Job 38:1-7, Job 38:34-41, Psalm 104:1-9, Psalm 104:24, Psalm 104:35, Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16, Hebrews 5:1-10, Mark 10:35-45.
A). WHERE WERE YOU? CAN YOU?
Job 38:1-7; Job 38:34-41.
After all the crying and sighing, moaning and groaning of Job (and I do not blame him for it); after all the blaming and shaming, sharing and tearing of his ‘miserable comforters’ (Job 16:2): “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1).
We notice two things here. First, it was “the LORD” who answered. Literally, YHWH. This is the first time that this name has been used for God since the prologue (Job 1:6; Job 2:1). In the intervening chapters, Job and his friends refer to God with the more impersonal ‘El’ - perhaps not recognising that our God is a God who is near, as well as a God who is far off (cf. Jeremiah 23:23). As Christians, we are enabled to approach ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3) with the intimacy of sons, addressing Him as ‘Abba’ (Romans 8:15)!
Second, it is only YHWH, the covenant LORD who is able to speak: not some impersonal ‘god’. Baal cannot speak: he cannot even hear, no matter how much his so-called prophets dance and prance and lance themselves (1 Kings 18:26-29). On that occasion, the LORD answered by fire (1 Kings 18:38); but on this occasion, by a voice “out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1).
The LORD’s reply to the complaints of Job consists in a series of sixty questions of His own! [Have you noticed, Jesus also answers questions with questions (e.g. Mark 11:28-30)?] This is not in order for the LORD to accuse or condemn Job: Job has already been certified righteous (Job 1:1). No indeed, even in our questionings of God’s ways in our lives, the LORD still views us as the righteousness of God in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-22): and the final testimony of the LORD after all Job’s questionings is that he is the one who is righteous rather than his companions (Job 42:7)!
Amid all our perplexities in life, the LORD is not lurking in the wings waiting to condemn us: instead, He is waiting at the gate, inviting us to take a walk with Him in the garden. So, any measure of rebuke in the words “Who is this?” (Job 38:2); “Where were you?” (Job 38:4); “Can you…?” (Job 38:34), etc., is mitigated as we learn more of Him in this grand tour of Creation. So, gird up your loins, and listen to My questions, and see if you can answer them, says the LORD (Job 38:3).
I can remember walking with one gentleman, who would point out and name the flora and fauna (plants and animals) as we passed by. Or as a child, those family drives with our parents, having the beauty of the mountains, the sea - the trees even - pointed out to us. Yet did we ever really consider, ‘the LORD God made them all’?
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4-7) distracts us from our perplexities and silences our complaints. It mutes the ‘science falsely so called’ (1 Timothy 6:20) which seeks to gag our faith by replacing inquiry with dogmatic theories. It humbles us, making us to stand in awe: for ‘He has done all things well’ (Mark 7:37).
Another question is “Can you?” (Job 38:34-38). We talk about weather a lot here in Britain, but I suspect that science stands as impotent to make weather as Pharaoh’s magicians were to make lice (Exodus 8:18). Even the numbering of the clouds is beyond our capability, let alone “the tilting of the water-skins of heaven” (Job 38:37)!
Or, “Can you hunt the prey for the lion?” (Job 38:39-40). Etched on the rim of a famous drinking vessel, we find the words: ‘The eyes of all wait upon You; and You give them their meat in due season’ (Psalm 145:15).
The LORD is careful even for the ravens’ young (Job 38:41). How much more for you (Luke 12:24)!
Of course, in the end, just as it seemed that the LORD had no answer as such for Job, so Job twice admitted in dumb-struck silence that he had no answer for Him (Job 40:3-5; Job 42:1-6).
Thank You, LORD, for the wonder of Your Creation; for Your patience with us; for not condemning us; and for accepting us as we are in Christ Jesus. Please help us to hold on to our relationship with You no matter what befalls us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
B). A SONG TO THE GOD OF CREATION.
Psalm 104:1-9, Psalm 104:24, Psalm 104:35c.
The opening of this Psalm, “Bless the LORD, O my soul” (Psalm 104:1a), is familiar from the beginning of the previous chapter (Psalm 103:1).
The response of the Psalmist to his own exhortation to “Bless the LORD” is to speak well of the LORD, to the LORD. The writer speaks to the LORD in terms of a relationship: “O LORD my God” (Psalm 104:1b). Throughout the rest of Psalm 104:1-9, he reminds the LORD of what He has done in the primeval past.
