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The Harvester Podcast is brought to you by the Florida School of Preaching. Listen weekly to take a dive into biblical topics and thoughtful studies on things that matter to our eternal souls.
Welcome to the Harvester Podcast.
We are happy you have joined us today.
As we continue our bumper sode series,
and these happen to be series in between
seasons.
And this is bumper sode number eight on
the book of Job,
which has turned out to be a lot longer
than I thought,
but yet there's a lot of good rich
material in the book of Job.
I'm your host Brian Kenyon, and usually
Forrest would be with me as well
as Stephen Ford. But we are so busy this
time of year that we are doing these
bumper
sodes kind of solo, but we will have the
full
Minoring and the majors. And that will be
lessons from the major prophets.
But we're happy to join us here and today
we have of course continuing,
we have been through the book of Job and
looking at some of the lessons
in the book of Job as we have entitled
this series as lessons from Job.
And when we look at Job, we look at a lot
of things ~ going on,
~ the suffering of a righteous person,
but yet we know that he did not sin in
order to
deserve that punishment or that suffering,
as the three friends and even Job himself
once thought.
And that is a philosophy called
retribution theology.
And we've talked a little bit about that
in the previous episode,
so we won't go into that much.
But in chapters one and two we find Satan
challenging God about Job's faithfulness.
And so God who is in charge allows Satan
to take away,
number one, the things that Job has,
including his children,
Secondly, ~ God allowed Satan to take away
Job's health.
And then Job curses the day of his birth
in chapter 3.
And then in chapter 4, beginning,
we have a cycle of speeches ~ where we
have Job and the three friends,
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, ~ and they
are all trying to find solutions.
The three friends start out hinting that
Job must have sinned in order
to be suffering as much as he is.
And so they gently at first try to
persuade Job to repent,
and then everything will be all right.
But yet Job knows that he hasn't sinned to
the extent of his suffering,
and so he is ~ challenging God from time
to time,
and we'll have more to say about this in
just a moment,
as we lead into the Lord's speeches.
And so through this dialogue, it happens
in three rounds,
and then Job answers, for example,
build or
Eliphaz, the Temanite, he'll speak,
Job will answer. Bildad will speak,
Job will answer, Zophar will speak,
Job will answer. And this goes on for two
dialogues,
and in the third one, only Eliphaz and
Bildad speak.
Zophar is left out for some reason,
but then Job answers again,
in chapter 27. And then in chapter 28,
we have kind of, I don't know if an
interlude would be the right word for it
or not,
but we have in chapter 28 a hymn to wisdom
that really balances out,
it's not a continuation of the three
friends or of Job,
but it really balances out the three
rounds of dialogue that were before
it with the three.
rounds of monologue which come after.
And so in Job twenty-nine through
thirty-one we have Job's oath of
innocence,
his ~ oath of innocence, and then we have
in chapters thirty-two through
thirty-six, we have or actually through
thirty-seven,
we have Elihu speaking. And Elihu,
and we discussed him last episode,
he comes off kind of arrogant and so
forth,
but
And then we have a third round of
monologues,
and that is God speaking, and that is
where we are today to look
at the speeches of the Lord.
Now, of course, ~ and the Lord,
of course, goes back to the word,
~ the ASV 1901 will translate the Lord
Jehovah,
but yet we now know that there was not a J
sound in the Hebrew language,
and so Yahweh is probably how it's
pronounced.
~ although no major translations that I
know of translate at Yahweh,
and only the ASV nineteen one that I'm
aware of translates at Jehovah.
And so we'll try to stick with the Lord,
the Lord speeches, but sometimes I might
slip up and say Yahweh.
~ but again Yahweh you know, people that
use the term Yahweh
are not flamin' liberals. That's just the
way that we probably should pronounce it.
But anyway, needless to say
We have this beginning in chapter
thirty-eight of Job,
chapter thirty-eight, verse one.
But before we get to that, just a reminder
of what's been going on in Job.
Now throughout the dialogue with the three
friends,
and even in the oath of of his innocence,
Job has wanted to face God,
to meet God face to face, on the one hand
to explain how Job
is innocent and God is doing him wrong.
Or at least find out why God is allowing
Job to suffer in such a way.
Like for example, and I'm going to read
some passages that we've read earlier,
but I want to point them out especially
for this,
is that when when Job is answering Bildad
in Job chapter nine,
verse thirty two, Job says,
For he that is God is not a man as I am,
that I might answer him, and that we
should go to court together.
