Job 36 - Elihu's Arrogance

Job 36

Message: Elihu's Arrogance (v.1-15) and God's Power and Majesty (v. 16-33)

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

Overview - this is an wonderful chapter and yet an intense one. To me it has 3 sections:
1. Elihu misunderstands God's ways in man (v.1-15)
2. Do not live as the wicked live (v. 16-21)
3. God is to be highly exalted (v. 22-26)
4. The mighty works of God (v. 27-33)

Elihu on the Scene
So, far, according to the commentators, each party (Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar) has given 3 speeches and this has been the chosen allotment for number of speeches, although Zophar failed to reply. Here Elihu wants to say some more words after he came on the scene in chapter 32. Elihu is said to be a younger contemporary of Job and his 3 friends.

My struggle
I must say, I struggle with these passages in Job. They are some of the oldest written texts in the Bible, though that doesn't mean the time in which they occur is the oldest. I end up having to look at different commentators about these verses and yet they often do not agree with one another. Sometimes I struggle with the Bible and what I am to glean from some of the writings. All of these writers were men, like myself, though they lived in a different time and their words are regarded as more divine, I suppose, than mine. My tendency is to analyze and pick apart each word that is said. But maybe I need to get in the habit of a quicker reading of each passage. I continue to follow the TableTalk devotional, though I am now about 1 year behind. It does keep me accountable to a plan, as Tracey mentioned to me when I told him about it a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I need to be quicker about my reads.

Understanding this passage
Elihu begins with the idea of imploring the group to listen (v. 2). He mentions that these words may be different than what has been said before (v. 3a), but his goal is that they exemplify or speak to or represent or ascribe the righteousness of God (v. 3b). He begins with the idea that his words will show the mighty works of God. Elihu believes that his words are right and that he is speaking soundly; he has confidence in his speech (v. 4).

Elihu makes the statement that God is mighty and therefore God does not modify any class of people, is wholly independent and impartial in all his dealings.  He says God is mighty but does not despise (v. 5). 

For the moment, I am switching over to the Message paraphrase and look at Eugene Peterson's perspective on this passage. And what I see is a man that is comparing the wicked and righteous. Tabletalk believes that Elihu in verse 5-12 is saying the same thing that the other 3 friends have said and that is suffering is the result of a specific sin. I'm not sure if the Message is saying the same thing. The Message starts off with the idea that God doesn't bully innocent people or the idea that God doesn't allow bad things to happen to innocent people, but he does thwart the actions of the wicked. 

Job's friends and now Elihu have all done something similar in their words to Job. I wonder, are they not simply trying to bring comfort to Job. It almost seems like that is what they are trying to do. They know and have seen that Job has lived his life in a way that honors God. And now that they see something bad  happen to their friend, they seem to now think that Job must have done something bad. Maybe the idea is that in their eyes they struggle believing that a God would bring calamity to Job when Job hadn't done anything really bad. 

I think the argument the Tabletalk authors are making is that suffering is not always the result of a specific sin. This past Sunday in church we looked at Proverbs 3:11-12 which says, "My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." I think he is putting forth idea that God disciplines us often or corrects us or allows suffering to occur because it is needed in our life. That seems clear, but the idea that God would allow suffering just because is a tough one to accept. 

I guess what is hard then about that situation is to see the suffering of a child. I don't see anything wrong in what that child has done and so is it possible that suffering is the result of the bad choices in his parents? I think that is possible. But, what about my friend Bobby and the cancer he had in his body or even Tammy (Mike's wife) and the breast cancer she had which ended up costing her life. I don't know if in those situations we can connect dots to say those people's suffering were due to a need for correction. But, rather it seems that suffering occurs because we simply live in this fallen world.  

Side note -- 2 planes 
You know, sometimes it feels like there are 2 separate planes of life that are being recorded in the Bible. One there is this plane that puts forth God is great and mighty. His actions are based upon who he is and what he wants. God wills what He wills. To man he brings upon circumstances that are challenging or welcome. The way he acts is based upon on him and his nature and the outcomes he desires. Things happen often that we don't understand. And through those situations it is not for us to question God. But we are to trust Him. We are to trust our creator. 

