Job Sings the Blues

Continuing a Bible study of Job, Job is still speaking in chapter 30:

(Job 30:1) "But now they who are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock."

Now those same young men who hid themselves out of respect for Job, whom he spoke of in the last chapter, now laugh at him. Men, whose fathers were not respectable enough to be put in charge of the care of the dogs of his flocks, now mocked him.

(2) "Indeed, how might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished?"

This scripture is a little difficult, but I think the sense is that those same unrespectable fathers were of no use to Job when they were young and strong, and certainly not now at the end of their lives. Perhaps "old age perished" means that they lived so that they never even reached old age; therefore why would they ever have been of profit to Job?

(3) "For want and famine they were solitary, fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste, (4) Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their food."

By hunger and poverty, they were loners and outcasts of society, wandering the desert. Job is illustrating to what depths he has sunk in public estimation that the sons of the most wretched in society treat him with contempt.

(5) "They were driven out from among men, they cried after them as after a thief, (6) To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth and the rocks. (7) Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they gathered together. (8) Children of fools, yes, children of base men; they were driven out of the land."

KJV Job 30:8b says "they were viler than the earth". In this case NIV may give a better sense of the meaning. The word "naka" means "strike, scourge, smite". The little word "min" translated as "than" can also mean "from" or "out of". "Viler than the earth" may have been a way of saying "unfit for the land".

(9) "And now I am their song; yes, I am their byword."

Paraphrased, "Now I am just an object of their joking and made up mocking songs".

(10) "They abhor me, they flee far from me, and do not hesitate to spit in my face. (11) Because He has loosened my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me."

In verse 11, "He" (although not capitalized in KJV, as it never is, but I do as a show of respect) must refer to God. The sense is, like an archer with a bow, God has so relaxed the string of his bow, that he has been left defenseless and without strength. Letting loose the bridle is like throwing off all restraints; like unrestrained headstrong horses, the young men let loose all sorts of disrespect and contempt.

There are some interesting notes on verse 11 by some of the early commentators that read it slightly differently. Because I have limited access to the early manuscripts, I can only take their words on this, and will quote from the writing of Albert Barnes: "But instead of the usual reading in the Hebrew text, 'yithriy', 'my nerve', another reading, 'yithriv', 'his nerve', is found in the qeri (margin). This reading has been adopted in the text by Jahn, and is regarded as genuine by Rosenmuller, Umbreit, and Noyes." According to that interpretation, the young men have so afflicted Job with their constant derision, that he has been rendered defenseless, as an archer with a slackened bow string; and therefore the flood gates are now opened, so to speak, and he is constantly hit with a flood of disrespect and contempt.

I think either interpretation works here. I don't think Job means any disrespect if he is declaring that God is the one who allowed this to happen to him, because after all, nothing can happen outside of God's will.

(12) "Upon my right rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. (13) They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper."

The fact that Job continues to place the blame on the young men for all his calamity, seems to suggest that the possibilty of the Albert Barnes interpretation above is a good one. "They have no helper" may mean simply that they need no one to help them, or it may mean that there is no one there to help them or counsel them with a better way.

(14) "They came as a wide breaking in of waters; in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me."

Again, their derision comes upon Job as a flood.

(15) "Terrors are turned upon me; they pursue my soul as the wind, and my welfare passes away as a cloud. (16) And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. (17) My bones are pierced in me in the night, and my sinews take no rest."

As in Psalms 42:4, "I pour out my soul in me", verse 16a is a way of saying Job is dissolved in grief. Job has been pierced to the bone, and his tendons or muscles also have no rest. The original word translated as "sinews" is "araq", and it also means "gnaw", "chew", "eat", or "pain". Some of the old commentators suggest that the word means "gnawers" and Albert Barnes said that it might refer to the teeth. Therefore verse 17b might mean that his teeth grind continually and take no rest, or that gnawing pains, in general, never cease. Anyway you look at it, Job says he is a man in constant pain and sorrow!

(18) "By the great force of my disease is my garment changed; it binds me about as the collar of my coat."

The original word translated as "changed" is "chaphas" and means more than just "changed". More completely, it means "concealed", "masked", "disguised", "hidden", or it can mean "to be searched out" or "exposed". I believe the sense is that because the disease has changed him so much, his clothing now binds tightly or maybe sticks to his skin because of sores. Perhaps Job now disguises himself because of his hideous disease. Maybe Job metaphorically refers to his leprous skin as a new kind of covering that binds him tightly and one that he cannot easily cast off.

(19) "He has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes."

Job speaks of God doing this to him or at least bringing calamity on him so that he has become regarded as worthless. "A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments" by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, beautifully points out that in reality, "God is poetically said to do that which the mourner had done to himself". In Job 2:8, the verse reads, "And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself; and he sat down among the ashes." Job obviously means that God had brought him to the state where he did this, but isn't it interesting to think how many times we want to blame God for things we do to ourselves?

(20) "I cry unto You, and You do not hear me; I stand up, and You regard me (not)."

Job now speaks directly to God. The KJV translators added the word "not" at the end of the verse because they thought it carried over from the first part of the verse. However, it's not necessary to the meaning to add "not", as the sense may be that Job cries out to the Lord and He doesn't seem to hear, or at least doesn't respond; Job stands up and God considers whether to answer Job or not.

(21) "You have become cruel to me; with Your strong hand You oppose Yourself against me."

