John the Baptist confronts the crowds

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: 

Bible Reading: Luke 3:10-20

Insight: John was clearly a popular preacher. Many different types of people came to hear what he said. And while he spoke of repentance and turning from sin it appears that people also took the opportunity to confess their sins to him. To a confession of selfishness, John demands generosity. To those that collected the Roman taxes, often collecting more than was demanded by the Roman rulers, John demanded honesty. To the soldiers who confessed extortion and greed John demanded integrity.

While many thought that John was the Messiah, John never said that he was and in fact always confirmed that the true Messiah was coming soon, but was coming after him.

John’s baptism washed dirt off the outside, but the baptism the Messiah would bring would burn off all of a person’s impurities. Jesus would be like a blacksmith who heats up metal and makes it into something new. Great news for those that genuinely repent, but for those that don’t, John also warned of destruction. It was a common sight in John’s day to see labourers on a hill using a long handled, three-pronged fork to toss a mixture of wheat and chaff into the air. As the chaff caught the breeze it would have blown away and the wheat fallen back to the threshing room floor. Once the dry chaff had been set alight there would have been little that could have stopped the hungry flames from quickly taking hold. The fire would have died as quickly as it started, leaving nothing but a small pile of ashes. Jesus will be the difference that makes us wheat or chaff.

This seems to be just a sample of John’s teaching which took place over time and in various locations. There doesn’t appear to be anyone that escaped John’s teaching, even the governor Herod was not exempt. Boldly, John highlighted Herod’s sin and, like so many others that stand up against injustice in the name of God, he paid for his courage with his life.

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. What else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

The man of integrity

Context: Today we move over to the book of Job. It is one of the poetic books that sits with the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Soloman. Job’s story is one that we may find disturbing as it is one about a man who gets it right with God but still finds himself losing everything and suffering.

We don’t really know when the book of Job was written but it tells the story of a man who lived around the same time as Abram. In fact it doesn’t really matter when it was written as the subject matter will be familiar to many people throughout history and even today.

Pray: Ask God to speak to you through his word today

Consider: How many words can you think of that are different in English and American English?

Bible Reading: Job 1:1-5

Insight: The land of Uz was probably where the descendants of Uz lived. Uz being a son of Abram’s brother Nahor. The name Job means cruelly treated and is probably a name given to him in later life, but he was an upstanding man of integrity and an honourable character who walked closely with God. He was whole in a moral sense, like Noah. He wasn’t perfect though and the translation of the word blameless is misleading here.

Job wasn’t frightened of God, the word fear actually means positive submission, reverence or respect. Job is also described as someone who turns away from evil. He makes a choice to not do evil and to not give in to temptation.

The inclusion of camels in Job’s checklist of wealth indicates that he lived close to the desert and the number of animals indicated that he was not only wealthy but that he had a very large household. It would have been necessary for Job to keep a large number of servants, security guards, shepherds and herdsmen. He would have needed all of those seven sons to help him run his estate.

In an age when so many children dies in childbirth, having ten children grow to be adults would have been an achievement in itself. It seems that Job and his children were not the nomads that we might imagine they would have been but actually lived in houses and were in the habit of marking each other’s birthdays with a celebratory meal.

Before Moses set the law, it would have been the father of the household that would have been the priest and it would have been for him alone to give blessings and curses. Job has priestly responsibility for his children and does not neglect his duties. He first performs a purification ceremony that would deal with anything the children had accidentally done wrong during their feast. Then the following day, knowing how important it is to be committed to God in their hearts as well as with their words, Job sacrificed burnt offerings just in case his children had thought something wrong.

Pause: Stop and listen to the voice of God, don’t rush on.

Picture: Is there a picture in scripture or in the world around you that helps?

Ponder: Think more deeply. what else does this relate to and what else does scripture say?

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (Genesis 8:20)

Pray: Spend time in conversation with God; be completely honest and open.

Promise: Decide what needs to change, commit to it and consider writing it in your journal.

Further Reading: John Goldingay, Job for Everyone.