Jim Gallagher

Job 39:1

“Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?”

Job was confused. He did not understand how God could allow so much suffering in his life. When God finally speaks to Job, He asks a simple question, “How long is the pregnancy of a deer or a goat?” These are not difficult questions. They could easily be answered by observing nature. Yet, it seems Job did not have the answer. To be quite honest, I didn’t know either, and had too look it up. Why would God ask him that question? What does the birth cycle of wild animals have to do with the trials Job was facing? I think the answer is found in a question Jesus asked Nicodemus.

John 3:12 “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will…

2 Corinthians 10:3 

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.”

The word ‘walk’ is a common idiom in the New Testament used to illustrate the way we live. Paul is reminding us that whether we are believers or not, we live in the natural world. Believer and unbeliever alike, breathe the same air, eat the same food, and need the same rest. Having said that, Paul goes on to remind us that, although we live in the natural world, we fight a spiritual battle. He does not use the word WAR, as a hook for his sermon, instead he is describing the everyday life of the Christian. From the moment we rise each and every day, we are in the midst of spiritual battle. One of the factors making this battle so difficult, is that it takes place on two fronts…

Job 37:5

“God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.”

Job is in the midst of a very confusing period in his life. He has been struggling to determine what God is doing, and why he is facing these particular struggles. Elihu reminds him that God’s voice is like thunder. Living in South Florida we know the sound of thunder. There are times when the thunder is so loud, the walls of the house actually shake. Elihu is saying the voice of God is so loud and pronounced it is impossible to miss.

The Psalmist put it this way,

Psalms 29:3 “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders…”

Years later, Scripture records an incident in the life of Elijah, who was facing some pretty intense trials of his own. The queen had vowed to use all the…

2 Corinthians 9:7

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

As Paul was writing this letter, conditions in Jerusalem were very difficult. Persecution, famine, and perhaps a bit of mismanagement, had left the church in Jerusalem financially destitute. In order to help those in need, Paul assisted in organizing a financial gift from the gentile churches. This passage lays out the guidelines for the giving and receiving of that gift. The principles Paul presents should help to govern our giving, which we often refer to giving as tithing. The word “tithe” means tenth and refers to the Old Testament Law where the children of Israel were required to give a tenth back to the Lord. The New Testament, while not requiring a tenth, does clearly teach the need to “give back” to the Lord.

Job 36:26
“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered.”

God has gone to great lengths to ensure He is knowable by man. He gave us His written Word, took on the form of human flesh, and shines as a light through the lives of His followers. He has revealed Himself to be a loving Father, who is accessible through Christ, and who comes to the aid of His children. Sometimes, because of the intimacy of our relationship with God, we can lose sight of what some have referred to as, “the other worldliness of God.” While it is important to get to know Him through the pages of His Word, it is also important to realize, there are facets of His character that cannot be known.

Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of…

2 Corinthians 8:9

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Grace is a beautiful word. We use it today to speak of the beauty of motion. We might refer to the “grace” of a gymnast or a figure skater. The word used in the Bible speaks of the giving nature of God. Webster defines it as, “the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him.” In other words, grace is the character trait of God that causes Him to want to give what is best to men. This grace is immeasurable. Paul wrote to the Ephesians regarding the giving nature of God,

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according…

Job 34:16

“If you have understanding, hear this; listen to the sound of my words.”

Elihu was a young man considering the discussion between Job and his three friends. He listened meticulously to the arguments, and seemed to accurately sum up the problem. Job, while not the man his friends were painting him to be, was guilty of charging God with iniquity. Elihu points out, God is not guilty of unrighteousness for the way He treats man. God’s goal is to awaken men to their need of a Savior. If a temporal affliction will awaken us to our eternal needs, God is certainly justified in His actions. Much of what Elihu shares is both Biblical and true, the problem is, it lacks any semblance of compassion.

Ephesians 4:15 “. . .but, speaking the truth in love. . . ”

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace…

Job 33:24

“Then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’. . .”

Jesus explained to the religious leaders, that while they searched the Scriptures thinking they would find life, in reality, the Scriptures testify of Jesus. In other words, we should be able to see Jesus throughout the Bible. Sometimes, He is subtly behind the scenes, other times, He is front and center, and cannot be missed. Here, in the testimony of Elihu, we see a wonderful prediction of the work of Christ. Elihu points out, the real problem with mankind is that we are sinners and as such, are under a curse, and headed for what he calls the pit. The solution presented by this young man is that God Himself will provide a ransom for fallen men.

As the pages of Scripture continue to unfold, it…

2 Corinthians 7:10
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Unfortunately, sadness is a common feeling. We have experienced it in all its varying levels and intervals. We have had little things happen that caused us to frown and go quiet, and we have had deeper experiences that gripped us with sorrow and caused us to weep or even wail. Paul is speaking here, not of the sorrow that comes from your favorite team losing a game, or even losing someone you love, he is speaking of the sorrow that comes upon a person when they realize they have sinned against God. The Psalmist wrote of a time when he was overcome with that kind of sadness;

Psalms 6:6 “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with…

Job 32:1-2

“So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then the wrath of Elihu, was aroused against Job because he justified himself rather than God.”

In the previous chapter, Job made a list of all the good things he had done. He speaks of being a good husband, caring for his employees, giving to charity, being a religious man and avoiding evil actions. These are all notable qualities and should be a part of our lives, but not one of them is capable of making us righteous or justified before God. Job made the mistake of thinking he could earn his way to heaven. He assumed his good works would outweigh the bad things he had done. CS Lewis sought to express the problem with self-righteousness in his book “The Great Divorce.” He speaks of a man who refuses to enter heaven…