March 2023

March 31

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 90 (3/31) – Job 36:22-37:24; Matthew 12:9-21

Elihu ends with a flourish about the majesty and grandeur of God and that He is: “great in power; justice and abundant righteousness He will not violate.” Equally majestic, to me, is how the prophet Isaiah’s words are tied to Jesus, that He would proclaim justice to the Gentiles and “in His name the Gentiles will hope.” Both of these passages demand some time of sincere thankfulness before Him. (Congratulations! We have finished our third month of Scripture reading together!)

March 30

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 89 (3/30) – Job 35:1-36:21; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11

While Elihu is trying to help Job understand the great differences between God and man and man’s demands of God, Jesus, God in the flesh, is standing in the very real midst of man. He is moved to anger by the way man has misused God’s words for their own power and significance, and He heals a man in spite of their self-possessed authority. This action sets in motion the desire to destroy Him. O God, give us eyes to see You clearly for our own flesh so blinds us to You.

March 29

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 88 (3/29) – Job 34:1-37; Luke 6:1-5; Mark 2:23-38

Let me offer you a challenge for today’s reading: what similarities do you see between Elihu’s comparison of God and man, and Jesus declaring that He was the Lord of the Sabbath? (Can you imagine how provocative that was to the Pharisees? The Sabbath was a great source of power and significance for them, and Jesus was evaporating it.)

March 28

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 87 (3/28) – Job 33:1-33; Matthew 12:1-8

I wish we could sit down together and discuss Elihu’s discourse today! As well, the incredible declarations of Jesus to the Pharisees that He was both greater than the temple and Lord of the Sabbath. Can you imagine the indignation and anger these words would have provoked? Yet they were part of the mountain of evidence that Jesus was God in the flesh.

March 27

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 86 (3/27) – Job 32:1-22

Job has finished his argument. His three “friends” have nothing more to say. And now, in one of the most intriguing aspects of this book, a young man, Elihu, arises and presents a monologue that runs for six chapters, bringing charges against all four: Job, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. There are differences of opinion whether Elihu is right or wrong in his assessments. When God finally speaks, He takes Job and the three to task, but doesn’t mention Elihu. From my perspective, it seems that Elihu gets a lot right. We, however, must ask for wisdom as we read Elihu’s words and bump them up against the rest of Scripture. They would provide a great statement by statement discussion!

March 26

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 85 (3/26) – Job 31:1-40

In this three-fold, final monologue of Job, we have seen him talk of what he had, where he is now, and today we see his final assertion of his righteousness. All of this is most likely a fair defense that Job presents. The problem, as we have noted before, is his assumption that his righteousness should have kept him from physical difficulties. Do we fall into this same trap?

March 25

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 84 (3/25) – Psalm 9:1-20; Psalm 75:1-10; John 5:16-47

These words strike me today: “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.” What a great interlude for our time reading Job! God’s judgments are always right and true and just. They may not come at the time we want them to come, but they will come. You may want to read Jesus’ words through twice today. Here we find some of the profound statements Jesus makes that confirm His own divinity. We will address this in our next webinar April 4.

March 24

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 83 (3/24) – Job 30:1-31; John 5:1-15

Today is the contrast of Job lamenting his circumstances, that, in his mind, are undeserved because of his righteousness, and Jesus healing an invalid who had been suffering for 38 years, longer than most people of his day lived. Yet, rather than people rejoicing with him in his healing, he was hit with accusations of breaking the Sabbath. His accusers, Job’s accusers, and even Job himself, were blinding themselves to the work of God in their midst because they were caught up in their own stories rather than His Divine Meta-Narrative. Today, let’s get ourselves caught up in His Larger Story.

March 23

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 82 (3/23) – Job 29:1-25; Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39

Our passages today present to us a very interesting thing to ponder. Job is reminiscing about what it used to be like before his world fell apart. We have no reason to doubt what he is saying here. Job was “the man” as we might say today. And, he was not only rich and powerful and highly influential and respected, but he used all of that for those who were in need. Jesus speaks of the folly of putting new wine into old wineskins. Jesus was continually trying to get people to see the New Covenant that was coming, but many weren’t willing to go there. The status quo is so very powerful. It isn’t bad to reminisce, unless it keeps us from living fruitful lives in the present. Tradition isn’t bad, unless that tradition keeps us from being wise in the times in which we live.

