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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The
Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day three hundred and twenty three.
Job's.
Three friends refused to reply
further to him because he kept
insisting on his innocence.
Then Aai Hugh son of Baral, the busi
of the clan of Rom, became angry.
He was angry because Job refused to
admit that he had sinned and that
God was right in punishing him.
He was also angry with job's.
Three friends.
For, they made God appear to be wrong by
their inability to answer Job's arguments.
Eli Hugh had waited for the others
to speak to Job because they were
older than he, but when he saw
that they had no further reply.
He spoke out angrily Eih, son of
Barrack held Abusee, said, I am
young and you are old, so I held
back from telling you what I think.
I thought those who are older should
speak for wisdom comes with age,
but there is a spirit within people,
the breath of the Almighty within
them that makes them intelligent.
Sometimes the elders are not wise.
Sometimes the aged do
not understand justice.
So listen to me and let
me tell you what I think.
I have waited all this time listening
very carefully to your arguments,
listening to you grope for words.
I have listened, but not one of you has
refuted job or answered his arguments
and don't tell me he is too wise for us.
Only God can convince him.
If Job had been arguing with me, I would
not answer with your kind of logic.
You sit there baffled
with nothing more to say.
Should I continue to wait?
Now that you are silent,
must I also remain silent?
No, I will say my peace.
I will speak my mind for I am
full of pent up words and the
spirit within me urges me on.
I am like a cask of wine without a vent,
like a new wineskin ready to burst.
I must speak to find relief.
So let me give my answers.
I won't play favorites or try to
flatter anyone for if I tried flattery,
my creator would soon destroy me.
Listen to my words job.
Pay attention to what I have to
say now that I have begun to speak.
Let me continue.
I speak with all sincerity.
I speak the truth for the spirit
of God has made me, and the breath
of the Almighty gives me life.
Answer me if you can make
your case and take your stand.
Look, you and I both belong to God.
I too was formed from Clay, so
you don't need to be afraid of me.
I won't come down hard on you.
You have spoken in my hearing
and I have heard your very words.
You said, I am pure.
I am without sin.
I am innocent.
I have no guilt.
God is picking a quarrel with me
and he considers me his enemy.
He puts my feet in the stocks
and watches my every move.
But you are wrong, and I will show you why
for God is greater than any human being.
So why are you bringing
a charge against him?
Why say he does not respond
to people's complaints?
For God Speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.
He speaks in dreams.
Envisions of the night when deep
sleep falls on people, as they lie
in their beds, he whispers in their
ears and terrifies them with warnings.
He makes them turn from doing wrong.
He keeps them from pride.
He protects them from the grave,
from crossing over the river
of death or God disciplines.
People with pain on their sick beds,
with ceaseless, aching in their
bones, they lose their appetite
for even the most delicious food.
Their flesh wastes away
and their bones stick out.
They're at death's door.
The angels of death wait for them.
But if an angel from Heaven appears.
A special messenger to intercede for a
person and declare that he is upright.
He will be gracious and say,
rescue him from the grave.
For I have found a ransom for his life,
then his body will become as healthy
as a child's firm and youthful again.
When he prays to God, he will be
accepted and God will receive him with
joy and restore him to good standing.
He will declare to his friends.
I sinned and twisted the truth.
But it was not worth it.
God rescued me from the grave and
now my life is filled with light.
Yes, God does these things
again and again for people.
He rescues them from the grave so
they may enjoy the light of life.
Mark this, well Job, listen to me for,
I have more to say, but if you have
anything to say, go ahead, speak for,
I am anxious to see you justified,
but if not, Then listen to me keep
silent and I will teach you wisdom.
Then Elihu said, listen to me,
you wise men pay attention.
You who have knowledge, job said The
ear tests, the words that hears just as
the mouth distinguishes between foods.
So let us discern for
ourselves what is right.
Let us learn together what is good.
For job also said, I am innocent,
but God has taken away my rights.
I am innocent, but they call me a liar.
My suffering is incurable,
though I have not sinned.
Tell me, has there ever been a man like
Job with his thirst for irreverent talk?
He chooses evil people as companions.
He spends his time with wicked men.
He has even said, why waste
time trying to please God?
Listen to me, you who have understanding.
Everyone knows that God doesn't sin.
The Almighty can do no wrong.
He repays people according to their deeds.
He treats people as they deserve.
Truly God will not do wrong.
The Almighty will not twist justice.
Did someone else put
the world in his care?
Who set the whole world in place?
If God were to take back his spirit and
withdraw his breath, all life would cease
and humanity would turn again to dust.
Now, listen to me.
If you are wise, pay
attention to what I say.
Could God govern if he hated justice?
Are you going to condemn
the Almighty judge for?
He says to kings, you are wicked
and to nobles, you are unjust.
He doesn't care how great a person
may be, and he pays no more attention
to the rich than to the poor.
He made them all in a moment.
They die in the middle of
the night, they pass away.
The mighty are removed without human hand.
For God watches how people live.
He sees everything they do.
No darkness is thick enough to
hide the wicked from his eyes.
We don't set the time when we
will come before God in judgment.
He brings the mighty to ruin
without asking anyone, and he
sets up others in their place.
He knows what they do, and in the
night he overturns and destroys them.
He strikes them down because they are
wicked doing it openly for all to see.
For they turned away from following him.
They have no respect for any of his ways.
They cause the poor to cry
out, catching God's attention.
He hears the cries of the needy.
But if he chooses to remain
quiet, who can criticize him?
