Joshua
Cross over into the land
The Lord told Joshua
at the entrance to the promised land,
Every place you walk, I have given to you. No one will be able stand against
you all your days:
as I was with Moses,
so I will be with you.
Joshua 1:1-3
I will not fail you or forsake you.
said the Lord God Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Be strong and very courageous,
to keep all My words.
Don’t turn to the right or to the left,
then you will prosper wherever you go.
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Joshua sent out 2 men secretly, to spy. They came to the house
of a harlot named Rahab
and stayed there.
The king heard and sent to get them.
God promises us:
You are my hiding place;
You will preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 32:7
Rahab told the king’s men,
They left at sunset
before the closing of the gate.
But she had hidden them
on her roof among stalks of flax.
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Before the men lay down so sleep,
she came to the roof and said,
I know that the Lord
has given you the land.
Everyone in our land fears you
since we heard how the Lord
dried up the Red Sea for you.
And no courage remained
when you utterly destroyed
the 2 Amorite kings.
The Lord, He is God
in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
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She lowered them down by a rope
out the window, saying,
Go to the mountains and hide for 3 days,
until the patrol searching for you returns. Joshua 2
After hearing the spies report
Joshua told the people,
Sanctify yourselves
for tomorrow the Lord
will do wonders among you.
This camp of millions
prepared to cross the Jordan river,
which was already overflowing its banks
at that time of year.
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When the feet of the priests
that carried the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth,
stood in the waters of Jordan River,
the waters were cut off from above
and stood up in a heap;
and all the Israelites
passed over on dry ground.
When Joshua was by Jericho,
a man stood opposite him
with His sword drawn in His hand. Joshua said, Are you for us,
or for our enemies?
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He said, No,
I come now as Captain
of the Lord’s army.
Joshua fell on his face and worshipped. The Lord’s said, Take off your shoes
for the place where you stand is holy. Joshua 5:13-15
I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,
high and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Seraphim hovered above calling Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:
the whole earth is full of His glory.
Isaiah 6:1, 3
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Archaeologists found the walls of Jericho were 6 feet thick and 32-41 feet high.
The Lord had the priests
carry the ark of the covenant
before the warriors,
marching around Jericho without speaking or making a sound for 7 days. On the 7th day they went around 7 times and then blew trumpets, and the wall fell flat. Israel charged in and conquered, saving only Rahab and her family, destroying much evil.
Joshua 6
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The Lord brought Rahab and her family into His eternal royal family.
God is no respecter of persons
but in every nation
ones that fear Him and do right,
are accepted with Him.
Acts 10:34, 35
The city of Gibeon tricked Israel, pretending to be from a far county,
not one under the curse
of total destruction for deepest evil.
Joshua and the princes made peace with them without asking the Lord.
Joshua 9
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5,6
Five kings assembled and attacked Gibeon for making peace with Israel.
Gibeon called to Israel for help.
The Lord said, Don't fear.
As the armies ran from Israel,
the Lord 'cast down great stones from heaven' and more died with hailstones
than those killed with the sword.
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Joshua commanded, ‘Sun, stand still
and moon, in the valley.
The sun stood still in heaven a whole day. There has been ‘no day like that
before it or after,
for the Lord fought for Israel.
Joshua 10:12-14
The Lord led Joshua
throughout the land,
Israel conquering king after king,
31 in all.
Caleb was the spy
that Moses sent with Joshua 40 years earlier. He said, ‘I’m 85 years old today. The Lord kept me alive
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and I’m as strong today
as when Moses sent me to search the land, because I wholly followed the Lord.
My words are life to all who find them
and health to all their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-22
Caleb said to Joshua, Give me this mountain (Hebron:Communion)
If the Lord will be with me,
then I will be able to drive the enemies out.
Joshua gave him the mountain.
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He conquered it.
And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14:12-15
The Lord gave to Israel all the land He promised;
and they possessed it and dwelt there.
