Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Revelation 16:10-11 records the fifth vial or bowl judgment at the end of the Tribulation: “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” We can contrast this stony-hearted response with that of Job. He had lost all of his children, his wealth, and his health. Like the people at the end of the Tribulation, he was afflicted with painful sores (Job 2:7-8). However, even when his wife (who, we should remember, had also lost much) told him to “curse God, and die” (2:9b), Job did not blaspheme the name of God: “In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (2:10d). Yes, he did question God, but he came to the necessary place of repentance: “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6). Job wisely understood that turning against God was turning against the only One Who could help him and deliver him. Certainly we all have the opportunity today to choose the tractableness of Job rather than the intransigence of the unbelievers of the Tribulation.