Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 914. Bible Study: Job 38-42 (God Speaks!)

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914. Bible Study: Job 38-42 (God Speaks!) · Faith by annm2705

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Continuing in the book of Job, this is well, we may get through
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the entire book because this is where the Lord speaks in Job
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chapter 38 through the end of the book.
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So I will read what it says and then go through the study
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Bibles, questions and answers. So I probably just read it
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through each chapter and go over the questions and then go to the
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next chapter. So first let's pray.
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Dear Lord, please be with us and let the Holy Spirit open up our
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hearts and our minds and give us knowledge and wisdom as we read
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through these chapters. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
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Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.
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He said, who is this that obscures my plans with words
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without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man.
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I will question you, and you shall answer me.
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Where were you when I laid the Earth's foundation?
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Tell me if you understand who marked off its dimensions.
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Surely you know who stretched A measuring line across it?
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On what were its footing set, Or who laid its cornerstone, while
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the morning star stars sang together, and all the angels
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shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind the
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doors when it burst forth from the womb, When I made the clouds
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its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, When I fixed
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limits for it and set its doors and bars in place?
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When I said, This is far, this far you may come, and no
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further. Here, here is where your proud
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waves halt. Have you ever given orders to
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the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take
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the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
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The earth takes shapes like clay under a seal.
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Its features stand out like those of a garment.
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The wicked are denied their light and the upright, the
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upraised arm, is broken. Have you journeyed to the
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springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?
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Have the gates of death been shown to you?
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Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
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Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
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Tell me, if you know all this, what is the way to the abode of
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light, and where does darkness reside?
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Can you take them to their places?
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Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
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Surely you know, for you were already born.
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You have lived so many years. Have you entered the storehouses
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of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I
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reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
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I'm just going to pause right there.
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Very interesting. Have you entered the storehouses
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of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I
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reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
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This is God talking. Kind of interesting to pay
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attention to snow and hail. What is and it's for reserved
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for times of trouble and for days of war and battle?
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Verse 24. What is the way to the place
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where lightning is dispersed or the place where the east winds
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are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the
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torrents of rain and a path for the thunderstorm to water A land
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where no one lives, an uninhabited desert to satisfy a
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desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
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Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
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From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost
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from the heavens? When the water becomes as hard
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as stone, When the surface of the deep is frozen?
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Can you bind the chains of Pleiades?
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Can you loosen Orion's belt? Can you bring forth the
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constellations in their seasons, or lead out the bear with its
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Cubs? Do you know the laws of heavens?
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Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?
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Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a
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flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts
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on their way? Do they report to you?
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Here we are. Who gives the Ibis wisdom, or
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gives the rooster understanding? Who has the wisdom to count the
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clouds? Who can tip over the water jars
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of heaven when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth
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stick together? Do you hunt the prey for the
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lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they Crouch in
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their dens or lie weight in a thicket?
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Who provides food for the Raven when its young cry out to God
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and wander about for lack of food?
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Then verse are chapter 39. Do you know when the mountain
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goats give birth? Do you watch when the dough
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bears her fawn? Do you count the months till
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they bear? Do you know the time they give
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birth? They Crouch down and bring forth
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their young. Their labor pains are ended.
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Their young thrive and grow strong in the wild.
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They leave and do not return. Who let the wild donkey go free?
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Who united its rope? I gave it the wasteland as its
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home, the salt flats as its as its habitat.
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It laughs at the commotion in the town.
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It does not hear a driver's shout.
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It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any
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green thing. Will the white ox, wild ox,
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consent to serve you? Will it stay by your Manger at
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night? Can you hold it to the furrow
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without a harness? Will it till the valleys behind
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you and it continues? Will you rely on it for its
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great strength? Will you leave your heavy work
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to it? Can you trust it to haul in your
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grain and bring it to your flesh threshing floor?
