January 4, 2011 (Job 25-42)

In chapter 28, Job speaks of wisdom, and compares it with gold and precious stones. Here are some of his observations:

^28:1 “People know where to mine silver
and how to refine gold.
² They know where to dig iron from the earth
and how to smelt copper from rock.
³ They know how to shine light in the darkness
and explore the farthest regions of the earth
as they search in the dark for ore.

¹⁰ They cut tunnels in the rocks
and uncover precious stones.
¹¹ They dam up the trickling streams
and bring to light the hidden treasures.

But then he talks of wisdom, and the price of it. He speaks that it cannot be purchased.

¹² “But do people know where to find wisdom?
Where can they find understanding?
¹³ No one knows where to find it,
for it is not found among the living.
¹⁴ ‘It is not here,’ says the ocean.
‘Nor is it here,’ says the sea.
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with gold.
It cannot be purchased with silver.
¹⁶ It’s worth more than all the gold of Ophir,
greater than precious onyx or lapis lazuli.
¹⁷ Wisdom is more valuable than gold and crystal.
It cannot be purchased with jewels mounted in fine gold.
¹⁸ Coral and jasper are worthless in trying to get it.
The price of wisdom is far above rubies.

Finally Job describes what true wisdom is:

²⁸ And this is what he (God) says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.’”

Just that one verse - to really meditate on that is true wisdom. More valuable that gold or precious stones - do we really believe that?

Then for three chapters (29-31) Job goes on to desribe all the things he has done for others - how he always helped the poor and needy; how he encouraged those who had lost hope; how the widows now sang for joy; how he insured that strangers received a fair trial.

He goes on to describe that he was innocent of sexual sins and had moral integrity:

^31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with lust at a young woman.

⁴ Doesn’t he see everything I do
and every step I take?

⁵ “Have I lied to anyone
or deceived anyone?
⁶ Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
for he knows my integrity.
⁷ If I have strayed from his pathway,
or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,
or if I am guilty of any other sin,
⁸ then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.
Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

⁹ “If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,
¹⁰ then let my wife belong to another man;
let other men sleep with her.
¹¹ For lust is a shameful sin,
a crime that should be punished.
¹² It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.
It would wipe out everything I own.

Innocent of trust in his wealth:

²⁴ “Have I put my trust in money
or felt secure because of my gold?
²⁵ Have I gloated about my wealth
and all that I own?

Innocent of not caring for his enemies:

²⁹ “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
or become excited when harm came their way?
³⁰ No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone
or by asking for revenge.

And finally, perhaps the justification that none are righteous, not even one. Job has defended his innocense and it seems as if Job really was a righteous man. But without Jesus, none of us can stand before God. If anyone could have, it would have been Job.

³⁵ “If only someone would listen to me!

With Jesus, we have 'someone who will listen to us'.

Job's three friends are now silent as well. But now a fourth person comes into the picture - one who is younger than all the others and was silent before, but now feels compelled to speak. He starts out with some 'foolish talk':

^32:2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. ³ He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments.

But he has some extreme wisdom, and prophecy, when he speaks the following:

²³ “But if an angel from heaven appears—
a special messenger to intercede for a person
and declare that he is upright—
²⁴ he will be gracious and say,
‘Rescue him from the grave,
for I have found a ransom for his life.’
²⁵ Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s,
firm and youthful again.
²⁶ When he prays to God,
he will be accepted.
And God will receive him with joy
and restore him to good standing.
²⁷ He will declare to his friends,
‘I sinned and twisted the truth,
but it was not worth it.
²⁸ God rescued me from the grave,
and now my life is filled with light.’

²⁹ “Yes, God does these things
again and again for people.
³⁰ He rescues them from the grave
so they may enjoy the light of life.

Jesus has become the ransom for our lives. He has rescued me from the grave, that I may enjoy the light of life. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us that He is "the light of the world".

Finally, God speaks. And now for four chapters God speaks of creation and of His majesty. There is too much to list, but throughout all these chapters God declares His wisdom. Here is just a sample:

^38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
⁵ Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
⁶ What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
⁷ as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
⁹ and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
¹⁰ For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
¹¹ I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹² “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
¹³ Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

³¹ “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
binding the cluster of the Pleiades
or loosening the cords of Orion?
³² Can you direct the sequence of the seasons
or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
³³ Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴ “Can you shout to the clouds
and make it rain?
³⁵ Can you make lightning appear
and cause it to strike as you direct?
³⁶ Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
³⁸ when the parched ground is dry
and the soil has hardened into clods?

^41:11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?
Everything under heaven is mine.

After all that, we see Job's response - which should be our response when we are confronted with our sin - repentance.

^42:1 Then Job replied to the Lord:

² “I know that you can do anything,
and no one can stop you.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
things far too wonderful for me.
⁴ You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.’
⁵ I had only heard about you before,
but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
⁶ I take back everything I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

What was God's response? Restoration. But He restored him only after He obeyed God's command for him to pray for his friends. I wonder if this is also a 'life lesson' for us - that as we pray for others, God blesses us?

⁷ After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰ When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!

¹² So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.