Christ's Disciples: The Book of Job, Chapters 6-10

Job Chapter 6

(Job 6:1 [KJV])

But Job answered and said,

The "But" says it all, saying "despite all of this nonsense from Eliphaz"

(Job 6:2 [KJV])

Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!

The enormity of this trial has now just been compounded by the nonsense he just heard from his "friend".
So far, Job is being gracious to his "friends", probably because he is so grief stricken.
He does not even address them, even though it is out of character to not be concerned for others.
His grief is the same weight as his calamity and not a bit more. It balances.

(Job 6:3 [KJV])

For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

The calamity and the grief as weighty as the sand of the sea. That is heavy!
There is nothing for Job to say. They are stuck in his craw
But his grief from his friend may be the reason in part for the grief he is experiencing, without him actually calling his friend a fool.

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(Proverbs 27:3 [KJV])

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

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(Job 6:4 [KJV])

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

Job is starting to lay all of this at the feet of God Himself

(Job 6:5-6 [KJV])

Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

The implied answer to each is a resounding "no"

"Donkeys constantly bray and communicate with each other as well as other donkeys who may be nearby. Donkeys can hear each other bray as far as 7 miles away. Donkeys will often bray to greet you when you come home and they also bray to get your attention or a treat. They are also prone to braying in the middle of the night--especially if they see a coyote or dog in their pasture. "

(Job 6:7 [KJV])

The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.

It is like he has to eat pork!

(Job 6:-8-9 [KJV])

Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

Job again says he would rather die.
He does not see the end of this, the future, and so thinks that this condition is permanent to himself.
Two exclamation points in a row!!

(Job 6:10 [KJV])

Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

In death he would no longer suffer
He wants death and not to be spared
"for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.".......hmmmmm

(Job 6:11-13 [KJV])

What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?

Again, the implied answer is a resounding no to these questions.
No length of days, no power or strength, no help, no wisdom,

(Job 6:14 [KJV])

To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

Job hammers Eliphaz for not having pity, and for not fearing God

(Job 6:15 [KJV])

My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

Finding his friends loyalty is like nailing Jell-O to the wall

(Job 6:16 [KJV])

Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:

His friends are also very cold and callous

(Job 6:17 [KJV])

What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

Even when they are not as cold as ice, they are absent
They are nice..........elsewhere and to others

(Job 6:18 [KJV])

The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.

They are to Job aimless, meaningless, useless wanderers

(Job 6:19-20 [KJV])

The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.

They are also very unreliable
They intended to ambush, but were foiled
Tema: South, desert, between Damascus and Arabia, perhaps modern day Jordan
Sheba: Saudi Arabia and Yemen, or Ethiopia, or both.
Pre-cursors to the present day Muslims

(Job 6:21-23 [KJV])

For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid. Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

Job thinks they are afraid he will ask something material of them, and he implies he has not, and will not.

(Job 6:24 [KJV])

Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

Show me where I should shut up and show me where I am wrong

(Job 6:25 [KJV])

How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

"The truth shall set you free...."...but it must be truth!
Obviously their arguing was not the truth!

(John 8:32 [KJV])

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

(Job 6:26 [KJV])

Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?

Their false accusations contain nothing but hot air.
They are desperate because they have no answers

(Job 6:27 [KJV])

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.

This is not a very pretty accusation against them
Orphans and friends, besieged and raided; trapped

(Job 6:28 [KJV])

Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.

Job is transparent and invites them to find fault by examination

(Job 6:29 [KJV])

Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.

Their false accusations are called out as sin
Job invites them to look and see that they will find innocence in him

(Job 6:30 [KJV])

Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

The implied answer to the first is, "NO!"
The implied answer to the second is, "YES INDEED!"
Job knows right from wrong (discernment)and has a conscience

Job Chapter 7

(Job 7:1 [KJV])

Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?

Man does not live forever
It is the same no matter the wealth, prestige, status
(Ecclesiastes)
A hireling being like a day-laborer, temp worker.

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(Ecclesiastes2:14 [KJV])

The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.