But then there sits another plane. This is where men and women live. This plane resides with the Law of God, His commandments, our actions, our choices and within that plane we do see rewards from doing good and being obedient to God's commandments. We also see losses when we don't do things the way God has commanded. 

Our lives are then lived and we wonder how these planes intersect. On one hand, when things happen that we just don't understand, we need to trust God. I think it's okay to ask the question whether or not the outcome is the result of obeying or disobeying God's commands. There may be a change in man that is needed. But, we are never to say to God that he has made a mistake. 

Concluding thoughts on verses 1-15
Going back to verses 1-15 I see here that Elihu, in his observations, sometimes does get it right. God does tell us when we've done something wrong and tells us we need to repent. But, God doesn't promise that all will be free of problems if we just always do what God commands. Yes, we want to live in that manner because we know it is the best way to live. But, living that way doesn't mean it frees us from problems. 

Overall, Elihu gets it wrong. He paints a picture that is incorrect. In verse 15, NASB says, "“He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, and opens their ear in time of oppression." In the Message, it says, "But those who learn from their suffering, God delivers from their suffering." No. This isn't right. It doesn't work out cleanly or matter of fact. Joni has learned a lot from her suffering. She still suffers. Her response to it has changed, though. 

As I move on in my look at this passage, Elihu continues to offer explanations to Job. His desire is to make him feel better. But, it's possible his words are offered too quickly. As a person in consoling others, we still need to think before we speak. While Elihu's heart is in the right place, I'm not sure that his words are. 

Do not live as the wicked live

Here I am going to switch to the King James Version in verse 16, "Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness." Elihu mentions to Job that he could have moved from a place of being "strait" to a broad place if he head just had the right response to the calamity he was having. Once again, Elihu doesn't get it right. He has half-truths. The strait way is narrow and hard to get along where the braod table is fat and has no obstructions.

In verse 17, he says, "But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee." Albert Barnes commentary puts forth the idea that what occurred here is Elihu saying that Job was living in a manner where his response was that of a wicked person that thinks they are wicked. The wicked knows that their behavior should have bad outcomes and Elihu asserts Job is living in this way. 

Then in verse 18 and 19 is the idea that if wicked is your outcome, don't think that riches can get you out of that outcome. Job had been a rich man, but riches doesn't mean that we escape God's wrath. This is an important lesson because although sometimes the riches we receive is a result of hard work, people with more are often viewed differently in society and greater than the person with less. People with money often think they can get away with things that people without money can't. But, not in God's eyes. I must be careful to not view people the way the world views them. 

In verse 20, he states, "Do not long for the night." Night is an emblem of death and here Elihu says to Job, do not long for death thinking that by death coming Job will be able to escape God's wrath. Elihu continues with the idea that Job is living as a wicked person and in this pursuit thinks he can escape God. 

Verse 21 is almost like a proverb that Elihu states to Job, "Be careful, do not turn to evil." As people, there is a danger we have of thinking we can reason through the divine administration. It is one thing to ponder what God may be teaching me concerning a trial, but it is quite another to ask why God did what he did. Under the umbrella statement of "God is love" we end up with the feeling that God is not doing acts of love when calamity come our way. Elihu's warning is a good one: be careful that you do not become an advocacy of iniquity and evil. 

He then continues this thought in the verse by saying, "for you have preferred this to affliction."  The problem with pain and the problem with suffering is it is hard to go through. People don't like it and so they will often seek other outcomes, sinful outcomes, outcomes of rejecting God rather than living with divine will. Albert Barnes has a statement here that is appropriate:

People often prefer iniquity to affliction. They will commit crime rather than suffer the evils of poverty; they will be guilty of fraud and forgery to avoid apprehended want. They will be dishonest to their creditors rather than submit to the disgrace of bankruptcy. They will take advantage of the widow and the fatherless rather than suffer themselves.

