Read Daniel 5, 9
 
Daniel 9:22-24 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision. 24 A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
 
FIRST, let’s know about the “seventy sevens”. Why does Gabriel, the messenger, divide time into units of seven? In truth, this is God-ordained from the beginning. God created the earth in seven days. God commanded every seventh day is a Sabbath. Every seven years is a Sabbath year. (That’s right. Take a year off!) Every Seven 7’s – 49 years – is the Year of Jubilee. This was to be a time of redemption, renewal and rest. We think in 10’s – decades and centuries. The Jews framed time in 7’s as it was God’s time of creation and structure for Sabbath years.
   Then Gabriel changed Daniel’s and the vision’s focus. The prior visions have been about the Gentile nations. Now Gabriel reveals what and when six significant events are decreed to occur for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion. To correctly interpret these events, it is essential we know this is for the Jews and Jerusalem. The first of the six is to finish transgression. This refers to the “sin-covering” death of Jesus. The Savior paid the price and covers our sins with his righteousness. The second is the time to put an end to sin. This refers to a remnant, a minority of the Jews, who will accept Jesus as the true Messiah. These are the apostles and the early church. Paul writes of the remnant in Romans 9 & 11. The third is similar. The Jews will atone for wickedness, which is the Jews’ lack of faith and faithfulness toward God. This atonement – reconciliation with God – will bring the saved remnant into God’s family. Fourth, there will be an everlasting righteousness. Here is a promise the faithful Jews will receive and live in a right relationship with God. These are the Jews who became Christians. Number five is to seal up vision and prophecy. This points to the end of prophecy regarding the Messiah. Acts 3:25 “You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’” Sixth, then, is the repentant Jews’ response to salvation. This is the time to anoint the most holy. The redeemed will anoint the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as King for eternity.
   Yes, there are various interpretations. This explanation from different commentaries seems to be most in line with the other prophecies. God was very specific in his prophecies of the succession of Gentile nations who would rule over Israel. The LORD God is also very specific about the times he planned to accomplish his will. Scripture has revealed and continues to reveal the LORD God’s  absolute authority.
   Are you saved? Praise the LORD for your blessed assurance. Live in joy and confidence of God’s promises continue to come true.
   Or are you wondering, “Can I trust  the LORD’s Word for my life now and forever?” Pray, then, for the Spirit to open your eyes to see God’s magnificent plan for eternal life, promised in the past, being fulfilled now and forever. 1 Timothy 6:15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and LORD of all lords.  
 
 

Read Daniel 7-8
 
Daniel 7:13-14 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal – it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
 
THIS scripture is a glimpse of heaven. It reveals some of the Father’s and the Son’s glory. Recall “son of man” was a phrase in the Hebrew language to define a representative of people before an authority. God often called Ezekiel, “son of man” because he represented Israel before God.
Now, “son of man” transforms into an exalted, eternal title. The Ancient of Days, who is the eternal God, bestows “Son of Man” on the one who comes into his presence. All authority, glory, and sovereign power will be his to forever rule all kingdoms. All will worship him. “Son of Man” can only be the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who will represent all mankind before the holy God.
   Why is the Son of God also called Son of Man? In fact, Jesus most often identified himself as the Son of Man, even to the point this title condemned him: Matthew 26:63 Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy.”
   To the Jewish rulers, it was blasphemy for Jesus of Nazareth to align himself with the image of Daniel’s vision. The Jews condemned Jesus under God’s law that instructed the guilty party to be stoned. Apparently the Jews desired a more horrible death than even stoning for the Christ. Yet, it is the cross through which Jesus is the Son of Man.
   Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice, resurrection and ascension, qualifies Jesus to be mankind’s representative before he Father. Second, Jesus now sits on the Father’s right hand to intercede for us in prayer before the Father. Third, Jesus is the Son of Man because we worship him. Fourth, Jesus will come in glory to judge: Matthew 25:31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.”  “Son of Man” is Jesus’ affirmation of Daniel’s visions fulfilled.
   Knowing God’s visions is knowing God. These visions may seem – and  are – not easy to comprehend. But they have great meaning to God’s plan to save you into heaven. God’s visions to Daniel revealed real world nations rising and falling. They explain the spiritual warfare of Satan’s rule opposing God’s church. And the visions proclaim the majesty of the Christ, who has come and the Christ, who will come. Matthew 24:27 “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.”
          Be prepared for the things God has told you.  

