June 14 ▪ Day 165

Scripture Readings

Psalms 27:13
Job 25–26
Hebrews 1–2
Proverbs 15

Verse Focus (Psalms 27:13)

I remain confident of this:
     I will see the goodness of the LORD
     in the land of the living.

Meditation

Psalms 27:13 is David’s declaration of faith, despite troubling circumstances. He says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Despite enemies and foes and false witnesses, David knows that God will work things out for his good. Wow!

Sometimes, though, our faith is a bit anemic. We have more faith in God’s goodness for the afterlife than we do for our present life. I can’t help but wonder if our salvation faith can really be that strong if we do not expect to see evidence of God’s goodness in the land of the living. But there’s something very vulnerable about putting your faith on the line to say, here and now, in the present, I will see God’s goodness. Sometimes we are confident and can say this easily. Other times, it feels like a risk. What if God were to disappoint me?

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” In other words, without the faith that God will display His goodness to me in the land of the living, then I will indeed be disappointed. I don’t think it’s a question of my faith pleasing God so that He decides to do something good for me (although our faith does please God); rather, I think that my having faith gives me the eyes to see what God is actually doing.

This is my prayer today and every day. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Amen!

Father God, I thank you that you are faithful. I thank you that you are good, and that you do good. Please strengthen my faith by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Job 25, Bildad responds to Job’s words. In the previous two chapters, Job had spoken of desiring to find God to state his case before him; he spoke of his certainty that God would vindicate his integrity. Job also spoke of how God doesn’t necessarily punish the wicked during mortal lifetime. What Bildad says is very short. He simply asserts that it is impossible for man to be righteous before God. What Job believes or does not believe is immaterial. “How can he who is born of woman be pure?” Bildad asks in verse 4. He likens humankind to maggots and worms.

In chapter 26, Job mocks Bildad for his response. With heavy sarcasm, Job reminds his three friends that they were supposed to be comforting and helping him. And yet what did Job get instead? Accusations of iniquity, advice to repent, and now, with Bildad’s response, the “wisdom” that Job is but a maggot in God’s eyes. No help and no comfort for Job.

Job begins to describe God’s majesty and power. But he does not make the comparison that mankind is like worms; rather, Job speaks of the God reigning over the netherworld of the dead, wrapping up water in the clouds, creating the heavens, setting boundaries for light and dark, and churning the sea and slaying sea monsters. Job says that these are but the “outer fringe (v. 14)” of His works, a whisper of His power.

Today we begin reading the Letter to the Hebrews. This is one of my favorite books! I’m not quite sure why the early church classified this as a letter, considering that is does not have an opening address or a closing benediction like any of the other New Testament letters have. It seems more like an essay to me. Regardless, the Epistle to the Hebrews covers a number of doctrinal issues regarding Christ as the Messiah. It demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant through Jesus, and encourages the believers to persevere even in the face of persecution. The letter is presumably addressed to the Jewish Christian community, possibly in Jerusalem. Scholars are not clear as to when they believe this was written. Because of its references to temple worship, some believe Hebrews must have been written before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 72 AD — so they date the letter to about 68 AD. Others believe it was written sometime between 70 and 100 AD.

Although some in the early church believed Hebrews was written by Paul, others doubted that he was the author as noted by the early church historian Eusebius. In fact, there was no consensus of opinion as to the authorship of Hebrews. Some proposed that it was written by Barnabas; others suggested Luke; still others thought that maybe Clement of Alexandria or Apollos might have written the book. When it was admitted to the canon, the authorship was left as anonymous. Modern scholarship has not been able to discover the author of Hebrews either, although there is an intriguing theory that the book was written by a woman (Priscilla has been suggested as a candidate). According to proponents of this theory, having a female author would have been too controversial; rather than let its excellent doctrine be ignored, the church actually made a deliberate attempt to suppress the authorship of Hebrews.

Chapter 1 begins by speaking of the supremacy of God’s son, Jesus. In the past, says the writer of the Hebrews in verses 1 and 2, God spoke to “our fathers” through the prophets; now, in “these last days” God speaks to us through Jesus. The author makes clear the divinity of Jesus, saying in verse 3, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The author then goes on to quote a number of Old Testament passages to show the unique place Jesus holds as God’s begotten Son — a place higher than the angels.

Where chapter 1 speaks of Jesus’ divinity, chapter 2 speaks of his humanity. Verse 17 concludes, that, as Jesus was sent to help the “offspring of Abraham (v. 16),” “he had to be made like his brothers in every respect.”

While there are aspects of the book of Hebrews that are beautiful and encouraging, there are also parts of the book that are challenging and disturbing. Chapter 2 begins by saying, in verse 1, “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” As the paragraph continues, the author asks in verse 2, “How shall we escape [retribution] if we neglect such a great salvation?” To think of being subject to judgment for not paying enough attention to salvation by grace is a little frightening. We are comfortable with the message of God’s great love for us and the depths that Jesus went to in order that we might be saved; we are much less comfortable at the idea that we might suffer God’s judgment upon us for not cleaving closely enough to Jesus Christ.

I have read Proverbs 15 many times. I have my favorites verses: verse 1, verse 19, and verse 32. I also like verse 15 and verse 30. But today I notice a few different proverbs. Verse 2 says, in the CSB, “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.” Oh, that God might give me the tongue of the wise! I would dearly love to make knowledge attractive to others!

Verse 3 says, in the ESV, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” This is not a new idea — we know that God knows all and sees all — but today I find this verse gives me comfort. The LORD keeps watch over us, and over all circumstances. Nothing will catch Him by surprise.

Finally, verse 25. In the CSB, the proverb says, “The LORD tears apart the house of the proud, but he protects the widow’s territory.” I know that God will humble us when we’re haughty, but somehow the image of God tearing apart the house of the proud gets to me. We strive to build our houses carefully upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. But if my heart becomes proud because of the gifts God has given me, or if I think I’m building the house because of my own strength — I can see God pulling out beams faster than I can put them in. May God protect me from such pride!

Father God, thank you for the work that you do in our lives. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and your Scripture. Thank you for giving us your Son to save us. May we grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.