I think that is an interesting statement. We are impatient. Sometimes I see this more clearly in the raising of a child. When life gets difficult for my kids they often choose the easy road but in the process they are not submitting to wise counsel. Even at work, I see this in myself. Rather than accept the authority of my boss, I turn to sin and gossip about him.

God is to be highly exalted
Verse 22 and 23, "Behold, God is exalted in His power; who is a teacher like Him?" Elihu now turns to the focus being on God and that Job (we) is to be submissive to Him. Can a person submit to authority and question authority at the same time? I think not. “Who has appointed Him His way, and who has said, ‘You have done wrong'? God is supreme and independent; no one has advised him, and no one has a right to counsel him. No one has a right to say to God, "You have done wrong." It is to be regarded as an indisputable point that God is always right, and that however dark his dealings with people may seem, the “reason” why they are mysterious “never is, that God is wrong.”

I think this is something that has changed over the years. I believe the Jews have continued to hold this high level of esteem for God, and reverence, and respect. But, often we as Christians do not take on the same level of respect, but instead can at times mirror the world which has so little respect for God. God is to be highly exalted and praised. This also means that God is never to be questioned. Verse 24, "“Remember that you should exalt His work, of which men have sung."

Verse 25: “All men have seen it; Man beholds from afar." Man can see God's handiwork in the creation. His majesty is seen in the sun and stars, the sky, the clouds, the storms, the lighting and the rain. We have immense distances of space that we are just now beginning to behold and yet they have always been there. We can see God from afar.  

Verse 26: “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable. Why can't we just accept this? Why can't we just accept the fact that God and his way are not know completely? I think there is a real danger in this as it is so easy to get our eyes off of God and instead on what we can understand. 

The mighty works of God
The rest of the chapter goes on further to paint this picture of all that God is and does. 
-- Rain and dew
^{27 "}For He draws up the drops of water, they distill rain from the mist, ²⁸ which the clouds pour down, they drip upon man abundantly. Elihu first looks at the rain and the amazement of the clouds holding onto water and then water not descending like a torrent but instead in drops upon the earth or even in a morning dew. Yes, science can offer the explanation to further clarify this phenomenon and that is fine, but the motion is from the handiwork of God. Science describes what God has ordained. In this is the wisdom and power of God. Knowledge of these events and how they occur only further expands and confirms the mighty works of God. 
-- The Clouds  

^29a “Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds - the clouds roll in and roll out. Here in New Mexico it amazes me the pictures that result from a sunset in which the sun as it descends shines forth through the clouds and their setting in the sky is a sight to behold. The clouds roll into the sky and then spread out in a myriad of beautiful ways. 
-- The Thunder
^29b “the thundering of His pavilion?  The crash of thunder is one of the great illustrations of the dwelling place of God and his power upon the earth. 
-- Lightning
^30a “Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him, - he flashes light over the land and earth; this image is beautiful and graphic; it is impressive. 
-- Covers the sea with floods
^30b “Band He covers the depths of the sea. - he not only covers what we see above, but he tends to what is below and not easily seen. He is Lord over all.

All of this speaks to the wonders of God and the power he has. We often say that no one has seen God and yet we can see him clearly in each other, in the creation, and the displays that he puts forth in nature and weather. At various times the falling of rain is one of the sweetest provisions from God as it causes vegetation to grow and provides us with the nourishment that we need. It is a huge blessing. Yet, there are hurricanes and tsunami's and tornadoes that express a judgment that befalls man as well. There is blessing, but there is also punishment or discipline.
³¹ “For by these He judges peoples; He gives food in abundance. ³² “He covers His hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. ³³ “Its noise declares His presence; the cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

Promise:  This passage has several themes. In these verses Elihu comes to Job and asserts an idea that is improper. As he shows later in his description of the majesty of God we see that God often acts in ways through what we see in nature according to his divine appointment. There isn't always this clear cause and effect that he alludes to with Job where good decisions always merit good results and improper decisions always merit improper results. God shows us continually that he is in control. This can be a hard message to understand and accept but that is the promise illustrated through this passage.