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The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot
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compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
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She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
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unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may
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trample them. She treats her young harshly, as
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if they were not hers. She cares not that her labor was
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in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a
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share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her
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feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
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Do you give the horse's strength, or clothe its neck
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with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a
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locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
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It pause fiercely, rejoicing at its strength, and charges into
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the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of
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nothing. It does not shy away from the
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sword. The quiver rattles against its
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side, along with the flashing spear and Lance.
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Its frenzied excitement it eats. In frenzied excitement it eats
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up the ground. It cannot stand still when the
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trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet, it
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snorts. Aha.
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It catches the scent of a battle from afar, the shout of
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commanders in the battle cry. Does the hawk take flight by
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your wisdom and spread out and spread its wings toward the
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South? Does the eagle soar at your
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command and build its nest on high?
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It dwells on a It dwells on a Cliff and stays there at night.
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A rocky Craig is its stronghold. From there it looks for food.
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Its eyes detect it from afar. It's young ones feast on blood.
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And where the slain are, There it is.
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Chapter 40. The Lord said to Job.
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Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
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Let him who accuses God answer him.
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Then Job answered the Lord, I am unworthy.
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How can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
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I spoke once, but I have no answer twice.
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But I will say no more than the Lord spoke to Job out of the
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storm. Brace yourself like a man.
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I will question you, and you shall answer me.
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Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemned me to
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condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's,
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or can your voice Thunder like His?
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Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe
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yourself in honour and majesty. Unleash the fury of your wrath.
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Look at all who are proud and bring them low.
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Look at all who are proud and humble them, crushed the wicked
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where they stand. Bury them in all the dust
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together, shroud their faces in the grave.
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Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can
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save you. Look at Behemoth, which I made
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long along with you, and which feeds on grass like an ox.
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What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles
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of its belly. Its tail sways like a cedar, the
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sinews of its thighs are close knit.
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Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
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It ranks up first among the works of God, yet its maker can
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approach it with his sword. The hills bring it their
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produce, and all the wild animals play nearby under the
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Lotus plants. It lies hidden among the reeds
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in the marsh. The lotuses conceal it in their
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shadow. The poplars by the stream
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surround it. A raging river does not alarm
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it. It's secure, though the Jordan
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should surge against its mouth. Can anyone capture it by the
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eyes or trap it and Pierce its nose?
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That kind of ends chapter 40. So this behemoth that he
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describes, I guess people have been comparing it to, sounds
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like a dinosaur. You know, it's tail sways like a
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cedar. Just the description of it
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sounds very much like a dinosaur.
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And that's just speculation that I've heard before.
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Chapter 41. Can you pull in Leviathan?
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Now? Leviathan is really interesting
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because why would God spend so much of A section in the Book of
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Job to talk about an imaginary thing?
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And Leviathan sounds like a dragon.
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It's very interesting. Listen to this.
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And, you know, I just wonder, like, would God, why would God
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take up a book in, you know, a chapter in the Bible to talk
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about this if it was just a faith mythological thing?
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OK. Can you pull in Leviathan with a
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fish hook or tie down its tongue with a rope?
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Can you put a cord through its nose or Pierce its jaw with a
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hook? Will it keep begging you for
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mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle
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words? Will it make an agreement with
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you for you to take it as your slave for life?
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Can you make a pet of it like a bird, or put it on a leash for
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the young women in your house? Will traders barter for it?
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Will they divide it up among the merchants?
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Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with
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fishing Spears? If you lay a hand on it, you
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will remember the struggle and never do it again.
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Any hope of subduing it is false.
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The mere sight of it is overpowering.
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No one is fierce enough to rouse it.
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Who then is able to stand against me?
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Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
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Everything under heaven belongs to me.
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I will not fail to speak of Leviathan's limbs, its strength
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and graceful form. Who can strip off its outer
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coat? Who can penetrate its double
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coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its
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mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?
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Its back has rows of Shields tightly sealed together.
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Each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
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They are joined fast to one another.
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They cling together and cannot be parted.
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Its snorting throws out flashes of light.
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Its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
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Flames stream from its mouth. Sparks of fire shoot out.
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Smoke pours out, pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot
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over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze and
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flames dart from its mouth. Strength resides in its neck.
