The Bible Provocateur
The Bible Provocateur
LIVE DISCUSSION: Exposition of JOB 1:1-5 (Part 4 of 4)
Start where the party ends and the prayers begin. We open Job 1:5 and find a father rising at dawn to intercede for each child by name, not to police their behavior but to tend the deeper place—the heart. That single verse becomes a doorway into renewal, the “eighth day” after seven, and a quiet echo of resurrection morning where new creation steps into ordinary time.
We trace how Scripture’s rhythms are not random: sevens that complete, an eighth that begins again, feasts that foreshadow, and Christ who fulfills. Along the way, we grapple with modern doubts about Genesis and the origin of sin, not as an academic detour but as the foundation for why every culture still calls theft, betrayal, and murder wrong. If defilement flows from within, as Jesus says, then legalism cannot heal us. Programs can clean the outside of the cup; only grace renews the inner life.
The conversation turns practical. Job’s habit was continual intercession—early, intentional, and for all his children. We talk about parenting as spiritual watchfulness, why daily faith beats crisis-only religion, and how constancy humbles our pride and steadies our hope. You’ll hear candid stories of repentance that speeds up over time and gratitude that grows even when resources thin out. Job’s arc reminds us we’re not immune to loss, but we are held by a faithful God who never stops interceding for his people.
If you’ve felt the pull to start again, to shift from managing habits to guarding the heart, this is your invitation to the morning after—the place where renewal quietly rises. Listen, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a review to help more people find the show. What small practice will you begin at dawn tomorrow?
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Things. We see the representation like we talked about earlier about the significance of three, the significance of seven, the significance of ten, and all these things. So there is there is no there is no crumb that falls from God's word that doesn't have relevance to us. There's nothing that we can't consume and be filled thereby. And this is what I try to do, and I'm hoping that this continues to happen with all of you. Because listen, there are many times, even today, where people tonight, where people will say things that I hadn't thought about, that I hadn't considered, that I had not had in my own notes, nor had I thought about prior to these discussions. But this is why we do this. This is why we do this. To continue to grow in his grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So in verse 5, we actually made it to the last verse. It says this, and it was so that when the days of their feasting, the children were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early the next in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. And Job said, and Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. And Job did this continually. Now, this is just a beautiful, a beautiful picture. Listen to this. Right on the tail end of the feasting of his children. When the days of their feasting were done, it says that Job sent and sanctified them, and he rose up early in the morning in order to do so, offering burnt sacrifices according to the number of them all. Now think about this. Listen every one of you, the gears in your head should be turning with joy. Reading this verse. They do their things, they have their feasting. And what is after the last one, it says that Job, remember, they get up on the seventh day. I mean, they do the seven feasts. And then it says the next morning, following the seventh feast, it says Job sent and sanctified them early the next morning, offering burnt sacrifices, according to the number of them all. Now it takes me back to the subject the topic that we talked about the other day whenever we were talking about the eighth day, being renewal. For those of you who remember, the eighth day always signified or was attached to or annexed to renewal. It follows the seventh. Then on the morning following the last one, Job got up early in the morning. Who else got up early in the morning out of that tomb? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on resurrection morning. In this case, they offered up, Job offered up burnt offerings for his kids. But we s we show that this is a new beginning because it takes them into the next week where they would start all over again with the feast days. And we see that happen, that cycle happened again when the nation of Israel would be established as a nation. And now we see this happen as a result of Christ's ascension on high, completing the Feast of the Tabernacles and completing the succession of the feast celebrations, which all came to an end with his resurrection. And formerly made so in AD 70 when Titus came and leveled Jerusalem to the ground, putting an end once and forever to the ceremonial law, putting an end to it forever. And so we see this beautiful picture here. Somebody had their hand up. Let me get to that. Brother or sister Audrey, go ahead.
SPEAKER_04:I love this verse where it says, you know, they could have sinned in um against God in their heart because it foreshadows the fact that it's been the same covenant all along, that it was always about a heart posture. So this foreshadows when Jesus is saying that it's about, you know, a heart posture. So I love this verse because it just shows in the Old Testament that what it was, it's always been about a heart posture.
