Continuing a study of the book of Job, Job answers the cold-hearted assessment from Bildad in the last chapter:
(Job 19:1) Then Job answered and said, (2) "How long will you vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? (3) These ten times you have reproached me; you are not ashamed that you make yourself strange to me."
Job's friends make themselves strange to Job by acting as if they don't really know him; they act as if he were a stranger and they never knew his real godly integrity.
(4) "And if indeed I have erred, my error remains with myself."
Perhaps the sense is, "If I have erred, then I suffer enough from the consequences of my sins, and I need your pity and support, rather than your reproach."
(5) "If indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach, (6) Know now that God has overthrown me, and has surrounded me with His net."
Job continues the thought from verse 4; he shouldn't have to suffer the reproach of his friends, but if they insist in it, they need to understand that it is God who has done this to Job. God has done this, and not that it is a result of what Job has done to himself. He may also be implying that this is between God and himself, and he doesn't need their reproaches. Either way, their reproaches are unwarranted and unwanted.
(7) "Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no justice. (8) He has fenced up my way that I cannot pass; and He has set darkness in my paths. (9) He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. (10) He has destroyed me on every side, and I am gone; and my hope He has uprooted like a tree. (11) He has also kindled His wrath against me, and He counts me as one of His enemies."
Bildad's comments from the last chapter, blaming Job's own ungodliness for his afflictions, has Job describing in detail that these are God's actions against him, and not a result of his own actions that deserve them.
(12) "His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tent. (13) He has put my brothers far from me, and my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. (14) My kinsfolk have failed, and my close friends have forgotten me. (15) Those who dwell in my house, and my maids, count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. (16) I called my servant, and he gave no answer; I begged him with my mouth."
None of Job's family, friends, or acquaintances have anything to do with him anymore. He must beg his servant because he no longer expects obedience; even his servants have lost all respect for him and ignore him.
(17) "My breath is loathsome to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of my own body."
This is a difficult scripture to exactly translate, but I believe the sense is that he has become loathsome to his own wife, even though he sought to appeal to her through their most intimate past relationship as parents of their children together.
(18) "Even young children despised me; I arose, and they spoke against me. (19) All my close friends abhorred me, and they whom I loved have turned against me. (20) My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped with the skin of my teeth."
At this point, Job has only barely escaped death.
(21) "Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me."
Job makes a heartfelt plea to his friends to have pity on him in his distress. He described in great detail his distress at the hand of God so that they might finally have pity on him, rather than the disdain that they and all his acquaintances now seem to have.
(22) "Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?"
Why do his friends persecute his very soul, as if they were God, knowing his heart? Are they not satisfied enough with the destruction of his body, that they must devour his soul, as well?
(23) "Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book! (24) That they were engraved with an iron pen and lead in a rock forever! (25) For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; (26) And after my skin is destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, (27) Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me."
Indeed, Job's words have been forever preserved in the pages of the Bible. This is a most beautiful passage of how, even in Job's day, through the revelation of the Holy Spirit, Job knew that even after all life was gone from him, he would see God in his own renewed body!
(28) "But you should say, 'Why persecute we him?', seeing the root of the matter is found in me?"
Then his friends will realize, although they originally thought that he was only persecuted by God for his sins, they will then see there was a deeper more important reason, that through the record of the trial of his faith and patience, he would be an example for others.
(29) "You be afraid of the sword, for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment."
His friends should heed what Job says and understand correctly what his persecution means, because God will ultimately judge their words and actions.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Man's Cold-Hearted Judgment
Continuing my Bible study on the book of Job:
(Job 18:1) Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, (2) "How long will it be till you make an end of words? Understand, and afterward we will speak."
The original word I have transcribed as "understand" above is "biyn", and the KJV translated it as "mark", but this verse is the only place in the entire Bible where that word is translated as "mark". Most of the time is means "understand" or something akin to it like "consider" or "discern". I believe the KJV translators were probably trying to give the sense of marking or targeting those words and really trying to understand them.
(3) "Why are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?"
Basically, Bildad wants to know why Job considers his friends as ignorant, stupid, and unclean or impious.
(4) "He tears himself in his anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you? And shall the rock be removed from its place?"
Bildad speaks of Job here, tearing himself in anger. He is basically asking Job if the world revolves around him; should everything be made to give way for him?
(5) "Yea, the light of the wicked will be put out, and the spark of his fire will not shine. (6) The light will be dark in his tent, and his candle will be put out with him. (7) The steps of his strength will be straitened, and his own counsel will cast him down."
Straitened, as "in straits", distressed, narrowed. His own plans will be the means of his fall.
(8) "For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks into a snare. (9) The trap will take him by the heel, and the robber will prevail against him. (10) The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the pathway. (11) Terrors will make him afraid on every side, and will drive him to his feet."
Paraphrased, that last phrase means he will take to his heels.
(12) "His strength will be hunger bitten, and destruction will be ready at his side. (13) It will devour the strength of his skin; the firstborn of death will devour his strength."
The firstborn son held the chief place; the chief of death is the most strong and violent death.
(14) "His confidence will be rooted out of his tent, and it will bring him to the king of terrors. (15) It will dwell in his tent, because it is none of his; brimstone will be scattered upon his habitation."
"It" still refers to destruction that will be his constant companion, destroying his security and terrifying him, because nothing that he had gained was really his own, or at least, it is no longer his. Brimstone is the symbol of destruction and desolation.
(16) "His roots will be dried up beneath, and above will his branch be cut off. (17) The memory of him will perish from the earth, and he will have no name in the street. (18) He will be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. (19) He will neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. (20) They who come after him will be astonished at his day, as they who went before were frightened. (21) Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know God."
In conclusion, Bildad seems to be saying that this is where Job finds himself, implying that Job is godless! Pretty rough treatment from people who are supposed to be godly friends of Job! Although his friends were religious men with head knowledge and book learning of the laws of God, they seemed to be totally ignorant of God's true nature. Their hearts were obviously not influenced by communion with God. Their arguments were an inaccurate and cold estimate of the exact justice of God. They acted like the Pharisees of the New Testament, so caught up in their laws that they missed the most important aspect of God.
(Job 18:1) Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, (2) "How long will it be till you make an end of words? Understand, and afterward we will speak."
The original word I have transcribed as "understand" above is "biyn", and the KJV translated it as "mark", but this verse is the only place in the entire Bible where that word is translated as "mark". Most of the time is means "understand" or something akin to it like "consider" or "discern". I believe the KJV translators were probably trying to give the sense of marking or targeting those words and really trying to understand them.
(3) "Why are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight?"
Basically, Bildad wants to know why Job considers his friends as ignorant, stupid, and unclean or impious.
(4) "He tears himself in his anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you? And shall the rock be removed from its place?"
Bildad speaks of Job here, tearing himself in anger. He is basically asking Job if the world revolves around him; should everything be made to give way for him?
(5) "Yea, the light of the wicked will be put out, and the spark of his fire will not shine. (6) The light will be dark in his tent, and his candle will be put out with him. (7) The steps of his strength will be straitened, and his own counsel will cast him down."
Straitened, as "in straits", distressed, narrowed. His own plans will be the means of his fall.
(8) "For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks into a snare. (9) The trap will take him by the heel, and the robber will prevail against him. (10) The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the pathway. (11) Terrors will make him afraid on every side, and will drive him to his feet."
Paraphrased, that last phrase means he will take to his heels.
(12) "His strength will be hunger bitten, and destruction will be ready at his side. (13) It will devour the strength of his skin; the firstborn of death will devour his strength."
The firstborn son held the chief place; the chief of death is the most strong and violent death.
(14) "His confidence will be rooted out of his tent, and it will bring him to the king of terrors. (15) It will dwell in his tent, because it is none of his; brimstone will be scattered upon his habitation."
"It" still refers to destruction that will be his constant companion, destroying his security and terrifying him, because nothing that he had gained was really his own, or at least, it is no longer his. Brimstone is the symbol of destruction and desolation.
(16) "His roots will be dried up beneath, and above will his branch be cut off. (17) The memory of him will perish from the earth, and he will have no name in the street. (18) He will be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. (19) He will neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. (20) They who come after him will be astonished at his day, as they who went before were frightened. (21) Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him who does not know God."
In conclusion, Bildad seems to be saying that this is where Job finds himself, implying that Job is godless! Pretty rough treatment from people who are supposed to be godly friends of Job! Although his friends were religious men with head knowledge and book learning of the laws of God, they seemed to be totally ignorant of God's true nature. Their hearts were obviously not influenced by communion with God. Their arguments were an inaccurate and cold estimate of the exact justice of God. They acted like the Pharisees of the New Testament, so caught up in their laws that they missed the most important aspect of God.