(Ecclesiastes2:15 [KJV])

Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

(Ecclesiastes8:14 [KJV])

There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.

(Ecclesiastes9:11 [KJV])

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

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(Job 7:2-3 [KJV])

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work: So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

True servants of God can want the shadow for several reasons:

Escape the heat
Escape the limelight
This makes them true servants

It is as regular as can be for him to have vanity and be weary

(Job 7:4 [KJV])

When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

A lack of sleep of his grief
Probably nightly

(Job 7:5 [KJV])

My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.

He is in a grotesque and sickly state indeed

(Job 7:6 [KJV])

My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.

A weaverbird is a fast flying small bird in Africa who has to make many trips back-forth to build the woven nest

(Job 7:7 [KJV])

O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.

Winds can be noisy, dangerous, damaging, deadly, far reaching, but ever temporary
Winds are invisible, and only the things carried in them are ever seen
Job has lost future hope and vision
Concentrating on his problems and this life makes him "see no more good"
He sees only vanity

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(James 4:14 [KJV])

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

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(Job 7:8 [KJV])

The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.

You will not have Job to kick around any longer
Job is wallowing in self-pity, like we all are at times, but with less reason than Job

(Job 7:9-10 [KJV])

As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.

Our life is vain
Our life is short
Our life is forgotten once we are gone

(Job 7:11 [KJV])

Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

"Therefore, I only have so much time to complain while I am here and so are you!"

(Job 7:12 [KJV])

Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?

Job now talks to God, presumably because his "friends" are not listening
Job acknowledges God's Sovereignty over His creation, both the sea and all that is in it.

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(Psalms 106:9 [KJV])

He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

(Psalms 33:7 [KJV])

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

(Psalms 66:6 [KJV])

He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

(Psalms 68:22 [KJV])

The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea:

(Psalms 72:8 [KJV])

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

(Psalms 74:13 [KJV])

Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.

(Psalms 77:19 [KJV])

Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

(Psalms 78:13 [KJV])

He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.

(Psalms 78:53 [KJV])

And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

(Psalms 89:9 [KJV])

Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

(Psalms 89:25 [KJV])

I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

(Psalms 93:4 [KJV])

The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

(Psalms 95:5 [KJV])

The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

(Psalms 104:25 [KJV])

So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

(Psalms 106:7 [KJV])

Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.

(Psalms 106:9 [KJV])

He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

(Psalms 136:13 [KJV])

To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

(Isaiah 54:9 [KJV])

For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

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(Job 7:13-16 [KJV])

When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Job has nightmares when he sleeps, and blames God
He hated his life
These nightmares were bad enough that he wanted to die.

(Job 7:17-18 [KJV])

What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?

This is quoted by David in the Psalms
It is also quoted by Paul

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(Psalm 144:3 [KJV])

LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him!

(Hebrews 2:6 [KJV])

But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

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(Job 7:19 [KJV])

How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

Job wants relief now!
Asking how long means, "It's been too long!"

(Job 7:20 [KJV])

I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

Job realizes he cannot pay any more for his sin, and seems to think this trial is because of that sin.
He feels cursed in all he does, so that he is a danger even to himself.

(Job 7:21 [KJV])

And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Again, he feels as though this is all happening because of sin and god is not forgiving him or something
He thinks god is going to kill him for it.

Job Chapter 8

(Job 8:1 [KJV])

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

Shuhites were from Shuah (in Saudi Arabia)

BILDAD

bil'-dad (bildadh, "Bel has loved"): The second of the three friends of Job who, coming from distant regions, make an appointment together to condole with and comfort him in his affliction (Job 2:11). He is from Shuah, an unknown place somewhere in the countries East and Southeast of Palestine (or the designation Shuhite may be intended to refer to his ancestor Shuah, one of Abraham's sons by Keturah, Genesis 25:2), and from his name (compounded with Bel, the name of a Babylonian deity) would seem to represent the wisdom of the distant East.

