June 11th Job 1 A. The Drama (Prose) The first testing of Job
1: There was a man in the land of Uz,
whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared
God, and eschewed evil. 2: And
there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3: His substance also was seven
thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and
five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the
greatest of all the men of the east. 4:
And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and
called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5: And it was so, when the days of
their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up
early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of
them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in
their hearts. Thus did Job continually. 6:
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7:
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD,
and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in
it. 8: And the LORD said unto
Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the
earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9: Then Satan answered the LORD, and
said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10:
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that
he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his
substance is increased in the land. 11:
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse
thee to thy face. 12: And the
LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon
himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the
LORD. 13: And there was a day
when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house: 14: And there
came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses
feeding beside them: 15: And
the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the
servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16: While he was yet speaking, there
came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath
burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped
alone to tell thee. 17: While
he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out
three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and
slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to
tell thee. 18: While he was yet
speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 19: And, behold, there came a great
wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell
upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell
thee. 20: Then Job arose, and
rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and
worshipped, 21: And said, Naked
came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD
gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. 22: In all this Job sinned not, nor
charged God foolishly.
Job 2 Job is tested again
1: Again there was a day when the sons
of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among
them to present himself before the LORD. 2:
And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the
LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and
down in it. 3: And the LORD
said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like
him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst
me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4: And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea,
all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5: But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his
flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6: And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand;
but save his life. 7: So went
Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from
the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8:
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the
ashes. 9: Then said his wife
unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10: But he said unto her, Thou
speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at
the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin
with his lips.
B.
The Dialogue (Poetry) Job’s
three friends
11: Now when Job's three friends heard
of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own
place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite:
for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to
comfort him. 12: And when they
lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice,
and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their
heads toward heaven. 13: So
they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none
spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Job 3 Job complains to God
1: After this opened Job his mouth,
and cursed his day. 2: And Job
spake, and said, 3: Let the day
perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man
child conceived. 4: Let that
day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine
upon it. 5: Let darkness and
the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of
the day terrify it. 6: As for
that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of
the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7: Lo, let that night be solitary,
let no joyful voice come therein. 8:
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
9: Let the stars of the
twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it
see the dawning of the day: 10:
Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine
eyes. 11: Why died I not from
the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? 12: Why did the knees prevent me? or
why the breasts that I should suck? 13:
For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had
I been at rest, 14: With kings
and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 15: Or with princes that had gold,
who filled their houses with silver: 16:
Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw
light. 17: There the wicked
cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18: There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice
of the oppressor. 19: The small
and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. 20: Wherefore is light given to him
that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 21: Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more
than for hid treasures; 22:
Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 23: Why is light given to a man whose
way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? 24:
For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the
waters. 25: For the thing which
I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto
me. 26: I was not in safety,
neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.
Today we begin one of the largest, most misunderstood and
interesting books of sacred scripture. The Book of Job describes a God who is
in control and that righteousness is meaningful. And the sovereignty of God
which is a mystery to us down here can be explained when the shadows pass away.
This is a large book of 42 chapters. Job was a wealthy landowner and livestock
owner and may have lived in the days of Abraham. God had allowed Job to become
very wealthy. Satan appears before God and tells God that If God allowed him to
remove all his wealth and children then Job would curse Him. Job never did! So
Satan comes again and says if he suffered in body then he would curse God. Job
still never did, even when advised to by his wife. We learn that Job had three
friends who come to give his advice. Job is the first of the five poetry books,
Psalm, Proverbs Ecclesiastics, Song of Solomon & Lamentations. Hebrew
Poetry is achieved by repeating an idea, which is called parallelism. Poetry
came very easily to the people of that day as it does to some societies today.
 |
Job is tested
Three friends talk to Job
A young man talks to Job
God speaks to Job
Job is restored
In our
first reading we find two chapters of the Drama in Prose. We have the
description of the testing of Job which does not break his faithfulness. So
then we read of the testing of Job again. This time it’s much more personal. In
ch 2 we are introduced to Jobs three so-called friends. And so begins a long
dialogue which comes in poetical form and lastly in chapter three Job makes his
complaint to the Lord. Coming back to the beginning we read that there lived a
man called Job in the land of Uz. In Gen 22v20-21 we read that after the
offering of Isaac Abraham hears of his brother Nahor who has eight sons two of
whom are called Uz and Buz. Uz gives his name to the land in which he settled.
