Job again took up his discourse and said: ‘As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,as long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.Far be it from me […]
URC Daily Devotion 7th March
Chapters 24-26 cause problems for readers and translators alike. Structurally we expect Bildad to speak next, then Job, then Zophar and then Job again – but this third cycle of dialogue isn’t complete. In 24:1-12 the Hebrew text consistently reads ‘they’ as the subject. The NRSV translator is probably correct to interpret this as ‘the […]
URC Daily Devotion 6th March
Then Job answered: ‘Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.O that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling!I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me.Would […]
URC Daily Devotion 5th March
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: ‘Can a mortal be of use to God? Can even the wisest be of service to him?Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?Is it for your piety that he reproves you, and enters into judgement with you?Is […]
URC Daily Devotion 4th March
1 Do not fret on account of the wicked,do not envy the ones who do wrong;2 For like grass they will very soon wither,like green plants they will not flourish long. 3 Put your trust in the LORD and be upright;then secure in the land you will live.4 Take delight in the LORD above all […]
URC Daily Devotion for Easter Tuesday by Andy Braunston
Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ […]
URC Daily Devotion 2nd March
Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: ‘Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to answer, because of the agitation within me.I hear censure that insults me, and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.Do you not know this from of old, ever since mortals were placed on earth,that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless […]
URC Daily Devotion 1st March
Then Job answered:‘How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words?These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me?And even if it is true that I have erred, my error remains with me.If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my humiliation an argument against me,know then […]
URC Daily Devotion 28th February
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: ‘How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we shall speak.Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight?You who tear yourself in your anger— shall the earth be forsaken because of you, or the rock be removed out of its place? ‘Surely the light of the wicked […]
URC Daily Devotion 27th February
The opening verse of chapter 17 expresses the essence of Job’s long monologue through both these chapters. He has nothing else to say and piles up a range of metaphors to convey how he feels about the harsh ways in which God has treated him. His ‘comforters’ have brought him no comfort either. The speech […]