SPEAKER_07:Sister, listen, this is how I know I'm dealing with the senior class. We're not dealing with freshmen here. Everybody in this group is in the senior class. This is this is what we want to continue to do. See these things. And and you're right, sister Tyson. This is all about the heart, and it has always been about the heart. Always. There was never a time where it was not about the heart. Never. Brother Jeffrey, encourage him, serving. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_08:Jonathan, from God's point of view. What's that? I said from God's point of view, right? Maybe the story of Job. He did it when he did, so that it would be a story that would pass and move through history. I mean, generation after generation after generation after generation would see God's faithfulness to Job in spite of what Job had to endure, so that it would give that generation hope that even though they're going through difficulty, even though they're being provoked, even though they are uh being uh uh worked uh used hurt against, being hurt, injured, that there is still faith. There is still uh uh God's faithfulness at play and at work. I mean, it's it's that's why it's one of the earliest stories that we read about in the Bible. Uh and so it has gone from generation to generation. Here we are, all these thousands of years later, we're still talking about God's faithfulness to his servant Job.
SPEAKER_07:Yep. Man of God, go ahead, brother.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and the thing is I wanted to add too is that we know he's real because Jesus named him by name.
SPEAKER_07:Yep.
SPEAKER_05:Uh in the New Testament. He named him by name specifically. Yep, he did. And uh so we know he was a real person. This is not an allegory.
SPEAKER_07:No, you're right about that. You know, so many people like to try to turn everything into an allegory. And, you know, somebody who I love very dearly, you know, told me once and and still hold this position. You really, you know, and somebody who says they're a Christian, you know, and in my family, somebody that I love says say they're a Christian, and they'll say, To me, you can't really believe that Adam and Eve story and that whole serpent and all that kind of stuff. You can't really believe that's true. And here's my answer to people that ask that say things like this silly things. You know, Adam and Eve, that can't be true, and Satan talking in the form of a serpent can't be true. Well, then we have a serious problem because somehow we have to explain sin. Because there's no other explanation anywhere else in any book, anywhere on earth, that talks about or explains the origin of sin other than in the Bible in this way. There's no place, and when I hear people mock and tease and go, wait a minute, you really believe that God made a serpent talk? You really believe that God made a donkey talk? Yeah, because I talk. You talk. Why is it a stretch? Why is it a stretch for me to talk? Why is it a stretch for a human to talk? If God can make a human talk, why can't He make a dog talk? Or an animal talk? Well, why would that be difficult? Why would that seem unusual to the God who created?
SPEAKER_02:A parent talks.
SPEAKER_07:Right. He can mimic, but what I'm saying, what I'm saying is if it it shouldn't be a stretch of the mind. Like, like men can say, men can't explain why we talk. No man can explain why we talk. They can't do it. Who's ever explained how, scientifically? How do you explain how a man can talk?
SPEAKER_02:See, now that's where the Bible says some things we're just not supposed to understand.
SPEAKER_07:Yeah, but people understand that they understand that whatever they have, uh whatever it is they that they use or communicate, just like this guy that I'm always seeing on TV all the time, um or um Neil Dyson, the guy has an answer for everything. I've never seen a guy that had an answer for everything single thing on earth. He has an answer for everything. And it just gets on my nerves. But, you know, this is how the world thinks. If I can talk, then and if I'm talking, then there's no way that it would be possible that I could see God ever having it so that an animal can talk. Why is that a stretch? Because there was a time when I acted and behaved just like a serpent and I spoke. There were times before I be knew the Lord where I acted, and sometimes after I've known the Lord, that I acted like an ass. And every Christian should be able to say this. But the point of the point of the matter is there has to be an explanation for sin. And only this narrative that God has given to us in His Word is the only one that ever tells us how sin got here. But here's the problem, here's the thing the fact that we all know we're sinners, the fact that we need government to restrain the outward moral ineptitude of men, the fact that that's required is indicative of the fact that sin exists. There is no place on earth where taking another man's woman, wife, is not sinful, or stealing is not sinful, or where killing somebody is not sinful. Every place everybody on the planet knows this is wrong. How? Because of what happened in that garden. So it's true. Sister Hannah, go ahead. I digressed.
SPEAKER_00:I was just gonna read Psalm 19:8. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing at heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Oh, wait, that's I'm sorry. That's I wanted to read verse 7. I'm so sorry. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise the simple. Making wise the simple.