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Dismay goes before it. The folds of its flesh are
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tightly joined. They are firm and immovable.
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Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
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When it rises up, the mighty are terrified.
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They retreat before its thrashing.
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The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or
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the dart or the javelin. Iron.
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It treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
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Arrows do not make it flee. Sling stones are like chaff to
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it. A club seems to A club seems to
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it but a piece of straw. It laughs at the rattling of a
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Lance. Its undersides are jagged
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postures, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
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It makes the depths churn like like a boiling cauldron and
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stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
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It leaves a glistening wake behind it.
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One would think the deep had white hair.
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Nothing on earth is its equal. A creature without fear.
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It looks down on all that are haughty.
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It is a king over all that are proud.
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That's the end of chapter 41 and it's all about like this dragon
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leviathan and the king of the Proud.
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Very interesting. OK then, Job replied to the
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Lord. I know that you can do all
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things. No purpose of yours can be
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thwarted. You asked who is this that
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obscures my plans without knowledge?
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Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too
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wonderful for me to know. You said listen now and I will
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speak. I will question you and you
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shall answer me. My ears had heard of you, but
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now my eyes have seen you. That's interesting.
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When he said his eyes have seen him, and Jesus said no one has
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seen the Father, but if you've seen me, you see the Father.
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So I wondered, was was this another one of those
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Christophanes I think is what they're called, where it was
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actually Jesus who appeared? I don't know.
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I mean, we won't have that answer.
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But he says Job says that he's now seen him.
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And Jesus later on says no one has seen the Father except for
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the Son. So who did he see?
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Did he see Jesus? I don't know.
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Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
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After the Lord has said these things to Job, he said to
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Iliphaz the teamite. I am angry with you and your two
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friends because you have not spoken the truth about me as my
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servant Job has. So now take 7 bulls and seven
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Rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering
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for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for
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you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you.
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According to your Foley, you have not spoken the truth about
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me as as my servant Job has. So Iliphaz the Teemanite, Bildad
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the Shuhite, and so far the Namathite did what the Lord told
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them. And the Lord accepted Job's
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prayer. After Job had prayed for his
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friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as
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much as he had before. I think that's very interesting.
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And it's also very biblical because many times you know,
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well in the Bible it says, you know, before you bring an
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offering to the altar, if you have some, you know, issue with
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a brother or sister, go and make peace with them before you bring
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your offering. And so again, this is God
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showing that he values that forgiveness and and forgiveness
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is very important. In fact, forgiveness is talked
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about in the prayer that Jesus taught everyone, the prayer that
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starts out our Father, and you know, it says within it, forgive
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us our sins as we forgive others or forgive us our trespasses and
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as we forgive those who trespass against us or who sin against
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us. So forgiveness is so important.
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And that just happens to be when Job prayed for his friends, the
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Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had
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before. And then this also shows about
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the intercession of prayers. Like when a person is praying
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for another person, God was not happy with them and he let Job
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pray for his friends and then he relented.
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What justice, I guess, would have been appropriate for his
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friends based on them speaking lies about God himself.
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I mean, that's something that none of us, really none of us
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want to be accused of, is incorrectly speaking about God.
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And it shows here that someone's prayer can help someone else,
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right? Right here.
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I mean, this is another example of when Abraham prayed for his
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nephew Lot and Lot was spared from Sodom, Gomorrah before it
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was destroyed. So those things, prayers do
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matter and it shows it repeatedly in the Bible.
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So verse 11 says of chapter 42, All his brothers and sisters and
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everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in
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his house. They comforted and consoled him
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over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one
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gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
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The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the
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former part. He had 14,000 sheep, 6000
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camels, 1000 yoke of oxen and 1000 donkeys, and he also had
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seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named
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Jemima and the second Keziah, and the third Kiran Hapuch.
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Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful
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as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an
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inheritance along with their brothers.
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After this, Job lived 140 years. He saw his children and their
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children to the 4th generation. And so Job died, an old man full
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of years. There's quite a bit here in that
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very last paragraph that stood out to me.