Nor is there any mediator between us who
may lay his hand on us both,
let him take his rod away from me,
and do not let dread of him terrify me.
Then I would speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me. And so here's a
time where Job is thinking about
how he would like to meet God in court,
as it were, in verse thirty two,
but yet he realizes there's no mediator
between us.
In other words, he has no business going
before God without a mediator,
and there is none. And in any case,
in verse thirty four, let him take his
away his rod from me and do not
let the dread of him terrify me.
And so he wants relief from what he's
going through,
and he wants to speak and not fear God,
but it is not so that he doesn't think
that that's possible,
but he wants to do that. And then in Job
thirteen verse three,
when Job is answering Zophar,
He says, But I would speak to the
Almighty,
and I desire to reason with God.
And so here he wants to meet God again,
to speak to him, to let him know his side.
Again, as if God doesn't already know,
but again, Job is struggling through this.
And then in Job 16, beginning in verse 18,
he answers Eliphaz, O earth,
do not cover my blood, and let my cry have
no resting place.
Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
and my evidence is on high. My friends
scorn me,
my eyes pour out tears to God.
that one might plead for a man with God as
a man pleads for his neighbor,
for when a few years are finished,
I shall go the way of no return.
And so one of the things that underlies
Job's point of view is
Is that in that culture in which he lived,
and of course, as we discussed before,
Job and his three friends, they were
powerhouses of wisdom.
They were very well respected in their
communities,
at least formerly Job was, but now,
as we've seen through the book,
he is the object of ridicule and disdain,
because again, the people thinks he must
be a the people think he must
be a sinner above all to endure what he's
enduring.
But one thing he wants to do is clear his
name
Before he dies. And of course,
as some passages indicate, he thinks his
death is near because
he cannot suffer further, in his mind
anyway.
But yet he wants his name cleared before
he dies.
He does not want to go to his death
without being able to be cleared.
He does not want people to think of him
and his family as being part
of that sinful disaster that was the life
of Job.
And so he wants his name cleared.
And so to Bildad and John Job nineteen
twenty three, again the same thing,
O that my words were written, O that they
were inscribed in a book,
that they were engraved on a rock with an
iron pen and lead forever.
For I know that my redeemer lives.
Well before I get to that, he wants his
name engraved in stone,
he wants his words written, that I am
innocent,
I do not deserve this, because again he's
afraid that if he dies
his reputation will be destroyed and that
of his family as well.
And so when he says in verse twenty five,
I know that my Redeemer lives,
and he shall stand at last on the earth,
and after my skin is destroyed,
this I know that in my flesh I shall see
God,
whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes
shall behold,
and not another, how my heart yearns
within me.
Now we did talk about this in a previous
episode.
That though we have a song written by man
from this verse,
I know that my redeemer lives,
that talks about that Redeemer being
Jesus.
And although Jesus is the ultimate
Redeemer that Job,
you know, is desiring, ~ his use of the
word here is not,
I do not believe, a reference to Christ,
but rather to the kinsman Redeemer that we
read about in Numbers and such,
that was the next of kin that could set
things right after the death
of the loved one.
And in the context here that seems to be
be true,
to be verified, because again,
Job is hoping that his words would be
written and and and engraved
and so that people can see after he is
long gone.
And of course, the Redeemer would make
sure that,
you know, d justice would be done upon his
deceased relative.
And so ~ that is there.
Now of course the the Redeemer here or or
the being engraved.
Is that you know Job is struggling.
He on the one hand, he knows God is just,
that God will not allow him to go to his
grave with his rep your reputation
spoiled.
And so somehow, some way, and and we've
discussed this before,
Job is as it were up and down on a roller
coaster.
He has his ups, he has his lows.
And here's one of his ups where he says,
I know that my Redeemer lives,
because he just figures somehow,
some way
Even though he's grasping at straws,
tr trying to figure out how, he knows that
somehow,
some way, God is going to make this right,
and he can make it right through a
redeemer kinsman,
type of thing. But either way,
Job does not want to depart this earth
without this situation being cleared up.
And so he wants his name engraved,
he wants to meet God in person,
etc., etc. In Job twenty-three,
verse three, to Eliphaz, he says.
that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come to his seat.
I would present my case before him and
fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which he would
answer me and understand what he would
say to me. Would he contend with me in his
great power?
No, but he would take note of me.
There the upright could reason with him,
and I would be delivered forever from
From my judge. And so again, he wants to
meet God.
He wants to present his case before God.