SPEAKER_07:Absolutely. Brother Chris, you were gonna say something. Brother Chris. All right, so Job rose up early in the morning, and this shows his diligence. Now, here's the thing he gets up in the morning, he gets up in the morning, and he offers this, he offers these burnt offerings on behalf of his kids, and all of them. And it and it's and it's interesting to me that he specifies all of them. All of his children he offered these burnt offerings for. He didn't leave any of them out, but he made this burnt sacrifice for all of them, and also notice that he so not only was he all inclusive, but I love how the Bible, how the Lord specifies that Job had a concern for them potentially having cursed God in their hearts. It doesn't talk about what they did outwardly or what they do outwardly or any outward activity. He doesn't deal with that. He is offering sacrifices for his kids for what they may have done against God after the inward man, like Sister Candy said. He focused on the inward part. Jesus Himself said, and I don't know why this verse just goes over so many people's heads who are so legalistic. So legalistic. Because he's the one who said that it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out. Because out of the heart proceeds adulteries, seeds proceeds covetousness and idolatry, etc. Job went straight for the heart. He didn't deal with the actions. And what do we learn from this? In fact, let me ask all of you what do you learn from this? What do you learn from this, Lisa? Why is this important to look at the inward part rather than the outward part?
SPEAKER_03:Well, it's a reminder, just you know, what Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. They looked, they obeyed everything that they were supposed to do, but inwardly, I mean, they they couldn't recognize him. So many people go to church every day and do the things on the outside that appear to be um upright and upstanding, and when they get behind closed doors, it's a different story. Okay, how many how many pastors have harmed children, you know, in youth groups and things like this? So you can't hide anything from God. And Job was covering the bases because he knew this. God knows a man's heart. So um we've always got to keep ourselves in check. And it's not what we do, it's the why behind it, you know, that that counts.
SPEAKER_07:Right. See, he he he job understood. Job understood that if you're dealing with only what a person does on the outside, you are not digging up the root of the weed of the weed. You're only shaving off the top of it, but you're not digging up from the root. If you want to to get rid of it, you have to pull it up from the root. And the heart is a root of all our sinful activity, all of our sinful thoughts, all of our sinful ambitions. We don't we don't look at the heart uh the what people do on the outside. We look at the heart. You never know what a person is going through when you look at them. You may think you know, but if you judge by the outward character, by the outward thing that you see, you would you may be judging falsely. But regardless, you you can you can alter a per you can lead a person to alter their behavior. You can go to AA. Is that a good thing? Of course. It's a good thing. Does going to AA make you a Christian? No, it does not. It simply means that you cleaned out the outside of the cup. But has the inside been cleaned? And it also could mean that you may never go back to drinking or doing drugs again. You may never go back to drinking or or doing any kind of a drug ever again. But does that mean that now that that absolves you from all the other habits that you create to fill in the gap? Whether it be pornography, whether it be partering, uh partying, whether it whether it be whatever, idolatry, you can be sober and be a Buddhist. And so we need to understand that everything when it comes to our relationship to God is solely and exclusively having to do with man's heart. Christ was after the hearts of his people. Everything else, the behavior that we have can be affected, can only be affected by what happens in the heart. And this is what needs to be understood. And so many Christians have a problem with this, especially those people that call themselves Christians who run around talking about keeping the law, which is impossible to do, and they'll never do it. And they'll never, they'll never do it. And the last thing I'll say in this verse here is one of the blessed blessed parts of these first five verses. And that's why I cut it off here in verse 5. It says, This is what Job did continually. This is what he did continually. Sister Tyson. I'm sorry, Meg and then Tyson. What do you get from this? Meg, what do you get from this?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, say it one more time.
SPEAKER_07:It says that Job did this continually at the end of verse 5. How do you relate this to Christ?
SPEAKER_01:Because he continually intercedes for us, and he continually washes us clean, and he continually renews us, and he continually gives us grace, and he continually gives us mercy.
SPEAKER_07:Yes, and amen. Is continual which follows the eight.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Which follows the eternal rest and number.
SPEAKER_07:Amen. Eight. We are in that period. Thank the Lord for that. Sister Tyson, your thoughts.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, this definitely um is convicting in the best way of the importance of how we are to be intercessors for our children, how we are to be mindful of their spiritual well-being and how much um it matters and what a priority um it should be. If he was doing this daily, um, then yeah, it's absolutely the best kind of um conviction for me personally.
