August 31st - Day 243

Job 37-39:30



Job 37

1 "At this my heart pounds

and leaps from its place.

2 Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,

to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven

and sends it to the ends of the earth.

4 After that comes the sound of his roar;

he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds,

he holds nothing back.

5 God's voice thunders in marvelous ways;

he does great things beyond our understanding.

6 He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,'

and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'

7 So that all men he has made may know his work,

he stops every man from his labor. [a]

8 The animals take cover;

they remain in their dens.

9 The tempest comes out from its chamber,

the cold from the driving winds.

10 The breath of God produces ice,

and the broad waters become frozen.

11 He loads the clouds with moisture;

he scatters his lightning through them.

12 At his direction they swirl around

over the face of the whole earth

to do whatever he commands them.

13 He brings the clouds to punish men,

or to water his earth [b] and show his love.

14 "Listen to this, Job;

stop and consider God's wonders.

15 Do you know how God controls the clouds

and makes his lightning flash?

16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,

those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge?

17 You who swelter in your clothes

when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,

hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

19 "Tell us what we should say to him;

we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.

20 Should he be told that I want to speak?

Would any man ask to be swallowed up?

21 Now no one can look at the sun,

bright as it is in the skies

after the wind has swept them clean.

22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;

God comes in awesome majesty.

23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;

in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.

24 Therefore, men revere him,

for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart? [c] "

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel

with words without knowledge?

3 Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone-

7 while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels [d] shouted for joy?

8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it

and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;

here is where your proud waves halt'?

12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning,

or shown the dawn its place,

13 that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wicked out of it?

14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;

its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The wicked are denied their light,

and their upraised arm is broken.

16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death [e] ?

18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this.

19 "What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?

20 Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born!

You have lived so many years!

22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow

or seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I reserve for times of trouble,

for days of war and battle?

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,

or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no man lives,

a desert with no one in it,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?

28 Does the rain have a father?

Who fathers the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 "Can you bind the beautiful [f] Pleiades?

Can you loose the cords of Orion?

32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons [g]

or lead out the Bear [h] with its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?

Can you set up God's [i] dominion over the earth?

34 "Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?

36 Who endowed the heart [j] with wisdom

or gave understanding to the mind [k] ?

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when the dust becomes hard

and the clods of earth stick together?

39 "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40 when they crouch in their dens

or lie in wait in a thicket?

41 Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

2 Do you count the months till they bear?

Do you know the time they give birth?

3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;

their labor pains are ended.

4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;

they leave and do not return.

5 "Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who untied his ropes?

6 I gave him the wasteland as his home,

the salt flats as his habitat.

7 He laughs at the commotion in the town;

he does not hear a driver's shout.

8 He ranges the hills for his pasture

and searches for any green thing.

9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?

Will he stay by your manger at night?

10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness?

Will he till the valleys behind you?

11 Will you rely on him for his great strength?

Will you leave your heavy work to him?

12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

13 "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.

14 She lays her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand,

15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,

that some wild animal may trample them.

16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;

she cares not that her labor was in vain,

17 for God did not endow her with wisdom

or give her a share of good sense.

18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,

she laughs at horse and rider.

19 "Do you give the horse his strength

or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

20 Do you make him leap like a locust,

striking terror with his proud snorting?

21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength,

and charges into the fray.

22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;

he does not shy away from the sword.

23 The quiver rattles against his side,

along with the flashing spear and lance.

24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground;

he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'

He catches the scent of battle from afar,

the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

26 "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom

and spread his wings toward the south?

27 Does the eagle soar at your command

and build his nest on high?

28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;

a rocky crag is his stronghold.

29 From there he seeks out his food;

his eyes detect it from afar.

30 His young ones feast on blood,

and where the slain are, there is he."

Footnotes:

1. Job 37:7 Or / he fills all men with fear by his power
   
2. Job 37:13 Or to favor them
   
3. Job 37:24 Or for he does not have regard for any who think they are wise.
   
4. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
   
5. Job 38:17 Or gates of deep shadows
   
6. Job 38:31 Or the twinkling; or the chains of the
   
7. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
   
8. Job 38:32 Or out Leo
   
9. Job 38:33 Or his ; or their
   
10. Job 38:36 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
    
11. Job 38:36 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10



13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 5

Our Heavenly Dwelling

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Corinthians 4:13 Psalm 116:10

Psalm 44:9-26



9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;

you no longer go out with our armies.

10 You made us retreat before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plundered us.

11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep

and have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sold your people for a pittance,

gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,

the scorn and derision of those around us.

14 You have made us a byword among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads at us.

15 My disgrace is before me all day long,

and my face is covered with shame

16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17 All this happened to us,

though we had not forgotten you

or been false to your covenant.

18 Our hearts had not turned back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals

and covered us over with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?

22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep?

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

24 Why do you hide your face

and forget our misery and oppression?

25 We are brought down to the dust;

our bodies cling to the ground.

26 Rise up and help us;

redeem us because of your unfailing love.

Proverbs 22:13



13 The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!"

or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"