Job 27 · Matt 27

Devotion 1 of 2: Job 27

Job has confidence that he lived a righteous life, and that’s why he wouldn’t agree with his 3 friends’ accusations that God was punishing him for his sins (v.3-6). The problem with their thinking was that it was too shallow and only one-dimensional. But our problems can be complicated and have many factors that cause them. None of them, including Job himself, thought of Satan as being the cause! Fortunately, we know he was the cause because we can read Job 1 & 2.

So when we counsel people, let’s not be only one-dimensional and simplistic. Let’s remember that life is complicated, and there can be many causes to people’s problems! Lord, give us understanding when we talk with people!

Devotion 2 of 2: Matt 27

(2/3)
1) What happened to Judas?
Judas was chosen as a disciple of Jesus! He could’ve had the honor of helping lead the new Christian Movement that would save billions of people and change world history! But he exchanged this great privilege for 30 pieces of silver because he worshiped money more than Jesus! He thought Jesus would escape harm like he had done before, but when he realized Jesus was going to be crucified because of what he had done, he returned the money and hanged himself (v.3-5).

Christians alive today have been given a great honor, too. We can believe in the LDR, join the LDC and help bring forth the greatest revival in world history! Or, similar to what Judas did, we can lose this great privilege by not believing in the LDR and instead compromise to AC, worship his image, and take his mark. But if we do that, like Judas, we’ll cut ourselves away from Christ and be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 14:9-11)! Let’s help many believers to believe in the LDR and join the LDC!

2) What happened to Judas’ 30 pieces of silver? (3/3)
Judas returned it, and the chief priests used it to buy a potter’s field to bury strangers in and called it the Field of Blood (v.5-8). Acts 1:18-20 seem to be talking about the same Field of Blood, saying Judas fell in it, and his body burst in the middle and his entrails gushed out! This would have happened if they had found Judas’ dead, partially rotting body a few days after he hung himself and thrown it into the potter’s field, which would have caused it to break apart. This gruesome detail further illustrates the awful consequence of Judas’ betrayal of the Savior.

One note: Matt 26:9-10 says that Jeremiah prophesied that the 30 silver pieces would be used to buy the potter’s field, but it was actually Zechariah who said it in Zech 11:12-13. Critics say that was an error, proving the Bible is not God’s Word. But Bible scholars explain that the name “Jeremiah” was often used to represent all the books of the prophets, so using Jeremiah there was not an error.