Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #5 To meditate and Transform

Posted on February 14, 2013. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Holy Scriptures, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh | Tags: Activity of God, Bible, Blessing, Breath of God, Elohim, Foundation, Grand Instructor, Holy Scriptures, Idol, Idolatry, Image, Instructions, Meditate, Meditation, Prophet, Transormation, Voice of God, Will of God, Wisdom, Word of God, Worship, Worshipping |

Trust, Faith and Prayer

Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 voice of God

Hearing the Voice in the Holy Scriptures

Responding to the Grand Instructor

Durga Idol – Bandel – Photo: Arpansrkr

In the Holy Scriptures God gave His Words and told people how to behave and how to follow His instructions and how to fulfil His Will. So they should know that God detest those who worship false gods. Jehovah certainly made the dignity of His voice to be heard and made the descending of His Arm to be seen, in the raging of anger and the flame of a devouring fire and cloudburst and rainstorm and hailstones. For because of the voice of Jehovah it was not only Assyria that was struck with terror. God will strike everything what He wants even with a staff. Those responding to the voice of the Grand Instructor will scatter their graven images, viewing them as something disgusting.

And you shall defile the covering of your graven images of silver, and the plating of your moulded images of gold. You shall throw them away as a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Be gone!” (Isaiah 30:22 The Scriptures 1998+)

30 And יהוה {Jehovah} shall cause His excellent voice to be heard, and show the coming down of His arm, with raging wrath and the flame of a consuming fire, with scattering, downpour and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of יהוה {Jehovah} Ashshur is broken down, with a rod He smites. 32 And every passage of the ordained staff which יהוה {Jehovah} lays on him, shall be with tambourines and lyres, when He shall fight with it, battling with a brandishing arm. (Isaiah 30:30-32 The Scriptures 1998+)

The man of God presented to the people the Words God dictated them. Those who heard the prophets could either ignore them or be willing to take in life’s water of truth; the Word of God could offer them the refuge, the security and the blessings. The Most High provided the means that people could find the way to gain the greatest benefit from the inspired Scriptures. The way to find salvation to everlasting life is to study those Scriptures and live by them every day of our lives. We must constantly meditate on God’s Word, with the same prayerful attitude of appreciation as expressed by the psalmist:

11 I remember the deeds of Yah, For I remember Your wonders of old. 12 And I shall meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. 13 Your way, O Elohim, is in Set-apartness^{1}; Who is a great Ěl like Elohim? {Footnote: ¹Isa. 35:8}. 14 You are the Ěl who does wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. 15 By Your arm You have redeemed Your people, The sons of Ya’aqob and Yosĕph. Selah. (Psalms 77:11-15 The Scriptures 1998+)

Foundation for meditation and transformation

Meditating on Jehovah’s ‘marvellous doing and activity’ will stir us also to be active in fine works, with everlasting life in view.

The Scriptures should be the very foundation of our daily living because it is God’s Word that can reach us every day. Let us heed the words of Paul who also speaks about the Breath of God, His Words, and tells young Timothy to continue in the things that he had learned and were persuaded to believe, always looking at the intimate connection between God and His written revelation and holding fast to those good things of God.

14 But you, stay in what you have learned and trusted, having known from whom you have learned, 15 and that from a babe you have known the Set-apart Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for deliverance through belief in Messiah יהושע {Jeshua}. 16 All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17 The Scriptures 1998+)

The Scriptures (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“What more do we want than wisdom in relation to this matter? If the sacred Scriptures are able to make us wise, we need no other instrumentality. The Holy Spirit by the word, without infusing a single idea into it more than it actually and ordinarily contains, and without any collateral influence, teaches us all wisdom and knowledge that is necessary… Why, then, my friends, can we not be content with the means within the grasp of everyone who owns the volume of inspiration? If the ecclesiastical world were content to learn the truth from ‘the Bible alone’, and it honestly desired to obey the Messiah, there would soon be an end to Presbyterian and every other ism, by which ‘Christendom’ as it is called, or ‘anti-Christendom’, as it should be termed, has been for ages desolated” (JT, Apostasy Unveiled).

All of The Scriptures is divinely inspired, not given for our information, but for our transformation.

19 And we have the prophetic word made more certain, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture came to be of one’s own interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the desire of man, but men of Elohim spoke, being moved by the Set-apart Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-21 The Scriptures 1998+)

… remember 2 the words previously spoken by the set-apart prophets, and of the command of the Master and Saviour, spoken by your emissaries, (2 Peter 3:2 The Scriptures 1998+)

Preceding:

Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #1 Creator and His Prophets

Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #2 Instructions and Laws

Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #3 A voice to be taken Seriously

Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #4 Words in Scripture

Next: Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate

Dutch version / Nederlandstalige versie: Vertrouwen, Geloof, Roepen en Toeschrijving aan Jehovah #3 Stem van God #5 Meditatie en transformatie

Please do also find to read:

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Why did God organize the Israelites? (peaceandbeauty.wordpress.com)
God organized descendants of the patriarch Abraham into a nation and gave them a body of laws. He called the nation Israel and made it the custodian of true worship and of his Word, the Holy Scriptures.
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“I myself have told forth and have saved and have caused [it] to be heard, when there was among YOU no strange [god]. So YOU are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I am God.” (Isaiah 43:12)
Scriptures to Pray Over Your Family (mywarminghouse.com)
God can’t contradict himself or give you things that go against his nature.
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There is incredible power in praying God’s Word. It’s the perfect offensive weapon when we face seemingly insurmountable challenges – and an increasingly dangerous and immoral culture.
Song of Praise for the Elohim Set-Apart (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
In order that they might guard His laws, And watch over His Torot (Psalms 105:45 The Scriptures 1998+)
Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #2 Calling upon the Name of God (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
Soon in the time of the created universe people got to understand they had to call upon God. Men began to call upon the name of the Most High Elohim יהוה Jehovah. More than once things went wrong
Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
The apostle Peter may have had doubts in what his master Jesus asked him. At the time when the district ruler Herod heard the reports of Jesus and had arrested John the Baptist, Peter was perhaps not yet sure about the intimate relation Jesus had with his Father, the Most High God.
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God was totally in Jesus his heart and we see that when God’s Word had entered David and Jesus their life, that divine Word became also part of their very being and giving them the desire to know what God really wanted from them. Jesus was fully aware that it was his Father who taught him how to live to please God, because Jehovah was his and David‘s God, who led him by His blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland.

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Loving the Word

Posted on October 3, 2012. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Being Christian, following Jesus Christ, Christadelphian | Tags: Being Spiritual, Bible Study, Brethren in Christ, Broad Way, Christ, Desire, Faithful, God, Hate, Law of God, Love, Love for God, Love for Word of God, Love of God, Meditate, Narrow Way, Psalm, Righteous, Wisdom, Word of God, Yahweh |

Today let us to consider a portion of Psalm 119, to the section of verses 97 to 104.

The first verse in this section expresses the Psalmists love for the words of God:
“O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalm 119:1).

Characteristic of faithful

Words have a power all their own (Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

The loving of the law of God is a characteristic of the faithful, who search the Scriptures daily as circumstances allow, and this is by no means the only passage in the Psalms that expresses such a sentiment. The very first Psalm reads:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of Yahweh; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).

Notice the contrast here: rather than to conform to the ways of the ungodly, the righteous keeps himself separate – and the means by which he can achieve this, is to meditate in the law day and night. The Apostle cites this Psalm:
“I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:22-23).

Love for the Word of God and Desire to follow it

The context is to do with an internal struggle between two principles: the love for the Word of God and the accompanying desire to follow it, and the natural inclination of the flesh, styled in this chapter as “sin that dwelleth in me”. There is enmity between the two, as Paul expresses it elsewhere: “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these things are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17).

We are yet “without strength” (Romans 5:6) to save ourselves, and overcome this sin that doth so easily beset us – but through Christ we achieve the victory, and can rejoice with Paul: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then,with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh, the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). That is to say, his mind was dominated with spiritual thoughts, and when he sinned it was not of his own will, but a consequence of the sinful nature possessed by all of Adam’s progeny.

The first Epistle of John describes the means by which we might control our sinful desires: “whosever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). The mortal brethren in Christ do continue to sin: we do not have the strength to overcome our own flawed nature. But when they do, it is not the “inward man” that sins, but the old man of the flesh which raises its head from time to time, and which we seek to crucify daily. The seed of the word remains in our thinking, and influences our minds to become spiritual, that is, dominated by spiritual thoughts.

Meditation

In Psalm119, and Psalm1 (above), the Psalmist describes how out of love for the Law, he meditated upon it daily – in fact, all the day. It is a consistent principle of Scripture that we must continually attend to the Word, as opportunity arises:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy2:15).

Combining the senses of these verses, we find that Christ’s brethren do not study the word out of compulsion, but of desire. We enjoy finding the hidden treasures of the Word, and delight in learning new things.

We might ask the question, how can we possibly meditate on the Word all the day long: we have other things which we must do; daily chores and work. The answer to the problem comes when we realize the meaning of the Hebrew word for “meditate”.
Literally, it means to “speak”: the Word speaks to us throughout the day. We seek to apply the principles of the Word in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. And as we conduct our daily business, we will find that verses of Scripture that we have committed to memory come to mind in particularly appropriate circumstances. We seek to follow those passages as a guide to how to conduct ourselves throughout the day. But if we do not study the word, it will not be dwelling in us, and we will lose the great strength and comfort that it can give.

Wisdom bringing Word

The Psalmist continues to describe the wisdom that the Word can give: “thou hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:98-99).

This is another delightful effect of a continual application to the testimonies of Scripture: it will give us a wisdom that greatly surpasses those who do not engage in regular Bible study. Jeremiah portrays Israel, and the wise men thereof, as spurning the revealed Word:

“how do you say we are wise, and the law of Yahweh is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Yahweh; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:8-9).

Here were the great men of the age – but yet they rejected and spurned the Word of God. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools by comparison. The same is true today: great men of the clergy portray themselves as wise authorities of the Bible, whereas their wisdom is seen to be but folly when compared with the faith of the humblest of Christ’s brethren. So “it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). The calling of God does not appeal to those who are wise in their own conceits: it is rather extended to those who would delight in, and embrace the Word of God, and the promises it contains. “ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

Christ’s brethren therefore, in whatever circumstances they find themselves in, possess a wisdom that is greater than those who would profess to be teachers, and greater still than their enemies.
In these things, we have as a preeminent example in Messiah himself. Being but 12 years of age, he was in the presence of the “doctors” of divinity of their day, “both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers: (Luke 2:47-48). At the tender age of 12, Christ’s wisdom was greater than the teachers in Jerusalem – teachers that soon became his foes.

To be implemented to avoid evil

Of course, it almost goes without saying that wisdom is something to be implemented.
It is the ‘doing’ part of knowledge: i.e.we act on and apply the knowledge of Scripture to the various circumstances of our lives. That is wisdom: the application of knowledge.

Verse 101 of our section of verses then, tells us the consequence of keeping wisdom:
“I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word” (Psalm 119:101).

There is a way that is evil, and which we must not walk along. Proverbs chapter 1 exhorts the student of the Word to avoid the path of the wicked: “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path…” (Proverbs 1:15). Again, Psalm 1, which we just looked at, speaks the same sentiments: “blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1).

A broad and a narrow way

“The way of sinners”, AKA, the “evil way” of Psalm119 is something to be avoided at all costs. Messiah himself taught that there are essentially two ways traversed by all of mankind: a broad way, able to easily accommodate the multitudes, and a narrow way, whose entrance must be diligently sought for:
“Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there by which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

The majority of mankind walk forward into destruction at the last, whereas Christ’s brethren walk a lonely path, with only a comparative “few” for company along the way – but theirs is the Way of Life. But how can it be so?

How can so many people have got it all wrong? Why should we suppose that we are in the right, considering that we are in the minority? The answer is in Proverbs 14:
“there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

This is the “broad way” – it seems to be right until scrutinized carefully in the light of Scripture, and being wide, it is able to accommodate all the things that ‘narrow minded’ brethren cannot accept. But it leads to no other destination, than death.

Going back to Psalm 119, verse 103 returns to the delightful aspect of the word: it is pleasant to partake of, comparative to sweet honey to the taste:
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter far than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).
Psalm 19 speaks likewise:
“…the judgments of Yahweh are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold: sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward” (Psalm 19:10-11).

More precious than gold itself, the judgments of Yahweh are greatly to be desired.
There is pleasure in partaking of it: we have often found that even just the reading of the Word can calm the mind, and lift it to a higher plane. Truly, it is sweet to the Bible Student.

Psalm 34 also speaks in this vein:
“O taste, and see that Yahweh is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm34:8).

Making time

We must esteem the commandments of God as being of greater importance than our daily food, and “taste” them daily. For those who say they have no time for Bible Study: Do you find time to eat your food? Then why not the Spiritual food? Cut something out of your activities if necessary: turn the internet, radio, or television off, and read your Bible instead – the benefits will greatly outweigh the sacrifice.

This section of Psalm 119 ends with verse 104:
“through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104).

This aspect of hate is something that many of our generation do not understand. “God is love,” we are told, and we ought not hate others. Truly it is that “God is love,” but He is also a God of righteousness and judgment. He does not love those who corrupt His Word into another gospel, which is impotent to save. There is a time and place for all things: “a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastic 3:8). Indeed, Proverbs defines the fear of Yahweh for us: “the fear of Yahweh is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the frowardmouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).

Beholding love and hate

As we come to focus our attention on the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, we behold both love and hate. Hatred of sin, but love extending to those who repent, and seek first the kingdom of God in their lives. In the death of our Master, we receive love and forgiveness, and in his resurrection, we have a hope of an endless life with him.
The commandments of God are able to make us wise unto salvation, and a love for them indicates a mind which is healthy in spiritual things.

The 1st Epistle of John has as it’s main theme, the aspect of love. Chapter two indicates those things that we ought not love:
“love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).

If we love the things of the spirit of God, we will inevitably hate those things that belong to the world. But our hope is not negative, focusing on those hateful things of the flesh, but positive, focusing on the forgiveness of God through the shed blood of His son. Here is the exhortation: if we love the Word, we will love those who follow that Word.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him…” (1 John. 4:7-9).

Token of Love

As we come to the emblems of bread and wine, we behold tokens of love, which speak to us of the sacrifice of our absent Master, and the certain hope that he will surely come at the time appointed by the Father. But the love which we behold, and seek to reciprocate is not a passive emotion, but something which finds its outworking in a practical reality: the crucifixion of the flesh. Even as Christ loved us,we ought to love one another, and help each other along the way. Here is the example of true love: the laying down of life for one’s friends (John 15:30). Even as Christ laid down his life for his brethren, we ought lay down our lives in service to each other, and to Him, seeing to reciprocate that love shown to us. And then, being amongst that band of men who love the appearing of Christ, we shall be given entry into the kingdom to come, to live and reign with Messiah throughout the ages to come.

Christopher Maddocks

Please do find additional reading:

The agony of true worship (pastorayres.wordpress.com)
We must find a way to understand the difference between idol worship in the name of God and true worship.2 Corinthians 12:9⁹And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
All throughout scripture we find that worship involves a great cost and sacrifice.

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Psalm 5 (asorensen.wordpress.com)
Psalm 5 has the psalmist seeking God’s ear. “Give ear to my words…consider my groaning”. Do you come to God with passion, or just as an after thought? The psalmist continues “Give attention to the sound of my cry….for to you do I pray”. He lets us know that he seeks God in the morning, it is how he prepares for his day. It is a good habit to build – that we start our day on our face before God.
What do we Teach our Children? (livingontilt.wordpress.com)
Jesus may have been thinking about the beauty and nourishment of God’s teachings. He may also have been thinking of all the issues he had to argue with Pharisees who twisted the law to suit themselves. Or perhaps he was simply reveling in the beauty of the psalmist’s meditation on God’s teaching for the good of people
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The Psalmist’s view of God’s law, or Torah, is very different than the impression secular thinkers express.
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The Psalmist, on the other hand, found God’s teachings, revealed in books we call the Old Testament, to be inspiring and comforting. They made life rich and good. They called forth not only obedience but admiration.
15 Days in the Word with John Piper – PSALM 135 AND THE PLEASURE OF GOD IN ALL HE DOES (christlikeministriesnwa.wordpress.com)
Do I have to tell you that it’s necessary to give God glory, honor and praise? I hope that I wouldn’t have to tell you that, but it seems to me that one of the other epidemics that’s sweeping through congregations across the country is this apathetic worship of our God.Now, I don’t know about you…but I can’t worship God that way. I don’t dance, shout, and get down…but I still make sure to worship God is a way that He knows I mean business with Him. There are times I do shout, I do dance, I do jump for joy, but that’s usually in my private time with Him. But…I can’t be in church and have my hands in my pocket…but there are so many who can.
Inspirational Bible Verse Illustrations for Encouragement, Hope and Comfort (darrellcreswell.wordpress.com)
I love reading God’s word. I love taking truths from the Bible and sharing with readers via my blog. I also enjoy taking those same scriptures and bringing them to life in the pictures I create associated with my blog. There is beauty, power, comfort and encouragement in the word of God.
Purified 7 Times (waltbrite.wordpress.com)
Everyday we go about life looking for something we can rely on. Something that is constant, trustworthy, immovable. We want relationships that are reliable.
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When the scripture says that God’s words are pure, refined, and purified 7 times, it insists that they have no lies, flattery, insincerity or inconsistencies. It insists that you can rely on his words, his person, his promises. God means what he says; his words are completely pure, completely reliable and completely flawless. In fact the bible says that He watches over His word to perform it.
The Word of God Is at Work in You! by John Piper (keyword-power.com)
We believe that God has spoken in history, and that by inspiration the Bible is the authoritative deposit of that word for all time.
Christ among the Messiahs – Part 6 (vridar.wordpress.com)
Paul did not have a radically new conception of the Jewish Messiah that stood in opposition to the very concept among his Jewish contemporaries. Novenson argues that “Christ”, for Paul, is neither a name nor a title, but an honorific (cf. Augustus, Epiphanes, Maccabee, Africanus).
The Rise of the Remnant Church I (lynleahz.com)
The Remnant Church is that part of the Body of Jesus Christ that knows they are sons of God, and that are hearing from and following the leading of His Holy Spirit. Within the Remnant Church there is coming a deeper intimacy with Christ, and while fewer may be called to the Remnant Church, Grace yet abounds in the lives of those who hunger after God’s Word and in this day especially, for His Prophetic teaching. The Remnant Church will diligently study the Word as did the Berean’s, and walk in full authority of the Word as Jesus requires of us. We must realize all things are possible through Him and we have nothing to offer the world other than Christ.

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Answering a fool according to his folly

Posted on September 17, 2012. Filed under: Being Christian, following Jesus Christ, Holy Scriptures | Tags: Allegiance to Christ, Answering, Attitude, Bible teaching, Choice, Christ's Teaching, Community, Compare, Conduct, Epistle of James, Faith, Fool, Justification by Faith, Justification by Works, Martin Luther, Relationships, Saint, Solomon, Truth, Wisdom |

“ANSWER A FOOL ACCORDING TO HIS FOLLY”

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. (Proverbs 26:4 and 5).

IS there contradiction in the advice given to us by Solomon in the two statements quoted above?

Some have said so, and condemned the Scripture accordingly. But reflection thereon, particularly if our reflection is based on experience, soon convinces us that there is profound wisdom embodied in this apparently conflicting advice offered for dealing with “fools.” Solomon recognizes that there is no one simple and universal method of dealing with these people: further that he who would seek to put them right must watch his own steps carefully. Before we intervene in the matter of a fool and his folly we should consider well both the fool and ourselves. If, by answering him, we merely reflect his characteristics and so add yet another to the already sufficiently high proportion of these people in the community, wisdom suggests we should refrain from intervention: if, on the other hand, our answer is likely to have the effect of exposing his folly and preventing a repetition of it—which might be the case if his views were allowed to pass unchallenged—then we shall be discharging a valuable service both to the fool, and even more so to the community. It is evident, however, that before we can decide which of the two courses of action is appropriate we must first consider the situation, weigh the probable results of both courses and so determine which should be applied in any particular case.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We have referred to this relatively simple matter in order to illustrate an important aspect of applying Bible teaching to the problems and situations which arise in our experience, and which may be overlooked unless we are on our guard. In our early days in the Truth we tend to seek out and to emphasise the clear-cut definitions and decisions which the Word of God seems to demand in our relationships both inside and outside the Body of Christ. Many of these remain for all time of this nature, and form the basis of our conduct. But as our experience of life grows and our knowledge of the Truth broadens and deepens, we find that many of the problems we have to face and many of the decisions we have to make do not consist in a simple choice between what is unquestionably right and what is indubitably wrong: often a decision has to be made on the application of two principles both of which are commended to us in the Scriptures; or we may be called upon to harmonize two principles which apparently are in conflict. We find it is not sufficient just to find one passage dealing with a specific matter and apply that blindly: there is often additional teaching dealing with other aspects of that matter which must be kept in mind and applied if we are to secure a really scriptural decision. We shall find that what we have discovered to be true on the relatively low plane of “answering a fool according to his folly” is applicable in higher matters, and that our decisions must be based on a careful weighing of all the scriptural teaching available and the circumstances of the particular case. A few examples will illustrate.

We are all familiar with Christ’s words in Matt. 12:30:

“He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

Doubtless we have all used them on occasion to emphasise the necessity for uncompromising allegiance to Christ and his call. But we must also remember Christ’s words in Mark 9:40: “He that is not against us is on our part.” Is there contradiction in Christ’s teaching? That is impossible: and we find from a careful consideration of the circumstances of the two cases that both statements are true in relation to the specific conditions which gave them expression. Both aspects have their place in the teaching of Christ, and it is essential that in our application of his teaching to the problems of our experience we keep both in mind and endeavour to make the correct choice in any given situation.

We have all heard of the terrific controversy which raged in theological circles on the question of “justification by faith or justification by works.” Each side was able to quote arguments from Scripture in support of its claims. Neither side, however, would accept the full teaching of the Bible on the question, and belittled or rejected the Scripture advanced by its opponents. Martin Luther, for example, who was a staunch advocate of “justification by faith,” is stated to have dismissed the Epistle of James, which speaks of “justification by works”, as an “epistle of straw”! The whole counsel of God in this matter finds a place for both aspects: as Dr. Thomas has put it tersely: “A sinner requires justification by faith to become a saint: a saint needs justification by works to ensure salvation.”

In facing the special problems which confront us in these difficult days it is especially necessary for us to ensure that in dealing with any situation which may arise we keep before us all the teaching of Scripture applicable to the matter, and seek a solution based on the whole counsel of God. It is not enough for us to be satisfied with one side of the question and neglect equally important evidence on other aspects. Only by considering all that the Scriptures have revealed can we form a correct judgment and follow the way of understanding.

In searching the Scriptures for guidance as to our attitude toward those without in these days of warfare we may find the commandment given by Moses to Israel recorded in Deuteronomy regarding Israel’s relationship to the nations of Canaan:

“Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days.”

Here we have Israel, God’s chosen people, being warned of their attitude towards those who are outside the covenants of God, and we might decide that here we have the very thing we require. But when we read further in the Scriptures we find Jeremiah speaking to Israel in later days and in different circumstances:

“Seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”

Which advice shall we follow? Each quotation has been recommended to us recently as the appropriate attitude the Brotherhood should adopt in these days. How shall we decide? Surely the only safe method is to compare the circumstances of the two cases critically and see which approximates most closely to our own times: and when this is done we think there can be no difficulty in making our choice.

(Bro F. Turner)

Logos

“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15

Read also:

Faith and works

+++

Psalms 14 – The Folly and Wickedness of Men (revthechristianlife.wordpress.com)
Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.
+
Psalms 11 – The Refuge of the Upright (revthechristianlife.wordpress.com)
for look, the wicked bend the bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.
Clear Meaning or Simplistic Interpretation? (allisonquient.wordpress.com)
Scripture holds a high place, at least in principle, for Evangelicals.
+
What made the difference was not simply being told what passages mean, but understanding how one arrives at the meaning. Many of the passages I had previously misunderstood became clear after I learned about the culture, background and language being employed. Sometimes, it was merely a matter of understanding the context better (some of these have been discussed on this blog).
+
The problem is a subjective reading of the text. While this is obvious in questions like “what does the text mean to me?” it is also prevalent in a fundamental misunderstanding of the doctrine of the “clarity of Scripture.” This mentality can be summarized as follows: I can open up my Bible and understand its plain meaning on whatever topic. This is a simplistic understanding of the text that ends up distorting rather than understanding the text.
+
One big thing we often miss because we don’t understand the original culture or are too consumed with our own
+
Our language has changed. If someone today was to read about a building being described as “awesome” in older English they might not understand that the building is being described as terrible. Reading Shakespeare and not understanding that “bully” means “homosexual” will also result in a gross misunderstanding. Sometimes imposing a later meaning on the same word used earlier can result in a distortion of the actual meaning. The same change in a word’s meaning happens in the Bible too (it was written over the course of thousands of years).
Homosexuality, Polyester, and Shellfish. (defendingcontending.com)
When challenged, many Christians and even many pastors, struggle to defend and explain their position in a way that is Scriptural, consistent, and loving. Homosexuals and the media often point to other Old Testament verses that forbid things that Christians now eat or use. How do we explain that?
Sins Against the Brethren (justificationbygrace.com)
Look, apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we are all idolaters. That is the propensity of fallen nature and corrupt flesh. We are in the world, yet if we are in Christ, we are not of the world. Nevertheless, although we may be saved by God’s grace, we often bear witness of our weakness when all the world is, has, embraces, and cherishes— the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,— seems to sometimes exude from our lives. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
A Walk Through Proverbs;Rejecting Wisdom (promisebook.net)
Wisdom calls aloud in the open air and raises her voice in the public places. she calls out at streetcorners and speaks out at entrances to city gates; “How long, you whose lives have no purpose, will you love thoughtless living?
+
to correct someone, if they are not in a place of repentance, is going to be taken negatively, especially now more than ever due to the increasing evil of the days we are living in. To warn someone in attempt to save them from torment and eternal death, knowing you will more than likely receive criticism, judgment, and hatred as a result, is an act of great love.
Proverbs 12 (cutpaste.typepad.com)
The moment we became Christ-followers we became part of the family of God, the body of Christ and a functioning and vital part of community. It is in this community that God helps us to be made and molded into His image.
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but what happens when most of us are corrected by the community? We get offended and leave the community and short-circuit the image building that is taking place. In that moment of the offense we don’t want to hear that we are acting like fools! No way, we are not the stupid ones, everyone else is stupid. Solomon reminds us that those who hate correction are stupid because the correction and our openness to it help us become more like Jesus – the epitome of wisdom.
What Does God Say About Anger? (bugsandstuff.wordpress.com)
How many of you know that teaching your children is the best way to teach yourself?
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Eph 4:29-32: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

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יהוה , YHWH and Love: Four-letter words

Posted on July 17, 2012. Filed under: Being Christian, following Jesus Christ, Holy Scriptures, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh | Tags: Abase, Attitude, Bad Language, Bible, Body of Christ, Commandments of God, Discipleship, Divine Love, Egoism, Envy, Experience, Faith, Fear, Fear the Lord, Five-letter word, Four-letter word, Hatred, Human Love, Humbling, Humiliate, Jealousy, Kindness, Language, Life, Love, Love for God, Loving God, Name of God, Newbie, Noob, Refrain, Rich, Sermon of the Mount, Speech, Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of the World, To be Kind, Vengeance, Vile Talk, Wisdom |

יהוה = Love

YHWH, Jehovah God is a four-letter word which comprehends the most important four-letterword in our life: Love.