Monday, August 29, 2011
In Response to Miserable Comforters
Continuing my Bible study of Job:
(Job 16:1) Then Job answered and said, (2) "I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! (3) Shall vain words have an end? Or what emboldens you that you answer?"
With the word translated as "vain", we once again have the original word "ruach" meaning "wind; by resemblance breath". So Job believes his friends are also blowing hot air and wonders aloud if it will ever end. Because they have only empty meaningless words, what on earth emboldens them to continue trying to answer him?
(4) "I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; (5) But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should relieve your grief."
Job condemns his friends' response to him in his time of trouble. If the roles were reversed, he says he would have spoken uplifting words and would have been a help to them.
(6) "Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; and if I cease, how am I eased?"
Whether he speaks or whether he is silent, Job's sufferings continue.
(7) "But now He has made me weary; You have made desolate all my company."
Because pronouns referring to God are not capitalized in the KJV, I sometimes just have to assume which person is meant. Judging by the list of sufferings that Job begins here, I believe he is referring to God making him weary, and then he turns his comments directly to God.
(8) "And You have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me; and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face."
Job has been filled with wrinkles, not necessarily by old age, but through affliction; he has been made old before his time. This fact is being used by his friends as a witness against him as they see his afflictions as proof that he must have done something wrong. Because Job has always maintained his innocence, I believe the last part about his leanness bearing witness to his face means that Job can see for himself that he is an afflicted man, not a wicked man in fatness and covered with collops of fat, as Eliphaz had accused.
(9) "He tears me in his wrath, who hates me; he gnashes at me with his teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes upon me."
The NKJV assumes that the pronouns here are referring to God, but after reading some of the old commentaries, I disagree. Job is a righteous man who, up to this time, has not condemned or cursed God. I see no reason to believe he has started now. I believe he speaks accurately of his enemy, Satan, who seeks to devour him as a roaring lion. Throughout Job's conversation in the book of Job, you see Holy Spirit inspired glimpses into truth and God's true nature. He may question why God did this to him, but he does not condemn God for it. I believe this idea is much more in keeping with the true nature of Job as reflected in this book as a whole.
Wow! What a lesson in context! Before this study, I had a misconception about Job. Oh, I knew he was a good man, but I fell into the belief that he came to speak to God a little uncharitably, to say the least. I was probably led into this thought pattern by incorrect translations of the original Biblical text. I have previously studied how Satan entered into the process of re-translating the Bible, diminishing the character of God and Jesus Christ, and wrote about my thoughts in Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? Consider how the newer translations, including the NKJV, which is supposed to be the same as KJV only with modern words, change the whole idea of this scripture:
He tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; My adversary sharpens His gaze on me. (NKJV)
God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes. - NLT
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. - NIV
What a terrible mean picture of God these scriptures paint! But the very nature of God is love. He IS love; He can be nothing else. He is loving and merciful, and you can be certain He is ALWAYS just. While these could have been the words of a bitter man and not intended to be an accurate reflection of the true nature of God, I don't believe that is the case either. There has been nothing up to this point to indicate that Job has any such bitterness toward God. He only wonders why did these things happen to him. When you read the entire sentence, you can see that Job is speaking of the one who hates him, his enemy, and not of God:
He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. - KJV
(10) "They have gaped at me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. (11) God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked."
With these scriptures, we can see that Job only charges God with delivering him to the wicked and ungodly, but not with the wicked acts themselves.
(12) "I was at ease, but he has utterly broken me; he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; and set me up for his target."
Once again it is not perfectly clear to whom Job refers. I would feel better about assuming his intention and capitalizing the pronouns if he had said, "God has utterly broken me", etc. Since the preceding scripture stated that God had turned him over to the wicked, it might be concluded that God set him up as a target to be used by the wicked.
(13) "His archers surround me; he pierces my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground."
Once again I believe the meaning is that God has allowed the archers to strike Job. Whether "he" refers to the archer, or to God, who by allowing it, has in reality DONE it, I am not certain of Job's intention. But we get the idea! Innocent Job is being pummeled.
(14) "He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs at me like a giant."
Paraphrased, "He crushes me and then renews and repeats the attack, with great and irresistible force."
(15) "I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust."
Sackcloth is the symbol of mourning. The horn of a beast is a symbol of its power, so throwing it in the dust would be another sign of mourning.
(16) "My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; (17) Not for any injustice in my hands; also my prayer is pure."
Job reiterates his innocence.
(18) "O earth, do not cover my blood, and let my cry have no place."
Job compares himself to the murdered, and like them, he wants his innocent blood heard crying out from the earth.
(19) "Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. (20) My friends scorn me; but my eyes pour out tears to God."
I feel these lines indicate again that Job condemns his enemy and his friends, but not God. He knows that God knows the truth about him, and he will make his plea to Him.
(21) "Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor. (22) When a few years are come, then I shall go the way where I shall not return."
(Job 17:1) "My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. (2) Are there not mockers with me? And does not my eye continue in their provocation?"
The original word translated as "continue" here is "lun" which literally means to "lodge all night", so Job's sense here is that the mockers with him continue all night, never letting up.
(3) "Now put down a pledge; put me in a surety with You; who is he who will shake hands with me? (4) For You have hidden their heart from understanding; therefore You shall not exalt them."
Job turns his conversation to God. He asks that God be his surety and let his cause come before Him. Obviously, his friends cannot see the truth, so Job reasons God will not give them victory over him in this discussion; his desire is that God will judge him righteously.
(5) "He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail."
Job is probably referring to those very friends of his who do not see the truth. The word translated as "flattery" means more accurately "smoothness", so Job refers to the smooth eloquent words they spoke to him which were to him completely wrong, and therefore they were speaking deceitfully for God. Job sees this as a terrible sin, punishable to even their children, perhaps recalling how God hates "deceitful tongues" and "flattering lips".
(6) "He has made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret."
Interestingly, most of the old commentaries believe Job is talking about God here. Personally, I don't see why it isn't reasonable to believe he is continuing his thought about the one who speaks flattery with what turns out to be destructive words. He makes Job a by-word, s satire, an object of ridicule. One meaning of "paniym", the word translated as "aforetime" is "before them" rather than "a time before". The word normally translated as a tabret or a timbrel is "toph" and that means an instrument like a tambourine. Here the word is actually "topheth" which Strong's defines as "smiting" and "contempt". Perhaps the original idea was that he was hit and smote like a tabret. The sense here is that Job has been ridiculed and made an object of contempt in their presence (before them).
(7) "My eye also is dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows."
Another reason I believe that Job is talking about the man with flattering lips in verse 6 rather than about God, is that he now speaks of "my eye also" after he just spoke of the eyes of the flatterer's children. But in contrast to the children's eyes which will fail as a punishment, Job's eyes fail him because of his weeping. His members are his body parts that are probably emaciated and only shadows of what they once were.
(8) "Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the hypocrite. (9) The righteous also shall hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger."
Job probably means that upright men will be astonished at the calamities that God has allowed to come upon such an innocent man as he, but that it will make them rise up all the more against hypocrites. They will hold fast to their righteous ways and will be made stronger. It's as if Job sees his life as a testimony to others, meaning he must have some sense of assurance that whatever happens to him, he knows in the end God is just and it will work out for the best. Would he have said the same thing if he felt in his heart that God Himself had condemned and punished an innocent man? I love the Holy Spiritual insights that Job appears to get throughout the book of Job!
(10) "But as for you all, you turn back and go now; for I cannot find one wise man among you."
Job obviously does not count his friends among the upright and righteous men about whom he just spoke.
I need to clarify my transcription of the above verse. In my study notes, I prefer to use the KJV, but will sometimes use a more modern word, or look to the original meaning of the word to give me the best understanding of the sense of the verse. I do not intend to make new translations, so I will explain why my transcription of verse 10 above differs a little from the KJV:
But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
It may mean as NKJV and some commentators have supposed, that they should go and come back again with better arguments, but I disagree. Job has tired of hearing their words and has said so on many occasions. Why would he ask them to come back with more? I understand that if they were to come back with wise words, he may want to hear them. But I found something interesting in the meaning of one of the original words of this verse. The word translated as "come" is "bo" and it means "come" or "go". It has been translated as "go" as often in the Bible as it has "come", so I believe the sense is "just go away" for there is not a wise man among his friends.
