The Author, Part VI

Perhaps the most important words you will ever hear. It is a long set of verses... but if you will read, God will speak to you. Hear the Author as He speaks. Enjoy. :)

Job 33:8-30

8 "But you have said in my hearing—
       I heard the very words- 

9 'I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.
 
10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.
 
11 He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.' 

12 "But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.
 
13 Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words?
 
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. 

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, 

16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 

17 to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride,
 
18 to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
 
19 Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones,
 
20 so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal.
 
21 His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
 
22 His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death.
 
23 "Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
 
24 to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him'- 

25 then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth.

26 He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state. 

27 Then he comes to men and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. 

28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.' 

29 "God does all these things to a man— twice, even three times-

30 to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him.

Now hear the meaning of these verses. The choice is up to us for He made us all eternal that He might give all eternal life. He gives a choice... eternal life or eternal death but even this choice was not His doing. We are the reason why this choice is in place. We must decide, but if you spit at Him, hold Him in contempt, and place your hope in the creature over the Creator, and continually refuse Him, His hands become tied. He will not violate your free will and force you to believe in Him. The next thing is the most powerful. In verse 23 there is an angel or mediator. This is Jesus Christ His Son. This Jesus intercedes for us in verse 24 and the word ransom is Christ's own blood, body, and sacrifice. In verse 25 is salvation and resurrection. A new man, a new life, and a promise of hope. In verse 27 the criminal (the sinner) becomes the saved not receiving what he deserves but saved by way of promise. In verse 29, God shows that He is trying to reach us all and He will allow even what man considers evil in order to save the soul of the lost. Woe unto us! For man is stubborn in his arrogance but it is because of God's love that certain things must be. It is a shame what He must do in order to get us to turn the other way.

The Author, Part V

In the book of Proverbs, Jesus speaks. Jesus was with God even in the beginning, even during creation as noted in many other scriptures found in other books. Here Jesus is called wisdom by Solomon but as "wisdom" speaks there are many verses that seem related to Christ. I believe that Christ is speaking through Solomon by way of the Holy Spirit. Another mirror of Christ found in the most unsuspected of places. An old book of wisdom. This may sound crazy but consider the evidence before you decide to judge.

First, the beginning.

^{Proverbs 8:22-27}

²² "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;

²³ I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.

²⁴ When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;

²⁵ before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,

²⁶ before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.

²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

And then the end.

^{Proverbs 8:32-36}

³² "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³ Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.

³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.

³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.

³⁶ But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death."

The Author, Part IV

The word of God is all of the Bible but the person speaking in many of the verses is either author spoken (inspired by the Holy Spirit), God spoken, and Jesus spoken. Jesus speaks throughout the whole of the Bible, not just in the gospels. It is all the word of God but person oriented. Here in this verse God speaks.

^{Hosea 1:8-11}

⁸ After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. ⁹ Then the LORD said, "Call him Lo-Ammi,  for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

¹⁰ "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.' ¹¹ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

The Author, Part III

In Isaiah, Hezekiah speaks of his great distress but in his words we find that he was being led by the Holy Spirit. For it is no accident that Hezekiah spoke these words for they are a mirror of Christ's words and feelings during His final days.

Christ speaks, even in Isaiah, concerning His death and resurrection. In the words of Hezekiah we get a glimpse into the pain and pleading of Christ during His last days. A peephole through prophecy in which we see God's Son and how His life was taken from Him. God punished Him for the sins of the whole world and turned His back on Him. He left Him and abandoned Him for a time until the time of punishment was over. This punishment was supposed to be ours but instead He went through it in our place.

God was satisfied with the punishment, not only in this world but the punishment that spiritually came upon Jesus. Once satisfied, He raised Him to new life.

Isaiah 38:9-14

9A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, "In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death 
and be robbed of the rest of my years?"

11 I said, "I will not again see the LORD,
the LORD, in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on mankind,
or be with those who now dwell in this world.

12 Like a shepherd's tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.

13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.

14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!"

The Author, Part II

Actually, Christ speaks quite frequently in the Bible. I am not referring to the New Testament Gospels either. In Psalm 22, Jesus speaks generations before He was born on Earth through David His ancestor. David's words may have been driven by circumstances of his day but clearly Jesus speaks through him. In Psalm 22, Jesus speaks of His days of crucifixion and even His inner most feelings of pain, despair, and faith during those final days.

It is almost impossible to deny the prophetic element of Psalm 22. It is almost as if we get a glimpse into His journal of thoughts. If Psalm 22 does not make you cry, read it until it does. This is Christ's emotions and feelings as He was brutally murdered without a cause.

The pain He experienced to pay the price (to purchase us) is so profound and through this witness of the cross, we see His love for us.

Psalm 22:12-16

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.