Job's Protector part two

Lesson seven in the Job series.

Now we are going to examine God's speech in chapters 38 and 39. Put on your thinking caps because we have to begin the process of comparing God's words with all the words that have been spoken by everyone else, so we can piece this puzzle together. Here is our first example: When God says, "Who is darkening my counsel with words without knowledge? he is obviously targeting Elihu who has been relentlessly ranting about words without knowledge. Elihu was accusing Job of lying about his intimate relationship with God. He was saying to Job, "You don't know God at all. You talk like a wicked man!" Now God is saying the exact same thing to Elihu. Then God says, "Dress for action like a man!" We already saw how this same message meant different things to each person present. It gave Job great hope because if you remember, he was dressed in sackcloth and covered in dust and ashes. When it is time to take off sackcloth, there is joy ahead. And Job knows that he will be completely healed because God is telling him that he has a new service for him to perform. This one phrase from God is the equivalent of being raised from the dead. It show God's approval of Job in the same way that Jesus' resurrection showed God's approval of him. 

God begins a series of questions here and it is fairly easy to see whom his remarks are directed at. Do you remember who said this?

Are you the first man who was born?

Or were you brought forth before the hills?

Have you listened in the council of God?

And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

Older than your father.

In case you forgot, it was Eliphaz interrogating Job. Now look at what God says in his speech:

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements--surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk, 

Or who laid its cornerstone,

when all the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst our from the womb,

when I made clouds its garment

and this darkness its swaddling band,

and prescribed limits for it 

and set bars and doors,

and said,'Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed?'

Have you commanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

that it might take hold to the skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be shaken out of it?

It is changed like clay under the seal, 

and its features stand out like a garment.

From the wicked their light is withheld, 

and their uplifted arm is broken.

Have you entered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?

Declare, if you know all this.

Where is the way to the dwelling of light,

and where is the place of darkness,

that you may take it to its territory

and that you may discern the paths to its home?

You know, for you were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

It should be obvious that God is targeting Eliphaz here. He mimics the way Eliphaz speaks and then he makes a really sarcastic comment about Eliphaz bragging about how old he was and why this makes him wise. I love it when God says these kinds of sarcastic things because it really helps us understand what is truly going on. God is answering Eliphaz as if God was taking Job's place in the argument. (Which he is!!!)

In addition to criticizing and correcting Job's friends, God commends Job's arguments by fleshing them out, thus vindicating Job in chapters 38-39. In Job 9:1-13, we see Job making a case for God's might and strength and wisdom in creating the earth, giving commands to the sun, sealing up the stars, stretching out the heavens, trampling the waves of the sea, making the Bear and Orion and Pleiades...concluding that God "does great things beyond searching out." When we skip over to Job 38, God picks up on Job's argument and spends the whole chapter fleshing it out. It is as if God is taking them on this amazing tour of the cosmos to personally show them some of the things Job has wondered about and spoken about. He mentions the very same things that Job had mentions--the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades--and all of it gives weight to Job's argument.

Then in Job 12:7-8, Job says, "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you." He is arguing the point with his friends that God's sovereignty is based in his wisdom and might and that things are not always as they appear. In 12:17-25 Job gives example after example of how things go contrary to the way we expect. When we again skip over to chapter 39, God seems to devote the whole chapter to picking up this part of Job's argument. He shows by giving one example after another that things are not as they seem and that some things can never be understood by man. My favorite example is the ostrich. By looking at her plumes, you would thing her capacity for loving her young would be great and that she could take them under her wing for protection. But in fact, the ostrich is cruel to her young. You can't always judge things by how they appear. This is a direct criticism of Job's friends who judge everything by appearances. 

Next time we will finish God's speech in chapters 40 and 41 and I think you will find it amazing!

Job's Protector part one

Lesson six in the Job series.

Job is in big trouble. He is poor. He is needy. He is afflicted. He is destitute. He is dying. His enemy Elihu is railing at the dying man and calling for his ultimate damnation. Job has cried out for God to rescue him and plead his case and answer his prayers for vindication. And now Job's Savior has shown up--in the most dramatic entrance ever. The Lord answers Job in a whirlwind. Do you remember when King David was in a similar situation and God showed up in the same way? You can read all about it in Psalm 18:1-30. God showed up in a storm because he was so angry at David's enemies and he plucked David up and rescued him from them. In the Old Testament, any time God showed up in a storm or on dark clouds or in a whirlwind, it was because he was angry. Another good example is from Isaiah 66:12-16 which shows us again how God comforts his people while simultaneously judging their enemies. 

For thus says the Lord:

"Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river;

and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip

and bounced upon her knees.

As one whom his mother comforts,

so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bones shall flourish like the grass;

and the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,

and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

For behold, the Lord will come in fire,

and his chariots like the whirlwind,

to render his anger in fury,

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment,

and by his sword, with all flesh;

and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

Whirlwinds are mentioned 21 times in the Old Testament and every time it was because God was coming in wrath to rescue his servants and destroy or bring calamity on their enemies.

Just for context here: Recall that Elihu is on the stage ranting about how Job is speaking "words without knowledge" like a wicked man. God suddenly interrupts Elihu in the whirlwind and says, "WHO is this that darkens counsel by "words without knowledge?" 