Read Psalm 102, 106, 123, 137
 
Psalms 102:14-17 For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets. 15 Then the nations will tremble before the LORD. The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory. 16 For the LORD will rebuild Jerusalem. He will appear in his glory. 17 He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.
 
“YOU don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” This modern proverb is often used to mourn a lost relationship or circumstances one did not fully enjoy and appreciate. One could say it also speaks to the Jews’ great grief during the exile. They are gone from Jerusalem, their city. It is the city David conquered and Solomon built to be the splendor of the nations. God blessed his people with the city’s secure walls and a glorious Temple  between Mt. Moriah and Mt. Zion. “Jerusalem” means foundation or possession of peace. The city was a refuge for the Jews and the symbol of God’s peace, presence and power. God wanted his chosen nation to enjoy his gift.
   But how did they treat God’s gift? We know they abused Jerusalem’s streets and Temple with their adultery and idolatry. They rejected the LORD’s presence to live in deep disobedience to God’s commands.
   Then God did what any good father would do. He pulled the gift from his disrespectful children. They assumed they could remain in Jerusalem regardless of their behavior, but they learned otherwise. The Jews lost God’s benevolent care. Jerusalem and all it represented to them was gone.
   In exile, the remnant realized their lost gift and mourned their negligence. These four psalms are a litany of despair. The psalmists describe the Jews’ loss, Babylon’s officials’ mockery, and the Jews’ hopelessness. Perhaps in prayer, the exiles wonder will the LORD rebuild the city? Will he appear in his glory again? Surely, they hoped, God would listen to the prayers of his destitute, broken people.
   And that is what God did. Here in the darkness God began to shine his light with prophecies and visions. From deep distress came an expectation: And so the LORD’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem, when multitudes gather together and kingdoms come to worship the LORD. (Psalm 102:21-22)
   Some of us have lived several decades to watch churches grow, be effective ministries and then disappear. What happened? Did we not know what God had given to us? Did we neglect and reject God’s gift? Did we dismiss the great things God, the Savior, had done? (from Psalm 106:21) Were there too many of us who wouldn’t believe God’s promise to empower us to his gospel mission? Have we worshiped our cultural idols above God? Do we no longer hold to God’s precious presence because we assumed he would always be present in our churches?
          Let’s rejoice the LORD has not forgotten his covenant with his church. Let’s pray this from Psalm 106: Save us, O LORD our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Amen. It is time to turn to the mockers to denounce their evil and to announce our LORD Jesus Christ.

Read Psalms 44, 79, 80, 85, 89
 
Psalms 80:1-3 Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock. O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory 2 to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us! 3 Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved. 
 
IN the order of books in the typical Holy Bible, Psalms follows Job. But the editors of The Daily Bible have placed these specific psalms after Job to help us understand Israel’s anguish in exile. In some sense these psalms even echo Job’s appeals to God. Both Job and the psalmists make great calls, even demands, to God to be saved from their misery. As Job did not understand the reasons for the pain and agony upon his life, Israel seemed to not know why God had abandoned her. The human soul wonders, “Where is God?” even when we completely reject his authority and existence.
   These psalms were written long before Babylon conquered Judah. But it seems God inspired the psalmists to write these words for Israel’s future. Each psalm tells how the enemy conquered Israel. Each psalm has an appeal for the Shepherd to lead his flock to safety. Each psalm expresses worship to God, who is enthroned above the cherubim with an appeal to display your radiant glory. The psalmists are In distress. They wonder what has happened to the God who drove out the pagan nations by your power and gave all the land to our ancestors. You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free. (Psalms 44:2) The psalms also express loneliness and regret as they walk through the awful ruins of the city; see how the enemy has destroyed your sanctuary. (Psalms 74:3)
   The natural human condition is to be in exile from God’s kingdom. Our natural reaction to God’s Word, then, is to defend ourselves against his judgments. God’s teachings and authority because they interfere with our natural desires. That’s why we must know and receive Job’s and Israel’s experiences as lessons in humility and submission. Even in our suffering, we must receive God’s will and worship his majesty. We must look beyond ourselves to know the faithful God has come to dwell with us, suffer for us and prepare a place for us. He is our Shepherd making the way home to him.
   This is God’s Love Story, written so you will know God. When you do, you will not have any other god but (the LORD God.) Exodus 20:3
 