SPEAKER_07:You know, what one of the one of the things, and and and that's that's a really good word, Tyson, because I think you know that these are the kinds of things that we need to remind ourselves of daily. But what this shows, what Job is showing us here, and that what we see our Lord doing this with us as well, we need to look at how does this relate to us in a practical way. That job that Job's religion was continually, was continual. In other words, it wasn't sporadic, it wasn't sporadic, it wasn't seasonal, and it wasn't impulsive. Oh, I had this this tragic thing happen. I had a car accident, and now I'm gonna turn into the Lord. And then, you know, uh the first time we got out of the hospital, you're right back doing what you were doing before. Job's religion was not seasonal, it was not sporadic, and it was and it was not um uh impulsive. He was consistent, and he was always consistent. And we need to be constant, like like Candy says, we need to be constant in our faithfulness, like Brother Jeff Managai said yesterday. There needs to be a constancy in the exercise of faith. Brother Jeff, Managai, go ahead.
SPEAKER_05:I knew you were gonna come to me sooner or later, but uh anyway, uh, you know, there's a couple things I want to say. First of all, it's like you say, I mean, you know, it's like when I used to think that going to church and studying the Bible there was enough, and then pretty much the rest of the week I did whatever I wanted, and uh realized that that was, you know, not the right way to be. I mean, you know, I have to be in the Word every day now. Am I necessarily searching for one thing? No, I'm reading it, I'm I'm reading things about it and everything. And the other thing is I wanted to say is that, you know, for me to have proven my sin nature, my the sins that tend to bind you and tend to afflict you. I walked into a strip club 28 years ago, that's the last time. And uh, but the thing is, what I realized is my love for God is greater than my love for my sin. And while I still sin, I I'm getting quicker and quicker to uh suddenly realize my need for repentance. You know, he's forgiven the sin, but I need to get myself straight. And the thing is, I love him so much that you know it's it's becoming faster and faster. And uh, you know, I I really thank him for that because I love him more than I love my sin. I love him more than I love. I've had I've had good possessions, I don't have as many now, but you know what? I have everything I need.
SPEAKER_07:And Job was the same way, he had it all. Even when he didn't have his stuff, he had it all.
SPEAKER_05:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_07:So I'll give everybody their closing word for tonight, and we will finish up here. We got I got through all five verses. I'm I'm in I'm in I'm impressed with myself. Actually, I'm impressed with all of you. So it was a it's a great, a great time of discussion. So let me start with you, Candy. Last word for tonight. What do you get out of this, Sister Candy? You there?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I'm here.
SPEAKER_02:All right, we try to flip it around and take the house where I can hit the mute button. I'm sorry, go ahead, sister. Man, I'm just gonna say God is so good and beautiful with the way He gave us examples and people that was His and that we're no different. We all go through the same things, we're all gonna experience it, and He shows us and gives us every opportunity to get out of it. So 1 Peter 3 17, for it is better if it is the will of God to suffer for doing good than for evil. 1 Peter 2 20. When you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his footsteps.
SPEAKER_07:Amen, sister. Brother Jeffrey, man of God, last word.
SPEAKER_05:Well, my last word is oh, come, all you faithful, come and adore him. Amen, brother, amen.
SPEAKER_07:Sister Lisa, last word.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I'm just gonna say what I said in the chat. Y'all know that the quote is if you if God is all you have, you have everything that you need.
SPEAKER_07:Amen.
SPEAKER_03:Everything else. Yay, amen, hallelujah.
SPEAKER_07:Brother Lefty, as they say, the last shall be first.
SPEAKER_06:So I know you're good. I mean, I kind of I've read Job before, and uh I I didn't I'm I'm I'm glad I came on here tonight and and saw uh especially verse five, because uh now that you you said said what you gotta say, and and um I read it and and I see I see Christ in it um in verse five, especially verse five. Um and I I I gotta tell you, man, I I'm a big fan of Job. I I've read it several times. I really I know it's gonna be a while, but I can't wait until we get to 30 uh 38 to 42 chapters, because that that's what that's what I like. I I like you know seeing his seeing his greatness and all that, and and like who are you to question me? That's what I can't do.
SPEAKER_07:I can't wait to get to that part either, brother. I'm looking, I'm looking forward to it. I love his book. And um, and uh I know it's a big a little bit, I know it's a lot to to to chew, but I think it's needful for us to deal with some of these things that a lot of times we don't go through in in these churches, you know what I mean, sometimes and probably for that reason, I don't know.
SPEAKER_06:But I'm looking forward to it too, brother. Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, I know it's gonna be a little while until we get there, but I mean, uh I definitely gonna come up on the panel when we get to those, because uh like what you were saying about the every everybody knows everything, and and you know, it's I I just I read I read through um uh 48 through 14 this morning, and I was like, wow, man, it just blew it was just one of those moments that blew me away.