The Lord gave them rest all around.
None of all their enemies
was able to defeat them;
the Lord delivered
all their enemies into their hand.
Not one thing failed
of any good thing the Lord had spoken;
all came to pass.
Joshua 21:43-45
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All these things happened to them
for examples to us, on whom
the ends of this age has come.
and they are written for us to know Him.
1 Corinthians 10:11
My peace I give you.
Don' let your hearts be troubled
or afraid. John 14:27
Jesus has the peace of the One
who has all the power.
Matthew 28:18
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All Power in heaven
and earth
Judges
I will never break My covenant with you
The Angel of the Lord came to Israel
saying, I brought you out of Egypt,
to the land I promised, and said,
I will never break My
covenant with you.
Don't make covenants others.
Judges 2:2
Have no other god but Me.
Exodus 20:3
For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
Psalm 96:53
They chose new gods; then war was in the gates. Judges 5:8
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The Lord let them be captured by ones they were trusting, to show them who has the power, who truly loved them.
Then in His great love and compassion, the Lord raised up a judge to deliver them. The Lord was with the judge
and delivered them from their enemies
all the days of that judge.
Judges 2:15-18
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At a time when Deborah was judging Israel the nation was captive
under king Jabin.
He had 900 iron chariots.
The people groaned under his hard rule
for 20 years. When they cried out to the Lord, Deborah sent word to commander Barak, The Lord says, Go to mount Tabor, with 10,000 men.
The Lord won a mighty victory for them, but the glory went to a woman, Jael,
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because the commander refused to go to the battle without Deborah.
Judges 4:6
When the children of Israel
again did evil,
the Lord delivered them
into the hand of Midian 7 years,
who ate their crops and left no food.
When His people cried to Him,
He said, I delivered you from Egypt and all that oppressed you
and gave you this land.
I am the Lord your God;
don’t fear these other gods that can’t talk or walk or see.
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The Angel of the Lord came
and sat under an oak
where Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The Angel said, The Lord is with you.
Go. I’m sending you
to save Israel from the Midianites.
Gideon said, Oh my Lord,
how can I save Israel?
My family and I are the least in Israel. The Lord said, I will be with you.
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(Do we need more help
than the Almighty maker of the universe?) The Lord told Gideon,
You will strike the Midianites as if they were just one man.Judges 6:9-16
Gideon brought an offering to the Angel
and He touched the offering
with His staff.
Fire rose out of the rock
and consumed the offering.
Then the angel of the Lord departed
out of his sight.Judges 6:21
Gideon said, O God!
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I have seen the Lord face to Face.
The Lord said, Peace to you;
you won’t die.
Judges 6:20-23
I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10
The Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon. When the warriors were gathered,
the Lord said, Send away all but 300,
so Israel will know it was I who saved them. Judges 7:2
The Lord told Gideon, Surround this vast army at night,
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each man with a trumpet in one hand and a torch in a pitcher in the other.
At the signal, all 300 blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers
so the light blazed.
The army woke up, were terrified,
and killed one another
without Israel lifting a sword.
The people tried to crown Gideon king.
He said, I will not rule over you,
or my son.
The Lord rules over you.
Judges 8:23
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Each time they turned from their idols
and served the Lord,
His soul was grieved for their misery. Judges 10:14
Later, when Israel had been under the Philistines for 40 years,
they cried to the Lord.
(Oppression opens the ears
to hear Him. Job 36:15)
The Lord raised Samson.
Judges 13:6
And the Spirit of the Lord
began to move him.
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He killed a lion with his bare hands,
and he killed 1,000 men
with the jawbone of a donkey.
He loved a woman, Delilah,
and five lords of the Philistines each promised her 1,100 pieces of silver for his capture.
She plagued him repeatedly
until he told her the secret of His great strength:his hair had never been cut.
While sleeping with his head on her lap,
they cut his hair.
