PM June 14th Job 10

June 14^th Job 10

1: My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2: I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. 3: Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? 4: Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? 5: Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, 6: That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? 7: Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand. 8: Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. 9: Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? 10: Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? 11: Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. 12: Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. 13: And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. 14: If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. 15: If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; 16: For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. 17: Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. 18: Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! 19: I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20: Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, 21: Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 22: A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

Job 11 Zophar accuses Job of sin

1: Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, 2: Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? 3: Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? 4: For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. 5: But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 6: And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. 7: Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8: It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9: The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10: If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11: For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 12: For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. 13: If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; 14: If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. 15: For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: 16: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: 17: And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. 18: And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. 19: Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. 20: But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

Job 12 Job responds

1: And Job answered and said, 2: No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 3: But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 4: I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. 5: He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. 6: The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. 7: But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 9: Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? 10: In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. 11: Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? 12: With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 13: With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. 14: Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 15: Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. 16: With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. 17: He leadeth counsellers away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 18: He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 19: He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 20: He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 21: He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. 22: He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. 23: He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. 24: He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 25: They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Today Job continues to bring his answer to Bildad. But then another ‘friend’ Zophar comes and accuses Job of sin. Job responds to him. He continues in Chapter 10 saying, my soul is weary, (I’m not surprised!) He says l want to talk about how l feel. Do not condemn me outright; tell me why you are contending with me? Do you get pleasure out of crushing me? Why do you look down on how l live? And why do you delight in the advice of the wicked? Are your eyes soft? Do you see as a man sees? Are you a man? You have examined me and searched me out. You know that l am not a wicked man. You Lord made me and none can rescue me out of your hand if you are against me. You made me and yet you have not destroyed me. Remember that you made me from clay and will you brig me to dust again? You have poured me out like milk and curdled me like cheese. You clothed me with skin and flesh and surrounded me with bones and sinews. You gave me life and your blessing and you have kept me together in my mind. You have put this knowledge in my heart and l know that this is true. When l sin you mark me and you will not acquit me of my sin. And if l am wicked then l can look out, but if l am righteous l will still not be proud so look on me in my affliction. You have hunted me like a lion yet you have shewed yourself marvellous to me. You have spoken against me and you have had indignation on me. So why did you bring me to birth? If only l had died I the womb and nobody had ever seen me. I would have gone from the womb to the grave. My life is so short so leave me alone so that l may have a little comfort and very soon l will go to where there is no return. Soon l will be in the land of death of darkness and the shadow of death. And so Job longs to die. He knows that he has not sinned yet all that has happened to him has been a mystery. Then Zophar spoke up accusing Job of sin. He said. Shouldn’t anyone answer you Job? Should we allow you to justify yourself? Should your lies make men silent? You have said my thinking is pure and l am clean in my own eyes. If only the Lord God would speak and accuse you of your sin. He would show you the hidden source of sin in your wisdom. They are twice as bad as you think they are. God has been merciful to you so far. Can you by searching find out everything about God? Can you Job fully understand the Lord? God is higher than the heaven and deeper than hell itself, so what do you know? The knowledge of the Lord is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. If God decides to kill you or shut you up or bring you back together who can stop him? God knows empty men and he sees the wickedness of men. Men who see themselves as important wish to be wise yet men are like wild donkeys colts. (Untried and untamed.) If you prepare your heart to seek the Lord and cry out to him. If there is sin in your hand put it away and do not let wickedness live in your tent. Because then you will lift up your face to the Lord without hidden sin and you will be secure and fearless. You will forget your misery and it will be like water under the bridge. You will be like a new day beginning. You will be safe and there will be hope for you. You will take your rest and none will make you afraid. The plans of the wicked will fail and God will deal with them and their hopes will pass away like a man expiring. Job responds to Zophar. He says, you think that you know everything and that wisdom will die with you. But l understand things too you know. I am not your child to be taught by you. I am like a man who is laughed at by his neighbours because he prays. God will answer me and give me the last laugh. It seems that the wicked are prospering. Why not ask the animals and the birds – they will tell you. Why not talk to the earth because the earth will teach you. Even the fish could teach you something. Everyone and everything knows that the Lord has done all this in my life. Everyone is in his hand – he holds the breath of every living thing in his hand. Doesn’t every ear hear? And every mouth taste? Old men are wise and long life brings understanding. It old age that breaks us down and we cannot be built up again. When God shuts a man up he cannot be opened again. When God withholds water then men dry up. When God sends out waters they over run the earth. With the LORD is strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his. He takes those who give advice as prisoners. And he makes the judges foolish men. He can set men free from kings. He can lead princes away captive and conquer the strong men. He takes away the speech of the verbose and he can remove the wisdom of the old men. He pours contempt on princes and weakens the strong. God alone can discover secret things and he reveals dark secrets. He makes nations great and he destroys them. He can take away the hearts of leaders and causes them to be without direction. They grope in the darkness and he makes them to be weary like a drunkard.

• Why does Zophar accuse Job of sin?
• How does Job respond to Zophar?
• How does Job know that he has not sinned?