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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 Studyheadquarters dot com.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm

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Speaker 1: John Stangey, and today we're in Job chapter fifteen, and

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Speaker 1: we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Then Elifaz

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Speaker 1: the Temanite replied, a wise man wouldn't answer with such

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Speaker 1: empty talk. You are nothing but a wind bag. The

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Speaker 1: wise don't engage in empty chatter. What good or such words?

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Speaker 1: Have you? No fear of God, no reverence for him?

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Speaker 1: Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your

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Speaker 1: words are based on clever deception. Your own mouth condemns you,

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Speaker 1: not I. Your own lips testify against you. Were you

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Speaker 1: the first person born? Were you born before the hills

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Speaker 1: were made? Were you listening at God's secret counsel? Do

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Speaker 1: you have a monopoly on wisdom? What do you know

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Speaker 1: that we don't? What do you understand that we do not?

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Speaker 1: On our side are aged, gray haired men much older

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Speaker 1: than your father? Is God's comfort too little for you?

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Speaker 1: Is his gentle word not enough? What has taken away

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Speaker 1: your reason? What has weakened your vision? That you turn

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Speaker 1: against God and say all these evil things, Can any

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Speaker 1: mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just? Look?

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Speaker 1: God does not even trust the angels, even the heavens

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Speaker 1: are not absolutely pure in his sight. How much less

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Speaker 1: pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst

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Speaker 1: for wickedness. If you will listen, I will show you.

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Speaker 1: I will answer you from my own experience. And it

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Speaker 1: is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have

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Speaker 1: heard the same thing from their fathers, from those to

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Speaker 1: whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.

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Speaker 1: The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of

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Speaker 1: trouble are stored up for the ruthless. The sound of

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Speaker 1: terror rings in their ears, and even on good days,

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Speaker 1: they fear the attack of the destroyer. They dare not

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Speaker 1: go out into the darkness, for fear they will be murdered.

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Speaker 1: They wander around, saying, where can I find bread? They

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Speaker 1: know their day of destruction is near. That dark day

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Speaker 1: terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish like a

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Speaker 1: king preparing for battle. For they shake their fists at God,

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Speaker 1: defying the Almighty. Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge

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Speaker 1: against him. These wicked people are heavy and prosperous. Their

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Speaker 1: wastes bulge with fat, but their cities will be ruined.

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Speaker 1: They will live and abandoned houses that are ready to

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Speaker 1: tumble down. Their riches will not last, and their wealth

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Speaker 1: will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across

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Speaker 1: the horizon. They will not escape the darkness. The burning

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Speaker 1: sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God

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Speaker 1: will destroy them. Let them no longer fool themselves by

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Speaker 1: trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.

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Speaker 1: They will be cut down in the prime of life.

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Speaker 1: Their branches will never again be green. They will be

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Speaker 1: like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like

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Speaker 1: an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit

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Speaker 1: can form. For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched

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Speaker 1: through bribery, will burn. They conceive trouble and give birth

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Speaker 1: to evil. Their womb produces deceit. Let's pray, Lord, we

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Speaker 1: thank you for your word, and we thank you for

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Speaker 1: the privilege of being able to look at it together today.

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Speaker 1: And Lord, our hearts go out to job as we

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Speaker 1: watch him go through this experience where his friends are

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Speaker 1: bringing accusation against him and questioning all the things that

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Speaker 1: he says with sincerity. They treat him like he's hiding

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Speaker 1: some sort of sinful activity or some sort of rebellion

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Speaker 1: against you. But Lord, that's not what he was doing.

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Speaker 1: As he looked at his life, he could see that

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Speaker 1: there wasn't some form of outward rebellion against you. But

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Speaker 1: he was confused while he was going through all of this,

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Speaker 1: And what sad counselors these men ended up being mixing

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Speaker 1: in with some words of truth and wisdom. They have

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Speaker 1: all these thoughts of accusation and all these things they

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Speaker 1: bring against job, and in effect they end up making

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Speaker 1: him feel worse. But Lord, we're grateful that in our

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Speaker 1: relationship with you, we know that when accusation comes against us,

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Speaker 1: we have an advocate. Your son Jesus Christ is our defender.

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Speaker 1: We have the gift of his righteousness, and in your

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Speaker 1: courtroom he defends our cause based on the work that

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Speaker 1: he has accomplished on our behalf. So we're grateful Lord

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Speaker 1: for that reality. We're grateful for the fact that we

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Speaker 1: can come before you as men and women who have

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Speaker 1: been cleansed through faith in your son Jesus Christ and

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Speaker 1: our relationship with you has been restored. We're grateful for

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Speaker 1: these things. Lord, We're grateful for your presence with us

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Speaker 1: as well today, and we commit this day to your

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Speaker 1: care and pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,