Daily Devotions · November 10
Reading for November 10
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Job 35–36 · 1 Corinthians 7–8
Job 35–36 · 1 Corinthians 7–8, Berean Standard Bible
Job 35
And Elihu went on to say: 2 “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’ 3 For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’ 4 I will reply to you and to your friends as well. 5 Look to the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds high above you. 6 If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man. 9 Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty. 10 But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night, 11 who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’ 12 There they cry out, but He does not answer, because of the pride of evil men. 13 Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it. 14 How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him, 15 and further, that in His anger He has not punished or taken much notice of folly! 16 So Job opens his mouth in vain and multiplies words without knowledge.”
Job 36
And Elihu continued: 2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you that there is more to be said on God’s behalf. 3 I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker. 4 For truly my words are free of falsehood; one perfect in knowledge is with you. 5 Indeed, God is mighty, but He despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. 6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but He grants justice to the afflicted. 7 He does not take His eyes off the righteous, but He enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever. 8 And if men are bound with chains, caught in cords of affliction, 9 then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed. 10 He opens their ears to correction and commands that they turn from iniquity. 11 If they obey and serve Him, then they end their days in prosperity and their years in happiness. 12 But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. 13 The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when He binds them, they do not cry for help. 14 They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes. 15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression. 16 Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness. 17 But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have seized you. 18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches; do not let a large bribe lead you astray. 19 Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress? 20 Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes. 21 Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction. 22 Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him? 23 Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’? 24 Remember to magnify His work, which men have praised in song. 25 All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar. 26 Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable. 27 For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist, 28 which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. 29 Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion? 30 See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. 31 For by these He judges the nations and provides food in abundance. 32 He fills His hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark. 33 The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.
1 Corinthians 7
Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. 5 Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 8 Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 17 Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him. 25 Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you free of commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. 29 What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; 30 those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; 31 and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 32 I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but in order to promote proper decorum and undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 However, if someone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his betrothed, and if she is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as he wishes; he is not sinning; they should get married. 37 But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well. 38 So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better. 39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 8
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the one who loves God is known by God. 4 So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. 7 But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 By sinning against your brothers in this way and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.