So it is likely that these events in Job are contemporary with the life of
Abraham and that Abraham knew Job. They might have even spoke and something of
the knowledge of the Lord might have come to Job from Abraham. We learn that he
was perfect and upright. He was not physically and spiritually affected by the
wicked men of his day and he lived an upright life before the Lord. He feared
God and hated evil. God blessed Job with seven sons and three daughters. He had
7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 she asses, and a very great household.
He was very much like Abraham. He was the greatest man of the east whereas
Abraham was the greatest man of the west (or the Middle East) When his sons and
daughters feasted he rose early each morning offering burnt offerings for then
in the off chance that they might have sinned. He was a man of worship and
prayer. Job was consistent in his sacrifices. Then suddenly the scene changes
and we get a glimpse of heavens courts. The angels of God are presenting
themselves before the Lord and even Satan comes with them to stand before God.
The Lord speaks to Satan saying where have you been? And he replies l have been
all over the place. The Lord says to him have you thought about my servant Job?
There is none like him in all the earth. (What about Abraham?) He is perfect;
upright he fears God and hates evil? But Satan answers that he doesn’t do all
this for nothing. You have put a thick impenetrable hedge all around him. And
you have blessed him in providing increase of his goods. But if you touch all
he has and take it from him then he will curse you to your face. The Lord said
to Satan l am going to give all his wealth into your power however you are not
to touch the man himself. So Satan left. Then there came a day when Job’s sons
and daughters were eating and drinking and there came a message to Job saying
that the Sabeans attacked the herdsmen and took all the oxen away and killed
all his servants. Then while he was speaking another man came saying that fire
came down from heaven and destroyed all the sheep and shepherds and only l have
escaped. And while he was still speaking another servant came in saying The
Chaldeans attacked us on three sides and stole all the camels. And killed all
the servants and only l escaped to tell you. Then another man came in saying
that all his sons and daughters where in a great house and a mighty wind came
and shook the house and it fell killing all his sons and daughters. Job rose up
and humbled himself and fell on his face and worshipped the LORD. Then he said
naked l came out of the womb and naked l will return. The Lord gave me
everything and he has taken it all away, blessed be the name of the LORD. In
all that happened to Job he never sinned or spoke evil of the LORD foolishly. Then the scene changes again and we seethe
courts of Heaven and the angels of God are appearing again before the Lord. The
enquiry is the same. Where have you been and the answer Oh l’ve been about! But
then the Lord asks again have you considered my servant Job etc etc. But this
time the Lord says he still maintains his integrity even though you have do all
this against him. But Satan answered Skin for skin. All that a man has he will
give for his life. He says if you touched his flesh and bone then he would
curse you to your face. So The Lord granted permission to strike Job with the
things of the flesh yet he was not allowed to take his life. Job then came down
with sore boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head. And he took
a broken pot to scratch his flesh. And he sat among the ashes. He humbled
himself even more before the Lord. Then Job’s wife said to him are you still
going to hang on to your integrity? Why don’t you curse God and then he will
kill you. But he replied you speak like one of the foolish women. I have
received from the Lord good things then why should l not receive from him evil
things. In all this he did not curse the Lord. And so begins the dialogue. The
poetry. Job had three friends who heard of his misfortune and they came to
speak to him. They came to mourn with him and to comfort him. When they saw him
they did not recognise him and they wept and they tore their clothes and put
dust on their heads toward the Lord and they sat with him for a whole week in silence
because they saw that his grief was very great indeed. Then after a week Job
cursed the day he was born. He said may no one ever remember the day. He asks
why didn’t l die on the day l was born? If l had died then l would have been at
rest. The good and the bad all have rest in the grave. There the servant is
free of his master it is in death that the sorrowful long for rest. He said the
thing that l greatly feared has come upon me.
No comments:
Post a Comment