Though יהוה , Jehovah, the Creator of all things may be a jealous God he is showing covenant faithfulness, loving kindness and mercy unto thousands of them that love Him, and keep His commandments and who do “not take the name of Mar-Yah your God in vain” (Torah).

“you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה {Jehovah} your Elohim am a jealous visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands. “You do not bring1 the Name of יהוה your Elohim to naught, for יהוה does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught. {Footnote: 1Or lift up, or take}. “” (Exodus 20:5-7 The Scriptures 1998+)

“Love” is the keynote of the Bible, notwithstanding the fact that it contains threatenings as well as promises, and declarations and manifestations of justice as well as of mercy. If God’s character were devoid of justice—if his love should override his justice—it would be a terrible calamity for all those dependent upon him. It would testify weakness of character instead of strength. It is the fact that God’s wisdom, justice, love, and power operate in full harmony—in co-ordination—that gives us admiration for him, confidence in him, love for him; and all these appreciations are intensified as we realize his unchangeableness.

Torah inside of the former Glockengasse Synagogue in Cologne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Speech

The one who told to His creation that they should not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of their people; but had to love their neighbours as they loved themselves.

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am YY . ” (Leviticus 19:18 IAV)

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wrong. Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions. Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, But a rod is for the back of him who lacks heart. The wise treasure up knowledge, But the mouth of a fool is near ruin. ” (Proverbs 10:11-14 The Scriptures 1998+)
“Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool, Much less lying lips for a noble. A bribe is a stone of favour in the eyes of its owner; Wherever he turns, he prospers. He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. Reproof enters deeper into a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool. An evil one seeks only rebellion, So a cruel messenger is sent against him. Let a bereaved bear meet a man, Rather than a fool in his folly. Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil does not leave his house. The beginning of strife is like releasing water; Therefore stop fighting before it breaks out. He who declares the wrong right, And he who condemns the righteous, Both of them are an abomination to יהוה. Why is this – a price in the hand Of a fool to buy wisdom, When there is no heart? A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. A man lacking heart shakes hands in a pledge, He becomes a guarantor for his friend. He who loves transgression loves strife, He who exalts his door seeks destruction. He who has a crooked heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil. He who brings forth a fool has sorrow for it, And the father of a fool has no joy. A rejoicing heart causes good healing, But a stricken spirit dries the bones. ” (Proverbs 17:7-22 The Scriptures 1998+)

Lose

We can begin to see God as mighty but distant and lose the precious truth that we live from within His eternal hug. We can be so busy with this world, we forget the real worthy things of the world and the universe. How many people are still able to enjoy the beauty of nature or to spend some time to look at the stars?

While many filled their dictionary with awful four-letter words, even when they are not of their mother tongue. In many languages we do hear people using the American English words which they saw introduced by television series and films. Out off these words does not only come the sound of aggressiveness, it is often used to dominate or to take on a superior attitude. Though it is not Dutch, nor French or German, many Belgians often use the words “cock”, “dick“, “damn,” ‘F…”, “foul”, “hell, ””prick”, “shit“, “tart”, “twat” and “wank” like they are married with those sounds and feel real at home. They often do not mind to use the title of the Most High putting in front of the “damn”, and forget that by doing so they use Gods name in vain.

Noob or Oldie

Those who believe in God they call “noob”, whatever it may mean. In the new English language we do find “Newbie“, “newb”, “n00b” or nOOb” as a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. But those who believe are mostly not so inexperienced as the youngsters may believe. Originally “noob” was indicating the non-experience of a person his Internet activity.

The term “newbie” which had a limited usage among U.S. troops in the Vietnam War as a slang term for a new man in a unit, did not always show the right respect for the new recruit or soldier. In the universe we can all be newbies, even for a long time, because every day there is something to learn anew. And for some it takes a long time to learn certain things. It does not show the love of the persons around the apprentice.

For the Supreme being, the Most High, everybody is just like a small microbe, even not yet an ant, because that animal is always busy and working hard for the whole community. In the world of humans the group idea is far gone and egoism brought in a stance which is not to be proud of.

Though God, out of love was willing to increase the numbers of people. Blessing the fruit of Israel‘s womb, the fruit of their land (the grain, new wine, and oil), the offspring of their herds, and the lambs of their flock, in the land that Jehovah the Lord of Lord of lords, the Elohim promised the ancestors He would give them. (Deuteronomy 7:13) But even there we do here such evil language been entered in the Hebrew and English spoken in Israel. Though God had warned them to be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the Only One God commanded them.

To cling to the Right One

“Only, diligently guard to do the command and the Torah which Mosheh the servant of יהוה {Jehovah} commanded you, to love יהוה your Elohim, and to walk in all His ways, and to guard His commands, and to cling to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your being.” (Joshua 22:5 The Scriptures 1998+)

“to love יהוה your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days – to dwell in the land which יהוה swore to your fathers, to Abto Yitshand to Yato give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:20 The Scriptures 1998+)

By loving יהוה , Jehovah our God, we should keep to His commandments and should know He does not like bad language or vile talk. He even prefers that we would be silent if we have nothing serious to say. The least said the soonest mended. Speech is silver, silence is golden.

When a person is filled with goodness and has the right thoughts, his mouths shall also be able to utter the right words, and shall not need any bad words to bring forth his ideas.

“The good man brings forth what is good out of the good treasure of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of the wicked treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks. ” (Luke 6:45 The Scriptures 1998+)

Spirit of the world

In the sermon of the Mount we can see the spirit of Jesus against the spirit of the other men, the apostles and the listeners, who could be compared to us, who are of the spirit of the world. Jesus warns on the mountain against the temptation to judge oneself better than others, even while meeting hatred with goodness, mercy and generosity of an extraordinary kind. The person using abusive language against somebody gives the impression that the speaker is more important and in the right to abase the other. Instead of humbling oneself before one’s Maker, the user of vile words tries to mortify the other. The disciple must strive to make others better by his example, even correcting them when necessary; but let him begin the work of improvement and correction with himself. Only the good can do good and get others interested to do good.

The inferior intellect is as the loftier mind from which it has taken its tone and sentiments. Every one whom God has furnished shall resemble his master. And we as Christians should let the world see who we want to have as master.

“The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of right-ruling. ” (Psalms 37:30 The Scriptures 1998+)
“I have delighted to do Your pleasure, O my Elohim, And Your Torah is within my heart1.” {Footnote: 1Ps. 37:31, Ps. 119:11, Isa. 51:7, Heb. 10:7-9}. I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness, In the great assembly; See, I do not restrain my lips, O יהוה, You know. I did not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your trustworthiness and Your deliverance; I did not hide Your kindness and Your truth From the great assembly.” (Psalms 40:8-10 The Scriptures 1998+)

The Right Word

Normally we should like be “eating” the Words of God, more to be desired than gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb, so that They can be unto us the joy and rejoicing of our heart, for we are called by the name of our Lord the God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:6, Psalm 19:10) We should refrain our mouth from every evil way, that we might keep to Gods Word.

Even when we may be afflicted, tested, and the wicked may have laid a snare for us, we should be careful not to err from Gods precepts. Gods commandments should and shall make us wiser than our enemies, for when the Law of God is known by and followed by us it shall be with us. (Psalm 119:98-110)

Those who love God and are willing to share this love with others shall be able to sing: “O Elohim, deliver me! Hasten to my help, O יהוה! Let those who seek my life Be ashamed and abashed, Let those who are desiring my evil Be turned back and humiliated. Let those who say, “Aha, aha!” Be turned back because of their shame. Let all those who seek You Rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your deliverance always say, “Let Elohim be made great!” (Psalms 70:1-4 The Scriptures 1998+)

The Elohim Hashem Jehovah, the Only One God shall be with those who want to use their words in the lineage of the Commandments, even when people repay them evil for good, and hatred for their love. But they shall be able to see the other four-letter word “Hope” coming into fulfilment by their better four-letter word than the mockers, the scoffs who do not have any “Faith“.

Rich

Those who laugh may perhaps be more “Rich” in worldly goods, but the believer shall be “Rich” in more valuable goods. The poor one may be ridiculed at, but shall not have to worry, because he shall have a better hope founded in a “Truth” which has deeper grounds.

The one who believes in God and believes in His son, shall keep to the lessons of the son and the Father. He shall prefer to hold on better four-letter words knowing what is “Best”, striving to get to the Right “Amen”. By staying “Calm”, “Glad”, full of “Glow”, being “Glad” doing “Good”, with his “Hope” not afraid to give a ” Kiss” and “Hugs” as a “Free” “Gift”, to offer “Help” and wishing “Luck”. Never being “Rude” but being “Nice” and “Kind” , “Pure”, to “Live” a “Life” full of grace, honour and sweetness, filled with an disarming smile, so that it were also nice five-letter-words that could come on the lips. This all so that both shal be able to become “Holy”. Instigating that they shall go to “Pray” and “Work” so that everything shall be able to “Heal” so that we all may become set-apart making an and to the four-letter word actions of “hate”, to find “True” “Luck” and peace (again a five letter word where we should “aim” for.)

When we speak of love we do not speak of the three letter word many people think off today when they use that four-letter word. The higher notation is for many been mislaid and often not be found. Though all of us should be in search of the “True” “Love”, true generosity, the very reverse of jealousy and envy, which spring from a perverted nature.

Lose

Love by itself can become seen as sloppy sentimentality as we lose sight of the fact that God is our friend but not our mate. Together they show the “awe” filled grandeur and power of the One who loves, as well as the tender Father heart of the Creator and King.

Love rejoices with them that rejoice, in prosperity of every good word and work, and in the advancement in Christian grace and in the divine service of all who are actuated by the divine Spirit.

Live

To “live” the “full” “life” we “need” to experience the fullness of God. His hug is “warm” and His arms are strong.

Sometimes people can get tempted to use bad four-letter words because they feel attacked and can’t get up against the attacker. So often, when we get to fighting, the most important thing of all gets lost. We are confronted in differences of race, culture, and heritage which seem so important to us, but we overlook the similarity and often forget that we came from the same Source. All living on the same globe created by the same Maker, we should be “glad” that we are allowed to “live” here. We should also recognise that everyone has something to ad to the community and can be also being part of one of the Limbs of the Body Christ. What really is most important is faith expressing itself through love. In our high tech world today, isn’t it interesting that the most important issue is the same as it was two thousand years ago — faith expressing itself through love?

“For in Messiah יהושע {Jeshua} neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any strength, but belief working through love. ” (Galatians 5:6 The Scriptures 1998+)

Free

When we are willing to be chained by Gods Love, we shall be able to find freedom, being “free” in Christ, who requires that the floating strength in your life must be love.
All other things, although they are important, come on the second place.
Love is the sign of truth discipleship.

Though God is a jealous God and He demands all our love and attention, this does not mean we do not have to love our neighbours. Our love for God should be different from our love for another person, but not less. If we truly love God, we will show our love for Him in practical expressions of love for others. True divine love does not exclude human love; rather, it enhances it.

Kind

The Four-letter word “Love” is the seed other other four”letter word, which we should try to become: “Kind”

This English word “kind” is one of those pale, sentimental words that just does no justice to the original. We should say, instead, that love is considerate showing an active, involved concern for the needs of others, even to the detriment of one’s own comfort. We probably all think of ourselves as being “kind”, for we certainly are never “unkind”! Are we?

“And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it?” (James 2:15-16 The Scriptures 1998+)

There are times when a “kind word” is no more than hypocrisy, because it masks a failure to help in any practical way. Have we ever been guilty of such an act, in a benign, “friendly” indifference to the circumstances of others? Then we may have been courteous and civil and pleasant, but we have not been “kind” in the Scriptural sense, and we have not been loving.

Fear

We should not be afraid not using the ‘new’ or ‘popular’ words like the much used four-letter words. We do not have to shrink in front of others who use them to impress us. No fear in love we should know better. We can show others that we can live in harmony, using fine and soft words, not having to be aggressive or insulting. If we love God we know how we should live in harmony. Where love has entered, there is no law necessary to focus. We should be afraid for the right things or for the only One.

“And now, let the fear of יהוה be upon you. Guard and do it, for there is no unrighteousness with יהוה our Elohim, nor partiality, nor taking of bribes.” (2 Chronicles 19:7 The Scriptures 1998+)

Bridge

All that God has given us riches, talents, intelligence, health diminishes with the passing of time. Man grows old and dies. Only love remains, as a bridge between this life and the life to come, a bridge over the chasm of eternal nothingness. Every other gift or talent will fail, just as the Holy Spirit gifts finally ceased. The only thing that endures is the character of man, engraven in the infinite mind of God.

“Beloved ones, let us love one another, because love is of Elohim, and everyone who loves has been born of Elohim, and knows Elohim. The one who does not love does not know Elohim, for Elohim is love. By this the love of Elohim was manifested in us, that Elohim has sent His only brought-forth Son into the world, in order that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved Elohim, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning offering for our sins. Beloved ones, if Elohim so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen Elohim at any time. If we love one another, Elohim does stay in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we stay in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son, Saviour of the world. Whoever confesses that יהושע {Jeshua} is the Son of Elohim, Elohim stays in him, and he in Elohim. And we have known and believed the love that Elohim has for us. Elohim is love, and he who stays in love stays in Elohim, and Elohim in him. By this love has been perfected with us, in order that we might have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear holds punishment, and he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love Elohim,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one not loving his brother whom he has seen, how is he able to love Elohim whom he has not seen? And we have this command from Him, that the one loving Elohim should love his brother too. ” (1 John 4:7-21 The Scriptures 1998+)

Be Walking in love by faith, not by sight, always using the right words, so that The Spirit of God imparts love,inspires hope, and gives liberty.

Previously: More-Letter-Words

Read also:

About Four-Letter words:

About Love:

Additional reading:

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Titles of God beginning with the Aleph in Hebrew (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
The importance of Reading the Scriptures (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
The Importance Of Scripture (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
July 11 Read PROVERBS 1-4 (rgaugert.wordpress.com)
BASIC Series | Notes & Review (vialogue.wordpress.com)
the paradox between “fearing” God, and “not fearing him” as God’s children and bride. Beginning with the fear of God will lead us to the kind of life in which we are not afraid of anything else, because God is so fearful.
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Jesus says, “follow me.” Chan courageously states that millions of people call themselves followers, but their lives look nothing like Jesus, even though in their hearts they’re convinced they are followers.
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God does not want you to do this discipleship thing on your own. That’s why he created church. And “church” is not a building or an address, but rather, “the people.” Before God, we should have a true sharing, a fellowship. Acts 4:32, “the full number of those who believed were of one heart.” They shared everything and had a sense of mission together. That’s a lot different from a potluck. We’re now one. We’re family.
July 14 Read PROVERBS 13-16 (rgaugert.wordpress.com)
Children, what does God want for you? (peaceandbeauty.wordpress.com)
Jehovah wants you to be happy. He gives you the best advice on how to enjoy your youth. He wants you to benefit from the wisdom and experience of your parents.
The Proverbs Pursuit (alookintomymind.wordpress.com)
How to Use Slang When Writing Dialogue (writingishardwork.com)
Believe it or not, there is a grammar to using slang. The above websites always list the part of speech in which the words are categorized. Bad grammar is bad grammar with or without slang.
Scripture at Sunrise 7.17.2012 (nlbclex.wordpress.com)
that we may know our God: His power, His faithfulness, His immutable love, and so may be ready to risk everything in His behalf. He is One whose character excites our enthusiasm and makes us willing to live and to die for Him. Oh, that we may know our God by familiar fellowship with Him; for then we shall become like Him and shall be prepared to stand up for truth and righteousness.
The Sufficiency of Scripture (part one) (mindrenewers.com)
When we’re told God’s law is tamiym, we’re not only being told of its blameless quality, we’re also being told it is complete. The written covenant of Jehovah-Who-Covenants is complete and perfect. He didn’t leave anything out that needed to be there.
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Scripture’s Qualities
- perfect
- sure
- right
- pure
- clean and enduring
- true and righteous altogether
Alphabet (guapotg.wordpress.com)
Wisdom in Hebrew alphabet pg 47
The sum total of human knowledge derives from the Torah because the universe is a product of Torah which is the blueprint of the world, as the Midrash teaches: God looking into the Torah and created the world (Zohar, Ruth 88) When His Ineffable Word took physical form, heaven and earth became the clothing for the word of God which infuses Creation, and without which Creation would not continue to exist.
Super-Abridged Bible: Ecclesiastes (anadder.com)
Banish sorrow and worry for youth is fleeting. Appreciate life before you will say “I have no pleasure in it”; before the sun and moon grow dim; before the guards get shaky; before the maids that grind grow few; before the jar is shattered and dust returns to the earth. Everything is futile! such is the summary of the Kohelet’s words.
Mompiphany #33: Stop, Can’t and Don’t Are 4 Letter Words (mompiphany.com)
When they are not overusing the word mom, my kids are overusing other words, namely 4 letter words. Now I don’t profess to be the best mother but the way that some 4 letter words roll off my kids’ tongues makes me wonder where on the parenting road did I go wrong?
More-Letter-Words (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
Is it the warm, kind feeling, the fondness or affectionate and tender devotion people mean when the use the four-letter-word “Love”?
Ten Principles of Life (harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com)
The following are the ten Principles of Philosophy for this society.

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More-Letter-Words

Posted on July 16, 2012. Filed under: Being Christian, following Jesus Christ, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Jesus Christ Jeshua the Messiah Jahushua, Manners and Association | Tags: Bible, Damn, Ego, Egoism, Fear, Five-letter word, Four-letter word, God, Honesty, Investment, Jealousy, Jesus, Jonah, Knowledge, Language, Love, Magnanimity, More-Letter words, Name of God, Person, Three-letter word, Two-letter word, Wisdom |

Is it the warm, kind feeling, the fondness or affectionate and tender devotion people mean when the use the four-letter-word “Love“?

We can see a mother’s love for her children; a love of learning or a love of adventure.

The fondness, charity or the affection of the mind caused by that which delights is with the devoted attachment to somebody of this universe is something which has become more rarely. “Love” seems to have become a word which is subtle as a breeze or misty as the damp of the water kettle, taking long to come up but quick to disappear.

For some the word “Love” has gotten a meaning of a sort of possession often more to do with “owning” something or someone, or only to be co-notated with sexual desires and not so much with generosity and caring. Though love has everything to do with softness and magnanimity. Love is bringing an opening to the greatness of the soul, that quality of mind which raises a person above all that is mean or unjust. It is the attitude which a human has to create or to work on of which the Bible, the Word of God, has spend so many words on. It is the capability to make yourself noble and humble. Not wanting to hurt or to bring any damage to an other person. Being meek of heart wanting to get the best for the other person and willing to help him or her to become even better, without expecting something in return. It is the willingness to become submissive to another person.

Love ? I love love love you. (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

Today several people would find that week or not “cool”. they consider that power is what we should get, and that we should take on an attitude by using other four-letter-words.

“Love” is about avoiding the most damaging one letter word: “I”. While today the world seems to be centred around the “I” and “me” of many persons who would like to find themselves placed on the first and highest step. Wanting to be the most important has been from long time. That is nothing new and Jesus also had to give some lessons about pride and knowing their place, to the apostles. God also had to learn Jonah that he should have not to think so much about himself nor on what he would think the most appropriate.

Jesus had a lot of work to let the people understand that they had to kill the most poisonous three-letter word: “Ego” and should try to replace it with the better two-letter-word: “we”. He warned his listeners that they should be “eager” to “learn” and “humble” enough to present themselves to the world and to God in all “honesty”. He encountered also many people who looked at the popularity and power Jesus got and tried to let them understand their questioning and false attitude of doing like they wanted to know more was fed by the most nefarious eight-letter word: “Jealousy” of which any person should “distance” this, to be able to “acquire” the most powerful nine-letter word: “Knowledge” and to get some more “Wisdom” (the Five-letter-word to go for).

Only by having love for the environment, plants, animals and people around them, would humans be able to grow in their love and be able to feel themselves save (a necessary four-letter-word), building up the five-letter-word “Trust” to double it to the most essential ten-letter word: “Confidence”.

Jesus asked about his reasons why he talked to a sinning women who had to stoned wrote in sand, whit the love when someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away.

The Ghost who has the most powerful Love had given everything to His Creation and is still willing to give so much we would not be able to carry it all. He also gave His only begotten son who He dearly loved and came here on earth to preach this undeserved Love. He showed us how we also got to come to this powerful force in life which can be made able to grow by the greatest asset: Faith.

But today most people do not see the “Opening Balance!” they got at birth, and look only to see their bank-account filled with as much as possible. Because of the wrongly placed love they do not see that the “Heart” is our “Current Asset” and our “Soul” our “Fixed Asset“. Their thinking got disfigured, though the “Brain” is our “Fixed Deposit”.

They should get to see that Knowledge is our Investment and Love is our Dividend.

Lots of people lost respect to others and therefore lost also respect for themselves falling in the trap of the ugliest personality trait: “selfishness”. Others have become competitors. They are looked at as rivalries. this world has learned that everybody has to compete with each other, instead of helping each other to grow together and to reach the same goal.

In the attitude of men we can see the big difference between humans and God. One of the basic differences between God and humans is, God gives, gives and forgives. But the human gets, gets, gets and forgets….& still not Happy (again a five-letter word to be desired)? It is desirable that we would all wish each-other happiness.

But today it looks like nobody likes it that others have more happiness than them. Lots of people hate it when others can have “more” (a four-letter word we should not place in the wrong context). Resentment, spite or even rancour are growing diseases, which make people not satisfied with themselves and with those around them. They think that when the can be brutal that they shall mean something more. Vile words and savage actions have to bring them some standing. But the appearance or prestige may not always be what they had in ambition.

Not many keep any curses that they want to say within the inner dialogue in their head. Lots of people do not see any harm or do not condone cursing. Often we hear children shouting ” I want”, “I don’t”, “I can’t” and then we can wonder if they have learned to love to aim for and to look for what is behind and beyond. then we hear their parents use four-letter-words which sometimes gets us to get red ears but do not anything to those rolling and crying kids on the flour in the supermarket.

We can notice that The Y generation got in conflict with itself and that we should consider more the Vile language and behaviour plus little secrets. The world should get to know that there are Alternative four letter words which are much, much better to use more frequently than all the popular words which sometimes have become meaningless or not adding anything to the phrase. So why using those ugly words when they do not ad anything positive to the thought?

Some years ago it was very popular to take Gods name in vain. But today nobody looks strange when somebody uses the title of God to underline his negative thoughts. Also the name of Jesus Christ is often been used in vain, but that has also just become a nothing saying few words. “hell” and “dam” do not seem to mean anything nowadays. But is it really so that nobody feels hurt any more when somebody say “damn you”. Though he perhaps may not want the person to be really be damned. Because a lot of people do not believe in eternal punishment the curse or swear at them does not do anything. But surely such an interjection expressing annoyance, disgust or impatience, shows that no value is given to the other one and that there is not much place for any sort of love or kindness.

To utter imprecations, or to call down evil on somebody can’t be called an act of love.

Swear-words may perhaps not be considered bad language, but we should all be aware that it should not be appropriate to use such language.

In case we love somebody we do not use bad words against him or her. And we should take in mind that the Word of God tells us:

“And you shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Mitsrayim. ” (Deuteronomy 10:19 The Scriptures 1998+)
“‘Do not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am יהוה {Jehovah}. ” (Leviticus 19:18 The Scriptures 1998+)

“to love יהוה {Jehovah} your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days – to dwell in the land which יהוה {Jehovah} swore to your fathers, to Abto Yitshand to Yato give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:20 The Scriptures 1998+) means we should follow up the words of God to treat others with respect and not to use bad or wrong words against them.
“Then she said to him, “How do you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not made known to me where your great strength lies.” ” (Judges 16:15 The Scriptures 1998+)

We should remember: “by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have made it clear today that you have neither commanders nor servants, for today I know that if Abhad lived and all of us had died today, then it would be right in your eyes. ” (2 Samuel 19:6 The Scriptures 1998+)

“Owe no one any matter except to love one another, for he who loves another has filled the Torah. For this, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other command, is summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no evil to a neighbour. Therefore, love is completion of the Torah. ” (Romans 13:8-10 The Scriptures 1998+)

“Therefore, as chosen ones of Elohim, set-apart and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiving each other if anyone has a complaint against another, indeed, as Messiah forgave you so also should you. But above all these put on love, which is a bond of the perfection. ” (Colossians 3:12-14 The Scriptures 1998+)
“And above all have fervent love for one another, because love covers a great number of sins. ” (1 Peter 4:8 The Scriptures 1998+)

film poster for “Work Is a Four-Letter Word” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many people use not appropriate more-letter-words because they are afraid they would not be counted for their sayings. they want to use fortifying language because they are afraid they shall not be taken into account for what they have to say. In love is no fear, so in case they would accept the others and love them, they should not fear their words would not have the bearing which they deserve. Impulses have their origin in ourselves and shall show to others how we are inside. As a Christian we should have the right heart and the right attitude to honour Christ and His Father. We should work on ourselves to make us perfect in love. Putting away the wrong more-letterwords is on action we do have to undertake as soon as we want to follow Christ Jesus. In him we should become more perfect in love.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear holds punishment, and he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ” (1 John 4:18 The Scriptures 1998+)

We may love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favours received. Opposed to hatred our words and actions should show an affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. Foul language does not fit into that picture.

