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Will you ever see the following in a Hallmark store???
Eliphaz:Eliphaz:
Those who plow and sow trouble,Those who plow and sow trouble,reap it!reap it!Job 4:8.Job 4:8.
You’re getting what God knows You’re getting what God knows you really deserve, Job!you really deserve, Job!
Bildad:Bildad:
He is only dishing out what He is only dishing out what your secret sin deserves…your secret sin deserves…
If only you were pure and upright,If only you were pure and upright,so that He could arise for you.so that He could arise for you.
Job 8:4-6.Job 8:4-6.
If you were only more spiritual, God If you were only more spiritual, God would be correcting this right now.would be correcting this right now.
Zophar:Zophar:
If only you were more faith-filled If only you were more faith-filled and devote, then you could have and devote, then you could have
avoided all this!avoided all this!
Job 11:13.Job 11:13.
These are some of the actually sayings that we will hear from Job’s
“friends.”
NIV Job 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: 2 "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be
impatient? But who can keep from speaking? 3 Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. 4 Your words have
supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. 5 But now trouble comes to you, and
you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. 6 Should not your piety be your confidence
and your blameless ways your hope? 7 "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?
8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and
those who sow trouble reap it.
Eliphaz believes Job has deserved what has happened to him.
He goes on to say that if Job repents his unrighteousness, a merciful God will take him back.
5:17 [Eliphaz] "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
NIV Job 6:1 Then Job replied: 2 "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery
be placed on the scales!”
14 "A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow 16 when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, 17 but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.
Job pleads ignorance. He is not aware of any overt or unrepented
unrighteousness.
7:16 [Job continues] I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning. 17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so
much attention, 18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a
burden to you? 21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will
search for me, but I will be no more."
Bildad pipes in that Job really knows his sin before the Lord that
has caused all the trouble:
8:20 "Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the
hands of evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your
lips with shouts of joy. 22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be
no more."
Neat imagery from Bildad!
A man who forgets God is like a plant without rich soil, water, or sun.
Job responds (9:1-22)
• “How can mortal man be righteous before God?” It is a mystery left to God!
• The Almighty who made the constellations (the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades) knows all about everything, even Job.
• Job asserts that he has not committed a sin to deserve his suffering (9:21).
• Job identifies his friends as one more form of brutal suffering in their accusations of sin to merit his suffering (10:22).
Zophar speaks (11:1-20):
• Zophar is offended that Job claims his beliefs are flawless and he is pure in God’s sight (10:3).
• If Job repents of the sins that cause this misfortune, God will restore him with “a life brighter than noonday” (11:17).
Job responds (12:1-14:22)sarcasm:
Surely when you die, all wisdom will die with you also.”
Job responds (12:1-14:22)
• Who can bring charges of sin against me?
• Show me my offense and my sin!
• If only the grave would cover me!
Eliphaz responds (15:1-35)
• He believes Job has just shaken his fist at God to claim to be just and innocent.
Job responds (16:1-16)
• “Miserable comforters are you all!”
• “My hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure before Him.”
• “Surely, mockers surround me!”
Bildad responds (18:1-21)
• “Be sensible. We aren’t dumb livestock before you.”
• Bildad says Job’s protests their counsel because he doesn’t know God.
Job responds (19:1-29)
• Job responds that his hope is God.
NIV Job 19:23 "Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes-- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! 28 "If you say, 'How we will hound him, since the root of the trouble lies in him,' 29 you should fear the sword yourselves; for wrath will bring punishment by the sword, and then you will know that there is judgment."
Zophar responds (20:1-29)
• “Though man’s pride reaches heaven, he will perish like his own dung.“
• God punishes those who try to hide their sin with false piety (like Job’s).
Job responds (21:1-34)
• Will you teach God what should be done?
• All people (good and bad) must die and face God.
• How about the evil who seem to get away with their sins?
Eliphaz responds (22:130)• He says that Job was stingy and uncaring
for others.
• He claims Job has told God that He does not know what He is doing.
• He says Job needs to repent to be restored.
• Then Job will be able to truly say he can delight to see God’s face.
Job responds (23:1-17)
• If Job could find God dwelling on earth, he would go to him.
• But God knows all and Job humbly reveres the all-knowing God.
• Injustice happens. The poor suffer. Wickedness occurs. Kings are done away with. This is a world where evil abounds and seems to go unchecked.
• “Deep darkness is dawn [for the wicked].”• “The womb forgets. The worm feasts.”
Bildad responds (25:1-6)
• 1. God is in complete control with angels enforcing order. Wickedness isn’t rampant!
• 2. “How can a man ever claim to be righteous before God?” “Man is a maggot. The son of man is a worm.”
