JOB 23

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Job Says He Longs for God  23:1 Then Job replied,

2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion;

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4 “I would present my case before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5 “I would learn the words which He would answer,

And perceive what He would say to me.

6 “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7 “There the upright would reason with Him;

And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

10 “But He knows the way I take;

When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 “My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

14 “For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many such decrees are with Him.

15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

16 “It is God who has made my heart faint,

And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

17 But I am not silenced by the darkness,

Nor deep gloom which covers me.

JOB 24

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Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs24:1 “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not see His days?

2 “Some remove the landmarks;

They seize and devour flocks.

3 “They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 “They push the needy aside from the road;

The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

5 “Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness

They go forth seeking food in their activity,

As bread for their children in the desert.

6 “They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7 “They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8 “They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

9 “Others snatch the orphan from the breast,

And against the poor they take a pledge.

10 “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11 “Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

12 “From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14 “The murderer arises at dawn;

He kills the poor and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

15 “The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he disguises his face.

16 “In the dark they dig into houses,

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

17 “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,

For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth.

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

19 “Drought and heat consume the snow waters,

So does Sheol those who have sinned.

20 “A mother will forget him;

The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

21 “He wrongs the barren woman

And does no good for the widow.

22 “But He drags off the valiant by His power;

He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

23 “He provides them with security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

24 “They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25 “Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”

PROVERBS 13

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked13:1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,

But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2 From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,

But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

3 The one who guards his mouth preserves his life;

The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

But the soul of the diligent is made fat.

5 A righteous man hates falsehood,

But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully.

6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless,

But wickedness subverts the sinner.

7 There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;

Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

8 The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

But the poor hears no rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoices,

But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

10 Through insolence comes nothing but strife,

But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

11 Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,

But the one who gathers by labor increases it.

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

13 The one who despises the word will be in debt to it,

But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

To turn aside from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding produces favor,

But the way of the treacherous is hard.

16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge,

But a fool displays folly.

17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,

But a faithful envoy brings healing.

18 Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline,

But he who regards reproof will be honored.

19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,

But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,

But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

21 Adversity pursues sinners,

But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

23 Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,

But it is swept away by injustice.

24 He who withholds his rod hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

LUKE 21

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The Widow’s Gift  21:1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. 3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4 for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”
    5 And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
    7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. 9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Things to Come    10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
    12 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
    20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Return of Christ    25 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
    29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
    34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
    37 Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. 38 And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.