Read also:

Mompiphany #33: Stop, Can’t and Don’t Are 4 Letter Words (mompiphany.com)
When they are not overusing the word mom, my kids are overusing other words, namely 4 letter words.
Trust & Sorry – Those Five Letter Words… (clearhaven.wordpress.com)
Sorry is more than just a word. Because how can just a simple word serve as a healing balm, a soothing essence for pain. You can’t even see it, yet the mere utterance of the word has the power to set everything aright.
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My analogy of trust may seem cheesy, but here’s the idea: the person who keeps wobbling your egg is the one who’s playing with your emotions. The one who knows he/she is the only one you can count on, and can say sorry and get away with it if anything happens to your egg.
That 4 letter word. (lafeminafantastique.wordpress.com)
a 4 letter word which we all love to avoid because of that fear… of failure… of confrontation… of rejection…of the truth. We all do have some form of fear whether it is just one or several.
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we fail to attempt to even try and by giving in to our fear often complete and total happiness is missed. Too often do we throw in the towel because we fear consequences and pre-meditated outcomes, failure failure failure is a huge fear of many, rejection rejection rejection is another. But if we live in fear all of our lives do we ever live fully? Can true happiness be totally achieved?
A Four Letter Word. (meenas17.wordpress.com)
She keeps silent / She has become an illiterate. / She expresses a wry smile. / She makes no noise.
Ten Principles of Life (harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com)
The following are the ten Pinciples of Philosophy for this society.
Love isn’t just a four letter word (ask.metafilter.com)
A male married friend recently told me he loved me. A few weeks later he told me again
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He and I have become closer friends lately, and I believe there is some mutual attraction. I’m OK with that – I fall in the camp of “It’s OK to be a little flirty and have crushes sometimes but I would never consider cheating on my boyfriend,” but I wonder if saying “I love you,” like this is crossing a boundary.
How do I process – I never tried to hurt you but I’m sorry if it happened, it wasn’t my intent, it was yours, get out of my life forever? (ask.metafilter.com)
If you hurt someone with what you perceive to be their and your best interests in mind, while simultaneously knowing that what you are doing will hurt that person, is it any different than actively trying to hurt the person. Does duration and occurrence play a role? If I don’t mean to hurt you, but know I am and will for 4 years is it less bad than a single act of active hurtfulness? Is it possible to want to hurt someone you love in an extreme moment but still love and care for that person? Is it possible to call that love?
There’s Nothing Like a Man’s Pen (andshelaughs.wordpress.com)
What is it about the written word, on real paper, penned by the hand of someone dear that still holds us spellbound? Perhaps just that. Instead of digital flashes passing through space, the energy of the person is much more palpable, near and tactile when we hold the paper that they held, when we hold the envelope that they sealed or when we smudge the ink that they penned. A printed page is ever so much more cuddly and ready when you can’t sleep and want to re-read a love letter or giggly note from a gal-pal.
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Today the reaction is often instant. You know they got the digital message almost as soon as you hit send. In the good old days of snail mail, there was the agony and ecstasy of hope, dread, and wonderful expectation. Now we experience those emotions in a nano-second. I prefer a well thought-out hand-written letter for the good stuff, as do the other gentle ladies out there.
On Love: What I learned (teejowee.com)
There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you — of kindness and consideration and respect — not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.
An Open Letter to my Daughter (justiceforwomenindia.wordpress.com)
I feel it is my duty to write this to you to prepare you for the life that you might or might not have to fight for.
A Letter from a Mother to a Daughter (momentumofjoy.com)
If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don’t interrupt to say: “You said the same thing a minute ago”… Just listen, please.
The Power of Love Includes Stress Relief (everydayhealth.com)
Love does wonderful things for your state of mind, and it also offers natural stress relief. In healthy relationships, the power of love is strong enough to keep your heart happy and your mind and body healthy.
Thought For The Day: Charity (harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com)
True charity brings prosperity to the donor. “The way to receive is to give”. Sacrifice is a synonym for success.
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Learn this wonderful lesson from nature. Give away, sacrifice, renounce everything and you become white, pure and perfect. Take in, aggrandize, and accumulate you become black, impure and imperfect. This is the law.
Balance Sheet of our life (harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com)
Some very Good and Very bad things
You Are My Everything+ True Friend (harikrishnamurthy.wordpress.com)

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The great ideal of this age

Posted on April 27, 2012. Filed under: Meditation | Tags: Academia, Fear the Lord, God, Gods Word, Knowledge, Wisdom |

Something to chew on

Knowledge is often promoted as the great ideal of this age.
There are scientists, professors and academics in abundance all pursuing advancement in knowledge. However, it seems the more academic knowledge a man acquires, the more it leads him away from the reality of true wisdom and a proper course of life. For wisdom is more than knowledge.
It is the right use and application of knowledge rather than passive knowledge itself.

Knowledge balance sheet – accounting knowledge (Photo credit: Wissensbilanz)

Scientific knowledge has no capacity to extricate any of us from this present evil environment. A man may understand all of the incredible physical logics of the universe yet be no wiser in the course of salvation than an uneducated child. His brilliant knowledge blinds him to the saving hope of the Word of Truth.

True wisdom can be defined as doing that which is for the best in view of a present condition. It possibly may not be what we intend to be the best and easiest, for “it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.” How then do we decide what is the better course? How do we make the correct and wise choice for ourselves and our families?

By constant daily re-education and reading of God’s Word. The pathway to true wisdom is seen in the absorption of the principles of God and the acknowledging that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Such an attitude only comes by allowing divine knowledge to have its full and proper impact.

Classical Definition of Kno (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A knowledge develops into wisdom when it becomes practical, useful, real and rewarding. The world might consider God’s Word as foolish and pointless, but it will ultimately be seen to be far superior, as Paul expressed “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.”

Time – the foundation to good relationships.

Bro John A (NZ) 48b – collated from many brothers’ contributions

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Knowledge (tukwutramblings.wordpress.com)
What is knowledge? Let’s look at the actual definition:
Respect for the House of God (pastorfisher.wordpress.com)
Some Christians are loosing their fear of God, even with the watered down definition. The Scriptures teach that the fear of God is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom.Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

I Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
April Fools: Time to fear the Lord and seek knowledge (communionwithjesus.wordpress.com)
Solomon has written Proverbs (his parts) simply for us to gain wisdom.
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There is always much more to learn. As we dig deeper into Proverbs, much will be revealed to us. We will learn to discren right from wrong, a line that is becoming so blurred today that in some places it’s invisible.
Birds of Wisdom (knowthesphere.wordpress.com)
Ancient wisdom–in a way–is much more advanced than our own contemporary knowledge that we place so highly on a pedestal. We have technological advances that seem to dwarf the achievements of yesterday, but this so called progress paves over the once undeniable truths that were naturally known so long ago. We live among oceans of knowledge, but we’ve yet to drink even a drop of wisdom.
Proverbs 1-2 (mybiblereadingplan.wordpress.com)
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels
Knowledge coupled with wisdom or lack thereof in academia (seculardiscourse.wordpress.com)
In regard to the acquirement of knowledge, Alfred Whitehead (English mathematician/philosopher of the 20th century) wrote the following: “…If you have much to do with the young as they emerge from school and from the university, you soon note the dulled minds of those whose education has consisted in the acquirement of inert [unused] knowledge. …Furthermore, this overhaste to impart mere knowledge defeats itself. The human mind rejects knowledge imparted in this way. … The discipline, when it comes, should satisfy a natural craving for the wisdom which adds value to bare experience.
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[W]isdom is the way in which knowledge is held. It concerns the handling of knowledge, its selection for the determination of relevant issues, its employment to add value to our immediate experience… The importance of knowledge lies in its use, in our active mastery of it—that is to say, it lies in wisdom.” In other words, knowledge needs to be directed towards an end, the betterment of our situation (which I take as both personal and societal).
Fear the Lord (stocktonbiblechapel.wordpress.com)
when God made man He told him that true wisdom is “the fear of the Lord”
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Unfortunately, Adam and Eve sought wisdom in the tree of knowledge instead (Genesis 3:6) and soon were hiding themselves in fear.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF WISDOM – THE HUMANIST (Wisdom Series) (terencemuringisi.org)
the atheist cannot reverence and honour God and in this instalment, show that the “humanist” or “secular humanist” as sometimes called joins the atheist with the same limitation; their philosophies make the fear of the Lord impossible.
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To the believer, the word of God is the truth, Jesus is the truth and there is nothing relative about it, only truth to be believed, understood, received and obeyed. Does that tie the believer’s intellect to a tree and give it a circumference of limits?
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The humanist is hiding behind a finger, choosing not to see or acknowledge the power of the creator behind the natural world on which he places so much reliance.
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Even though his intellect and understanding of the world inclines him to think that “a deity may be on the throne”, he chooses to make nothing of it and gives this truth no bearing on his life. Pride comes before a fall is the testimony of the scriptures and this shall surely come to pass if the humanist does not repent.
The five types of knowledge (liberatedway.com)
It is helpful to see knowledge in five distinct ways.If we suppose that that the sum of possible knowledge in the Cosmos in a given moment is “common”. That we also suppose that an individual or group of people have a relationship with the “common”. We may consider that there exists with these two suppositions five types of knowledge.
Wisdom vs Knowledge (naydanielle.wordpress.com)
Actually if wisdom grew on trees it would not help human our society.

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Jesus begotten Son of God #10 Coming down spirit or flesh seed of Eve

Posted on December 13, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Christendom and Christianity, Jesus Christ Jeshua the Messiah Jahushua | Tags: Adam, Bloodline of David, Elohim, Food, From Heaven, God, God Son, God the Father, Jesus, Mediator, Messiah, Prophet, Seed of Eve, Son, Son of God, Virgin Mary, Wisdom |

The Anointed begotten Son of God

23. Coming down from heaven

When people say that Jesus came down from heaven they should know that all the good things come down from heaven.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of turning.¹ {Footnote: ¹See Mal. 3:6.} “(James 1:17 The Scriptures 1998+)

“This is not the wisdom coming down from above, but it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” (James 3:15 The Scriptures 1998+) + “But the wisdom from above is first clean, then peaceable, gentle, ready to obey, filled with compassion and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17 The Scriptures 1998+)

Also the food we eat, like our daily bread comes from heaven.

Two distict different figures Jesus the son of God and his Father the Only One God -Image via Wikipedia

““This is the bread which comes down out of the heaven, so that anyone might eat of it, and not die. “I am the living bread which came down out of the heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And indeed, the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Yehud’im, therefore, were striving with one another, saying, “How is this One able to give us His flesh to eat?” יהושע therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Ad’am and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day. “For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him. “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me shall live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down out of the heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever.” “ (John 6:50-58 The Scriptures 1998+)

Jesus his flesh is as the bread which came down from heaven. As in our previous serious about language we see that several people also are caught in the “mad about my flat” language fallacy. As we showed the difference in meaning or understanding in different parts in the world, in the UK and the USA this means totally different things. They assume that “coming down from heaven” means that you were alive in heaven before you came down literally. But “mad about my flat” means “excited about my new apartment,” when English read this in their British environment and with British language habits in mind. So what does “coming down from heaven” mean in biblical idiom, which is Hebrew (hardly surprising) in style?

We may never forget we do have to read the Bible from a Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek view. Matthew being Hebrew spoke in his tradition and meant with such a saying that one’s origin is with God the Father (also Luke said that too!). It does not mean that one is a prehuman personage. Pre-human of course implies, if you think about it, non-human. And the whole point of the Messiah, Son of God, is that he is and must be a man, “the man mediator” of the lucidly clear statement of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Messiah Jesus,” the second Adam. Paul is keen to offset any opposing idea when he says “the spiritual man was not first” (1 Corinthians 15:46-48). The earthly man comes before the second Adam who is the Lord Messiah — not the other way round.

“For there is one Elohim,¹ and one Mediator between Elohim and men, the Man Messiah יהושע, {Footnote: ¹1 Cor. 8:6, Eph. 4:6, Mk. 12:29-34.} “ (1 Timothy 2:5 The Scriptures 1998+)

“The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Master from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:46-48 The Scriptures 1998+)

24. First spirit and then flesh

In the 4^th century strange ideas entered Christendom and certain Christians did everything to become on good terms with the men in power.

In 2 Clement 5:9 the original system was being suppressed by the philosophical notion that Jesus was “first spirit and then flesh.” That shift, documented by 2 Clement 5:9, meant that the historical Jesus was being swallowed up by a different Jesus. As Martin Werner lamented, “the historical Jesus completely disappeared” behind a Gnostic counterfeit figure (Formation of Dogma, p. 298).

A prominent spokesman for the traditional view that God is three Persons in one Essence (“three Whos in one What” as James White and Hank Hanegraaff maintain) writes: “Our Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. God tabernacling in human form. When I say that I believe in the full deity of Christ, that is what I affirm. At his birth our Lord Jesus Christ did not begin to exist” (Rev. Ian Paisley). So much for Matthew and Luke and John!

Anthony Buzzard wonders: “Putting on our Berean hats, what do we find? The origin, coming into existence of the Son of God was as follows (so wrote Matthew in 1:18): Mary was found to be pregnant under the influence of “holy spirit” — the personal operational presence and power of the One God, the Father. The result of the biological miracle worked in Mary is laid out for us: “What is begotten, fathered, brought into existence in her is from the holy spirit” (1:20). Mary would have had no difficulty understanding this very plain, unifying information, and nor should we. We might even risk being struck dumb for not believing, as was Zacharias.”

25. Seed of Eve

To bring any of the persons God foresaw in existence He uses human beings who, today, all come from the same forefathers: Adam, Noach/Noah and Abraham. In the line of David and Abraham came Jesus also into existence or “begat”, following God’s marvellous promise that the Messiah would be the seed of Eve (Genesis 3:15)[1]. In the Old Testament is written in the future sense that Jehovah our God would raise up to us a prophet from among the people to whom He spoke for generations. The priest’s due from the people[2], also would be one as the writer, to whom many would and should listen. In Old Times Jehovah had said. “I shall raise up a prophet to them from among their brothers, one like you; and I will put My Words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. And it shall be, whoever will not listen to My Words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it at his hand.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 LITV)

““יהוה your Elohim shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brothers. Listen to Him, according to all you asked of יהוה your Elohim in Ḥorĕḇ in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of יהוה my Elohim, nor let me see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ “And יהוה said to me, ‘What they have spoken is good. ‘I shall raise up for them a Prophet like you out of the midst of their brothers. And I shall put My Words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ‘And it shall be, the man who does not listen to My Words which He speaks in My Name, I require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 The Scriptures 1998+)

The seed of Eve would also bring the descendant by bloodline of David.

““And now, say to My servant Dawiḏ, ‘Thus said יהוה of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be ruler over My people, over Yisra’ĕl. “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great ones who are on the earth. “And I shall appoint a place for My people Yisra’ĕl, and shall plant them, and they shall dwell in a place of their own and no longer be afraid, neither shall the children of wickedness oppress them again, as at the first, even from the day I appointed rulers over My people Yisra’ĕl, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. And יהוה has declared to you that He would make you a house. “When your days are filled and you rest with your fathers, I shall raise up your seed after you, who comes from your inward parts, and shall establish his reign. “He does build a house for My Name, and I shall establish the throne of his reign forever. “I am to be his Father, and he is My son. If he does perversely, I shall reprove him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.” (2 Samuel 7:8-14 The Scriptures 1998+)

God, in a precious moment of history, initiated the history of His unique Son. The Words spoken for many years could come into realization, could come the cause of the generation.[3] This was a Son through whom God expressly did not speak in previous times.

“Elohim, having of old spoken in many portions and many ways to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by the Son, whom He has appointed heir of all, through whom also He made the ages,¹ {Footnote: ¹John 1:3.} who being the brightness of the esteem and the exact representation of His substance, and sustaining all by the word of His power, having made a cleansing of our sins through Himself, sat down at the right hand of the Greatness on high, having become so much better than the messengers, as He has inherited a more excellent Name than them.” (Hebrews 1:1-4 The Scriptures 1998+)

The Elohim, Jehovah God spoke about a future because naturally since that prophesied Son was not then alive! Being not alive is also not being in existence, in life, in vigour.[4]

[1] (3:16) “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed, He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15 Complete Apostles’ Bible)

[2] ““And this is the priest’s right from the people, from those who bring an offering, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the stomach;” (Deuteronomy 18:3 The Scriptures 1998+)

[3] See Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary for the word ‘begat’.

[4] Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary: in being

Preceding article: Jesus begotten Son of God #9 Two millennia ago conceived or begotten

To be continued: Brought into existence + The plot thickens

Interesting articles related to this subject:

+++

How is the manna that God rained down on the Israelites a type for the Eucharist (wiki.answers.com)
Manna was food (bread) from heaven which sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. The Bible emphasizes that God caused manna to appear at the right time and place to meet His people’s needs. Jesus assured the Jews that He, and not the wilderness food, was the true Bread from heaven that conferred eternal life on those who partook of it (John 6:30-58).
The Bread and the Wine are Better Than the Manna and the Water (thekingspresence.wordpress.com)
The manna was provided by God straight from heaven. Likewise, the water came out of the rock that followed the Israelites in the wilderness. Both were God’s provision for the Israelites and shadows of Christ.
John 6 (mybiblereadingplan.wordpress.com)
This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
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This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
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Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Soaked (refusingtotiptoe.com)
Coveting the nourishment of life from the Bread of Heaven. Satiated by the Manna. Permeating His existence.
What About Our Spiritual Life (verticalviewer.wordpress.com)
This Week’s Torah Portion – Bereishit (In The Beginning) (terri0729.wordpress.com)
The Hebrew for bread of life is ‘lechem chayim.’ Yeshua was even born in
the house of bread (Beit lechem) usually called Beth-lehem in English.
This special braided bread called challah is eaten on the Sabbath
(Shabbat) and holidays. To commemorate the double portion of manna
that fell the day before the Sabbath in the wilderness, traditionally, two
loaves are on the Shabbat table.

When we begin to understand Yeshua (Jesus) in His Hebraic, Jewish
cultural and Hebrew linguistic context, we not only understand the
Brit Chadashah (New Testament) more fully, but we are better equipped to
share the Word of God.

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 9 so far )

Jesus begotten Son of God #9 Two millennia ago conceived or begotten

Posted on December 12, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Jesus Christ Jeshua the Messiah Jahushua | Tags: Begotten, Divinity, God Son, Gods Plan, Logos, Message, Saviour, Son of God, The Word, Wisdom |

The Anointed begotten Son of God

20. Conceive

According to Chambers dictionary ‘to conceive’ is to receive into or form in the womb: to form in the mind: to imagine or think: to understand: to grasp as a concept to express: to become pregnant. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English gives as a 2^nd meaning of ‘conceive’ (a woman) becomes pregnant and as example ‘to conceive a child’. Clearly to conceive means ‘bringing a child into in existence’ and ‘bringing a child onto this world’.

So when Mary came with child by the action of the Holy Spirit there was a ‘conception’ and ‘begetting’ which mark the point at which an individual begins to exist, an individual who did not exist before! It is this non-pre-existing individual whom Gabriel presents in the sacred documents for our reception. This Son of God of Scripture got a beginning a according to the prophecies was also going to die, i.e. coming to an end, finding his life being ended at the stake after he had given his life in the hands of his Father. Jesus died on a piece of wood and afterwards he was raised out of that death.

““See, we are going up to Yerushalayim, and the Son of Aḏam shall be delivered up to the chief priests and to the scribes. And they shall condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the gentiles to mock and to flog and to impale. And the third day He shall be raised.” “(Matthew 20:18-19 The Scriptures 1998+)

“So when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, saying, “Impale! Impale!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and impale Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Yehuḏim answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, for He has made Himself the Son of Elohim.” “ (John 19:6-7 The Scriptures 1998+)

“And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. And they were giving Him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. And when they impaled Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them, what each one should take. And it was the third hour, and they impaled Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE SOVEREIGN OF THE YEHUḎIM. “(Mark 15:22-26 The Scriptures 1998+)

“And crying out with a loud voice, יהושע said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:46 The Scriptures 1998+)

““The Elohim of our fathers raised up יהושע whom you laid hands on, hanging Him on a timber. “Him, a Prince and a Saviour, Elohim has exalted to His right hand, to give repentance to Yisra’ĕl and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30-31 The Scriptures 1998+)

21. The one who spoke 2 millennia ago

It was after Jesus was conceived he could become into existence and become the Word of God having come into fulfilment.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.

(John 1:1 The Scriptures 1998+)

God’s Word, Logos, His ideas, thought, spoken or written down, was with the Creator and naturally was Himself the Spirit and given to the community[1]. The Almighty had promised in the Garden of Eden that He would bring forth a Saviour, a Messiah, pre-appointed for all people, and now the moment had come. It ‘was going to be’ a Set-apart and Righteous One, but even as Servant of God he would be delivered up and denied.[2]

““And I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed¹. He shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel.” {Footnote: ¹First promise of the Messiah.} “(Genesis 3:15 The Scriptures 1998+)

Jesus was not with the Father before the beginning of creation but for the Apostle John it was clear that Jesus was the promised Messiah and as such was God’s Word having become reality. By being with child Mary had taken on the role of fulfiller of one of the aspects of the Plan of God.

This child of Mary was allowed to become the mouthpiece of Jehovah. He was conceived and he was commissioned not only to redeem the world, but to uplift it out of sin and to restore the willing and obedient to all that was lost in Adam, and by that act he could become the first one of the new creation, the beginning of the World like Jehovah had foreseen it, and shall come into existence in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus was the coming to the world of God’s Word, the Message He had already given for many years. So Jesus could be the Divine Message or Messenger, the One through whom Jehovah’s utterances and decrees went forth. John was also redressing the balance somewhat between Paul’s new Genesis idea (actually first found in James 1:18 and Matthew 1:1 and the Pauline “Logos” (Luke 1:2) in the new “beginning” (Luke 1:1) referring to the ministry AD28-31. Jesus inaugurated the “new covenant” with Israel and it is seen as a “new creation”.

Some may object that John 1:1ff (“in the beginning was the Word…”) present us with a second Personage who is alive before his conception. If that it is to be argued, let it be clear that John would then be in contradiction of Luke and Matthew. Matthew’s and Luke’s Jesus comes into existence as the Son of God, not in eternity, but some six months later than his cousin John the Baptist.

John cannot have contradicted Luke and Matthew. The solution is to harmonize John with Luke, taking our stand with Luke. John did not write, “In the beginning was the Son of God.” What he wrote was “In the beginning was the word” (not Word, but word). Logos in Greek does not describe a person before the birth of the Son. The logos is the self-expressive intelligence and mind of the One God. Logos often carries the sense of plan or promise. That promise of a Son was indeed in the beginning. The Son, however, was still the object of promise in 2 Samuel 7:14. David did not imagine that the promised Son of God (“My Son”), David’s descendant, was already in existence! That Son was in fact begotten in due time. He was “raised up” — that is, made to appear on the scene of human history — when Mary conceived him. Acts 13:33 applies “this day I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7) to the origin of the Son in his mother.

F.F. Bruce agrees with us: God “raised up” Jesus “in the sense in which he raised up David (Acts 13:22, cp. 3:22, 7:37). The promise of Acts 13:23, the fulfilment of which is here described [v. 33], has to do with the sending of Messiah, not his resurrection which is described in verse 34” (Acts of the Apostles, Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, p. 269).

The word, plan and promise which existed from the beginning was also “with God.” In the wisdom literature of the Bible things are said to be “with God” when they exist as decrees and promises in His divine Plan (Job 27:13; 10:13; 23:14). Wisdom was also “with God” (Prov. 8:22, 30) in the beginning but she was not a person. Neither was the logos a person, but rather a promise and plan. So closely identified with God was His word that John can say “the word was God.” The word was the creative purpose of God, in promise and later in actuality. That creative presence of God eventually emerged in history as the Son of God begotten in Mary, the unique Son (monogenes).

A number of unfortunate attempts have been made to force John not only into contradiction with the clear Christology of Matthew and Luke but into agreement with the much later decisions of Church Councils. There is no capital on “word” in John 1:1, a, b, and c. And there is no justification for reading “All things were made through Him.” That rendering improperly leads us to think of the word as a second divine Person, rather than the mind and promise of God. Eight English translations from the Greek before the KJV did not read “All things were made by Him.” They read “All things were made by it,” a much more natural way of referring to the word of God. Thus, for example, the Geneva Bible of 1602: “All things were made by it and without it was made nothing that was made.” No one reading those words would imagine that there was a Son in heaven before his birth. And no one would find in John a view of the Son different from the portrait presented by Gabriel in Luke.

“In the beginning the Word having been and the Word having been unto God and God having been the Word he having been, in the beginning, unto God all through his hand became: and without him not even one being whatever became.” (ANC)

The Word of God[3] was divine and that or it brought forth.

Also Matthew is obviously inviting us, as does John in John 1:1, to build on Genesis 1. In the beginning was the Gospel word. That “word of God” is not WORD=SON at that stage. The logos is never a spokesperson in the Old Testament. The logos in John 1:1 is the promise of the Son, who as Peter said, agreeing perfectly with John, was “foreknown” (1 Peter 1:20) from the beginning. Christians are also foreknown and so was Jeremiah in 1:5.

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear, knowing that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers, not with what is corruptible, silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times for your sakes, who through Him believe in Elohim who raised Him from the dead and gave Him esteem, so that your belief and expectation are in Elohim.” (1 Peter 1:17-21 The Scriptures 1998+)

““Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I did set you apart – I appointed you a prophet to nations.” “ (Jeremiah 1:5 The Scriptures 1998+)

22. Begotten

Beget, begot, old use begat is according to the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English to give existence to(as father) and give as example Abraham begat Isaac, and ‘The only begotten of the Father”. In literature it also means to cause.

The Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary tells us it is to produce or cause; to generate (commonly of the father); to produce as an effect, to cause. It also says about the begetter that it is the father: the agent that occasions or originates anything.

In such a way the Origin is by God, so the begetting of any person is by God from the beginning. All people are thought of by God, all are part of His Plan which he had already before even one man was created. Because God knows everything He also has all the names of the people in His head. Abraham was in the mind of God as Jesus was also in His thoughts form the Genesis, but also we are part of His knowledge and part of Him originating.

In the New Testament Matthew and Luke give a full and detailed account of the point of origin of the Son of God. From their genealogy we can clearly see that Jeshua, also called the son of David or Jesus began as a human being, supernaturally begotten (=brought into existence) by the Father, being conceived as Matthew 1:20 reads.

“He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20 TCNT)

“But while he considered these things, behold, an agent of Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take Mary to be thy wife, for that which was begotten in her is from Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20 ACV)

In several translations you shall also find this word “begotten” where you do find as synonyms “brought to existence” or “generated” (to produce or bring into being; create).

“And as he was thinking about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord was seen by him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For that in her is generated by the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20 LITV)

“Yet during his inward passion about these things (his reflection on his emotions and in heated pondering of the situation with violent breathing) – note and consider this! – an agent of [the] Lord [= Yahweh’s messenger], down from (or: in accord with; in correspondence to; = in) a dream, was set in clear light and made to appear to him, then saying, “Joseph, son of David [= descendent of, or one with the qualities of, David], you should not be afraid (or: caused to fear) to at once take to your side, accept and receive Mary, your wife! You see, the One within the midst of her, being generated and produced from out of Breath-effect (or: [the] Spirit) exists being (or: is) Set-apart (Holy) (or: the One being brought to birth within her continues being forth from out of the midst of [the] Holy Spirit as His origin).” (Matthew 1:20 JMNT)

This word “begotten” there is: “But while he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife; for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20 ABU_NT) means really “begotten in her,” not just “conceived” in her. The RV of 1881 recognized this in its margin. It is the activity of the Father bringing into existence, begetting His unique SON which is documented by Matthew 1:20. So the official, long-form birth certificate reads. The RV also helped us in the margin with Luke 1:35, showing that the Son of God was begotten and on that basis is the Son of God. On no other basis. This aorist of the verb begotten for the Son (also 1 John 5:18) is the most hidden word from an “orthodox” point of view. It is a bit embarrassing to the system!