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That the three daughters were named, but the seven sons were
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not named. And so I thought that was kind
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of interesting. So then I looked up what are the
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names? What do these names of the
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daughters mean? Because is there something more
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in scripture? Because a lot of times in
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scripture there is a literal story, but they also have
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symbolic meaning. And especially names do often
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tell you a little bit more detail about the people.
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So Jemima means like day by day. I found that it is a translation
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of day by day. But then elsewhere I saw that it
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meant peace. And then Kezia is Kassia, the
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bark that is similar to cinnamon.
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And so this was like fragrance. And then this is the strangest
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one, the horn of antimony, which is there's like a double meaning
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here. It's a horn of beauty.
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Apparently it represented like antimony represented eyeliner
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that made your eyes look bigger like a makeup.
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And this is just like this would take definitely take some time
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to research this more but I just thought it's interesting and I
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do think there is probably something here.
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But the other part of antimony is a chemical of atomic number
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5, silvery white metalloid flame retardant in lead acid, battery
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acid, batteries, ammunition, semiconductors and technology.
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It's used in armor piercing ammunition, night vision
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technology, infrared sensors, nuclear weapon production.
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I just thought that was really interesting.
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And horn and prophecy usually means power.
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So there's probably more to this and I don't think I'm going to
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really figure it out, but maybe over time, maybe there would be
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a revelation from the Holy Spirit about what these things
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are or what the significance of it.
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Because I do think it probably does mean something beyond, you
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know, peace, fragrance and horn of beauty.
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I'm, you know, there could be a little bit more meaning to it.
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There was something else that stood out that I've never heard
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anybody talk about. But verse 16 says after this Job
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lived 140 years, he saw his children and their children to
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the 4th generation. So 120 years was something that
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after the flood that God's, you know, limited mankind to 120
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years. And that is there's 120
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something. And so there's, there's studies
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on that, but we see that Joe was living 140 years.
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And so that's a little bit longer than the 120.
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That's one thing that I noticed. But the other part that I
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noticed was that he saw his children and their children to
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the 4th generation. So then I thought 140 years
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would be like 4 generations. So just doing that math, it's
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like 35 years for a generation. So if you have 4 generations, so
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that would be 140 years. And I think that may have some
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significance. And if you look up the
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definition or if you search generation in an electronic
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Bible, you can also see in Deuteronomy chapter one verse 35
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and Deuteronomy chapter 2 verse 14, where it kind of says this
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same thing, that this generation will not enter the land.
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And then it says later in Deuteronomy 2, verse 14 that
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after 38 years, all of that generation has had passed on.
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So it's, it does kind of tie that, you know, it's, it's a
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number smaller than 40 and 40 is usually a number of testing.
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I just think there are some, there is some symbolism in here
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and there's a little bit just more meaning to it, but I don't
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have a revelation for that. It's just something that I
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noticed and something to maybe keep in the back of your mind as
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you read other things because maybe it'll all make sense more
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so later. So that is the end of the the
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book of Job. I'm going to go back to the
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chapter where we started and read the questions and answers
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because there's always some good insights from that about when
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the Lord speaks. So in chapter 38, how did God
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speak to Job out of the storm? The Old Testament records
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numerous accounts of temporary manifestations or appearances of
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God, called theophanies. To some people, God appeared
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visibly in an angelic or human form.
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To Moses, God appeared in a burning Bush.
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Here, God spoke to Job out of a storm.
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Because the last chapter of Job indicates that God spoke to
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three of Job's 4 friends, we may assume that God spoke to Job in
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an audible voice that could be heard by everyone present.
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How had Job obscured God's plans?
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Obscure here represents a lack of true knowledge.
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In the bitterness of his pain and discomfort, Job had
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expressed rage over the injustice he was experiencing.
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He claimed that God was angry with him and had become his
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enemy. From the events in the prologue,
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we know that these assumptions were false.
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Joe's Big Job's biggest problem was his ignorance.
