A fourth accuser has been sitting and waiting for the opportunity to speak his mind. In chapter thirty-two he begins his discourse. Elihu is younger than all the others. He believes he has more wisdom than the others and is determined to share his thoughts. He agrees with Job that his guilt has not been proven and disagrees with the others that Yahweh should judge, not them. He believes he knows the truth and will share it.
He seems to be awfully full of himself in chapter thirty-three. He believes, as the others have stated, that his position is the proof that Job has sinned. Just as God speaks through dreams and other means, so he voices His viewpoint through His actions. The Lord will restore those who admit their sin and ask for forgiveness. He offers to teach Job wisdom.
In Job 34 Elihu includes all of them in his offer of instruction. Youth do not know foolish they look when they try to prove their intelligence and prove they are wiser than their elders. His arguments are well formed, but they are not better than those used previously by the others. “Job speaks without knowledge.”
As Job makes his final argument in chapter twenty-nine, he longs for the days that were. Any of us who are going through difficulties would want to return to the good times. We may feel that God is no longer with us, but we are mistaken. In those days he was a leader and had respect. This was because of what he was able to do for others. With his wealth and health gone, this was not possible anymore.
Now, in chapter thirty, he is thought to be insignificant. He is mocked and looked down on. The way to build yourself up is to tear others down. That is still what many do today. They do not take pity on the week or underprivileged. As Job feels his life ebbing away, He pleads with Jehovah to cover him like a garment. He continues to believe that God is after him. His disease has blackened his skin. He burns up with fever and music is only a funeral dirge.
Chapter thirty-one begins with the covenant Job made with his God. We are watched by Him and must agree to follow His plan. Job agrees that what his accusers have been saying is true. If he has not been righteous before Jehovah as he claims, then the punishment he has been given is appropriate.
Job continues in chapter twenty-four with his answer to Eliphaz. We know that judgment is scheduled after our death. Job lists a lot of the same types of things he is accused of. Light and darkness are at war. Who can prove Job’s words to be false?
Bildad replies briefly in the twenty-fifth chapter that God has dominion. He asks how we can be righteous before Jehovah. He also calls Job a maggot or a worm.
Job is not pleased with this characterization and responds in chapter twenty-six. He sarcastically speaks of all Bildad’s accomplishments for the powerless and feeble. He continues to give a list of Yahweh’s strength and power.
He continues to refuse to sink to the level of his accusers in chapter 27. He will remain faithful to the Lord. He hopes his enemy is like the wicked and the godless. He offers to teach them about his God which seems to be different from theirs. He tells what the wicked will suffer while maintaining his innocence.
In chapter twenty-eight Job continues to teach them about wisdom from God. Wisdom and knowledge cannot be mined or dug from the earth like other precious minerals and metals. It can’t be purchased. Where does it come from? “The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom.”
Job replies to Zophar in chapter twenty-one. His consolation could just be listening to him. “Why should I not be impatient?” Wait a minute, what about the patience of Job? All my life I have heard people say they wish they had the patience of Job-like it was something to be desired. He declares that he is not patient.
He lists all the things that seem unfair to him for wicked people to enjoy. These are the same things that his three friends say do not happen. God does not bless the evil ones, but our hero believes that He does. Why? Remember that Job is the only one that Jehovah called to the attention of Satan. These other men are not on the same level of righteousness as these. He does not understand why God would publish the children for the sins of the fathers. He considers all his friend’s answers as falsehood.
Eliphaz speaks again in chapter twenty-two. Are we beneficial to God? If we aren’t, why did He create humans? Does it please Him if we obey or disappoint Him if we do not? Of course, He is pleased by our positive actions. Look at the accusations that are made. Demanding security, stripping people and leaving them naked, and refusing water and food to those who need it. He is using reverse reasoning to prove that he is correct.
Chapter twenty-three has Job’s reply to Eliphaz. He will meet with God and voice his arguments. If he could do this, his innocence could be seen. He can’t find the Lord. The power of Jehovah is not in doubt to Job. This terrifies him.
The hostility of his detractors is primary in Job 17. Job views them as having closed minds. He again describes the problems caused by his health issues. His grief is intense. He still has dreams, but the hope is difficult to see.
Bildad does not understand why his friend views him as ignorant and refuses to listen to them. He answers his own question in chapter 18, by commenting that God would snuff out the life of the wicked. Job has not died. Jehovah must therefore not believe him to be evil. Bildad’s list of things that would happen to the wicked is long. He seems not to notice the number of items on this list that do not apply to Job.