(Job 8:2 [KJV])

How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

Strong winds destroy things
They originate elsewhere and end elsewhere, passing through only
They carry debris.
They are silent in and of themselves but noisy when touching other objects
Otherwise, they are empty and invisible
The bring things in and take things out
So why are Jobs words being compared to strong winds?
Bildad: himself a hot air windbag!

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(Ecclesiastes 1:6 [KJV])

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

(John 3:8 [KJV])

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

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(Job 8:3 [KJV])

Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?

Again, this is a just move on God's part-Job is guilty
The implied answer is "no".

(Job 8:4 [KJV])

If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;

He assumes that his kids died because they sinned against God
Nothing more personal than an attack on the most precious thing Job lost!

(Job 8:5 [KJV])

If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;

Betimes=" Early; quickly"

(Job 8:6 [KJV])

If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

Bildad assumes God is sleeping? He "would awake for thee"?
IF Job were pure and upright, as though he is not
God would then bless Job

Blessings come to the wicked and the good
Perhaps the below was on Bildad's mind:

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(Ecclesiastes 2:26[KJV])

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

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Jesus Corrects Bildad

(Matthew 5:45 [KJV])

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

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(Job 8:7 [KJV])

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Erratically, he changes from idiot to prophet.

(Job 8:8-9 [KJV])

For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

History teaches us that man is the same forever
History teaches us that God's history is progressive; man's is cyclical
History teaches us that we do not always learn from history
Bildad is being irrelevant and irreverent, in that this argument is completely meaningless to the situation that Job is in; he is grasping at straws and inconsistently and incoherently babbling.

(Job 8:11 [KJV])

Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?

The implied answer is "no"
Muck and water are the source of the existence of the flag and the rush
The source of Job's existence has nothing to do with Job's calamity, situation, present state!

Rush Plant Family

Used for weaving in making baskets, mats
Very hardy
Pith used for wicks in candles and lamps

(Job 8:12 [KJV])

Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.

Nice science lesson, but again not applicable to Job
These plants do this naturally; while Job is withering because of his situation, his wife, his "friends"!

(Job 8:13 [KJV])

So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.

He then drops off of the deep end and assumes that Job forgot God
Then this "friend" equates Job to a hypocrite? Who needs a Bildad in their life?

(Job 8:15 [KJV])

He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

Bildad assumes that Job trusted in that house like the flag and rush must trust in the water and mud.

(Job 8:16-17 [KJV])

He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.

Due to its hardiness, it is very healthy and green
It lives not in, but beside rocks in the soil

(Job 8:18 [KJV])

If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

This is implying that Job will forget God, since he is in a calamity

(Job 8:19 [KJV])

Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

Sort of like a "natural selection" process.

(Job 8:20 [KJV])

Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:

As was said earlier, God shines His rain on the evil and the good
Bildad does not know what a "perfect man" is like
Imperfect man casts God away and likewise chooses to be cast away
God simply obliges
God blesses evildoers as well as His own...to the evildoers' own destruction

(Job 8:21 [KJV])

Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

(Job 8:22 [KJV])

They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

BILDAD:

Sometimes speaks truth
Even his truth is not related to Job's situation
He rambles
He falsely accuses Job
He falsely accuses Job's children
He does not understand who God is
He does not understand God's blessings
He does not understand God's justice
He claims to be Job's "friend"

Job Chapter 9

God's Glory, Might, Omnipresence, Secrecy, Judgment, Holiness

Job argues that his friends are wrong when they insist that only bad things happen to bad people, good things to good people.

(Job 9:1-3 [KJV])

Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

Has Job forgotten his salvation? Or is he just challenging Bildad with this question?
Man, before God, is silenced by His glory and has no questions, no answers

(Job 9:4 [KJV])

He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?

THE IMPLIED ANSWERS:

No one who fights against God wins
No one who argues against God wins
No one who ignores God wins
No one who slanders and mocks God wins
No one who hates God wins

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(Galatians 6:7 [KJV])

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

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(Job 9:5-6 [KJV])

Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

All mountains have pillars at the center and, when an earthquake or God breaks that pillar, the mountain is gone, flattened.