(11) "My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. (12) They change the night into day; the light is short because of darkness."
Job means he is dying, there is no more purpose to his life, his thoughts incessantly pursue and disturb him day and night, and the darkness of his pain and torment darkens any light of day that may have given him comfort.
(13) "If I wait, the grave is my house; I have made my bed in the darkness. (14) I have said to corruption, 'You are my father', to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister.'"
The word translated "If" also means "when", "while", "yet", and many other similar words, so I believe the sense is continuing that idea that he is indeed going to the grave. The word translated "corruption" more literally means "pit", which is really what Job means here; he is going to the grave and he will address it with familiarity because he is now so close to it. The worm is the one that feeds upon the dead as seen in other scriptures.
(15) "And where now is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? (16) They will go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust."
All of Job's hopes will go down to the grave with him.
(Job 16:1) Then Job answered and said, (2) "I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all! (3) Shall vain words have an end? Or what emboldens you that you answer?"
With the word translated as "vain", we once again have the original word "ruach" meaning "wind; by resemblance breath". So Job believes his friends are also blowing hot air and wonders aloud if it will ever end. Because they have only empty meaningless words, what on earth emboldens them to continue trying to answer him?
(4) "I also could speak as you do, if your soul were in my soul's place. I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you; (5) But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should relieve your grief."
Job condemns his friends' response to him in his time of trouble. If the roles were reversed, he says he would have spoken uplifting words and would have been a help to them.
(6) "Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; and if I cease, how am I eased?"
Whether he speaks or whether he is silent, Job's sufferings continue.
(7) "But now He has made me weary; You have made desolate all my company."
Because pronouns referring to God are not capitalized in the KJV, I sometimes just have to assume which person is meant. Judging by the list of sufferings that Job begins here, I believe he is referring to God making him weary, and then he turns his comments directly to God.
(8) "And You have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me; and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face."
Job has been filled with wrinkles, not necessarily by old age, but through affliction; he has been made old before his time. This fact is being used by his friends as a witness against him as they see his afflictions as proof that he must have done something wrong. Because Job has always maintained his innocence, I believe the last part about his leanness bearing witness to his face means that Job can see for himself that he is an afflicted man, not a wicked man in fatness and covered with collops of fat, as Eliphaz had accused.
(9) "He tears me in his wrath, who hates me; he gnashes at me with his teeth; my enemy sharpens his eyes upon me."
The NKJV assumes that the pronouns here are referring to God, but after reading some of the old commentaries, I disagree. Job is a righteous man who, up to this time, has not condemned or cursed God. I see no reason to believe he has started now. I believe he speaks accurately of his enemy, Satan, who seeks to devour him as a roaring lion. Throughout Job's conversation in the book of Job, you see Holy Spirit inspired glimpses into truth and God's true nature. He may question why God did this to him, but he does not condemn God for it. I believe this idea is much more in keeping with the true nature of Job as reflected in this book as a whole.
Wow! What a lesson in context! Before this study, I had a misconception about Job. Oh, I knew he was a good man, but I fell into the belief that he came to speak to God a little uncharitably, to say the least. I was probably led into this thought pattern by incorrect translations of the original Biblical text. I have previously studied how Satan entered into the process of re-translating the Bible, diminishing the character of God and Jesus Christ, and wrote about my thoughts in Which Version of the Truth Will You Use? Consider how the newer translations, including the NKJV, which is supposed to be the same as KJV only with modern words, change the whole idea of this scripture:
He tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; My adversary sharpens His gaze on me. (NKJV)
God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes. - NLT
God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me; my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes. - NIV
What a terrible mean picture of God these scriptures paint! But the very nature of God is love. He IS love; He can be nothing else. He is loving and merciful, and you can be certain He is ALWAYS just. While these could have been the words of a bitter man and not intended to be an accurate reflection of the true nature of God, I don't believe that is the case either. There has been nothing up to this point to indicate that Job has any such bitterness toward God. He only wonders why did these things happen to him. When you read the entire sentence, you can see that Job is speaking of the one who hates him, his enemy, and not of God:
He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. - KJV
(10) "They have gaped at me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. (11) God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked."
With these scriptures, we can see that Job only charges God with delivering him to the wicked and ungodly, but not with the wicked acts themselves.
(12) "I was at ease, but he has utterly broken me; he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; and set me up for his target."
Once again it is not perfectly clear to whom Job refers. I would feel better about assuming his intention and capitalizing the pronouns if he had said, "God has utterly broken me", etc. Since the preceding scripture stated that God had turned him over to the wicked, it might be concluded that God set him up as a target to be used by the wicked.
(13) "His archers surround me; he pierces my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground."
Once again I believe the meaning is that God has allowed the archers to strike Job. Whether "he" refers to the archer, or to God, who by allowing it, has in reality DONE it, I am not certain of Job's intention. But we get the idea! Innocent Job is being pummeled.
(14) "He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs at me like a giant."
Paraphrased, "He crushes me and then renews and repeats the attack, with great and irresistible force."
(15) "I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust."
Sackcloth is the symbol of mourning. The horn of a beast is a symbol of its power, so throwing it in the dust would be another sign of mourning.
(16) "My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; (17) Not for any injustice in my hands; also my prayer is pure."
Job reiterates his innocence.
(18) "O earth, do not cover my blood, and let my cry have no place."
Job compares himself to the murdered, and like them, he wants his innocent blood heard crying out from the earth.
(19) "Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. (20) My friends scorn me; but my eyes pour out tears to God."
I feel these lines indicate again that Job condemns his enemy and his friends, but not God. He knows that God knows the truth about him, and he will make his plea to Him.
(21) "Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor. (22) When a few years are come, then I shall go the way where I shall not return."
(Job 17:1) "My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. (2) Are there not mockers with me? And does not my eye continue in their provocation?"
The original word translated as "continue" here is "lun" which literally means to "lodge all night", so Job's sense here is that the mockers with him continue all night, never letting up.
(3) "Now put down a pledge; put me in a surety with You; who is he who will shake hands with me? (4) For You have hidden their heart from understanding; therefore You shall not exalt them."
Job turns his conversation to God. He asks that God be his surety and let his cause come before Him. Obviously, his friends cannot see the truth, so Job reasons God will not give them victory over him in this discussion; his desire is that God will judge him righteously.
(5) "He who speaks flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children will fail."
Job is probably referring to those very friends of his who do not see the truth. The word translated as "flattery" means more accurately "smoothness", so Job refers to the smooth eloquent words they spoke to him which were to him completely wrong, and therefore they were speaking deceitfully for God. Job sees this as a terrible sin, punishable to even their children, perhaps recalling how God hates "deceitful tongues" and "flattering lips".
(6) "He has made me also a byword of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret."
Interestingly, most of the old commentaries believe Job is talking about God here. Personally, I don't see why it isn't reasonable to believe he is continuing his thought about the one who speaks flattery with what turns out to be destructive words. He makes Job a by-word, s satire, an object of ridicule. One meaning of "paniym", the word translated as "aforetime" is "before them" rather than "a time before". The word normally translated as a tabret or a timbrel is "toph" and that means an instrument like a tambourine. Here the word is actually "topheth" which Strong's defines as "smiting" and "contempt". Perhaps the original idea was that he was hit and smote like a tabret. The sense here is that Job has been ridiculed and made an object of contempt in their presence (before them).
(7) "My eye also is dim because of sorrow, and all my members are like shadows."
Another reason I believe that Job is talking about the man with flattering lips in verse 6 rather than about God, is that he now speaks of "my eye also" after he just spoke of the eyes of the flatterer's children. But in contrast to the children's eyes which will fail as a punishment, Job's eyes fail him because of his weeping. His members are his body parts that are probably emaciated and only shadows of what they once were.
(8) "Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir himself up against the hypocrite. (9) The righteous also shall hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger."
Job probably means that upright men will be astonished at the calamities that God has allowed to come upon such an innocent man as he, but that it will make them rise up all the more against hypocrites. They will hold fast to their righteous ways and will be made stronger. It's as if Job sees his life as a testimony to others, meaning he must have some sense of assurance that whatever happens to him, he knows in the end God is just and it will work out for the best. Would he have said the same thing if he felt in his heart that God Himself had condemned and punished an innocent man? I love the Holy Spiritual insights that Job appears to get throughout the book of Job!
(10) "But as for you all, you turn back and go now; for I cannot find one wise man among you."
Job obviously does not count his friends among the upright and righteous men about whom he just spoke.