Kind of in the back of my his mind,
he thinks that's impossible. Again,
~ would he contend, verse six,
would he contend with me in his great
power?
No. But he would at least take note of me.
Job twenty-three, verse six again.
And then in Job thirty-one, thirty-five,
in his oath of innocence, he says,
that I had one to hear me.
Here is my mark. that the almighty would
answer me that my prosecutor
had written a book. Surely I would carry
it on my shoulder and bind it on
me like a crown. I would declare to him
the number of my steps,
like a prince I would approach him.
If my land cries out against me and its
furrows weep together,
if I have eaten the fruit without money,
or cause its owners to lose their lives,
then let this grow instead of wheat,
and weeds instead of barley. And then the
text says the words of Job are ended.
And so Job wants to meet God,
he wants to present his case, but on the
other hand he takes.
Thinks it's impossible because who is he
to go before the Almighty?
And even if he did, the Almighty wouldn't
listen to him,
even though he might take notice.
And so we can see the struggle that Job is
going through,
the ups and downs that he is going through
to try to meet God.
And so in chapter 38 through 42,
verse 6, God will indeed meet Job,
as it were, now not exactly as Job wanted,
but as we are going to see.
Just the very fact that Job, that God gave
attention,
the Lord gave attention to Job is all that
Job needed to realize that all is well.
And so when we think about that,
we'll get into chapter 38. ~ the Lord's
involvement or Yahweh's involvement.
Now, before we get into this, we'll just
introduce this little section here.
You know, his breaking, God's breaking
silence fulfills
Job's desire, even though it wasn't
exactly like Job had envisioned.
And of course, a lesson for that,
for us, is there as well that you know God
does doesn't always operate
how we think he should, or how we think it
might be best for us.
But he does operate, he does have his own
will,
and he is not bound to us. Notice also
that the Lord speaks because
of love for his suffering people.
He realizes we he knows we suffer.
And I'm kind of reminded of in the book of
Exodus when there arose
a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph and made
Israel's life very,
very rough and tough. But yet it says that
God remembered
his people and he looked upon their
affliction.
And so God speaks, he remembers,
he loves his suffering people.
Also the Lord ignores Job's complaints.
And does not make direct reference to his
oath of innocence.
Yahweh does not reprove Job for wrongdoing
as his friends would expect.
In other words, the friends would have
thought God would have chewed
out Job because of all the statements Job
made.
They chewed him out and they thought that
they were on God's side.
And then fifthly, the Lord does not
acknowledge Elihu.
Now we talked about that before,
and some, you know, some will have Elihu
as a good guy,
but yet the very fact that nobody
acknowledged him,
you know, that can be taken a couple ways
too,
and we'd refer we would refer you to the
last episode on that.
And then we see, before we get into the
actual verses,
that the Lord's speeches
consists mostly of what some have called
nature poems.
That is, God simply asked Job a bunch of
things from nature
to see if Job could even think about
answering those,
which of course Job cannot. But this is
all it takes again for Job
to realize that God cares for him.
In these speeches there's very little
about God's moral governing of the
universe.
Also the parts of nature God parades
before Job
Are not what might be expected.
In other words, he'll talk about these
very minute parts of creation,
but yet how significant the one who
created that and and rules that must be.
And we have a quote here from Francis
Anderson,
which is from the Tyndale series of
commentaries.
Quote: In the sharing of a common life in
the same world,
God and Job both find vindication.
that neither received in the discourse of
the friends.
The whole story became a test of both God
and Job.
And we mentioned this in some of the
episodes before,
but Job seems to try to justify himself at
God's expense,
and the friends seem to try to justify God
at Job's expense.
And neither were correct, but these series
of questions that talk about nature,
you know, show both
there that both have an aspect of this as
they had that they have not thought of.
And of course God's thought of everything,
but as he gives that to Job, you know,
it it it shows where Job was way wrong,
and it shows where God is way right in
just questioning about these parts
of creation that Job has no clue how to
even make or sustain or make work.
And again, that's just part of the subplot
in this great book.
All right, so when we go to the Lord's
first speech in chapter thirty-eight verse
one through verse four, there's first an
introduction and a challenge to Job,
an introduction and challenge to Job.
Then the Lord answered Job out of the
world went and said,
Who is this who darkens counsel by words
without knowledge?
Now prepare yourself like a man,
I will question you, and you shall answer
me.
Now again, if you can just think of the
power,
powerful impact that this would have on
Job.