“We know that every one who has been begotten of God sins not; but he that was begotten of God keeps himself; and the evil one touches him not.” (1 John 5:18 ABU_NT)

As we can be begotten of God so Jesus was begotten in a special way which is explained in the Evangelical chapters of the New Testament.

The word “beget,” i.e. the causative of gennao[4] or yennao. Related to ginomai (yinome), “to begin to exist,” this precious word is the key to our whole subject and to Christian unity, and confusion and chaos results from outdoing Matthew and Luke and denying that the “coming into existence” of the Son is the result of a divine historical begetting, causing the existence of a son, which is what gennao means!

Beget is a very common biblical word and its primary and obvious meaning is “to bring into existence by procreation.” God is not brought into existence. The Son was. Jesus said, “For this purpose [to proclaim the truth of his kingship, cp. Luke 4:43][5] I have been brought into existence” (John 18:37, gegeneemai). He should have said, “I was never without existence”!

On no account should claimants to belief in Holy Scripture avoid the obvious, confuse and divide the church by explaining away the rock foundation of the virginal begetting, which allows God to be the Father of the Son, in time and place, by miracle. He did the miracle once in Adam and then again in Jesus.

[1] Jesus is not an idea thought, spoken or written down – he is a man. He is the word made flesh, not the word!
And the Word became flesh and pitched His tent¹ among us, and we saw His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-forth of a father, complete in favour and truth. {Footnote: ¹An indication that His birth was during the Festival of Booths.}

(John 1:14 The Scriptures 1998+) / And the Word became Man, and dwelt among us, (We saw his glory–the glory of the Only Son sent from the Father), full of love and truth.

(John 1:14 TCNT) / And the: Word became flesh, and tabernacled with us: and we saw his glory, a glory as of the only begotten from the Father, that he was full of grace and truth.

(John 1:14 Re. Murdock)

[2] “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you denied the Holy and Just One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,” (Acts 3:13-14 Complete Apostles’ Bible)

[3] The Bible — An American Translation, by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed, Chicago. 1935 “and the Word was divine”

[4] Modern Greek pronunciation, as they do at Harvard

[5] “And He said to them, “To the other cities I also have to bring the Good News: the reign of Elohim, because for this I have been sent.” “ (Luke 4:43 The Scriptures 1998+)

“Then Pilate said to Him, “You are a sovereign, then?” יהושע answered, “You say it, because I am a sovereign. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” “(John 18:37 The Scriptures 1998+)

Preceding article: Jesus begotten Son of God #8 Found Divinely Created not Incarnated

To be continued: Jesus begotten Son of God #10 Coming down spirit or flesh seed of Eve

Read also:

About John 1:1 and the “Logos”: In den beginne was het Woord
“In [the] beginning the Word existed, and the Word faced toward The God, and the Word was divine. This [Divinity] existed in [the] beginning with The God. All things came into existence by the agency of [the divine Word] and apart from [the Word] nothing came into existence. What came into existence” (Joh 1:1-3 MHM)
According to John 1:1-3 which is the correct reading “and the Word was God” or “and the Word was a god” & why?
(Red.Note: The words at the end of verse 1 (και θεος ην ο λογος) are correctly translated as “and Word was God”. Because of the absence of the definite article (i.e. “the”) in the Greek but according to us a very acceptable reading is also: “and the Word was a god”.)
“Only begotten Son” or “only begotten God”? (John 1:18)
Christ begotten through the power of the Holy Spirit
What is the difference between “begotten” and “created”?
How was Jesus the son of God?
How is God our father?
Why does the Bible say call no man father on earth?
Is Jesus inferior to God the Father? How do you understand the following verses in terms of their relationship? 1Cor 3:23; 1Cor 15:24,28; Phil 3:21.
Did Jesus ever say he was the Messiah?
What did Jesus mean when he said “before Abraham was, I am”?
What does it mean that Jesus “emptied himself”? (Phil.2:6-9)

In Dutch you also may find:

Johannes evangelie en het Woord Logos
Christus Jezus: de zoon van God #1 Teksten uit het Johannesevangelie Logos
Christus verwekt door de Kracht van de Heilige Geest
Plan van Genade
95 stellingen Wittenberg Maarten Luther #12 Om te herinneren #3 Betreft Jezus C
95 stellingen Wittenberg Maarten Luther #8:64-75 About “Jesus resembling God” “being God”
Wie zijt Gij, Here?

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Jesus begotten Son of God #3 Messiah or Anointed one (christadelphians.wordpress.com)
Torah Observant, not Hebrew Roots (oflifefamilyandyhvh.wordpress.com)
Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and the promised Messiah. He was certainly never trained by any rabbi. If there are correlations between what He said and what rabbis of His time or before said, it is simply because they happened to get something right, not because He learned it from them! He brought the fulness to Torah because He is/was the Word of God made flesh.
My Musings on Mere Christianity (Part 4): C.S. Lewis on Begetting (enzocortes.wordpress.com)
We don’t use the words begetting or begotten much in modern English, but everyone still know what they mean. To beget is to become the father of: to create is to make.
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When one begets, he can only begets something of the same kind as himself. When one creates, he makes something of a different kind.
Revelation 1:5 (therenewingofyourmind.wordpress.com)
He is the “first begotten of the dead,” that is He is the first one to be raised from the dead in the glorified form that He was raised in.
+
Through His shed blood He washed and cleansed us from our sins which is why His sacrifice satisfied God’s justice for our sins.
Human Reproduction Pictures Spiritual Birth (appleofgodseye.wordpress.com)
As truly as we mortal humans have been given power to reproduce ourselves–to bring forth progeny in our own image, born with our very nature–even so the Great God is bringing forth sons in His image, born with His very divine nature! The very purpose of our existence is that we be.
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The fetus does not attain to complete physical maturity before birth, and has no mental maturity. But, in the spiritual rebirth, one must attain reasonable spiritual maturity before he is spirit-born.
Sunday @ Heidelberg Q33-34 scottwoodburn.wordpress.com)
Why is Christ called the “only begotten Son” of God, since we are also the children of God?
When you are born of God, you are born to assurance -This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truthFor there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. – 1 John 5:6-13

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Fragments from the Book of Job #6: chapters 38-42

Posted on June 23, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: Accuser, Adversary, Adversary of God, Age, Almighty, animal, Answer from God, authority, Bible, Bildad, Book of Job, Books of the Bible, Breath, counsel, courage, Covenant, Creation, Creator, Creator deity, Day of Jehovah, Death, Elihu, Eliphaz, Elohim, Evil, Evildoers, failure, Faith, forgiving, God, God speaking, God's character, Godliness, Gods knowledge, Gods Word, Good people, Holy Spirit, Human, iniquity, Jehovah, Job, judgement, Knowing God, Knowledge, Listening, living creature, Lord of lords, nature, Old Testament, oppressed, oppressor, patience, Prayer, religiosity, Resurrection, rise, Satan, Seasons, Silence of God, Sin, Spirit, Spirit of Human, Suffering, temporarily situation, Terror, time, Understanding, Ungodliness, Wealth, weather, Wickedness, Wisdom, Zophar |

In his concluding speech in chapter 31, Job did demand that God appear before him, and in a sense, it is somewhat surprising for Elihu to appear instead. But can a man command God to appear? Do we have the right or authority to demand the Most High to appear before us?
Job’s concluding remarks in chapter 31 could unlikely in some way compel the Almighty Elohimto appear.

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Elihu came in between the discussion because he found lots of things said to Job but also about God were not right. He had found that multiple words against God were uttered, charging God of doing nothing about wickedness or even using evil things to vindicate. Though we can find some kind of truth and authority in the words from Job’s three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, they grated on the nerves of Elihu and angered God. It was not because God kept His silence that He did not listen or did not care, nor lost control over nation or man (Job 34:29-30). Also Elihu had the wrong idea about God working with His people. This sometimes arrogant looking person ends up offering a similar argument to that of the three friends: God is greater than man (Job 33:12) and thus he must have intended to warn or rebuke Job (Job 33: 14–30). He even hopes that Job’s trials will continue either until he recants or, if he does not recant, until he dies (Job 34:36-37) and states Job’s complaint that godliness avails a man nothing (Job 35:1-4). He also declared that God is too lofty to be affected either by godliness or ungodliness, which only affect other people (Job 35:5-8 ). An other fault brought forwards to those who are unlucky is that unanswered prayers would be because of the lack of faith of those who pray and to the emptiness of the prayer (Job 35:-16). Elihu at moments continued to attack Job in the line of the other three older friends (e.g., Job 34: 10-37; 35:16). He also suggested that Job had not recognized and maybe even had ignored the ways in which God had spoken to him (Job 33:14). The continual appeal for Job by the four friends to simply repent of whatever evil he has done is an obvious misdiagnosis, in light of the prologue (chapters 1-2) and on the other elements Job brought forward to plea for his justice, recapitulated by Elihu at the opening of his speech (Job 33:6, 9; 34:5-9).

Elihu, who sometimes handled as if he were thinking to be like a prophet, shed already a further light on the matter that the creator of the universe cannot be unjust (Job 32:18–20; 34:10-28). Perhaps we may be called men of understanding, but there are a lot of things we do not understand and who are to complex to grasp and to get over with. Often we can’t make God out because He is beyond us. We sometimes can’t get His meaning or miss the point of what He says and does. The Spirit God seems difficult to grasp, but He is not so incomprehensible as we think. We just should concentrate more on the essentials of Him.

In the Book of Job we got an idea in what ways evil come to this earth and how evil people suffer as well (Job 15:14-16, 20-35). Failure comes to many. In the many speeches from chapters 3 to 37 we heard the flawless logic but wounding thrusts of those who insisted on the traditional theology that it was indisputable that God is almighty, perfectly just and that no human can be pure in Gods sight. On the other hand we have to face the problem of godly, just people who suffer. In this Book from the Book of Books the author can give us some encouragement by showing us that our suffering provides an occasion like no other for exemplifying what true godliness is for human beings. As in the other books of the Bible we can get a picture of righteous people who suffer ‘unjust’ but, though they have to fight against certain thoughts, still continue to go strong for their beloved Creator and His creation.

Job being answered by God - from Byzantine manuscript - Megisti Lavra Monastery,Codex B. 100, 12th century

When we started this study of the Book of Job we mentioned the accuser of God. Satan, the adversary who brought a radical assault on God and godly people. When God called up the name of Job before the accuser and testified to his righteous, the Almighty is called a fool and His followers even more fools. Is it not that humans prefer to love the gifts of the Creator then the Creator Himself? It is up to men to proof that he not tries to pleases God merely for the sake of his benefits. Job did good things he told us, but not in the hope to get something in return. Are you “religious” and “good” because it pays? Do you want something in return for the good things you do?
That is an other subject tackled in the Book of Job. Which position do we as humans want to take in our life here on earth? How do we want to place ourselves against other people. How do we want to face the One from who we get all this around us? Job faced toward God with anguish, puzzlement, anger and bitter complaints. How do we want to look at our Creator? And when we do not hear our answers, at first, answered how can we cope with that seemingly silent Authority? but are we sure that this God, ruler of the universe, is really silent? We should know that He has given His Words to be with us every day. Most of the answers we have to know are handed over to us. We just have to grasp them. It is to us to take them at hand and to read them, to be able to hear them. So we cannot say God does not give the answers to us. He has given them already to all those who want to have them.

Only we do have to understand that we can not desire to get to know God thoroughly. Longing to know God is very good. But to read Him like a book is not possible. It is not so easy to have God taped in full. We cannot expect hat at the end of our life we shall know everything about God. It would be foolish wisdom to think that. We shall not be able to control everything, because that belongs to God. But He is willing to share parts of His knowledge with us. He is willing to give wisdom to His creatures. However Job’s experience makes bitterly clear to him that his friends “wisdom” cannot fathom the truth of his situation. No, the wisdom we can get does not bring the answers we would like to hear or see. Sometimes it can frustrate us. It can make us hungry. Wisdom and truth is discerned through hearing, just as the quality of food is discerned through tasting (Job 34:3). We better listen today to the Wisdom of God to get some ray of understanding some things and be satisfied with what we already can get for answers at the moment. Patience is a good virtue. We should be pleased already that we can receive enough wisdom to comprehend those difficult creatures around us. And as we saw from the different answers of Job friends we do not always have to go by age, or by popularity. We always should remember that from these creaturely things, we as humans cannot learn all of God’s ways. And who are we mere human beings to to talk back to God? Does any object that is created riposte to its maker or will what is formed say to him who formed it, “why did you make me this way?” (Isaiah 29:16,45:9; Romans 9:20) “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?” (Romans 9:20 ASV)
Who in the world do we think we are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mould it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?”
For us it is perhaps best to recognise who is the Superior and not to deny God above (Job 31:28 ), recognising also the fact that our time on earth is also just a temporarily situation, and that the man who responds submissively to God’s dealings with him will regain health and joy (Job 33:25-28 ) Yes the Book of Job sheds also a light on what we might expect after death. When we die we shall all land up in the grave, the oppressors and the oppressed, they all shall perish and we shall not be able to take anything of our wealth or fame into our grave, the place of departure (Job 27:15-23; Psalm 164:4 Isaiah 38:18). For the wealthy as well as the poor, the happy as the sufferers it shall be be as the animals (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20) When God does not look at them any more, or His face is veiled, they shall be troubled; when He takes away their breath, they come to an end, and go back to the dust. “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou {1} takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust. {1) Or gatherest in}” (Psalms 104:29 ASV) “and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 ASV) Let us take Paul’s words into our hearth: “We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this {1} world, nor of the rulers of this {1} world, who are coming to nought: {1) Or age; and so in verses 7, 8; but not in verse 12}” (1 Corinthians 2:6 ASV)
Job will pass the supreme test of all true godliness, namely, to live by the wisdom God had given him, having the fear of the Most High Jehovah God and to depart from evil (Job 28:28 ), and acknowledging the limits of human wisdom. Are we prepared to be satisfied with the brain we got and with what it can cope?

Elihu repeatedly stated that the purpose of God’s speaking to a person in the way he described is to keep “his soul from the pit” (also Job 33:18, 22, 24, 28, 30). Thus he implies that Job’s suffering may be a corrective of his overall path rather than simply punishment for some hidden sin. Though God does not five a warning finger to Elihu we can find God answer in the rest of the Bible. God response to Job will include some vocabulary and references that are similar to portions of Elihu Barachel (meaning either “may God bless” or “God has blessed”) his speeches, but He does not commend either Elihu’s suggested reasons for Job’s suffering or his anger against Job.

The Holy Spirit = Power of God

Elihu had played on the words “spirit” and “breath” in his early speeches (see also Job 33:4; 34:14) in the way most likely to evoke Job’s earlier plea (Job 27:2–3) as he asserted his own right to speak. But he rightly let us know that God is the Spirit, and it is His breath, the live in Him that brings us His Words. It is this breath or Holy “Spirit” which is the “power” that can enlighten us.

“For he (God) needeth not further to consider a man, That he should go before God in judgment.” (Job 34:23 ASV) So God Almighty will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgement with God. Let us look at these words of the Lord of lords where He asks what evil or iniquity people have seen in Him that they have gone far from Him, and have walked after what is false, worthless idols, worthlessness, vanity, and are become vain or become themselves nothings?
“thus saith Jehovah, What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?” (Jeremiah 2:5 ASV)

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Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Job Chapters 38-41

Job 38:1 And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],
Job 38:2 Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?

Job 38:3 Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge,
Job 38:5 who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?
Job 38:6 On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?

Job 38:7 When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.
Job 38:8 And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother’s womb.
Job 38:9 And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.
Job 38:10 And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.
Job 38:11 And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.
Job 38:12 Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;
Job 38:13 to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?

Job 38:14 Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?
Job 38:15 And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?
Job 38:16 Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?
Job 38:17 And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee?
Job 38:18 And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?
Job 38:19 And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?
Job 38:20 If thou couldest bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths;
Job 38:21 I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great.

Job 38:22 But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail?
Job 38:23 And is there a store [of them], for thee against the time of [thine] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?
Job 38:24 And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?

Job 38:25 And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;
Job 38:26 to rain upon the land where [there is] no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited [land],
Job 38:27 and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?
Job 38:28 Who is the rain’s father? and who has generated the drops of dew?

Job 38:29 And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,
Job 38:30 which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?

Job 38:31 And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion?
Job 38:32 Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them?

Job 38:33 And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?
Job 38:34 And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain?
Job 38:35 And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is [thy pleasure]?

Job 38:36 And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?
Job 38:37 And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?
Job 38:38 For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.

Job 38:39 And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?
Job 38:40 For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.
Job 38:41 And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.

Job 39:1 [Say] if thou knowest the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and [if] thou hast marked the calving of the hinds:
Job 39:2 and [if] thou has hast numbered the full months of their being with young, and [if] thou hast relieved their pangs:
Job 39:3 and hast reared their young without fear; and wilt thou loosen their pangs?
Job 39:4 Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: [their young] will go forth, and will not return to them.

Job 39:5 And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands?
Job 39:6 whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts.

Job 39:7 He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer.
Job 39:8 He will survey the mountains [as] his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing.

Job 39:9 And will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger?
Job 39:10 And wilt thou bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plough furrows for thee in the plain?
Job 39:11 And dost thou trust him, because his strength is great? and wilt thou commit thy works to him?
Job 39:12 And wilt thou believe that he will return to thee thy seed, and bring [it] in [to] thy threshing-floor?

Job 39:13 The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, [it is worthy of notice],
Job 39:14 for [the ostrich] will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust,
Job 39:15 and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them.
Job 39:16 She has hardened [herself] against her young ones, as though [she bereaved] not herself: she labours in vain without fear.
Job 39:17 For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding.
Job 39:18 In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider.

Job 39:19 Hast thou invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror?
Job 39:20 And hast thou clad him in perfect armour, and made his breast glorious with courage?
Job 39:21 He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain.
Job 39:22 He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword.
Job 39:23 The bow and sword resound against him; and [his] rage will swallow up the ground:
Job 39:24 and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds.
Job 39:25 And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing.

Job 39:26 And does the hawk remain steady by thy wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south?
Job 39:27 And does the eagle rise at thy command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest,
Job 39:28 on a crag of a rock, and in a secret [place]?
Job 39:29 Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far.
Job 39:30 And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.

Job 40:1 (39:31) And the Lord God answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 (39:32) Will [any one] pervert judgment with the Mighty One? and he that reproves God, let him return it for answer.

Job 40:3 (39:33) And Job answered and said to the Lord,
Job 40:4 (39:34) Why do I yet plead? being rebuked even while reproving the Lord: hearing such things, whereas I am nothing: and what shall I answer to these [arguments]? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 (39:35) I have spoken once; but I will not do so a second time.

Job 40:6 (40:1) And the Lord yet again answered and spoke to Job out of the cloud, [saying],

Job 40:7 (40:2) Nay, gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.
Job 40:8 (40:3) Do not set aside my judgment: and dost thou think that I have dealt with thee in any other way, than that thou mightest appear to be righteous?

Job 40:9 (40:4) Hast thou an arm like the Lord’s? or dost thou thunder with a voice like his?
Job 40:10 (40:5) Assume now a lofty bearing and power; and clothe thyself with glory and honour.
Job 40:11 (40:6) And send forth messengers with wrath; and lay low every haughty one.
Job 40:12 (40:7) Bring down also the proud man; and consume at once the ungodly.
Job 40:13 (40:8) And hide them together in the earth; and fill their faces with shame.
Job 40:14 (40:9) [Then] will I confess that thy right hand can save [thee].

Job 40:15 (40:10) But now look at the wild beasts with thee; they eat grass like oxen.
Job 40:16 (40:11) Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
Job 40:17 (40:12) He sets up his tail like a cypress; and his nerves are wrapped together.
Job 40:18 (40:13) His sides are sides of brass; and his backbone is [as] cast iron.

Job 40:19 (40:14) This is the chief of the creation of the Lord; made to be played with by his angels.
Job 40:20 (40:15) And when he has gone up to a steep mountain, he causes joy to the quadrupeds in the deep.

Job 40:21 (40:16) He lies under trees of every kind, by the papyrus, and reed, and bulrush.
Job 40:22 (40:17) And the great trees make a shadow over him with their branches, and [so do] the bushes of the field.
Job 40:23 (40:18) If there should be a flood, he will not perceive it; he trust that Jordan will rush up into his mouth.
Job 40:24 (40:19) [Yet one] shall take him in his sight; [one] shall catch [him] with a cord, and pierce his nose.

Job 41:1 (40:20) But wilt thou catch the serpent with a hook, and put a halter about his nose?
Job 41:2 (40:21) Or wilt thou fasten a ring in his nostril, and bore his lip with a clasp?
Job 41:3 (40:22) Will he address thee with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant?
Job 41:4 (40:23) And will he make a covenant with thee? and wilt thou take him for a perpetual servant?
Job 41:5 (40:24) And wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or bind him as a sparrow for a child?
Job 41:6 (40:25) And do the nations feed upon him, and the nations of the Phoenicians share him?

Job 41:7 (40:26) And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail; neither [shall they carry] his head in fishing-vessels.
Job 41:8 (40:27) But thou shalt lay thy hand upon him [once], remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done any more.

Job 41:9 (41:0) Hast thou not seen him? and hast thou not wondered at the things said [of him]?
Job 41:10 (41:1) Dost thou not fear because preparation has been made by me? for who is there that resists me?

Job 41:11 (41:2) Or who will resist me, and abide, since the whole [world] under heaven is mine?

Job 41:12 (41:3) I will not be silent because of him: though because of his power [one] shall pity his antagonist.

Job 41:13 (41:4) Who will open the face of his garment? and who can enter within the fold of his breastplate?
Job 41:14 (41:5) Who will open the doors of his face? terror is round about his teeth.
Job 41:15 (41:6) His inwards are as brazen plates, and the texture of his [skin] as a smyrite stone.
Job 41:16 (41:7) One [part] cleaves fast to another, and the air cannot come between them.
Job 41:17 (41:8) They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and cannot be separated.

Job 41:18 (41:9) At his sneezing a light shines, and his eyes are [as] the appearance of the morning star.
Job 41:19 (41:10) Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad.
Job 41:20 (41:11) Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals.
Job 41:21 (41:12) His breath is [as] live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.
Job 41:22 (41:13) And power is lodged in his neck, before him destruction runs.
Job 41:23 (41:14) The flesh also of his body is joined together: [if one] pours [violence] upon him, he shall not be moved.
Job 41:24 (41:15) His heart is firm as a stone, and it stands like an unyielding anvil.
Job 41:25 (41:16) And when he turns, [he is] a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth.

Job 41:26 (41:17) If spears should come against him, [men] will effect nothing, [either with] the spear or the breast-plate.
Job 41:27 (41:18) For he considers iron as chaff, and brass as rotten wood.
Job 41:28 (41:19) The bow of brass shall not would him, he deems a slinger as grass.
Job 41:29 (41:20) Mauls are counted as stubble; and he laughs to scorn the waving of the firebrand.
Job 41:30 (41:21) His lair is [formed of] sharp points; and all the gold of the sea under him is an immense [quantity of] clay.

Job 41:31 (41:22) He makes the deep boil like a brazen caldron; and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment,
Job 41:32 (41:23) and the lowest part of the deep as a captive: he reckons the deep as [his] range.

Job 41:33 (41:24) There is nothing upon the earth like to him, formed to be sported with by my angels.
Job 41:34 (41:25) He beholds every high thing: and he is king of all that are in the waters.

Job 42:1 Then Job answered and said to the Lord,
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do all things, and nothing is impossible with thee.
Job 42:3 For who is he that hides counsel from thee? or who keeps back his words, and thinks to hide them from thee? and who will tell me what I knew not, great and wonderful things which I understood not?
Job 42:4 But hear me, O Lord, that I also may speak: and I will ask thee, and do thou teach me.
Job 42:5 I have heard the report of thee by the ear before; but now mine eye has seen thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I have counted myself vile, and have fainted: and I esteem myself dust and ashes.

Job 42:7 And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, [that] the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true before me, as my servant Job [has].
Job 42:8 Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt-offering for you. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for ye have not spoken the truth against my servant Job.
Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Thaemanite, and Baldad the Sauchite, and Sophar the Minaean, went and did as the Lord commanded them: and he pardoned their sin for the sake of Job.

Job 42:10 And the Lord prospered Job: and when he prayed also for his friends, he forgave them [their] sin: and the Lord gave Job twice as much, even the double of what he had before.
Job 42:11 And all his brethren and his sisters heard all that had happened to him, and they came to him, and [so did] all that had known him from the first: and they ate and drank with him, and comforted him, and wondered at all that the Lord had brought upon him: and each one gave him a lamb, and four drachms’ weight of gold, even of unstamped [gold].

Job 42:12 And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job, [more] than the beginning: and his cattle were fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, a thousand she-asses of the pastures.
Job 42:13 And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 42:14 And he called the first Day, and the second Casia, and the third Amalthaea’s horn.
Job 42:15 And there were not found in comparison with the daughters of Job, fairer [women] than they in all the world: and their father gave them an inheritance among their brethren.

Job 42:16 And Job lived after [his] affliction a hundred and seventy years: and all the years he lived were two hundred and forty: and Job saw his sons and his sons’ sons, the fourth generation.
Job 42:17 And Job died, an old man and full of days: (42:17A) and it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up. (42:17B) This man is described in the Syriac book [as] living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; (42:17C) and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. (42:17D) And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job, and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thaeman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. (42:17E) And [his] friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Baldad sovereign of the Sauchaeans, Sophar king of the Minaeans.

Continues: Fragments from the Book of Job #7 Epilogue

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“For He will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment with God.” (Job 34:23 KJ21)

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Note:

The Holy Spirit is the Author of Scripture; therefore the Word of God is inseparable from the Spirit of God. God is Spirit and the Holy spirit is not on other entity, it is the Power of God itself. The Scriptures introduce the reader to the Holy Spirit and the Spirit applies the truths of the Word to the hearts of the reader. Scripture must be interpreted in the immediate context of personal prayer. The Bible promises over and over that when we seek God, he will be found. The same is true if we seek his power. The “knowledge of God” is an essential feature of Christian attainment, according to the apostolic standard. Those “who know not God” are among those whom vengeance is to overtake (2 Thessalonians 1: 8). Knowledge of God is the basis of sonship to God. Without it, we cannot enter the divine family. How can we love and serve a being whom we do not know? Knowledge is the foundation of all. It is the rock upon which everlasting life itself is built. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, The Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (John 27: 3).

Prayer is the medium that brings individuals into contact with the same Spirit who inspired the writers of the Bible. To hear what the Spirit of the Only One God is saying through the Word you must encounter God through prayer. Prayer is the means that we must use to understand the Word of God. Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit in prayer, our Bible study will be in vain. Let us ask for the Spirit to speak to us through the Word.

