Agape Devotions

Read Job 28 Verse chosen for meditation: Job 28:28 ESV:  And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding. Reflect This whole chapter is essentially a poetic discourse on wisdom though Job's conclusion here is not new. It's found also in Psalm 111: 10 and Proverbs 9: 10. But to be mentioned three times in separate books adds only to the credibility and mystery of this life changing quote of a verse. Simply put, it is not coincidence, but something for us to sit up and take notice of. With controversy surrounding the passage as much as it does the character Job, there's a possibility that this chapter might be an after-thought. If not, how could Job or any of his fair-weather friends be in such a calm state as they mull the philosophical conundrum pertaining to wisdom. How could Job be in the right mind and spirit to ponder even such a topic? It would be furthest from the mind of someone going through the most...

TEXT TO REFLECT ON   And Job again took up his discourse, and said: 2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,     and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 3 as long as my breath is in me,     and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak falsehood,     and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;     till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.  6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;     my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. JOB 27:1-6 REFLECT In this passage, Job expresses how God has been unjust to him. This does not mean that God had actually been unjust to him. But from where he was, suffering even though he had not done anything to deserve his suffering, he saw that God was being unjust to him. He says in v 2, "God.... who has taken away my right, and the Almighty who has made my soul bitter." To Job, God was the cause ...

Read: Job 25-26 No devotional today (Sunday)

Read: Job 23-24 Verses chosen for meditation: Job 23:16 God has made my heart faint;     the Almighty has terrified me; 17 yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,     nor because thick darkness covers my face. Reflect:  Job is God-fearing. Not the kind of fear which think of God as a slave driver or a distant father. It is the kind of fear which think of God as the Creator, the all-powerful and all-knowing one true God of the universe.  It is the kind of fear which inspire Job to obey all that God had commanded him to do. It is the kind of fear which helped Job live a righteous life. It is the kind of fear which see God as Abba Father, Friend and the King of all kings.  It is the kind of fear that equates more with utmost reverence. It is the kind of fear befitting of a subject worshipping the Almighty. Hence, even in his plight, Job said that "God had made his heart faint, and that the Almighty has terrified me"  Yet, in his utmost re...

READ : Job 22 REFLECT : Here Eliphaz misunderstands what Job has said. He thinks that Job is accusing God of unfairly punishing him, but, once again, Job never said that. If Job were guilty of this he would be doing what Satan wanted him to do—he would be accusing and blaspheming God. It is true that Job asks God questions about His motives, but never once does he say,   You're at fault,   and charge God with unrighteousness, as Eliphaz suggests.  I think this is one of the most helpful things we can learn from the book of Job, because in our testings, our pressures, and our times of torment, Satan is trying to get us to do the very thing he tried to get Job to do—he is trying to get us to blame God and accuse Him of being an unfair and unjust God. If that is where Satan drives us, we have fallen. We have gone over the brink and become guilty of an accusation against the God of righteousness. Job never does that. He comes very close, but he refuses to do that. So because ...

READ : Job 20-21 Verses chosen for meditation: Job 21:7-9 7 Why do the wicked live,     reach old age, and grow mighty in power? 8 Their offspring are established in their presence,     and their descendants before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear,     and no rod of God is upon them. REFLECT Job started his reply to Zophar’s stinging words by requesting for his three friends to listen carefully. So far, they were not listening intently and were more concerned with interjecting with their rebuttals. He sarcastically added that if they were to do him this favour, by waiting for him to finish, then they could continue mocking him thereafter. Job then listed why he could not accept their theology that linked his suffering to sin. Not only did Job suffer in his innocence, but the wicked have quite a good time! Often, they lived with great wealth, security and into old age. Their children prosper. They die ...

READ : Job 19  Verses chosen for meditation: Job 19: 25-27. 25  For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27  whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! REFLECT Again, it is not uncommon to hear of Christians asking the question: “why God allows suffering on good people”. In fact, the overall book of Job does not serve to answer our question or provide an explanation directly. Thus far, a ll the predicaments around Job were surrounded by mystery. And often we too, simply cannot comprehend or accept them all. Job rebuked his friends and rejected their assertion that his sufferings must be due to his sins. He considered himself as not being a wicked person. God had made it look as if he had sinned, by placing him in different humiliating situations. J...

Read Job 18 Verses chosen for meditation: Job 18: 1-3 ESV:  Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: “How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak. Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight? Reflect This maybe the second time that Bildad speaks. But he's already off to a bad start in what he's going to say. Instead of giving a listening ear, he's lashing out in anger. He's taking issue with everything Job had said. He's even openly saying that Job is deserving of the suffering, which in a way serves as punishment for his wickedness. What kind of a counsel do you think it is? What kind of a friend is Bildad? By some chance, have we encountered anyone like him? Or have we been like that to anyone? Relate Anyone attempting to play the role of a counsellor or friend to someone in dire straits needs to keep a cool head. There's no room for an angry or retaliatory outburst. Does Bildad sound like he means well or is he actin...