The Psalmist expresses his own wonder at the greatness of the LORD: “thou art very great” (Psalm 104:1c). This he elucidates: “thou art clothed with honour and majesty” (Psalm 104:1d).
The Psalm follows the order of Creation set down in Genesis 1. But we must never lose sight of the fact that this Psalm is not so much about the Creation, as about the Creator and Preserver of all things.
We see God, first of all, “wrapped in light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2a). ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1:5). So there is an uncreated light even before the LORD spoke those words into the chaos: ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3). The Light Himself is, as it were, enshrouded in light (Psalm 104:2a). How impenetrable must that Light be!
Yet ‘God has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Then we see Him “stretching out the heavens like a curtain” (Psalm 104:2b). The expanse of space has its beginning here, the arena into which the LORD will later set the sun, moon, and stars, which altogether are but pale reflections of His Light. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).
The verbs pile in upon each other. The subject is still the LORD our God (Psalm 104:1b), ‘maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is’ (Psalm 146:6). It is the LORD who stretches (Psalm 104:2b), lays, makes, walks (Psalm 104:3), makes (Psalm 104:4), laid (Psalm 104:5), covered (Psalm 104:6); rebukes, thunders (Psalm 104:7), founded (Psalm 104:8). sets a bound (Psalm 104:9).
The LORD “lays the beams of His chambers in the waters” (Psalm 104:3a). His palace needs no foundations: His is the power to uphold it.
Metaphorically, He “makes the clouds His chariot” (Psalm 104:3b). Thunder often reminds us of the wrath of God (2 Samuel 22:14-15); but rain reminds us of His mercy (Matthew 5:45).
He “walks on the wings of the wind” (Psalm 104:3c). David also used this metaphor in 2 Samuel 22:11.
Lightning reminds us of the LORD’s retinue: He “makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire” (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7).
He “laid the foundations of the earth” (Psalm 104:5a; cf. Job 38:4). There is a fixedness about it, too: “it should not be removed forever” (Psalm 104:5b). The earth remains in its orbit, here in the Goldilocks zone, only by an endless decree of the LORD God.
He “covered” the earth “with the deep as (with) a garment” (Psalm 104:6a). Before ever man walked this earth, geologists will confirm, “the waters stood above the mountains” (Psalm 104:6b).
“At thy rebuke they (the waters) fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away” (Psalm 104:7; cf. Psalm 29:3). The Dry land appeared (Genesis 1:9-10)! Jesus also had occasion to ‘rebuke the winds and the waves’ as the waters remain ever boisterous and rebellious (cf. Mark 4:39).
The waters “go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys” (Psalm 104:8a). They go up in mists, and down in rains. The rivers thus formed flow “unto the place which thou hast founded for them” (Psalm 104:8).
“Thou hast set a bound that they (the waters) might not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth” (Psalm 104:9; cf. Job 38:11; Jeremiah 5:22).
The writer uses the name of the LORD sparingly, but it does appear at the end of the inventory of Creation. It is an exclamation: “O LORD how manifold are thy works!” (Psalm 104:24a). Multifarious: innumerable and of wide variety.
“In wisdom thou hast made them all” (Psalm 104:24b; Proverbs 8:27-30; 1 Corinthians 1:30).
“The earth is full of thy riches” (Psalm 104:24c). ‘Not the wealth of nations,’ points out Mr Spurgeon, ‘but “thy riches” O Lord!’
The Psalm ends as it began, with a repetition of the now familiar beatitude: ‘Bless thou the LORD, O my soul’ to which the writer adds “Alleluia” which means “Praise the LORD” (Psalm 104:35c). Amen.
C). A PAINFUL ACCOUNT.
Isaiah 53:4-12.
The repulsion evoked by the Cross of Jesus is countered by the recognition of the substitutionary character of His sacrifice (Isaiah 53:4). We may have seen Jesus as One “stricken” by God – but the toll which He was paying was not His own.
No, indeed, it was for OUR sins that He was “wounded” and “bruised” (Isaiah 53:5). These are strong verbs, carrying the idea of being “pierced” and “crushed” in some translations. The continued interplay between pronouns emphasises what HE (Jesus) did for US.
Before I began going the Lord’s way, I was like the rest of my generation: ‘going my own way’ (cf. Isaiah 53:6). Like sheep, when one of us (Adam) went astray, we all went astray. Yet the LORD lays our guilt upon Jesus.
Next, Jesus Himself is compared to a sheep: but this time the picture is complimentary (Isaiah 53:7). His silence was because of His willingness to suffer. His sacrifice was voluntary (cf. John 10:17-18).
