The Family Bible Journey Podcast

The Jerusalem Council is convened to answer a most basic question of faith. Must we do something to be saved? The leaders had been divided on the necesssity of circumcision before this, but after Peter's impassioned speech, they all agree that only faith and grace are necessary for salvation. But this great moment of unity is tempered by the end of the chapter, where Paul and Barnabas part ways ov...

God's speech begins by God contrasting His wisdom to the depths of the earth, the seas, the heavens, space and even human understanding. He puts Job and his friends in place not by condemning them, but rather by sharing with them the true nature of reality.

Elihu proves a faulty friend of Job for three reasons. He is foolishly arrogant, expouses the faulty logic of Job's other friends, and finds fault with Job, insisting that Job somehow deserves his lot in life. Elihu's faulty example gives us good reason to cherish good and faithful friends as the gift of God that they are to us.

In Lystra, a mob, inspired by Paul's healing of a cripple, want to offer sacrifices to him and Barnabas as representatives of Zeus and Hermes. Paul restrains the crowd, only to have the same mob whipped into a murderous state by his opponents, stone him, and leave him for dead. Revived and undeterred, Paul and Barnabas continue their preaching, and establish leaders and churches in every community...

Elihu, the young man, speaks with some degree of naiveté and runs his mouth when he should be opening his years. In his speech, he wrestles with the difficulties of reconciling God's goodness with the reality suffering and evil in the world. Here we learn the dangers of conflating related ideas in a way that corrupts our thinking.

After rebuking Job's other friends for their worldly wisdom, Elihu turns his tongue on Job. Elihu's speech will alternate accusations against Job, and defense of God. 

The church grows as a diverse assembly of saints by the Holy Spirit's leading. Leading businessmen, an African, a member of Herod's court and even the Roman Governor of Cyprus are brought to faith. This shows us that God does not discriminate between rich or poor, educated or uneducated. He welcomes all into His family.

Elihu, the thus far silent "friend," now speaks. In his speech, we see that in his silence, Elihu had defered to his elders. Eager to be heard, he promises to tell them exactly how he feels.

Job makes his final self-defense by insisting on the purity of his heart, extolling just punishments for evil, and recounting his generosity with those who had suffered. He ends his case with a final plea is to make his case before the Almighty.

The bookends of this chapter are the death of James, and the death of Herod, who had ordered James killed and Peter imprisoned. But the story of a little servant girl named Rhoda, who couldn't believe that her hero Peter had been freed from prison, stands out as a cute story of genuine faith.

We can commiserate with Job when others kick us when we are down. Job recalls the blessings of his earlier years and laments his demise. Even the poorest of the poor and the meanest of the mean are looking down on him. 

Job tells his friends that they will only find wisdom with God and where God is found. So much of their "wisdom" was earthly, not based upon God's etermal Word. Listening to Job, and learning from Him, we want to find wisdom by spending time with God in His Word and in worship.

The key to the Christian faith is that repentance leads to life. Too many people have it too good, or are too distracted to care about sin or to think they've ever done any wrong. May we never lose sight of the most important fact that in Christ, we have life, through the forgiveness of our sins.

Job declares the wonderful working of the heavens, as he begins to describe the majesty of God. He decribes natural phenomena that still amaze us today. He lays the case for God's inscrutable and unfathomable ways, as he prepares to lay out a long defensive discourse with his "friends."

This brief chapter gives us opportunity to reflect on the breakdown in communication between Job and his friends. Even though they had much more in common than not, they couldn't connect. Instead of listening, they talked past each other. Here we learn the importance of listening, if we want to make a meaningful connection with someone.

Cornelius was a Roman Centurion who feared the One True God. The Lord sent Peter to him, to tell him of God's love. Cornelius was so excited at the prospect of hearing Peter, that he invited all he knew to hear the Good News. In so doing, Cornelius brought many of his loved ones to faith in Jesus as the Savior.

Job is tired of his "friends'" constant assaults and blame. In weary resignation, he wishes to make his case before God Almighty, the only true and understanding Judge. Here, we have the blessing, as New Testament saints, of knowing that when we stand before God in judgment, we shall be aquitted for the sake of Christ Jesus.

Nobody wants to suffer. This is why so many, when confronted with seemingly random loss, often try to find a cause and effect relationship between human suffering and a human cause. But this life is patently unfair, as Eliphaz fails to recognize.

Saul left Jerusalem with arrest warrants for anyone who followed, "the Way," of Jesus. Along the road, he was blinded by Jesus, the One Saul had been persecuting. Terrified and confused, Saul was converted, baptized and renamed Paul. He, who had been the Church's most aggressive opponent, became its most ardent proponent.

Zophar continues berating and belittling Job, whom he assumes has done some terrible wrong to merit God's wrath. Job insists he has done nothing in particular to deserve such harsh treatment. And so we are left considering injustice and the hard realities of living in a world where the evil and the good suffer alike.

In the depths of despair, Job utters one of the clearest statements of faith ever spoken in the Bible. His comfort is ours in Christ Jesus. Job's proclamaition of unwavering faith is a great encouragement and comfort for us all.

We hear the birth story of the Church in Africa. Long before the gospel reached Europe or the Americas, God's Word was firmly planted in the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch. He fathered the Coptic and African Church.

Philip is an under-appreciated leader in the early church. In chapter 8, he takes the gospel to Samaria. His interactions with Simon the Magician, a fraud and swindler, show how powerful Philip had become as a Spirit-led evangelist. Before the end of the chapter, he will reach the heart of Africa with the gospel!

Bildad insults Job for not submitting to his friends' insistence that he must've done something to deserve God's wrath. Like every good lie, there is some truth in what they say. But Job is left now with nothing but sadness, loss, and accusations that all is his fault.

Job loathes his "friends." Instead of consoling him, his "comforters" blame him for his misfortune, amplifying his grief and shame.