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He could not comprehend the complexity of God or the world
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he had created. What were the gates of death?
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According to ancient Mesopotamian literature, all who
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entered the netherworld after death passed through a series of
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seven gates. In the Bible, the gates of death
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are a poetic description of the passageway through which people
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pass when they die. The metaphor is also used in
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Psalm 9 verse 13, Psalm One O 7 verse 18, and Isaiah 3810.
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And I think there's also one where Jesus talks about the
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gates of Hades will not prevail, so that's also in the Bible.
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OK, what did the abode of light and darkness mean?
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In this passage? Light and darkness are
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personified as living in places unknown to humans.
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Here again, human limitations are compared and contrasts
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contrasted with God's omnipotence.
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Was God being sarcastic? God made statements of irony not
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to embarrass or humiliate Job, but to instruct him.
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Sarcasm is caustic irony, intended to humiliate or
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embarrass. Here God used simple irony,
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words used in obvious contrast to their literal meaning.
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Job obviously did not understand as much as God did, and God's
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irony here emphasize the point that Job had not had obviously
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not already been born at the time of creation, and had
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obviously not lived long enough to understand all the workings
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of the universe. What did Job know about the
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constellations, Pleiades and Orion?
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Job probably shared the common knowledge of ancient people in
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the prevailing view of astronomy at that time.
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Just as mountain seas and other physical landmarks were named,
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the ancients mapped out the skies and gave names to the
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various combination of the stars.
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What does the animal Kingdom tell us about God?
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Among other things, the animal Kingdom shows us the pleasure
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that God derives from variety. It tests.
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It testifies to God's loving sovereignty and power over all
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creation. God did not simply get things
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running and then leave His creation to fend for His His
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itself. He is intimately involved in the
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survival of all His creatures, just as He cares and provides
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for the lives of human beings. Why did God mention these wild
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animals? These wild animals, which were
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occasionally domesticated and used as farm animals, would have
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been familiar to Job. Their demonstrations of power
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could be observed only in their natural settings.
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God pointed out that He, not any human, is the source of the
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grandeur, power, and skill of such animals.
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This was part of God's ongoing demonstration to Job that all
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creation answers ultimately to him, not to any human.
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Did God's answer? Did God answer Job's charges?
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In all that God said in his speeches, he made no reference
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to Job's troubles or even to the reason why Job was suffering.
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The book of Job deals with the perplexing question of why there
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is evil and suffering in the world.
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Some have argued that the presence of evil proves that God
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cannot be all powerful and all loving at the same time.
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If God is all loving, then they say, then it's clear he does not
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have the power to suppress evil. On the other hand, they say, if
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God is all powerful and yet allows evil to run be run
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rampant, He cannot be all loving.
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In these divine speeches, God demonstrate that he is all
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powerful and all loving, But he left the paradox unresolved.
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He never really answered Job's charges, but neither did he
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reverse his original assessment that Joan was blameless.
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In the end, God stood by Job and rebuked Job's friends, leaving
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their sentence in the hands of the man they had been accusing.
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Job then prayed for them after they offered the sacrifices God
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required, and God accepted Job's prayer.
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God finally gave Job a degree of vindication, but only after he
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no longer demanded it. Why didn't God give the ostrich
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good sense? The ostrich has an extremely
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small brain, though it has sufficient sense for survival.
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It's legs are strong enough to run at incredible speeds, which
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is also a defense against predators.
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Why would God create a bird that can't fly?
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The lesson for Job was that there are many unexplainable
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things that exist solely for the pleasure of God.
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Did God want Job to be silent about his doubts?
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A healthy skepticism is good for determining what is true.
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In Job's case, however, his doubts were becoming destructive
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as he began to question God's integrity and love for Him.
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Because these doubts were leading Job to believe things
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that were not true, God wanted to silence them.
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It is not wrong to doubt if you are genuinely seeking the truth.
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The truth is unchangeable and will withstand any challenge.
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Was Job admitting he was wrong? Not exactly.
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The word unworthy can mean small or insignificant.