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They captured him, put out his eyes,
and set him to pushing the grinding stone in the prison. And his hair began to grow.
When the Philistines gathered to celebrate Samson’s capture, they brought him out to ‘entertain them.’
He prayed, Strengthen me once more,
O God, that I may avenge my two eyes. He took hold of the two middle pillars that held up the temple and prayed,
Let me die with the Philistines.
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In the days of the judges there was no king in Israel: every man did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and don’t lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
and He will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5, 6
He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
2 Samuel 23:3
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The time of the judges lasted 450 years.
What a glory to God to accomplish His infinitely grand and exquisite plan through weak and willful mankind.
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead, the Prince over the kings of the earth; who loves usand washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and has made us kings and priests
to God, His Father.
Revelation 1:5, 6
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Kings and priests forever
Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah
With great joy
During the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in Israel. Elimelech took his wife and sons to live in the country of Moab. Elimelech and his two sons died there, leaving his wife, Naomi, and 2 daughters-in-law. Naomi heard the Lord had given His people food, so prepared to return to Bethlehem, saying to her 2 daughters, Go back to your families and the Lord deal graciously with you,
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as you have been gracious
with the dead, and with me.
The Lord grant you rest in the house of her husband.
One daughter returned,
but Ruth said, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you. Where you go, I will go;
and where you stay, I will stay:
your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
When they came to Bethlehem,
for food, Ruth gleaned
after the barley harvesters in
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the field of their relative, Boaz,
a wealthy, respected man
who had the right
to redeem Ruth and Naomi’s fields
and to marry Ruth
and raise up an heir for their family line.
He, like the Lord with us, took her under his wing, protected her, married her, provided for her and Naomi. and raised up 'the heir’ who became the great, great, great grandfather of king David
and eventually generations later,
the ancestor our eternal Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Ezra
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, who said, The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem. Who among all His people?
His God be with him,
go and build it.
He is the God.
42,360 Israelites returned to Israel,
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carrying the treasures and gold and silver utensils that were taken
when the city was captured.
In the 7th month they built an altar and began worship there with morning and evening sacrifices which showed
His great promise of eternal salvation.
When the foundation was completed,
they sang together praising
and giving thanks to the Lord;
because He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.
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And all the people shouted
with great shouts of joy,
praising the Lord.
Enemies delayed the work
by writing to king Darius saying
these people were rebellions
and wouldn’t pay taxes.
The king wrote back,
Let the work alone;
I decree that you fully finance this
from my treasuries there
and provide all priests require,
without fail,
day by day,
for sweet sacrifices
to the God of heaven,
and pray for the king,
and his sons.
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Nehemiah
Nehemiah heard that the Israelites who’d returned to build the temple at Jerusalem were in great trouble with the wall broken down and the gates burned. He wept and prayed, These are Your people,
You redeemed by Your great power. Grant me favor with the king.
The king gave letters of passage, timber needed and a
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military escort ‘according to
the good hand of my God upon me.
We began to build
and enemies came and ridiculed us,
I said to them, The God of heaven,
He will prosper us.
We posted lookouts in the high places
and armed everyone for battle.
Half the people worked
and half stood guard at each site
with spears, shields, and bows, saying,
‘our God will fight for us.’
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Israel’s leaders were charging their own people such high taxes that the people were selling their fields
and even their children into slavery.
Nehemiah stopped it all and had them give back the children, lands, and excess money they’d taken.
The wall was finished in 52 days and the enemies were downcast, ‘
for they perceived that this work was done by our God.’
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I am the vine and you are the branches. Without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
All the people gathered before the water gate; and asked Ezra to read the book
of the law of Moses.
When they heard, they wept.
Nehemiah said, This day is holy to the Lord your God; Don’t mourn or weep for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ Nehemiah 8:10
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Stand up and bless
the Lord your God forever:
blessed be Your glorious name,
which is exalted above
all blessing and praise.
You are Lord alone;
You made heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, and all things in it,
the seas and all that is in it.