March 22

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 81 (3/22) – Proverbs 1:1-33; Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17

We are here introduced to the simple, the fool, and the scoffer. I see this as one of the threats converging on our culture today. You can see the article [HERE]. The Scriptures lay before us a consistent wisdom: follow God and His precepts and you will find true peace; rebel against Him and you will be continually vexed.

March 21

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 80 (3/21) – Job 28:1-28; Psalm 111:1-10; Luke 5:17-32

It will be of much value for you to spend time contemplating the grand poem that is laid before us in Job’s exaltation of God’s wisdom and understanding. Man’s labor can bring gold and silver and jewels to “light”, but true wisdom is not found anywhere but in the Lord. The Psalmist recognizes this and praises God for all of His goodness to His people, whereas, in the midst of physically seeing the miraculous works of Jesus, the spiritual “leaders” are blind, grumbling and accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Do not despair when the social elites accuse you of “social blasphemy”. This comes from the dark side of the fallen world and is simply part of our walk here on earth this side of the Restoration of all things.

March 20

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 79 (3/20) – Job 25:1-27:23

Job’s first few sentences are full of sarcasm in response to Bildad, who, if nothing else, is certainly consistent. Indirectly he is equating Job to a maggot and a worm. Ironically, however, God will speak through those who are in the wrong. Bildad makes the assertion that no man can be pure nor make himself right before God. This is true. The only way that man can be righteous before God is if he wears the righteous robe of Christ. Bildad just makes the wrong application of that, as we have previously noted, that Job is suffering because he is a maggot and a worm. No wonder Job begins with sarcasm for the great “help” that his friends have been!

March 19

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 78 (3/19) – Job 23:1-24:25

Job is not only suffering physically, but mentally and emotionally. He is also suffering socially. Not only are his “friends” constantly accusing him, but remember it was his wife that said to him: “curse God and die”. In the midst of this, Job is thinking that God is far, far away from him. No matter where he looks for Him, He is not. This is a common cry when we are in difficult situations, is it not? But God is always near, even when we can’t “feel” Him. The words that strike me in this section are these: “But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me…” Job never loses sight of the total sovereignty of God and he takes comfort in it.

March 18

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 77 (3/18) – Job 22:1-30; Matthew 9:1-8

Eliphaz begins the third cycle in the back-and-forth of the “friends” with Job. His accusation hasn’t changed: “Agree with God and… good will come to you.” He charges Job, therefore, with all kinds of spurious evil and wickedness and again offers good things to Job if he would just repent. Oh, how often do we fall into this same sin? Whether it be in our silent judgment of others in their plight or our counsel of the blessings that await them if they were to just get right with God? How often do we do this to ourselves?

March 17

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 76 (3/17) – Job 21:1-34; Mark 2:1-12

Job’s response reminds me of Psalm 73:3, “I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” for the psalmist is making the same case against Job’s accusers. No one can make a connection between the physical prosperity of a human being and their standing before God. It is a word against those today to promote the “falsehood”, as Job puts it, that physical blessings will come to those who do “spiritual” things. In the record of Jesus healing the man let down through the roof, do not miss the key message there of the divinity of Jesus, that He could forgive sins.

March 16

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 75 (3/16) – Job 20:1-29; Luke 5:12-16; Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45

Job is suffering and Zophar mocks him, yet a man full of leprosy begs and implores Jesus, and Jesus, “moved with pity”, heals him. What a difference! Imagine, again, yourself in Galilee at this time. Jesus is freely healing so many people that He could no longer openly enter the towns. Though Jesus was, therefore, out in the desolate places, people were coming to Him “from every quarter”. Can you see it? What a sight that must have been!

March 15

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 74 (3/15) – Job 19:1-29; Luke 5:1-11

We come to one of the famous utterances from Job that begins: “For I know that my Redeemer lives…” and though in death his body would be destroyed,  “yet in my flesh I shall see God”. This is one of those places where we don’t know how much Job really understood about the resurrection of the dead, but the Spirit of God was speaking through him, giving testimony of the reality of our Messiah, Jesus, and the hope we have beyond the grave. Couple this with Jesus, on earth, teaching people the Kingdom of God and calling His small group together and telling them that from now on they would be catching men. Both are pointing us to the truth that there is a spiritual reality that exists within and beyond our physical world. This was the hope of Job and the hope laid before those who heard Jesus teaching from a stinky fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee.