Read Job 38-42
 
Job 42:5-6 “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. 6 I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
 
JOB’s misery ended when he realized his self-defense was only useless words. The dust and ashes were no longer the sign of his misery but the reality of his repentance.
   Job is the human condition. When we live within the normal boundaries of our lives, following laws and doing good, it may be easy to say to God, “I’m a good person. I try my best to do all you require. I’m sure you are happy to reward my efforts with good things. I am confident you will agree there is no reason for any trouble in my life.”
   With similar words, Job felt justified for his angry despair. After all, he was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. (Job 1:1 The Message) But did that mean he was right about his trouble and God was wrong? Job’s not the first in Scripture with this attitude. Look back to Genesis 4. Cain rejected God. Cain was self-righteous, just like Job. This is sin’s curse. We are no different when confronted with God’s way or our way.
   Job rejected the one who commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east. (Job 38:12) He desired to shape God’s will to his own will. Job wanted to be as God.
   We can easily do that, can’t we? When trouble is deep, and God seems silent, surely God is wrong! After all, he commands we pray with faith that he will deliver our needs: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10)
   But this is not an open basket from God to fill with whatever we want. It is, though, a Word from God that he will listen to you and respond to you in his will for you. Prayer and waiting requires humility, patience, obedience and faith. This is the essence of “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9) Faithful prayer is seeking God’s Kingdom purposes to unfold from his perfect presence into our lives.
   Each faithful servant described in the Bible came to a moment when they experienced God’s holiness. They knew then they had to give up every sense of their own will, so the Father’s will would transform their lives. When Job truly saw God, self-importance became repentance. One day all of us will experience that inability to defend ourselves before Jesus. As our knee bows and our tongues confess, “Jesus is LORD.” we will utter no useless excuse or reason for our sins. Saved in Jesus’ redeeming blood, we will only speak praise and thanksgiving that we are his.
   Be humble before God. Live in praise that the Sovereign LORD, cares for you so deeply that the Son humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)
 

Read Job 32-37
 
Job 36:4-5, 7 “I am telling you nothing but the truth, for I am a man of great knowledge. 5 God is mighty, but he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding…7 He never takes his eyes off the innocent, but he sets them on thrones with kings and exalts them forever.”
 
ELIHU is a fourth friend who has come to encourage Job. He is younger than the others and apparently became very impatient with their words. Job seem to become more self-righteous as his friends rebuked him.
   Elihu had much to say, and he wanted Job’s patient attention. He may sound arrogant to us, claiming he is “a man of great knowledge.” But language experts believe these words refer to God. Our words may not always sound correct, but if we desire to speak of God to someone, the Spirit will surely help us speak and others hear. The bottom line is this: Job heard Elihu’s assurance that God is with him.
   Yes, it is wonderful to know someone you love is always with you. My wife and I went through a time in our lives when we often traveled in our different jobs. Sometimes one of us would come home, and the other would leave. We were barely with each other during certain weeks. Still our love relationship kept us with one another wherever we were.
   We could be with each other when we were apart because we committed to each other when we were together. We expressed our love to one another as we parented, worked around the house, went to church and attended our children’s events. Being with each other meant we worked through the relationship challenges. Most importantly, we learned to pray openly before each other as we began our days. Staying in the challenges, trusting God and loving one another, we grew to be more with each other. 
   Do you feel as if you’re at home while God is traveling on business somewhere else? Do you step into church or a Bible study or sit down to read your Bible to wonder, “God, why aren’t you with me today?”
   How do you come to know he never takes his eyes off the innocent? You will know this more when you commit your love to him. The LORD of heaven and earth wants to be the love of your life. He loves you. Love him back. Learn about him. Learn from him. Pray to him and listen to his responses. When you don’t feel innocent before God, love him enough to ask forgiveness. Receive his mercy. Stay with him through the difficult days. The more you live to love God, the more easily you will know he is with you in all things.
 