The violent death of Jesus resulted from a deliberate miscarriage of justice. At this point He appeared as a childless man walking the lonely path to His own execution. He was literally, “cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8).
An executed man could not expect a place in the family mausoleum. Despite having done no wrong, Jesus was destined to be buried with the wicked (Isaiah 53:9). However, the intervention of Joseph of Arimathea brought with it the first hint of an upturn in Jesus’ situation (Matthew 27:57-60).
This painful account ends not with Jesus’ suffering, but with His vindication. Jesus is not childless after all, but “shall see His offspring” (Isaiah 53:10; cf. Hebrews 2:11-13). His days are “prolonged” through the Resurrection, and the will of the LORD continues to “prosper” in His hand.
The “wisdom” of Jesus was to know our plight as sinners, and to provide the remedy. The LORD distinguishes Jesus with the appellation, “My Righteous Servant” (Isaiah 53:11). Through Jesus’ offering of Himself, He is able to justify (make righteous) the many (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Having “poured out His soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12), Jesus is now raised up into heaven, there to intercede for the transgressors. Jesus went through what He went through for you and for me. It is by His blood that we are redeemed - and His blood avails for all who will receive Him (John 1:12).
D). TRUSTING GOD.
Psalm 91:9-16.
Christians under persecution have testified to the literal truth of Psalm 91:9-10 – but this does not alter the fact that Christians still do suffer.
There are times when God does not deliver us FROM things, but rather delivers us IN things (Romans 8:37).
The important point is that our refuge is in the LORD, and that our natural habitat is in the Most High (Psalm 91:9).
We are assured of angelic protection: “angels” (plural) to protect “you” (singular) (Psalm 91:11).
The devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12, out of context, in his temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:9-11).
Had the devil cared to read the next verse, he would have seen his own doom (Psalm 91:13).
This is a Psalm of trust, but that trust is built upon a relationship. It is for “those who know my name” (Psalm 91:14), where ‘knowing’ suggests intimacy.
It is for those who ‘love God because He first loved us’ (cf. 1 John 4:19).
There is a reassurance of answered prayer, and of God’s continuing presence even in the midst of trouble (Psalm 91:15).
His deliverance is certain, His salvation sure; and we receive an indication of God’s eternal pleasure (Psalm 91:15-16).
E). AARON AND JESUS.
Hebrews 5:1-10.
Every high priest taken from among men was set aside, and was ordained to serve God in the offering of both gifts and sacrifices for sins, for and on behalf of men (Hebrews 5:1).
The task was not taken on presumptuously, but was only made possible through the call of God Himself (Hebrews 5:4; cf. Exodus 28:1).
Jesus also was called and ordained of God (Hebrews 5:5-6).
The writer proceeds to prove this in a manner of Hebrew commentary which brings together two Scriptures which have a word in common: in this case “You” (singular). The first Scripture refers to the Son-ship of Jesus (Psalm 2:7).
The second Scripture refers to the specific priesthood of Jesus “after the order of Melchisedec” (Psalm 110:4; cf. Hebrews 5:10).
[The priesthood of Melchisedec as a model for Christ’s is argued out more fully in a later chapter (Hebrews 7).]
It was necessary for the high priest to be able to have compassion upon, and to deal gently with, the ignorant and wayward (Hebrews 5:2).
Being a man with the same frailties as ourselves, even Aaron had to first sacrifice for himself and his family before ever he could sacrifice on behalf of the people (Hebrews 5:3; cf. Leviticus 16:6).
Jesus was touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and tempted in all points like as we are, but was yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
Therefore He has no need to make sacrifice for His own sins (Hebrews 7:27).
Jesus’ offering is described here as “prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7).
At Gethsemane Jesus cried ‘Take this cup from me’ – but also ‘not my will but yours be done’ (Matthew 26:39).
At Calvary Jesus cried to God in dereliction, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).
Jesus well knew that God was able to save Him from death, and we are told here that God “heard” because of His reverence for, and submission to God (Hebrews 5:7).
However, the historical facts demonstrate not a deliverance from suffering, but a strengthening in suffering (Luke 22:43).
They demonstrate not a deliverance from dying, but a deliverance out of the jaws of death itself (Romans 1:4).
The facts also demonstrate a subsequent elevation into heaven to minister on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14).
Though He was a Son, we are told, yet He “learned obedience” through what He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).
Of course, Jesus was always obedient. The incarnation itself was an act of obedience, and Jesus did not stop at ‘death, even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:8).