My first thought was "Whoa, Job! You've gone too far now!" But then I have to think about how many times we ask today, "Why me? Why are You doing this to me?" We certainly aren't asking why God is doing good things to us! So the sense is the same. The word translated as "cruel" comes from a root word meaning to "act harshly" and the word also means "fierce". Perhaps rather than accusing God of being cruel to him, Job is merely stating what he thinks as fact, that the Lord has acted in a strong harsh way against him.

(22) "You lift me up to the wind; You cause me to ride upon it, and dissolve my substance."

The image is that Job is tossed to and fro like a limp rag doll in the wind.

(23) "For I know You will bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living."

The grave is the house appointed to all when they die.

(24) "However He will not stretch out His hand to the grave, though they cry in His destruction."

Job knows God will bring him to the grave, but He will not pursue him beyond that. Although men cry in despair while they are dying or for those who are dying, the grave is the ultimate rest for the weary.

(25) "Did I not weep for him who was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? (26) When I looked for good, then evil came; and when I waited for light, there came darkness."

Job appears to be reflecting back on his life to point out that he was always compassionate, so perhaps expecting life to be good for him in return, but instead it was evil and dark with adversity and affliction.

(27) "All within me boiled, and rested not; the days of affliction confronted me."

Looking at the original words' meanings, I have transcribed this verse for my study purposes to what I believe is the best sense. The KJV says, "My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me." "Meeh", the word translated as "bowels" can refer to a lot of different internal body parts, and "qadam", the word translated as "prevented", actually paints more a picture of projecting oneself, to meet, or confront.

(28) "I went mourning without the sun; I stood up and I cried in the congregation."

The word translated as "mourning" is "qadar", and it means "ashy" or "dark-colored", which can imply mourning, but in this instance I believe it just means dark, as he repeats this in verse 30. Job's skin is dark even without the sun burning it.

(29) "I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls."

Interestingly, the word translated as "dragons" can also mean "jackals". The word translated as "owls" was actually two words that looks like "daughters of owls", or "daughters of howling", which has been suggested by some of the old commentaries to be understood as ostriches. Perhaps the sense is that Job is like those animals known for their mournful wailing in the night.

(30) "My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. (31) My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them who weep."

Job only sings the blues now!

Job As Wise Counsel

Continuing a Bible study of Job:

(Job 29:1) Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, (2) "Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; (3) When His candle shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; (4) As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tent; (5) When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; (6) When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me;"

Job longs for the time when he felt God's presence all about him, when his family was still with him, and when he felt blessed by God in all that he did. Butter and oil flowing abundantly indicates a rich life.

(7) "When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!"

I looked to the old theologians and Bible historians who explained that Job was a magistrate. Courts of justice were held at the gates or entrances to cities. There Job took his seat as a judge. Even if this is an assumption not apparent in the scripture, at the very least, it means that Job was very open and seen in public, and as he will go on to say, very well respected.

(8) "The young men saw me and hid themselves, and the aged arose and stood up; (9) The princes refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths; (10) The nobles held their peace, and their tongues cleaved to the roofs of their mouths."

Young and old alike, and even noblemen, gave Job the ultimate respect, in the public square.

(11) "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; (12) Because I delivered the poor who cried out, and the fatherless, and him who had none to help him. (13) The blessing of him who was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."

Job insists he helped the poor and defenseless, and they praised him. This is in response to his friends' assertions that he oppressed people and "sent widows away empty".

(14) "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgment was like a robe and a diadem."

Job says he was clothed from head to toe in righteousness as with a robe and turban, and therefore judged righteously.

(15) "I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. (16) I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out."

Job was the defender of the blind, lame, and poor. Any cause that was brought before him, he thoroughly examined in order to judge fairly.

(17) "And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth."

Job had rescued the poor and defenseless from the wicked, who are portrayed as beasts of prey.

(18) "Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.'"

Job said to himself and believed that he would live a long contented life, safe and secure in his home. The KJV does not use quotation marks to indicate exactly what Job was saying. The NKJV and other newer translations use quotation marks around verses 18, 19, and 20, as if they were all part of one quote from Job. As verse 18 is in the future tense, and the other two verses are in the past tense, I believe that Job made the brief comment in verse 18 about how he felt secure, and then went on to explain why in verses 19 and 20.

(19) "My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. (20) My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand."

Like a healthy tree by the waters, Job flourished and prospered. His glory and strength were continually refreshed and renewed. I see that the KJV added the "was" in verse 19 and the first "was" in verse 20 for clarity. The NKJV, NIV, and other translators of newer texts, decided the word should be "is" and included it as part of Job's quote started in verse 18. Although that might could have been understandable if those were the only verbs in the verses, I still maintain that verses 19 and 20 are in the past tense, as indicated by "lay" in verse 19 and the second "was" in verse 20.

(21) "Men listened to me and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. (22) After my words they did not speak again, and my speech dropped upon them."

Interestingly, the word translated as "dropped" also means prophesied, so men listened to Job as he prophesied to them. I am seeing Job's quote a little differently now. He may not have been talking about his personal comfort, glory, and strength, but judging by verse 21, he may have been feeling confident and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God!

(23) "And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouths wide as for the spring rain."

The men were as eager for a word from Job as a thirsty land was for water.

(24) "If I laughed at them, they did not believe it, and the light of my countenance they did not cast down."