Read Job 25-31
 
Job 26:13-14 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. 14 These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”
 
IT is likely you know many people who have had the opportunity to help a neighbor, church friend, family member or an unknown person with some material needs. These are usually common things one needs for daily life. Sometimes they can even seem small to the helper. But a small amount of help can be a large, even life-saving help to people at certain times in their lives. Some people need help in response to a sudden storm or illness. And many people live in hopeless desperation. Their daily lives are so fractured, they see no opportunity for life becoming safe and good for them. A prayer often offered to each person who receives help is they know God’s power will provide and care for them. Giving people “small” things can give people a real knowledge God’s power is at work to heal their despair.
   God’s Word teaches that God promises to redeem our “impossible” despair. Too often people say, “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.” But the truth is he does give you more than you can handle because he wants you to turn and trust him to handle it!
   In Job 25, Job’s friend Bildad has just asked and reminded Job: How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure? God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars. In comparison, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms.” (Job 25:4-6) In other words, Job, you’re just a maggot. Who are you to God?” Bildad is doesn’t seem very helpful.
   But he has a point. Without God, we are of no value, no use to his kingdom. But then Job answered the seemingly hopeless words with the power of God. Job described how the Spirit creates and changes, how he intervenes and alters even the heavens. Looking into the sky and hearing the thunder, one can know God has power beyond our understanding. Surely he has the power to change a human life of despair from a “maggot” to a child of the LORD God Almighty. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:10-12)
   Now, are you willing to talk to God about your problem? In despair do you think you’re too small to matter to him? Then think of God’s power and pray to receive and know his power into your life. 
 
 
 

Read Job 22-24
 
Job 23:3-7 “If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.”
 
JOB is certain that if he had a face-to-face conversation with God, he would convince the LORD that he is a good man. “Honest people can reason with him.” indicates that Job believes he is without blame. The man seems to assume God doesn’t know about him. Job believes it will help to bring evidence of his innocence to God’s courtroom to say, “This suffering is not fair! I’m not at fault here!”
   Do you ever tell God, “I don’t deserve this!” You can’t understand why you deal with so much “junk” in life. How quickly we can say, “This isn’t what I want!” Surely, if you could have a sit-down conversation with God, he would see what a good person you are. In a moment the LORD God of all creation would make life right for you, wouldn’t he?
   But we learn in the Bible that God does not keep suffering from the good. We have seen the many challenges in the lives of such faithful men as Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah and Jeremiah. We also know of the apostles’ trials and sufferings as the church began. In each way, God has called his chosen servants to take up a cross that can even be suffering of prison, persecution, poverty, disease and/or martyrdom. Suffering is not a sure mark of God’s judgment. It is a sure consequence of sin in the world.
   What else do we learn from these servants’ sufferings? We know that God is merciful to those who trust his Word. He has used each person to fulfill his will on earth. Now they live in eternity. We must keep in mind that suffering is a possibility as we pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) God’s Word clearly tells you it is God’s will that forms and shapes events. God will use suffering to awaken his people to his mercy. God is good. He promises he will one day remove all suffering as he establishes the eternal Kingdom.
   Job wanted to speak to God and hear from God. You can do that through those great conversation tools of praise songs, hymns, psalms, prayer, meditation, Bible reading and worship. There are many times God will not answer them, “Why, LORD?” question. His will is for you to wait and trust him. His will is for you to know he has an eternal place of joy awaiting you.
 