Job replies to him in chapter 19 when he says that their words have crushed him. He does not need one more thing that adds to his discomfort. Once again, he voices that he has been wronged by God. That is not true. Yahweh has not been the one that caused his family and friends to desert him. In spite of his feeling that God is against him, he still declares that his redeemer lives and his life will be redeemed.
Zophar speaks again in chapter 20. Pride is a fault he attributes to the godless. According to his faith, this includes his friend who has had such misfortune. He speaks of the wealth and plenty of the wicked but does not remember that all of Job’s wealth is gone. If God destroys those he has rejected, why is Job still alive?
Our lives are short and full of trouble is Job’s observation in Chapter fourteen. Even a tree has a second chance at life. The roots will sprout again. He does not know what we do. Every human being is eternal life. It will be continued in Heaven or Hell. It is incorrect to believe that once our body dies our life is over. When someone dies, they will live again. Job will answer Jehovah when he questions him.
Eliphaz speaks and continues the accusations of evil in Job’s life found in chapter fifteen. Even old people agree with him and his fellows. How could this diseased and destitute man know more than the wisdom of the aged? He should not be angry with Yahweh. He knows what He is doing and should not be argued with. His words seem true, but he has believed a common misconception. God has given Satan or the Devil the rule of this world. He is the one that causes our distress just as he is the reason for Job’s problems.
Job speaks in answer to Eliphaz in chapter sixteen and denounces the empty speech. He admits that he once believed as they do, but now he knows that not all our troubles are caused by sin. He still believes God is the source of his illness and the tragedies he has experienced. He still maintains his purity in God’s eyes. He again states the shortness of what is left of his life.
When you hate your own existence, nothing else matters. Job asks God to tell him what the charges are against him in chapter 10. He also wants to know if He enjoys punishing people. Why would the creator destroy the creation? Even though Job is innocent he is full of shame. Why was he even born?
In chapter eleven it is Zophar’s turn to speak. His criticism of Job’s words is that it is idle talk. He even wants Jehovah to speak and tell the sinner that he is a sinner. He wants wisdom to be spoken. Each of us has our own opinion of what wisdom is. He believes some sin has been forgotten. Jesus tells us that it will all be as far as the east is from the west after we accept Him as our savior. Job could lift his head, if only he will confess the wickedness he has caused.
Job’s reply in chapter 12 is that his friends are the only ones who matter. What they believe is true is truth. He is a laughingstock because he wants to talk to Yahweh and does not admit any sin. The life of every creature is in the Lord’s hands. That is not exactly true. God has prevented Job’s death, but Satan is responsible for all the distress in his life. He also agrees that wisdom come from God. Mistakenly he sees no one else responsible for the evil in our world. We all make that mistake.
He continues in chapter thirteen with his proof of the evil caused by God. He has seen it for himself. He wants to converse with Him about these issues. The lies of these friends continue to injure him beyond the illness that he already has. Once again Job takes his life in his own hands. What charges can be brought against him except the untruths that have been brought against him without proof. He is wasting away and believes his death is eminent.
We often believe that our distress is worse than others. Job declares in chapter six that his anguish is very weighty. The arrows he speaks of being hit with are said to be God’s, not Satan’s. We should correct this problem because we know Job’s story. Satan is the tormentor. His strength and stamina to deal with life have failed but Jehovah is constantly there for him.
His friends are not helping with his depression. They believe, as he does, that those who are suffering have only themselves to blame. In this mode of thinking, Jehovah must punish sin. If you are righteous, everything goes positive for you. His appearance must be horrible, but they should still sympathize with him.
In chapter seven we read that Job’s punishment has lasted for months. His physical condition is described, and we should break down in tears for him. We have sleepless nights, but not like he must have been. He is certain that his days are numbered. He does not know that the adversary cannot take his life. He wants to tell his story while he still can. He does not understand why Yahweh will not forgive him.
Job chapter eight features Bildad’s first response. He says that God must have done this to Job because of sin. He replies that if Job repents and asks for forgiveness, he will receive it. The past is proof that he is correct. Because people have always believed the way he does, it must be right. God would never punish a righteous person.
In chapter 9, Job agrees with Bildad but wants to know how to prove that what they believe must be wrong. The power and creativity of Jehovah are acknowledged. How can we argue with God? Everything that Job understood about Him is being disputed. His conviction of sin is established in his loss of his family, wealth and health. Who else could do this, but Jehovah? A mediator is needed. This is exactly what God provides in Jesus, our savior.