I suppose because they gave Job's words such respect and the words carried so much weight and importance, that even if he were to be casual and joking, they wouldn't believe he was joking, but would take every word very seriously. Perhaps it just means simply that if Job were to laugh at them, they would not be offended.

(25) "I chose their way for them, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners."

Job was their guide and counselor. He may have meant literally that he was their chief and king as supreme magistrate and as captain in the army, or perhaps he meant it metaphorically, but either way, men definitely looked to him for his wisdom, judgment, and advice. Job is attempting to vindicate himself from his friends' charges of guilt and hypocrisy by showing he was a man greatly respected and appreciated for his wise counsel to all, and his help to the poor and needy.

Where is Wisdom Found?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, Job is still speaking in chapter 28:

(Job 28:1) "Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it. (2) Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone."

Job starts by saying that there surely are wonders of the world that man has been able to discover. The theologian Adam Clarke points out beautifully that this "chapter is the oldest and finest piece of natural history in the world".

(3) "He sets an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death."

The pronoun "He" refers to man who mines precious stones from the depths of the earth, appearing even to have gone to the regions of the shadow of death.

(4) "The flood breaks out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten by the foot; they are dried up, they are gone away from men."

Waters that are so far below the ground that they are not known to man, break forth through mining the earth.

(5) "As for the earth, out of it comes bread, and under it is turned up as if it were fire. (6) The stones of it are the places of sapphires, and it has dust of gold."

Out of the earth comes food, and below that? Job could be referring to coal, which was fuel for fire, or maybe he refers to something like molten lava boiling below the surface of the earth.

(7) "There is a path which no bird knows, and which the vulture's eye has not seen; (8) The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it."

Man, as a miner, is able to dig deep into the earth to a place that neither beast nor bird with the keenest sight has ever seen.

(9) "He puts forth his hand on the rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots. (10) He cuts out rivers among the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. (11) He binds the floods from overflowing, and what is hidden he brings forth to light."

Interestingly, John Wesley thinks this passage is speaking about God. But some theologians think it continues with the miner. I see no reason why these verses can't be describing the miner. After all, man does have some power in the earth. That is why he often, in pride, believes he has more power than he actually does. The miner does indeed dig through rock. He can blast away mountains. He can dig out streams and dam them up. What is hidden below the surface of the ground or under the water can indeed be brought to light. A miner sees many precious things hidden in the earth.

(12) "But where will wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?"

The "But" cinches it for me. If the previous verses had been talking about God, why would there now be a "But"? Although man can do these seemingly marvelous things and unearth these wonders, there is no real wisdom and understanding in doing these things. Just because man can reach into the bowels of the earth and dig out wonders of God never before seen, he cannot really know the true wisdom of God. He may have knowledge of many earthly creations of God, and may have some understanding of how God has worked in nature on this earth, but he cannot really know the mind of God just by unearthing these wonders.

I suppose even if the previous passage of verses 9 through 11 had been speaking about the wonders of God, as John Wesley said, rather than what man can do, verse 12 would still make sense. Even though we see these marvelous wonders of God on earth, it does not mean we have complete understanding of Him. Either way, the context is the same. No matter what man sees and knows of God here on earth, he cannot know the mind of God.

(13) "Man does not know its value; neither is it found in the land of the living."

Man does not even know the value of true wisdom and understanding of God, and there is not enough in all the world to equal the value of it.

(14) "The deep says, 'It is not in me', and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' (15) It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price. (16) It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. (17) The gold and the crystal cannot equal it, and the exchange of it will not be for jewels of fine gold. (18) No mention will be made of coral, or of pearls, for the price of wisdom is above rubies. (19) The topaz of Ethiopia will not equal it; neither will it be valued with pure gold."

Job recites a poetic list of all the wonderful and valuable treasures of the earth that cannot come close to the value of true wisdom.

(20) "From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? (21) Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air."

Since wisdom is not known in all the world, and nothing comes close to it here on earth, Job asks from where then does it come.

(22) "Destruction and death say, 'We have heard the fame of it with our ears.'"

This is an interesting side note of Job's. Although, no one on earth knows wisdom, death and destruction have heard of it? Does he mean that, in death, souls will have more understanding? I do know a day is coming when all will know God and every knee will bow to Him, but this verse seems to suggest that the dead only have a partial knowledge of it at this point; they've only heard of it, they can't really say for certain what it is. So when souls depart this earth, do they have an inkling of what is to come at that point? I can see this verse another way. Perhaps after reviewing what happened in a certain destruction and death, we can garner some wisdom, learning from the past, so to speak. Think of all the Biblical wisdom that has been given to us for our learning, but even in this, we can say we have read about it, we have heard about it, but we cannot really KNOW it.

(23) "God understands its way, and He knows its place, (24) For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, (25) To make the weight for the winds, and He weighs the waters by measure."

Man may be able to discover some secrets of the earth. He may be able to dig through mountains and dig out creeks, but it is God who made those mountains and made the waters that will flow into those creeks. God knows exactly what is necessary to hold back the oceans and He has the power to unleash them by the wind that He alone controls.

(26) "When He made a law for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, (27) Then He saw it and declared it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out."

God declared His creations. God saw it, that it was good. He declared it through his marvelous works of nature, that they declare the glory of God. Our words "searched it out" aren't really sufficient for the meaning of the original word, "chaqar", which denotes a perfect intimate knowledge.

