Day 143: Job 7-9

(The previous post covered Eliphaz's First Round statement and Job's response. Job continued with his answer to Eliphaz during the First Round.)

Job 7
¹ Is there not a warfare to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
² As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow, And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:
³ So am I made to possess months of misery, And wearisome nights are appointed to me.
⁴ 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.
⁵ My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.
⁶ My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope.
⁷ Oh remember that my life is a breath: Mine eye shall no more see good.
⁸ The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more; Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.
⁹ As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.
¹⁰ He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more.
¹¹ 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.

(Job was going to continue to speak, try to make progress, try to understand, and try to think about why this suffering had come upon him.)

¹² Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me?
¹³ When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint;
¹⁴ Then thou scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me through visions:
¹⁵ So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than these my bones.
¹⁶ I loathe my life; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity.
¹⁷ What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
¹⁸ And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment?
¹⁹ How long wilt thou not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
²⁰ If I have sinned, what do I unto thee, O thou watcher of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee, So that I am a burden to myself?
²¹ And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.

(Job accepted what had happened to him but he wanted to know why it was happening. Eliphaz's words had no effect on Job.)

(The second half of Job's response (concluding from the previous chapter) to Eliphaz can be summed up by this statement: "I'm going to ignore you and continue trying to understand why this is happening.")




Job 8
¹ Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

(In Genesis 25:1-2, Abraham took a wife after Sarah died and she bore him six sons. One of the sons was Shuah, father of the Shuhites. Bildad was the second "comforter" to answer Job during the First Round.)

² How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a mighty wind?
³ Doth God pervert justice? Or doth the Almighty pervert righteousness?

(Bildad asked if God was anything other than Just and Right. Bildad was restating TRUTH #2: God was Just and MORE Just than man.)

⁴ If thy children have sinned against him, And he hath delivered them into the hand of their transgression;
⁵ If thou wouldest seek diligently unto God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty;
⁶ If thou wert pure and upright: Surely now he would awake for thee, And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

(Bildad believed Job was at fault and that he would understand if he admitted he was at fault. Job did not know what his fault was, so how could he admit/confess it?)

⁷ And though thy beginning was small, Yet thy latter end would greatly increase.
⁸ For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out:
⁹ (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow);
¹⁰ Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, And utter words out of their heart?

(Bildad resorted to history and tradition. Bildad said men of the past would be able to teach Job and that "we are but of yesterday, and know nothing.")

¹¹ Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water?
¹² Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, It withereth before any other herb.
¹³ So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish:
¹⁴ Whose confidence shall break in sunder, And whose trust is a spider's web.

(Bildad restated TRUTH #1 (Progress proved profitability) and concluded that Job was wrong because he was not profitable.)

¹⁵ He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure.
¹⁶ He is green before the sun, And his shoots go forth over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots are wrapped about the stone-heap, He beholdeth the place of stones.
¹⁸ If he be destroyed from his place, Then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.
¹⁹ Behold, this is the joy of his way; And out of the earth shall others spring.
²⁰ Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, Neither will he uphold the evil-doers.

(Bildad blatantly stated that Job could not be perfect because this would not be happening to him if he was. Bildad was unwilling to consider a perspective other than his traditional view. Bildad was not contrastive.)

²¹ He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with shouting.
²² They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more.

(Bildad's response to Job can be summed up with this statement: "You must be wrong, otherwise bad things wouldn't be happening to you.")




Job 9
¹ Then Job answered and said,

(Job answered Bildad. This was an important chapter to remember because Job came to two conclusions…)

² Of a truth I know that it is so: But how can man be just with God?
³ If he be pleased to contend with him, He cannot answer him one of a thousand.
⁴ He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered?

(Job agreed with TRUTH #1 (Progress proved profitability) and TRUTH #2 (God was Just and MORE Just than man). Job's goal was to gain understanding so that he could confess and repent.)

⁵ Him that removeth the mountains, and they know it not, When he overturneth them in his anger;
⁶ That shaketh the earth out of its place, And the pillars thereof tremble;
⁷ That commandeth the sun, and it riseth not, And sealeth up the stars;
⁸ That alone stretcheth out the heavens, And treadeth upon the waves of the sea;
⁹ That maketh the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;
¹⁰ That doeth great things past finding out, Yea, marvellous things without number.
¹¹ Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive him not.
¹² Behold, he seizeth the prey, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou?
¹³ God will not withdraw his anger; The helpers of Rahab do stoop under him.

(The word "Rahab" was Strong's #2793 and it meant "proud", however, it was also used in the Old Testament as a poetic reference to Egypt.)

¹⁴ How much less shall I answer him, And choose out my words to reason with him?
¹⁵ Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer; I would make supplication to my judge.
¹⁶ If I had called, and he had answered me, Yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice.
¹⁷ For he breaketh me with a tempest, And multiplieth my wounds without cause.

(Job admitted we can never out smart or out reason God. However, Job restated TRUTH #3 (Job did not cause his suffering). Job had accepted all three TRUTHS.)

¹⁸ He will not suffer me to take my breath, But filleth me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If we speak of strength, lo, he is mighty! And if of justice, Who, saith he, will summon me?
²⁰ Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me: Though I be perfect, it shall prove me perverse.
²¹ I am perfect; I regard not myself; I despise my life.
²² It is all one; therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

(Job was done with help from his friends. Job came to his own conclusion.  CONCLUSION #1: God destroyed everyone, good and bad.)

²³ If the scourge slay suddenly, He will mock at the trial of the innocent.
²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he, who then is it?
²⁵ Now my days are swifter than a post: They flee away, they see no good,
²⁶ They are passed away as the swift ships; As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
²⁷ If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer;

(This sounded like Eliphaz's advice in Job 5: to not think and to act happy.)

²⁸ I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
²⁹ I shall be condemned; Why then do I labor in vain?
³⁰ If I wash myself with snow water, And make my hands never so clean;
³¹ Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me.

(Job came to another conclusion. CONCLUSION #2: If profitability did not prevent God from destroying, then there was no profit in trying to be good.)

³² For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, That we should come together in judgment.
³³ There is no umpire betwixt us, That might lay his hand upon us both.
³⁴ Let him take his rod away from me, And let not his terror make me afraid:
³⁵ Then would I speak, and not fear him; For I am not so in myself.

(Job stated that God was the ultimate Judge, so there was no way to find someone who could judge between him and God. Job stated that the destruction/terror was making him afraid and speaking not like himself. Were his two conclusions correct? Do you agree with his two conclusions?)

(This post covered Bildad's First Round statement and Job's response. Job reached two conclusions. CONCLUSION #1: God destroyed everyone, good and bad. CONCLUSION #2: If profitability did not prevent God from destroying, then there was no profit in trying to be good.)

Day 144