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Fragments from the Book of Job #5: chapters 32-37

Posted on June 21, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Endtimes, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: Adversary, Adversary of God, Age, Aish HaTorah, Almighty, Bible, Blessing, Book of Job, Church, Commandments, Commandments of God, compassion, control, courage, Death, Deuteronomic code, Doom Preachers, Elihu, Eliphaz, eternal, Evil, False Teachers, friendship of God, Friendship of people, God, God speaking, Gods Power, good deeds, grave, Hades, happiness, Holy Scriptures, Holy Spirit, Insight, Jehovah, Jesus, Job, Judeo-Christian, judgement, Kushner H.S., Law of God, Limits, Mitzvah, mortal, Noah, old age, Old Testament, order, pain, penalisation, perish, Pneuma, popularity, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, Satan, Silence of God, Suffering, Ten Commandments, Theology, time, Torah, unrightheous, weakness, Wealth, Will of God, Wisdom |

We can imagine that people get scared when they hear certain preachers talking as the three friends of Job. As the wife of a Southern Baptist pastor writes in her blog that one pastor saying that all the troubles which befell Job were his fault because he spoke forth fear into his life. That alleviated some of her fears somewhat. Though we would recommend starting to read the full Book of Job it is true that you don’t hear much in church or otherwise about the book of Job other than a passing comment or reference here or there. Studying Job brings forward that there is much more than that character of a righteous man blamed to be unrighteous and being rightly penalised by God.

Last chapter we saw that Job succumbed to the same self pity we all succumb to at times.

Job - Blake

When things are going good in their lives, rarely do people give God the credit for it, but as soon as trouble comes along, the first one to get the blame is God. Even worse, there are ministers out there telling people its O.K. to get angry with God. (Stop Blaming God) There are also a lot of preachers trying to convince people that it is God who brings punishment to the wicked today. Many have to come out that came out of that false system of thinking. Job’s friends did not see that it was the accuser and adversary of God (satan) was trying to drive a wedge between God and His beloved. If Job proved to be righteous only because “it pays” then Satan (any adversary) wins his bet with God. As the friends certain pastors say rightly God is almighty and just. They also preach that because no human is entirely innocent in God’s eyes and therefore have to suffer as suffering, according to them, must be a retribution for some sin. It has come so bad that today we even find pastors who say certain violent action and bringing pain to others is justified because the others deserve it. (Antichrist and The Most Hated Family in America in crisis) These doom preachers are right when they say that the Holy God shows us, that He completely is in state to bring the destruction over this whole world because of the sin. The Bible tells us of this tremendous fact in Genesis 6:12-13 when God, looking on the earth, saw that it was evil: for the way of all flesh had become evil on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come; the earth is full of their violent doings, and now I will put an end to them with the earth. “And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:12-13 ASV) God brought the deluge over the earth, but that was the first and last turn that God would do that. Lots of doom thinkers make people frightened. Often they try to get the people of their congregation in their ban with cursings to the outer world and with “If you had more faith”. We should recognise the false teachers at the words and actions they take. Teachers or preachers their sayings we always do have to compare them with the Words of God which we can find in the Book of Books, the Bible. Compare where the Holy Scriptures disagrees. In a time when so many people are striving for an explanation of why their lives turn out a certain way, or why things (good or bad) happen to them, the expressions “it’s all part of God’s plan,” “everything happens for the best,” or “it just wasn’t meant to be,” and so on, have became a little tiresome. In “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” perhaps Rabbi Harold S. Kushner can offer you a refreshing point of view that differs from those who think everything occurs on earth because God wants it that way, and at the same time provides a surprising comfort in the fact that events actually can, and do, take place for no reason at all. Rabbi Kushner tries to reconcile a common Judeo-Christian view of God and causality with a perspective of life that holds a place for randomness and happenstance. He tries to proof that things happen in life that God has nothing to do with, and there is a way to find peace in accepting this. Also for him as for us not everything that takes place in the world has a purpose or comes from God. God, in Kushner’s view, created the world and provides the foundation of moral principle. But according some thoughts God would not quite be in control of the world He created. He hopes for our good and He sympathizes, as it were, with us in our pain, but He is powerless to do anything about it according this Jewish writer. But the One who created is in control but allows people a lot of freedom. Aish.com, a division of Aish HaTorah, an apolitical network of Jewish educational centres in 35 branches on five continents remarks: “As to why a God Who had the power to create the entire universe in the first place would create one that He is powerless to control, Kushner basically shrugs his shoulders and contents himself with noting that the world is relatively good for most people most of the time. We might designate this theory as “randomness plus God.”" (Why Harold Kushner is wrong) Fro them Harold Kushner’s approach to suffering is profoundly un-Jewish and provides no solace to those in pain. Unable to understand why a good God would allow individuals to suffer, Kushner ends by neatly defining the question away. He cannot even conceive of the possibility of any understanding, and so concludes that we have no answers because there are no answers. But God has provided those who want to listen and who want to find insight and wisdom, the possibilities to find the answers in the Holy Scriptures. “By arguing that much of what happens is beyond God’s control, Kushner effectively severs the connection between God and the world and thereby empties physical existence of all meaning.” dixit Aish.

When bad things happen to good people who do you blame? What, if anything, keeps you from accepting painful situations or losses in your life?

A lot of people do not see that the Book of Job also gives a picture of who God is and of what He wants from us. They also quote a lot from the friends their words but forget how in Job and Elihu’s replies we get a rectification and the solution to the whole problem in the answer of the Elohim, Jehovah God.

In chapters 29-31 of the Book of Job (Fragments from the Book of Job #4: chapters 27-31) Job also present us a picture of some of the commandments to which we better keep to live in conformity with the Will of God or Gods Law. Those Commandments of God or Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצוה‎ “commandment”, [mitsˈva], Biblical: Miṣwah; plural mitzvot [mitsˈvot]; Biblical: Miṣwoth from צוה ṣiwwah “command”) were brought to humankind through the ages that God ministered His People. In Judaism they refer to the 613 Mitzvot (Hebrew: תרי”ג מצוות‎: Taryag Mitzvot, “613 commandments”; Biblical Hebrew: Miṣwoth) or 613 commandments given in the Torah. Job brought some statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses forwards to proof that he tried honestly to fullfill Gods wishes.

When the friendship of God was with Job, he argued, (Job 29:4) that the Almighty was yet with him. He had the idea that God had deserted him, like Jesus also asked God why He had abandoned him. Strangely Job does not see that God was all the time with him. No matter what happens, when we stay with God, He shall always stay around us. Though we do not hear Him, He shall keep an eye onto us. God is often seemingly hidden, but His silence, His deafness, His blindness is all part of His plan to strengthen our relationship with Him. It can be hard when God does not reveal Himself in visible proofs. But it makes stronger faith. We have to be careful that we do not project our human limitation upon God so that we could better understand our problems. We have limits, but the Only One God has no limits as a spirit. “The God is Pneuma, and those worshipping Him must of necessity worship spiritually and in harmony with Truth.”” (John 4:24 MHM)
Sometimes we are too busy to attend to all the details in our life, but Jehovah God never loses track of the details.

Also the friendship in the community is being questioned. You can compare the situation of Job and his friends as to what you expect of your “brethren”. How do we react when something goes wrong with somebody of the ecclesia? And when one of the brothers or sisters is taken in any wrongdoing, how do you want to put such a one right in a spirit of love; keeping watch on yourself, for fear that you yourself may be tested. Are you also willing to take on yourselves one another’s troubles, and so keep the law of Christ. “Brothers, if anyone is overcome by some mistake those who are spiritual should gently and meekly readjust such a person. However, watch yourselves so you are never tempted. Continue to carry the heavy burdens of one another and in this manner fulfil Christ’s Law.” (Galatians 6:1-2 MHM)

Job had moments of doubt and we also can feel that we are standing alone in the turbulent storm. All the thorns from the problems can hurt us deep and cause anger against the others and worse, against God for His seeming abandonment in His hiddenness. But from the next chapters and other Books from the Old and New Testament we shall see that God does not turn a deaf ear and a blind eye. God does see and hear in the camps of the evil ones, and not only that, but He assures us that He is there in the middle of the evil. He does not forsake those sons and daughters of His as it seems, for He sets the joy before them, and will send an accompanying angel to bear them up in the extreme. He wants us to “Look up”, but if we are so deep in the pit in the evil camp with our eyes permanently cast down, alas we find, miraculously, and mercifully that He is there with us. He is not hidden, and He whispers, “Look up, look up for I am here with you”. When Job refused to give up on God, despite the pleadings of all his accusers, he won the contest with them, and was privileged to see what he would have missed had he succumbed to their suggestions. How do you look up to God. Can you keep trusting God and have a positive perspective? What might you think in a similar situation? Where do you place God in your life and where was God for you when it hurt the most?

Job demanded an audience with God in which he was sure he would be vindicated. Enter Elihu on the scene who sets Job straight before the entrance of God himself. When Job finally gets his audience with God it doesn’t go like he planned at all. He comes away humbled and repentant for his selfish behaviour. He is accepted by God still however, which speaks to eternal security of the believer. His three friends are a different matter however. It says God’s anger burned toward them. (see Jot’s writing on Job)

Job, who consciously lived his life as if it were open before and in service to the God of heaven and earth and kept to the regulation of community, (one of the Laws or Deuteronomic code) brought forwards all the good deeds he had done. We also have to do such good things. Delivering or taking care of the poor and the fatherless (Job 31:16–23); giving widows heart to sing for joy; no stealing or coveting; putting on righteousness; helping the blind, the lame and the needy; even helping animals, providing them with food (Job 31:31) searching out causes; putting the unrighteous on their place; giving counsel or advice; not having looked at the elements of the earth to worship them (Job 31:24-28) because we have to abstain from any pagan worship and our worship of God must remain pure. Not erecting sacred stones or adoring the richness of the earth (gold, silver, money, wealth), not making for yourself an idol. Keeping to purity and respecting rules which regulate marriage.
We should try to get to know the regulations of the Most High, but just keeping to them because we are afraid He might harm us is not the good reason to hold vast to the commandments. God wants from us that we do come out of our own free will, and that we love Him for what He really is. It is not by the disasters in the world or the many problems on earth that the greatness of the Creator is shown.

Does not God and His son gave to those who came with a request? We all can use this earth in loan from the Creator but so we want to share of it with others? do some of us not keep their property from him who would for a time make use of it. You have knowledge that it was said, “Have love for your neighbour, and hate for him who is against you”. But Jesus said to us: “Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you; So that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven; for his sun gives light to the evil and to the good, and he sends rain on the upright man and on the sinner. For if you have love for those who have love for you, what credit is it to you? do not the tax-farmers the same? And if you say, Good day, to your brothers only, what do you do more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same?” (Matthew 5:42-47 BBE). “Instead, all of you continue to show loving concern for your enemies. And continue doing good-continue lending money without expecting anything to be paid back. If you do your reward will be considerable, for you will become the Most High’s offspring, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35 MHM)
We should know that “Jehovah is good to all; And his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Psalms 145:9 ASV)

We can also notice that Job recited a blessing for each enjoyment, but also blessings and curses for those who keep and break the law (Deuteronomic code in Deuteronomy Chapters 12-26).
Job preferred to curse the day he was born rather than God.

If we read in between the lines we can see that it is with profound courage and compassion that sufferers survive the inhuman dignities placed upon them by captors, and torturers and they need to remember that it is easier to receive the pain and moan with it, than it is to be the source of the inhuman behaviour, for there is no escaping the human consciousness that makes inhumanity possible. So, in that sense, human captors or persecutors and torturers are always worse off than their prisoners, or those who they torment. In a way we can’t escape that not such liked events intrude with such force that we are compelled to deal with our faith in the context of what is taking place in our lives. Suffering is one such event. It challenges us to confront the ultimate questions of who we are and what is the significance of our lives. Suffering is a painful invitation to deepen our faith and make it a real part of our lives.

We also get the question of “what makes “happy“, “healthy”, “wealthy” and “wise“.

Now we have heard the speeches of Jobs friends and his replies. Does the hair-rising, mystical spiritual experience of Eliphaz sound reliable to you? (Job 4:12-16) Can we be righteous as against God and be blameless against our Maker?

When we hear what happens in some churches and see how preachers rage on television do you not question if “correct” theology (all the right words) and/or quoting just some phrases out of context can ever be “bad” theology?

Elihu said i am young and ye are very old

Today we listen to Elius or Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite who was young in years. He had kept silent all the time because the others were older and therefore he did not dare to speak up against them. He was fearful, not daring to tell them what he knew. (Job 32:6). There is a great lesson for us all here. It is not necessarily the case that old age brings wisdom. Wisdom is a result of experience. We should not keep to our pride and think because we have a certain age we also would have the wisdom. If we want to listen to advice or hear wisdom we should look for a trustworthy man person, who has had many testings in his or her life and stuck to his or her faith throughout, rather than one who has reached a great age or got a lot of wealth. It is clear from this book that old age does not always bring wisdom and understanding, but in this latter part of the book we are brought to our senses by this younger man who has the answers and who is able to help Job see his life in perspective. Let us not ignore the potential for wisdom to come from our younger members. And the wisdom does not always come from the most popular nor from the most liked one. The wisdom does not always flatter. We must recognise that there are certain preachers who want to be popular and even get huge churches full of people, because they know how to present their “show”. they know exactly what the people want to hear and give it to them in such a way that the people are pleased to hear such talking. But Elihu made it clear that what he had to say would not be emotional, or spoken with prejudice. He would not flatter, nor would he show respect to persons. He knew that God would condemn those who did. Though he also could find his thoughts “darkened”, and that is also what we all have to be aware of, certain things we can know for sure, others not, in certain things we can have wisdom, in others not. At certain point we even can find some haughtiness in his speaking. With a certain arrogance he boast that he has so much to say he can’t keep him straight. (Job 32: 18-22) Do we notice a taste of a braggart? In case we know something more then an other we should be pleased that we can be blessed as such. Let us therefore always be humble enough and listen in first instance to the One and Only God Almighty.

Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Job Chapter 32

Job 32:1 And his three friends also ceased any longer to answer Job: for Job was righteous before them.
Job 32:2 Then Elius the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the country of Ausis, was angered: and he was very angry with Job, because he justified himself before the Lord.
Job 32:3 And he was also very angry with [his] three friends, because they were not able to return answers to Job, yet set him down for an ungodly man.
Job 32:4 But Elius had forborne to give an answer to Job, because they were older than he.
Job 32:5 And Elius saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men; and he was angered in his wrath.
Job 32:6 And Elius the Buzite the son of Barachiel answered and said, I am younger in age, and ye are elder, wherefore I kept silence, fearing to declare to you my own knowledge.
Job 32:7 And I said, It is not time that speaks, though in many years [men] know wisdom:
Job 32:8 but there is a spirit in mortals; and the inspiration of the Almighty is that which teaches.
Job 32:9 The long-lived are not wise [as such]; neither do the aged know judgment.
Job 32:10 Wherefore I said, Hear me, and I will tell you what I know.
Job 32:11 Hearken to my words; for I will speak in your hearing, until ye shall have tried [the matter] with words:
Job 32:12 and I shall understand as far as you; and, behold, there was no one of you that answered Job his words in argument,
Job 32:13 lest ye should say, We have found that we have added wisdom to the Lord.
Job 32:14 And ye have commissioned a man to speak such words.

Job 32:15 They were afraid, they answered no longer; they gave up their speaking.
Job 32:16 I waited, (for I had not spoken,) because they stood still, they answered not.

Job 32:17 And Elius continued, and said, I will again speak,
Job 32:18 for I am full of words, for the spirit of my belly destroys me.
Job 32:19 And my belly is as a skin of sweet wine, bound up [and] ready to burst; or as a brazier’s labouring bellows.
Job 32:20 I will speak, that I may open my lips and relieve myself.
Job 32:21 For truly I will not be awed because of man, nor indeed will I be confounded before a mortal.
Job 32:22 For I know not how to respect persons: and if otherwise, even the moths would eat me.

Job 33:1 Howbeit hear, Job, my words, and hearken to my speech.
Job 33:2 For behold, I have opened my mouth, and my tongue has spoken.
Job 33:3 My heart [shall be found] pure by [my] words; and the understanding of my lips shall meditate purity.

Job 33:4 The Divine Spirit is that which formed me, and the breath of the Almighty that which teaches me.

Job 33:5 If thou canst, give me an answer: wait therefore; stand against me, and I [will stand] against thee.
Job 33:6 Thou art formed out of the clay as also I: we have been formed out of the same [substance].

Job 33:7 My fear shall not terrify thee, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.
Job 33:8 But thou hast said in mine ears, (I have heard the voice of thy words;) because thou sayest, I am pure, not having sinned;
Job 33:9 I am blameless, for I have not transgressed.
Job 33:10 Yet he has discovered a charge against me, and he has reckoned me as an adversary.
Job 33:11 And he has put my foot in the stocks, and has watched all my ways.
Job 33:12 For how sayest thou, I am righteous, yet he has not hearkened to me? for he that is above mortals is eternal.

Job 33:13 But thou sayest, Why has he not heard every word of my cause?
Job 33:14 For when the Lord speaks once, or a second time,
Job 33:15 [sending] a dream, or in the meditation of the night; (as when a dreadful alarm happens to fall upon men, in slumberings on the bed:)
Job 33:16 then opens he the understanding of men: he scares them with such fearful visions:
Job 33:17 to turn a man from unrighteousness, and he delivers his body from a fall.
Job 33:18 He spares also his soul from death, and [suffers] him not to fall in war.
Job 33:19 And again, he chastens him with sickness on his bed, and the multitude of his bones is benumbed.

Job 33:20 And he shall not be able to take any food, though his soul shall desire meat;
Job 33:21 until his flesh shall be consumed, and he shall shew his bones bare.

Job 33:22 His soul also draws nigh to death, and his life is in Hades (the grave).
Job 33:23 Though there should be a thousand messengers of death, not one of them shall wound him: if he should purpose in his heart to turn to the Lord, and declare to man his fault, and shew his folly;
Job 33:24 he will support him, that he should not perish, and will restore his body as [fresh] plaster upon a wall; and he will fill his bones with morrow.
Job 33:25 And he will make his flesh tender as that of a babe, and he will restore him among men in [his] full strength.
Job 33:26 And he shall pray to the Lord, and his prayer shall be accepted of him; he shall enter with a cheerful countenance, with a full expression [of praise]: for he will render to men [their] due.

Job 33:27 Even then a man shall blame himself, saying, What kind of things have I done? and he has not punished me according to the full amount of my sins.
Job 33:28 Deliver my soul, that it may not go to destruction, and my life shall see the light.

Job 33:29 Behold, all these things, the Mighty One works in a threefold manner with a man.
Job 33:30 And he has delivered my soul from death, that my life may praise him in the light.
Job 33:31 Hearken, Job, and hear me: be silent, and I will speak.
Job 33:32 If thou hast words, answer me: speak, for I desire thee to be justified.
Job 33:33 If not, do thou hear me: be silent, and I will teach thee.

Job 34:1 And Elius continued, and said,
Job 34:2 Hear me, ye wise men; hearken, ye that have knowledge.
Job 34:3 For the ear tries words, and the mouth tastes meat.

Job 34:4 Let us choose judgment to ourselves: let us know amount ourselves what is right.
Job 34:5 For Job has said, I am righteous: the Lord has removed my judgment.
Job 34:6 And he has erred in my judgment: my wound is severe without unrighteousness [of mine].
Job 34:7 What man is as Job, drinking scorning like water?
Job 34:8 [saying], I have not sinned, nor committed ungodliness, nor had fellowship with workers of iniquity, to go with the ungodly.
Job 34:9 For thou shouldest not say, There shall be no visitation of a man, whereas [there is] a visitation on him from the Lord.

Job 34:10 Wherefore hear me, ye that are wise in heart: far be it from me to sin before the Lord, and to pervert righteousness before the almighty.
Job 34:11 Yea, he renders to a man accordingly as each of them does, and in a man’s path he will find him.
Job 34:12 And thinkest thou that the Lord will do wrong, or will the Almighty who made the earth wrest judgment?

Job 34:13 And who is he that made [the whole world] under heaven, and all things therein?
Job 34:14 For if he would confine, and restrain his spirit with himself;
Job 34:15 all flesh would die together, and every mortal would return to the earth, whence also he was formed.

Job 34:16 Take heed lest he rebuke [thee]: hear this, hearken to the voice of words.

Job 34:17 Behold then the one that hates iniquities, and that destroys the wicked, who is for ever just.
Job 34:18 [He is] ungodly that says to a king, Thou art a transgressor, [that says] to princes, O most ungodly one.
Job 34:19 [Such a one] as would not reverence the face of an honourable man, neither knows how to give honour to the great, so as that their persons should be respected.

Job 34:20 But it shall turn out vanity to them, to cry and beseech a man; for they dealt unlawfully, the poor being turned aside [from their right].
Job 34:21 For he surveys the works of men, and nothing of what they do has escaped him.
Job 34:22 Neither shall there be a place for the workers of iniquity to hide themselves.
Job 34:23 For he will not lay upon a man more [than right].
Job 34:24 For the Lord looks down upon all men, who comprehends unsearchable things, glorious also and excellent things without number.
Job 34:25 Who discovers their works, and will bring night about [upon them], and they shall be brought low.
Job 34:26 And he quite destroys the ungodly, for they are seen before him.
Job 34:27 Because they turned aside from the law of God, and did not regard his ordinances,
Job 34:28 so as to bring before him the cry of the needy; for he will hear the cry of the poor.

Job 34:29 And he will give quiet, and who will condemn? and he will hide his face, and who shall see him? whether [it be done] against a nation, or against a man also:
Job 34:30 causing a hypocrite to be king, because of the waywardness of the people.

Job 34:31 For [there is] one that says to the Mighty One, I have received [blessings]; I will not take a pledge:
Job 34:32 I will see apart from myself: do thou shew me if I have done unrighteousness; I will not do [so] any more.

Job 34:33 Will he take vengeance for it on thee, whereas thou wilt put [it] far [from thee]? for thou shalt choose, and not I; and what thou knowest, speak thou.
Job 34:34 Because the wise in heart shall say this, and a wise man listens to my word.
Job 34:35 But Job has not spoken with understanding, his words are not [uttered] with knowledge.
Job 34:36 Howbeit do thou learn, Job: no longer make answer as the foolish:
Job 34:37 that we add not to our sins: for iniquity will be reckoned against us, if [we] speak many words before the Lord.

Job 35:1 And Elius resumed and said,
Job 35:2 What is this that thou thinkest to be according to right? who art thou that thou hast said, I am righteous before the Lord?
Job 35:3 I will answer thee, and thy three friends.

Job 35:4 Look up to the sky and see; and consider the clouds, how high [they are] above thee.
Job 35:5 If thou hast sinned, what wilt thou do?
Job 35:6 and if too thou hast transgressed much, what canst thou perform?
Job 35:7 And suppose thou art righteous, what wilt thou give him? or what shall he receive of thy hand?
Job 35:8 Thy ungodliness [may affect] a man who is like to thee; or thy righteousness a son of man.

Job 35:9 They that are oppressed of a multitude will be ready to cry out; they will call for help because of the arm of many.
Job 35:10 But none said, Where is God that made me, who appoints the night-watches;
Job 35:11 who makes me to differ from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the sky?
Job 35:12 There they shall cry, and none shall hearken, even because of the insolence of wicked men.
Job 35:13 For the Lord desires not to look on error, for he is the Almighty One.

Job 36:1 And Elius further continued, and said,
Job 36:2 Wait form me yet a little while, that I may teach thee: for there is yet speech in me.
Job 36:3 Having fetched my knowledge from afar, and according to my works,
Job 36:4 I will speak just things truly, and thou shalt not unjustly receive unjust words.

Job 36:5 But know that the Lord will not cast off an innocent man: being mighty in strength of wisdom,
Job 36:6 he will not by any means save alive the ungodly: and he will grant the judgment of the poor.
Job 36:7 He will not turn away his eyes from the righteous, but [they shall be] with kings on the throne: and he will establish them in triumph, and they shall be exalted.
Job 36:8 But they that are bound in fetters shall be holden in cords of poverty.
Job 36:9 And he shall recount to them their works, and their transgressions, for such will act with violence.
Job 36:10 But he will hearken to the righteous: and he has said that they shall turn from unrighteousness.

Job 36:11 If they should hear and serve [him], they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honour.
Job 36:12 But he preserves not the ungodly; because they are not willing to know the Lord, and because when reproved they were disobedient.
Job 36:13 And the hypocrites in heart will array wrath [against themselves]; they will not cry, because he has bound them.
Job 36:14 Therefore let their soul die in youth, and their life be wounded by messengers [of death].
Job 36:15 Because they afflicted the weak and helpless: and he will vindicate the judgment of the meek.

Job 36:16 And he has also enticed thee out of the mouth of the enemy:
Job 36:17 [there is] a deep gulf [and] a rushing stream beneath it, and thy table came down full of fatness. Judgment shall not fail from the righteous;
Job 36:18 but there shall be wrath upon the ungodly, by reason of the ungodliness of the bribes which they received for iniquities.

Job 36:19 Let not [thy] mind willingly turn thee aside from the petition of the feeble that are in distress.
Job 36:20 And draw not forth all the mighty [men] by night, so that the people should go up instead of them.
Job 36:21 But take heed lest thou do that which is wrong: for of this thou has made choice because of poverty.

Job 36:22 Behold, the Mighty One shall prevail by his strength: for who is powerful as he is?
Job 36:23 And who is he that examines his works? or who can say, he has wrought injustice?
Job 36:24 Remember that his works are great [beyond] those which men have attempted.

Job 36:25 Every man has seen in himself, how many mortals are wounded.

Job 36:26 Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know [him]: the number of his years is even infinite.
Job 36:27 And the drops of rain are numbered by him, and shall be poured out in rain to form a cloud.
Job 36:28 The ancient [heavens] shall flow, and the clouds overshadow innumerable mortals: (36:28A) he has fixed a time to cattle, and they know the order of rest. (36:28B) [Yet] by all these things thy understanding is not astonished, neither is thy mind disturbed in [thy] body.

Job 36:29 And though one should understand the outspreadings of the clouds, [or] the measure of his tabernacle;
Job 36:30 behold he will stretch his bow against him, and he covers the bottom of the sea.
Job 36:31 For by them he will judge the nations: he will give food to him that has strength.
Job 36:32 He has hidden the light in [his] hands, and given charge concerning it to the interposing [cloud].
Job 36:33 The Lord will declare concerning this [to] his friend: [but there is] a portion also for unrighteousness.

Job 37:1 At this also my heart is troubled, and moved out of its place.
Job 37:2 Hear thou a report by the anger of the Lord’s wrath, and a discourse shall come out of his mouth.