(Job 9:7 [KJV])

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

Geocentricity verse
God seals the stars:

SEAL, v. t.

1. To fasten with a seal; to attach together with a wafer or with wax; as, to seal a letter.

2. To set or affix a seal as a mark of authenticity; as, to seal a deed. Hence,

3. To confirm; to ratify; to establish.

And with my hand I seal our true hearts' love. -Shakespeare.

When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you in Spain. -Romans 15.

4. To shut or keep close; sometimes with up. Seal your lips; seal up your lips.

Open your ears, and seal your bosom upon the secret concerns of a friend. Dwight.

5. To make fast.

So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch.

Matthew 27.

6. To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality. By our laws, weights and measures are to be sealed by an officer appointed and sworn for that purpose; and leather is to be sealed by a like officer, as evidence that it has been inspected and found to be of good quality.

7. To keep secret.

Shut up the words, and seal the book. Daniel 11. Isaiah 8.

8. To mark as ones property, and secure from danger.

9. To close; to fulfill; to complete; with up.

10. To imprint on the ; as, to seal instruction.

11. To enclose; to hide; to conceal.

12. To confine; to restrain.

13. In architecture, to fix a piece of wood or iron in a wall with cement.

SEAL, v.i. To fix a seal.

I will seal unto this bond. [Unusual.] -Shakespeare.

(Job 9:8 [KJV])

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

The expanding universe?
Jesus walked on water

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(Matthew 14:25 [KJV])

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

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(Job 9:9 [KJV])

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

ARCTURUS

ORION NEBULA

ORION'S BELT

Huge, visible to the naked eye
Other names for it:
The English ones include: Jacob's Rod or Staff; Peter's Staff; the Golden Yard-arm; the L, or Ell; the Ell and Yard; the Yard-stick, and the Yard-wand; the Ellwand; Our Lady's Wand; the Magi; the Three Kings; the Three Marys; or simply the Three Stars.
In Latin America it is known as "The Three Marys". They also mark the northern night sky when the sun is at its lowest point, and were a clear marker for ancient timekeeping. In Puerto Rico they are called the "The Three Kings".[6] The stars start appearing around the holiday of Epiphany, when the Biblical Magi visited the baby Jesus, which falls on January 6.

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(Job 38:31 [KJV])

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

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PLEIADES

The Babylonian star catalogues name them MUL.MUL or "star of stars"
Also called the Pleiades, or The Seven Sisters (Messier object 45) or The Seven Stars is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Pleiades has several meanings in different cultures and traditions.

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(Amos 5:8 [KJV])

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

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(Job 9:9 [KJV])

Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.

The fact that God made these shows so much
Job could see these astronomical objects.
"the chambers of the south" is obscure, but could be those constellations seen in the southern hemisphere post-Flood.

(Job 9:10 [KJV])

Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

The universe alone is a testament to this

The enormous size
The numbers
The invisibility of most of it
The power and wonder of it
The glory of it

(Job 9:11 [KJV])

Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

God is omnipresent, and yet we do not directly see His Face, just see evidence of His presence

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(John 1:18 [KJV])

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

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(Job 9:12 [KJV])

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

His omnipotence
His perfect holy justice and righteousness
"God is not obliged to give us a reason of what he does." -MHCC

(Job 9:13 [KJV])

If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him.

God's wrath versus man's unity of pride, conspiratorial actions against Him and His people

(Psalm 2:2-6 [KJV])

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

MATTHEW HENRY:

If God will not withdraw his anger (which he can do when he pleases, for he is Lord of his anger, lets it out or calls it in according to his will), the proud helpers do stoop under him; that is, He certainly breaks and crushes those that proudly help one another against him. Proud men set themselves against God and his proceedings. In this opposition they join hand in hand. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, to throw off his yoke, to run down his truths, and to persecute his people. Men of Israel, help,Acts 21:28; Ps 83:8. If one enemy of God's kingdom fall under his judgment, the rest come proudly to help that, and think to deliver that out of his hand: but in vain; unless he pleases to withdraw his anger (which he often does, for it is the day of his patience) the proud helpers stoop under him, and fall with those whom they designed to help. Who knows the power of God's anger? Those who think they have strength enough to help others will not be able to help themselves against it.

