One Story That Leads to Jesus, Day 147
29Job continued speaking.H347H3254H5375H4912H559 2"I long for the years gone by when God took care of me,H5414H3391H6924H3117H433H8104 3when he lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.H5216H1984H7218H216H3212H2822 4When I was in my prime, God's friendship was felt in my home.H3117H2779H5475H433H168 5The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me.H7706H5288H5439 6My cows produced milk in abundance, and my groves poured out streams of olive oil.H7364H1978H2529H6697H6694H6388H8081 7"Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders.H3318H8179H7176H3559H4186H7339 8The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.H5288H7200H2244H3453H6965H5975 9The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths.H8269H6113H4405H7760H3709H6310 10The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect.H5057H2244H6963H3956H1692H2441 11"All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me.H241H8085H833H5869H7200H5749 12For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help.H4422H6041H7768H3490H5826 13I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows' hearts to sing for joy.H1293H6H935H490H3820H7442 14Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban.H3847H6664H3847H4941H4598H6797 15I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.H5869H5787H7272H6455 16I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.H1H34H7379H3045H2713 17I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and plucked their victims from their teeth.H7665H4973H5767H7993H2964H8127 18"I thought, 'Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life.H559H1478H7064H7235H3117H2344 19For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.H8328H6605H4325H2919H3885H7105 20New honors are constantly bestowed on me, and my strength is continually renewed.'H3519H2319H5978H7198H2498H3027 21"Everyone listened to my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak.H8085H3176H1826H3926H6098 22And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them.H310H1697H8138H4405H5197 23They longed for me to speak as people long for rain. They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.H3176H4306H6473H6310H4456 24When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them.H7832H539H216H6440H5307 25Like a chief, I told them what to do. I lived like a king among his troops and comforted those who mourned.H977H1870H3427H7218H7931H4428H1416H5162H57
30"But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.H6810H3117H7832H1H3988H7896H3611H6629 2A lot of good they are to me—those worn-out wretches!H4100H3581H3027H3624H6 3They are gaunt with hunger and flee to the deserts, to desolate and gloomy wastelands.H2639H3720H1565H6207H6723H570H7722H4875 4They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees.H6998H4408H7880H7574H8328H3899 5They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves.H1644H1460H7321H1590 6So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.H7931H6178H5158H2356H6083H3710 7They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles.H7880H5101H2738H5596 8They are nameless fools, outcasts from society.H1121H5036H1121H8034H5217H776 9"And now they mock me with vulgar songs! They taunt me!H5058H4405 10They despise me and won't come near me, except to spit in my face.H8581H7368H2820H7536H6440 11For God has cut my bowstring. He has humbled me, so they have thrown off all restraint.H6605H3499H6031H7971H7448H6440 12These outcasts oppose me to my face. They send me sprawling and lay traps in my path.H3225H6965H6526H7971H7272H5549H734H343 13They block my road and do everything they can to destroy me. They know I have no one to help me.H5420H5410H3276H1942H1962H5826 14They come at me from all directions. They jump on me when I am down.H857H7342H6556H8478H7722H1556 15I live in terror now. My honor has blown away in the wind, and my prosperity has vanished like a cloud.H1091H2015H7291H5082H7307H3444H5674H5645 16"And now my life seeps away. Depression haunts my days.H5315H8210H3117H6040H270 17At night my bones are filled with pain, which gnaws at me relentlessly.H6106H5365H3915H6207H7901 18With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat.H7230H3581H3830H2664H247H6310H3801 19He has thrown me into the mud. I'm nothing more than dust and ashes.H3384H2563H4911H6083H665 20"I cry to you, O God, but you don't answer. I stand before you, but you don't even look.H7768H6030H5975H995 21You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me.H2015H393H6108H3027H7852 22You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.H5375H7307H7392H4127H8454H7738 23And I know you are sending me to my death—the destination of all who live.H3045H7725H4194H1004H4150H2416 24"Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble.H7971H3027H1164H7769H6365 25Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?H1058H7186H3117H5315H5701H34 26So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.H6960H2896H7451H935H3176H216H935H652 27My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.H4578H7570H1826H3117H6040H6923 28I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help.H1980H6937H2535H6965H7768H6951 29Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls.H251H8577H7453H1323H3284 30My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever.H5785H7835H6106H2787H2721 31My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep.H3658H60H5748H6963H1058
31"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.H3772H1285H5869H995H13302For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?H2506H433H4605H5159H7706H47913Isn't it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil?H343H5767H5235H6466H2054Doesn't he see everything I do and every step I take?H7200H1870H5608H68065"Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone?H1980H7723H7272H2363H48206Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.H8254H6664H3976H433H3045H85387If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin,H838H5186H1870H3820H1980H310H5869H3971H1692H37098then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.H2232H312H398H6631H83279"If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor's wife,H3820H6601H802H693H7453H660710then let my wife belong to another man; let other men sleep with her.H802H2912H312H312H376611For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.H2154H5771H641412It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.H784H398H11H8327H839313"If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me,H3988H4941H5650H519H737914how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me?H6213H410H6965H6485H772515For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb.H6213H990H6213H259H3559H735816"Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?H4513H1800H2656H5869H490H361517Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans?H398H6595H3490H39818No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows.H5271H1431H1H5148H517H99019Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear,H7200H6H3830H34H368220did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?H2504H1288H2552H1488H353221"If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side,H5130H3027H3490H7200H5833H817922then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket!H3802H5307H7929H248H7665H707023That would be better than facing God's judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?H343H410H6343H7613H320124"Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?H7760H2091H3689H559H3800H400925Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own?H8055H2428H7227H3027H4672H352426"Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,H7200H216H1984H3394H1980H336827and been secretly enticed in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship?H3820H5643H6601H6310H5401H302728If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.H5771H6416H3584H410H460529"Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way?H8055H6365H8130H5782H7451H467230No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge.H5414H2441H2398H7592H423H531531"My servants have never said, 'He let others go hungry.'H4962H168H559H5414H1320H764632I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone.H1616H3885H2351H6605H1817H73433"Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart?H3680H6588H121H2934H5771H224334Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?H6206H7227H1995H937H4940H2865H1826H3318H660735"If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.H5414H8085H8420H7706H6030H376H7379H3789H561236I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown.H5375H7926H6029H585037For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince.H5046H4557H6806H5057H712638"If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together,H127H2199H8525H3162H105839or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,H398H3581H3701H1167H5301H531540then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley." Job's words are ended.H2336H3318H2406H890H8184H1697H347H8552
142[A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer.] I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy.H4905H1732H8605H4631H2199H3068H6963H6963H3068H2603 2I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.H8210H7879H6440H5046H6440H6869 3When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.H7307H5848H3045H5410H734H2098H1980H2934H6341 4I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.H5027H3225H7200H5234H4498H6H1875H5315 5Then I pray to you, O Lord. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.H2199H3068H559H4268H2506H776H2416 6Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.H7181H7440H1809H3966H1809H5337H7291H553 7Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you are good to me.”H3318H5315H4525H3034H8034H6662H3803H1580
Dublin, OH
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