 

Read Job 18-21
 
Job 19:2, 6 & 20-26  “How long will you torture me? How long will you try to crush me with your words?...6 But it is God who has wronged me, capturing me in his net…20 I have been reduced to skin and bones, and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth. 21 Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for the hand of God has struck me. 22 Must you also persecute me, like God does? Haven’t you chewed me up enough 23 Oh, that my words could be recorded. Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument, 24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead, engraved forever in the rock. 25 But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. 26 And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!”
ARE you in awe at Job’s pain, Job’s agony, Job’s loneliness, Job’s desperation, Job’s isolation and Job’s sickness? Have you been in such a place? Perhaps you are there now. Do you agree with Job that God has wronged you and captured you in his net? Is he accusing God of sinning?
   “Have mercy,” Job pleads. He wants people to know through the generations to come of God’s unjust afflictions. His testimony is, “My pain is God’s fault. And I want everyone to know.” If you are in such a place, can you now go to Job’s hope?  
   Out of the accusations comes a faithful confession, “I know my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.” How wondrous and full that the man of sorrow becomes a man of hope? He knows nothing of Jesus; yet this is the New Covenant of salvation by grace from the earliest years of the Old Covenant of Law. This is the foundation of all lives saved in Jesus. Regardless of our despair, even if our broken lives are recorded on the mountaintops, we can and do know our Redeemer lives!
   Oh, to know this truth in the deepest darkness of our lives changes everything. When this truth is firm in our minds, we turn from gazing with fearful eyes at the trials and tests, at the enemy seeming to overwhelm us, to looking intently into the joyous face of our risen LORD Jesus Christ. There he is, waiting open-armed to embrace you!
   See your Savior, and watch your fear disappear. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our LORD Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57) He overcomes death. A decaying body is no obstacle because you will have a new body in heaven. Joy blasts its way into your soul, and you have no room for sorrow, pain or fear. Your heart has only room for joy and hope.
          In his despair, Job knew this eternal hope. God had given to his suffering servant a message of redemption and resurrection. The message surely is for you, too. Lift up your head today, my friends. Smile and rejoice. Your Redeemer lives!

Read Job 15-17
 
Job 15:5-6, 15 “Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception. 6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you…15 Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.”
 
JOB’s friend, Eliphaz, spoke a second time to Job. Remember, Eliphaz, Zophar and Bildad are counseling – or to be more accurate, they are rebuking Job. They assumed Job’s intense suffering is God’s judgment on Job’s deep sins. They did not stop to consider Job’s suffering is God’s test to prove to Satan that Job was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. (Job 1:1)
   Still, as Eliphaz accused Job, he was responding to Job’s words in Job 14. Job did sin with his lips. He was angry about the human destiny of death when even a tree’s stump regenerated life and water evaporated to rain back to earth. Job was not happy with God! His words rejected God’s creation design. Sin was telling Job’s mouth what to say.
   Eliphaz knew that Job was a good man. And he also knew all people can sin. He reminded Job God had to keep watch on his angels in heaven to guard against sin. We know Satan was an angel in heaven. And his demons were angels once. Angels are also messengers – prophets. God rebuked his prophets, too. If heaven’s exalted angels and God’s chosen prophets sinned, certainly Job would sin. There was no reason to believe Job is innocent. To some degree, you can’t blame Eliphaz for his counsel. He only saw suffering as sin’s penalty.
    But in his rebuke, Eliphaz also revealed his sin. Wasn’t it sin telling (Eliphaz’s) mouth what to say? Eliphaz was certain of Job’s guilt and God’s reasons to inflict disease and destruction on the man. But Eliphaz didn’t know. He assumed, and then he spoke as if his assumptions were true. His false accusations were a sin before God and against Job.
   Have you ever been in an argument when the other person accused you of something you did not do? Regardless of what you said, you could not convince your antagonist you were innocent of the charge against you. Their absolute belief in your wrong created a chasm you could not cross. There was no solution. This is how it was with Job and his friends. This is how it can be in our family, our church and our friends if we are too quick to judge and rebuke. We must never assume a wrong is done before we speak to another about it. Do not let your sin cause your lips to speak. Instead, listen to God: Colossians 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the LORD forgave you, so you must forgive others.