Job responds (26:1-31:40)• “Have you [his friends] helped the weak?”• “Who has helped you utter these words to
me?” Slam! – No comfort given Job.• “I will not deny my integrity before the
Lord!”• In response to Bildad -- Yes, God does
eventually bring down the wicked!• “Fear of the Lord is wisdom. Shunning evil
is knowledge.”
Job continues…
• He helped the poor and unfortunate when God blessed him.
• Now, they, those he helped, mock Job.• He did good to all who suffered.• He shunned the thought of adultery
knowing it leads to ruin.• He was a good employer and master.• He went out of his way to help the
downtrodden.
Job continues…
• He never put his trust in his own wealth.
• He never worshipped the sun or moon as a pagan.
• He never gloated over his neighbor’s misfortune.
• He has not been a hypocrite trying to hide the guilt of sin (common to all).
• Job is now done speaking.
Then a fourth friend speaks, not Then a fourth friend speaks, not mentioned till now.mentioned till now.
His name is Elihu.His name is Elihu.
He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. He
was also angry with the three friends because they condemned Job
without cause.Job 32:3-4.
“My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I
know. The Spirit of God has made me; the
breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
NIV Job 33:3-4
Notice Job and Elihu contend that their peace in the presence of God validates their speech.
-- I know my Redeemer lives…I will see Him how my heart years for this.
--The Spirit of God gives me breath.
Elihu responds (32:1-37:24)
• I am young but must speak.
• No one has proved Job wrong.
• I am like bottled up wine ready to burst out of the wineskin!
• Job, no one can claim he is entirely without sin. God redeems us from the ruin of our sin so that we can rejoice to see His face (33:26-33).
Elihu responds (32:1-37:24)
• Job is a scoundrel in their sight.• Without God, we are nothing.• God is judge over all. We cannot demand Him
to do anything.• But God does not despise man. He is just.• We cannot demand mercy from God when we
feel guilt ridden. His blessing is a gift on His own terms.
• Elihu condemns Job because it appears that God does not care about wickedness.
Elihu responds (32:1-37:24)
• God gives us knowledge to serve and obey Him.• God’s eyes are on the righteous to bless them.• We should consider if hardship has been caused
by flagrant sin. “If man does not listen, they will perish.”
• But God does great things beyond our understanding (37:5)… so that all men revere Him in His larger divine plan! (37:24).
Elihu states that God eventually vindicates those who look to him and stand
upright before him.
We all need divine patience.
Elihu continues that God’s ways are sometimes beyond
our finite and limited understanding as we wait.
But God is faithful and works all things for the good of those who look to Him for
helpand make Him their hope.
Guess who breaks in?
Guess who continues what Elihu is teaching?
Who darkens
My counsel?
God affirms Elihu’s statements.
The Lord does rebuke Job that His suffering is not altogether meaningless.
Job will now make intercession for his three friends.
His three friends’ sin has been revealed in His suffering. 1. They speak evil of God’s intent for His righteous servant. 2. They stand in the place of God to judge man.
NIV Job 42:7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my
servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not
spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted
Job's prayer. 10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and
everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and
their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
17 And so he died, old and full of years.
“Everything written about me
in the Law of Moses, the
Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled in Me.”
Luke 24:44.
1. A friend suffers. He loses his loved ones.He loses his health.Why?Because of the devil.
2. The hearts of his companions understand their own sinful unbelief through the suffering of the righteous.
3. The suffering friend makes atonement to save his companions.
4. The one who stands upright in understanding is he who rejoices in the Lord’s presence.
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes-- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! NIV Job 19:25-27
We wait for the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, NIV Titus 2:13.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
NIV 1 John 3:2-3.
We are led to rejoice in the Lord’s presence because we realize our sin as the Righteous Servant suffered.
Dinosaurs?
NIV Job 40:15 "Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. 16 What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! 17 His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. 19 He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword. 20 The hills bring him their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. 21 Under the lotus plants he lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. 22 The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround him.
Is this the source of dragon lore?
NIV Job 41:1 "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
NIV Job 41:12 "I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form. 13 Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle? 14 Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth? 15 His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together; 16 each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. 17 They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. 18 His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn. 19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. 20 Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. 21 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth. 22 Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. 24 His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. 25 When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing. 26 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. 27 Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. 28 Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him. 29 A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance. 30 His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge. 31 He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. 32 Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair. 33 Nothing on earth is his equal-- a creature without fear. 34 He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud."
Leviathan• Book of Job 3:8 "May those who curse days curse that day, those
who are ready to rouse Leviathan "; NIV • Book of Job 41:1-34: "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?
or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?...He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride." KJV (quoted 1 and 34 only)
• Psalms 74:14: "Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." KJV
• Psalms 104:24,25: "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." KJV;
• Isaiah 27:1: "In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." KJV
