"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3.
Oswald Chambers: "The reason the experience of redemption is so easy is because it cost God so much... It is men like Job and the apostle Paul who bring us to the basis of things, not the average Christian among us, who knows mo more why the basis of his salvation is redemption than the average common-sense man know the basis of ordinary human life.
"We must get hold of the great souls, the men who have been hard hit and have gone to the basis of things, and whose experiences have been preserved for us by God, that we may know where we stand. One of the reasons for the futility of pseudo-evangelism is that is bases its doctrine on the shallow weak things it has saved. Thank God, Christianity does save the shallow weak things, but they are not the ones who diagnose Christianity, they are the expression of the last reach of Christianity.
"Paul said, 'Not many mighty, not many noble, are called;' he did not say 'not any mighty, not any noble.' It is our Lord Himself, and men like Job in the Old Testament and Paul in the New, who give us the indication of where we are to look for the foundation of our faith when it is being shaken." (O. C. Daily Devotional Bible, page 772)
"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another."
Job 19:25-27
"Then Job answered and said:
'Listen carefully to my speech, and let this be your consolation....
Look at me and be astonished; put your hand over your mouth.
Even when I remember I am terrified, and trembling takes hold of my flesh.
Why do the wicked live and become old, yes, become mighty in power?
Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their bull breeds without failure; their cow calves without miscarriage....
"They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ ...
[Job speaking to his accusing friends:] “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me....
How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since falsehood remains in your answers?” Job 21:1, 5-10, 13-15, 27-34
“Even today my complaint is bitter;
My hand is listless because of my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!
I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me...." Job 23:2-5
"My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.
I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever His soul desires, that He does.
For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him.
Therefore I am terrified at His presence..." Job 23:11-15
Oswald Chambers: "Job persists in stating that the basis of things is not clear, not easy to understand. 'It's absurd to say, as you are doing, he says, 'that God punishes the evil man and looks after the good; there is so much perversity a at the basis of things that the explanations won't do.'
"The friends give this explanation because they are true to their creed, and Job says, 'I held the same creed as you do until I came to my great trouble.'
"Their creed was based on sound principles, but what is needed is a sound relationship at the basis of things. When things are suddenly altered by bereavement or by some tension in personal experience, we find ourselves wonderfully at home with what Job says. ...
"Jobs contention is that when a man is face-to-face with things as they are, easy explanation won't do, for things are not easy; there is a perverseness all through. If Job is not right in his contention, then the redemption is 'much ado about nothing.'" (O. C. Daily Devotional Bible, page 769)
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Oswald Chambers (1874 - 1917)
Oswald Chambers was not famous during his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1917 at the age of forty-three, only three books bearing his name had been published. Among a relatively small circle of Christians in Britain and the U.S., Chambers was much appreciated as a teacher of rare insight and expression, but he was not widely known.While there are more than 30 books that bear his name, he only penned one book, Baffled to Fight Better. His wife, Biddy, was a stenographer and could take dictation at a rate of 150 words per minute. During his time teaching at the Bible College and at various sites in Egypt, Biddy kept verbatim records of his lessons. She spent the remaining 30 years of her life compiling her records into the bulk of his published works. His daily devotional: "Utmost For His Highest" has sold millions of copies and is well known in modern evangelicalism today.
Oswald Chambers was born July 24, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Converted in his teen years under the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, he studied art and archaeology at the University of Edinburgh before answering a call from God to the Christian ministry. He then studied theology at Dunoon College. From 1906-1910 he conducted an itinerant Bible-teaching ministry in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
In 1910, Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen.
In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to troops from Australia and New Zealand as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.
Although Oswald Chambers wrote only one book, Baffled to Fight Better, more than thirty titles bear his name. With this one exception, published works were compiled by Mrs. Chambers, a court stenographer, from her verbatim shorthand notes of his messages taken during their seven years of marriage. For half a century following her husband's death she labored to give his words to the world.
My Utmost For His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic.
Oswald Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on July 24th, 1874, to Clarence and Hannah Chambers, the seventh of seven children. Years earlier, Hannah converted to Christ under the dynamic preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Both she and Clarence were baptized by Spurgeon; and Clarence was one of the first students to enroll at Spurgeon’s Pastor’s College at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
After accompanying his father to hear C.H. Spurgeon preach, Oswald surrendered his life to Christ, and was duly baptized by Rev. Briscoe. At Rye Lane Baptist, he faithfully attended Bible classes and prayer meetings. Anxious to apply his newly-acquired knowledge, he engaged in street evangelism and preached at missions.
In 1895 he received an Art’s Master’s Certificate. Thereafter he pursued his education at the University of Edinburgh, where he excelled in rigorous classwork as well as successfully maintaining a balanced devotional life. Attending a gathering of the Christian Union, he heard Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, preach winningly on the faithfulness of God, nudging Chambers yet further toward ministry. After much prayer, he surrendered to missionary service.
On October 29th, 1917, Chambers, suffering severe pains in his abdomen, was rushed to a Red Cross hospital in Cairo where an emergency appendectomy was performed. Recovering somewhat, he relapsed from a blood clot, and died on November 15th, 1917.