Job 31 - Job's Final Defense

Job 31:23
“For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

Message: Job's Final Defense

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

The Bible is often a book of repeats. There are core messages that basically are repeated throughout this book. 

In this chapter 31 Job asserts his integrity. 

Chastity
Verse 1 is a verse that is a good reminder that I have appreciated at various times in my life. I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin? The meaning of this verse is great because Job states that he has made a covenant with his eyes. He remarks that he has purposed to lead a pure life and therefore, it is impossible that he could gaze at another woman. Like, how could he? 

Job then asserts that how can we be surprised with God's wrath when our actions or our choices are not for him. Thus, what he has done is guard himself from impurity or sin. Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?(Verse 4). God sees all. How is that we think we can live our lives without surrendering daily to the Lord. 

A sincere, upright, and honest life
Job states that if he lived a life in an improper manner then he did in fact deserve God's judgment. He speaks at first of falsehood or vanity. To live a life of falsehood is to misrepresent yourself. It is to make yourself out to be something that you are not. It is not to speak the truth. Or it is living a life of deception. When I see someone getting ready to experience calamity, do I help bring it to light. Am I a person that often will wrongly shine a spotlight on other people's shortcomings? 

If I have acted in this manner then God has every right to weigh me with accurate scales which is what verse 6 says, "Let him weigh me with accurate scales." Let God accurately look at my character and treat me according to my ways. If I act in improper ways then I should receive a consequence. Why should I expect my harvest to yield produce if I have spent my time sowing seeds of selfishness. Man is so quick to thank God for his blessings but shouldn't we do the same in regards to calamity. 

Verse 1 speaks of gazing at a virgin while verse 9 speaks of being enticed by a woman: If my heart has been enticed by a woman.  The sin here is adultery. If Job acts in that way, then he states that his wife would then be allowed to go after someone else or sleep with someone else as it says may my wife grind for another. If a man chooses another woman, then he should expect his wife to do the same. The wife would then became a servant of another man. The fire of adultery burns the house down as it would uproot all my increase.

Treated his servants in an upright manner
Job switches to another subject and expresses that he has to be a good leader. What happens when someone files a claim against him? What happens when someone asserts that we have done something wrong? What happens when someone calls us into question? How do we respond? His point is that he needs to respond in an upright manner and not simply assert his position. And then he asks what will happen when the Lord questions him. The point I think is that we need to honestly use this time to look at ourselves in the mirror and see that there may be something about us that needs to be changed. Verse 13 and 14 says, If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves when they filed a complaint against me, What then could I do when God arises?

Kindness to the Poor and Providing for the Poor
There are actually two thoughts here that Job puts forth. It seems often that all I think I need to do for the poor is write them a check and send in a little money, but Job first states that our actions toward them are to be actions of care an concern. He says in verse 16, if I have kept the poor from their desire. Have I frustrated their hopes? Have I disappointed their expectations? 

This is a tough application. There are poor all around us and how do I act toward them as they ask for money on the street corner. Do I take time to really consider them? Or do I look for a quick out? Job thought of this as supremely important. It says, "If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,or that the needy had no covering." I do know we give our old clothes and things to the poor. I do know I give counsel to the needy often through GMO. I guess in all of life I could always do more. 

He mentions dire consequence if he doesn't act correctly. In verse 22, Let my shoulder fall from the socket. And then in verse 24 he asks whether his confidence instead lies in his money -- “If I have put my confidence in gold, and called fine gold my trust, if I have gloated because my wealth was great, and because my hand had secured so much." This is a danger in life to put our confidence instead in what we have instead of in the Lord. It's one thing to say our allegiance is in God, but how do we show this through our actions. 

Properly treating those who injure us
Do I wish injury or something bad to happen to others? More often than not, I do not, for those that I like. But, what about those that I don't like? Or those that I feel like in one way or another I am in competition with? I sense at times, that I unfortunately want their demise. It is a sad reality. Here Job says he has not been this way. In verse 29 - Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, or exulted when evil befell him? No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life in a curse. This is the nature of true faith, of true religion, as Albert Barnes states: It controls the heart, represses the angry and revengeful feelings, and creates in the soul an earnest desire for the happiness even of those who injure us.

