{If you have read the entire book of Job, you will have
already found that there are three parts of the book. The first part (chapters 1-2) tells what
happened to Job; how Satan had afflicted Job to the limits God allowed. The afflictions were tremendous. The second part, which we have just finished
was a rather lengthy series of conversations Job had with his friends, most of
which were unpleasant for him. These
conversations filled chapters 3-37. Now
we get to the third and final part, which is more than just an epilogue. God actually speaks to Job in the presence of
Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu.}
In review of the last post, Elihu spoke for a very long
time, covering six chapters. Although
his speeches were eloquently delivered and much of what he said was correct,
his tone was provocative and accusatory toward Job. I’m certain Job would have had some words in
response to Elihu, but in the very next chapter, God Himself speaks.
Chapter 38 - God Speaks
The opening verses set the tone that will extend through
God’s entire speech. It is a reality
check for Job and his friends. Verse 2
says, “Who is this that obscures My plans with words without knowledge?” He goes on to tell Job to brace himself,
because the next few moments are going to be difficult. God stated that Job was speaking about things
he could not possibly understand. I like
verse 4: “Where were you when I laid the
foundations of the earth?” Let’s look
back to Genesis. When God created
everything on and in the earth as we know it, man came last. When the foundation was laid, man did not
exist, therefore any knowledge to have been handed down did not exist. God comments on the creation, then in verse 7
He speaks of the celebration that took place after He completed it. {This is not unimportant. God’s creation which took six days was so
magnificent that the entire heavenly host (angels) broke out in
celebration. This is the earliest
account of the heavenly choir bursting out in song. It must have been beautiful to hear.} God goes on in the chapter to make Job aware
of just how little he knows. In verse
21, we detect a bit of sarcasm.
Remember, God's existence dates back into eternity past. Job has been in existence for only about
forty years, which is smaller than the blink of an eye in relationship to
eternity. God says in this verse, “You
have lived so many years!”
Chapter 39
God continues His speech to Job with a series of simple
questions, many asking Job to explain about how animals do the things they do, i.e.
how do bears know when to wake up after hibernation; how do birds know when to
go south for the winter; why do oxen submit themselves to servitude to man; why
does an ostrich lay her eggs on the ground, in harm’s way; how does an eagle
see a five-inch rodent from a distance of half a mile. All of these rhetorical questions exposed Job
and his friends for their lack of knowledge.
Chapter 40-41
God points to Job as His accuser. God then demands Job to speak. Job humbles himself, confessing total
inferiority, placing his hands over his mouth, which suggests that he has
nothing to say that could be worthy of hearing.
{In Job’s speeches to his friends, he was very self-confident that his
wisdom went beyond theirs. God spoke so
that Job’s wisdom could be exposed as miniscule.} But God is not finished. Verses 7-14 are rather difficult to read. God is asking Job how he would run the world
if it was up to him. Then God goes in to
a monologue about two animals. One being
a behemoth (hippopotamus), then the leviathan.
{Most scholars have said this leviathan is a crocodile, but to me, it
sure sounds like a dragon. Check out
verses 18-20. You might be saying to
yourself that dragons never existed.
Really?}
Chapter 42
Verses 1-6 - Job’s Confession
Job had listened to God’s words. He realized his error. Job was a good and wise man who allowed his
emotions to affect his words, and actually made him complain about God. But now Job sees the error of his ways and
humbly asks for God’s forgiveness.
Verses 7-17 - Job Is Restored to His Former Self
In the following verses God refers to Job’s friends,
speaking directly to Eliphaz. {I think
Eliphaz was the oldest of the four.
Although there are exceptions, God generally honored the oldest as being
the leader.} God told him that He was
angry with all four of them because they had misrepresented God’s
thoughts. He went on to instruct them on
their path to atonement for their words, and that they would be fully forgiven
only after Job prays for them. {Note the
shift back to honoring Job and his past life.
God places the four friends in the hands of Job. I always at this point remember that Job
spoke out of a state of extreme pain and grief.
His friends could not make that claim.}
They obeyed God’s instructions.
Job indeed prayed for them and God accepted his prayer, thus forgiving
each of them. In verse 10 it says that
God gave Job twice the fortune he had before Satan was allowed to enter his
life. All of his extended family had
joined him and his wife in celebrating Job’s deliverance, with a feast and the
giving of gifts. In verses 12-14 we see
that all of Job’s possessions were doubled, but he was blessed with the
identical number of sons and daughters as he had before. Before I end this study of Job, I want to
draw your attention to verses 14 and 15.
Herein is a rare tribute to daughters more so than sons. Very rare indeed. The Scripture specifically states the names of the
daughters, but the names of the sons were not given. It also
specifically states that the daughters would be given equal inheritance with
the sons. {Not to belabor the point, but
Hebrew writings never did this. This is
the only such occurrence to my knowledge.
Is it significant? EVERYTHING in
the Bible is significant. If you have
thoughts on this matter, please share.}
The final two verses say that Job lived a hundred and forty more years,
making his life very long; long enough to see four generations of
children. One of the greatest pleasures
for a man or woman is to see their descendants.
And such is the book of Job
Next post - Psalms
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