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It was an ancient custom to cover one's mouth to show
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respect and submission before a powerful ruler.
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Perhaps Job was saying that he had been presumptuous to dare to
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complain to God. Why did God continue to rebuke
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Job? Perhaps because Job had not yet
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repented. Or perhaps God wanted to address
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the moral issues raised earlier in the discussion between Job
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and his friends. It may be that God wanted to
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convince Job that he could trust the Lord to be his friend.
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When God was finished, Job repented and his doubts
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disappeared, even though some of his questions remained
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unanswered. Had Job condemned God?
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Yes, on at least two counts. First, he felt that God had
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wronged him by allowing him to suffer without cause.
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But Job also felt that God had refused him the chance to be
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vindicated. Job wanted to have his day in
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court and accuse God of denying him that privilege.
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Was God bragging to Job throughout?
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Throughout his complaint, Job had insisted that if he could
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only have an audience with God, he could prove his innocence.
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Job had wanted to do what he felt God was not doing,
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vindicate the innocent. In response, the Lord challenged
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Job to take on the characteristics of deity if he
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could. These verses show that Job was
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helpless against the forces of evil in the world.
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God was not. That's a really good point to
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remember. How did Leviathan prove that no
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one can stand up to God? In the literature of the era,
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Leviathan was used to symbolize evil political powers.
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The non mythological Leviathan was probably the crocodile.
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I don't know about that. Anyway, in this speech, the Lord
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describes His sovereignty over the moral order, using Leviathan
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to present something that Job was powerless over.
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No one could ever form an alliance with this creature,
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either by treaty or by force. If no one could stand up to this
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creature, how could anyone stand up to the Creator?
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And we know that people wrestle crocodiles, so I I don't think
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it's a crocodile. OK.
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Had Job claimed God owed him something?
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Job had insisted that God owed him an explanation.
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He wanted to know the charges against him, and he wanted God
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to put them in writing. It is clear from God's speech
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that he never obligated himself to explain here.
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What animal is described here? Could it be a dinosaur?
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Now this is where Leviathan is being described.
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These verses continue the description of the Leviathan
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that began in verse one. Nothing in the description of
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this animal requires it that it refers to a dinosaur.
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The language used here depicts a great animal that that feared No
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1 and in Job's day could not be caught or tamed.
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In the oceans, the whale fits that description.
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In the in the freshwater, the crocodile does.
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The mix of literal and metaphorical descriptions here
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is typical of ancient poetry. I don't know about that, too.
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I mean, that could be like a because we can't see it.
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I mean, maybe this creature doesn't exist anymore, or maybe
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it does exist and it's under the water and it hasn't appeared in
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a while. I don't know.
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I mean, who knows what it is? But I don't think we should try
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and fit things into what we know and say, oh, this is what they
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were talking about. Because a lot of times when they
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say something, they mean it. So much detail given to this.
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I think this was an actual animal of some sort.
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OK, did this animal really breathe fire?
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No language about breathing light, sunlight, sunlight, fire,
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and smoke was commonly used in ancient literature to indicate
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that someone or something was powerful and unstoppable,
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capable of doing damage. Aroused whales and crocodiles in
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their respective habitats. Habitats in ancient times
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certainly fit that category. Similar language is used of God
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in the Old Testament, not because God is like an animal,
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but because He is the ultimate possessor of effective
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unstoppable power. What is a lower millstone?
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This is one of a set of two cylindrical stones used for
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grinding grain, with this meth method among the oldest and most
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common ways of grinding grinding grain.
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The kernels are spread over the lower millstone, with the upper
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millstone is rolled along the edge of the lower millstone
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until the grain is crushed under the flower.
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What was a threshing sledge? The threshing sledge was a large
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weighted implement that was driven over wheat to dislodge
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the grain from the straw. This was usually done on high
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ground so that the wind would carry the light chaff away.
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The Lord described the trail left in the mud by the leviathan
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is like that left by by the iron teeth of a threshing sludge.
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Why would one think the deep had white hair?