When he hides his face, no one can find
him, whether an individual or a nation.
He prevents the godless from ruling, so
they cannot be a snare to the people.
Why don't people say to God, I have
sinned, but I will sin no more, or,
I don't know what evil I have done.
Tell me if I have done wrong.
I will stop at once.
Must God tailor his justice to your
demands, but you have rejected him.
The choice is yours, not mine.
Go ahead, share your wisdom with us.
After all, bright people will tell
me and wise people will hear me
say, job speaks out of ignorance.
His words like insight, job, you deserve
the maximum penalty for the wicked way.
You have talked for, you have
added rebellion to your sin.
You show no respect and you speak
many angry words against God.
Then Elihu said, do you think
it is right for you to claim
I am righteous before God?
For you, also ask what's in it for me?
What's the use of living a righteous life?
I will answer you and
all your friends too.
Look up into the sky and see the
clouds high above you If you sin.
How does that affect God?
Even if you sin again and again,
what effect will it have on him?
If you are good, is this
some great gift to him?
What could you possibly give him?
No.
Your sins affect only people
like yourself and your good
deeds also affect only humans.
People cry out when they are oppressed.
They groan beneath the
power of the mighty.
Yet, they don't ask, where
is God my creator, the one
who gives songs in the night?
Where is the one who makes us
smarter than the animals and
wiser than the birds of the sky?
And when they cry out, God does
not answer because of their pride.
But it is wrong to say God doesn't listen
to say the Almighty isn't concerned.
You say you can't see him, but he will
bring justice if you will only wait.
You say he does not respond to
sinners with anger and is not
greatly concerned about wickedness,
but you are talking nonsense job.
You have spoken like a fool, a lie.
Hugh continued speaking.
Let me go on and I will show you the truth
for I have not finished defending God.
I will present profound arguments
for the righteousness of my creator.
I am telling you nothing but the truth.
For I am a man of great knowledge.
God is mighty, but he
does not despise anyone.
He is mighty in both
power and understanding.
He does not let the wicked live,
but gives justice to the afflicted.
He never takes his eyes off the
innocent, but he sets them on thrones
with kings and exalts them forever.
If they are bound in chains and
caught up in a web of trouble,
he shows them the reason.
He shows them their sins of pride.
He gets their attention and
commands that they turn from evil.
If they listen and obey God,
they will be blessed with
prosperity throughout their lives.
All their years will be pleasant, but
if they refuse to listen to him, they
will cross over the river of death.
Dying from lack of understanding.
For the Godless are full of resentment.
Even when he punishes them, they
refuse to cry out to him for help.
They die when they are young after
wasting their lives in immoral living.
But by means of their suffering, he
rescues those who suffer for, he gets
their attention through adversity.
God is leading you away from danger
Job to a place free from distress.
He is setting your table with the
best food, but you are obsessed with
whether the godless will be judged.
Don't worry, judgment and justice
will be upheld, but watch out
or you may be seduced by wealth.
Don't let yourself be bribed into sin.
Could all your wealth or all your
mighty efforts keep you from distress?
Do not long for the cover of night, for
that is when people will be destroyed.
Be on guard, turn back from evil.
For God sent this suffering to
keep you from a life of evil.
Look, God is all powerful.
Who is a teacher like him?
No one can tell him what to do or
say to him, you have done wrong.
Instead, glorify his mighty
works, singing songs of praise.
Everyone has seen these things
though only from a distance.
Look, God is greater
than we can understand.
His years cannot be counted.
He draws up the water vapor
and then distills it into rain.
The rain pours down from the clouds and
everyone benefits who can understand
the spreading of the clouds and the
thunder that rolls forth from heaven.
See how he spreads the lightning
around him and how it lights
up the depths of the sea.
By these mighty acts, he nourishes
the people giving them food.
In abundance, he fills his
hands with lightning bolts
and hurls each at its target.
The thunder announces his presence.
The storm announces his
indignant anger, my heart pounds.
As I think of this, it trembles within me.
Listen carefully to the thunder of
God's voice as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens and his
lightning flashes in every direction.
Then comes the roaring of the thunder,
the tremendous voice of his majesty.
He does not restrain it when he speaks.
God's voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can't even imagine the
greatness of his power.
He directs the snow to fall on the
earth and tells the rain to pour down.
Then everyone stops working
so they can watch his power.
The wild animals take cover
and stay inside their dens.
The stormy wind comes from its chamber
and the driving winds bring the cold.
God's breath sends the ice
freezing wide expanses of water.
He loads the clouds with moisture
and they flash with his lightning.
The clouds churn about at his direction.
They do whatever he commands
throughout the earth.
He makes these things happen
either to punish people or
to show his unfailing love.
Pay attention to this job.
Stop and consider the
wonderful miracles of God.
Do you know how God controls the
storm and causes the lightning
to flash from his clouds?
Do you understand how he moves the clouds
with wonderful perfection and skill?
When you are sweltering in your
clothes and the south wind dies
down and everything is still.
He makes the skies reflect
the heat like a bronze mirror.
Can you do that?
So teach the rest of
us what to say to God.
We are too ignorant to
make our own arguments.
Should God be notified
that I want to speak?
Can people even speak
when they are confused?
We cannot look at the sun for it
shines brightly in the sky when
the wind clears away the clouds.
So also golden splendor comes
from the mountain of God.
He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
We cannot imagine the power of the
Almighty, but even though he is just
and righteous, he does not destroy us.
No wonder people everywhere fear him.
All who are wise, show him reverence.
This concludes today's
Immer reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.