In this brief reflection, Graham gives some thoughts on God refusing to allow Moses to lead His people into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:23–27)...

Unpacking John's teaching in 1 John 3:22-23, where he speaks of the necessary interrelationship between our belief in Christ Jesus and our love for others....

As the fall of Jerusalem becomes apparent, Ezekiel suffers the loss of his wife. God's insistence that Ezekiel is not to outwardly grieve teaches us that there are even more significant reasons for mourning....

Ezekiel 33 marks a transition in the book, as we move from oracles of judgement against Israel and then the nations, to oracles of restoration and renewal for God's people. Throughout the remaining chapters of the book, there are many words of prophecy that speak of the Lord regenerating and restoring Israel to the land He promised to them (cf. Leviticus 26:113 and Deutero...

The vision given to Ezekiel of the 'Valley of Dry Bones' is confronting on many levels. Can these bones live? God alone knows! (Ezekiel 37:3). This raises the reality of God's utter sovereignty and humanity's total inability when it comes to life-giving salvation. This truth was as true for the house of Israel as it is for people today. All people are bone-dry dead in a sp...

Some of the faithless Israelites are hoping that the righteousness of others might be enough to save them. The Lord responds with a cryptic reference to three men- Noah, Job and Daniel- saying that even their presence in the city would not be enough to spare Jerusalem from judgment. What is significant about these men and what can we learn from this allusion?...

In the calamity and woe of judgement in Ezekiel 9, many see the grace of the Lord Jesus in the man who marks the repentant for salvation....

It's not too late to start a Bible reading plan for 2017. Here are some great options....

Revisiting the overview of the structure of the book of Job via the Bible Project....

God has spoken (Job 38-41), and Job is accepting of what he has heard (Job 42:2). But clearly not everyone is satisfied. I mentioned Virginia Woolf's reaction: "I read the Book of Job the other day and I don't think God comes out well in it!". Such a view is articulated more academically by some commentators, such as this from Norman Habel: "For God to intervene and erase...

This week we are looking at the newcomer to the "let's fix Job" mix- the young and fired-up Elihu. Christopher Ash is right when he says that there are only two ways we can listen to Elihu: either he is a false prophet or he is a true prophet. Ash argues for the latter (as summarised in Tuesday's devotion). For what it's worth, I disagree and take the false-prophet option....

Considering the place of Elihu and his words (Job 32-37): a positive voice?...

Job's interactions with his friends and before God have taken him a long way since the agonised darkness of chapter 3. In spite of his deep and drawn out suffering, he has remained steadfast in his resolve, and even displayed moments of profound hope (as we saw in Job 19:25-27). There is much more ground yet to be travelled, but chapters 27-31 mark a turn in the road. We w...

We return this week to our extended journey through the Book of Job. As we have noted a number of times, Job is not a book to rush through. The themes of God's sovereignty and undeserved suffering cannot be summarised in a few dot points. As we make our way through the various speeches and responses between Job and his 'comforters', we realise that the road of grief and lo...

As we leave Job for a few weeks and return to the Gospel of Luke, we look at some of the parallel themes between Job and Luke 18....

One of the most pressing issues in the book of Job the whole question of "Why". Why is Job hauled through such a harrowing experience? Why is this upright man of integrity and faithfulness suffering so desperately? Why is God allowing this to happen? Why.? And yet this question is not directly answered. At least not in a neat and clearly satisfying way. For many readers o...

I am always so encouraged by the testimony of those who remain faithful in the midst of suffering. Elisabeth Elliot is a wonderful example. Her first husband was Jim was one of the 'Ecuador Five'- missionaries who were murdered by members of the Auca tribe as they sought to bring the gospel into the jungles of Ecuador. This is an amazing story in itself (Jim Elliot wrote t...

As we have continued to work through the book of Job we have listened as even Job's closest friends turn on him. We have considered what they have had to say- the three not-so-comforters, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. We have heard the advice they have tried to give Job- or I should say the abuse they have dumped on poor Job. We tried to summarise their worldview and we real...

How would you describe your deepest longings as you turn the eyes of your heart to eternity?...

We were to work through Job 19 on Sunday. But the extreme weather, an uprooted tree* and fallen power lines meant that we were not able to gather for church. My wife wondered if there was something in the message which I had prepared that God didn't want us to hear this week! And yet, there was much in the events of the weekend- the power in the weather, the devastation of...

Read through Job 16 Job feels "worn out" and "devastated" by God (Job 16:7), "assailed" and "torn" by God (Job 16:9), "shattered" and "crushed" by God (Job 16:12). And yet Job knows that- somehow- God is his only hope: "O earth, do not cover my blood;may my cry never be laid to rest!Even now my witness is in heaven;my advocate is on highMy intercessor is my friendas m...

As we have been listening to Job, we have been looking for marks of genuine faith. One of the most encouraging signs would have to be Job's perseverance. While it seems like he comes perilously close to throwing in the towel, Job does not let up. Deep down his faith holds on in hope that God will turn his face back towards Job and listen to his cries. Where does this pers...

As we listen to Job's words in speech after speech, I wonder if you begin to question his integrity. The raw manner with which he challenges not just his friends, but the Lord God Almighty, seems very presumptuous. It is little wonder that his comforters lose patience with him. Listen to Zophar in Job 11:2-5: "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vin...

This Sunday we will have a message summarising Job's speeches. In preparation for working through what Job has to say, it is necessary for us to consider what and why we as the readers of the book know more than Job and his friends. We have had Christopher Ash's excellent commentary as our regular guide as we have been working through the book. I include his extended insi...

It is not easy to get a handle on Job's thoughts when you read his speeches. Like most who are experiencing significant trauma, he is confused and inconsistent. Job is trying to make sense of 'God, life and the universe and everything'- which is not easy to do when you are in the midst of suffering. He is doing his theology on the run, and so he is not a completely reliabl...

What is the ultimate reason for Job's misery? What causes him the most distress? We must not dismiss his considerable grief at the loss of his children, the stress of financial ruin and the agony of his physical suffering, yet there is something deeper still. Something more fundamental. When we come to Job's words in chapter 9, the theme of God's justice is ramped up. It'...

In our last devotion, I suggested that Job speaks with the heart of a believer. He is certainly struggling, and he says a great deal of confused words, yet these come from a desire to make sense of his circumstances before a God whom he knows is his only hope, yet seems to be against him at the same time. Read Job 6:1-10 When we read Job's first reply to his friends in J...

One of the big questions when we look at Job is this: can a man be wrong and right at the same time? ...

Job's friends have no place for a dynamic relationship with the Lord. But is it okay to complain to God?...

Exploring further the connection between human sin and suffering in the light of the Cross....

An initial look at the ultimate sovereign control of God as we approach the book of Job...

What do we learn about the man Job from the opening verses?...

Who is "haś•śāṭān", or "the satan" in the book of Job, and what is his role?...

In our last devotion, we considered the place "the satan" in Job 1-2 in functional terms. My reasoning for doing this was to guard against taking our own existing ideas about who the satan is and reading this back into the text. There are two extremes we need to avoid (which is the case in many areas of Christian thought!). We don't want to be overly fixated on our preconc...

What are Christians to make of Satan and his strategies?...

Meeting Job's three friends......

Thoughts on Biblical comfort...

In yesterday's message, we looked at the worldview of Job's friends. It sounds so right when we work through it: God is absolutely in control. God is absolutely just and fair. Therefore God always punishes wickedness and blesses righteousness. Therefore, if I suffer I must have sinned and am being punished justly for my sin, and if I am blessed I must have been good....