Understand that God has come in answer to Job's prayers. And when God shows up, he is not only coming as the Judge, but also as the Advocate (Arbiter) that Job so longed for. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit also shows up to convict the three wise men. So we have the entire Trinity taking center stage at this point. And all three have a part to play. God speaks TO Job, but whenever God speaks it is FOR everybody just like when he spoke to his other servants like Moses and David. For example, when the Israelites left Egypt and were complaining about having no food, God promised them manna. The rules were to collect only enough for one day for five days of the week and they were not to try to save some for the next day. Then on the sixth day they were to collect double because there would be no manna on the seventh day. As you know, several of the people disobeyed. Exodus 16:28 says, And the Lord said TO Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?"  Now we all know that it was NOT Moses who was squirreling food away in his tent and it was NOT Moses who was out searching for hidden manna on the Sabbath. But that is how God talks to his servants. He did the same when he spoke to Job.

Think of it this way--when your pastor preaches a sermon on Sunday morning, he has all kinds of people in the congregation. Some are saved, some are not. Some are on the way to being saved. But the message is the same for everybody even though everybody is in a different place and receives it differently. When God comes on the scene in Job, the same thing happens. When God says, "Dress for action like a man," that means one thing for Job who will be discarding his sackcloth and taking on the role of a priest for a new kind of service. It means another thing for Elihu who is facing his own day in court before the Judge, and it means something quite different for the three wise men who will soon be putting off the old man and putting on the new as the Holy Spirit convicts them. Each person has his own level of interpretation depending their circumstances, but the message is the same for everyone. 

After this, God launches into a long speech. Here is where you have to pay really close attention because this next part will be like solving a puzzle. In order to know who God is addressing, you have to look at the words God is using and then go back and see who used those same words and phrases before. Only after you do this will you be able to see what is happening here and how to interpret it. 

We will start that puzzle next time!

Job's Prosecutor

Lesson five in the Job series.

Now we know who Job's persecutors were and we are going to discover who his prosecutor will be. Elihu is a man who is a center of controversy. Some people think he is very godly and paves the way for God's dramatic entrance at the end of the book, and some people think Elihu is evil. So we will have to see what he actually says and make our own judgment. For starters, when Elihu comes on the scene, he is described as "burning with anger" four times. That raises about...four red flags. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus says, You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool! will be liable to the hell of fire.

Like I said, we are not even out of the gate and we have four red flags. Elihu is angry with Job's friends for not winning their argument and he is angry with Job because Job keeps insisting that he is blameless. Job has expressed several times that God has spoken to him and they have an intimate relationship. This infuriates Elihu who twice accuses Job of speaking words "without knowledge." In the Bible, the word knowledge means the kind of knowledge that one could only have access to if he has an intimate relationship with someone--in this case God. It is Job's insistence that he has this kind of relationship with God (Job 27:1-4) that infuriates Elihu.

Elihu also claims to be "perfect in knowledge" (36:4) like God--red flag number five. By making this statement, Elihu is claiming to have the status of the Son of God! Jesus says in Matthew 11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. What Elihu has just uttered is blasphemy--no two ways about it. He further implies that he was present at creation in 36:3-4. Elihu has already silenced Job (33:31). Now he is telling Job that if Job will just listen to him, he can have access to this intimate knowledge like God. Can you hear the hiss of the snake in these words? Where have you heard words like that before?

Elihu has a lot to say about Job, but his words are not true--red flag number six. He insists over and over that Job is a wicked man. It seems to me that if someone really claims to have perfect knowledge like God, then that person should recognize that Job is God's servant. Elihu then wishes eternal damnation for Job. In chapter 34:36 he says, "Would that Job were tried to the end because he answers like wicked men." That may not sound so bad in English, but the Hebrew word for to the end is netsach which means forever or eternally. A more literal English translation would be "I hope you rot in hell!" --Red flag number seven.

Elihu presents a solution for Job's problem, but it is a false gospel. He tells Job that God will accept him based on his behavior (34:11) and that when God does accept him, he will become very prosperous and live out his days in comfort and prosperity (36:11). We know this today as the prosperity gospel--red flag number eight.

Finally, Elihu begins an intense interrogation of Job. It is as if he has set up a kangaroo court in which to try Job. A kangaroo court is an unofficial court where the defendant is denied his rights. He gets no lawyer, no witnesses, no unbiased judge. So poor Job has all the cards stacked against him. The questions Elihu asks in 37:15-20 seem to imply that Elihu himself knows the answers to exactly how God has planned out every aspect of creation. Elihu just keeps pummeling away at Job who remains silent throughout this discourse--red flag number nine. 

Many centuries after Job lived, another kangaroo court would be held in the middle of the night. This was in the house of the high priest and Caiaphas was in control, or at least he thought so. Jesus was the one on trial and Caiaphas accused Jesus of blasphemy because Jesus claimed he had an intimate relationship with God. Hmmmm...sound familiar? Caiaphas and the chief priests also demanded the worst possible penalty--crucifixion, the curse of God. And Jesus was crucified and descended into hell.

The most egregious effect of Elihu's blathering is the fact that he outright slanders God. He tells Job over and over that God does not hear his cries and will not answer Job (35:13-14). He carries on about God's righteousness and justice and begins ranting about how God will not violate these attributes. Let's listen in for moment: Elihu says, "The Almighty--we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in the own conceit." On the surface this might sound true. But what Elihu is really claiming here is that God administers justice to all individuals without mercy--because mercy would violate God's justice. God cannot have mercy on anyone because he is bound by his own righteousness and justice to punish people. That is why men fear God. 

Satan...I mean Elihu, refuses to recognize that Jesus will bear the punishment for those whom God has declared blameless. He refuses to acknowledge that God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger, showing lovingkindness to thousands. Elihu has just condemned God by slandering him and smearing his reputation--red flag number 10. It is just at this point in Elihu's rant that God storms onto the scene interrupting this scandalous tirade. With all these red flags surrounding Elihu, it should be easy to see where God's wrath will be directed.