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.

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."

^{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.

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!"

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.

The Word of God has three essential writers. The actual author or writer of the book (influenced by the Holy Spirit), God the Father, and Jesus Christ. Even in books written generations before our Lord was born in the flesh, He was present in the word. I am going to give you two examples where Jesus speaks. Most think that if they want to find out what Jesus had to say they should turn to the gospels and read the red letters. These words in the gospels are only a small snapshot of what Jesus speaks in the Bible. He truly has been with all generations no matter the time period.

Psalm 40: 7-10

7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.

8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

He speaks even in Jeremiah in the following verse. Jeremiah is speaking about his own time period and the destruction of Israel by the hand of the Babylonians and expressing his own feelings, but through the Holy Spirit, these words mirror the time period when Jesus was also being persecuted.

 Jeremiah 18:19-23

19 Listen to me, O LORD;
hear what my accusers are saying!

20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.
Remember that I stood before you
and spoke in their behalf
to turn your wrath away from them.

21 So give their children over to famine;
hand them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives be made childless and widows;
let their men be put to death,
their young men slain by the sword in battle.

22 Let a cry be heard from their houses

when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.

23 But you know, O LORD,
all their plots to kill me.
Do not forgive their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.