For a full description of the (Y4) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Ex. 3
I had a bit of an ‘aha’ moment this morning regarding the burning bush, from which God appeared to Moses. When Moses looked at the bush he saw, “…the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.” (Ex. 3:2b). God didn’t just reveal Himself to Moses in this image. He also revealed the end result of His merciful plan for the redemption of mankind. As He told Moses, “I have come down to deliver them…” (Ex. 3:8a). Initially, this meant the Israelites from the Egyptians. Ultimately, however, it means the world from their sin.
God did come down, in the person of Jesus Christ. And that burning bush is a picture of His perfect righteousness, which the righteousness of a holy God does not consume. Christ suffered and died and rose again so that we could become part of that bush. When He clothes us with His righteousness, we become the branches of His vine. Thus we, too, will stand in God’s presence, in the middle of His holy fire, and will not be consumed.
Luke 6
Luke tells us that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before choosing His twelve apostles. I have to ask myself, how much time do I spend seeking God and His wisdom before making important decisions?
Job 20
I’m not sure of Zophar’s point. He said, “…the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless momentary” (Job 20:5). True point. But “short” and “momentary” from what perspective? Technically speaking, a man’s entire lifetime is short and momentary. So did Zophar mean that the wicked reap their just reward in the end? Or did he believe that the wicked won’t prosper long within their lifetime? The bigger question, though, is what did any of that have to do with Job?
The so-called friends clearly shifted from their misguided attempts at helpfulness to a full on defense of their beliefs. To me, the fact that their efforts at offering ‘Godly’ advice were so easily cast aside by their desire to be right shows that their intentions weren’t really in the right place to start with. When our genuine desire is to point people to God, our pride simply won’t matter.