One Story That Leads to Jesus, Day 143
Job 12
12Then Job spoke again.H347H6030H5592"You people really know everything, don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!H551H5971H2451H41913Well, I know a few things myself—and you're no better than I am. Who doesn't know these things you've been saying?H1571H3824H5307H36444Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me.H7814H7453H7121H433H6030H6662H8549H78145People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.H3559H4571H7272H3940H937H6248H76006But robbers are left in peace, and those who provoke God live in safety—though God keeps them in his power.H168H7703H7951H7264H410H987H3027H433H9357"Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.H199H7592H929H3384H5775H8064H50468Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.H7878H776H3384H1709H3220H56089For they all know that my disaster has come from the hand of the LORD.H3045H3027H3068H621310For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.H3027H5315H2416H7307H376H132011The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.H241H974H4405H2441H2938H40012Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.H3453H2451H753H3117H839413"But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his.H2451H1369H6098H839414What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.H2040H1129H5462H376H660515If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.H6113H4325H3001H7971H2015H77616Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power.H5797H8454H7683H768617He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools.H3212H3289H7758H8199H198418He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist.H6605H4148H4428H631H4975H23219He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power.H3212H3548H7758H5557H38620He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders.H5493H8193H539H3947H2940H220521He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong.H8210H937H5081H7503H4206H65022"He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom.H1540H6013H2822H3318H216H675723He builds up nations, and he destroys them. He expands nations, and he abandons them.H7679H1471H6H7849H1471H514824He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.H5493H3820H7218H5971H776H8582H8414H187025They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.H4959H2822H216H8582H7910
Job 13
13"Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.H5869H7200H241H8085H9952I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am.H1847H3045H53073As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty. I want to argue my case with God himself.H199H1696H7706H2654H3198H4104As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks.H199H2950H8267H7495H4575If only you could be silent! That's the wisest thing you could do.H5414H2790H2790H24516Listen to my charge; pay attention to my arguments.H8085H8433H7181H7379H81937"Are you defending God with lies? Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?H1696H5766H410H1696H74238Will you slant your testimony in his favor? Will you argue God's case for him?H5375H6440H7378H4109What will happen when he finds out what you are doing? Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?H2895H2713H582H2048H204810No, you will be in trouble with him if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.H3198H3198H5643H5375H644011Doesn't his majesty terrify you? Doesn't your fear of him overwhelm you?H7613H1204H6343H530712Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes. Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.H2146H4912H665H1354H1354H256313"Be silent now and leave me alone. Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.H2790H1696H567414Yes, I will take my life in my hands and say what I really think.H5375H1320H8127H7760H5315H370915God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.H2005H6991H3176H3198H1870H644016But this is what will save me—I am not godless. If I were, I could not stand before him.H3444H2611H935H644017"Listen closely to what I am about to say. Hear me out.H8085H8085H4405H262H24118I have prepared my case; I will be proved innocent.H6186H4941H3045H666319Who can argue with me over this? And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.H7378H2790H147820"O God, grant me these two things, and then I will be able to face you.H6213H8147H5641H644021Remove your heavy hand from me, and don't terrify me with your awesome presence.H7368H3709H7368H367H120422Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply.H7121H6030H1696H772523Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.H5771H2403H3045H6588H240324Why do you turn away from me? Why do you treat me as your enemy?H5641H6440H2803H34125Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind? Would you chase dry straw?H6206H5929H5086H7291H3002H717926"You write bitter accusations against me and bring up all the sins of my youth.H3789H4846H3423H5771H527127You put my feet in stocks. You examine all my paths. You trace all my footprints.H7760H7272H5465H8104H734H2707H8328H727228I waste away like rotting wood, like a moth-eaten coat.H7538H1086H899H6211H398
Job 14