(28) "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

The best we can attain of true wisdom and understanding on this earth is to fear the Lord and depart from evil. That is the charge God left for us. The word translated as fear also means reverence. Fearing the Lord is having a reverential fear that He is the One who holds your life in His hands. It's not that we have to be constantly afraid that He will strike us down for no reason, but we understand that He has the power to do so, but He loves us and wants the best for us, which is everlasting life with Him in eternity. Evil necessarily has to be as God describes it to us. The best we can do here on earth is to follow the Lord and follow the commandments He left for us, and that will be wisdom and understanding here on earth. We cannot have God's perfect intimate knowledge, but we can have what He gives us through His Holy Spirit when we seek to follow Him.

The Ultimate Fate of a Wicked Man

Continuing in a Bible study of Job, we resume with Job still speaking. In my past studies on Job, I usually separated blog posts between speakers, but Job was especially long-winded this time, speaking for several chapters, so I will devote a blog post to each chapter.

(Job 27:1) Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, (2) "As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has vexed my soul,"

As a child, I always thought "parable" just meant "story", but it actually has a weightier meaning. The original word, "mashal" has a primitive root that means to rule or to have or make dominion over, so the sense of the word here, quoting Strong's, is that "in some original sense of superiority in mental action; properly a pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature; hence a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse): - byword, like, parable, proverb."

"As God lives" begins Job's oath, but he describes God as one who has so afflicted him that he cannot be judged fairly, and therefore has made his soul bitter, as the original word translated as "vexed" also means.

3) "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God in my nostrils, (4) My lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. (5) God forbid that I should justify you; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. (6) My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live."

As long as Job lives, he will not speak wickedness or deceit, therefore he could never concede that his friends were correct; as he was a man of integrity, nothing could induce him to abandon his convictions. He holds fast to his integrity and uprightness, and his heart will not betray him by being false. I have to wonder if this is one of those times when God could reprimand Job. Is there a hint of self-righteousness here? I don't think it is disrespectful of Job to cling to "his righteousness", as I believe that he knew his righteousness was not his personal righteousness, but his justified righteousness before God, because he adhered to the laws of his Lord. This is the time before Jesus and men were justified by adhering to certain sacrificial laws. I think he is saying here that even though he feels he has been afflicted by God, he would never abandon God and His laws. However, I do think he threw in a self-righteous barb when he said that he, righteous Job, would never abandon his convictions even though God, the One he held to, had taken away his justice and caused the bitterness of his soul.

(7) "Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he who rises up against me like the unrighteous."

The exact meaning of this scripture is a little difficult for me. Is Job accusing his friends who reject his claim of innocence of being wicked and unrighteous? Or perhaps he is just trying to draw a distinction between himself and the wicked, the unrighteous, and the hypocrite, that he describes in the next verse. His friends have claimed that he must be a hypocrite or unrighteous because of his afflictions, so perhaps he is saying he is nothing like the wicked and considers the unrighteous enemies.

(8) "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul? (9) Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? (10) Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God?"

Verse 8 reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Job points out that even though the wicked may prosper in this world, they have no hope of anything else in eternity. There is nothing left when God takes his soul; the wicked has nothing if he can't call on God.

(11) "I will teach you by the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal."

Once again the NKJV, NIV, and just about every one of the newer translations, translated the first part of this verse as, "I will teach you about the hand of God". Fascinating subtle change there! That would make Job appear a self-righteous boastful man if he declared that HE would teach them about GOD! What can mortal man really know about the mind of Almighty God? What Job was saying was that "by the hand of God", or by the Holy Spirit of God, he would teach them everything Almighty God was revealing to him.

For some fascinating links about just how much NIV translators changed the original Greek texts of the Bible, see a previous study here.

(12) "Behold, all of you yourselves have seen it; why then are you so altogether vain?"

Although they did seem to get way off-track during the course of their conversations in the book of Job, remember that Job's friends were good righteous men, who more than likely knew God. Job is probably now appealing to the fact that they, too, have been lead by the Spirit of God before, so why now do they speak such nonsense of themselves?

(13) "This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they will receive from the Almighty."

Job now returns to the subject of describing the fate of the wicked.

(14) "If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword, and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. (15) Those who remain of him will be buried in death, and his widows shall not weep."

Job says that even if the wicked appear blessed with large families after them, those descendants will die by the sword and by famine, and no one will lament their passing.

(16) "Though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay, (17) He may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver."

Job says that although the wicked may have piled up riches and "things" while on earth, those things will be left behind to be used by the innocent. "You can't take it with you", and Job has already stated that the wicked's descendants will neither be there to enjoy the riches.

(18) "He builds his house like a moth, and as a hut that the keeper makes."

The obvious meaning is akin to Jesus's example of a man who builds his house on sand. It is only temporary and has no real foundation. However, the theologian Albert Barnes took it a step further. The house of a moth is made of wool from the clothing of others upon which it fed. Could that be the more complete picture Job is trying to illustrate here? The house of the wicked that was obtained at the expense of others is only temporary.

(19) "The rich man will lie down, but he will not be gathered; he opens his eyes, and he is no more."

Job means the rich that are wicked will die, and will not be honorably buried. The expression, "to be gathered to one’s fathers", is seen frequently in the Bible, and probably denotes a peaceful and respectful burial among family. Additionally, the wicked man's life is fleeting; in the twinkling of an eye he is no more.

(20) "Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest steals him away in the night. (21) The east wind carries him away, and he departs, and as a storm it hurls him out of his place. (22) For it will cast upon him and not spare; he would gladly flee out of its hand (if he could)."