Job 37:3 His dominion is under the whole heaven, and his light is at the extremities of the earth.
Job 37:4 After him shall be a cry with a [loud] voice; he shall thunder with the voice of his excellency, yet he shall not cause men to pass away, for one shall hear his voice.
Job 37:5 The Mighty One shall thunder wonderfully with his voice: for he has done great things which we knew not;
Job 37:6 commanding the snow, Be thou upon the earth, and the stormy rain, and the storm of the showers of his might.
Job 37:7 He seals up the hand of every man, that every man may know his own weakness.
Job 37:8 And the wild beasts come in under the covert, and rest in [their] lair.
Job 37:9 Troubles come on out of the secret chambers, and cold from the mountain-tops.
Job 37:10 And from the breath of the Mighty One he will send frost; and he guides the water in whatever way he pleases.

Job 37:11 And [if] a cloud obscures [what is] precious [to him], his light will disperse the cloud.
Job 37:12 And he will carry round the encircling [clouds] by his governance, to [perform] their works: whatsoever he shall command them,
Job 37:13 this has been appointed by him on the earth, whether for correction, [or] for his land, or if he shall find him [an object] for mercy.

Job 37:14 Hearken to this, O Job: stand still, and be admonished of the power of the Lord.
Job 37:15 We know that god has disposed his works, having made light out of darkness.
Job 37:16 And he knows the divisions of the clouds, and the signal overthrows of the ungodly.

Job 37:17 But thy robe is warm, and there is quiet upon the land.
Job 37:18 Wilt thou establish with him [foundations] for the ancient [heavens? they are] strong as a molten mirror.
Job 37:19 Wherefore teach me, what shall we say to him? and let us cease from saying much.
Job 37:20 Have I a book or a scribe my me, that I may stand and put man to silence?

Job 37:21 But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from him in the clouds.
Job 37:22 From the [north] come the clouds shining like gold: in these great are the glory and honour of the Almighty;
Job 37:23 and we do not find another his equal in strength: [as for] him that judges justly, dost thou not think that he listens?
Job 37:24 Wherefore men shall fear him; and the wise also in heart shall fear him.

Continues: Fragments from the Book of Job #6: chapters 38-42

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The Role And Character Of Elihu In The Book Of Job
Perhaps no other biblical character has been characterized by scholars in such radically different ways as Elihu. Concerning wisdom, Elihu is described as either an “exceeding wise” man or a “buffoon”; concerning his motivation, he is seen as anything from a divinely-inspired “man of God” to the “person assumed or adopted by Satan” to attack Job; concerning his contribution to the Book of Job, he is considered to be “irrelevant” or “integral.
… many scholars believe that the Elihu speeches as we have them now were not part of the original Book of Job.
reasons for rejecting the authenticity:
- Elihu is mentioned nowhere in the Book of Job outside of his speeches in Job 32-37
- the style of the Elihu speeches is different from the style used in the other parts of the book.
- Job’s challenge in chapter 31 calls for God, not Elihu, to make an appearance.
- Elihu’s speeches supposedly contribute nothing to the Book of Job. (but as you can read Elihu does have something significant to add)
… many scholars reject these arguments as unconvincing and strongly believe the Elihu speeches to be an original part of Job.

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Fragments from the Book of Job #4: chapters 27-31

Posted on June 20, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Endtimes, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Jesus Christ Jeshua the Messiah Jahushua, Kingdom of God, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: Adversary, Advocate with the Father, Almighty, Ancient Teachings, Answer from God, Bildad, blaming God, Book of Job, Comforter, Commandments of God, curse, Cursing God, Day of Jehovah, Death, destruction, distress, Earth, Eliphaz, Elohim, Evil, Evildoers, Fear, foolishness, Future, God, Gods knowledge, Gods Law, Gods Power, Gods son, grave, Helper, inheritance, innocence, Jehovah, Job, judgement, justice, King Jehovah of hosts, Kingdom of God, kinsman-redeemer, Living God, Mediator, meek, Old Testament, pain, perish, perversity, Problems, punishment, Ransom, Redeemer, repent, Resurrection, Rich, Righteousness, Sinner, Suffering, Tradition, transgressor, Treasure, Understanding, Ungodly, unrighteous, vindication, vindicator, Wicked, Wisdom, Zophar |

In the previous chapters the rampant evil in the world was described by Job (Job 24:2-24) and we have heard the speeches of Job’s friends who got to accuse him of gaining his now lost wealth by robbing the poor, withholding sustenance from the hungry and even abusing the weaker ones like widows and orphans. (Eliphaz, the most sympathetic and likely the oldest who appeals to experience for authority, in Job 22:6-9). Eliphaz urged Job to submit to obvious discipline from God, who would bless him if he would repent (Job 5:8-27). For the less sensitive Bildad it was clear that Job and his children were suffering because of his sin (Job 8:1-7). As Bildad argued from tradition, the third friend, Zophar rested on orthodox dogma and argued also that there must have been something in Job’s live that had caused all those problems.

Since neither Job nor his wife knew what had transpired between God and His adversaries, they did not know that those adversaries predicted that Job would curse God (Job 1:11; 2:5). Job at certain moments thought that there was a problem with him and God. His wife even concluded that her husband and she were suffering because God was unfair and that the presupposition that God always blesses the righteous and afflicts the wicked has proven faulty. Job called her views foolishness and did not want to curse God (Job 2:9-10) but after some time also wrongly accused God of mauling him as would a beast (Job 16:9) turning him over to wicked or perverse men, evil people (Job 16:11) using him as would an archer for target practice (Job 16:12-13) and attacking him as would a warrior or like a soldier gone mad with hate (Job 16:14). Job was sad he did not receive an answer from God who had seemed to have wronged him (Job 19:6) because he had kept to God’s Law (contrary to Eliphaz’s charge Job 22:22). He also complained that God did not pay attention and does not have fixed times for the punishment of evildoers, so that people could see that the Almighty Elohim punishes evildoers (Job 24:1,12). But he recognises the sovereignty of Jehovah over the various aspects of the universe. (Job 26:5-13) Gods knowledge goes beyond what we can see and hear (Job 26:14).

Many blame God, but for an other reason than Job did (Job 24:1) for the troubles on this earth, and has Job friends they do not seem to see the underlying factors of men’s free will. Also Job gets the feeling that his sufferings are in the Will of God, though the thought troubles him. (Job 23:14-16) He has also difficulties with ancient teachings or traditions, which or not our best sources of knowledge, according to Job. (Job 9:1-10:22) Those who brought us some sources to think about are just as mortal as we are and we always should remember that they grasped perhaps only a part of reality.Who can discover the depth of God? (Job 11:7) Job recognises that he is not inferior to others who have more luck, and that with the others their wisdom shall die as well. (Job 12:2-3, 12-22, 2425; 13:2,4, 8-11; 14:10; 15:9-11, 18-22,31-32)

For Job as for us it seems that at certain moments of trouble, wherever we go we do not seem to find God and therefore could not present our case before the Almighty. (Job 23:8-9) In Fragments from the Book of Job #2: chapters 12-20 a light is already shed on the fact that God knows the way we take. (Job 23:10) We would love to see the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, and find an end to our misery. Sometimes we may think God does not care for us and does not watches us. But God keeps an eye on the world and follows it. In the Old Testament we do find enough examples how He at certain moments came in action and reacted to situation of which He did not agree with. We can also notice how He also gave strength to the upright. At any time men’s minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness. Jehovah puts the upright and the sinner to the test, but He has hate in his soul for the lover of violent acts. (Psalms 7:9; 11:5) “For you, O God, have proven us: you have tried us, as silver is tried.” (Psalms 66:10 KJBPNV) Remember: “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.” (Zechariah 13:8-9 ASV)

Job’s innocence cries for vindication and asks God not to hide the wrongs done to him. (Job 16:18-21) Like Job we can long for a divine helper (cf 1 John 2:1-2) today we have an advocate with the Father. This comforter is Gods son given to us to help see our ways. this is a better friend than those of Job and a real upright helper. He can plead our case by his Father. In chapter 19 of the Book Job, Fragments from the Book of Job #2: chapters 12-20, we could notice that Job believed in a living god who would vindicate his case even after his death. In the future on the earth. The dust, sand or earth mentioned is referring to the dust of the earth or to the dust of Job’s grave. (Job 19:25-27)
“For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:25-27 KJBPNV) We may look forward to Jesus who shall return to the earth and shall look onto what people have done to each other and how they kept to the commandments of God. He shall judge the people before he hands over the Kingdomto his Father.

The 10 commandments of God - A popular image of the Tablets as rounded-off

Though Job looks at Jehovah or Yahweh Yahweh as the redeemer (Heb “goel”) of His people, the Almighty is that one who took care that somebody could speak in the name of men. He first did that with his people in Egypt. “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments:” (Exodus 6:6 ASV)
There is much speculation as to whether Job believed in the resurrection. However we note that Jesus, quoting Job’s words (Matthew 5:8) says that the meek will see God and clearly Jesus is speaking of the blessedness of those who are to be raised from the dead. (Read also: Zechariah 14:1-4,9,16; Isaiah 9:6-7;2:2-4; Matthew 24:3,36,37,44).

Looking for a kinsman-redeemer, ransom, avenge, vindicator, a “daysman” or a mediator Job looked like so many of us a means to obtain justice. That is the theme in these verses of Job 19:25-27, not resurrection, as we gather when we first read them. True justice would demand his bodily presence. Resurrection is thus implied rather than expressed. Job felt that at the resurrection he would be justified. The word flesh Hebrew basar (1320) means flesh, body, person, body, self, etc. while Job 31:14 suggests being called to account at an implied judgement .

“Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” (Zechariah 14:1-4 ASV)
“And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one.” (Zechariah 14:9 ASV)
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” (Zechariah 14:16 ASV)

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting {1} contempt. {1) Or abhorrence}” (Daniel 12:2 ASV)
“Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of {1} herbs, and the earth shall cast forth {2} the dead. {1) Or light 2) Or the shades; Heb Rephaim}” (Isaiah 26:19 ASV)
“For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” (Isaiah 26:21 ASV)

Job sees death as certain “worms destroy this body” (Job 16:22;17:1,14,15,16), “yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 14:13-15 - resurrection Gen 13:15) indicates flesh is regenerated; Job’s redeemer is Jehovah (Isaiah 43:14-15;49:7;54:5) Some people take it from there that Jehovah would be the same person as that redeemer Jesus, but Job spoke about the Spirit who was alive in his time. Thus Job was correct when he said his redeemer “liveth” because has always been alive and people forget that Jehovah has redeemed through his servant, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 49:6-7; Acts 5:31; Hebrews 7:25; 2 Timothy 1:10). Unfortunately, Job does not expound upon this ‘matter of the future’, and so we are left with an incomplete understanding of what he meant. However, Job is accounted righteous, and an example to follow (Ezekiel 14:14,26; James 5:11) and from that we can imagine that he is going to be one of the persons who shall also be in the coming Kingdom of God.

The sarcastic part of Job comes forward now. In Job 27: 7-23 we get Job’s summary of the erroneous arguments of his 3 friends — who urged his guilt. Job talks here as though his three ‘friends’ are trying to persuade him to fall from grace and to fulfil their words as if they were some sort of prophecy against him. Should we not recognise that it in fact not always the wicked ultimately prosper, though they may for a time. Whatever happens and how long it takes we can be sure that they will be condemned (Job 27:8). They shall not have to count on the help of God (Job 237:9-10). We nor they can be assured of passing on their prosperity to their children (Job 27:14-18). Who knows, destruction can come suddenly over the evil man (Job 27:19).

Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Job Chapter 27

Job 27:1 And Job further continued and said in his parable,
Job 27:2 [As] God lives, who has thus judge me; and the Almighty, who has embittered my soul;
Job 27:3 verily, while my breath is yet in [me], and the breath of God which remains to me is in my nostrils,
Job 27:4 my lips shall not speak evil words, neither shall my soul meditate unrighteous thoughts.

Job 27:5 Far be it from me that I should justify you till I die; for I will not let go my innocence,
Job 27:6 but keeping fast to [my] righteousness I will by no means let it go: for I am not conscious to myself of having done any thing amiss.
Job 27:7 Nay rather, but let mine enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me, as the destruction of transgressors.

Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the ungodly, that he holds to it? will he indeed trust in the Lord [and] be saved?
Job 27:9 Will God hear his prayer? or, when distress has come upon him,
Job 27:10 has he any confidence before him? or will [God] hear him as he calls upon him?

Job 27:11 Yet now I will tell you what is in the hand of the Lord: I will not lie concerning the things which are with the Almighty.
Job 27:12 Behold, ye all know that ye are adding vanity to vanity.
Job 27:13 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of oppressors shall come upon them from the Almighty.
Job 27:14 And if their children be many, they shall be for slaughter: and if they grow up, they shall beg.
Job 27:15 And they that survive of him shall utterly perish, and no one shall pity their widows.
Job 27:16 Even if he should gather silver as earth, and prepare gold as clay;
Job 27:17 All these things shall the righteous gain, and the truehearted shall possess his wealth.
Job 27:18 And his house is gone like moths, and like a spider’s web.
Job 27:19 The rich man shall lie down, and shall not continue: he has opened his eyes, and he is not.
Job 27:20 Pains have come upon him as water, and darkness has carried him away by night.
Job 27:21 And a burning wind shall catch him, and he shall depart, and it shall utterly drive him out of his place.
Job 27:22 And [God] shall cast [trouble] upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
Job 27:23 He shall cause [men] to clap their hands against them, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Job 28:1 For there is a place for the silver, whence it comes, and a place for the gold, whence it is refined.
Job 28:2 For iron comes out of the earth, and brass is hewn out like stone.
Job 28:3 He has set a bound to darkness, and he searches out every limit: a stone [is] darkness, and the shadow of death.
Job 28:4 There is a cutting off the torrent by reason of dust: so they that forget the right way are weakened; they are removed from [among] men.
Job 28:5 [As for] the earth, out of it shall come bread: under it has been turned up as it were fire.
Job 28:6 Her stones are the place of the sapphire: and [her] dust [supplies] man with gold.

Job 28:7 [There is] a path, the fowl has not known it, neither has the eye of the vulture seen it:
Job 28:8 neither have the sons of the proud trodden it, a lion has not passed upon it.

Job 28:9 He has stretched forth his hand on the sharp [rock], and turned up mountains by the roots:
Job 28:10 and he has interrupted the whirlpools of rivers, and mine eye has seen every precious thing.
Job 28:11 And he has laid bare the depths of rivers, and has brought his power to light.
Job 28:12 But whence has wisdom been discovered? and what is the place of knowledge?
Job 28:13 A mortal has not known its way, neither indeed has it been discovered among men.
Job 28:14 The depth said, It is not in me: and the sea said, It is not with me.
Job 28:15 One shall not give fine gold instead of it, neither shall silver be weighed in exchange for it.
Job 28:16 Neither shall it be compared with gold of Sophir, with the precious onyx and sapphire.
Job 28:17 Gold and crystal shall not be equalled to it, neither shall vessels of gold be its exchange.
Job 28:18 Coral and fine pearl shall not be mentioned: but do thou esteem wisdom above the most precious things.
Job 28:19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not be equalled to it; it shall not be compared with pure gold.
Job 28:20 Whence then is wisdom found? and of what kind is the place of understanding?
Job 28:21 It has escaped the notice of every man, and has been hidden from the birds of the sky.
Job 28:22 Destruction and Death said, We have heard the report of it.

Job 28:23 God has well ordered the way of it, and he knows the place of it.
Job 28:24 For he surveys the whole [earth] under heaven, knowing the things in the earth:
Job 28:25 all that he has made; the weight of the winds, the measures of the water.
Job 28:26 When he made [them], thus he saw and numbered them, and made a way for the pealing of the thunder.
Job 28:27 Then he saw it, and declared it: he prepared it [and] traced it out.
Job 28:28 And he said to man, Behold, godliness is wisdom: and to abstain from evil is understanding.

Job 29:1 And Job continued and said in his parable,
Job 29:2 Oh that I were as in months past, wherein God preserved me!
Job 29:3 As when his lamp shone over my head; when by his light I walked through darkness.
Job 29:4 [As] when I steadfastly pursued my ways, when God took care of my house.
Job 29:5 When I was very fruitful, and my children were about me;
Job 29:6 when my ways were moistened with butter, and the mountains flowed for me with milk.
Job 29:7 When I went forth early in the city, and the seat was placed for me in the streets.
Job 29:8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and all the old men stood up.
Job 29:9 And the great men ceased speaking, and laid their finger on their mouth.
Job 29:10 And they that heard [me] blessed me, and their tongue clave to their throat.
Job 29:11 For the ear heard, and blessed me; and the eye saw me, and turned aside.

Job 29:12 For I saved the poor out of the hand of the oppressor, and helped the fatherless who had no helper.

Job 29:13 Let the blessing of the perishing one come upon me; yea, the mouth of the widow has blessed me.
Job 29:14 Also I put on righteousness, and clothed myself with judgment like a mantle.
Job 29:15 I was the eye of the blind, and the foot of the lame.
Job 29:16 I was the father of the helpless; and I searched out the cause which I knew not.
Job 29:17 And I broke the jaw-teeth of the unrighteous; I plucked the spoil out of the midst of their teeth.
Job 29:18 And I said, My age shall continue as the stem of a palm-tree; I shall live a long while.
Job 29:19 [My] root was spread out by the water, and the dew would lodge on my crop.
Job 29:20 My glory was fresh in me, and by bow prospered in his hand.

Job 29:21 [Men] heard me, and gave heed, and they were silent at my counsel.
Job 29:22 At my word they spoke not again, and they were very gland whenever I spoke to them.
Job 29:23 As the thirsty earth expecting the rain, so they [waited for] my speech.
Job 29:24 Were I to laugh on them, they would not believe [it]; and the light of my face has not failed.
Job 29:25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the midst of warriors, as one comforting mourners.

Job 30:1 But now the youngest have laughed me to scorn, now they reprove me in [their] turn, whose fathers I set at nought; whom I did not deem worthy [to be with] my shepherd dogs.
Job 30:2 Yea, why had I the strength of their hands? for them the full term [of life] was lost.

Job 30:3 [One is] childless in want and famine, [such as] they that fled but lately the distress and misery of drought.
Job 30:4 Who compass the salt places on the sounding [shore], who had salt [herbs] for their food, and were dishonorable and of no repute, in want of every good thing; who also ate roots of trees by reason of great hunger.

Job 30:5 Thieves have risen up against me,
Job 30:6 whose houses were the caves of the rocks, who lived under the wild shrubs.
Job 30:7 They will cry out among the rustling [bushes].
Job 30:8 [They are] sons of fools and vile men, [whose] name and glory [are] quenched from off the earth.
Job 30:9 But now I am their music, and they have me for a by-word.
Job 30:10 And they stood aloof and abhorred me, and spared not to spit in my face.

Job 30:11 For he has opened his quiver and afflicted me: they also have cast off the restraint of my presence.

Job 30:12 They have risen up against [me] on the right hand of [their] offspring; they have stretched out their foot, and directed against me the ways of their destruction.
Job 30:13 My paths are ruined; for they have stripped off my raiment: he has shot at me with his weapons.

Job 30:14 And he has pleaded against me as he will: I am overwhelmed with pains.
Job 30:15 My pains return upon [me]; my hope is gone like the wind, and my safety as a cloud.
Job 30:16 Even now my life shall be poured forth upon me; and days of anguish seize me.
Job 30:17 And by night my bones are confounded; and my sinews are relaxed.
Job 30:18 With great force [my disease] has taken hold of my garment: it has compassed me as the collar of my coat.
Job 30:19 And thou hast counted me as clay; my portion in dust and ashes.
Job 30:20 And I have cried to thee, but thou hearest me not: but they stood still, and observed me.
Job 30:21 They attacked me also without mercy: thou hast scourged me with a strong hand.
Job 30:22 And thou hast put me to grief, and hast cast me away from safety.

Job 30:23 For I know that death will destroy me: for the earth is the house [appointed] for every mortal.
Job 30:24 Oh then that I might lay hands upon myself, or at least ask another, and he should do this for me.
Job 30:25 Yet I wept over every helpless man; I groaned when I saw a man in distress.
Job 30:26 But I, when I waited for good things, behold, days of evils came the more upon me.
Job 30:27 My belly boiled, and would not cease: the days of poverty prevented me.
Job 30:28 I went mourning without restraint: and I have stood and cried out in the assembly.
Job 30:29 I am become a brother of monsters, and a companion of ostriches.
Job 30:30 And my skin has been greatly blackened, and my bones are burned with heat.
Job 30:31 My harp also has been turned into mourning, and my song into my weeping.

Job 31:1 I made a covenant with mine eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin.
Job 31:2 Now what portion has God given from above? and is there an inheritance [given] of the Mighty One from the highest?

Job 31:3 Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do iniquity.
Job 31:4 Will he not see my way, and number all my steps?
Job 31:5 But if I had gone with scorners, and if too my foot has hasted to deceit:
Job 31:6 (for I am weighed in a just balance, and the Lord knows my innocence:
Job 31:7 if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if mine heart has followed mine eye, and if too I have touched gifts with my hands;
Job 31:8 then let me sow, and let others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth.

Job 31:9 If my heart has gone forth after another man’s wife, and if I laid wait at her doors;
Job 31:10 then let my wife also please another, and let my children be brought low.
Job 31:11 For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, [in the case] of defiling [another] man’s wife.
Job 31:12 For it is a fire burning on every side, and whomsoever it attacks, it utterly destroys.

Job 31:13 And if too I despised the judgment of my servant or [my] handmaid, when they pleaded with me;
Job 31:14 what then shall I do if the Lord should try me? and if also he should at all visit me, can I make an answer?
Job 31:15 Were not they too formed as I also was formed in the womb? yea, we were formed in the same womb.
Job 31:16 But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail.

Job 31:17 And if too I ate my morsel alone, and did not impart [of it] to the orphan;
Job 31:18 (for I nourished [them] as a father from my youth and guided [them] from my mother’s womb.)

Job 31:19 And if too I overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him;
Job 31:20 and if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were [not] warmed with the fleece of my lambs;

Job 31:21 if I lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior [to his]:
Job 31:22 let them my shoulder start from the blade-bone, and my arm be crushed off from the elbow.
Job 31:23 For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I cannot bear up by reason of his burden.

Job 31:24 If I made gold my treasure, and if too I trusted the precious stone;
Job 31:25 and if too I rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if too I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:
Job 31:26 (do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? for they have not [power to continue]:)
Job 31:27 and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it:
Job 31:28 let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I [should] have lied against the Lord Most High.

Job 31:29 And if too I was glad at the fall of mine enemies, and mine heart said, Aha!
Job 31:30 let then mine ear hear my curse, and let me be a byword among my people in my affliction.

Job 31:31 And if too my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:
Job 31:32 for the stranger did not lodge without, and my door was opened to every one that came:
Job 31:33 or if too having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin;
Job 31:34 (for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them: ) and if too I permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom:
Job 31:35 (Oh that I had a hearer,) and if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and [as to] the written charge which I had against any one,
Job 31:36 I would place [it] as a chaplet on my shoulders, and read it.
Job 31:37 And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor:
Job 31:38 If at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned together;
Job 31:39 and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking [aught] from [him]:
Job 31:40 then let the nettle come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.

Continues: Fragments from the Book of Job #5: chapters 32-37

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Fragments from the Book of Job #3: chapters 21-26

Posted on June 19, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Life and Death, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: Adversary, Adversary of God, Almighty, Bad people, benefits, blameless, Blessing, boldness, Book of Job, Commandments, corruption, council, Day of Vengeance, dead, Death, Deceiver, destruction, Ecclesiastes, Eliphaz, Evil, Evildoers, Exhaltation, Fear, God, Good people, grave, graveyard, hearken, Hope, Humble, humbleness, innocence, innocent, Job, judgement, Knowledge, Life, Listening, Lord, mighty, offspring, Old Testament, omnipotent, poor, power, property, Psalms, Redeemer, reproof, reward, Sin, solution, Truth, Understanding, Ungodly, Unrighteousness, Vengeance, vindication, Wicked, Wisdom |

Job and his friends agreed that God is omnipotent, omniscient, has all the wisdom and strength, is just, and perfectly good. They could bring forwards that an omniscient being knows every way in which evils can come into existence and has the power to prevent that evil from coming into existence. God can just say anything and it will happen.

The deceived and the deceiver are His, no matter what happens and how the mighty may think they can rule the earth, they shall find their end as anybody else. Perhaps even worse, because the world can turn against them. For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build, he can have get to a point where those oppressed turn against him. Zophar argued that neither the wicked man (Job 20: 12–19) nor his offspring (Job 20: 10) will enjoy the benefits of what he has acquired, because he has gained it through the oppression of others (Job 20:19–21). Now Job is going to argue not only that the wicked prosper and their offspring flourish (Job 21: 7–8), but also that their lives often appear unhindered by any of the signs of judgment that the friends so confidently describe Job 21:9–13). Furthermore, Job points out that the evidence for what he is claiming is not even concealed by the wicked themselves, who choose to follow their pursuits with open indifference to and even proclaimed defiance against the Lord (Job 21:14–16).

When bad people at their time on earth managed to do evil things you can wonder how from those bad things could come good things. ( Job 14:4 ) “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” Job describes human life as hard and short, a theme already declared to the friends in 7:1–10, and uses this question and answer to point out that no mortal is able to work outside of the limits that God has set (see also 14:5). The light of the sinner shall be put out, and the flame of his fire shall not shine any more. The steps of his strength shall have become short, and by his design destruction shall overtake him. The oh so mighty shall also be overcome by fears on every side, which shall go after him at every step. His strength shall be made feeble for need of food, and destruction shall be waiting for his falling footstep. Like all people he shall have to face the other side of life, being sent away from the light into the dark; forced out of the world. At his fate those of the west are shocked, and those of the east are overcome with fear. Truly, these are the houses of the sinner, and this is the place of him who has no knowledge of God. Yes we may be sure, nobody can escape death. Under the earth his roots are dry, and over it his branch is cut off. His memory is gone from the earth, and in the open country there is no knowledge of his name. (Job 18:5-21)

In Fragments from the Book of Job #2: chapters 12-20 we read that Eliphaz, who gives his third and last speech (Job 22:1-30), revisited the central questions of his first response (see 4:17–21): if God does not trust fully even his heavenly servants (15:15), how can Job, as a mere man (Job 15: 14), continue to protest his innocence (Job 15:16)? Though Job is a unblemished person Eliphaz portrays the wicked man to implicate Job. The evil man is in pain all his days, and the number of the years stored up for the cruel seems to be small. The wicked shall get a sound of fear in his ears; in time of peace destruction will come on him. For him there shall come a time that there shall not be any hope of coming safe out of the dark, and his fate will be the dead. Then he may be certain that the day of trouble shall be ready for him. Though many may think he is not frightened, he also shall greatly be in fear of that what shall come over him, the gloomy moments with trouble and pain.
We may be sure any adversary of God, every one who stretches his hand out against God, and lifts his heart up against the Ruler of all, shall one day have to face the consequences of it. (Job 15:21-25)

Job Speaks with His Friends (Job 2:1-13) - Doré's English Bible 1866

From the text we may see that Job his friends have failed as comforters (16:2–5), even though comfort was their original purpose for coming to him (see 2:11). Their condemnation leaves death as Job’s only hope, but to long for death is to give up on any possibility of vindication and is no hope at all (17:10–16). We, no matter what happens have received the hope of the Blessed Tidings. In case we believe in the Good Tidings and in the beautiful prospects God has promised we do not have to worry, because man can do us not as much as he thinks and cannot bring death over us. We also have to realise as Job that God alone is our hope for vindication. This was not clear to Job at first ( 16:21 distinguishes the “witness” from God but became more clear later; cf. 19:25.)

