Thoughts on the Bible Readings December 22nd (Job 29, 30; Zechariah 6, 7; Revelation 3, 4)

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]In chapters 29 and 30 Job summarised his defence to his friends; before making his final appeal in chapter 31. In the opening verses of chapter 29 Job reflected on former years when everything was well and then all blessed him, including the Almighty. He reminisces about his lost family. As well as the message, let us enjoy the majestic and poetic language in this part of Scripture. At that time all strata within his society were in awe of him, and showed their respect in his presence. The poor and the disabled blessed his care and charity. He was the protector of the oppressed and the vanquisher of all those who sought self-advancement at the cost of the downtrodden. People waited for his words of wisdom and acted upon his counsel. Chapter 30 muses on the sad and sorry state he was in now. The young, who were not suitable enough to look after Job's dogs, disdained and scorned him. The lazy sloths of the past now looked down on Job. That rabble made up hurtful ditties and songs about the once respected elder. In addition, the mental torment from which Job suffered was made worse by his intense physical struggles. Any cry for support was met by ignoring him, or, even worse, by turning their backs on him. Job tells of his pain and exclusion from human company. The wild animals were his companions and their doleful cries his music. Additional comment re Job 30 reading Dec 22. - There is a striking similarity between the state In which Job finds himself - as described in Job 30 - and the state of Jesus on the cross. For exampleverses 1. Job 30verses1 - Job is had "in derision" cp Matt 27verses39 - Jesus was reviled, jeered at. 2. Job 30verses10 - vile men spat in Job's face cp Matt 27verses30 - "they spat upon" Jesus. 3. Job 30verses13 - Job says that his enemies "promote my calamity" cp Matt 27verses42 - they mocked Jesus saying " himself he cannot save." 4. Job 30verses16 - "my soul is poured out upon me" cp Isa 53verses12 - "he (Jesus) has poured out his soul to death". 5. Through Job we have an insight into the potential feelings in the day of his crucifixion of the ultimate "man of sorrows" who was "despised and rejected of men" (Isa 53) and "acquainted with grief”. We are again reminded that we can "see Christ on every page" in the Old Testament. Job was clearly one of the many characters who were typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 1-8 of Zechariah 6 describe the 4 chariots, which came from between the two bronze mountains speaking respectively of the powers to the north and south of Judah, who would fight over the Holy Land. The chariots spoke of the judgements of the LORD to come upon the oppressors of God's people. Red, black, white and dappled horses were the driving force of Yahweh's cherubic chariots; compare the 4 horses of Revelation 6. The 4 winds have their apocalyptic counterparts in Revelation 7. The second vision tells of the placing of the crown on the head of Joshua the High Priest. This assigned to him the role of the King-Priest - i.e. our Lord Jesus Christ. Compare this vision with the extended parable relating to Melchizedek in Hebrews chapters 5-7. Verses 9 to 15 explain the vision. The prophet is told that this King-Priest's title is "the Branch" (see our notes on chapter 3verses8). This man would, like our coming King- Priest, Jesus Christ, build the Temple. Christ's Temple will be the house of worship for all nations as Zechariah 14 proclaims. All nations will, as Isaiah tells us, assist in the building of that house. Zechariah's 7th chapter is a call, from the prophet, for justice and mercy - the two preeminent attributes of our Sovereign (Exodus 34verses5-7; Romans 11verses22-23). A delegation came from Bethel to Jerusalem enquiring about the LORD's attitude to the fasts they were observing. The fasting related to the earlier capturing of the city wall and then of its final destruction together with the nation and its Temple (see Ezekiel 21verses25-27). God, through the prophet, tells them that their fasting was only self-promotion and had nothing to do with the worship of and respect for their Sovereign. The delegation was told to render the justice of mercy and truth. For those wanting a fruitful source of study notice how frequently mercy and truth occur together in the Scriptures; or another way of coupling is of justice and mercy. The Hebrew word for Truth is "Eduth" (see Isaiah 65verses16 where God is described as the God of the Amen). The word for mercy is "Chesed", or the LORD's "loving kindness". But the people of God had experienced chastisement for the failure to respond to the Almighty's entreaties. A failure to listen to God will result in a failure of God in listening to them (see Proverbs 1verses20-33; 28verses9). Consequently, punishments were the inevitable consequences of their actions. Revelation 3 is our Lord's timeless message of warning, advice and essential attitudinal changes were required of the 3 of the 7 Turkish ecclesias Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. The first had to realise that the reputation Sardis once enjoyed was gone and they needed to wake up, repent and get back to their roots. Philadelphia, alone of the ecclesias received no condemnation, but rather they are encouraged to remain steadfast. On the other hand, the wealthy Laodicea was pitifully ignorant of their true state and needed to open the door of their hearts to the soon to be returned and door-knocking Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 4 presents the Christ ruling with his saints in glory. The chapter is an invitation for the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, to ascend into the political heavens through the open door and rule upon the earth. This is an encouraging vision of the kingdom on which we will elaborate on in tomorrows' comments. Thanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christadelphianvideo.org See more Thoughts from the Christadelphian Dialy Bible Reading Planner (By R.Roberts) here... [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-bible-readings-december-22nd-job-29-30-zechariah-6-7-revelation-3-4/?feed_id=107853&_unique_id=6947bd43bcb52