SPEAKER_07:Well, I'm looking forward to going through the whole thing for sure. I'm excited, Sister Hannah. Last word.
SPEAKER_00:So isn't it so beautiful? Like when you read something and just helps you remember like a specific point with Christ, and I'm just like overwhelmed by his goodness again. Because I remember when I first started walking, um, that I was like, okay, God, I have no idea like all the things that I'm doing wrong, but I bet it's a lot. Um and I came across Psalm 19, where you know, just like it it the that verse 14 at the end made the and so it just reminded me, uh, just like Job that we need to do it continually. And so I just want to read verse 12, 13, and 14. How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults, keep your servant from deliberate sins, don't let them control me, then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
SPEAKER_07:Amen. Amen, sister, amen. Hang in there, brother Jeffrey. Encourage the servant. Last word.
SPEAKER_08:Well, as we're looking at the life and trials of Job, Jonathan, I'm also reminded of the words of the apostle Paul when he said that he has learned to thrive in times of plenty and in times of great need. And I think that's one thing that we can also take away from uh the study that we're going into about Job. There's going to be times when we're going to be in plenty, like Job was. There's going to be times where we're going to maybe be close to destitute as Job was when he had everything taken away so he could be tested. And so we need to understand that we're not immune to. I think sometimes we get into the mindset, Jonathan, that we think, well, we're immune to that, or God has blessed me so much that he wouldn't dare think about doing something like that. We're not God. We're not God. So we again prepare ourselves for the fact that God has the authority to do in our lives what he desires to do to get us to where he wants us to be and wants us to go. Sometimes we don't line up with that, sometimes we don't agree with that. Sometimes we don't almost have the attitude, I don't want anything to do with it. And all of a sudden, God kicks a switch on in our spiritual brain, and we begin to see a little bit of what he's doing and why he's doing it. Oh, okay. Now I guess all in. So let's let's look at this and see how we can be like Job. Yes, we're gonna have hard times and rough moments, but we're gonna come through it. Why, everybody? Because our God is so very faithful. Amen with that. Love you all. Good night, folks. Good night. Sister Audrey, last word, sister.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I think it's uh such a blessing because as we're reading through here, God's showing that He can absolutely take everything and He would be good for it if that's what He did. And realizing that, not rejecting it, but realizing that, coming to that, it it gives you a sense to be more thankful for what you do have right now in this moment. So I could lose my kids tomorrow. Um I I'm gonna appreciate the time that I have been blessed with this right here, right now, and take it more serious what God, you know, has in my life at this moment.
SPEAKER_07:Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And that's and that's and that's a good that's a good perspective to have. And um, and you know, sometimes, you know, as Christians, you know, there's certain things that we try not to, we don't want to consider, but in our in our secret inner being, we we have to uh acknowledge these things. You know, if God takes these things away, what how is that going to affect our relationship to God? I mean, there are many people who they want to curse God. You take away my kids, my job, my health, you know, these are things you don't want to think about, especially when it comes to your children. But we have to we have to be mindful of the fact that this is a very real possibility. God forbid that it happens to any of us before it happens to us. You know, no parents should have to see their child go the way of the earth, as it were. But the reality remains it happens on a daily basis to people, and we have to remain faithful to God in spite of it all. And we don't always know why God is doing what he's doing, but we need to always know that the judge of the earth shall always do right. Always. And he will never fail us, just as Job did for his children continually. If Job did it for his kids, imagine how much more God shall do it for his children. Meg, your last word, and if you wouldn't mind closing for us.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Brother Jonathan, fun fact. There's 1,070 verses in Job. If we did five, seven days a week, it would take us 7.3 months to get through. Is that your plan?
SPEAKER_07:No, that's not my plan, actually.
SPEAKER_01:I was just wondering. That's just food for thought. Um, but no, I think this is really good. I think it's just it's showing us all that, you know, I was sitting here thinking, it's like, no matter in the span of eternity and and where we live now, just in this moment, this is a literal blip. It's not, it's so insignificant, but because we're in time and in space, we see it as so big, but in reality, it's so very small. It's insignificant. But the the thing that the the gold thread that runs through it all is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will never leave us nor forsake us no matter what we go through. And and sometimes in our lives when we feel like when we don't feel him, it's when he's moving the most, you know? I can't feel him, Lord. I don't know where you are. I feel forsaken. It's he's like, I'm here, but the teacher's always quiet during a test. Always so well, with that being said, be persuasive.
SPEAKER_05:Love everybody. All right, take it easy. Bye bye.