Job 24:1-8
1 “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,
and why do those who know him never see his days?
2 Some move landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They thrust the poor off the road;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
the poor [they] go out to their toil, seeking game;
the wasteland yields food for their children.
6 They gather their [his] fodder in the field,
and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
Isaiah 1:11-17
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow's cause.
What did Job and Isaiah have in common? Obviously God. These are not the Glory of God stories were God Triumphs..... immediately. These are the biblical histories of people having a tough time of it - struggling. Job famous for feeling - condemned and pressed by his problems. Isaiah, the prophet, was called on for 4 decades and 4 kings, to solve Judah's problems of oppression & war from large and small foreign neighbors/governments/kingdoms.
Job had renewal/regeneration and new hope. When Judah listened to Isaiah, there was peace. Job considered God a lot, but God wasn't looking for "consideration." During Judah's difficulties, the sacrifices were offered daily, the grain offerings and bread of the presence were ready. God was not looking for the "I follow the steps of worship, now bless me, God." God was looking for us to look beyond ourselves. God hears a lot about what we want in prayer. God wants to look at our lives and see people not foraging for the best seat, the best place, the coronet of "perfect life". God wants our hearts to be filled for other people, to care about other's well being. One of the reason's Job's life was renewed, he was able to care for others. It led him to be able to understand God is greater than Job's opinions and problems. It led him to the heart and soul and love and worship of God.
Rarely in Scripture does a miracle occur immediately, with God all things are possible, yet just as Job had steps in his spiritual voyage, Judah had steps during Isaiah's mighty Spirit filled time. It isn't a limitation of the power of God, it is growth like Jesus told us.
Matthew 13:31-32
He put another parable before them, saying, ““The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Matthew 22:37-39
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Father God, each voyage begins with a footstep from our home, help us to be willing to leave our own interests to help others. In the name of Jesus, who loves us, Amen.
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