I need to clarify my transcription of the above verse. In my study notes, I prefer to use the KJV, but will sometimes use a more modern word, or look to the original meaning of the word to give me the best understanding of the sense of the verse. I do not intend to make new translations, so I will explain why my transcription of verse 10 above differs a little from the KJV:
But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.
It may mean as NKJV and some commentators have supposed, that they should go and come back again with better arguments, but I disagree. Job has tired of hearing their words and has said so on many occasions. Why would he ask them to come back with more? I understand that if they were to come back with wise words, he may want to hear them. But I found something interesting in the meaning of one of the original words of this verse. The word translated as "come" is "bo" and it means "come" or "go". It has been translated as "go" as often in the Bible as it has "come", so I believe the sense is "just go away" for there is not a wise man among his friends.
(11) "My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. (12) They change the night into day; the light is short because of darkness."
Job means he is dying, there is no more purpose to his life, his thoughts incessantly pursue and disturb him day and night, and the darkness of his pain and torment darkens any light of day that may have given him comfort.
(13) "If I wait, the grave is my house; I have made my bed in the darkness. (14) I have said to corruption, 'You are my father', to the worm, 'You are my mother and my sister.'"
The word translated "If" also means "when", "while", "yet", and many other similar words, so I believe the sense is continuing that idea that he is indeed going to the grave. The word translated "corruption" more literally means "pit", which is really what Job means here; he is going to the grave and he will address it with familiarity because he is now so close to it. The worm is the one that feeds upon the dead as seen in other scriptures.
(15) "And where now is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? (16) They will go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust."
All of Job's hopes will go down to the grave with him.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Continuing Saga of How NOT to Comfort a Friend in Distress
Back to my study of Job, continuing in chapter 15:
(Job 15:1) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, (2) "Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?"
The word translated as "vain" in the KJV is translated as "empty" in NKJV. Both are good attempts at the exact translation, but actually the word "ruach" means to blow as the wind or breath. In our day and time, Eliphaz would be saying that Job is blowing hot air! And in their part of the world, the east wind was tempestuous and the most destructive. Eliphaz reiterates that Job is full of boisterous hot air at the least, perhaps even destructive. Once again we see a friend of Job's on the attack and not very gentle in his criticisms, again illustrating how NOT to comfort a friend in distress.
(3) "Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good? (4) Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God."
The word translated as "cast off" more completely means "break up" and "make void". Fear is the reverential fear of God, so Eliphaz insinuates that Job through his speeches and principles, has made void reverence to God and made prayer (more completely, devotion to God) useless and unprofitable to men.
(5) "For your mouth utters your iniquity, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. (6) Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. (7) Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?"
Paraphrased, "Have you been here since the beginning?", implying that would have given Job greater knowledge and wisdom.
(8) "Have you heard the secret of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? (9) What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? (10) Both the gray-headed and very aged men are among us, much older than your father."
Once again the implication is that the older and the further back in time one lived, the wiser he was. There were older and thus wiser men among Job's friends than Job and what he could have learned from his father.
(11) "Are the consolations of God small with you? Is there any secret thing with you?"
Paraphrased, "Are the mercies of God of little value to you? Do you have a better way known only to you?"
(12) "Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, (13) That you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?"
Eliphaz is accusing Job of being prideful, carried away by his own pride, winking at his own sin, and turning against God, speaking such rash words.
(14) "What is man, that he should be clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? (15) Behold, God puts no trust in His saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in His sight. (16) How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?"
The word translated as "saints" here means sacred or holy ones, angels. So if even the angels and the heavens are not perfect and pure compared to God, how much less is mortal sinful man!
(17) "I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; (18) What wise men have told as received from their fathers, and have not hidden anything, (19) To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them."
Eliphaz declares he will set Job straight with the wisdom of their fathers who were first given the land by God Himself, pure godly wisdom not corrupted by foreign philosophy.
(20) "The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor."
The wicked man is a man of constant sorrows living a life of uncertainty, not knowing when or what his end will be.
(21) "A dreadful sound is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. (22) He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, for a sword is waiting for him. (23) He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. (24) Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready for battle. (25) For he stretches out his hand against God, and strengthens himself against the Almighty, (26) Running upon Him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers."
Whew! That last one is difficult. Not sure whose neck is referenced, whether the proud erect neck of the wicked one with his mighty shield charging against God, or if he is charging stubbornly into God's mighty shield. Either way, we have a picture of the wicked one who never has peace and security because he has chosen a path against God.
(27) "Because he covers his face with his fatness, and makes collops of fat on his flanks,"
Collops are slices of meat, so he "packs on the flesh". The sense here is that he lives an indulgent life, forgetting God.
(28) "And he dwells in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabits, which are ready to become heaps."
Thus begins a listing of the consequences because of the wicked one's opposition to God. Eliphaz, in his way, is probably outlining the sequence of events that have happened to Job and is explaining why they happened to him.
(29) "He will not be rich, neither will his wealth continue, nor it spread upon the earth. (30) He will not depart out of darkness; the flame will dry up his branches, and by the breath of His mouth he will go away."
Because the pronouns are not capitalized in the Old Testament, I am assuming as did the NKJV translators and the old commentators, that the last "His" refers to God.
(31) "Let him who is deceived not trust in vanity, for vanity will be his reward."
Every wicked man is deceived, either by Satan or by his own selfish heart. Anyone who trusts in anything other than God will be rewarded with only vanity or emptiness.
(32) "It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not be green. (33) He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive."
Emptiness as his reward will occur sooner than it might have by the natural course of nature. Once again, I believe the "He" here refers to God who will shake off all that was dear and valuable to the wicked man.
(34) "For the company of hypocrites will be desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. (35) They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepares deceit."
Some nasty final accusations of Eliphaz are that Job is a hypocrite and may have taken bribes, calling down the fire of God. The final verse may be a picture of birth. Satan sows the seed of wickedness with his deception, and the wicked man or hypocrite conceives mischief, brings forth only vanity and emptiness, more accurately, death. Sin brings forth death. This is a picture of the deceptive and fruitless birth of the wicked.
(Job 15:1) Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, (2) "Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?"
The word translated as "vain" in the KJV is translated as "empty" in NKJV. Both are good attempts at the exact translation, but actually the word "ruach" means to blow as the wind or breath. In our day and time, Eliphaz would be saying that Job is blowing hot air! And in their part of the world, the east wind was tempestuous and the most destructive. Eliphaz reiterates that Job is full of boisterous hot air at the least, perhaps even destructive. Once again we see a friend of Job's on the attack and not very gentle in his criticisms, again illustrating how NOT to comfort a friend in distress.
(3) "Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good? (4) Yes, you cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God."
The word translated as "cast off" more completely means "break up" and "make void". Fear is the reverential fear of God, so Eliphaz insinuates that Job through his speeches and principles, has made void reverence to God and made prayer (more completely, devotion to God) useless and unprofitable to men.
(5) "For your mouth utters your iniquity, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. (6) Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you. (7) Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?"
Paraphrased, "Have you been here since the beginning?", implying that would have given Job greater knowledge and wisdom.
(8) "Have you heard the secret of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? (9) What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? (10) Both the gray-headed and very aged men are among us, much older than your father."
Once again the implication is that the older and the further back in time one lived, the wiser he was. There were older and thus wiser men among Job's friends than Job and what he could have learned from his father.
(11) "Are the consolations of God small with you? Is there any secret thing with you?"
Paraphrased, "Are the mercies of God of little value to you? Do you have a better way known only to you?"
(12) "Why does your heart carry you away, and what do your eyes wink at, (13) That you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?"
Eliphaz is accusing Job of being prideful, carried away by his own pride, winking at his own sin, and turning against God, speaking such rash words.
(14) "What is man, that he should be clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? (15) Behold, God puts no trust in His saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in His sight. (16) How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinks iniquity like water?"
The word translated as "saints" here means sacred or holy ones, angels. So if even the angels and the heavens are not perfect and pure compared to God, how much less is mortal sinful man!
(17) "I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; (18) What wise men have told as received from their fathers, and have not hidden anything, (19) To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them."
Eliphaz declares he will set Job straight with the wisdom of their fathers who were first given the land by God Himself, pure godly wisdom not corrupted by foreign philosophy.
(20) "The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor."
The wicked man is a man of constant sorrows living a life of uncertainty, not knowing when or what his end will be.
(21) "A dreadful sound is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. (22) He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, for a sword is waiting for him. (23) He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. (24) Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready for battle. (25) For he stretches out his hand against God, and strengthens himself against the Almighty, (26) Running upon Him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers."
