For him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Job 40-42
Job 40
Job Humbles Himself Before God
1 Moreover the Lord answered Job,
2 “Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty?
Let him who argues with God give an answer.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord,
4 “I am of small account. What will I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer.
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
7 “Now brace yourself like a man.
I will question you, and you will answer me.
8 Will you annul my judgment?
Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God?
Can you thunder with a voice like him?
10 Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity.
Array yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Pour out the fury of your anger.
Look at everyone who is proud and bring him low.
12 Look at everyone who is proud and humble him.
Crush the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together.
Bind their faces in the hidden place.
14 Then I will also admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
15 See now, the behemoth,
which I made as well as you.
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Look now, his strength is in his thighs.
His force is in the muscles of his belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar.
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze.
His limbs are like bars of iron.
19 He ranks first in the works of God.
He who made him gives him his sword.
20 Surely the mountains produce food for him,
where all the animals of the field play.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
in the covert of the reed and the marsh.
22 The lotuses cover him with their shade.
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 If a river overflows, he does not tremble.
He is confident, though the Jordan swells up to his mouth.
24 Shall any take him when he is on the watch
or pierce through his nose with a snare?
Job 41
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
1 “Can you catch the Leviathan with a fish hook
or tie his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope into his nose
or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
3 Will he make many petitions to you,
or will he speak soft words to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you,
that you should take him for a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird?
Or will you bind him for your girls?
6 Will traders barter for him?
Will they part him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with barbed irons
or his head with fish spears?
8 Lay your hand on him,
and you will remember the battle
and never do it again.
9 Any hope of capturing him is in vain.
Is one not overwhelmed at the very sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 Who has first given to me,
that I should repay him?
Everything under the heavens is mine.
12 I will not remain silent concerning his limbs,
nor his mighty strength, nor his graceful form.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who will come within his jaws?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 Strong scales are his pride,
shut up together with a close seal.
16 One is so near to another,
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined to one another.
They stick together,
so that they cannot be pulled apart.
18 His sneezing flashes out light.
His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning torches.
Sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils a smoke goes,
as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
21 His breath kindles coals.
A flame goes out of his mouth.
22 There is strength in his neck.
Terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together.
They are firmly cast and immovable.
24 His heart is as hard as a stone,
yes, hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid.
They retreat before his thrashing.
26 If one attacks him with the sword, it cannot prevail,
nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
27 He considers iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee.
Sling stones are like chaff to him.
29 Clubs are considered stubble.
He laughs at the rushing of the javelin.
30 His undersides are like sharp potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot.
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He makes a path shine after him.
One would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth he has no equal,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high.
He is king over all who are proud.”
Job 42
Job Submits Himself to God
1 Then Job answered the Lord,
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this
who hides my counsel without knowledge?’
Surely I have uttered that which I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 You said, ‘Listen, now, and I will speak.
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
5 I had heard of you with my ears,
but now I have seen you with my eyes.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
The Lord Rebukes Job’s Friends
7 It was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite,
“My anger is burning against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.”
9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.
God Blesses Job
10 The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends and gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 All of his brothers and all of his sisters and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, came to his house and ate bread with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him concerning all the adversity that the Lord had brought on him. Everyone also gave him a piece of silver and a ring of gold.
12 So the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than his beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first, Jemimah, and the second, Keziah, and the third, Keren Happuch. 15 In all the land were no women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job. Their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job lived 140 years and saw his sons and his sons’ sons, to four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days.
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Our Eternal Dwelling
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But who we are is known by God, and I hope that this is also revealed in your consciences. 12 For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you the opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died. 15 He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves but to him who for their sake died and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we regard him thus no more. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. All things have become new. 18 But all things are of God who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Psalm 45
Your Throne is Forever
For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A song of love.
1 My heart overflows with a noble theme.
I recite my verses for the king.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of the sons of men.
Grace has anointed your lips,
therefore the Lord has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword on your thigh, mighty one:
your splendor and your majesty.
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand display awesome deeds.
5 Your arrows are sharp.
The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.
6 Your throne, O Lord, is forever and ever.
A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.
7 You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness.
Therefore O Lord, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.
8 All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women.
At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear.
Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.
11 So the king will desire your beauty,
honor him, for he is your lord.
12 The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift.
The rich among the people entreat your favor.
13 The princess inside is all glorious.
Her clothing is interwoven with gold.
14 She shall be led to the king in embroidered work.
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led.
They shall enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers.
You shall make them princes in all the earth.
17 I will make your name to be remembered in all generations.
Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.
Proverbs 22:14
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit.
He who is under the wrath of the Lord will fall into it.