Proverbs 3:7-12 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil: 8 It will be health to thy navel, And marrow to thy bones. 9 Honor Jehovah with thy substance, And with the first-fruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, And thy vats shall overflow with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah; Neither be weary of his reproof: 12 For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth; Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Yesterday we discussed the importance of depending on Scripture as our compass throughout life. Following God’s directions will change our behavior and challenge our attitudes, desires, and thought processes. He leads us to think differently about ourselves, our values, and even the difficulties facing us.

We naturally want to determine our own course in life. It seems like the only logical way to get where we want to go. But being wise in our own eyes is pride. To combat this tendency, the Lord instructs us to fear Him and turn away from evil (Prov. 3:7). This “fear” is not a horrified dread of the Father, but an attitude of respect that motivates us to obey Him for both our good and His glory.

We naturally want to keep our money for ourselves. A desire for a better lifestyle or fear of not having enough leads us to hang on to everything we get. But our compass directs us to honor God by giving Him the first part of all we have, trusting Him to provide for our needs (Prov. 3:9-10).

We naturally dislike God’s discipline. His painful reproofs seem to imply that He doesn’t care about us. But our heavenly Father says His discipline is evidence of His love and delight in us as His children (Prov. 3:11-12).

Sometimes in our desire to follow the Lord, we focus on obedient actions—doing what He says—yet miss His directions concerning our attitudes and thought patterns. To stay on God’s path for our lives, we must make course corrections not only in our behavior but also in our heart and mind.

Bible in One Year: Job 17-21 Chapter 17 1 My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, The grave is `ready' for me. 2 Surely there are mockers with me, And mine eye dwelleth upon their provocation. 3 Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; Who is there that will strike hands with me? 4 For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: Therefore shalt thou not exalt `them'. 5 He that denounceth his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail. 6 But he hath made me a byword of the people; And they spit in my face. 7 Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, And all my members are as a shadow. 8 Upright men shall be astonished at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless. 9 Yet shall the righteous hold on his way, And he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger. 10 But as for you all, come on now again; And I shall not find a wise man among you. 11 My days are past, my purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart. 12 They change the night into day: The light, `say they', is near unto the darkness. 13 If I look for Sheol as my house; If I have spread my couch in the darkness; 14 If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, `Thou art' my mother, and my sister; 15 Where then is my hope? And as for my hope, who shall see it? 16 It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust. Chapter 18 1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, 2 How long will ye hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. 3 Wherefore are we counted as beasts, `And' are become unclean in your sight? 4 Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place? 5 Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. 6 The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. 7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. 8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon the toils. 9 A gin shall take `him' by the heel, `And' a snare shall lay hold on him. 10 A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way. 11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels. 12 His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side. 13 The members of his body shall be devoured, `Yea', the first-born of death shall devour his members. 14 He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors. 15 There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. 17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. 18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. 19 He shall have neither son nor son's son among his people, Nor any remaining where he sojourned. 20 They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. 21 Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God. Chapter 19 1 Then Job answered and said, 2 How long will ye vex my soul, And break me in pieces with words? 3 These ten times have ye reproached me: Ye are not ashamed that ye deal hardly with me. 4 And be it indeed that I have erred, Mine error remaineth with myself. 5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, And plead against me my reproach; 6 Know now that God hath subverted me `in my cause', And hath compassed me with his net. 7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry for help, but there is no justice. 8 He hath walled up my way that I cannot pass, And hath set darkness in my paths. 9 He hath stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head. 10 He hath broken me down on every side, and I am gone; And my hope hath he plucked up like a tree. 11 He hath also kindled his wrath against me, And he counteth me unto him as `one of' his adversaries. 12 His troops come on together, And cast up their way against me, And encamp round about my tent. 13 He hath put my brethren far from me, And mine acquaintance are wholly estranged from me. 14 My kinsfolk have failed, And my familiar friends have forgotten me. 15 They that dwell in my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. 16 I call unto my servant, and he giveth me no answer, `Though' I entreat him with my mouth. 17 My breath is strange to my wife, And my supplication to the children of mine own mother. 18 Even young children despise me; If I arise, they speak against me. 19 All my familiar friends abhor me, And they whom I loved are turned against me. 20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. 21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me. 22 Why do ye persecute me as God, And are not satisfied with my flesh? 23 Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 That with an iron pen and lead They were graven in the rock for ever! 25 But as for me I know that my Redeemer liveth, And at last he will stand up upon the earth: 26 And after my skin, `even' this `body', is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God; 27 Whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me. 28 If ye say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me; 29 Be ye afraid of the sword: For wrath `bringeth' the punishments of the sword, That ye may know there is a judgment. Chapter 20 1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 2 Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me. 3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me. 4 Knowest thou `not' this of old time, Since man was placed upon earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment? 6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds; 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he? 8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. 9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him. 10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back his wealth. 11 His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust. 12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue, 13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth; 14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him. 15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly. 16 He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him. 17 He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter. 18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice. 19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. 20 Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth. 21 There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. 22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, `God' will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through. 25 He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him. 26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown `by man' shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. 27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house shall depart; `His goods' shall flow away in the day of his wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God. Chapter 21 1 Then Job answered and said, 2 Hear diligently my speech; And let this be your consolations. 3 Suffer me, and I also will speak; And after that I have spoken, mock on. 4 As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient? 5 Mark me, and be astonished, And lay your hand upon your mouth. 6 Even when I remember I am troubled, And horror taketh hold on my flesh. 7 Wherefore do the wicked live, Become old, yea, wax mighty in power? 8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. 12 They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment they go down to Sheol. 14 And they say unto God, Depart from us; For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? 16 Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me. 17 How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity cometh upon them? That `God' distributeth sorrows in his anger? 18 That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away? 19 `Ye say', God layeth up his iniquity for his children. Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it: 20 Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what careth he for his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off? 22 Shall any teach God knowledge, Seeing he judgeth those that are high? 23 One dieth in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet: 24 His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moistened. 25 And another dieth in bitterness of soul, And never tasteth of good. 26 They lie down alike in the dust, And the worm covereth them. 27 Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me. 28 For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt? 29 Have ye not asked wayfaring men? And do ye not know their evidences, 30 That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity? That they are led forth to the day of wrath? 31 Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done? 32 Yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb. 33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, And all men shall draw after him, As there were innumerable before him. 34 How then comfort ye me in vain, Seeing in your answers there remaineth `only' falsehood?