The KJV reads this way: "For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand." The KJV translators read the pronoun "his" instead of "its" and decided the verse must be describing the hand of "God", who, of course, is the source of all that happens to the wicked. However, "God" is italicized, so the KJV translators let us know that they are the ones who added "God" to the verse. I see no reason that the verse couldn't be continuing the thought that the storm will hurl against the wicked and not spare him. Obviously, God is the one who uses the storm to hurl against the wicked, so either translation works. Old Noah Webster wrote that "fain" meant "gladly" and even used this scripture from the Bible in his old dictionary. The wicked would gladly flee, but obviously, he can't.

(23) "Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place."

The word translated as "hiss" also means to whistle, so I believe the context here is that men will cheer and jeer when the wicked are dead and gone.

Job's friends have tried to maintain that righteous men prosper and that the wicked fall, and that his afflictions are a good indication of which he has to be. Job previously spoke at length about how the wicked prosper in this world, and seeks to prove that sometimes they fall after this life on this earth, in ways that are not always obvious to the present human eye. He knows and agrees that ultimately the wicked do fall, but his friends' assessment of his situation as a black and white example of this does not hold water.

Intermission

I was just noticing the appearance of my blog. Lately, my blog has turned into a Bible study, and all the political links on the side bar don't seem to be related to the texts. Originally, I felt compelled to write about what was going on in this country. I was a regional chapter leader in Concerned Women for America, and I was truly concerned about the direction of our country. However, lately, it has felt that there is no hope for this country. What ails this country is too big! It's not just a wicked administration. Obama could never have been elected if people knew the truth about him going into the election. Imagine if the media investigated his life and his past associations as well as they did any conservative's. Imagine if they truly dug for the truth about all his Communist and Islamist ties, including questionable terror ties. Imagine if they gave us constant sound bites of all his numerous gaffes, flip-flops, and anti-God and anti-American comments. Not only does the mainstream media not report the truth, but they actually prop up liberals with whom they agree. They willingly report all the lies told by them. They seek to destroy anyone with whom they disagree, even throwing out accusations they know haven't been proven, and sometimes when they know they are false. A retraction can be made later, IF it is ever made, but the damage is already done. They've done their job, as they now see it. The problem of changing the direction of our country just seems too huge with no hope of competing with a lying propagandist media.

Even more than a wicked administration and a lying manipulative media, there are the people in our country: people who are too lazy to dig for the truth, Godless people who reject moral values, and phony Christians who wish to overlook immorality and wickedness. Some are phony, using the grace of Christianity as a cover for evil, but many are just misinformed by weak churches that do not teach Biblical truth. If the people were to get back to God on their knees in prayer and back to the Bible for His truth, they wouldn't be swayed by the lies of the world.

It's really not about trying to save our country anymore; it's about saving people. It's about truly saving lives! And that means saving eternal lives, lives that really matter, not just the convenience of this little dot on the timeline of eternity. I hate to see our country reject God, reject His moral laws, reject innocent life, reject Israel, and go the way of the world. Scriptures do speak of how evil leaders cause the people to sin, so the fight for our country seemed like a fight for the good of the people. But that battle seems too great now, and it seems less important as time grows short. I do believe time is short. The end times are here, and it is time to find salvation in the only place it can be found, in the Lord Jesus Christ. The government of this country is not anyone's Savior, so in the real scheme of things, nothing it does really matters, not as far as eternal life and true salvation goes.

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Matthew 16:25-26

Church is not the answer either. Some churches can lead people to truth, but many lukewarm churches do more harm than they do good. God HATES a lukewarm church:

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." - Revelation 3:15-16

The BIBLE has the answer. In my heart, I truly feel like that is the answer for everyone, for every problem. In reality, Jesus Christ is the only answer, but I know God will lead people to Him through His word. The Bible speaks of Christians who do not have the foundation of the Word, and they will fall prey to Satan if they do not know the truth, because even Satan appears as an angel of light, meaning there are many lying spirits out there who pretend to be something they are not and will fool well-meaning Christians if they do not know the truth. It's still important to watch what is going on in our country and in the world, especially in the context of Biblical prophecy. That way we are not fooled by the lies of wicked leaders and propagandist media. We can understand that although world peace and saving the planet may sound like good goals, it's not going to happen, and we won't get snowed by a smooth-talking antichrist. So back to the Bible study next time! Back to seeking REAL truth! Meanwhile, I will be changing the look of my blog to more reflect where it has evolved. I think I will keep my "Seek Ye Truth/God Bless America" banner, as I still feel a draw on my heart to return America to her God:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

Who First Discovered the World Was Round?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, now Job speaks again:

(Job 26:1) But Job answered and said, (2) "How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength? (3) How have you counseled him who has no wisdom? And how have you plentifully declared the thing as it is? (4) To whom have you uttered words? And whose spirit came from you?"

There is a very interesting mixture of opinions about to whom Job is referring in these scriptures. Some theologians believe it is about God and should be said with a little different emphasis like, "How You have helped him who is without power!" That may be because it becomes evident Job talks about God in the following verses. But up to that point, I think he is being sarcastic toward his friends who claim to have the wisdom of God, but offer him nothing. I think the scriptures are to be taken literally and said in the sense, "Just how have you helped anybody?" I believe that must be the case because in verse 4, he asks whose spirit came from them; he would not have been asking that of God. After sarcastically zinging his friends, then Job transitions into a discussion of God:

(5) "Ghosts are in anguish from under the waters, and those inhabiting with them. (6) Hell is naked before Him, and destruction has no covering."