We are also told that He was “made perfect” (Hebrews 5:9).
This does not imply that He was ever anything less than perfect, but rather that through His suffering and obedience His qualifications to the role and function of high priest were fully validated (Hebrews 2:10).
Jesus’ obedience becomes the model of our obedience. Through His obedience He is made the author of eternal life to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).
This speaks of the obedience of faith (John 1:12).
It speaks of our obedience to the call to take up our own cross, and to follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24).
F). THE SERVICE OF CHRIST.
Mark 10:35-45.
The disciples of Jesus were amazed that Jesus had ‘steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:51). They were beginning to have the clear apprehension that such a route would lead to their Master’s premature death, and that the promises of His kingdom would remain unfulfilled.
Their attitude would be summed up by Thomas as they drew nearer the danger: ‘Let us also go, that we may die with Him’ (John 11:16).
However, Thomas and the other disciples were slow to recognise that the death and resurrection of Jesus necessarily precede the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord did not come with a sword to conquer. He came with a message of peace. His was a mission of reconciliation between God and man. ‘My kingdom is not of this world,’ He would later tell Pilate (John 18:36).
There was nothing sudden or unexpected about the death of Jesus. He came into this world in order to die for His people. He knew exactly what He was doing. Time and again the Lord Jesus told His disciples of the necessity of His death and resurrection. No one was going to take His life from Him: He was going to lay it down willingly.
People everywhere, and in every generation, are offended at the teaching of the necessity of the Cross. People prefer self-help religions, imagining that they might obtain God’s favour through their own merit, rather than through the merits of another. They are sadly mistaken: ‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:18).
The only way to obtain satisfaction with God is through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (John 3:16).
Jesus was a patient teacher. The Lord reminded His disciples that His journey to Jerusalem would precipitate events which would lead to His death and resurrection. This was why He came into the world. It was not outside His control.
Even in the midst of such solemn teaching, the disciples were still preoccupied with their sense of the grandeur of the kingdom of God. They could envisage Christ in all His glory, and yet remained deaf to the message of the cross.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were particularly concerned about what status they might have in the coming kingdom. They desired that they might be seated, the one on His right and the other on His left (Mark 10:37).
Had they not heard their Lord’s reproof of such self-seeking? Jesus said, ‘If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all’ (Mark 9:35).
Jesus reproved the brothers. They were asking something which even Jesus, the Son of God, was not at liberty to give. He challenged them to consider that they too must partake in His sufferings before they would enter into His glory (Mark 10:38-40).
There is nothing lacking in the sacrificial nature of Christ’s offering of Himself on our behalf. However, the afflictions of the Church on His behalf are not yet completed. I am sure that this is the basis of Saint Paul’s teaching in Colossians 1:24!
Jesus had earlier told a rich man (Mark 10:21) to ‘take up his cross.’ There is a cross to be carried by everyone who would be a Christian. Jesus taught, ‘If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me’ (Luke 9:23).
The other ten disciples were indignant at James and John. It seemed as if their earlier argument about ‘who was the greatest?’ remained unresolved (Mark 9:33-35).
The truly great men of God are not those who intrude upon some high office in the Church or State, but those who humbly serve the needs of others.
The supreme example of service is that of Christ Himself. He came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life as a ransom for (in place of) many” (Mark 10:45). Here Jesus outlines the full extent of His own unique sacrifice in the context of an attitude of service to be followed. Our Lord later illustrated the type of humility which He wishes us to emulate when He washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:3-5)!
The Apostle Peter tells us that the suffering of Christ was an example for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21,23). However, whilst the death of Jesus furnishes us with the supreme example of humility, it is unique in its application (1 Peter 2:24).
In Philippians 2:3 we read, ‘Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.’ The Apostle Paul continues in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Yet what mind must we have? Paul next goes on to outline the full extent of the humility and exaltation of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). If we wish to partake of the glory, we must also take the path of humility. No cross, no crown!
Jesus came into this world so that He might pay the penalty of our sins. His was the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile us to God.
Our Lord satisfied the justice of God. He gave His life so that we might be redeemed from the condemnation of God’s law.
Jesus died so that we might have eternal life. He saves us from the terrors of hell, and prepares us for His kingdom.
It is only by claiming the sacrifice which Jesus has made on our behalf that we ever find peace with God.
The road which the Lord sets before us is not easy. It requires us to give up our selfish ambition, and to walk the path of service. Yet it is a route which leads to a crown of glory for ALL who follow Jesus.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again, and gather His own to Himself.