Whew! That last one is difficult. Not sure whose neck is referenced, whether the proud erect neck of the wicked one with his mighty shield charging against God, or if he is charging stubbornly into God's mighty shield. Either way, we have a picture of the wicked one who never has peace and security because he has chosen a path against God.
(27) "Because he covers his face with his fatness, and makes collops of fat on his flanks,"
Collops are slices of meat, so he "packs on the flesh". The sense here is that he lives an indulgent life, forgetting God.
(28) "And he dwells in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabits, which are ready to become heaps."
Thus begins a listing of the consequences because of the wicked one's opposition to God. Eliphaz, in his way, is probably outlining the sequence of events that have happened to Job and is explaining why they happened to him.
(29) "He will not be rich, neither will his wealth continue, nor it spread upon the earth. (30) He will not depart out of darkness; the flame will dry up his branches, and by the breath of His mouth he will go away."
Because the pronouns are not capitalized in the Old Testament, I am assuming as did the NKJV translators and the old commentators, that the last "His" refers to God.
(31) "Let him who is deceived not trust in vanity, for vanity will be his reward."
Every wicked man is deceived, either by Satan or by his own selfish heart. Anyone who trusts in anything other than God will be rewarded with only vanity or emptiness.
(32) "It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not be green. (33) He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive."
Emptiness as his reward will occur sooner than it might have by the natural course of nature. Once again, I believe the "He" here refers to God who will shake off all that was dear and valuable to the wicked man.
(34) "For the company of hypocrites will be desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. (35) They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepares deceit."
Some nasty final accusations of Eliphaz are that Job is a hypocrite and may have taken bribes, calling down the fire of God. The final verse may be a picture of birth. Satan sows the seed of wickedness with his deception, and the wicked man or hypocrite conceives mischief, brings forth only vanity and emptiness, more accurately, death. Sin brings forth death. This is a picture of the deceptive and fruitless birth of the wicked.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Thankfully, The Lord MAKES Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
Like everyone else in this crazy world in these end times, I have been bombarded with trials lately. They have taken me away from my Bible study, from my "rest". The 23rd Psalm was recently brought back to my remembrance....hmmm, by Whom, I wonder? :-)
I have been able to appreciate that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that He fulfills my needs; there is nothing more I should ever want or need. I know He is the only One Who can really restore my soul. I have come to know that only by spending time in the Word of God and in prayer can I calm the storms of my life. But sometimes things are just so hectic and time seems too short to take the necessary time to be with Him. That's when He MAKES me lie down in those green pastures!
Have you ever wondered about that terminology that He MAKES us lie down? I knew I needed His rest, but I woke up this morning with a desire to learn more about the fact that He MAKES me take that rest.
As I have stated in articles before, I like to study the old commentaries and study guides and references. In the past 100 years or so, I believe the teachings have gone astray with more liberal ideas. I prefer conservative teachings taken straight from the Word of God itself.
It was interesting that I could not initially get much information on the word translated as "maketh" in verse 2 of the 23rd Psalm:
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."
Concordances and lexicons seemed to lump "He maketh me to lie down" into one word "rabats", meaning "crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit". So there is a sense that the word can mean more than voluntarily lying down or resting; it can mean "caused to or made to lie down".
Most of the old commentaries reflected more on the restful words of the second verse of the 23rd Psalm. Green pastures and still waters: cool, refreshing, still, and restful. One commentary, The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), reflected beautifully on the "maketh" part of that scripture:
"But observe: 'He maketh me to lie down.' It is the Lord who graciously enables us to perceive the preciousness of his truth, and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be for the power to appropriate the promises! There are some distracted souls who would give worlds if they could but do this. They know the blessedness of it, but they cannot say that this blessedness is theirs. They know the 'green pastures,' but they are not made to 'lie down' in them. Those believers who have for years enjoyed a 'full assurance of faith' should greatly bless their gracious God."
I DO thank my sweet Lord for making me lie down, reminding me HIMSELF of His Word and His promises continually. He has been there constantly. Even as I feel I am being attacked, I can feel His presence and see His blessings in the midst of it. I know He is with me:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
From the 4th verse, we know that our Lord's rod and staff are constantly guiding us and leading us, even in the very midst of our trials, and I do know that firsthand.
But today I am marveling in the fact that my Lord MADE me stop and rest in Him! He alone restores my soul! Praise the Lord!
I have been able to appreciate that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that He fulfills my needs; there is nothing more I should ever want or need. I know He is the only One Who can really restore my soul. I have come to know that only by spending time in the Word of God and in prayer can I calm the storms of my life. But sometimes things are just so hectic and time seems too short to take the necessary time to be with Him. That's when He MAKES me lie down in those green pastures!
Have you ever wondered about that terminology that He MAKES us lie down? I knew I needed His rest, but I woke up this morning with a desire to learn more about the fact that He MAKES me take that rest.
As I have stated in articles before, I like to study the old commentaries and study guides and references. In the past 100 years or so, I believe the teachings have gone astray with more liberal ideas. I prefer conservative teachings taken straight from the Word of God itself.
It was interesting that I could not initially get much information on the word translated as "maketh" in verse 2 of the 23rd Psalm:
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."
Concordances and lexicons seemed to lump "He maketh me to lie down" into one word "rabats", meaning "crouch (down), fall down, make a fold, lay (cause to, make to) lie (down), make to rest, sit". So there is a sense that the word can mean more than voluntarily lying down or resting; it can mean "caused to or made to lie down".
Most of the old commentaries reflected more on the restful words of the second verse of the 23rd Psalm. Green pastures and still waters: cool, refreshing, still, and restful. One commentary, The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), reflected beautifully on the "maketh" part of that scripture:
"But observe: 'He maketh me to lie down.' It is the Lord who graciously enables us to perceive the preciousness of his truth, and to feed upon it. How grateful ought we to be for the power to appropriate the promises! There are some distracted souls who would give worlds if they could but do this. They know the blessedness of it, but they cannot say that this blessedness is theirs. They know the 'green pastures,' but they are not made to 'lie down' in them. Those believers who have for years enjoyed a 'full assurance of faith' should greatly bless their gracious God."
I DO thank my sweet Lord for making me lie down, reminding me HIMSELF of His Word and His promises continually. He has been there constantly. Even as I feel I am being attacked, I can feel His presence and see His blessings in the midst of it. I know He is with me:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."
From the 4th verse, we know that our Lord's rod and staff are constantly guiding us and leading us, even in the very midst of our trials, and I do know that firsthand.
But today I am marveling in the fact that my Lord MADE me stop and rest in Him! He alone restores my soul! Praise the Lord!
Monday, July 25, 2011
"Man Born of Woman Is of Few Days and Full of Trouble"
Continuing a study of Job, Job is still speaking from Chapter 13, and speaking to God.
(Job 14:1) "Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. (2) He comes forth like a flower and is cut down; he flees also like a shadow and does not continue. (3) And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself?"
Continuing with Job's point from the last passage in the last study, that God must be keeping a severe and very detailed record of him since his youth, he asks in so many words, if one so frail as man warrants such constant watching and judging by almighty God?
(4) "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one."
Job may be referring to the natural sinful nature of man, indicating there will always be something to record about Job, because he is after all, a sinful man. God would know this, so why so much attention now?
(5) "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits that he cannot pass. (6) Turn from him, that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day."
Since life is short as determined by God, and every man eventually comes to the end and must die, Job asks if he might be allowed to die in peace with God ceasing to afflict him.
(7) "For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease. (8) Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, (9) Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. (10) But man dies and wastes away; yes, man breathes his last and where is he?"
Job speaks here about his present earthly life. Unlike a tree that may be dead but may sprout again when cut down, man cannot "sprout again" when he dies.
(11) "As the waters disappear from the sea, and the stream decays and dries up, (12) So man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused out of their sleep. (13) Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!"
This is an indication that Job knows he will eventually be resurrected in the end. He would be hidden away in his grave till the visible heavens are no more, and God remembers him on that day. I don't think Job is asking "if" God will please remember him on that day, but rather continuing with the plea that God just let him die in peace "until" he remembers him on that day.
(14) "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes. (15) You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands."
Job is looking forward to the future when God will call him at the time of his resurrection.
(16) "For now You number my steps, do you not watch over my sin? (17) My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You sew up my iniquity."
This may be a reference back to Job's statements about God keeping a severe record of every one of his steps. His transgressions are sealed up and stored in God's memory.
(18) "But as the mountain falls and crumbles away, and as the rock is moved from its place; (19) The waters wear the stones; You wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and You destroy the hope of man."
