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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Job chapter twenty

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Speaker 1: four and we'll be reading from the New English translation.

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Speaker 1: Why are times not appointed by the Almighty? Why do

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Speaker 1: those who know him not see his days? Men move

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Speaker 1: boundary stones, They seize the flock and pasture them. They

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Speaker 1: drive away the orphans donkey. They take the widow's ox

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Speaker 1: as a pledge. They turn the needy from the pathway,

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Speaker 1: and the poor of the land hide themselves all together

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Speaker 1: like wild donkeys in the desert. They go out to

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Speaker 1: their labor, seeking diligently for food the way this land

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Speaker 1: provides food for them and for their children. They reap

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Speaker 1: fodder in the field and glean in the vineyard of

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Speaker 1: the wicked. They spend the night naked because they lack clothing.

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Speaker 1: They have no covering against the cold. They are soaked

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Speaker 1: by mountain rains and huddle in the rocks because they

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Speaker 1: lack shelter. The fatherless child is snatched from the breast.

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Speaker 1: The infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.

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Speaker 1: They go about naked without clothing, and go hungry. While

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Speaker 1: they carry the sheaves, they press out the olive oil

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Speaker 1: between the rows of olive trees. They tread the wine

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Speaker 1: presses while they are thirsty. From the city, the dying,

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Speaker 1: grown and the wounded cry out for help. But God

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Speaker 1: charges no one with wrongdoing. There are those who rebel

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Speaker 1: against the light. They do not know its ways, and

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Speaker 1: they do not stay on its paths. Before daybreak, the

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Speaker 1: murderer rises up. He kills the poor and the needy.

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Speaker 1: In the night. He is like a thief, and the

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Speaker 1: eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking no

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Speaker 1: eye can see me, and covers his face with a mask.

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Speaker 1: In the dark, the robber breaks into houses, but by

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Speaker 1: day they shut themselves in. They do not know the light.

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Speaker 1: For all of them, the morning is to them like

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Speaker 1: deep darkness. They are friends with the terrors of darkness.

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Speaker 1: You say, he is foam on the face of the waters.

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Speaker 1: Their portion of the land is cursed, so that no

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Speaker 1: one goes to their vineyard. The drought, as well as

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Speaker 1: the heat, carry away the melted snow, so the grave

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Speaker 1: takes away those who have sinned. The womb forgets him.

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Speaker 1: The worm feasts on him. No longer will he be

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Speaker 1: remembered like a tree. Wickedness will be broken down. He

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Speaker 1: prays on the baron and childless woman, and does not

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Speaker 1: treat the widow well. But God drags off the mighty

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Speaker 1: by his power. When God rises up against him, he

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Speaker 1: has no faith in his life. God may let them

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Speaker 1: rest in a feeling of security, but he is constantly

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Speaker 1: watching all their ways. They are exalted for a little while,

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Speaker 1: and then they are gone. They are brought low like

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Speaker 1: all others and gathered in, and like a head of grain,

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Speaker 1: they are cut off. If this is not so, who

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Speaker 1: can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing.

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Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and

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Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to

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Speaker 1: look at this portion of scripture today. And Lord, it's

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Speaker 1: clear when we look at this portion of Scripture that

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Speaker 1: Job was trying to make sense of the type of

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Speaker 1: things that he saw in this world. He was trying

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Speaker 1: to make sense of the trials of those who seem

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Speaker 1: like they didn't deserve to go through those trials. And likewise,

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Speaker 1: he was also trying to make sense of the ultimate

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Speaker 1: outcome of those who lived in rebellion against You, and Lord,

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Speaker 1: we know that that's something that we wrestle with as

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Speaker 1: well when we're going through difficult seasons. We try to

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Speaker 1: make sense of it. We try to understand the purpose

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Speaker 1: for it. We try to understand the meaning for it.

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Speaker 1: And Lord, you reveal to us in your word that

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Speaker 1: our trials and our difficulties and the tough things that

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Speaker 1: we go through in this life really are for a purpose.

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Speaker 1: They give us the opportunity to testify to the presence

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Speaker 1: of your son, Jesus Christ, who is in the midst

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Speaker 1: of all of these things with us. They refine our faith,

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Speaker 1: they help us to turn to You more regularly in prayer,

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Speaker 1: and they also are used by You to show us

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Speaker 1: what's really important in this world. Lord. It's difficult at

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Speaker 1: times for us to enjoy going through a season of trial,

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Speaker 1: but we're grateful Lord that you make great use of

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Speaker 1: the experiences that you allow us to have, and we

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Speaker 1: can glorify you in the midst of those heavy seasons.

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Speaker 1: We love you, Lord, and we thank you for allowing

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Speaker 1: us to see the purpose for what You're doing in

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Speaker 1: our lives. And we pray Lord that even if we

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Speaker 1: can't see the purpose immediately, that we would trust in

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Speaker 1: You in the midst of whatever we experience, because we know, Lord,

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Speaker 1: that you love us, and we know that you're present

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Speaker 1: with us, and we know that you work all things

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Speaker 1: together for the good of those who love you. And

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Speaker 1: we thank you, Lord for your presence with us today.

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Speaker 1: We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.