June 17 ▪ Day 168

Scripture Readings

Psalms 30:4–5
Job 31–32
Hebrews 7–8
Proverbs 18

Verse Focus (Psalms 30:4–5)

⁴Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
     praise his holy name.
⁵For his anger lasts only a moment,
     but his favor lasts a lifetime;
     weeping may stay for the night,
     but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Meditation

Our verse focus today, Psalms 30:4-5, says, in the NIV of 1984, “Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” I have always loved these verses, particularly the last phrases of verse 5. The idea that grief passes. Sorrow is temporary. New days bring new joy. That’s pretty powerful.

Of course, I never really like to think about God’s anger. Reading about God’s anger in the Old Testament is one of the most challenging aspects of reading the entire Bible — especially for those who cut their teeth on the New Testament. Those who grow up in the church likely had a lovey-dovey view of Grandpa God. Loves us to pieces, and spoils us to bits — nothing but comfort and assurance. But when we start reading the Old Testament, we learn that God has thoughts and feelings and emotions. He gets upset! He gets angry. And He sometimes lets Himself act on His anger — He allows nations to overrun Israel.

The good thing about verse 5, though, is it tells us that God’s anger is only a “moment.” On the other hand, His favor lasts a “lifetime.” As the Scripture says, Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Verse 5 is the “because.” Verse 4 is the command. Sing to the LORD, sing praises. Because — there may be brief, momentary anger (righteous anger at our sin, at that!), but we experience a lifetime of favor. We experience far more joy than sorrow. And that is reason for praise.

Father God, thank you that your love is steadfast and enduring. Thank you for your favor. Help us to understand you as a whole and complete person — not as a caricature, or as some kind of sugar daddy. Help us to repent of our sin, and learn to please you by our actions. Thank you again for the joy that cometh in the morning. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today in chapter 31, Job comes to the end of his defense. As verse 41 at the end of the chapter says, “The words of Job are ended.” So these words in chapter 31 are Job’s final appeal — the reason for his hope, and why he believes God will justify him.

Job speaks of doing the right thing, and turning away from evil. He knows that God knows all and sees all. “Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?” Job asks in verse 4. Job enumerates all the ways that he is blameless. He determined not to look at women with lust. He does not let his eyes lead him astray, or let his hands get defiled. He has never committed adultery, either in his heart or in actual deed. He turns away from falsehood and deceit. He always gave justice to his servants, and listened if they had grievances. He understands that there is no difference between people — regardless of rank or wealth, we are of equal value before God. He gave to the poor, helped widows, shared his bread with the fatherless, gave clothing and blankets to those who needed them. All this Job did because he feared God. Job did not let himself get seduced by idols. He did not revere money or put his trust in wealth. He was not enticed into worshiping the heavenly bodies. He did not rejoice when others, even his enemies, suffered misfortune. He did not let his mouth sin. He practiced hospitality, and his door was open to strangers and travelers. He did not hide sin or conceal guilt. He respected his land and his tenants, stewarding them well.

In verse 35, Job cries out, “Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense — let the Almighty answer me.” Job declares that whatever indictments God might have, Job would wear them gladly and proudly.

In chapter 32, a new character speaks. He is Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. Elihu means “my God is he.” Barachel means “God blesses.” Since Barachel is a Buzite, he is presumably a son or a descendant of Buz. And Buz was the nephew of Abraham, an older brother of Bethuel, the father of Rebecca (Genesis 22:21). Ram may refer to Aram, technically a nephew of Buz, but all the families of that region may have been referred to as Arameans, regardless of whether or not they were actually descended from Aram. If you recall from the spoiler alert I gave on June 3rd (Day 154), when God does speak He censures Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. But He says nothing about what Elihu says. From this, we can deduce that Elihu is likely speaking the truth. So when he starts speaking, we should pay attention closely.

Now Elihu was much younger than Job and Job’s three friends. Out of respect, he did not say anything as the four men debated. But now that Job has finished his defense and his three friends have nothing left to say, Elihu becomes very angry. And he feels that he must speak. As he says in verses 18 to 20, “For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.” Indeed, this reminds me of Jeremiah when he felt compelled to prophesy (Jeremiah 20:9).