As Job obviously knows there will be a resurrection, I believe he is speaking here of the plans of mortal man. No mortal man is guaranteed a tomorrow.
(20) "You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away."
Again perhaps a reference to the fact that God watches every movement of man during his entire lifetime, and then he is changed to a dead man and "sent away".
(21) "His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; and they are brought low, but he does not perceive it. (22) But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn."
This may be Job's summation of the state of man. The sum of the life of man is pain of body and distress of soul. Although he is honored and mourned after his death, he doesn't know it. He died knowing only his pain and suffering during his lifetime.
(Job 14:1) "Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. (2) He comes forth like a flower and is cut down; he flees also like a shadow and does not continue. (3) And do You open Your eyes on such a one, and bring me to judgment with Yourself?"
Continuing with Job's point from the last passage in the last study, that God must be keeping a severe and very detailed record of him since his youth, he asks in so many words, if one so frail as man warrants such constant watching and judging by almighty God?
(4) "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one."
Job may be referring to the natural sinful nature of man, indicating there will always be something to record about Job, because he is after all, a sinful man. God would know this, so why so much attention now?
(5) "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits that he cannot pass. (6) Turn from him, that he may rest, till like a hired man he finishes his day."
Since life is short as determined by God, and every man eventually comes to the end and must die, Job asks if he might be allowed to die in peace with God ceasing to afflict him.
(7) "For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease. (8) Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, (9) Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. (10) But man dies and wastes away; yes, man breathes his last and where is he?"
Job speaks here about his present earthly life. Unlike a tree that may be dead but may sprout again when cut down, man cannot "sprout again" when he dies.
(11) "As the waters disappear from the sea, and the stream decays and dries up, (12) So man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused out of their sleep. (13) Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!"
This is an indication that Job knows he will eventually be resurrected in the end. He would be hidden away in his grave till the visible heavens are no more, and God remembers him on that day. I don't think Job is asking "if" God will please remember him on that day, but rather continuing with the plea that God just let him die in peace "until" he remembers him on that day.
(14) "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes. (15) You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands."
Job is looking forward to the future when God will call him at the time of his resurrection.
(16) "For now You number my steps, do you not watch over my sin? (17) My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You sew up my iniquity."
This may be a reference back to Job's statements about God keeping a severe record of every one of his steps. His transgressions are sealed up and stored in God's memory.
(18) "But as the mountain falls and crumbles away, and as the rock is moved from its place; (19) The waters wear the stones; You wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and You destroy the hope of man."
As Job obviously knows there will be a resurrection, I believe he is speaking here of the plans of mortal man. No mortal man is guaranteed a tomorrow.
(20) "You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away."
Again perhaps a reference to the fact that God watches every movement of man during his entire lifetime, and then he is changed to a dead man and "sent away".
(21) "His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; and they are brought low, but he does not perceive it. (22) But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn."
This may be Job's summation of the state of man. The sum of the life of man is pain of body and distress of soul. Although he is honored and mourned after his death, he doesn't know it. He died knowing only his pain and suffering during his lifetime.
Friday, July 22, 2011
A Lesson in Judging Not
Continuing with a Bible study of Job, Job answers his friends who accuse him of being guilty of sin in order for God to bring such calamity on him.
(Job 12:1) And Job answered and said, (2) "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you."
Job begins with a little sarcasm, that his friends must be the only wise men in the world!
(3) "But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?"
Job says that he understands the things they speak of as well as they do; who wouldn't know those things? Job knows in his heart that his situation is not the clear-cut black and white case of "you reap what you sow" that his friends try to make it. Actually, the word translated "understanding" here also means "the heart". In this speech, Job wants his friends to really understand his heart, the way God judges people.
(4) "I am like one mocked by his neighbor, who called upon God, and He answered him; the just upright man is ridiculed."
Job feels mocked by his friends and neighbors, godly men who converse with God. Although he is a just upright man, he is mocked and ridiculed.
(5) "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease."
This is a rather difficult scripture to understand. The general consensus among the early commentaries is that the idea here is that when a man is in prosperity, as with a blazing torch, he is regarded as a guide, example, or light. But when he slips into adversity, he is regarded as an almost extinguished lamp that is now held in contempt and cast away. I'm not sure that explains the one "that is at ease". Maybe he that rests no longer needs the lamp and tosses it aside, just as someone who used to be in high regard, is tossed aside when he falls into adversity.
(6) "The tents of robbers prosper, and they who provoke God are secure, into whose hand God brings abundantly."
Job uses this fact to refute his friends' assertions that the wicked do not prosper. They often DO seem to prosper in this world, therefore prosperity and adversity can be no measures for man's spiritual state or righteousness.
(7) "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (8) Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. (9) Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, (10) In Whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?"
Job may be making a dig at Zophar's lofty statement that no one can know God. In so many words, he says you need not go to heaven, you need not go to hell, as Zophar had insinuated, but just look around you in all of nature. Even the animals have as much wisdom as his friends appear to have!
(11) "Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? (12) Wisdom is with the ancient, and with length of days, understanding. (13) With Him are wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding."
Job may be saying here that while it is true that wisdom comes from age and experience, these things cannot be taken without question. They should be tested and proven, because after all, God is the only One with true and complete wisdom and understanding.
(14) "Behold, He breaks down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. (15) Behold, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; also He sends them out, and they overwhelm the earth. (16) With Him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His."
God is almighty, and basically, everything in opposition to Him is powerless.
(17) "He leads counselors away plundered, and makes the judges fools. (18) He loosens the bonds of kings, and binds their waist with a belt."
In other words, He takes away their authority and allows them to be bound as captives.
(19) "He leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. (20) He removes the speech of the trusty, and takes away the understanding of the aged. (21) He pours contempt on princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. (22) He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings to light the shadow of death."
Not only is everything powerless to Him, but nothing can be hidden from Him.
(23) "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. (24) He takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. (25) They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man."
(Job 13:1) "Behold, my eye has seen all this; my ear has heard and understood it. (2) What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you."
Job's friends have told him nothing new. He knows as much as they do about the things they have spoken about up to this point.
(3) "But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. (4) But you are forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians. (5) O that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom."
His friends are no help, and Job wishes they would just be quiet; he desires to speak to God Himself!
(6) "Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. (7) Will you speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for Him? (8) Will you accept His person? Will you contend for God?"
Job is asking his friends if they speak for God, but he obviously views what they have been saying as "wicked" and untrue.
(9) "Is it good that He should search you out? Or as one man mocks another, do you so mock Him? (10) He will surely rebuke you if you secretly show partiality."
Paraphrased, "So you act for God, but what if He were to really search your hearts? You mock Him with your empty speeches! He will surely rebuke you!" Showing partiality or being a respecter of persons means judging a person either favorably or unfavorably without evidence. Job is undoubtedly referring to himself being judged unjustly by his friends.
(11) "Will not His excellence make you afraid, and the dread of Him fall upon you?"
Paraphrased, "Does not the awe and magnificence of Him and the terror He can wield not make you afraid?"
(12) "Your mementos are like ashes, your bodies like bodies of clay. (13) Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what may. (14) Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hands?"
Verse 14 is a little difficult to understand, but in light of what Job has been saying, I believe what is meant in the last passage is loosely, "You, my friends, offer nothing, so be quiet and leave me alone. I will speak my part, whatever the consequences, putting my life on the line, come what may."
(15) "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will defend my own ways before Him. (16) He also shall be my salvation, for a hypocrite shall not come before Him."
No matter what God does to him, Job trusts his Savior completely. It is obvious that Job also feels in his heart that he is completely innocent of hypocrisy, for he knows he could not come before Him if he was a hypocrite.
This is a very good lesson and such an important thing for us to remember; only God knows the heart of a man. It's easy for us to judge. Job's friends, who were obviously good religious men, judged the situation by the "rules" they had been taught, especially, "You reap what you sow"; therefore, Job must be guilty, even if he did not know it. Again I say, what a beautiful lesson! I think "judge not" is taken to an extreme in this day and age and used to excuse anything and everything, including those things immoral and against God. We are told in scripture to judge righteously, and to judge evil. We are to judge the fruits of a man. And we tell the truth in love. However, in this case, there had been no evil fruit of Job's to judge. Had his friends seen Job doing wrong, they could have shown him the error of his ways, telling him the truth in love. But they went too far, and seeing no evil fruit, they proceeded to judge Job's heart. I truly believe this is what is meant by "Judge not". We are to judge the evil actions, but only God can judge the motives of the heart. And we can be sure that if a person's heart is truly seeking after God, then He will lead them to the truth. Think of Saul who persecuted the Christians. He truly believed he was doing the work of God, and God showed him the truth of his ways, and he became a follower of Christ.