Today we bounce to the book of Job. Since we are reading the Bible in chronological order you probably wonder why Job comes before the balance of Genesis. We do not know when this book comes in relation to the other books. We do know that the references are for places that we cannot identify. We also know it precedes the Abrahamic covenant.
We begin with the background of Job, our main character in chapter 1. He is a man of integrity and honesty. Satan is introduced in the first chapter. His name means adversary. As we know he always does, one person is targeted. He is Job, that Jehovah points out as loyal to Him.
Why God allows the targeting is a question we will have to ask when we reach Heaven. Read the rest of this book before you decide to ask about this story. We know from this that the Devil has power on earth, but it can be limited by Yahweh. He effectively destroys Job’s wealth and his family. His response to these events is to attribute them to God. This misunderstanding is still prevalent in our time.
Job’s health is preserved but on another day the adversary is given permission to afflict our hero’s health. The nature of the disease appears to be a form of leprosy. Chapter two tells us that the last of Job’s family is taken from him as his wife tells him to curse God and die. We should realize that she has lost everything along with her husband. He believes that God gives trouble and good times. This is an incorrect idea according to this book. The conversation between the victim and his three “friends” will demonstrate this.
As many of us are tempted to do, Job curses the day he was born when he decides to speak in chapter 3. What he does not realize is that none of the things he has lost would exist, if he had not lived. This idea was used effectively in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Our depression from crisis often manifests itself this way. Observe what has been lost. Great wealth, family and his health are gone. His therapy amounts to sitting on the ash heap and scraping the sores.
Eliphaz replies first to his friend in Job 4. His belief is that all trouble is brought on by sin. If there is no disobedience, prosperity and good health follow. Tragedy and bad health are proof of a worthless life. Many falsehoods are stated in this fourth chapter. “Who, being innocent, has ever been punished?” “Those who sow trouble reap it,” Eliphaz claims to have a word from the Almighty.
He does not have any positive encouragement for Job other than that he should appeal to God in chapter 5. Yahweh’s correction is praised. The deliverance from harm is acknowledged. Eliphaz believes what he knows and knows what he believes. It has been proven over the years. Listen as Job disputes these old ideas that sill reign in our world.
Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve. We meet them in chapter four. The first murder was committed because of God. The first murder was caused by jealousy. It continues to be a human problem. The first generation of humans sinned and so did the second.
Cain’s family tree is listed, and it continued to include violence. There is a thought among some that the mark that God put on Cain was black skin. They believe this gives a reason for discrimination. Once again sins ugliness raises its head. That mark would have been destroyed when the flood wiped out all of Cain’s descendants.
The final statement in verse 26 is one that is often missed. “At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.” Humanity still must call on God for protection from each other and salvation.
Chapter five transitions us into the story of Noah and the flood that destroyed the entire world. That is for tomorrow. Here we have one of the chapters of genealogy that causes us to swoon with difficult names. Don’t skip this one though.
Verse 1 says that God created mankind in His image. Man and woman are both in the likeness of God. How can that be? Is God a man or a woman? No, he has no sexual organs or designated sexual identity. He created sex for us, and we usually mess it up. But God is not male and/or female. More about this later.
Verses 22 through 24 tell about Methuselah’s father Enoch. He lived for 365 years and was faithfully walking with God. We don’t know what that means. God counted him faithful is all we know. He was so loved by God that he was taken and did not die. This is a mystery. Who has a theory they want to share about Enoch?
Some of the questions about this chapter six are who the sons of God are and who the Nephilim were? The main thing here is God’s condemnation of humans. Only man was thought to be worthy of saving. His wife, sons and daughters in law were saved because of his righteousness.
The earth was filled with violence because of men much like it is today. Whether or not this is true will never be known. It is true that evil remains in our time.
Another question is about the wood that was used. Gopher wood is the term used in the King James Version, but the New International Version calls it cypress. Some Bible scholars believe that Noah’s culture had much of the technology we have today. If this is true it would answer many of the arguments that are made about this passage being factual. What do you think?
In Genesis chapter seven we read that Noah did not take only one pair of each type of animal. He took seven pairs of clean animals. These would be for food for the people as well as carnivores.
After the animals are all loaded, God closes the door and the rain falls for forty days. The King James Version tells us that the waters above the firmament that were put there by God at the creation also came to the earth. Science tells us that at one time much of what is now ocean was dry ground. Since the flood, more water has been on the face of the earth.
The flood waters were on the earth for one hundred and fifty days. Nothing survived except those that were on the ark and truly aquatic creatures.
