Latest / 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast / The Courtroom of Heaven | Job’s Bold Appeal (Aug 27)

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The Courtroom of Heaven | Job’s Bold Appeal (Aug 27) · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

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  Do you have a case to bring before the courtroom
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  of heaven? Do you have a burning question to
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  ask of God? Why? Why did this happen? Why did I go
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  through that divorce? Why did my child die of leukemia?
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  Why was this reversal,
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  this catastrophe, this disaster allowed into
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  my life? Do you have a case to bring before
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  God to the courtroom of heaven?
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  Job had a case to bring before the Lord,
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  and in the chapters we read today, he lays out his case.
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  And the judge of Israel, the judge of all the nations,
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  the judge of the universe will be answering
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  Job and in Similarly, he will be
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  answering us. We can bring our case before
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  the Lord. He will hear us out, and then he
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  will reply. Listen in and let's
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  learn more. The courtroom of heaven.
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  Welcome to the Daily Audio Torah. Today is August 27th.
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  Now let's continue our journey reading through the entire Bible in
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  one year. This week we are reading from the New Living Translation
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  for the Old Testament and for the New
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  Testament. Deuteronomy 14:16-29.
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  The little owl, the great owl, the barn owl, the desert
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  owl, the Egyptian vulture, the cormorant, the stork,
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  herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
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  All winged insects that walk along the ground are ceremonially
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  unclean for you and may not be eaten. But you
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  may eat any winged bird or insect that is ceremonially clean.
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  You must not eat anything that has died a natural death.
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  You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, or you may sell
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  it to a stranger, but do not eat it yourselves, for you
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  are set apart as holy to the Lord your God.
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  You must not cook a young goat in its mother's
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  milk. You must set aside
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  a tithe of your crops, 1/10 of all the crops you harvest
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  each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship,
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  the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored,
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  and eat it there in his presence. This applies to
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  your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn
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  males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach
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  you always to fear the Lord your God. Now,
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  when the Lord your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of
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  worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too
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  far for you to bring the tithe. If so, you may sell
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  the little portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a
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  pouch, and go to the place the Lord your God has chosen.
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  When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food
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  you want, cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other
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  alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of
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  the Lord your God and celebrate with your household.
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  And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive
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  no allotment of land among you. At the
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  end of every 3rd year, bring the entire tithe of that year's
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  harvest and store it in the nearest town. Give it to the Levites,
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  who will receive no allotment of land among you,
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  as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans
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  and the widows in your towns, so that they can eat and be
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  satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in
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  all your work.
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  Job 23:1-27,
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  23. Then Job spoke again: My
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  complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard
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  not to groan aloud. If only I knew where to find God!
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  I would go to His throne and talk with Him there. I would lay out
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  my case and present my arguments. Then I would listen to
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  His reply and understand what He says to me.
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  Would He merely argue with me in His greatness? No, He would
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  give me a fair hearing. Fair and honest people can
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  reason with Him, so I would be acquitted by
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  my Judge. I go east, but He is not there.
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  I go west, but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him
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  in the north, for He is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot
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  find Him. But He knows where I am going,
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  And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me
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  innocent. For I have stayed in God's
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  paths, I have followed his ways and not turned
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  aside. I have not departed from his commands but have treasured
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  his word in my heart.
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  Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains
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  unchanged.
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  And who can turn Him from His purposes?
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  Whatever He wants to do, He does. So He
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  will do for me all He has planned. He controls my
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  destiny. No wonder I am so terrified
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  in His presence. When I think of it, terror grips
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  me. God has made my heart faint.
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  The Almighty has terrified me. Darkness is all around me; thick,
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  impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
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  Why doesn't the Almighty open the court and bring judgment?
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  Why must the godly wait for Him in vain?
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  Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
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  They steal flocks of sheep, and they even take donkeys from
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  the poor and the fatherless. A poor widow must surrender her valuable ox
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  as collateral for a loan. The poor are kicked aside;
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  the needy must hide together for safety. Like the
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  wild donkeys in the desert, the poor must spend all their time just
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  getting enough to keep body and soul together. They go into the
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  desert to search for food for their children. They harvest
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  a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
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  All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.
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  They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against
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  the rocks for want of a home. The wicked
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  snatch a widow's child from her breast. They take the baby as
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  a pledge for a loan. The poor must go about naked,
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  without any clothing. They are forced to carry food while they themselves
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  are starving. They press out olive oil without being allowed to
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  taste it, and they tread in the winepress. As they suffer
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  from thirst. The groans of the dying rise from the city,
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  and the wounded cry for help. Yet God does not respond to
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  their moaning. Wicked people rebel against
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  the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways. They will
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  not stay in its paths. The murderer rises in the early dawn
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  to kill the poor and needy. At night, he is
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  a thief. The adulterer waits for the twilight,
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  for he says, no one will see me then. He masks his
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  face so no one will know him. They break into houses
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  at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light.
