Shalom,
Good Friday morning it’s July 16, 2021, I pray all is well. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Glory to You, our God, glory to You! Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, the treasury of blessings and Giver of life: come and abide in us. Cleanse us from all impurity and save our souls, gracious Lord.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen! All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, forgive our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for the glory of Your name. Lord have Mercy. (3) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen!
Today I’m going back to the Book of Job because I missed it without realizing it until a few minutes ago. I use the Orthodox Study version and it’s a New King James Version, and when we finish the Book of Job; The Wisdom of Solomon and the Wisdom of Sirach will be next. I will continue doing the scripture work, I like that better with shorter messages it seems God has been helping me out.
“Our imperfect world is a breeding ground for the principalities of evil to torment and weaken our faith. They prowl around like a wolf waiting to devour the lost sheep, but Job is a prime example of how strong faith walks with God. How He can heal all of our deepest pains and struggles - JPCE Spiritual Talk
Job 1:1-22
1:1: Job 42:19: Job was originally called Jobab. Job was from the land of Ausitis, located on the borders of Edom and Arabia (42:19). Job is also a descendant of Abraham through Esau, his first wife was an Arab (Job 42:20). This would make Job a Gentile, and Esau was the unbeliever, Job was said to be blameless, but that did not mean he was sinless, because only Christ is without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
1:6: Heaven is inaccessible to the devil; yet he came with them, Satan (Lucifer) is an angel with nature similar to the angels of God. It seems Lucifer is also in the sights of the Lord but the Lord is not in his sight. We can see in this scripture that even Satan (Lucifer) too is dependent on God.
1:7: Revelation 12:10: teaches us that the devil accuses the righteous before God “day and night”. He has God’s permission to send evils into our minds and weakens our bodies and illnesses. Day and night the evil one is relentless in his mission pushing us towards complete darkness in evil ways. For us to be victorious against such evil Ephesians 6:13, teaches us to put on the “whole Armor of God”. Romans 5:3 also teaches us to “glory in tribulations”, and Matthew 5:10, tells us to be obedient with the commands of Christ.
1:10-12: Satan’s will is of his own will, and derives his power from God, who does not allow him to act except with justice, according to St. John Chrysostom (https://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Chrysostom). Hard times make men stronger so we should always glorify in our tribulations, because God is our seal. (Luke 8:32-33) teaches us that even the evil spirits fear Yeshua (Jesus), cast them out and send them into a great herd of swine.
1:13: I read somewhere that the elder brother is referring to the Jews, and the rest of Job’s sons and daughters to the Gentiles. The house collapse is referring to the Final Judgement see (Luke 17:26-30), we will either seek refuge in Him or be crushed by Christ the Rock.
1:1-12: This passage is read on Holy Monday, the Monday before Pascha (Easter)
1:13-22: This passage is read on Holy Tuesday, the Tuesday before Pascha (Easter)
1:20: Job must have done these things as an act of mourning, basically stripping himself of what possessions were left. Makes sense to get rid of everything now the enemy has no means to test you any further. He made himself nude to nude with his enemy, and he fell to the ground to humble himself before God.
1:22: Job did not Charge God with the injustices of evils that had fallen on him (see Psalm 22:2 or Psalm 23:2), it’s our thoughts that make us believe God is mean when we have been wronged.
Today’s Message:
Job was not a man without sin but he remained blameless in the eyes of the Lord. He was a righteous man who abstained from all the evils of the world, but was eventually put to the test by Satan (Lucifer) himself. Job ended up losing everything, but what did he do? He fell down on his face and humbled himself to the Lord, that took a lot of faith. What I take away from this passage, is that I need to strive to be more like the Prophet Job. I want to live blameless in the eyes of the Lord, and humble myself before him when I repent for my shortcomings.
“Faith and Courage is what we need to live a blameless life in the eyes of the Lord. Job is a great example of the Lord’s mercy on us; if we have mercy before Him.”
JPCE Spiritual Talk
Closing the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
God Bless,
Jared W. Campbell
US Army Retired