March 14

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 73 (3/14) – Job 18:1-21; Luke 4:42; Mark 1:35-39; Matthew 4:23-25

Here is what strikes me today: Job is suffering and the self-righteous Bildad heaps condemnation upon him; the people in Jesus’ day are suffering and He who is truly righteous heaps upon them healing. Imagine the difference in the bitter atmosphere surrounding Job while his “friends” verbally abuse him and the incredible joy and astonished laughter that surrounded those paralytics and diseased and possessed who were touched by Jesus and completely and totally healed. Certainly there were “great multitudes” that followed Him. Can you imagine what that would have been like to have been there and seen all of this?

March 13

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 72 (3/13) – Job 16:1-17:16

It is difficult to read Job’s cry here and not be filled with compassion for this man. Yes, he strikes out at God, saying that God has “hated me” and “gnashed His teeth at me”, but Job holds on to his faith in God. Most remarkably, in the midst of his suffering, he says that he will not abandon his hope in God by hoping for death. I’ve asked myself numerous times if I would have been as strong as Job.

March 12

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 71 (3/12) – Job 15:1-35

We now begin the second round of three. Each round consists of the three “friends” presenting their accusations and Job’s response to each. Remember, these were called “friends” who had come to “comfort”, yet Eliphaz now ramps up his charges of Job, inferring Job is “abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!” With friends like these, who needs enemies, as the saying goes. We know that a friend is one who speaks the truth, even if it hurts. But here we see Job’s “friends” assuming his corrupt and abominable guilt because of his circumstances. Great lesson for us to avoid in our thoughts of others.

March 11

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 70 (3/11) – Job 14:1-22; Luke 4:38-41; Matthew 8:14-17

While Job longs for relief from his suffering, we read of Jesus healing people of various diseases and pains. Job will eventually be healed and restored and we know not how long these people who came to Jesus had been suffering from their ailments. For those of us who are in Christ, there will come a healing and a restoration. May we be found faithful until that day.

March 10

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 69 (3/10) – Job 13:1-28; Luke 4:31-37; Mark 1:29-34

Today we see Job strike back at his “friends”. He declares that their “maxims are proverbs of ashes” and their “defenses are defenses of clay”; who “whitewash with lies” and are “worthless physicians”. Though Job’s understanding of what is happening falls short, his faith in God is unwavering: “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.” In contrast to his friends being “worthless physicians”, we see Jesus healing many who were sick and possessed with demons. While Job’s friends speak with faulty, earthly wisdom, we see Jesus speaking with divine authority and power.

March 9

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 68 (3/9) – Job 12:1-25; Mark 1:21-28

Think what it would have been like to have dinner with Job, were it not for his travails! His understanding and expressions of God’s sovereignty are quite remarkable. This chapter is full of them. “Ask the beasts and they will tell you” or “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” or “He makes nations great, and he destroys them.” How many times I have read Job and yet this struck me as so relevant for our times: “He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in the dark without light, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man.” [See God giving us over to a depraved mind] Jesus, not like Job’s friends, speaks with authority and heals one whose mind was depraved by a demon. People were in awe of Him. Be in awe of Him today.

March 8

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 67 (3/8) – Job 10:1-11:20; Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20

What a great contrast we have today! Job continues his argument that he is innocent and therefore God should not be doing horrible things to him. Zophar verbally slaps Job because the trials Job is suffering prove he is not innocent. This faulty foundation, that it is the works of man alone that drive God’s actions of physical blessing or curses, and, therefore, His love or rejection, persists even in our own day. In wonderful contrast, though, we have Jesus forming His small, intimate group and putting His arms around stinky fishermen. Oh, the amazing, sovereign love of God!

March 7

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 66 (3/7) – Job 9:1-35; Luke 4:16-30 

Job begins a legal argument in chapters 9 and 10, affirming much about God but concluding that he can’t get a fair hearing before Him because there is “no arbiter” that could justly speak for Job to God. Is God giving us, in Job’s lament, a picture of the totally helpless state of man without Jesus, who “intercedes for us” before the Father? Read verse 33 in this light. In an iconic reversal, we see Jesus rejected by His relatives in John. This provides an important understanding of the spiritual wall that exists between family members in much the same way Job felt there was a wall between him and God. The video today gives a good visual context of our passage. I remember standing on the precipice over which they intended to throw Jesus. It was a sobering moment.