I took a little liberty with my personal transcription of verse 5. KJV says "dead things" instead of "ghosts", but Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs dictionaries indicate the original word indeed means more than dead things, but the ghosts of the dead things. Additionally, KJV says the dead things are formed under the waters, but the original word, "chul" most often means more than just formed; it means "to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained", to name a few. I believe the sense of these two verses is to say that nothing is outside of God's power, not the spirit world of ghosts and not even hell!

(7) "He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing. (8) He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it. (9) He holds back the face of His throne, and spreads His cloud upon it. (10) He has compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end."

Job describes the awesome wonders of the all-powerful God. Most astonishing to me when I first discovered it, was that the Bible tells us the world is round in verse 10. In school we were taught that Columbus was the first to discover the world was not flat. Since then, we've gotten more "educated" and have learned that there were those who believed it before then. Do an internet query on "who discovered the world was round" and you'll get a huge variety of answers. I was amazed to see "the best answer" on a Yahoo board which asked the question, added this comment, "The flatness of the Earth was some sort of imposition by religious fanatics of the middle age." While I will agree that "religious" does not always mean "Christian" or "Biblical", I found the statement awfully interesting considering any religious scholar with access to the scriptures would have known that God created a circular world.

Verse 10 reads: "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end." Newer translations say it this way: "He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness" (NKJV); "He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness" (ESV). I, personally, always refer to the old KJV myself, as I believe its translation to be the most pure (see here), but I used the others as examples here to show that scholars knew the meaning of the original Greek words translated as "compassed" in Job 26:10. Two words were used, "chug" which means "to encircle, encompass, describe a circle, draw round, make a circle", and "al" which means "above, over, upon, or against". Clearly, the meaning is that God drew a circular boundary above the waters of the earth. Anyone with access to the early scriptures could have had a notion that the earth was round. Isn't that a marvelous discovery?!

(11) "The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at His reproof. (12) He divides the sea with His power, and by His understanding He crushes the proud."

God is all-powerful; He controls the heavens, the oceans, and people, all things that would have seemed impossible to control by mortal men. Job uses them as examples to show the enormity of God's power.

(13) "By His Spirit He has garnished the heavens; His hand has formed the crooked serpent."

Actually, I believe the truer translation of the second part of verse 13 is as the NKJV suggests, "His hand pierced the fleeing serpent." Once again, I don't think the KJV translators used a strong enough word in "formed" to truly describe what the original word meant. The root of "chalal" is "to bore" which very simply could be "to form", but further definitions of the original word indicate it means more completely to "bore through, pierce, wound, etc." However, I decided to leave the verse as transcribed in KJV for my study, as it really doesn't matter for the context. The all-powerful God has adorned the heavens, and He has created even the most uniquely formed creatures, as well as stopping them in their tracks, no matter how slippery and slithering they may be. Actually, the old Biblical scholars take the "fleeing serpent" to mean a constellation in the sky. That is also a good context here since Job is describing how God adorned the heavens. The sense of this verse is the same no matter how you interpret it.

(14) "Lo, these are parts of His ways; but how little a portion is heard of Him? But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

Job concludes by asking who can really understand the vast magnitude of God's infinite power. His friends claim they know the mind of God, but Job has sought to prove to them that they cannot possibly know the mind of so powerful and infinite an Almighty God.

How Can Man Be Justified With God?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, Bildad answers Job:

(Job 25:1) Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, (2) "Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places."

God has complete sovereignty over all people, places, and things, and because of that, man should rightly be in absolute fear of His almighty power. I think the point of the "peace in high places" is not that God is making peace in a warring heaven, but that He also has sovereign power over the heavens, including angelic beings and the stars in the sky; He keeps even the vast heavens in order.

(3) "Is there any number to His armies? And upon whom does His light not rise?"

Is there any end to the number of His heavenly hosts which include all angelic beings and even the vast number of stars in the infinite sky? And is there anyone anywhere who does not fall under His sovereign jurisdiction?

(4) "How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of a woman?"

Bildad's point is that with a so vastly almighty powerful God, how can a man even dare to argue with Him? How can mere man be pure in God's sight?

(5) "Behold even to the moon, and it does not shine; yes, the stars are not pure in His sight."

Even the moon and stars have no light compared to Almighty God!

(6) "How much less man, that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm?"

Bildad asks that if even the marvelous celestial beings hold no light and are not pure in His presence, how much less is miserable sinful man considered to Him? So in response to Job's dare to prove him a liar, Bildad attempts to squash Job's right to even speak at all, or at least to question God about his circumstances. Actually, if done with more compassion, it might not have been such a bad response. Our answer often is that we just don't know why God allows certain things to happen. But we do know He is completely sovereign, and nothing is out of His range of power. His ways are so much higher than our ways; He sees the whole universe and all of time and how it does and will inter-connect. So really, who is tiny, insignificant, impatient, and selfish mortal man, who is so short-sighted, to question Almighty God? But thank our Heavenly Father, He does allow us to cry out to Him in prayer, and He does give us wisdom when we ask for it. It's just because we do not see things the way God does, that we expect an instantaneous answer or elimination of the problem, when often God is answering us and giving us wisdom and guidance through the problem.

Who Will Make Job a Liar?

