~ Day Thirty-Four ~

Job spoke many times about God's justice as he attempted to disprove the accusations of his friends and defend his innocence before the Supreme Judge in heaven. "Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands! Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?" (Job 6:29, 30). Job felt that God had denied him justice, but Elihu showed him the error of his ways. He stepped in desiring to defend God's honor and explained that God can do no wrong. The Sovereign Lord is seated on His throne ruling all the kingdoms of heaven and earth. To find any fault in the Majestic Glory is to say that He is not God!

The Pharisees put the Judge of all the earth on the stand when they questioned Jesus and demanded that He prove who He claimed to be. Jesus stood before them as the self-bearing Light of the world, but they were so blind that, they not only couldn't see the bright Light of heaven in their midst, they also couldn't feel His warmth in the tender way He touched and healed the people. They knew the Law, but they did not know the One through whom the Law was given, and so the word was not written on their hearts. And even though Jesus had given them all the evidence they needed to show that He was the Son of God, they rejected every proof and demanded something new every time. [Feast upon: John 8:39-56] "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God...If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him.' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word" (vv. 46-47, 54-55). Jesus had already told them that "the truth shall make you free" (v. 32), but they denied that they were in bondage or had ever been as a nation (v. 33)! They closed their ears to His teaching, while clinging tightly to their traditions and claiming to be Abraham's descendants (but they were nothing like their father Abraham; they were really children of the devil, because they denied His word and sought to kill the Son of God). It is clear they did not know God's Word or their own history as a nation. When they asked Him, "Who do You make Yourself out to be?" (v. 53b), Jesus said it was the Father who honored Him. He did not seek honor for Himself, nor did He look for the praise of men, as the Pharisees were so apt to do. This He said to show them the shallowness of religion and their lack of true knowledge of God. "It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him" (v. 54b, 55a). They knew how to talk of the things of God, but they had no intimate knowledge of God or they would have been able to discern His voice and perceive Him in the person of Jesus Christ. "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them' " (Mark 4:11, 12). Jesus would not deny His relationship with the Father just to avoid their attacks and questioning. He would not stand as a false witness of Himself or the Father, instead He gave further evidence of His knowledge of the Father. "And if I say, 'I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word" (v. 55b). Jesus kept His Father's word and requires the same of all His children. "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death" (v. 51). He further told them their father Abraham rejoiced to see His day. Abraham longed for the dawning of the kingdom of Christ, and the Lord rewarded Him with greater knowledge of God, which is the reward of those who diligently seek Him. But the Pharisees stood in the light of Christ's dawning and had no desire to see Him rise. They were not interested in the knowledge He was offering, they had no appetite for spiritual things. They only plotted how they might extinguish His light as soon as possible, lest the eyes of the world be opened and they give praise to God rather than them. "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it" (Acts 7:51-53). Let us praise the Lord for who He is and for His Word which provides us with our daily nourishment and increases our delight and joy as we grow in the knowledge of Him, and reminds us of the Advocate we have with the Father to plead our cause in the court of heaven. "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

In his first of four speeches, Elihu presented ways in which the Lord was speaking to Job all along, since Job thought that God had been silent. He also presented a new point of view for everyone to consider: that God permits suffering in a person's life to turn him from the error of his ways. Contrary to what the other counselors had been telling Job, Elihu suggested that God's chastisement is often meant to prevent sin rather than punish it. It is true, God speaks loudly through our pain to warn us of impending disaster if we do not address the problem, repent of sin, and turn back to Him. Pain is essential to normal life - it serves our physical bodies well; and it is just as necessary for spiritual life to protect each member of the Body by warning us that danger lies ahead if we veer away from righteous path of God's commands. In his second speech, Elihu first addresses Job and his three friends, then he turns his attention specifically to Job. He is concerned that Job's attitude about God's justice be corrected, because Job had complained that God has treated him unjustly. "For Job has said, "I am righteous, but God has taken away my justice; should I lie concerning my right? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression" (Job 34:5, 6). Elihu stresses that God cannot do wickedly, because it is inconsistent with His nature - He is absolute moral perfection. He will never use His Almighty power for the work of injustice. "Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice" (v. 12). He defends God's justice by stressing God's omniscience and His impartial rule as Lord of all. God governs justly; He is fair. He sees all and He judges with perfect wisdom. He will not make mistakes when He distributes justice to the wicked. "Yet He is not partial to princes, nor does He regard the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands" (vv. 19, 20). The Lord is watching over men and nations to see that right is done. "When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble? And when He hides His face, who then can see Him, whether it is against a nation or a man alone? - That the hypocrite should not reign, lest the people be ensnared" (Job 34:29, 30). Therefore Job should not quarrel with the Lord for anything He has done or suggest that there is the slightest fault in the way that He administers His government. It is better that Job acknowledge His Presence and power and submit to His hand upon his life and repent that he ever had such low view of the Most High God. Let us pray in accordance with the holy and just purposes of God's divine government, who as the Supreme Sovereign of the universe governs all the kingdoms of men and holds the breath of all flesh in His hands, and repent of the times we have unjustly judged God for not handling our situation more justly as we in our own minds have thought He ought. "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9, 10).

Listen to the evening audio prayer by

clicking or tapping HERE or the YouTube image

Subscribe to the Trumpet and Torch Ministries official You Tube Channel

to receive automated notifications for the daily prayers.

that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful" (James 5:10).

Read about 2020

The Year of Divine Government

A Pandemic Prayer Proclamation

Read more HERE