You preserve them all;
and in heaven worship You.
You saved Your people from Egypt
and divided the sea for them, so they went through on dry ground.
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You gave them bread from heaven to eat
and brought water out of the rock
for their thirst,
and took them into the land You promised, but they weren’t mindful
of your wonders and rebelled.
You are just in all that is brought on us.
But you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and of great kindness,
and didn’t forsake them:
You gave them kingdoms and nations
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and multiplied them as the stars of heaven
and we have done wickedly.
At the dedication of the wall
great sacrifices were offered to the Lord,
and God made them rejoice
with great joy.
In Your Presence is fullness of joy and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
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With great joy
Esther
He set the royal crown on her head and made her queen.
Israel, in exile in Persia for great sin against Almighty God, is still mightily loved and kept in His powerful care.
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Ahasuerus reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces from 486-465 BC.
In the 3rd year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and servants.
He displayed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty for 180 days.
Then he made 7 day feast for all those in the capital city of Shushan in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
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They drank royal wine in golden goblets as each one desired. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded 7 chamberlains that served in his presence to bring queen Vashti before the king wearing the royal crown, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was very beautiful.
But the queen Vashti refused to come and the king became furious. Then the king asked the wise men,
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What shall we do to queen Vashti according to law. One said, She has done disservice to all men in your kingdom for now all wives will despise their husbands.
Let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she.
They gathered together all the beautiful young
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virgins unto Shushan the palace.
Esther, an exile from Israel under the care of her uncle Mordecai, was brought to the palace among the beautiful young virgins. She had not revealed her people for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it. He walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. Each young lady was purified 6 months with
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oil of myrrh and six months with sweet perfumes before being taken before the king.
Esther obtained favor in the sight of all that looked upon her. She was taken to king Ahasuerus into his royal house in the 10th month, in the 7th year of his reign.
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so, he set the royal crown on her head, and made
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her queen instead of Vashti.
(I love you with an everlasting love, says the Lord.) Jeremiah 31:3
Mordecai refused to bow to a trusted advisor of the king, Haman, which infuriated Haman and he sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the whole kingdom because he knew Mordecai was a Jew. He told the king the Jews didn’t obey the law or pay their taxes and had the king sign an edict for them all to
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be destroyed on a set day and bring their wealth into the king’s treasuries.
Esther’s chamberlain was given a copy of the decree, and she risked her life to go before the king without a summons. He extended to her His golden scepter, and she invited the king and Haman to a banquet she prepared just for them.
After two lovely days of banqueting, she presented her request: O king,
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and if it please you, let my life and the life of my people be spared, For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed. Incredulous, the king asked Esther, the queen, Who would dare to do this? Esther said, This wicked Haman. The furious kin went into the garden to cool his anger and when he returned Haman was fallen before Esther to plead for his life; but it looked like he was assaulting her.
Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house?
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As the word went out of king's mouth, they covered Haman's face and hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath was pacified.
He gave all Haman’s property to Esther and took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. An edict was sent through the 127 provinces that the Jews could defend themselves on the day set to destroy them.
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The Jews had light and joy and honor. They were a blessing to the kingdom where they were sent in exile
for their unfaithfulness to God.
Jesus said, I didn’t come to judge the world, but to save the world: John 12:47
for them to have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Let the wicked fall into their own traps while I completely escape.’ Psalm 141:10
The Lord will return the wickedness of the
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wicked on their own head.
1 Kings 2:44
The kingdom is the Lord's. He is the governor among the nations. Psalm 22:28
Ah Lord God! You made heaven and earth by Your great power; nothing too hard for You: You show lovingkindness to thousands and repay iniquity: Your eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men: to give everyone according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 32:17-19
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Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Hebrews 7:26
By one offering He has perfected forever them that believe.
Hebrews 10:14
Who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases: Who crowns us with His love, and renews our youth like the eagles.