Continuing a Bible study of Job, Job speaks again:

(Job 23:1) Then Job answered and said, (2) "Even today my complaint is bitter; my stroke is heavier than my groaning."

Paraphrased, "Even as we speak the hand (of God) upon me is greater than my complaints."

(3) "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him! That I might come to His seat! (4) I would present my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. (5) I would know the words He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me. (6) Will He plead against me with great power? No, but He would regard me. (7) There the righteous might dispute with Him; so should I be delivered forever from my judge."

Job knows that his Lord is a just God, and if only he could present his case straight to Him, Job knows that He would know the truth about Job. If Job were able to speak straight to the author of truth and justice and life itself, he himself would then understand why these things have happened to him. He certainly can't get answers from his friends; at the throne of God is the only place Job can hope to get real answers, and he hopes to get deliverance, as well. He trusts His Lord will treat him tenderly and show him the truth.

(8) "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; (9) On the left hand where He works, but I cannot behold Him; He hides Himself on the right hand that I cannot see Him."

In these two verses, Job actually mentions "the four corners of the world, east, west, north, and south". The word translated as "forward" is "qedem" or "qedmah" and it can mean "front, forward" or "east, eastward", as well as "before, aforetime, old, past". Likewise, "backward" or "achor" can mean "behind, backward" or "west". The word translated as "left hand" is "semol" and means "left, dark, or north". "Yamiyn" means "right or south". These directions are for a man facing eastward. When Job speaks of "the left hand where He (God) works", he may be speaking of a dark or hidden region, as that word also means dark, as God often may seem to work in secret from us. Perhaps Job means "the four corners of heaven" by these directional words. The theologian, Albert Barnes, speculates that it may have seemed like the most awesome manifestations of God's glory and majesty might have appeared in the north in the form of the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights. Another early Biblical scholar, Adam Clarke, points out that from where Job and his friends would have stood in their place on the earth, they would not have been able to see the southern sky, the constellations of the antarctic pole. Therefore, it may have seemed to Job that God must be "hiding" Himself there now. Obviously, the sense of these scriptures is that Job has looked everywhere for God, in order to present his case to Him, but he cannot find Him.

(10) "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Although Job cannot find God, he has confidence that God knows where he is and truly knows him and his ways. Although he doesn't understand why he has had to go through all these trials, he knows it will be better in the end. Whether Job states this fact pridefully because he believes in the end God will "discover" that Job is pure, or whether he understands that all trials have the potential to improve and purify us when God is at the helm working all things for good, remains to be seen just yet. So far I have not found any real fault in Job through this process, but some of the early commentaries point to this scripture as one in which God finds fault when He later appears to Job. Perhaps Job is beginning to show a little boastful pride here.

(11) "My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. (12) Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."

Job insists he has faithfully and continually followed God and His commandments.

(13) "But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does."

Even though he sees himself as completely innocent, Job realizes that God Himself alone is the author of our fate. Although God wants the very best for us, He sees the bigger picture, and His plans are His own designed in His perfect wisdom, and no one can turn Him against His will.

(14) "For He performs the thing that is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him."

Interestingly, the word translated as "the thing that is appointed" is "choq"; the same word is combined with "min" and translated as "necessary food" in verse 12. I believe the sense is that the steps necessary for carrying out His will are as fundamentally needed as "necessary food". God performs innumerable such tasks, and God performing His will in our daily lives is as fundamental, ingrained, and natural, as our daily routines including eating and sleeping.

(15) "Therefore I am troubled at His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him."

When Job realizes that there is no turning God from His will, he is afraid of Him. The word translated as "fear" can be translated as "awe", as well. When anyone fully understands there is no stopping the One who holds his life in His hands, a reverential fear or awe is only natural.

(16) "For God makes my heart soft, and the Almighty troubles me; (17) Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither has He covered the darkness from my face."

That thought about God and the magnitude of His enormous power makes Job's heart faint with the realization of it. Job is feeling very vulnerable and helpless at the realization of God's great power, probably as it relates to his troubles that may have no end. God did not take his life before they came on him and he does not cover him in the grave now.

(Job 24:1) "Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they who know Him not see His days?"

Most commentaries read this as asking why those who know the Lord don't see His (or understand) His ways. Who am I to disagree with the great old theologians, but in context with the verses that follow, I believe that Job is wondering here why, seeing that God sees all, does He allow those who don't know Him to see His days. Rather than reading the phrase as "they who know Him", I believe it has to be "they who know Him not" because the next verses continue with a description of wicked men. Why, seeing that God knows their wickedness, do they seem to get to enjoy His blessings?

(2) "Some remove landmarks; they violently take away flocks and feed on them; (3) They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. (4) They turn the needy out of the way; the poor of the earth hide themselves together. (5) Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go forth to their work, rising early for a prey; the wilderness yields food for them and for their children."

Job describes the actions of wicked men. They are like wild donkeys, fierce, lawless, and greedy for prey, and even the wilderness yields for them, because they rob and plunder. Speaking about them and their children, seems a bit more tender to me, and has me wondering if Job might mean here that when the poor were forced to hide themselves together that they were the ones who became as wild donkeys foraging for food in the wilderness.

(6) "They reap their corn in the field; and they gather the vintage of the wicked."

