JOB 37:1-39:30
2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-5:10
PSALM 44:9-26
PROVERBS 22:13
JOB 37:1-39:30
" My [Elihu's] heart pounds as I think of this. It leaps within me. 2 Listen carefully to the thunder of God's voice as it rolls from his mouth. 3 It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes out in every direction. 4 Then comes the roaring of the thunder--the tremendous voice of his majesty. He does not restrain the thunder when he speaks. 5 God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We cannot comprehend the greatness of his power. 6 " He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. 7 Everyone stops working at such a time so they can recognize his power. 8 The wild animals hide in the rocks or in their dens. 9 The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold. 10 God's breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water. 11 He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning. 12 The clouds turn around and around under his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth. 13 He causes things to happen on earth, either as a punishment or as a sign of his unfailing love.14 " Listen, Job; stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God! 15 Do you know how God controls the storm and causes the lightning to flash forth from his clouds? 16 Do you understand how he balances the clouds with wonderful perfection and skill? 17 When you are sweltering in your clothes and the south wind dies down and everything is still, 18 he makes the skies reflect the heat like a giant mirror. Can you do that? 19 " You think you know so much, so teach the rest of us what to say to God. We are too ignorant to make our own arguments. 20 Should God be told that I want to speak? Can we speak when we are confused? 21 We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds. 22 Golden splendor comes from the mountain of God. He is clothed in dazzling splendor. 23 We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty, yet he is so just and merciful that he does not oppress us. 24 No wonder people everywhere fear him. People who are truly wise show him reverence."38:1 THEN the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: 2 " Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? 3 Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. 4 " Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? 6 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7 as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?8 " Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, 9 and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? 10 For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. 11 I said, ` Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!' 12 " Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? 13 Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night's wickedness? 14 For the features of the earth take shape as the light approaches, and the dawn is robed in red. 15 The light disturbs the haunts of the wicked, and it stops the arm that is raised in violence. 16 " Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you walked about and explored their depths? 17 Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? 18 Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! 19 " Where does the light come from, and where does the darkness go? 20 Can you take it to its home? Do you know how to get there? 21 But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!22 " Have you visited the treasuries of the snow? Have you seen where the hail is made and stored? 23 I have reserved it for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war. 24 Where is the path to the origin of light? Where is the home of the east wind? 25 " Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? 26 Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? 27 Who sends the rain that satisfies the parched ground and makes the tender grass spring up? 28 " Does the rain have a father? Where does dew come from? 29 Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? 30 For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.31 " Can you hold back the movements of the stars? Are you able to restrain the Pleiades or Orion? 32 Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons or guide the constellation of the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? 33 Do you know the laws of the universe and how God rules the earth? 34 " Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? 35 Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it? 36 Who gives intuition and instinct? 37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven, 38 turning the dry dust to clumps of mud? 39 " Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions' appetites 40 as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket? 41 Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God as they wander about in hunger?39:1 " DO you know when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched as the wild deer are born? 2 Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? 3 They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring. 4 Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave their parents and never return. 5 " Who makes the wild donkey wild? 6 I have placed it in the wilderness; its home is the wasteland. 7 It hates the noise of the city, and it has no driver to shout at it. 8 The mountains are its pastureland, where it searches for every blade of grass. 9 " Will the wild ox consent to being tamed? Will it stay in your stall? 10 Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you? 11 Since it is so strong, can you trust it? Can you go away and trust the ox to do your work? 12 Can you rely on it to return, bringing your grain to the threshing floor? 13 " The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork. 14 She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust. 15 She doesn't worry that a foot might crush them or that wild animals might destroy them. 16 She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own. She is unconcerned though they die, 17 for God has deprived her of wisdom. He has given her no understanding. 18 But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider. 19 " Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane? 20 Did you give it the ability to leap forward like a locust? Its majestic snorting is something to hear! 21 It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. When it charges to war, 22 it is unafraid. It does not run from the sword. 23 The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash. 24 Fiercely it paws the ground and rushes forward into battle when the trumpet blows. 25 It snorts at the sound of the bugle. It senses the battle even at a distance. It quivers at the noise of battle and the shout of the captain's commands. 26 " Are you the one who makes the hawk soar and spread its wings to the south? 27 Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest? 28 It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag. 29 From there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes. 30 Its nestlings gulp down blood, for it feeds on the carcass of the slaughtered."
2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-5:10
But we [Paul and his co-workers] continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, " I believed in God, and so I speak." 14 We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. 15 All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! 18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.5:1 FOR we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down--when we die and leave these bodies--we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. 4 Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. 6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies.
PSALM 44:9-26
But now you [God] have tossed us aside in dishonor.
You no longer lead our armies to battle.
10 You make us retreat from our enemies
and allow them to plunder our land.
11 You have treated us like sheep waiting to be slaughtered;
you have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold us--your precious people--for a pittance.
You valued us at nothing at all.
13 You have caused all our neighbors to mock us.
We are an object of scorn and derision to the nations around us.
14 You have made us the butt of their jokes;
we are scorned by the whole world.
15 We can't escape the constant humiliation;
shame is written across our faces.
16 All we hear are the taunts of our mockers.
All we see are our vengeful enemies.
17 All this has happened despite our loyalty to you.
We have not violated your covenant.
18 Our hearts have not deserted you.
We have not strayed from your path.
19 Yet you have crushed us in the desert.
You have covered us with darkness and death.
20 If we had turned away from worshiping our God
or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,
21 God would surely have known it,
for he knows the secrets of every heart.
22 For your sake we are killed every day;
we are being slaughtered like sheep.
23 Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Get up! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you look the other way?
Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression?
25 We collapse in the dust,
lying face down in the dirt.
26 Rise up! Come and help us!
Save us because of your unfailing love.
PROVERBS 22:13
The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, "If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!"