Psalm 103:3-5
I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am you will be.
John 14:3
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Forever
Job
Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
www.truthofhim.com.
The infinitely beautiful One created life and made everything a beautiful gift of love for those He created. He has made everything beautiful in His time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Job was a man in ancient times who feared God and turned from evil. God had blessed him with great wealth, vast estates,
and 10 children.
In heaven, the Sons of God (angels) gathered at The Lord’s sapphire throne
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where He sat, a fiery gemstone form of a man flashing forth rainbows (Ezekiel 1), and Satan came there bragging that He ruled on earth.
The Lord refuted him, saying,
What about My servant Job?
There is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man.
He fears God and shuns evil.
Satan said, You have put a hedge
around him.
The Almighty is a shield around
those who trust Him.
Genesis 15:1
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Satan said, I can make him curse you to your face! God allowed him to try, but after Satan had painfully stripped Job of everything. Job said, The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Whenever we turn to God above others it honors before all the universe forever.
Three friends came to comfort Job,
but concluded he must have done horrible sins to receive such punishment.
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(God had already held Job up before the universe as the most righteous man on earth.) The friends said, I would commit my causeto God, Who does great things unsearchable, marvellous things without number. The Lord gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields.
He sets on high those that are low; and those who mourn will be exalted to safety. Job 5:8-11
In famine He will redeem you from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
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You will be hidden from the ‘scourge of the tongue (hurtful words from others).
He will fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: Who alone spread out the heavens and walks on the waves of the sea.
Your hands have made me.
Can you find the Almighty’s perfection?
It is as high as heaven.
In His hand is the soul of every living thing,
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and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10
With Him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are His.
Job said, I know that My Redeemer lives and He will stand on the earth in the latter days. In my flesh, I will see God. (He will be resurrected)
Job 9:26
And Job said, Though He kill me, I will still trust in Him. My witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
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He makes peace in His high places. He judges those that are high. (The heavens full of countless beautiful, powerful angelic beings made of light).
Serve Him now and be at peace: by it good will come to you.
The Almighty will be your defense. You will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
He knows the way that I take: when He has refined me, I will come forth as gold.’ (pure and most valuable, holy as He is holy,
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filled with all the fullness of His infinite glory.) Job 23:10
He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder.
The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty
has given me life.
Surely God will not do wickedly; The Almighty won’t pervert justice.
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His eyes are on the ways of man,
and He sees all his goings.
There is no darkness, or shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves. He corrects them in the open sight of others because they turned back from him and wouldn’t consider
any of His ways.
Behold, God is mighty and doesn’t despise any: He delivers the poor in his affliction and opens their ears in oppression.
Job 36:15
He thunders with the voice of is excellency.
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With God is awesome majesty.
He is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in abundant justice.
Then the Lord came to talk with Job out of the whirlwind, saying, Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Job 38:7
Have You entered the springs of the sea? or walked in the search of the deep? Have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?Have you entered
the treasures of the snow?
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Can you guide the constellations or send lightning? Do you cause the wildlife to give birth? Did you give the goodly wings to the peacocks? or wings and feathers to the ostrich?’ Does the eagle mount up at your command, and make her nest on high?’
The Lord asked Job, Will you condemn Me, that you may be righteous? Dress yourself now with majesty and excellency. Clothe yourself with glory and beauty.
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Look on every one that is proud and bring him low. Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you. Of Jesus we are told there is no other name by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Job said, ‘I know that You can do everything, and no thought can be withheld from You. I heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees You. I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.’
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The Lord surrounded Job as a shield again when he prayed for his friends and restored to Job twice as much as he had before with 140 more years of earthly life to enjoy it all.
As the lightning comes out of the east, and shines to the west; so will the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:27
When our Redeemer stands again on the earth.
He that overcomes will sit with Me on My throne. Revelation 3:21
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For God so loves the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but has everlasting life. John 3:16
God So Loves