Sometimes it may look that the graveyard is ready for us. (Job 17:1) Believing that God has giving a solution and trusting in his son and that things are destined to occur (Luke 21:7), knowing that we as animals have a time for birth and a time to die or to be caught and destroyed. So let us be as the living be conscious that death will come to us, but that the dead are not conscious of anything, and they no longer have a reward, because there is no memory of them, so the evildoers shall have to face the same nothingness. Their love and their hate and their envy shall than be ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 3:19; 9:5-6; 2 Peter 2:12)

Last time Job concluded with the wish that his belief in God’s vindication of him would be inscribed in rock as a permanent witness (Job 19: 23–27) and with a warning to his friends against continuing to pursue him with such anger and certainty that they are right, lest they fall under the very sort of judgement they assume has fallen on Job (Job 19: 28–29). Job now gives his last reply to his friends (Job 27:1-31:40) with a protestation of innocence (Job 27:1-23) and a pronouncement concerning wisdom (Job 28:1-28) and a panorama of his life (Job 29:1-31:40).

Do we want to listen the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? Do we know that our Redeemer lives?

Job had almost stumbled, how is it with us? do we not often have such bad moments that we are envious for the others ones’, the ones who do not believe and seem to have it so much better than us? Did our steps not nearly slipped as did Jobs and King David’s? (Psalm 73:2-3). Have we not such moments that we have the same as those examples in the Old Testament, being envious of the arrogant when we see the prosperity of the wicked?

In addition to the argument that a person’s circumstances are not necessarily a transparent indicator of blessing or judgement, there is an additional warning embedded in Job’s description: many people are fooled by the external circumstances of the evil man (who is the subject of this description, see Job 31: 30-34) into following him in life and honouring him in death.

***

Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Job Chapter 21

Job 21:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 21:2 Hear ye, hear ye my words, that I may not have this consolation from you.
Job 21:3 Raise me, and I will speak; then ye shall not laugh me to scorn.
Job 21:4 What! is my reproof of man? and why should I not be angry?

Job 21:5 Look upon me, and wonder, laying your hand upon your cheek.
Job 21:6 For even when I remember, I am alarmed, and pains seize my flesh.
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the ungodly live, and grow old even in wealth?
Job 21:8 Their seed is according to [their] desire, and their children are in [their] sight.
Job 21:9 Their houses are prosperous, neither [have they] any where [cause for] fear, neither is there a scourge from the Lord upon them.
Job 21:10 Their cow does not cast her calf, and their [beast] with young is safe, and does not miscarry.
Job 21:11 And they remain as an unfailing flock, and their children play before [them], taking up the psaltery and harp;
Job 21:12 and they rejoice at the voice of a song.
Job 21:13 And they spend their days in wealth, and fall asleep in the rest of the grave.
Job 21:14 Yet [such a man] says to the Lord, Depart from me; I desire not to know thy ways.

Job 21:15 What is the Mighty One, that we should serve him? and what profit is there that we should approach him?
Job 21:16 For their good things were in [their] hands, but he regards not the works of the ungodly.

Job 21:17 Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs of vengeance shall seize them.
Job 21:18 And they shall be as chaff before the wind, or as dust which the storm has taken up.

Job 21:19 Let his substance fail [to supply] his children: [God] shall recompense him, and he shall know it.
Job 21:20 Let his eyes see his own destruction, and let him not be saved by the Lord.
Job 21:21 For his desire is in his house with him, and the number of his months has been suddenly cut off.

Job 21:22 Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge? and does not he judge murders?
Job 21:23 One shall die in his perfect strength, and wholly at ease and prosperous;
Job 21:24 and his inwards are full of fat, and his marrow is diffused [throughout him].
Job 21:25 And another dies in bitterness of soul, not eating any good thing.
Job 21:26 But they lie down in the earth together, and corruption covers them.

Job 21:27 So I know you, that ye presumptuously attack me:
Job 21:28 so that ye will say, Where is the house of the prince? and where is the covering of the tabernacles of the ungodly?
Job 21:29 Ask those that go by the way, and do not disown their tokens.
Job 21:30 For the wicked hastens to the day of destruction: they shall be led away for the day of his vengeance.
Job 21:31 Who will tell him his way to his face, whereas he has done [it]? who shall recompense him?
Job 21:32 And he has been led away to the tombs, and he has watched over the heaps.
Job 21:33 The stones of the valley have been sweet to him, and every man shall depart after him, and [there are] innumerable [ones] before him.

Job 21:34 How then do ye comfort me in vain? whereas I have no rest from your molestation.

Job 22:1 Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,
Job 22:2 Is it not the Lord that teaches understanding and knowledge?
Job 22:3 For what matters it to the Lord, if thou wert blameless in [thy] works? or is it profitable that thou shouldest perfect thy way?

Job 22:4 Wilt thou maintain and plead thine own cause? and will he enter into judgment with thee?
Job 22:5 Is not thy wickedness abundant, and thy sins innumerable?
Job 22:6 And thou hast taken security of thy brethren for nothing, and hast taken away the clothing of the naked.
Job 22:7 Neither hast thou given water to the thirsty to drink, but hast taken away the morsel of the hungry.
Job 22:8 And thou hast accepted the persons of some; and thou hast established those [that were already settled] on the earth.
Job 22:9 But thou hast sent widows away empty, and has afflicted orphans.
Job 22:10 Therefore snares have compassed thee, and disastrous war has troubled thee.

Job 22:11 The light has proved darkness to thee, and water has covered thee on thy lying down.
Job 22:12 Does not he that dwells in the high places observe? and has he not brought down the proud?
Job 22:13 And thou has said, What does the Mighty One know? does he judge in the dark?
Job 22:14 A cloud is his hiding-place, and he shall not be seen; and he passes through the circle of heaven.
Job 22:15 Wilt thou [not] mark the old way, which righteous men have trodden?
Job 22:16 who were seized before their time: their foundations [are as] an overflowing stream.

Job 22:17 Who say, What will the Lord do to us? or what will the Almighty bring upon us?
Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel for the wicked is far from him.
Job 22:19 The righteous have seen [it], and laughed, and the blameless one has derided [them].
Job 22:20 Verily their substance has been utterly destroyed, and the fire shall devour what is left of their [property].

Job 22:21 Be firm, I pray thee, if thou canst endure; then thy fruit shall prosper.
Job 22:22 And receive a declaration from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

Job 22:23 And if thou shalt turn and humble thyself before the Lord, thou hast [thus] removed unrighteousness far from thy habitation.
Job 22:24 Thou shalt lay up for thyself [treasure] in a heap on the rock; and Sophir [shall be] as the rock of the torrent.

Job 22:25 So the Almighty shall be thy helper from enemies, and he shall bring thee forth pure as silver that has been tried by fire.
Job 22:26 Then shalt thou have boldness before the Lord, looking up cheerfully to heaven.
Job 22:27 And he shall hear thee when thou prayest to him, and he shall grant thee [power] to pay thy vows.
Job 22:28 And he shall establish to thee again a habitation of righteousness and there shall be light upon thy paths.
Job 22:29 Because thou hast humbled thyself; and thou shalt say, [Man] has behaved proudly, but he shall save him that is of lowly eyes.
Job 22:30 He shall deliver the innocent, and do thou save thyself by thy pure hands.

Job 23:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 23:2 Yea, I know that pleading is out of my reach; and his hand has been made heavy upon my groaning.
Job 23:3 Who would then know that I might find him, and come to an end [of the matter]?
Job 23:4 And I would plead my own cause, and he would fill my mouth with arguments.
Job 23:5 And I would know the remedies which he would speak to me, and I would perceive what he would tell me.
Job 23:6 Though he should come on me in [his] great strength, then he would not threaten me;
Job 23:7 for truth and reproof are from him; and he would bring forth my judgment to an end.

Job 23:8 For if I shall go first, and exist no longer, still what do I know [concerning] the latter end?
Job 23:9 When he wrought on the left hand, then I observed [it] not: his right hand shall encompass me but I shall not see [it].
Job 23:10 For he knows already my way; and he has tried me as gold.

Job 23:11 And I will go forth according to his commandments, for I have kept his ways; and I shall not turn aside from his commandments,
Job 23:12 neither shall I transgress; but I have hid his words in my bosom.

Job 23:13 And if too he has thus judged, who is he that has contradicted, for he has both willed [a thing] and done it.
Job 23:14 <>
Job 23:15 (23:14) Therefore am I troubled at him; and when I was reproved, I thought of him. (23:15) Therefore let me take good heed before him: I will consider, and be afraid of him.

Job 23:16 But the Lord has softened my heart, and the Almighty has troubled me.
Job 23:17 For I knew not that darkness would come upon me, and thick darkness has covered [me] before my face.

Job 24:1 But why have the seasons been hidden from the Lord,
Job 24:2 while the ungodly have passed over the bound, carrying off the flock with the shepherd?
Job 24:3 They have led away, the ass of the fatherless, and taken the widow’s ox for a pledge.
Job 24:4 They have turned aside the weak from the right way: and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together.
Job 24:5 And they have departed like asses in the field, having gone forth on my account according to their own order: his bread is sweet to [his] little ones.
Job 24:6 They have reaped a field that was not their own before the time: the poor have laboured in the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food.
Job 24:7 They have caused many naked to sleep without clothes, and they have taken away the covering of their body.
Job 24:8 They are wet with the drops of the mountains: they have embraced the rock, because they had no shelter.
Job 24:9 They have snatched the fatherless from the breast, and have afflicted the outcast.
Job 24:10 And they have wrongfully caused [others] to sleep without clothing, and taken away the morsel of the hungry.
Job 24:11 They have unrighteously laid wait in narrow places, and have not known the righteous way.

Job 24:12 Who have cast forth [the] poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud.
Job 24:13 Why then has he not visited these? forasmuch as they were upon the earth, and took no notice, and they knew not the way of righteousness, neither have they walked in their [appointed] paths?
Job 24:14 But having known their works, he delivered them into darkness: and in the night one will be as a thief:
Job 24:15 and the eye of the adulterer has watched [for] the darkness, saying, Eye shall not perceive me, and he puts a covering on his face.
Job 24:16 In darkness he digs through houses: by day they conceal themselves securely: they know not the light.
Job 24:17 For the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death, for [each] will be conscious of the terror of the shadow of death.

Job 24:18 He is swift on the face of the water: let his portion be cursed on the earth; and let their plants be laid bare.
Job 24:19 [Let them be] withered upon the earth; for they have plundered the sheaves of the fatherless.
Job 24:20 Then is his sin brought to remembrance, and he vanishes like a vapour of dew: but let what he has done be recompensed to him, and let every unrighteous one be crushed like rotten wood.
Job 24:21 For he has not treated the barren woman well, and has had no pity on a feeble woman.
Job 24:22 And in wrath he has overthrown the helpless: therefore when he has arisen, [a man] will not feel secure of his own life.

Job 24:23 When he has fallen sick, let him not hope to recover: but let him perish by disease.
Job 24:24 For his exaltation has hurt many; but he has withered as mallows in the heat, or as an ear of corn falling off of itself from the stalk.
Job 24:25 But if not, who is he that says I speak falsely, and will make my words of no account?

Job 25:1 Then Baldad the Sauchite answered and said,
Job 25:2 What beginning or fear is his—even he that makes all things in the highest?
Job 25:3 For let none think that there is a respite for robbers: and upon whom will there not come a snare from him?
Job 25:4 For how shall a mortal be just before the Lord? or who that is born of a woman shall purify himself?
Job 25:5 If he gives an order to the moon, then it shines not; and the stars are not pure before him.
Job 25:6 But alas! man is corruption, and the son of man a worm.

Job 26:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 26:2 To whom dost thou attach thyself, or whom art thou going to assist? is it not he that [has] much strength, and [he] who has a strong arm?
Job 26:3 To whom hast thou given counsel? is it not to him who has all wisdom? whom wilt thou follow? is it not one who has the greatest power?
Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose breath is it that has come forth from thee?

Job 26:5 Shall giants be born from under the water and the inhabitants thereof?
Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction has no covering.
Job 26:7 He stretches out the north wind upon nothing, and he upon nothing hangs the earth;
Job 26:8 binding water in his clouds, and the cloud is not rent under it.
Job 26:9 He keeps back the face of his throne, stretching out his cloud upon it.
Job 26:10 He has encompassed the face of the water by an appointed ordinance, until the end of light and darkness.
Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven are prostrate and astonished at his rebuke.
Job 26:12 He has calmed the sea with [his] might, and by [his] wisdom the whale has been overthrown.
Job 26:13 And the barriers of heaven fear him, and by a command he has slain the apostate dragon.
Job 26:14 Behold, these are parts of his way; and we will hearken to him at the least intimation of his word: but the strength of his thunder who knows, when he shall employ [it]?

Continues: Fragments from the Book of Job #4: chapters 27-31

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Fragments from the Book of Job #2: chapters 12-20

Posted on June 18, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Jehovah יהוה YHWH JHVH God Elohim Yahweh Jahweh, Life and Death, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: Adversary, Adversary of God, Almighty, Bildad, Book of Job, courage, dead, Death, Deity, Desire, distress, dying, Eliphaz, Evil, Fear, God, God's character, grave, Hades, iniquity, injustice, Job, Life, mortal, mortality, Old Testament, Omnibenevolent, omnipotent, perish, Problems, prosper, Righteous person, Salvation, Sin, sleep, strenght, Suffering, transgression, Ungodly, Universal deity, unrighteous, Vanity, Wicked, Wisdom, Wrath, wrong doing, Zophar |

Etymologically the name Job could be related to the Hebrew word for “enemy,” with reference to either Job’s attitude to God or his response to suffering. The name might also be a contracted form of “Where is my father?”

In Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12 we could find the blameless and upright man in character, blessed in family and possessions, whose life embodied the fear of God both for himself and on behalf of his family (1:1–5). But then the adversaries and Job’s three friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) who came to offer sympathy and comfort, were trying to put the wrong doings from Job at the cause of his problems. These friends represent an oversimplified “orthodoxy,” based on a misreading of the wisdom tradition to the effect that all troubles are punishments for wrongdoing. Their “comfort” consists largely of applying this message to Job, urging him to identify his sin and repent of it. In so doing, these friends serve as a mirror for all readers who might be inclined to say similar things to people in distress.

An early engraving by Blake for the Book of Job

The book tries to to explain evil and placing the Universal deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient in it. Throughout the dialogue, Job tries to maintain that he is in the right while also arguing God’s character back to him in lament about why his righteousness and justice do not appear to be borne out in events on earth.

In the previous chapters a light is also shed on the wrong idea that there would be some after life. Job is aware that when we die it is finished and we become put in the ground not being able to do anything. We could look at death as Job describes it, namely as rest from the toil of life. ( Job 3:13–19) When we die we come into a state as if we sleep or as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light (Job 3:16). All cease from troubling, and there the weary can come at rest and be freed from each other and equal in the same position, to become dust. For man, when he is dead, perishes, and consumes away, what becomes of him? So man after he is asleep rises not, he shall not wake till the heavens be no more, nor rise out of his sleep. (Job 14:10-12) Therefore Job longs at a certain moment to be cut off of all his problems. so that he could rest from his suffering, knowing that he had not denied God (6:10). Job found his life unbearable on account of the empty comfort offered by his friends (6:14–30) and what he describes as the continued watchfulness of God (7:11–21).

Eliphaz wonders if Mortal Man can be in the Right before God. Jobs friends are arguing precisely that a righteous person can be in the right before God.

The friends assume that both Job’s circumstances and his response to them are indications that he is in the wrong before God and needs to acknowledge and repent of his sin. However, Job will insist not only that he is not guilty of some hidden iniquity but that it is God who ultimately has allowed and governed his circumstances. So he does not curse God’s name or accuse God of injustice but rather seeks an explanation or an account of his wrong doing.

Bildad wonders how it can be that when a man were blameless, he could show himself to be right before the God of justice (see 9:2)? And if shame and disaster are the fate of the wicked, how is it that the wicked so often appear to prosper in relative safety (see 12:6; 21:7)?

***

Coverdale Bible
1535 by Miles Coverdale

Job Chapter 12

Job 12:2 Then (no doute) ye are the men alone, and wysdome shal perish with you.
Job 12:3 But I haue vnderstodinge as well as ye, and am no lesse then ye. Yee who knoweth not these thinges?
Job 12:4 Thus he that calleth vpo God, and whom God heareth, is mocked of his neghboure: the godly & innocent man is laughed to scorne.
Job 12:5 Godlynesse is a light despysed in ye hertes of the rich, & is set for them to stomble vpon.
Job 12:6 The houses of robbers are in wealth and prosperite, & they that maliciously medle agaynst God, dwel without care: yee God geueth all thinges richely with his honde.

Matthew’s Bible
1549 by John Rogers

Job 12:6 The houses of robbers are in wealth & prosperite, and they that maliciously medle agaynst God, dwell without care: ye God geueth all thinges rychely with hys hande.

Job 12:13 Ye with God is wysdome and strength, it is he that hath councell and forknowlege.
Job 12:14 If he breake downe a thinge, who can set it vp agayne? If he shut a thing, who wyll open it?
Job 12:15 Beholde, yf he witholde the waters, they drye vp: Yf he let them go, they destroye the earth.
Job 12:16 With hym is strength and wysdome: he knoweth bothe the disceyuer & hym that is disceyued.
Job 12:17 He caryeth awaye the wyse men, as it were a spoyle, and bringeth the iudges out of their wyttes.
Job 12:18 He lowseth the gyrdle of kynges, and gyrdeth theyr loynes with a bonde.
Job 12:19 He ledeth awaye the Preastes in to captyuyte, and turneth the myghtye vpsyde downe.
Job 12:20 He taketh the verite from out of the mouth, & disapoynteth the aged of their wysdome.
Job 12:21 He poureth out confusyon vpon Princes, and comforteth them that haue bene oppressed.
Job 12:22 Loke what lyeth hyd in darcknesse, he declareth it openly: and the very shadowe of death bringet he to lyght.
Job 12:23 He bothe increaseth the people, and destroyeth them: He maketh them to multiplye and driueth them awaye.
Job 12:24 He chaungeth the herte of the Princes and Kynges of the earth and disapoynteth them: so that they go wandringe out of the waye,
Job 12:25 & grope in the darcke without light, stackeringe to and fro lyke droncken men.

Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Job Chapters 13-20

Job 13:1 Behold, mine eye has seen these things, and mine ear has heard [them].
Job 13:2 And I know all that ye too know; and I have not less understanding than you.
Job 13:3 Nevertheless I will speak to the Lord, and I will reason before him, if he will.

…

Job 13:6 But hear ye the reasoning of my mouth, and attend to the judgment of my lips.
Job 13:7 Do ye not speak before the Lord, and utter deceit before him?
Job 13:8 Or will ye draw back? nay do, ye yourselves be judges.

Job 13:9 For [it were] well if he would thoroughly search you: for though doing all things [in your power] ye should attach yourselves to him,
Job 13:10 he will not reprove you at all the less: but if moreover ye should secretly respect persons,
Job 13:11 shall not his whirlpool sweep you round, and terror from him fall upon you?
Job 13:12 And your glorying shall prove in the end to you like ashes, and your body [like a body] of clay.

…

Job 13:15 Though the Mighty One should lay hand upon me, forasmuch as he has begun, verily I will speak, and plead before him.
Job 13:16 And this shall turn to me for salvation; for fraud shall have no entrance before him.

Job 13:17 Hear, hear ye my words, for I will declare in your hearing.
Job 13:18 Behold, I am near my judgment: I know that I shall appear evidently just.

Job 13:19 For who is he that shall plead with me, that I should now be silent, and expire?
Job 13:20 But grant me two things: then I will not hide myself from thy face.
Job 13:21 Withhold [thine] hand from me: and let not thy fear terrify me.
Job 13:22 Then shalt thou call, and I will hearken to thee: or thou shalt speak, and I will give thee an answer.
Job 13:23 How many are my sins and my transgressions? teach me what they are.
Job 13:24 Wherefore hidest thou thyself from me, and deemest me thine enemy?
Job 13:25 Wilt thou be startled [at me], as [at] a leaf shaken by the wind? or wilt thou set thyself against me as against grass borne upon the breeze?
Job 13:26 for thou hast written evil things against me, and thou hast compassed me with the sins of my youth.
Job 13:27 And thou hast placed my foot in the stocks; and thou hast watched all my works, and hast penetrated my heels.
Job 13:28 [I am as] that which waxes old like a bottle, or like a moth-eaten garment.

Job 14:1 For a mortal born of a woman [is] short lived, and full of wrath.
Job 14:2 Or he falls like a flower that has bloomed; and he departs like a shadow, and cannot continue.
Job 14:3 Hast thou not taken account even of him, and caused him to enter into judgment before thee?
Job 14:4 For who shall be pure from uncleanness? not even one;
Job 14:5 if even his life should be [but] one day upon the earth: and his months are numbered by him: thou hast appointed [him] for a time, and he shall by no means exceed [it].

Job 14:6 Depart from him, that he may be quiet, and take pleasure in his life, [though] as a hireling.
Job 14:7 For there is hope for a tree, even if it should be cut down, [that] it shall blossom again, and its branch shall not fail.
Job 14:8 For though its root should grow old in the earth, and its stem die in the rock;
Job 14:9 it will blossom from the scent of water, and will produce a crop, as one newly planted.

Job 14:10 But a man that has died is utterly gone; and when a mortal has fallen, he is no more.
Job 14:11 For the sea wastes in [length of] time, and a river fails and is dried up.
Job 14:12 And man that has lain down [in death] shall certainly not rise again till the heaven be dissolved, and they shall not awake from their sleep.
Job 14:13 For oh that thou hadst kept me in the grave, and hadst hidden me until thy wrath should cease, and thou shouldest set me a time in which thou wouldest remember me!
Job 14:14 For if a man should die, shall he live [again], having accomplished the days of his life? I will wait till I exist again?
Job 14:15 Then shalt thou call, and I will hearken to thee: but do not thou reject the work of thine hands.

Job 14:16 But thou hast numbered my devices: and not one of my sins shall escape thee?
Job 14:17 An thou hast sealed up my transgressions in a bag, and marked if I have been guilty of any transgression unawares.
Job 14:18 And verily a mountain falling will utterly be destroyed, and a rock shall be worn out of its place.
Job 14:19 The waters wear the stones, and waters falling headlong [overflow] a heap of the earth: and thou destroyest the hope of man.
Job 14:20 Thou drivest him to an end, and he is gone: thou settest thy face against him, and sendest him away;
Job 14:21 and though his children be multiplied, he knows [it] not; and if they be few, he is not aware.
Job 14:22 But his flesh is in pain, and his soul mourns.

Job 15:1 Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,
Job 15:2 Will a wise man give for answer a [mere] breath of wisdom? and does he fill up the pain of his belly,
Job 15:3 reasoning with improper sayings, and with words wherein is no profit?
Job 15:4 Hast not thou moreover cast off fear, and accomplished such words before the Lord?
Job 15:5 Thou art guilty by the words of thy mouth, neither hast thou discerned the words of the mighty.
Job 15:6 Let thine own mouth, and not me, reprove thee: and thy lips shall testify against thee.

Job 15:7 What! art thou the first man that was born? or wert thou established before the hills?
Job 15:8 Or hast thou heard the ordinance of the Lord? or has God used thee as [his] counsellor? and has wisdom come [only] to thee?
Job 15:9 For what knowest thou, that, we know not? or what understandest thou, which we do not also?
Job 15:10 Truly among us [are] both the old and very aged man, more advanced in days than thy father.
Job 15:11 Thou hast been scourged for [but] few of thy sins: thou hast spoken haughtily [and] extravagantly.
Job 15:12 What has thine heart dared? or what have thine eyes [aimed at],
Job 15:13 that thou hast vented [thy] rage before the Lord, and delivered such words from [thy] mouth?

Job 15:14 For who, being a mortal, [is such] that he shall be blameless? or, [who that is] born of a woman, that he should be just?
Job 15:15 Forasmuch as he trusts not his saints; and the heaven is not pure before him.
Job 15:16 Alas then, abominable and unclean is man, drinking unrighteousness as a draught.
Job 15:17 But I will tell thee, hearken to me; I will tell thee now what I have seen;
Job 15:18 things wise men say, and their fathers have not hidden.
Job 15:19 To them alone the earth was given, and no stranger came upon them.

Job 15:20 All the life of the ungodly [is spent] in care, and the years granted to the oppressor are numbered.
Job 15:21 And his terror is in his ears: just when he seems to be at peace, his overthrow will come.
Job 15:22 Let him not trust that he shall return from darkness, for he has been already made over to the power of the sword.
Job 15:23 And he has been appointed to be food for vultures; and he knows within himself that he is doomed to be a carcass: and a dark day shall carry him away as with a whirlwind.
Job 15:24 Distress also and anguish shall come upon him: he shall fall as a captain in the first rank.
Job 15:25 For he has lifted his hands against the Lord, and he has hardened his neck against the Almighty Lord.
Job 15:26 And he has run against him with insolence, on the thickness of the back of his shield.
Job 15:27 For he has covered his face with his fat, and made layers of fat upon his thighs.
Job 15:28 And let him lodge in desolate cities, and enter into houses without inhabitant: and what they have prepared, others shall carry away.
Job 15:29 Neither shall he at all grow rich, nor shall his substance remain: he shall not cast a shadow upon the earth.
Job 15:30 Neither shall he in any wise escape the darkness: let the wind blast his blossom, and let his flower fall off.
Job 15:31 Let him not think that he shall endure; for his end shall be vanity.
Job 15:32 His harvest shall perish before the time, and his branch shall not flourish.
Job 15:33 And let him be gathered as the unripe grape before the time, and let him fall as the blossom of the olive.

Job 15:34 For death is the witness of an ungodly man, and fire shall burn the houses of them that receive gifts.
Job 15:35 And he shall conceive sorrows, and his end shall be vanity, and his belly shall bear deceit.

Job 16:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 16:2 I have heard many such things: poor comforters are ye all.
Job 16:3 What! is there any reason in vain words? or what will hinder thee from answering?
Job 16:4 I also will speak as ye [do]: if indeed your soul were in my [soul’s] stead, (16:5) then would I insult you with words, and I would shake my head at you.
Job 16:5 (16:6) And would there were strength in my mouth, and I would not spare the movement of my lips.
Job 16:6 (16:7) For if I should speak, I shall not feel the pain of my wound: and if I should be silent, how shall I be wounded the less?