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  The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors
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  of the darkness, but they disappear from the earth as quickly
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  as foam is swept down a river. Everything they own
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  is cursed so that no one enters their vineyard.
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  Death consumes sinners just as drought
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  and heat consume snow. Even the sinner's own mother will
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  forget him. Worms will find him sweet to eat.
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  No one will remember him. Wicked people are broken like a tree
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  in the storm, for they have taken advantage of the childless who have
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  no protecting sons. They refuse to help the needy widows.
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  God in His power drags away the rich. They may
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  rise high, but they have no assurance in life.
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  They may be allowed to live in security, but God is
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  always watching them. And though they are great now, in a
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  moment they will be gone like all others, withered like heads of grain.
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  Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?
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  Then Bildad the Shuhite replied, God is powerful and
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  dreadful. He enforces peace in the heavens. Who is
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  able to count His heavenly army? Does His light
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  not shine on all the earth? How can a mere mortal stand before God
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  and claim to be righteous? Who in all the earth is pure?
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  God is so glorious that even the moon and stars scarcely
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  shine compared to Him. How much less are mere people, who are
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  but worms in His sight!
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  Then Job spoke again, How you have helped
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  the powerless! How you have saved a person who has no
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  strength! How you have enlightened my stupidity!
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  What wise things you have said! Where have you gotten all
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  these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you? The dead
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  tremble in their place beneath the waters. The underworld is
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  naked in God's presence. There is no cover for the
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  place of destruction. God stretches the northern sky over empty
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  space and hangs the earth on nothing. He wraps the
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  rain in His thick clouds, and the clouds do not burst with
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  the weight. He shrouds His throne with His clouds.
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  He created the horizon when He separated the waters. He set
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  the boundaries for day and night. The foundations of heaven
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  tremble. At his rebuke. By his power the sea
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  grew calm; by his skill he crushed the great sea
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  monster. His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power
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  pierced the gliding serpent. These are some of the minor
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  things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand
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  the thunder of his power?
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  Job continued speaking, I make this vow by the living God
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  who has taken away my rights, by the Almighty who has embittered my soul.
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  As long as I live, while I have breath from God,
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  my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies.
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  I will never concede that you are right.
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  Until I die, I will defend my innocence. I will
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  maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is
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  clear for as long as I live. May my enemy be
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  punished like the wicked, my adversary like evil men.
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  For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away
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  their life? Will God listen to their cry when trouble comes
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  upon them? Can they take delight in the Almighty? Can they call
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  to God at any time? I will teach you
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  about God's power. I will not conceal anything that
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  concerns the Almighty. But I don't need to, for you yourselves
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  have seen all this. Yet, You are saying all these
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  useless things to me. This is what the wicked will
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  receive from God. This is their inheritance from the
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  Almighty. If they have a multitude of children, their children
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  will die in war or starve to death. Those who
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  survive will be brought down to the grave by a plague, with no
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  one to mourn them, not even their wives. Evil people may have
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  all the money in the world, and they may store away mounds of clothing.
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  But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide all
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  that money. The houses built by the wicked are
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  as fragile as a spider web, as flimsy as
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  a shelter made of branches. The wicked
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  go to bed rich but wake up to find that all their wealth is
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  gone. Terror overwhelms them, and they are blown away
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  in the storms of the night. The east wind carries them
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  away, and they are gone; it sweeps them
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  away; it whirls down on them without mercy.
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  They struggle to flee from its power, but everyone cheers
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  at them and mocks them.
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  2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11.
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  We, Paul and his coworkers, can say with confidence and a
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  clear conscience, that we have been honest and sincere in
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  all our dealings. We have depended on God's grace, not on
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  our own earthly wisdom. That is how we have acted toward everyone,
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  and especially toward you. My letters have been
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  straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and
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  nothing you can't understand. I hope someday you will
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  fully understand us, even if you don't fully understand
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  us now. Then, on the day when our Lord Jesus comes
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  back again, you will be proud of us in the same
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  way we are proud of you. Since I was so sure of your
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  understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing.
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  I wanted to stop and see you on my way to Macedonia and again
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  on my return trip. Then you could send
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  me on my way to Judea. You may be asking why
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  I changed my plan. Hadn't I made up my mind
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  yet? Or am I like people of the world who say yes when
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  they really mean no? As surely as God is true,
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  I am not that sort of person. My yes means yes
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  because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between
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  yes and no. He is the one whom Timothy, Silas,
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  and I preached to you, and he is the divine yes,
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  God's affirmation. Where all of God's promises have
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  been fulfilled in him.
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  That is why we say amen when we
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  give glory to God through Christ. It is God who gives
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  us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ.
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  He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as
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  his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts
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  as the first installment of everything he will give us.
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  Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling
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  the truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was
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  to spare you from a severe rebuke. But that
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  does not mean we want to tell you exactly how to put your faith
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  into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full
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  of joy as you stand firm in your faith.