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One would think is another way of saying one could imagine that
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here God was comparing the white caps of the stirred up ocean to
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the Tufts of white hair. In other words, the surface of
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the rolled ocean might well remind somebody of the top of an
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aged person's head. Or like the wake when you're on
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a boat and you see, you know, white caps on it.
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Why did God answer questions with questions?
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Questions can help students discover the truths for
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themselves. In Job's case, God used a series
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of pointed questions to guide Job to truth and to free him
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from his bitterness. Was Job actually able to see
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God? Now my eyes have seen you could
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mean that Job had a vision of God, or simply that his
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spiritual eyes had been open to the truth of God.
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We do know that God spoke to Job out of a storm, which presumably
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was seen and heard. How did Job despise himself?
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The verb for despise myself can be translated.
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I reject what I said. Job had made many rash
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statements about God's apparent slowness in vindicating Him, and
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now Job was taking his statements back.
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Why repent in dust and ashes? In the Middle East, a grieving
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person put on burlap and poured dust and ashes over his or her
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head as a sign of distress. Here Job did the same to signify
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his sorrow. With whom was God angry?
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God was angry with Illifaz Bildad Zophar.
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Although Elu Elihu had echoed many of the same sentiments as
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these three, he was quite distinct from them.
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Although a few have suggested that God may have simply been
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ignoring Elihu altogether, why did God appoint Job as a
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mediator for his three friends? To some extent, putting Job in
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this position gave him a taste of the vindication he had been
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longing for. These three had falsely accused
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him of sin and had added to his grief by praying for his
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enemies. Job's healing would become
39:02
complete. How had Job's friends
39:04
misrepresented God? The basic assumption of the
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three friends with that was that the righteous always prosper and
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the wicked are always punished. Their arguments implied that no
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one ever suffers innocently. How had Job changed earlier?
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Job had been convinced that God was angry with him and that he
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had become God's enemy. He had cursed the day of his
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birth because of the suffering he was experiencing.
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He had been angry at God's silence and demanded that his
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arguments be heard. He wanted to know what God had
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failed to do. He wanted to do what God had
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failed to do, provide his vindication.
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But after God finished speaking, Job acknowledged that he had
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been talking over his head. Job had been Speaking of things
39:48
he did not understand. Even though Job didn't receive a
39:52
reason for his suffering, it was sufficient for him to know that
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a reason existed. If he'd had an opportunity to do
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it over, Job probably would have tried to trust God a little more
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and complain a whole lot less. Part of Job's problem had to do
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with what he did not know. After he encountered the
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sovereignty of God, Job regretted presumptuous
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statements he'd made about God. He came to realize that God is
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sovereign over everything, including the moral order of the
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world, and that nothing can happen apart from divine
40:27
permission. Perhaps the most comforting
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revelation of all for Job was that God was still his friend,
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though he seemed silent or even absent.
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God was no more, no mere spectator of Job's suffering.
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He had been with Job through the entire experience.
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Did the Lord or Satan bring trouble to Job?
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Well, that one. Why did God restore double Job's
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cattle, but only the identical number of his children?
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Property can be replaced, but there is no substitute for
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children. Perhaps this was this was a way
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of saying to Job that one day again see the children he had
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lost, that Job would one day again see the children he had
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lost to death. Why did God reward with material
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prosperity? We can only speculate about why
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God not only restored Job's wealth, but also doubled it.
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Perhaps it was meant to be a sign to all that just because
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the innocent suffer, it does not mean that God has had abandoned
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them. Job handled his wealth well, and
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so it probably never interfered with his relationship with God.
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Why tell about Job's daughters but not his sons?
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In this epic literature of Job's era, it was common to speak of
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the hero's beautiful daughters as a sign of divine blessing.
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Daughters in that culture would generally denied an inheritance.
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Making an an exception for them shows how precious they were to
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Job. And that concludes everything
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for from the Study Bible on the book of Job.
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And so we will conclude this one and hope you come back for
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another chapter. If this was beneficial, please
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Thank you.