(17) "Listen carefully to my speech, and to my declaration with your ears. (18) See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be justified."
Continuing with the thought that only God judges the heart, I believe that is what Job is trying to get his friends to do, "Really listen and really hear what I am saying."
(19) "Who is he who will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall perish."
Who will contend with Job now, for he has set his cause before God. Perhaps Job feels he must defend himself or burst. It's hard to exactly discern the meaning of this scripture. Maybe Job feels if he didn't defend himself, he would be condemned to death because no one else would defend him.
(20) "Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You:"
Now Job directs his comments to God:
(21) "Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. (22) Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You answer me. (23) How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. (24) Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy?"
Job asks that God not terrify him with His awesome power, but let him speak with Him. He asks God to show him his transgressions and to tell him why he has lost favor with God.
(25) "Will You break a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue the dry stubble?"
In comparison to God's awesome power, Job is like a dried up leaf blowing in the wind.
(26) "For You write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth."
To Job, it seems God must have kept a record of his sins from his youth and indiscretion before he had understanding of God's laws.
(27) "You put my feet also in the stocks, and watch closely all my paths. You set a print on the soles of my feet. (28) And he, as a rotten thing, decays, as a garment that is moth eaten."
Continuing with his thought that God must have kept a very close record of every small thing he did in his youth, he feels He has watched and kept a record of every step. Then Job speaks of himself in the third person, describing his demise under such a severe record from the awesome God.
(Job 12:1) And Job answered and said, (2) "No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you."
Job begins with a little sarcasm, that his friends must be the only wise men in the world!
(3) "But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these?"
Job says that he understands the things they speak of as well as they do; who wouldn't know those things? Job knows in his heart that his situation is not the clear-cut black and white case of "you reap what you sow" that his friends try to make it. Actually, the word translated "understanding" here also means "the heart". In this speech, Job wants his friends to really understand his heart, the way God judges people.
(4) "I am like one mocked by his neighbor, who called upon God, and He answered him; the just upright man is ridiculed."
Job feels mocked by his friends and neighbors, godly men who converse with God. Although he is a just upright man, he is mocked and ridiculed.
(5) "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease."
This is a rather difficult scripture to understand. The general consensus among the early commentaries is that the idea here is that when a man is in prosperity, as with a blazing torch, he is regarded as a guide, example, or light. But when he slips into adversity, he is regarded as an almost extinguished lamp that is now held in contempt and cast away. I'm not sure that explains the one "that is at ease". Maybe he that rests no longer needs the lamp and tosses it aside, just as someone who used to be in high regard, is tossed aside when he falls into adversity.
(6) "The tents of robbers prosper, and they who provoke God are secure, into whose hand God brings abundantly."
Job uses this fact to refute his friends' assertions that the wicked do not prosper. They often DO seem to prosper in this world, therefore prosperity and adversity can be no measures for man's spiritual state or righteousness.
(7) "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (8) Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. (9) Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, (10) In Whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?"
Job may be making a dig at Zophar's lofty statement that no one can know God. In so many words, he says you need not go to heaven, you need not go to hell, as Zophar had insinuated, but just look around you in all of nature. Even the animals have as much wisdom as his friends appear to have!
(11) "Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? (12) Wisdom is with the ancient, and with length of days, understanding. (13) With Him are wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding."
Job may be saying here that while it is true that wisdom comes from age and experience, these things cannot be taken without question. They should be tested and proven, because after all, God is the only One with true and complete wisdom and understanding.
(14) "Behold, He breaks down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts up a man, and there can be no opening. (15) Behold, He withholds the waters, and they dry up; also He sends them out, and they overwhelm the earth. (16) With Him are strength and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His."
God is almighty, and basically, everything in opposition to Him is powerless.
(17) "He leads counselors away plundered, and makes the judges fools. (18) He loosens the bonds of kings, and binds their waist with a belt."
In other words, He takes away their authority and allows them to be bound as captives.
(19) "He leads princes away plundered, and overthrows the mighty. (20) He removes the speech of the trusty, and takes away the understanding of the aged. (21) He pours contempt on princes, and weakens the strength of the mighty. (22) He uncovers deep things out of darkness, and brings to light the shadow of death."
Not only is everything powerless to Him, but nothing can be hidden from Him.
(23) "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. (24) He takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. (25) They grope in the dark without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man."
(Job 13:1) "Behold, my eye has seen all this; my ear has heard and understood it. (2) What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you."
Job's friends have told him nothing new. He knows as much as they do about the things they have spoken about up to this point.
(3) "But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. (4) But you are forgers of lies, you are all worthless physicians. (5) O that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom."
His friends are no help, and Job wishes they would just be quiet; he desires to speak to God Himself!
(6) "Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. (7) Will you speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for Him? (8) Will you accept His person? Will you contend for God?"
Job is asking his friends if they speak for God, but he obviously views what they have been saying as "wicked" and untrue.
(9) "Is it good that He should search you out? Or as one man mocks another, do you so mock Him? (10) He will surely rebuke you if you secretly show partiality."
Paraphrased, "So you act for God, but what if He were to really search your hearts? You mock Him with your empty speeches! He will surely rebuke you!" Showing partiality or being a respecter of persons means judging a person either favorably or unfavorably without evidence. Job is undoubtedly referring to himself being judged unjustly by his friends.
(11) "Will not His excellence make you afraid, and the dread of Him fall upon you?"
Paraphrased, "Does not the awe and magnificence of Him and the terror He can wield not make you afraid?"
(12) "Your mementos are like ashes, your bodies like bodies of clay. (13) Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what may. (14) Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hands?"
Verse 14 is a little difficult to understand, but in light of what Job has been saying, I believe what is meant in the last passage is loosely, "You, my friends, offer nothing, so be quiet and leave me alone. I will speak my part, whatever the consequences, putting my life on the line, come what may."
(15) "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will defend my own ways before Him. (16) He also shall be my salvation, for a hypocrite shall not come before Him."
No matter what God does to him, Job trusts his Savior completely. It is obvious that Job also feels in his heart that he is completely innocent of hypocrisy, for he knows he could not come before Him if he was a hypocrite.
This is a very good lesson and such an important thing for us to remember; only God knows the heart of a man. It's easy for us to judge. Job's friends, who were obviously good religious men, judged the situation by the "rules" they had been taught, especially, "You reap what you sow"; therefore, Job must be guilty, even if he did not know it. Again I say, what a beautiful lesson! I think "judge not" is taken to an extreme in this day and age and used to excuse anything and everything, including those things immoral and against God. We are told in scripture to judge righteously, and to judge evil. We are to judge the fruits of a man. And we tell the truth in love. However, in this case, there had been no evil fruit of Job's to judge. Had his friends seen Job doing wrong, they could have shown him the error of his ways, telling him the truth in love. But they went too far, and seeing no evil fruit, they proceeded to judge Job's heart. I truly believe this is what is meant by "Judge not". We are to judge the evil actions, but only God can judge the motives of the heart. And we can be sure that if a person's heart is truly seeking after God, then He will lead them to the truth. Think of Saul who persecuted the Christians. He truly believed he was doing the work of God, and God showed him the truth of his ways, and he became a follower of Christ.
(17) "Listen carefully to my speech, and to my declaration with your ears. (18) See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be justified."
Continuing with the thought that only God judges the heart, I believe that is what Job is trying to get his friends to do, "Really listen and really hear what I am saying."
(19) "Who is he who will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall perish."
Who will contend with Job now, for he has set his cause before God. Perhaps Job feels he must defend himself or burst. It's hard to exactly discern the meaning of this scripture. Maybe Job feels if he didn't defend himself, he would be condemned to death because no one else would defend him.
(20) "Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from You:"
Now Job directs his comments to God:
(21) "Withdraw Your hand far from me, and let not the dread of You make me afraid. (22) Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, then You answer me. (23) How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. (24) Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Your enemy?"
Job asks that God not terrify him with His awesome power, but let him speak with Him. He asks God to show him his transgressions and to tell him why he has lost favor with God.
(25) "Will You break a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue the dry stubble?"
In comparison to God's awesome power, Job is like a dried up leaf blowing in the wind.
(26) "For You write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth."
To Job, it seems God must have kept a record of his sins from his youth and indiscretion before he had understanding of God's laws.
(27) "You put my feet also in the stocks, and watch closely all my paths. You set a print on the soles of my feet. (28) And he, as a rotten thing, decays, as a garment that is moth eaten."
