame, they are known for infamy. How many a young person set out to make a name for himself only to discover his life in ruin and disrepute.

Gathering ourselves together. Instead of being gathered together by God, men gathered themselves. The US constitution guarantees the right to assemble, but don’t try to gather a lynch mob. Men are free to join hands together; but beware when men gather together for evil.

5: The Lord saw everything. God always sees everything. Notice that God took special interest in the affairs of men.

6: Man can do anything he sets his mind to. If unified language is the central ingredient to great advancement in human accomplishment, then what will come of the almost monopolistic spread of Microsoft’s computer operating system (language)?

7: God confused their language so that they could not understand each other’s speech. Most of us are familiar with the difficulties surrounding not being able to communicate because we are unfamiliar with another’s language. Do we understand the language of God.

8: The Lord scattered them, and city construction stopped. That which they wanted to avoid became reality. How did this happen. The Lord did it.

9: Babel. Know for it’s confusion of language, this abandoned city has given its name to the countless situations in which men have spoken without understanding one another.

10-26: From Shem to Abram (Abraham)

Notes: Compare this with the table in Genesis 5 and you will see that men have children at an earlier age, and that fathers die younger after the flood.

 Notes for January 6, 2008

Genealogies revisited. As before, the descendants of the other sons are listed, and then follows the detailed account of the son through whom the Messiah would come.

Genesis 10

2-5: The sons of Japheth

5: isles of the Gentiles. Weren’t all people “Gentiles”? And, what of this division by “tongue”? Weren’t all people of one language and one speech (Genesis 11:1)? Most likely this verse is a comment on the post-Babel world.

6-20: The sons of Ham

8-10: Nimrod, a mighty one in the earth, a mighty hunter before (against?) the Lord. His kingdom began at Babel in the land of Shinar(Genesis 11:1-9). Interesting, non-Biblical and totally unverifiable, traditions about Nimrod abound.

11: Nimrod built Ninevah, which would become the capital of the Assyrian empire.

18-19: The Canaanites were to become a godless people who opposed God and His people.

Ge 10:18-19; 12:6; 13:7; 15:21; 24:3, 37; 34:30; 38:2; 50:11; Ex 3:8, 17; 13:5, 11; 23:23, 28; 33:2 34:11; Nu 13:29; 14:25, 43, 45; 21:1, 3; 33:40; De 1:7; 7:1; 11:30; 20:17; Jos 3:10; 5:1; 7:9; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 13:3,4; 16:10; 17:12, 13, 16, 18; 24:11; Jud 1:1, 3-5, 9, 10, 17, 27-33; 3:3, 5; 2 Sam 24:7; 1 Kings 9:16; 1 Chron 2:3; Ezra 9:1; Neh 9:8, 24; Obad 1:20; Zech 14:21.

Simon the Canaanite was one of the Apostles (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18).

19: Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin is remembered until this day. Genesis 18-19; Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24.

21-32: The sons of Shem

25: In the days of Peleg was the earth divided. Does this refer to the division of one central land mass into the various continents (so-called “Pangea”); or does this refer to the division of a unified humanity into various language and social groups; or something other?

Genesis 11:1-26

Unity is the cry of the day; everyone wants unity, whether within the country or among countries. In this chapter we see what happens when men are unified in their detest for God.

1-9: The Tower of Babel

1: One language, and one speech. And it wasn’t English.

2: Dwelling in the plain. They had been journeying. Were they looking for a suitable place to settle?

3: Tempered bricks. Construction and the building arts came early in the pages of man’s history.

4: Building our way to heaven. Did they really think that they could construct so high a tower? Did they really think that heaven was a place that could be reached by human endeavor? God does not live in a temple made by human hands (Acts 17); and no amount of work(s) will raise a man out of his sin and into the presence of God

Making ourselves a name. And they did. But instead of fame, they are known for infamy. How many a young person set out to make a name for himself only to discover his life in ruin and disrepute.

Gathering ourselves together. Instead of being gathered together by God, men gathered themselves. The US constitution guarantees the right to assemble, but don’t try to gather a lynch mob. Men are free to join hands together; but beware when men gather together for evil.

5: The Lord saw everything. God always sees everything. Notice that God took special interest in the affairs of men.

6: Man can do anything he sets his mind to. If unified language is the central ingredient to great advancement in human accomplishment, then what will come of the almost monopolistic spread of Microsoft’s computer operating system (language)?

7: God confused their language so that they could not understand each other’s speech. Most of us are familiar with the difficulties surrounding not being able to communicate because we are unfamiliar with another’s language. Do we understand the language of God.

8: The Lord scattered them, and city construction stopped. That which they wanted to avoid became reality. How did this happen. The Lord did it.

9: Babel. Know for it’s confusion of language, this abandoned city has given its name to the countless situations in which men have spoken without understanding one another.

10-26: From Shem to Abram (Abraham)

Notes: Compare this with the table in Genesis 5 and you will see that men have children at an earlier age, and that fathers die younger after the flood.

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