Day 150: Job 28-30

(The previous post covered the conclusion of the Third Round and the beginning of Job's "victory speech.")

Job 28

(Job continued his concluding statement and focused on wisdom and understanding.)

¹ Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place for gold which they refine.
² Iron is taken out of the earth, And copper is molten out of the stone.
³ Man setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

(There was a cause for physical things.)

⁴ He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
⁵ As for the earth, out of it cometh bread; And underneath it is turned up as it were by fire.
⁶ The stones thereof are the place of sapphires, And it hath dust of gold.
⁷ That path no bird of prey knoweth, Neither hath the falcon's eye seen it:
⁸ The proud beasts have not trodden it, Nor hath the fierce lion passed thereby.
⁹ He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ He cutteth out channels among the rocks; And his eye seeth every precious thing.
¹¹ He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
¹² But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.

(Verses 12-13, Job asked what was the cause of wisdom and understanding.)

¹⁴ The deep saith, It is not in me; And the sea saith, It is not with me.
¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold, Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it, Neither shall it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal: Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
²⁰ Whence then cometh wisdom? And where is the place of understanding?

(Again, Job asked what was the cause of wisdom and understanding. He concluded that wisdom and understanding were not physical or found in physical places or able to be bought with anything physical.)

²¹ Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, And kept close from the birds of the heavens.
²² Destruction and Death say, We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears.
²³ God understandeth the way thereof, And he knoweth the place thereof.
²⁴ For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

(Job said only God knew where wisdom and understanding came from.)

²⁵ To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
²⁶ When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
²⁷ Then did he see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out.
²⁸ And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

(Job stated two effects: that fear (reverence) of God proved "wisdom" and choosing to remove one's self from evil proved "understanding.")




Job 29

(Once Job taught his conclusion about God, he was able to focus on his own life. Job remembered the prosperity of his life before this happened.)

¹ And Job again took up his parable, and said,
² Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me;
³ When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;

(Job remembered how God was with him as he walked through darkness. Job did not feel like God was with him in his suffering.)

⁴ As I was in the ripeness of my days, When the friendship of God was upon my tent;
⁵ When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me;
⁶ When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
⁷ When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the street,
⁸ The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood;

(Job was respected before this happened. Now he felt disrespected, which was a direct result of how his "comforters" treated him.)

⁹ The princes refrained from talking, And laid their hand on their mouth;
¹⁰ The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
¹¹ For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:

(Job remembered how he was heard. Job did not feel like he was being heard by his "comforters." Job showed that his circumstances actually seemed to directly affect others, and these others then affected Job.)

¹² Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him.
¹³ The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
¹⁷ And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous, And plucked the prey out of his teeth.

(Verses 12-17 showed that Job did righteous acts all along. Job tried to show that he had not changed even though his circumstances did.)

¹⁸ Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand:
¹⁹ My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;
²⁰ My glory is fresh in me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.
²¹ Unto me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.
²² After my words they spake not again; And my speech distilled upon them.

(Job remembered how his words were valued and that he brought a solution, to the point that when he was done speaking, no one needed to speak anymore. Again, Job showed others were affected more than him by his circumstances.)

²³ And they waited for me as for the rain; And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
²⁴ I smiled on them, when they had no confidence; And the light of my countenance they cast not down.
²⁵ I chose out their way, and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that comforteth the mourners.

(Job knew how to comfort people. It did not look like others knew how to comfort Job.)




Job 30

(Once Job covered his former condition, he could next speak of his current condition.)

¹ But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.
² Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto should it profit me? Men in whom ripe age is perished.

(The people Job had helped were unable to help him. Again, Job's circumstances seemed to have a greater affect on others.)

³ They are gaunt with want and famine; They gnaw the dry ground, in the gloom of wasteness and desolation.
⁴ They pluck salt-wort by the bushes; And the roots of the broom are their food.
⁵ They are driven forth from the midst of men; They cry after them as after a thief;
⁶ So that they dwell in frightful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
⁷ Among the bushes they bray; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
⁸ They are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.
⁹ And now I am become their song, Yea, I am a byword unto them.
¹⁰ They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

(Job was stating how he had been treated. Job was reconciling all these events. This was healthy for his brain and body. Again, Job's circumstances seemed to change others more than himself...)

¹¹ For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.
¹² Upon my right hand rise the rabble; They thrust aside my feet, And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ They mar my path, They set forward my calamity, Even men that have no helper.
¹⁴ As through a wide breach they come: In the midst of the ruin they roll themselves upon me.
¹⁵ Terrors are turned upon me; They chase mine honor as the wind; And my welfare is passed away as a cloud.
¹⁶ And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
¹⁷ In the night season my bones are pierced in me, And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.
¹⁸ By God's great force is my garment disfigured; It bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.
¹⁹ He hath cast me into the mire, And I am become like dust and ashes.
²⁰ I cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me: I stand up, and thou gazest at me.
²¹ Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.
²² Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.
²³ For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

(Job believed he would die and that he would go "to the house appointed for all living.")

²⁴ Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
²⁵ Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
²⁶ When I looked for good, then evil came; And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
²⁷ My heart is troubled, and resteth not; Days of affliction are come upon me.
²⁸ I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
²⁹ I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.
³⁰ My skin is black, and falleth from me, And my bones are burned with heat.
³¹ Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

(This post covered Job's summary of his circumstances: An unjust punishment came upon him and even though Job had helped others, no one was able to help him...which was a separate and second injustice that had been done to Job.)

Day 151