Conclusion
The concluding verses of this chapter have been hotly debated over the years regarding their true meaning, according to Albert Barnes. The sentiment though is one of Job simply stating that he has tried to be a hospitable person to his neighbor and has not wished injury of them. And he does this all for His Almighty God.  
 
Promise: Job is proclaiming once again an important truth and that is his present calamity is not the result of past sin. He has lived a blameless life and his present situation is not because he has done something wrong. At times, I need to act like this and not be so quick to admit fault. I need to be confident in who I am in Christ and what I have done. I am a sinner and often do things out of that sinful nature, but I need to remember that God is working in me and many times His good ways are shining through my life.

Job 19:25-27 - Job's Hope of Resurrection

Job 19:25-27
²⁵ “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
²⁶ “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
²⁷ Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!

Message: Job's Hope of Resurrection; Or Job's Hope of Being Redeemed

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

Beginning in verse 23 Job records words that express his dream or his desire to have his words recorded. He had been experiencing injustice from his friends. The previous verses in this chapter express this. He desired that his words might be recorded in some form, like on a tablet or rock, as was the way to record words in those days. 

The Septuagint records these words as: 25 For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, 26 and to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these sufferings: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord; 27 which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom. 

This, I guess, is a very interesting set of verses. Jews do not ascribe these words to the Messiah while Christians do think it points directly to Jesus. In my reading of these verses since we are not real sure who the source of these verses are it seems what we can do is focus on Job and the condition of his being when he was writing these words. He clearly was hurting and he clearly expected God to solve his hurting. As verse 26 records the fact that even after his skin is destroyed, he will see God. 

Chapter 19 begins with Job feeling insulted and he wants his friends or others to stop the insults. He could be wronged or on the side of error, but, if so, God is the one dealing with him (verse 6). He would hope at least his friends would come to his aid and stand by his side. As "the hand of God has struck" him (verse 21), but why must his friends do the same. 

And it is here then that he turns to God, knowing that God will in the end protect him. And he concludes with words expressing why there is injustice or evil. Evil is the result of punishment to remind us that there is judgment. God wants us to know that judgment is real. So many people spend their lives thinking that there is little in them that deserves God's judgment or even warrants it. In this world in which we live, God wants us to remember that judgment is still real.

Promise: God will rescue us. God may also be punishing us. What we need from each other is consoling and comfort, not more judgment.

Job 5:17-27 - Understanding God's Discipline

^{Job 5:17-27
17} “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
¹⁸ “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
¹⁹ “From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.
²⁰ “In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
²¹ “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
²² “You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
²³ “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
²⁴ “You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
²⁵ “You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.
²⁶ “You will come to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
²⁷ “Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Message: Understanding God's Discipline

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

From the Bible, wisdom involves knowing truth and then rightly applying that knowledge (from TableTalk). And truth is key here as a word for it also means that what you are seeking to know is the truth. There are many religions in this world that have their origin not on truth and not on truth from the Bible. And for those people what is often a tragedy is their application, albeit good has a non-truth origin. This has been one of the key tragedies of life. People spend much of life in application mode but rooted in the wrong place. 

But, back to the idea from TableTalk, once you know truth, one must rightly apply the truth in life. To me, it also interesting how many people side with the truth of the Bible and will quote verses and yet apply them in situations that are outside the context of the verse. But there isn't always necessarily a 1:1 ratio in regards to truth. The same truth may be applied differently, depending on the situation.

In the passage today, Job is on the aftermath of experiencing heartbreak, having lost his possessions and the people in his life and even his own health and dignity. He still praises God and still believes that God is over him, but he also begins to wonder why he was even born. God will be God no matter what. 

Job's friends enter and we start off with Eliphaz. In chapter 4, Eliphaz presented the idea that bad outcomes are because of good sowing. Life may have this appearance at times, but it is not always the case. In fact, I think many people see the complete injustice of there being a God with they see bad outcomes from good people, thinking that God is only allowed to be the God we want or think he should be. 