(Job 9:14 [KJV])

How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

We again do not have much to say, except to stare in awe.
Carefully chosen words are prudent, in prayer also

(Isa 1:18 [KJV])

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

(Job 9:15 [KJV])

Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

Instead of answering, we would plead for mercy

(Job 9:16 [KJV])

If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

Job has lost some faith. Somehow, I cannot blame him. How would I react if this happened to me?
Do we react without faith when even 1/100th of this happens to us?

(Job 9:17-18 [KJV])

For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.

Job correctly assumes God's Sovereignty, and incorrectly assigns blame to God because of it

(Job 9:19 [KJV])

If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead?

"All right, all right, I get it God is all powerful!"
"So since He is the Judge, when is my court date to plead MY case?"

(Job 9:20 [KJV])

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Spoken in the human realm, not in the spiritual one.
Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23

(Job 9:21 [KJV])

Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

Two lessons:

No one is perfect
No one knows their own heart

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(Romans 3:23 [KJV])

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

(Isaiah 53:6 [KJV])

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Jeremiah 17:9 [KJV])

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

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(Job 9:22 [KJV])

This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

The death rate is one per person

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(Genesis 2:17 [KJV])

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

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(Ecclesiastes 9:2-3 [KJV])

All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

(Ecclesiastes 9:11 [KJV])

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(Job 9:23-24 [KJV])

If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

Ooooooh. Bad theology. Job was doing so good, and then this.
Again, his vision and judgment are tainted by his circumstances: he is a fallible person like us.
He is confusing a trial with judgment
Job's Friends: "those who are righteous and good always prosper in this world" (MHCC)
Job's Friends:: "none but the wicked are in misery and distress;" (MHCC)
Job: it is a common thing for the wicked to prosper and the righteous to be greatly afflicted.
IOW: "All things come alike to all."
The destroying angel seldom distinguishes (though once he did) between the houses of Israelites and the houses of Egyptians. (MHCC) The only difference in the human realm was lamb's blood on the lintel and doorposts....which puts a lot of meaning on that blood.
"far be it from God to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked (Genesis 18:25);
In mere temporal trials, the righteous have their share, and sometimes the greatest share.
Good and bad were sent together into Babylon, Jer 24:5; Jer 24:9.
Jeremiah 24:5-10
God destroys the perfect and the wicked, involves them both in the same common ruin;
The weapons of war devour one as well as another, Josiah (archers) as well as Ahab.

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(Genesis 18:25 [KJV])

That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

(Jeremiah 24:5-10 [KJV])

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

(2 Kings 17:20 [KJV])

And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.

If the scourge slay suddenly, and sweep down all before it,

God will be well pleased to see how the same scourge which is the perdition of the wicked is the trial of the innocent and of their faith, which will be found unto praise, and honour, and glory,1Pet 1:7; Ps 66:10.

(2 Samuel 11:25 [KJV]) David's excuse for killing Uriah

Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.

(1 Peter 1:7 [KJV])

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

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(Job 9:25 [KJV])

Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

A military shift in time
It is not "now my days"..they always were....

(Job 9:26 [KJV])

They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

Eagles dive at 75+mph

(Job 9:27-29 [KJV])

If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?

Job sees his own sinful nature and the vanity of trying to shed it by himself
Sinful people vainly try to do a works salvation; Job recognizes the vanity of it.

(Job 9:30-31 [KJV])

If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

Job knows that sin does not wash off in cold water
Pilate did not even know this was only symbolism!

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(Matt 27:24 [KJV])

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

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(Job 9:32 [KJV])

For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

While this is true, Job has lost his knowledge of God
God can reason with us
It is us reasoning back that is the problem
John 1, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"

(Job 9:33 [KJV])

Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

Job has lost sight of Jesus, the mediator

DA'YSMAN, n. An umpire or arbiter; a mediator. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us. Job 9.