 TEXT FOR REFLECTION Surely now God has worn me out;     he has made desolate all my company. 8 And he has shriveled me up,     which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me;     it testifies to my face. 9 He has torn me in his wrath and hated me;     he has gnashed his teeth at me;     my adversary sharpens his eyes against me. 10 Men have gaped at me with their mouth;     they have struck me insolently on the cheek;     they mass themselves together against me. JOB 16: 7-10 REFLECT Job's troubles were more than those that had been inflicted on him - the loss of his property, the death of his children, and his ill-health. These were tragic enough. But other troubles piled up on to these tragedies. In verse 7, Job laments that his friends had left him - "he has made desolate all my company". In verse 8, Job states that his "leanness has risen up against me, it testifies to my face." In o...

Read: Job 15 No devotional today (Sunday)

Read: Job 12-14 Verses chosen for meditation:  Job 12:13-14 “With God   are wisdom and might;      he has counsel and understanding. 14  If he tears down, none can rebuild;      if he shuts a man in, none can open. 15  If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. Reflect:  One of the key themes in Job is the sovereignty and power of God. It is clear, that through the book of Job, God was the One who allowed Satan to do all that evil towards a righteous man. Perhaps this is why Job is not a "popular" book of the Bible. At least not as well liked as say the Psalms or Philippians.  Yes, it can be very difficult to understand why Satan was allowed to afflict Job to such an extent. The lost of properties, the lost of family members as well as the affliction of terrible diseases. Biblically, it seems that only Christ had it worse.    This is probably why some scholar...

READ : Job 11 REFLECT :  Zophar the Naamathite comes onto the scene.  He moves up to bat, and he opens with a scorching rebuke to Job's sinful folly, as he sees it. You can almost see Zophar shaking his fist in righteous indignation in Job's face. He accuses Job of wordiness, of foolishness, of mockery, of self-righteous smugness. He says that Job's punishment is richly deserved, that he is only getting what is coming to him—and not even all of that. What a lack of compassion this man shows! He goes on to describe Job's stupid ignorance in contrast to God's deep wisdom and inscrutable ways.   Anybody as stupid as you, Job, will never get any help.   He lays it on, heavy and hard. Then he closes with a vivid description of the shining possibilities that can be ahead, if only Job will repent. Once again, there is no identifying with Job's hurt. There is no sense of empathy, of trying to feel with him the awful torment of mind and spirit that presses him, squeezes ...

READ : Job 9-10 Verses chosen for meditation: Job 9-10 We will refer to the full poetry of Job’s replies to his friends (Job 9:1-24) and address to God (Job 9:25-10:22) as our meditation verses, summarised below: - Job acknowledges God’s power and justice (9:1-13) - Job expresses hopelessness at facing God in court (9:14-24) - Job continues his complaints in despair (9:25-35) - Job protests at God’s treatment of him (10:1-17) - Job longs for death (10:18-22) REFLECT Job began his reply by basically saying "Bildad, these things you tell me about God, I believe them too, but they pass me by. Why won’t God make himself known to me, here and now, in this misery of mine?" He acknowledged the validity of Bildad’s words (9:2), but reasoned that he has not forsaken God, so why should he be punished? As God tormented him, an upright man, how then, Job reasoned, could any man stand righteous before God? Job answered his own question by stating than man canno...

Read Job 8 Passage chosen for devotion - Job 8:3-6 3 Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 4 If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 5 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 6 if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. Reflection Job’s friends who are supposed to come and comfort him have actually added to his misery (adding salt to the wound). To be fair they all have no privy insights to what was happening in the conversation between God and Satan, and how blameless Job is to God. Perhaps all the lamentations and defences made by Job have in a way agitated his friends or breached the limit of their patience. After all they have wept and stayed with him seven days and seven night. Bildad was blunt to a grieving Job with his words and his own view. He seemed to imply that Job’s circumstances was caused by his si...

Read Job 6-7 Verses chosen for meditation: Job 7:16 - 18 ESV:  I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are a breath. What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment? Reflect How should one read Job?  Is Job a readily identifiable figure?  Is there perhaps, anyone who might have difficulty understanding the plight of Job? Is it possible for all of life's problems to be explained, and understood? How does this portion of Job speak to us? Relate Job is an awkwardly interesting book to read though not many will refer to it like the Psalms. To many of us, the book of Job is synonymous with suffering. And suffering is one topic we would like to stay at arm's - length, or as far away from. In fact, some scholars believe that Job could be a fictional character although it is generally held among most scholars that Job is a real historical figure who lived during the ti...