Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
Job 27-28
Paul Robert, internationally acclaimed artist, was commissioned to paint a mural that would hang in the stairway leading up to the supreme court in Switzerland. After much careful thought, Robert chose to express on canvas what Samuel Rutherford had spoken earlier in provocative words, the title of the painting being “Justice Instructing the Judges.” In the foreground of this masterpiece are various litigants-the wife against her husband, the architect against the builder, and the like. Above them stand the Swiss judges with their distinctive white shawls. The searching question is: How are these judges going to judge the people?
Robert’s answer is simple but profound. Justice, usually portrayed as blindfolded with a vertical sword, is pictured in this mural without a blindfold. The drawn sword of justice is pointing downward to a book. A closer look reveals that on this book is written “the Word of God.” Divine justice is portrayed as instructing human judges.
Job wanted this virtue to be made real in his life. He longed for divine justice to rule on his behalf in the midst of his seeming injustice. He yearned for God to set the record straight about his life and show him to be innocent of all charges against him. The suffering he was going through led Job to one conclusion… that he had been charged guilty by God of an unknown crime. If he could plead his case before God, surely divine justice would render a favorable verdict on his behalf.
Job 27 contains Job’s plea to God about his own innocence. He still wanted to take God to court and get the verdict reversed. He swore that he was guiltless of all charges that had been brought against him by the Lord. He maintained that he would go to his grave believing that he was right in this matter. But bitterness had crept into Job’s heart because God would not act as he believed he should. Trials, it has been said, will either make you bitter or better. In Job’s case they had made him bitter… at least to this point in his trial.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to trust you through every trial.
- Lord, please help me to create my theology from your word and not from my circumstances.
- Lord, please help me to be convinced that you are always right in every situation and circumstance.
Political
- Representative Beau LaFave – District 108 – Iron Mountain
- Representative David LaGrand – District 075 – Grand Rapids
- Senator Kim LaSata – District 021 – St. Joseph