March 6

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 65 (3/6) – Job 7:6-8:22 

Today we have Job crying out from his torment and his words are shaped by his misery: “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” When he does, he isn’t speaking pure truth about God, but speaking his complaint. Then Bildad arises and he speaks some truth about God but throws it at Job in the context of the lie that God will physically bless the good person and physically curse the bad person. We have no biblical guarantee of that. Therefore, when you read Job, we must do so with great discernment, just as you must do so when you view the videos and supplemental material that accompanies our Scripture readings. This is true in all of our life, is it not? We have so many people and media truth claims that bombard us constantly. Be wise in what and how you consume them! A great lesson from Job!

March 5

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 64 (3/5) – Job 6:1-7:5

There is much for us to learn here. Job is suffering and his emotional and mental state reflect that suffering. But he clearly knows that his “friends” are not bringing comfort. Quite a lesson for those of us who are placed in the position of bringing “comfort” to those who are in hardship. Telling them that God is going to remove their afflictions if they get right with God isn’t comfort, nor is it biblical. It is also good to note that God is accepting of our lament before Him. We ought not accuse Him, as Job ends up doing, but He listens as a caring Father to our groanings. Don’t be afraid to weep and cry in His presence. He is the true Comforter.

March 4

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 63 (3/4) – Job 5:1-27; John 4:46-54; Matthew 4:12-17

Keep in mind as we read the statements of the three friends of Job that God later rebukes them for “speaking that which was not right of Me”. Therefore, we must be very wise and careful how we read their words. Some are true, as we see confirmed elsewhere in Scripture, others convey assumptions and conclusions that are not true. It is a great exercise to discuss these passages with other believers as to which is which. As Jesus is beginning His ministry, take note of the great words that those who dwelt in the shadow of death, a Light, Jesus, was dawning on them. Also, in John, that Jesus had now “shined His light” upon a Jew (Nicodemus), a Samaritan (woman at the well), and now upon a Gentile (the official). That Light was coming for the entire world. (By the way, please look at our note regarding the videos and other resources that are present on the Bible Study Together website. We all must use biblical discernment for everything we see.)

March 3

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 62 (3/3) – Job 4:1-21; John 4:27-45

We are now beginning the largest section (chapters 4-37) of Job. Here we will see the back and forth between the bad wisdom of the “friends” and Job’s equally poor responses. If you didn’t see the video on Day 60, I would encourage you to go back and do that. Remember the context of all of this: Satan, who is the Accuser, brings charges that Job only worships God because God has materially blessed him with so much. Now, the friends bring charges that God is cursing Job because he has been bad. Job accepts their assumption that God’s “justice” means that He always brings material blessings upon the righteous and material curses upon the unrighteous, which then leads Job to the conclusion that, since he is innocent, God must somehow be bad. It is very important, when we read Job, to keep what is happening in mind, otherwise we might be persuaded by the bad counsel of the friends or the poor reasoning of Job. How marvelous to see Jesus bring spiritual blessing to a sinful woman (don’t miss the video).

March 2

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 61 (3/2) – Job 2:1-3:26; John 4:1-26

Today we have the pitiful situation of Job and his lament for his suffering, including the torment from his wife. Is there humor in the verse that says Job’s three friends come to “comfort” him? Surely, they do not. In the interaction with the Samaritan woman, we see something similar. She, as Job, is struggling to see beyond the physical. There are those who will assert that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah. Here, He states it clearly. And it is in that reality that we find the true and deep rest for our weary souls on earth.

March 1

Dr. Tackett's Daily Comment

Day 60 (3/1) – Psalm 101: 1-8; Job 1:1-22

Nothing is more troubling to man than what is called “the problem of evil”. The book of Job dumps us right in the middle of that problem: why do bad things happen to good people; if God is good, why does evil persist; where is God in the midst of my suffering; why doesn’t God come to my rescue; will righteousness protect me from evil; is God truly just; is God truly good; does God even care? And so forth. This is why we started our Neighborly Apologetics webinars on this subject. Be sure to reread the final three verses of the psalm and to understand the context of Job as we are provided in chapters 1 and 2. And, congratulations! We have gone through two months of reading the Scripture together!

January 2023

with Dr. Tackett's Daily Comments

February 2023

with Dr. Tackett's Daily Comments