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(1Timothy 2:5 [KJV])

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

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(Job 9:34-35 [KJV])

Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me: Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.

Job believes he is being punished or disciplined

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(1 Corinthians 2:3 [KJV])

And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

(2 Corinthians 7:15 [KJV])

And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling ye received him.

(Ephesians 6:5 [KJV])

Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

(Philippians 2:12 [KJV])

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

(Heb 10:31 [KJV])

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

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Job Chapter 10

(Job 10:1 [KJV])

My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Job simply wants to die here
He will not voice aloud his complaints, but sit quietly and "suffer in silence"

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(2 Corinthians 1:8 [KJV])

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

(Isaiah 38:15 [KJV])

What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

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(Job 10:2 [KJV])

I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

Job still thinks that this is judgment for sin, God is fighting against him and that he is condemned.
His friends have done a bang-up job in perpetuating this lie

(Job 10:3 [KJV])

Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

Job is therefore confusing the real oppressor with God
He at least admits God created him ("the work of thine hands")

(Job 10:4 [KJV])

Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?

God sees all things
The implied answer is "No!"

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(Psalm 34:15 [KJV])

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

(Proverbs 5:21 [KJV])

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

(Proverbs 15:3 [KJV])

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

(Proverbs 22:12 [KJV])

The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

(Isaiah 55:8-9 [KJV])

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

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(Job 10:5-6 [(KJV])

Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?

Again, the implied answer is "No!"
Job is asking as though God is not eternal, so therefore on borrowed time and needs to search for Job's sin right away before it is too late
As though only man enquires after sin and not God?
Man never really wants to judge sin as it is

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(Exodus 3:14 [KJV])

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

(Malachi 3:6 [KJV])

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

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(Job 10:7 [KJV])

Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

Back to reality

Job is saved, and therefore innocent
No one can take him out of God's hand

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(Romans 8:1 [KJV])

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(John 10:28 [KJV])

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

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(Job 10:8 [KJV])

Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

God created him to glorify Himself, not to destroy him

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(Psalm 22:9-10 [KJV])

But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

(Psalm 71:6 [KJV])

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

(Psalm 110:3 [KJV])

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

(Psalm 127:3 [KJV])

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

(Psalm 139:13 [KJV])

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

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(Job 10:9 [KJV])

Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?

We are all but dust and should always remember that.
"unto dust shalt thou return."........Yep.

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(Genesis 2:7 [KJV])

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(Genesis 3:19 [KJV])

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

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(Job 10:10 [KJV])

Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

No, God has not. The enemy has.

(Job 10:11 [KJV])

Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.

This part is true

(Job 10:12 [KJV])

Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

Job recognizes grace even in his trial
God is sustaining him as He does us through these things

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(Philippians 4:6-7 [KJV])

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:19 [KJV])

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

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(Job 10:13-17 [KJV])

And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

Job is paranoid, plain and simple, and admittedly confused
He is speaking half-truths, afflicted so badly that he is incapable of pure, unadulterated thought
He thinks that he is lion's prey
He thinks God is at war with him?

(Job 10:18-19 [KJV])

Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

He repeats what he originally said about never being born

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(Job 3:3-12 [KJV])

Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes. Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

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(Job 10:20 [KJV])

Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

Job wants to be left alone
Anyone in this situation who is getting bad advice would want this
Yes, life is fleeting, but it has been made worse by the advice of his friends and his wife

(Job 10:21-22 [KJV])

Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

No one but Jesus returns from the grave until the resurrection, so this is theologically correct

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(1 Thessalonians 4:16 [KJV])

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

(1 Corinthians 15:23 [KJV])

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

(Revelation 20:5 [KJV])

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

(Daniel 12:2 [KJV])

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

(Ephesians 4:8 [KJV])

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto

men.

(Psalms 68:18 [KJV])

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

(John 6:62 [KJV])

What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

(John 3:13 [KJV])

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Book of Job, Chapters 6-10

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