Elihu mentions being silent out of respect for their age (and the presumed wisdom of their years), but he now realizes that it is the “breath of the Almighty (v. 8)” that gives understanding. And so he speaks.

The narrator of the book of Job does not leave us in suspense. We are told right at the beginning what Elihu is angry about and why he thinks all the men are to be rebuked. Verses 2 and 3 say, “But Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.” Here we learn what Job’s sin and the sins of his friends are. Job may have been righteous and blameless, but he cared about this being recognized more than he cared about God’s reputation. In short, Job cared for his own glory more than he cared about God’s glory. As we’ve seen all along, Job’s friends have been condemning him as wicked and as bringing the punishment upon himself, even though they have not been able to point to any genuine sin within Job.

In this chapter, Elihu rebukes the three friends. He tells them in verse 12, “But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments.” He dismisses the notion that only God can properly answer Job. Elihu says that he will not use the friends’ speeches to answer Job. As the chapter closes, Elihu declares that he will show no partiality to anyone, nor will he flatter anyone with what he is about to say.

In Hebrews 7, the writer explains why it is significant that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek, whose name, the author tells us, means “king of righteousness (v. 2),” was also the king of Salem — meaning the king of peace. After rescuing Lot from the four kings of the north in Genesis 14, Abraham gave a tithe of all the plunder to Melchizedek. The author of Hebrews points out that this signifies how much greater Melchizedek was than the patriarch Abraham; the writer also notes that the entire Aaronic priesthood gave the tithe as well since Levi was yet to come from the body of his ancestor.

In addition to Melchizedek being greater than Abraham, the writer of Hebrews also implies that Melchizedek is immortal. As verse 3 says, “He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

After explaining who Melchizedek is, the writer goes on to clarify how the Mosaic law needed to change — as the Scripture itself implies when it appoints Jesus as the Son who is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:4). As the writer asks in verse 11, “Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?” Not only did there need to be a new priest of an entirely different order than the order of Aaron, but the fact of the new priest indicates a necessary change in the law (v. 12). Thus, the writer declares that Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant than the covenant made with Moses. Jesus became the priest “not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life (v. 16).”

Next, the writer discusses why it is so very important that Jesus is a priest based on an indestructible life — he lives forever; he can save us completely; and, having become perfect forever, he no longer needs to make daily or annual sacrifices for sin — Jesus accomplished it all with the one sacrifice of his life on the cross.

In Hebrews 8, the author explains why this new covenant is a better covenant than what was given to Moses. The entire Aaronic priesthood served in “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (v. 5).” Yet, Jesus, as high priest, serves in heaven — before Almighty God, in the real throne room. The writer quotes from Jeremiah to show that the Scriptures themselves testified that a new and better covenant would be established. Indeed, this new covenant rests on “better promises (v. 6).” And because Jesus has established the new covenant, the first one is becoming “obsolete (v. 13).”

A third of the entries in Proverbs 18 are proverbs that speak of the power of the tongue. As verse 21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” The other proverbs cover a number of different topics, but the themes — wickedness, conflict, foolishness — are familiar. Verse 9 is one that always stands out to me.

Today verse 11 also stood out to me. As the ESV says, “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.” What gets me about this verse is the word “imagination.” The rich trust in their wealth and they imagine that it is a fortress for them. But it is actually a fantasy. It is only in their mind that their money is their protection. It has become an idol to them. If God were to withdraw His favor — if He allowed a day of wrath to come — the rich would soon find out just how worthless their “high wall” really is.

Father God, keep us from trusting in our finances. You are our true security, in good times and in bad. Thank you for sending Jesus to us. Thank you that he is our high priest forever and that he is perfectly able to save us from all of our sins. Thank you, too, for the wisdom of Elihu in the book of Job. It is a challenging book to read because there is enough truth in what everyone says that we have trouble discerning right from wrong. May we continue to learn and study your Word; may we become skillful in the word of righteousness and grow to a mature faith in Christ Jesus. In his name, Amen.