Here in chapter 5 is another instance of misapplication.

Verse 17 and 18 speak the truth that the Lord's discipline is something we can accept. Discipline reminds us we are God's children.

Now, just a note here, the issue with Job was he was being disciplined despite the presentation that he hadn't done anything wrong, per se, to have that discipline. I don't think any of us struggle with being disciplined when it is direct result of sin; the issue here is discipline that doesn't have to do with sin.

The word here in verse 17 is “correcteth” (יכח yâkach ) meaning to argue, convince, reprove, punish, and to judge. Does God sometimes ordain pain in our lives? Does God discipline people or correct them, not because they have done something wrong, but just because? I believe he does. Jesus was scourged for our sins and yet he did nothing wrong. Some people in life get a lot of good things just because.

God shows his love for us in that while we are sinners he dies for us. God overwhelms us with good despite the fact that we have been bad. We freely accept this, but not the reverse, receiving bad when we haven't done anything to merit it.

Promise: When the Lord disciplines us, it could be the result of sin, but it may be also to show us that he is sufficient. 

Jesus Calling: June 15

When you approach Me in stillness and in trust, you are strengthened. You need a buffer zone of silence around you in order to focus on things that are unseen. Since I am invisible, you must not let your senses dominate your thinking. The curse of this age is over-stimulation of the senses, which blocks out awareness of the unseen world.
     The tangible world still reflects My Glory, to those who have eyes that see and ears that hear. Spending time alone with Me is the best way to develop seeing eyes and hearing ears. The goal is to be aware of unseen things even as you live out your life in the visible world. 

2 Corinthians 4:18
English Standard Version

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Isaiah 6:3
English Standard Version

And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Psalm 130:5
English Standard Version

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.

My Prayer
Lord, help me to not focus on temporary things, but to have an eternal focus. Train me Lord each day in your ways so that I reflect you. I want to wait for You. Forgive me for my impatience and wanting everything right now. I get trained too often in this world for immediate gratification. Sometimes I don't know how to wait. My day ends up being a success based upon how I feel or see my world that day. Lord, I need to lean on you and see what you see in people and life. Strengthen me so that every day is expressing that the whole earth is full of your glory. 

Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author. 

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Job 4:7-11 - The Response of Eliphaz

Job 4:7-11

⁷ “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?
⁸ “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
⁹ “By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.
¹⁰ “The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
¹¹ “The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

Message: The Response of Eliphaz

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying:

Review

Chapter 1 and 2 opened up this book with the proclamation of a great man - Job - Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. And then enter in Satan and the sons of God (angels) roaming on the earth and they came before God. This is interesting for it should remind us that there is a another world going on beyond what we can see. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

I still am not sure I know and understand this. I still do not comprehend this unseen world that is going on. Naturally, I suppose, it is a challenge, because it is unseen. But Satan and the sons of God (angel) are all about this unseen world. They are roaming the earth. 

In this instance in Job, God says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" 

Overview
In the commentaries I've read about the three friends of Job that show up, it mentions that there words have some truth to them, but they also do harm. In my first reading of Chapter 4, there are some interesting phrases but overall I'm left with the feeling that Eliphaz is saying to Job that it is odd how Job has been a life long encouragement to others when they experience trials, but now based upon Chapter 3 his outcry is one of anger in his birth and wishing he had never been born. Verse 6 states, "Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?"

So perhaps through verse 6 Eliphaz words are fitting and okay.  

But in verse 7 Eliphaz switches to words that say basically a person's actions in life result in their outcome. In verse 7, the innocent do not perish nor are the upright destroyed. So those who live squeaky clean lives do not perish or are destroyed. While those that live bad lives perish; "those who sow trouble harvest it." And yet chapters 1 and 2 show that Job's loss of possessions and family and his own health was the result of Satan's hand. So at times, we cannot say that the loss we experience is the result of a bad life led. Eliphaz is wrong to set up this karma like situation in life. Karma is, by definition, the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. 