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  So I said to myself, no, I won't do it. I won't
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  make them unhappy with another painful visit. For if I cause you pain
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  and make you sad, who is going to make me glad?
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  That is why I wrote as I did in my last letter,
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  so that when I do come, I will not be made sad by the very
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  ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you
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  know that my happiness depends on your happiness. How painful
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  it was to write that letter! Heartbroken,
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  I cried over it. I didn't want to hurt you, but I wanted
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  you to know how very much I love you. I am not overstating
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  it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt
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  your entire church more than he hurt me.
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  He was punished enough when most of you were united in
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  your judgment against him. Now it is time to forgive
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  him and comfort him. Otherwise, he may become so discouraged
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  that he won't be able to recover. Now, now show him that
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  you still love him. I wrote to you as I did to find
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  out how far you would go in obeying me. When you forgive
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  this man, I forgive him too. And when I forgive him for whatever is to
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  be forgiven, I do so with Christ's authority for
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  your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us.
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  For we are very familiar with his evil schemes.
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  Psalm 41:1-13.
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  Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
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  The Lord rescues them in times of trouble.
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  The Lord protects them and keeps them alive. He gives
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  them prosperity and rescues them from their enemies.
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  The Lord nurses them when they are sick and eases their
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  pain and discomfort. O Lord, I prayed,
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  have mercy on me. Heal me, for I have sinned against
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  you. But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
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  How soon will he die and be forgotten? they ask. They visit
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  me as if they are my friends, but all the while they gather gossip,
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  and when they leave, they spread it everywhere. All who
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  hate me whisper about me, imagining the worst for me.
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  Whatever he has, it is fatal, they say. He will never
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  get out of that bed. Even my best friend, the one I trusted
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  completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.
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  Lord, have mercy on me. Make me well again so
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  I can pay them back. I know that You are pleased with me,
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  for You have not let my enemy triumph over me.
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  You have preserved my life because I am innocent. You have
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  brought me into Your presence forever.
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  Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives forever
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  from eternal ages past. Amen and
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  amen.
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  Proverbs 22:5-6. The deceitful
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  walk a thorny, treacherous road, Whoever values
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  life will stay away. I want to speak to
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  you today from our reading in Job chapters 23 through 27.
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  And in the opening chapter of chapter 23,
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  we have a picture that is being painted of Job coming
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  to God, to the throne room, the courtroom
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  of heaven, and he lays out his case.
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  He basically says, I am asking for a fair hearing.
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  I believe that God will give me a fair hearing. He goes
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  on to say, I cannot find Him. I go east and north and south and
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  west and I cannot find Him. But he lays out his case
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  in the courtroom of heaven and he says, for I have
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  stayed in God's paths. I have followed His ways and not turned
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  aside. I have not departed from His commands but have treasured
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  his word in my heart. Nevertheless,
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  his mind concerning me remains unchanged, and who can turn
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  him from his purposes? Whatever he wants to do, he does.
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  So he will do for me all he has planned. He controls
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  my destiny. Job recognizes that God is El Elyon.
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  He is the Most High. He is sovereign, and He
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  literally is laying out his case and presenting his arguments
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  and basically saying, God, I am innocent.
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  Why am I being punished? I am innocent.
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  Why doesn't the Almighty open the court and bring judgment?
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  Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
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  And Job will soon get an
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  answer from God from the very throne room and courtroom
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  of Heaven. There is a courtroom
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  in Heaven, and one of the ways
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  that we approach God is He is the Judge.
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  He is the Judge of the earth and the heavens. He is the Judge
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  of the universe, and He is a righteous Judge.
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  And yes, we can question Him.
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  We can wrestle with Him, but ultimately we
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  must yield and submit and bow
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  to His kingship. And though we may
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  not understand the why— why did this happen?
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  Why did that person die? Why did that person get diabetes or
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  cancer or leukemia? Why did my husband leave me
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  and divorce me to go be with that other woman?
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  Why? Perhaps we're asking the wrong question.
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  Instead of why, we can say, God, I don't
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  understand. It makes no sense to me,
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  yet I trust you. Yet I trust you with
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  my life. You have a plan for my life. You have a destiny
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  for me. And I believe that even in this suffering that I'm going through,
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  You're going to turn it all for good, that God works all
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  things for good according to those who are called by
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  God according to his purposes. So tomorrow
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  when we pick it up in Job chapter 28,
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  Job is finally going to have an answer from the
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  judge as he's brought his case to the
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  courtroom of heaven. He will hear from the judge tomorrow,
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  and God will answer all of Job's questions.
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  Don't miss tomorrow.
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  Yeah, yeah,
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  yeah.
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  The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers chapter 6,
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  24 to 26.
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  Adonai bless you and keep you. Adonai make
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  his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
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  Adonai lift up his countenance upon you and give
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  you peace.