Day 154: Job 40-42

(The previous post covered Elihu preparing Job to meet with God and God speaking to Job.)

Job 40

(God covered the first six days of Creation, everything He made except for people. Next, God moved to a different purpose...)

¹ Moreover Jehovah answered Job, and said,
² Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty? He that argueth with God, let him answer it.

(In Job 38-39, God was finding out if Job could comprehend God's creation. Next, God asked Job to state his will about whether or not Job would take Elihu's advice from Job 37:19-24... "Do not attempt to teach God anything; Do not think you can be more right than God.")

³ Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,
⁴ Behold, I am of small account; What shall I answer thee? I lay my hand upon my mouth.
⁵ Once have I spoken, and I will not answer; Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

(Job took Elihu's advice. Job understood the why from Elihu and Job was not going to cause more damage during his confrontation with God.)

⁶ Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
⁷ Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
⁸ Wilt thou even annul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?

(Job was frustrating (annul) God's judgment. What did Job need to do that would allow God to bring about His judgment?)

⁹ Or hast thou an arm like God? And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
¹⁰ Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity; And array thyself with honor and majesty.
¹¹ Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger; And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
¹² Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; And tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Hide them in the dust together; Bind their faces in the hidden place.
¹⁴ Then will I also confess of thee That thine own right hand can save thee.

(God told Job what it would take for Job to be justified: humility, through contrastive thinking, which was the principle that began the Book of Job.)

¹⁵ Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee; He eateth grass as an ox.
¹⁶ Lo now, his strength is in his loins, And his force is in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ He moveth his tail like a cedar: The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ His bones are as tubes of brass; His limbs are like bars of iron.
¹⁹ He is the chief of the ways of God: He only that made him giveth him his sword.
²⁰ Surely the mountains bring him forth food, Where all the beasts of the field do play.
²¹ He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
²² The lotus-trees cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook compass him about.
²³ Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not; He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth.

(This was the only usage of the word behemoth in the Bible which meant "a huge, dumb (mute) beast." God strove for profitability. What was God trying to teach Job?)

²⁴ Shall any take him when he is on the watch, Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

(God then began chapter 41 with a different example...)




Job 41
¹ Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord?

(Leviathan meant "a wreathed animal, i.e. a serpent." There were three other mentions of leviathan in the Bible:
1) In Psalm 74:10-14, leviathan represented the Egyptians (enemy of God) and the psalmist even asked "How long?" for Justice to be done.
2) In Psalm 104:24-29, God was in charge of everything that did not have a will, even leviathan.
3) In Isaiah 27:1, God will crush Israel's enemy to bring about the Millennium.

There was no proof that behemoth and leviathan were actually physically present when God spoke, I believe behemoth and leviathan represented evil, specifically Satan: the enemy of God's people that acted like an animal, that only God could direct.)

² Canst thou put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
³ Will he make many supplications unto thee? Or will he speak soft words unto thee?
⁴ Will he make a covenant with thee, That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?
⁵ Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
⁶ Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him? Will they part him among the merchants?
⁷ Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, Or his head with fish-spears?

(Look at the next set of verses closely...)

⁸ Lay thy hand upon him; Remember the battle, and do so no more.
⁹ Behold, the hope of him is in vain: Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
¹⁰ None is so fierce that he dare stir him up; Who then is he that can stand before me?

(If someone (Job) would not stand before leviathan, then why would they dare take on God?)

¹¹ Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

(God stated He was the First Cause!)

¹² I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
¹³ Who can strip off his outer garment? Who shall come within his jaws?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror.
¹⁵ His strong scales are his pride, Shut up together as with a close seal.
¹⁶ One is so near to another, That no air can come between them.
¹⁷ They are joined one to another; They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.
¹⁸ His sneezings flash forth light, And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go burning torches, And sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰ Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth, As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath kindleth coals, And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
²² In his neck abideth strength, And terror danceth before him.
²³ The flakes of his flesh are joined together: They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
²⁴ His heart is as firm as a stone; Yea, firm as the nether millstone.

(Another description of pride: "heart is as firm as a stone.")

²⁵ When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid: By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
²⁶ If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail; Nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.
²⁷ He counteth iron as straw, And brass as rotten wood.
²⁸ The arrow cannot make him flee: Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
²⁹ Clubs are counted as stubble: He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.
³⁰ His underparts are like sharp potsherds: He spreadeth as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire.
³¹ He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² He maketh a path to shine after him; One would think the deep to be hoary.
³³ Upon earth there is not his like, That is made without fear.
³⁴ He beholdeth everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride.

(God's objective was profitability. God showed that only big dumb animals that did not have a will were made by God without fear. God also showed that those who wanted to be dumb were actually serving an earthly creature that God created. Any hopes of being in charge (justifying yourself) was actually an admission of serving this big dumb animal (Satan). No one on earth was "leviathan's" equal. The same could be said for Satan.

In this book, God taught Job that he had two choices:
1) justify himself or
2) revere God.

Would Job state his will?)




Job 42
¹ Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,
² I know that thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
³ Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not, Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

(Job confessed and repented! Verses 2 and 3 were Job's confession. Verse 3 was a restatement of what Elihu and God said to Job. Job restated it then admitted he was guilty of it.)

⁴ Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

(Verse 4 was Job's repentance. Some people want to make verse 4 Job restating what God said. If it was, it would have begun with "You said..." or been restated in a question. Job stated he would go to God for answers because God would answer them...which was repentance.)

⁵ I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; But now mine eye seeth thee:

(This verse was why Job could repent. Job had the experiential faith to do it. This was why Job could promise to go to God for answers...which was his repentance in verse 4.)

⁶ Wherefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.

(Job confessed and repented for speaking without understanding. The word abhor meant "to disappear." Job was going to make his old self disappear. Notice the tenses of the previous verses:
-vs. 3 - past,
-vs. 4 - future,
-vs. 5 - past and present,
-vs. 6 - present.)

⁷ And it was so, that, after Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
⁸ Now therefore, take unto you seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, that I deal not with you after your folly; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.

(God required Job's repentance in order to bring about judgment. Job praying for his three friends would require Job to forgive them (fourth part of prayer) so that God could judged them. Job prayed and God brought judgment. God's wrath was against the three "friends" because of what they said about God and they declared Job guilty but could not give a reason. They abused causality, which was the same as mocking God (Galatians 6:7). Notice, there was nothing in this book that said it was wrong to ask questions of God.)

⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as Jehovah commanded them: and Jehovah accepted Job.
¹⁰ And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and Jehovah gave Job twice as much as he had before.

(Job saved his "friends.")

¹¹ Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him concerning all the evil that Jehovah had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one a ring of gold.
¹² So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: And he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.

(Job was blessed with twice as much because he suffered loss unjustly. Justice gave him double.)

¹³ He had also seven sons and three daughters.
¹⁴ And he called the name of the first, Jemimah: and the name of the second, Keziah; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch.
¹⁵ And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.
¹⁶ And after this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.
¹⁷ So Job died, being old and full of days.

(Job had the same number of children, which gave him twice as many, and he lived until he was "old and full of days." This first of the five books that made up the poetic section of the Old Testament documented actual events that happened to an actual person as an effect of Satan initiating an injustice and God contrastively proving that He understood causality.)

(WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED TO US THROUGH THE BOOK OF JOB:
-God wants us to ask Him anything, knowing that He will answer us.
-God wants us to completely share everything we ARE (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical) with Him.
-God is Just and Justice will be equaled out in the Long-Term. Understanding this would have led Job to justifying God through the entirety of his suffering.)

Day 155