I remember being at an LDS service, that I agreed to go to after missionaries came to our church, where several people stood up in their pulpit and offered this idea, that our actions decide our fate. I get confused by this because Galatians does talk about reaping what you sow, but I don't think we can say that those who are righteous will never experience malady for this is what happened to Job who lived an upright life and yet he experienced difficult situations. So, I guess the LDS person could be right but not in a formulaic manner. In all these situations we must trust God for the outcome. It is true, sometimes it will seem unfair to us. We will want to see the 1:1 correlation. And yet what Eliphaz expresses is man's honest reflection sometimes based upon what he sees. In our eyes, there is a correlation between works and outcomes.

Eliphaz concludes his talk, in the verses following verse 12 speaking of a vision that he received. Verses 12-16 simply talk about the process of receiving the vision and then in 17-21 is the vision and the central idea of this vision is realizing the proper place of man before God. Mankind cannot be just before God. Man and God are different. Man is not pure, especially before God. 

But then Eliphaz goes on. I think what's missing in this chapter is the relationship God has with man. Man and God are viewed as completely distinct, that they each carry on their lives separate from one another. Their is no bridge whereas in Chapters 1 and 2, Job a blameless and upright man still received calamity and God remained in community with Job. So Eliphaz wasn't seeing the entire picture. Despite what our eyes see at any one moment, community is possible between God and man. Despite what we see and naturally conclude, God does find value in man whatever his circumstances. His grace is not looking for good people, but God's grace is given irregardless of man's condition and life lived. This is what Eliphaz misses. Yes, man and God are separate in their natures, but God is still with man.

Promise: Tabletalk states here -- the presence of sin means that sometimes people suffer the effects of the fall in ways that are unrelated to their specific, personal sin. While our suffering may be due to a specific sin, this is not always the case, and we should not assume that our pain automatically means that God is displeased with us. Always, God is there to rescue man.

Job 3 - Job's First Lament

Job 3
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.  ² And Job said,

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ May that day be darkness; let not God above care for it, nor light shine on it. Let darkness and black gloom claim it; let a cloud settle on it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
“As for that night, let darkness seize it; let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful shout enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are prepared to rouse Leviathan. Let the stars of its twilight be darkened; let it wait for light but have none, and let it not see the breaking dawn; because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, or hide trouble from my eyes.

“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me,
and why the breasts, that I should suck? For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest, with kings and with counselors of the earth, who rebuilt ruins for themselves; or with princes who had gold, who were filling their houses with silver.
“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, as infants that never saw light.
“There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. 
Why is light given to him who suffers, and life to the bitter of soul, who long for death, but there is none, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, who rejoice greatly, and exult when they find the grave?

“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in? 
“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, and my cries pour out like water.
“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, and I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Message: Job's First Lament

Time: The time of Job is unclear and commonly debated. Often the language of the book can give clues. It seems to be that Job had a lifespan of close to 200 years as Job 42:16 says he lived 140 years after the events in the book.

What the Lord is Saying: 

After blessing the Lord and after stating that we need to accept the bad as well as the good, Job now turns inward and stares at himself. His 3 friends had just come and shown up. They were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They had sat with him for 7 days without a saying a word for they saw the great pain he was in. We can have a right perspective on things, but it doesn't that it takes the hurt that we have. And chapter 3 seems to be an anthem of that pain and hurt that Job is experiencing. 

Job looks at his birth and sees it as a bad day, after all. He asks for no rejoicing on that day or the night of his birth. He speaks with a lot of feeling of misery and hurt. Yet, in all these words spoken in this lament in Chapter 3, the name of God is not cursed. He is not pointing his finger at God, but simply sunk in thought of despair. But, their still could be an inference of cursing God in his speech for his angered that he even has lived a day. He is almost saying that having lost everything why did he ever have anything at all. 

Promise: From Table talk, By definition, all that God does is good, so we cannot charge Him even implicitly with wrongdoing. Sometimes, it is better not to ask the Lord the question, “Why?” but instead only to ask Him to help us endure our suffering faithfully. God can handle our questions, but we must never ask them arrogantly.