Continuing with his thought that God must have kept a very close record of every small thing he did in his youth, he feels He has watched and kept a record of every step. Then Job speaks of himself in the third person, describing his demise under such a severe record from the awesome God.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
"When Wise and Good Men Are Betrayed into Intemperate Passions"
Continuing my Bible study in Job:
(Job 11:1) Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said, (2) "Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? (3) Should your lies make men hold their peace? And when you mock, shall no man rebuke you?"
A third friend of Job speaks, and much rougher than the first two. He insinuates that Job is just a babbler, talking with a great many words, but not really saying anything. More severely, he even accuses Job of lying and mocking! As demonstrated in a previous study lesson, this is how NOT to comfort a friend in distress! In an early Bible commentary, Matthew Henry says it beautifully, "It is sad to see what intemperate passions even wise and good men are sometimes betrayed into by the heat of disputation, of which Zophar here is an instance."
This may be a good time to point out that I prefer the early commentaries, 18th century or before. Although I realize that people at any era can be mistaken, it seems to me that in latter times, they are more apt to err in important doctrinal issues. As men were more readily recognized and gained fame for their "wisdom", it seems their pride grew and some wanted to be the first to discover something never before found in the scriptures. Frankly, I believe that is what happened with regard to the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. It was an idea first dreamed up in the 1800's that had religious speakers scrambling to be the first to spread the new doctrine to make a name for themselves. But the well-read and studied commentaries of the 1700's make no mention of a pre-trib rapture. It's amazing how many people believe in a rapture before the Second Coming of Christ now because that is what they have been taught. You can bet this was a tool of Satan's. I have read that in a 1933 issue of the Moody Monthly by the Moody Bible Institute, there was an article that said that Christians did not need to take a stand at the time on whether or not to recognize atheistic Communist USSR, because the Second Coming would resolve the problem. Imagine what that kind of promoted belief did to allow evil to run rampant in the world and to immoralize our culture! Christians need not make a stand on any of the issues of the day because they would be raptured away anyway!
(4) "For you have said, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in Your eyes.' (5) But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, (6) And that He would show you the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves."
Zophar tells Job that although he believes himself to be clean and pure, God's wisdom is double-fold or infinitely exceeding the wisdom of man, and He would tell Job where he had erred. After all, he says, God chastises and afflicts much less than Job's sin deserves, insinuating that his sin must be great, even though he does not see it.
(7) "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? (8) They are as high as heaven; what can you do? Deeper than hell; what can you know? (9) Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. (10) If He cuts off, and shuts up, or gathers together, then who can hinder Him?"
Paraphrased, "Do you really think you can understand the depths of Almighty God? In whatever He does, there is no man who could stop Him."
(11) "For He knows vain men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? (12) For vain man would be wise, though man be born a wild ass's colt."
God knows the hearts of men. He can see the wickedness of evil men when people may not. Zophar is asking Job if he doesn't think that God would have to act when He knows the wickedness of a man. Whether the meaning here is that vain empty man would be wise if it weren't for the fall, or whether only as a gift from God, either way, of himself, he is born into this world without understanding and wisdom.
(13) "If you prepare your heart, and stretch out your hands toward Him; (14) If iniquity be in your hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents; (15) For then shall you lift up your face without spot; yes, you shall be steadfast, and shall not fear;"
Zophar continues in his insinuation that Job has sinned and brought his calamity upon himself, but if he will repent and return to God, then Job in all good conscience, can have confidence and be rooted and grounded in the Lord, and will therefore have nothing to fear.
(16) "Because you shall forget your misery, and remember it as waters that pass away;"
With that renewed confidence and steadfastness in the Lord, the peace and rest that ultimately comes with it will make the pain of his afflictions a fleeting memory.
(17) "And your life shall be clearer than the noonday; you shall shine forth, you shall be as the morning. (18) And you shall be secure, because there is hope; yes, you shall dig around you, and you shall take your rest in safety."
Whether "dig" here means to literally dig, or one of the original word's other meanings, to delve into, search out, or explore, the implication is that Job will be able to do his work in peace and safety.
(19) "Also you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; yes, many shall make suit unto you. (20) But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as loss of life."
Paraphrased, "In the rest and safety of the Lord, none will make you afraid. Although many will come to you with their supplications and petitions, you shall have confidence that the wicked will fail; therefore you will have nothing to fear.
That is, Zophar has insinuated, if Job would only repent of his sin!
(Job 11:1) Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said, (2) "Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified? (3) Should your lies make men hold their peace? And when you mock, shall no man rebuke you?"
A third friend of Job speaks, and much rougher than the first two. He insinuates that Job is just a babbler, talking with a great many words, but not really saying anything. More severely, he even accuses Job of lying and mocking! As demonstrated in a previous study lesson, this is how NOT to comfort a friend in distress! In an early Bible commentary, Matthew Henry says it beautifully, "It is sad to see what intemperate passions even wise and good men are sometimes betrayed into by the heat of disputation, of which Zophar here is an instance."
This may be a good time to point out that I prefer the early commentaries, 18th century or before. Although I realize that people at any era can be mistaken, it seems to me that in latter times, they are more apt to err in important doctrinal issues. As men were more readily recognized and gained fame for their "wisdom", it seems their pride grew and some wanted to be the first to discover something never before found in the scriptures. Frankly, I believe that is what happened with regard to the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. It was an idea first dreamed up in the 1800's that had religious speakers scrambling to be the first to spread the new doctrine to make a name for themselves. But the well-read and studied commentaries of the 1700's make no mention of a pre-trib rapture. It's amazing how many people believe in a rapture before the Second Coming of Christ now because that is what they have been taught. You can bet this was a tool of Satan's. I have read that in a 1933 issue of the Moody Monthly by the Moody Bible Institute, there was an article that said that Christians did not need to take a stand at the time on whether or not to recognize atheistic Communist USSR, because the Second Coming would resolve the problem. Imagine what that kind of promoted belief did to allow evil to run rampant in the world and to immoralize our culture! Christians need not make a stand on any of the issues of the day because they would be raptured away anyway!
(4) "For you have said, 'My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in Your eyes.' (5) But oh, that God would speak, and open His lips against you, (6) And that He would show you the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves."
Zophar tells Job that although he believes himself to be clean and pure, God's wisdom is double-fold or infinitely exceeding the wisdom of man, and He would tell Job where he had erred. After all, he says, God chastises and afflicts much less than Job's sin deserves, insinuating that his sin must be great, even though he does not see it.
(7) "Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? (8) They are as high as heaven; what can you do? Deeper than hell; what can you know? (9) Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. (10) If He cuts off, and shuts up, or gathers together, then who can hinder Him?"
Paraphrased, "Do you really think you can understand the depths of Almighty God? In whatever He does, there is no man who could stop Him."
(11) "For He knows vain men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it? (12) For vain man would be wise, though man be born a wild ass's colt."
God knows the hearts of men. He can see the wickedness of evil men when people may not. Zophar is asking Job if he doesn't think that God would have to act when He knows the wickedness of a man. Whether the meaning here is that vain empty man would be wise if it weren't for the fall, or whether only as a gift from God, either way, of himself, he is born into this world without understanding and wisdom.
(13) "If you prepare your heart, and stretch out your hands toward Him; (14) If iniquity be in your hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in your tents; (15) For then shall you lift up your face without spot; yes, you shall be steadfast, and shall not fear;"
Zophar continues in his insinuation that Job has sinned and brought his calamity upon himself, but if he will repent and return to God, then Job in all good conscience, can have confidence and be rooted and grounded in the Lord, and will therefore have nothing to fear.
(16) "Because you shall forget your misery, and remember it as waters that pass away;"
With that renewed confidence and steadfastness in the Lord, the peace and rest that ultimately comes with it will make the pain of his afflictions a fleeting memory.
(17) "And your life shall be clearer than the noonday; you shall shine forth, you shall be as the morning. (18) And you shall be secure, because there is hope; yes, you shall dig around you, and you shall take your rest in safety."
Whether "dig" here means to literally dig, or one of the original word's other meanings, to delve into, search out, or explore, the implication is that Job will be able to do his work in peace and safety.
(19) "Also you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; yes, many shall make suit unto you. (20) But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as loss of life."
Paraphrased, "In the rest and safety of the Lord, none will make you afraid. Although many will come to you with their supplications and petitions, you shall have confidence that the wicked will fail; therefore you will have nothing to fear.
That is, Zophar has insinuated, if Job would only repent of his sin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)