Job 16:7 (16:8) But now he has made me weary, and a worn-out fool; and thou hast laid hold of me.
Job 16:8 (16:9) My falsehood has become a testimony, and has risen up against me: it has confronted me to my face.
Job 16:9 (16:10) In his anger he has cast me down; he has gnashed his teeth upon me: the weapons of his robbers have fallen upon me.
Job 16:10 (16:11) He has attacked me with the keen glances of his eyes; with his sharp [spear] he has smitten me [down] upon my knees; and they have run upon me with one accord.
Job 16:11 (16:12) For the Lord has delivered me into the hands of unrighteous men, and thrown me upon the ungodly.
Job 16:12 (16:13) When I was at peace he distracted me: he took me by the hair of the head, and plucked it out: he set me up as a mark.

Job 16:13 (16:14) They surrounded me with spears, aiming at my reins: without sparing [me] they poured out my gall upon the ground.
Job 16:14 (16:15) They overthrew me with fall upon fall: they ran upon me in [their] might.
Job 16:15 (16:16) They sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and my strength has been spent on the ground.

Job 16:16 (16:17) My belly has been parched with wailing, and darkness is on my eyelids.
Job 16:17 (16:18) Yet there was no injustice in my hands, and my prayer is pure.
Job 16:18 (16:19) Earth, cover not over the blood of my flesh, and let my cry have no place.
Job 16:19 (16:20) And now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.
Job 16:20 (16:21) Let my supplication come to the Lord, and let mine eye weep before him.
Job 16:21 (16:22) Oh that a man might plead before the Lord, even [as] the son of man with his neighbor!
Job 16:22 (16:23) But my years are numbered and [their end] come, and I shall go by the way by which I shall not return.

Job 17:1 I perish, carried away by the wind, and I seek for burial, and obtain [it] not.
Job 17:2 Weary I intreat; and what have I done? and strangers have stolen my goods.

Job 17:3 Who is this? let him join hands with me.
Job 17:4 For thou hast hid their heart from wisdom; therefore thou shalt not exalt them.
Job 17:5 He shall promise mischief to [his] companions: but [their] eyes have failed for [their] children.

Job 17:6 But thou has made me a byword amount the nations, and I am become a scorn to them.
Job 17:7 For my eyes are dimmed through pain; I have been grievously beset by all.
Job 17:8 Wonder has seized true men upon this; and let the just rise up against the transgressor.

Job 17:9 But let the faithful hold on his own way, and let him that is pure of hands take courage.
Job 17:10 Howbeit, do ye all strengthen [yourselves] and come now, for I do not find truth in you.

Job 17:11 My days have passed in groaning, and my heart-strings are broken.
Job 17:12 I have turned the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
Job 17:13 For if I remain, Hades is my habitation: and my bed has been made in darkness.
Job 17:14 I have called upon death to be my father, and corruption [to be] my mother and sister.
Job 17:15 Where then is yet my hope? or [where] shall I see my good?
Job 17:16 Will they go down with me to Hades, or shall we go down together to the tomb?

Job 18:1 Then Baldad the Sauchite answered and said,
Job 18:2 How long wilt thou continue? forbear, that we also may speak.
Job 18:3 For wherefore have we been silent before thee like brutes?
Job 18:4 Anger has possessed thee: for what if thou shouldest die; would [the earth] under heaven be desolate? or shall the mountains be overthrown from their foundations?
Job 18:5 But the light of the ungodly shall be quenched, and their flame shall not go up.
Job 18:6 His light [shall be] darkness in [his] habitation, and his lamp shall be put out with him.
Job 18:7 Let the meanest of men spoil his goods, and let his counsel deceive [him].
Job 18:8 His foot also has been caught in a snare, [and] let it be entangled in a net.
Job 18:9 And let snares come upon him: he shall strengthen those that thirst for his destruction.
Job 18:10 His snare is hid in the earth, and that which shall take him is by the path.
Job 18:11 Let pains destroy him round about, and let many [enemies] come about him,
Job 18:12 [vex him] with distressing hunger: and a signal destruction has been prepared for him.
Job 18:13 Let the soles of his feet be devoured: and death shall consume his beauty.

Job 18:14 And let health be utterly banished from his tabernacle, and let distress seize upon him with a charge from the king.
Job 18:15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle in his night: his excellency shall be sown with brimstone.

Job 18:16 His roots shall be dried up from beneath, and his crop shall fall away from above.
Job 18:17 Let his memorial perish out of the earth, and his name shall be publicly cast out.
Job 18:18 Let [one] drive him from light into darkness.
Job 18:19 He shall not be known among his people, nor his house preserved on the earth.
Job 18:20 But strangers shall dwell in his possessions: the last groaned for him, and wonder seized the first.
Job 18:21 These are the houses of the unrighteous, and this is the place of them that know not the Lord.

Job 19:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 19:2 How long will ye vex my soul, and destroy me with words? only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus.
Job 19:3 Ye speak against me; ye do not feel for me, but bear hard upon me.

Job 19:4 Yea verily, I have erred in truth, (but the error abides with myself) (19:4A) in having spoken words which it was not right [to speak]; and my words err, and are unreasonable.

Job 19:5 But alas! for ye magnify yourselves against me, and insult me with reproach.

Job 19:6 Know then that it is the Lord that has troubled [me], and has raised his bulwark against me.

Job 19:7 Behold, I laugh at reproach; I will not speak: [or] I will cry out, but [there is] nowhere judgment.
Job 19:8 I am fenced round about, and can by no means escape: he has set darkness before my face.
Job 19:9 And he has stripped me of my glory, and has taken the crown from my head.
Job 19:10 He has torn me around about, and I am gone: and he has cut off my hope like a tree.
Job 19:11 And he has dreadfully handled me in anger, and has counted me for an enemy.
Job 19:12 His troops also came upon me with one accord, liars in wait compassed my ways.

Job 19:13 My brethren have stood aloof from me; they have recognized strangers [rather] than me: and my friends have become pitiless.
Job 19:14 My nearest of kin have not acknowledged me, and they that knew my name, have forgotten me.
Job 19:15 [As for] my household, and my maid-servants, I was a stranger before them.
Job 19:16 I called my servant, and he hearkened not; and my mouth intreated [him].
Job 19:17 And I besought my wife, and earnestly intreated the sons of my concubines.
Job 19:18 But they rejected me for ever; whenever I rise up, they speak against me.
Job 19:19 They that saw me abhorred me: the very persons whom I had loved, rose up against me.

Job 19:20 My flesh is corrupt under my skin, and my bones are held in [my] teeth.
Job 19:21 Pity me, pity me, O friends; for it is the hand of the Lord that has touched me.
Job 19:22 Wherefore do ye persecute me as also the Lord [does], and are not satisfied with my flesh?
Job 19:23 For oh that my words were written, and that they were recorded in a book forever,
Job 19:24 with an iron pen and lead, or graven in the rocks!

Job 19:25 For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me,
Job 19:26 [and] to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these [sufferings]: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord;
Job 19:27 which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in [my] bosom.

Job 19:28 But if ye shall also say, What shall we say before him, and [so] find the root of the matter in him?
Job 19:29 Do ye also beware of deceit: for wrath will come upon transgressors; and then shall they know where their substance is.

Job 20:1 Then Sophar the Minaean answered and said,
Job 20:2 I did not suppose that thou wouldest answer thus: neither do ye understand more than I.
Job 20:3 I will hear my shameful reproach; and the spirit of my understanding answers me.
Job 20:4 Hast thou [not] known these things of old, from the time that man was set upon the earth?
Job 20:5 But the mirth of the ungodly is a signal downfall, and the joy of transgressors is destruction:
Job 20:6 although his gifts should go up to heaven, and his sacrifice reach the clouds.
Job 20:7 For when he shall seem to be now established, then he shall utterly perish: and they that knew him shall say, Where is he?
Job 20:8 Like a dream that has fled away, he shall not be found; and he has fled like a vision of the night.
Job 20:9 The eye has looked upon him, but shall not [see him] again; and his place shall no longer perceive him.

Job 20:10 Let [his] inferiors destroy his children, and let his hands kindle the fire of sorrow.
Job 20:11 His bones have been filled with [vigour of] his youth, and it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Job 20:12 Though evil be sweet in his mouth, [though] he will hide it under his tongue;
Job 20:13 though he will not spare it, and will not leave it, but will keep it in the midst of his throat:
Job 20:14 yet he shall not at all be able to help himself; the gall of an asp is in his belly.
Job 20:15 [His] wealth unjustly collected shall be vomited up; a messenger [of] [wrath] shall drag him out of his house.
Job 20:16 And let him suck the poison of serpents, and let the serpent’s tongue slay him.
Job 20:17 Let him not see the milk of the pastures, nor the supplies of honey and butter.

Job 20:18 He has laboured unprofitably and in vain, [for] wealth of which he shall not taste: [it is] as a lean thing, unfit for food, which he cannot swallow.
Job 20:19 For he has broken down the houses of many mighty men: and he has plundered an habitation, though he built [it] not.

Job 20:20 There is no security to his possessions; he shall not be saved by his desire.
Job 20:21 There is nothing remaining of his provisions; therefore his goods shall not flourish.

Job 20:22 But when he shall seem to be just satisfied, he shall be straitened; and all distress shall come upon him.
Job 20:23 If by any means he would fill his belly, let [God] send upon him the fury of wrath; let him bring a torrent of pains upon him.
Job 20:24 And he shall by no means escape from the power of the sword; let the brazen bow wound him.
Job 20:25 And let the arrow pierce through his body; and let the stars be against his dwelling-place: let terrors come upon him.
Job 20:26 And let all darkness wait for him: a fire that burns not out shall consume him; and let a stranger plague his house.
Job 20:27 And let the heaven reveal his iniquities, and the earth rise up against him.
Job 20:28 Let destruction bring his house to an end; let a day of wrath come upon him.
Job 20:29 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of his goods [appointed him] by the all-seeing [God].

***

° Hades, the underground, Sjeool/Sheol = the grave or the place of : break down, corrupt, decompose, disintegrate, fester, foul, mold, molder, perish, putrefy, rot, spoil, a place where Jesus also went for three days.

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Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12

Posted on June 17, 2011. Filed under: Bible Study and Bible Reading, Life and Death, Satan and Evil, Suffering | Tags: blameless, Book of Job, Command of God, confidence, Death, Devil, Eliphaz, endure, Evil, God, Hell, Hope, horror, innocence, Jehovah, Job, judgement, Knowledge, Life, Lord of lords, mortal, Old Testament, pain, power, Ransom, Religion and Spirituality, Righteous person, Sin, Sinner, Sovereign of all, strenght, Suffering, Terror, transgressor, trembling, Understanding, Ungodly, unrighteous, weak, Wicked, Wickedness, Wisdom, Worshipping, Wrath |

Fragments from the story of Job or Jobab (Job 42:17) and its numerous exegeses attempting to address the problem of evil. (Highlights ours, in purpose for the study on suffering and Gods hand in it. But please take your translation at hand and read the full chapters.)

Brenton Translation
1851 by Lancelot Brenton

Title Page for the Book of Job 1973.005.GR

Title Page for the Book of Job 1973 - Image by Black Country Museums via Flickr

Job Chapters 1-12

Job 1:1 There was a certain man in the land of Ausis, whose name [was] Job; and than man was true, blameless, righteous, [and] godly, abstaining from everything evil.
Job 1:2 And he had seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3 And his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was [most] noble of the [men] of the east.

…

Job 1:6 And it came to pass on a day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil (the adversary) came with them.
Job 1:7 And the Lord said to the devil, Whence art thou come? And the devil answered the Lord, and said, I am come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world.
Job 1:8 And the Lord said to him, Hast thou diligently considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a man blameless, true, godly, abstaining from everything evil?
Job 1:9 Then the devil answered, and said before the Lord, Does Job worship the Lord for nothing?
Job 1:10 Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land?
Job 1:11 But put forth thine hand, and touch all that he has: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face.
Job 1:12 Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give into thine hand all that he has, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.

…

Job 1:20 So Job arose, and rent his garments, and shaved the hair of his head, and fell on the earth, and worshipped,
Job 1:21 and said, I myself came forth naked from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Job 1:22 In all these events that befell him Job sinned not at all before the Lord, and did not impute folly to God.

Job 2:1 And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord.
Job 2:2 And the Lord, said to the devil, Whence comest thou? Then the devil said before the Lord, I (the evil) am come from going through the world, and walking about the whole earth.
Job 2:3 And the Lord said to the devil, Hast thou then observed my servant Job, that there is none of [men] upon the earth like him, a harmless, true, blameless, godly man, abstaining from all evil? and he yet cleaves to innocence, whereas thou has told [me] to destroy his substance without cause?
Job 2:4 And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life.
Job 2:5 Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face.
Job 2:6 And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life.
Job 2:7 So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.

…

Job 2:10 …Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.

…

Job 3:1 After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day,
Job 3:2 saying,
Job 3:3 Let the day perish in which I was born, and that night in which they said, Behold a man-child!
Job 3:4 Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.
Job 3:5 But let darkness and the shadow of death seize it; let blackness come upon it;
Job 3:6 let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.
Job 3:7 But let that night be pain, and let not mirth come upon it, nor joy.
Job 3:8 But let him that curses that day curse it, [even] he that is ready to attack the great whale.
Job 3:9 Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:
Job 3:10 because it shut not up the gates of my mother’s womb, for [so] it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.
Job 3:11 For why died I not in the belly? and [why] did I not come forth from the womb and die immediately?
Job 3:12 and why did the knees support me? and why did I suck the breasts?
Job 3:13 Now I should have lain down and been quiet, I should have slept and been at rest,
Job 3:14 with kings [and] councillors of the earth, who gloried in [their] swords;
Job 3:15 or with rulers, whose gold was abundant, who filled their houses with silver:
Job 3:16 or [I should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother’s womb, or as infants who never saw light.
Job 3:17 There the ungodly have burnt out the fury of rage; there the wearied in body rest.

…

Job 3:23 Death [is] rest to [such] a man, for God has hedged him in.
Job 3:24 For my groaning comes before my food, and I weep being beset with terror.
Job 3:25 For the terror of which I meditated has come upon me, and that which I had feared has befallen me.
Job 3:26 I was not at peace, nor quiet, nor had I rest; yet wrath came upon me.

Job 4:5 Yet now [that] pain has come upon thee, and touched thee, thou art troubled.
Job 4:6 Is not thy fear [founded] in folly, thy hope also, and the mischief of thy way?
Job 4:7 Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed?
Job 4:8 Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves.
Job 4:9 They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath.

…

Job 4:13 But [as when] terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night,
Job 4:14 horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake.
Job 4:15 And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered.
Job 4:16 I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there, was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, [saying],
Job 4:17 What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works?
Job 4:18 Whereas he trust not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels.
Job 4:19 But [as for] them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth.
Job 4:20 And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they cannot help themselves.
Job 4:21 For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.

Job 5:1 But call, if any one will hearken to thee, or if thou shalt see any of the holy angels.
Job 5:2 For wrath destroys the foolish one, and envy slays him that has gone astray.
Job 5:3 And I have seen foolish ones taking root: but suddenly their habitation was devoured.
Job 5:4 Let their children be far from safety, and let them be crushed at the doors of vile men, and let there be no deliverer.
Job 5:5 For what they have collected, the just shall eat; but they shall not be delivered out of calamities: let their strength be utterly exhausted.
Job 5:6 For labour cannot by any means come out of the earth, nor shall trouble spring out of the mountains:
Job 5:7 yet man is born to labour, and [even so] the vulture’s young seek the high places.
Job 5:8 Nevertheless I will beseech the Lord, and will call upon the Lord, the sovereign of all;
Job 5:9 who does great things and untraceable, glorious things also, and marvellous, of which there is no number:
Job 5:10 who gives rain upon the earth, sending water on the earth:
Job 5:11 who exalts the lowly, and raises up them that are lost:
Job 5:12 frustrating the counsels of the crafty, and their hands shall not perform the truth:
Job 5:13 who takes the wise in their wisdom, and subverts the counsel of the crafty
Job 5:14 In the day darkness shall come upon them, and let them grope in the noon-day even as in the night:
Job 5:15 and let them perish in war, and let the weak escape from the hand of the mighty.
Job 5:16 And let the weak have hope, but the mouth of the unjust be stopped.

…

Job 5:17 But blessed [is] the man whom the Lord has reproved; and reject not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
Job 5:18 for he causes [a man] to be in pain, and restores [him] again: he smites, and his hands heal.
Job 5:19 Six time he shall deliver thee out of distresses: and in the seventh harm shall not touch thee.
Job 5:20 In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in war he shall free thee from the power of the sword.
Job 5:21 He shall hide thee from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not be afraid of coming evils.

Job 6:1 But Job answered and said,
Job 6:2 Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together!
Job 6:3 And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain.
Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me.
Job 6:5 What then? will the wild ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has a fodder?
Job 6:6 Shall bread be eaten without salt? or again, is there taste in empty words?
Job 6:7 For my wrath cannot cease; for I perceive my food as the smell of a lion [to be] loathsome.
Job 6:8 For oh that he would grant [my desire], and my petition might come, and the Lord would grant my hope!

Job 6:9 Let the Lord begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me.
Job 6:10 Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied the holy words of my God.
Job 6:11 For what is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures?
Job 6:12 Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
Job 6:13 Or have I not trusted in him? but help is [far] from me.
Job 6:14 Mercy has rejected me; and the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.
Job 6:15 My nearest relations have not regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.
Job 6:16 They who used to reverence me, now have come against me like snow or congealed ice.
Job 6:17 When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was.
Job 6:18 Thus I also have been deserted of all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast.

Job 7:1 Is not the life of man upon earth a state of trial? and his existence as that of a hireling by the day?
Job 7:2 Or as a servant that fears his master, and one who has grasped a shadow? or as a hireling waiting for his pay?
Job 7:3 So have I also endured months of vanity, and nights of pain have been appointed me.
Job 7:4 Whenever I lie down, I say, When [will it be] day? and whenever I rise up, again [I say] when [will it be] evening? and I am full of pains from evening to morning.
Job 7:5 And my body is covered with loathsome worms; and I waste away, scraping off clods of dust from my eruption.
Job 7:6 And my life is lighter than a word, and has perished in vain hope.
Job 7:7 Remember then that my life is breath, and mine eye shalt not yet again see good.
Job 7:8 The eye of him that sees me shall not see me [again]: thine eyes are upon me, and I am no more.
Job 7:9 [I am] as a cloud that is cleared away from the sky: for if a man go down to the grave, he shall not come up again:
Job 7:10 and he shall surely not return to his own house, neither shall his place know him any more.
Job 7:11 Then neither will I refrain my mouth: I will speak being in distress; being in anguish I will disclose the bitterness of my soul.
Job 7:12 Am I a sea, or a serpent, that thou hast set a watch over me?

…

Job 7:16 For I shall not live for ever, that I should patiently endure: depart from me, for my life [is] vain.
Job 7:17 For what is man, that thou hast magnified him? or that thou givest heed to him?
Job 7:18 Wilt thou visit him till the morning, and judge him till [the time of] rest?
Job 7:19 How long dost thou not let me alone, nor let me go, until I shall swallow down my spittle?
Job 7:20 If I have sinned, what shall I be able to do, O thou that understandest the mind of men? why hast thou made me as thine accuser, and [why] am I a burden to thee?
Job 7:21 Why hast thou not forgotten my iniquity, and purged my sin? but now I shall depart to the earth; and in the morning I am no more.

Job 8:3 Will the Lord be unjust when he judges; or will he that has made all things pervert justice?
Job 8:4 If thy sons have sinned before him, he has cast them away because of their transgression.
Job 8:5 But be thou early in prayer to the Lord Almighty.
Job 8:6 If thou art pure and true, he will hearken to thy supplication, and will restore to thee the habitation of righteousness.
Job 8:7 Though then thy beginning should be small, yet thy end should be unspeakably great.
Job 8:8 For ask of the former generation, and search diligently among the race of [our] fathers:
Job 8:9 (for we are of yesterday, and know nothing; for our life upon the earth is a shadow:)
Job 8:10 shall not these teach thee, and report [to thee], and bring out words from [their] heart?

…

Job 8:18 If [God] should destroy [him], his place shall deny him. Hast thou not seen such things,
Job 8:19 that such is the overthrow of the ungodly? and out of the earth another shall grow.
Job 8:20 For the Lord will by no means reject the harmless man; but he will not receive any gift of the ungodly.
Job 8:21 But he will fill with laughter the mouth of the sincere, and their lips with thanksgiving.
Job 8:22 But their adversaries shall clothe themselves with shame; and the habitation of the ungodly shall perish.

Job 9:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 9:2 I know of a truth that it is so: for how shall a mortal man be just before the Lord?
Job 9:3 For if he would enter into judgment with him, [God] would not hearken to him, so that he should answer to one of his charges of a thousand.
Job 9:4 For he is wise in mind, and mighty, and great: who has hardened himself against him and endured?
Job 9:5 Who wears out the mountains, and [men] know it not: who overturns them in anger.
Job 9:6 Who shakes the [earth] under heaven from its foundations, and its pillars totter.
Job 9:7 Who commands the sun, and it rises not; and he seals up the stars.
Job 9:8 Who alone has stretched out the heavens, and walks on the sea as on firm ground.
Job 9:9 Who makes Pleias, and Hesperus, and Arcturus, and the chambers of the south.
Job 9:10 Who does great and unsearchable things; glorious also and excellent things, innumerable.

Job 9:11 If ever he should go beyond me, I shall not see him: if he should pass by me, neither thus have I known [it].
Job 9:12 If he would take away, who shall turn him back? or who shall say to him, What hast thou done?
Job 9:13 For [if] he has turned away [his] anger, the whales under heaven have stooped under him.
Job 9:14 Oh then that he would hearken to me, or judge my cause.

…

Job 9:19 For indeed he is strong in power: who then shall resist his judgment?

…

Job 9:22 Wherefore I said, Wrath slays the great and mighty man.
Job 9:23 For the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn.
Job 9:24 For they are delivered into the hands of the unrighteous [man]: he covers the faces of the judges [of the earth]: but if it be not he, who is it?

…

Job 9:33 Would that [he] our mediator were [present], and a reprover, and one who should hear [the cause] between both.
Job 9:34 Let him remove [his] rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
Job 9:35 so shall I not be afraid, but I will speak: for I am not thus conscious [of guilt].

Job 10:3 Is it good before thee if I be unrighteous? for thou hast disowned the work of thy hands, and attended to the counsel of the ungodly.
Job 10:4 Or dost thou see as a mortal sees? or wilt thou look as a man sees?
Job 10:5 Or is thy life human, or thy years [the years] of a man,
Job 10:6 that thou hast enquired into mine iniquity, and searched out my sins?
Job 10:7 For thou knowest that I have not committed iniquity: but who is he that can deliver out of thy hands?

Job 10:8 Thy hands have formed me and made me; afterwards thou didst change [thy mind], and smite me.
Job 10:9 Remember that thou hast made me [as] clay, and thou dost turn me again to earth.

Job 10:10 Hast thou not poured me out like milk, and curdled me like cheese?
Job 10:11 And thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and frame me with bones and sinews.
Job 10:12 And thou didst bestow upon me life and mercy, and thy oversight has preserved my spirit.
Job 10:13 Having these things in thyself, I know that thou canst do all things; for nothing is impossible with thee.

Job 10:14 And if I should sin, thou watchest me; and thou hast not cleared me from iniquity.
Job 10:15 Or if I should be ungodly, woe is me: and if I should be righteous, I cannot lift myself up, for I am full of dishonour.
Job 10:16 For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter; for again thou hast changed and art terribly destroying me;
Job 10:17 renewing against me my torture: and thou hast dealt with me in great anger, and thou hast brought trials upon me.

…

Job 10:20 Is not the time of my life short? suffer me to rest a little,
Job 10:21 before I go whence I shall not return, to a land of darkness and gloominess;
Job 10:22 to a land of perpetual darkness, where there is no light, neither [can any one] see the life of mortals.

Job 11:5 But oh that the Lord would speak to thee, and open his lips to thee!
Job 11:6 Then shall he declare to thee the power of wisdom; for it shall be double of that which is with thee: and then shalt thou know, that a just recompence of thy sins has come to thee from the Lord.

Job 11:7 Wilt thou find out the traces of the Lord? or hast thou come to the end [of that] which the Almighty has made?
Job 11:8 Heaven [is] high; and what wilt thou do? and there are deeper things than those in hell; what dost thou know?
Job 11:9 Or longer than the measure of the earth, or the breadth of the sea.
Job 11:10 And if he should overthrow all things, who will say to him, What hast thou done?
Job 11:11 For he knows the works of transgressors; and when he sees wickedness, he will not overlook [it].

Job 11:12 But man vainly buoys himself up with words; and a mortal born of woman [is] like an ass in the desert.
Job 11:13 For if thou hast made thine heart pure, and liftest up [thine] hands towards him;
Job 11:14 if there is any iniquity in thy hands, put if far from thee, and let not unrighteousness lodge in thy habitation.
Job 11:15 For thus shall thy countenance shine again, as pure water; and thou shalt divest thyself of uncleanness, and shalt not fear.
Job 11:16 And thou shalt forget trouble, as a wave that has passed by; and thou shalt not be scared.
Job 11:17 And thy prayer [shall be] as the morning star, and life shall arise to thee [as] from the noonday.
Job 11:18 And thou shalt be confident, because thou hast hope; and peace shall dawn to thee from out of anxiety and care.
Job 11:19 For thou shalt be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against thee; and many shall charge, and make supplication to thee.
Job 11:20 But safety shall fail them; for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.

Job 12:9 Who then has not known in all these things, that the hand of the Lord has made them?
Job 12:10 Whereas the life of all living things is in his hand, and the breath of every man.
Job 12:11 For the ear tries words, and the palate tastes meats.
Job 12:12 In length of time is wisdom, and in long life knowledge.

Job 12:13 With him are wisdom and power, with him counsel and understanding.
Job 12:14 If he should cast down, who will build up? if he should shut up against man, who shall open?
Job 12:15 If he should withhold the water, he will dry the earth: and if he should let it loose, he overthrows and destroys it.
Job 12:16 With him are strength and power: he has knowledge and understanding.
Job 12:17 He leads counsellors away captive, and maddens the judges of the earth.
Job 12:18 He seats kings upon thrones, and girds their loins with a girdle.
Job 12:19 He sends away priests into captivity, and overthrows the mighty ones of the earth.
Job 12:20 He changes the lips of the trusty, and he knows the understanding of the elders.
Job 12:21 He pours dishonour upon princes, and heals the lowly.
Job 12:22 Revealing deep things out of darkness: and he has brought into light the shadow of death.
Job 12:23 Causing the nations to wander, and destroying them: overthrowing the nations, and leading them [away].
Job 12:24 Perplexing the minds of the princes of the earth: and he causes them to wander in a way, they have not known, [saying],
Job 12:25 Let them grope [in] darkness, and [let there be] no light, and let them wander as a drunken man.

Continues: Fragments from the Book of Job #2: chapters 12-20

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