CHAPTER 21
Job’s Response: God Will Deal With the Wicked
· Job 21:1 - 34 (NASB) 1Then Job answered, 2 “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation. 3 “Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
o NOTE: Job’s assessment of the past counsel so far…It’s just “mocking”
· 4 Q “As for me, is my complaint to man?
· Q. And why should I not be impatient? 5 “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth. 6 “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.
· Q. 7 “Why do the wicked still live,
· Q.Continue on, also become very powerful? 8 “Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes, 9 Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them. 10 “His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort. 11 “They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about. 12 “They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute. 13 “They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol. 14 “They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
· Q. 15 ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
· Q. And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
· 16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
· Q. 17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
· Q. Or does their calamity fall on them?
· Q. Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
· Q. 18 “Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?
· Q. 19 “You say,’God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it. 20 “Let his own eyes see his decay, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
· Q. 21 “For what does he care for his household £after him, When the number of his months is cut off?
· Q. 22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high? 23 “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and satisfied; 24 His sides are filled out with fat, And the marrow of his bones is moist, 25 While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good. 26 “Together they lie down in the dust, And worms cover them. 27 “Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plans by which you would wrong me. 28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
· Q. 29 “Have you not asked wayfaring men, And do you not recognize their witness? 30 “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity; They will be led forth at the day of fury.
· Q. 31 “Who will confront him with his actions,
· Q. And who will repay him for what he has done? 32 “While he is carried to the grave, Men will keep watch over his tomb. 33 “The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all men will follow after him, While countless ones go before him.
· Q. 34 “How then will you vainly comfort me, For your answers remain full of falsehood?”
CHAPTER 22
Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job
· Job 22:1 - 30 (NASB) 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
· Q. 2 “Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
· Q. Or a wise man be useful to himself?
· Q. 3 “Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
· Q. Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
· Q. 4 “Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you, That He enters into judgment against you?
· Q. 5 “Is not your wickedness great,
· Q. And your iniquities without end? 6 “For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped men naked. 7 “To the weary you have given no water to drink, And from the hungry you have withheld bread. 8 “But the earth belongs to the mighty man, And the honorable man dwells in it.
o COMMENT: The obvious implication to these statements is that Job is not “mighty” nor “honorable” … both of which were false implications about Job.
· 9 “You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the orphans has been crushed. 10 “Therefore snares surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you, 11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And an abundance of water covers you.
o COMMENT: Here again are more comments about Job that are completely false: Job sending away widows? Hardly! Job crushing the strength of the orphan? Hardly again! Is this why Job is being crushed? No! We know that there is a bigger picture going on in heaven that neither Job nor his counselors are aware. But God has allowed us to peer into what is going on in heaven…and it’s much different than these pitiful counselors are assessing or aware!
· Q. 12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!
· Q. 13 “You say, ‘What does God know?
· Q. Can He judge through the thick darkness? 14 ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’ 15 “Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked men have trod, 16 Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were washed away by a river? 17 “They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’ 18 “Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 “The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, 20 Saying,’Truly our adversaries are cut off, And their abundance the fire has consumed.’ 21 “Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. 22 “Please receive instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart.
· PROTASIS: 23 “If you return to the Almighty,
· APODOSIS: (then) you will be restored;
· PROTASIS: If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent, 24 And place your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
· APODOSIS: 25 Then the Almighty will be your gold And choice silver to you. 26 “For then you will delight in the Almighty And lift up your face to God. 27 “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows. 28 “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways. 29 “When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save. 30 “He will deliver one who is not innocent, And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
CHAPTER 23
Job Says He Longs for God
· Job 23:1 - 17 (NASB) 1Then Job replied, 2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. 3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4 “I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments.
o Job feels like he can’t find God, and if he could, he is full of questions and arguments that he would present to God.
· 5 “I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me.
· Q. 6 “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me.
o COMMENT: Well the fact is God will contend with Job…just by asking him some questions…which will get Job’s eyes off his own situation and back on God. When God does that, Job will know that God REALLY IS paying attention to him….even though he may not feel like it in the middle of all this trial.
· 7 “There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. 8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
o COMMENT: Well not exactly, Job. He IS there, whether or not you “feel” like He is there or not. God sees what is going on.
· 9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. 10 “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
o COMMENT: Job, now you are talking intelligently. Regardless of how you feel, HE DOES KNOW THE WAY YOU TAKE…AND ONCE YOU ARE THROUGH BEING TRIED, JOB, YOU WILL IN FACT “COME FORTH AS GOLD”.
· 11 “My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.
o COMMENT: Job. This is true…and you are to be commended for maintaining your focus in the middle of all this trauma…but then God know you would maintain your integrity before Him..
· 12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does. 14 “For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such decrees are with Him. 15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him. 16 “It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me, 17 But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom which covers me.
CHAPTER 24
Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs
· Q. 1 “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
· Q. And why do those who know Him not see His days? 2 “Some remove the landmarks; They seize and devour flocks. 3 “They drive away the donkeys of the orphans; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4 “They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether. 5 “Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness They go forth seeking food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert. 6 “They harvest their fodder in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked. 7 “They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold. 8 “They are wet with the mountain rains And hug the rock for want of a shelter. 9 “Others snatch the orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge. 10 “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaves from the hungry. 11 “Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but thirst. 12 “From the city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out;
· Yet God does not pay attention to folly.
· .13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor abide in its paths. 14 “The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is as a thief. 15 “The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face. 16 “In the dark they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light. 17 “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness. 18 “They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their portion is cursed on the earth. They do not turn toward the vineyards. 19 “Drought and heat consume the snow waters, So does Sheol those who have sinned. 20 “A mother will forget him; The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered. And wickedness will be broken like a tree. 21 “He wrongs the barren woman And does no good for the widow.
· 22 “But He drags off the valiant by His power;
o COMMENT: Well God can do what He wants…and if He wants to drag off a valiant person, He surely can do it.
· He rises, but no one has assurance of life. 23 “He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways. 24 “They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up; Even like the heads of grain they are cut off. 25 “Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?”
o COMMENT: Job now asks a rhetorical question…Can you prove me wrong?
CHAPTER 25
Bildad Says Man Is Inferior
· Job 25:1 - 6 (NASB) 1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
· 2 “Dominion and awe belong to Him
o COMMENT: True!
· Q. Who establishes peace in His heights.
· Q. 3 “Is there any number to His troops?
· Q. And upon whom does His light not rise?
· Q. 4 “How then can a man be just with God?
o COMMENT: Good question. We know from NT that the only answer to this question has to come from God Himself…and He has to provide a plan that will satisfy Him…and we know that plan involved Jesus. We look back with certainty on this. Job looked ahead with confidence. Bildad could only ask the question.
· Q. Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?
o COMMENT: Again, ONLY through what Jesus has done and what we are willing to accept freely of that which He has done.
· PROTASIS: 5 “If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight,
· APODOSIS: (then). 6 How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!”
No comments:
Post a Comment