All these "they"'s are difficult for me to discern. If Job was talking about the poor, when does he return to the subject of the wicked? Perhaps he has only been talking about the wicked this entire time. Certainly the gist of his comments so far is that the wicked do horrible things, and the poor do suffer at their hands. Every old study I read indicates that Job is talking about they, the wicked, here. The word translated as "corn" means more of a mixed feed or fodder. The reaping and gathering of the vintage is metamorphic for their various robberies, living off the plunder of others. One study I read pointed out that the word translated as "gather" actually means to gather late or gather the after crop, so the idea is that they reap the early harvest of corn and gather the vintage late in autumn. Thus they are always robbing and supporting themselves by robbery.

(7) "They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, they who have no covering in the cold. (8) They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter."

This passage is pretty clear. They, the wicked, plunder and strip people and leave them destitute. They, the plundered, are left out in the cold with nothing to defend themselves. Now, back to they, the wicked...

(9) "They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor."

Perhaps they steal defenseless children, possibly making them slaves or worse, or perhaps selling them. Looking at it slightly differently, taking a pledge from the poor may be related to the first part of the verse in that "they so pillage and plunder the poor widow that she cannot sustain herself that she may be able to nurse her baby" (1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes). Either way, they were ruthless.

(10) "They cause him to go naked, without clothing; and they take away the sheaf from the hungry, (11) Who make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst."

Some translations say "them", meaning the poor, rather than "him", as the KJV does. As I look a little deeper, "fatherless" from the verse before can also mean a lonely bereaved person. Maybe rather than literally stealing children, the wicked are taking all comforts and security from the poor and defenseless. They leave them with nothing to clothe themselves and take away their last bit of food. Probably what is meant by verse 11 is that the hungry make oil and tread wine presses within the wicked men's walls. They, the hungry, are thirsty because they are not permitted to drink the wine they must make for the tyrants, either because they are forced as slaves to work for them, or because the fruit of their labor is taken from them by the wicked.

(12) "Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded cries out; yet God does not regard them with folly."

Although the oppressed groan and cry out to God, He seems to allow their suffering at the hands of wicked men to pass without punishing the wicked deeds. I believe Job is trying to prove to his friends that God does not always immediately punish the wicked, and that the reverse was also true, that God did not always immediately reward every good work. Wickedness often went long unpunished and virtue unrewarded, so they could not judge a man either by his prosperity or adversity.

(13) "They are of those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths."

Back to they, the wicked, the ones who caused such misery to the oppressed, they rebel against the light of God's word.

(14) "The murderer rising with the light kills the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. (15) The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me', and disguises his face. (16) In the dark they dig through houses which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light. (17) For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; if someone knows them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. (18) They are swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth; they behold not the way of the vineyards."

The wicked are murderers, thieves, and adulterers. I want to note that in verse 18, KJV uses the pronoun "he" instead of "they", but Strong's points out that the original word used here can also mean "they", and that seems to flow better with the context here. I think the meaning of verse 18 is that the wicked are always fleeing because they know they are not accepted in normal walks of life, no doubt because of their choices.

(19) "Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does the grave he who has sinned."

KJV added the words "so doth" (so does) and "those which" (...have sinned) for clarity. As those aren't original text words, I chose "he who" for my personal transcription notes, since it matches the pronouns used in the verses following this one.

(20) "The womb will forget him; the worm will feed sweetly on him; he will be no more remembered; and wickedness will be broken as a tree."

Even his mother who bore him will forget him and he will lie in the grave, which is the meaning of the worms in the ground which will feed on him as he lies there. The word translated as "broken" here is "shabar" and its meaning is a little more violent that merely "broken". The wicked will be totally broken to pieces, crushed, destroyed, like a tree that is broken down and never grows again.

(21) "He preys on the barren who do not bear, and does no good for the widow."

Job returns to the subject of the terrible deeds of the wicked.

(22) He also draws the mighty with his power; he rises up, but no man is sure of life."

Wow! All the newer translations of the Bible, NKJV, NIV, NLT, ESV, RSV, and many more, all translate "he" as "God". However, none of the older commentaries that I read considered the possibility that Job was speaking of God here. It's interesting that the translators of the newer versions of the Bible really thought they were smarter than the KJV translators who used the original Greek texts, but I agree with the old theologians and see no reason that the subject should change here. The wicked draws even the mighty in with his wickedness; no man is safe from him.

For an interesting in-depth study on how the original Greek text of the Holy Bible has been changed in more recent versions of the Bible, please see my study of January 10, 2011, entitled Which Version of the Truth Will You Use?

(23) "Though it be given him to be in safety, in which he rests; yet his eyes are on their ways."

Once again, most of the newer texts believe this is about God. I admit that some of the old theologians agree, so I'll look at it both ways. In my opinion, this is still about the wicked who overcome even the mighty. In verse 22, the wicked allowed the mighty to rise up, further described in verse 23 as feeling secure, but the wicked is always watching them, and they can never be safe (as stated in verse 22). However, if you read verse 23 as about God, it really doesn't change the context a lot. Job has said before that God has allowed the wicked man to prosper, feeling safe and secure in his ways, but He is always watching and always knows the deeds of the wicked.

(24) "They are exalted for a little while, but (then) are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way like all others, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. (25) Now if it is not so, who will make me a liar, and make my speech worth nothing?"

Verse 24 naturally follows with either translation of verse 23. God allows the wicked to prosper for awhile, but then they are taken down and out of the way as all others who eventually die and go to the grave. They can never escape death, and will likewise, never escape God's judgment.

Job ends this speech by pretty much daring his friends to prove him wrong in what he has said.