14"How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble!H120H3205H802H7116H3117H7649H7267 2We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.H3318H6731H5243H1272H6738H5975 3Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?H6491H5869H2088H935H4941 4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!H5414H2889H2931H259 5You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.H518H3117H2782H4557H2320H6213H2706H5674 6So leave us alone and let us rest! We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.H8159H2308H7521H7916H3117 7"Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches.H3426H8615H6086H3772H2498H3127H2308 8Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,H8328H2204H776H1503H4191H6083 9at the scent of water it will bud and sprout again like a new seedling.H7381H4325H6524H6213H7105H5194 10"But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?H1397H4191H2522H120H1478 11As water evaporates from a lake and a river disappears in drought,H4325H235H3220H5104H2717H3001 12people are laid to rest and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.H376H7901H6965H8064H1115H6974H5782H8142 13"I wish you would hide me in the grave and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!H5414H6845H7585H5641H639H7725H7896H2706H2142 14Can the dead live again? If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death.H1397H4191H2421H3117H6635H3176H2487H935 15You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.H7121H6030H3700H4639H3027 16For then you would guard my steps, instead of watching for my sins.H5608H6806H8104H2403 17My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover my guilt.H6588H2856H6872H2950H5771 18"But instead, as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,H199H2022H5307H5034H6697H6275H4725 19as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope.H4325H7833H68H7857H5599H6083H776H6H8615H582 20You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away.H8630H5331H1980H8138H6440H7971 21They never know if their children grow up in honor or sink to insignificance.H1121H3513H3045H6819H995 22They suffer painfully; their life is full of trouble."H1320H3510H5315H56
Job 15
15Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied.H6030H464H8489H5592"A wise man wouldn't answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.H2450H6030H7307H1847H4390H990H69213The wise don't engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?H3198H5532H1697H4405H32764Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?H6565H3374H1639H7881H6440H4105Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.H6310H502H5771H977H3956H61756Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you.H6310H7561H8193H60307"Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?H7223H7223H120H3205H2342H6440H13898Were you listening at God's secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?H8085H5475H433H1639H24519What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we do not?H3045H3045H99510On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!H7867H3453H3524H3117H111"Is God's comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?H8575H410H4592H328H169712What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,H3820H3947H5869H733513that you turn against God and say all these evil things?H7725H7307H410H4405H3318H631014Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?H582H2135H3205H802H666315Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.H539H6918H8064H2141H586916How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!H8581H444H376H8354H5766H5766H432517"If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.H2331H8085H2372H560818And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—H2450H5046H1H358219from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.H776H5414H2114H5674H843220"The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.H7563H2342H3117H4557H8141H6845H618421The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.H6343H6963H241H7965H7703H93522They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.H539H7725H2822H6822H271923They wander around, saying, 'Where can I find bread?' They know their day of destruction is near.H5074H3899H3045H3117H2822H3559H302724That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.H6862H4691H1204H8630H4428H6264H359325For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.H5186H3027H410H1396H770626Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.H7323H6677H5672H1354H404327"These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.H3680H6440H2459H6213H6371H368928But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.H7931H3582H5892H1004H3427H6257H153029Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.H6238H2428H6965H5186H4512H77630"They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.H5493H2822H7957H3001H3127H7307H6310H549331Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.H8582H539H7723H7723H854532Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.H4390H3808H3117H3712H748833They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.H2554H1154H1612H7993H5328H213234For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.H5712H2611H1565H784H398H168H781035They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit."H2029H5999H3205H205H990H3559H4820
Psalms 138
138[A psalm of David.] I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods.H1732H3034H3820H430H2167 2I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.H7812H6944H1964H3034H8034H2617H571H1431H565H8034 3As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.H3117H7121H6030H7292H5797H5315 4Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord, for all of them will hear your words.H4428H776H3034H3068H8085H561H6310 5Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great.H7891H1870H3068H1419H3519H3068 6Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.H3068H7311H7200H8217H1364H3045H4801 7Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me.H3212H7130H6869H2421H7971H3027H639H341H3225H3467 8The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.H3068H1584H2617H3068H5769H7503H4639H3027
Dublin, OH
has come from the hand of the LORD.H3045