Here he is, almost, we might say,
in a pity party, you know,
through this dialogue of speeches with the
friends,
claiming his innocence and wanting to meet
God up and down,
but yet it's not possible, but I want to
meet him,
but it's not possible. And then Job's oath
of innocence
in chapters twenty-nine through
thirty one and the oath of innocence and
basically Job just laying down
the gauntlet. You know, if I've sinned
make something happen to me,
and then all through Elihu's speeches and
all of that,
and there's silence, there's nothing going
on,
and Job is still stuck with his dilemma in
his mind,
but then all of a sudden, out of a
whirlwind,
God speaks to Job. And so just think of
how the shock and the surprise of that.
And so Yahweh interrogates Job about the
created order.
Now first of all he mentions the structure
of the world,
particularly the foundational structure of
the world,
and then the recesses of the world.
But notice in chapter thirty eight verses
four through twenty four.
Where were you, the Lord says to Job,
when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding,
who determined its measurements?
Surely you know, or who stretched out the
line upon it,
to what were its foundations fastened,
or who laid its cornerstone? When the
morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of glory shouted for joy?
Or who shut in the sea with doors?
When it burst forth and issues from the
womb?
When I made the clouds its garment and
thick darkness its swaddling hand.
When I fixed my limit for it and set bars
and doors,
when I said This far you may come,
but no further, and here your proud waves
must stop.
Have you commanded the morning since the
days began?
And caused the dawn to know its place,
that I might take hold of the ends of the
earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it.
It takes on form like clay under a seal,
and
And it stands out like a garment.
From the wicked their light is withheld,
and the upraised arms is broken.
Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the
depths?
Have the gates of death been revealed to
you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow
of death?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the
earth?
Tell me, if you know all these things.
Now in verse seventeen, as I read the
gates of death,
The shadow of death, he's talking about
the Hadian world.
Where nineteen, where is the way to the
dwelling of light and darkness?
Where is its place? That you may take to
it its territory,
that you may know the paths to its home.
Do you know it because you were born there
then or because the number
of your days is great? Verse twenty two
have you entered the treasury of snow?
Or have you seen the treasury of hail?
Which I have reserved for the time of
trouble,
for the day of battle amid war.
By what way is the light diffused or the
east wind scattered over
the earth? And so the again these
questions about the foundation of of the
world,
the earth, all these questions given,
but Job, I mean, there's no way they can
be answered.
Only God knows, only God can do those
things,
and only God knows how to sustain those
things.
And then he talks about the maintenance of
the world in chapter thirty eight verse
twenty five through thirty nine thirty.
First there is the inanimate world,
beginning in verse twenty-five,
who has divided a channel for the
overflowing of water,
or a path for the thunderbolt,
to cause it to rain on a land where no one
is,
a wilderness in which there is.
No man to satisfy the desolate waste and
cause
no s and cause to spring forth the growth
of tender grass.
Has the rain a father or who has begotten
the drops of dew?
From whose womb comes the ice and the
frost of heaven who gives it birth?
The waters harden like stone and the
surface of the deep is broke is frozen.
Can you bind the cluster of the Pallades
or loose the belt of Orion?
Can you bring out Masaroth in its season?
Or can you guide its great bear with its
cubs?
Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
And so in those verses thirty-one through
thirty-three,
he's talking about the constellations way
out in what we know as space,
but way out there in the night sky.
Can he do that, but yet God put that in
there?
Verse thirty four Can you lift up your
voice to the clouds,
then an abundance of water may cover you?
Can you send out lightnings that they may
go and say to you here we are?
Who has put wisdom in the mind or who has
given understanding to the heart?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom or who
can pour out the bottles of heaven?
When the dust hardens in clumps and the
clots cling together,
can you hunt the prey of the lion or
satisfy the appetite
of the young lions? Now verse thirty nine
begins a section on the maintenance
of the animate world, that is the living
world,
the creatures and such. Again,
verse thirty nine, can you hunt the prey
for the lion or satisfy the appetite
of the young lions?
When they crouch in their dens,
or lurk in their lyres t to lie in wait?
Who provides food for the raven when its
young ones cry to God
and wander about for lack of food?
In other words, when God created things,
He made them self sustain, they can take
care of themselves.
But yet who did that Job?
Who maintains that Job? And then in
chapter thirty-nine,
verses one through four, he talks about
The mountain goat, if you will.
Do you know the time when the wild
mountain goats bear young?
Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?
Can you number the months that they
fulfill,
or do you know the time when the bear when
they bear young?
They bow down, they bring forth their
young,
they deliver their offspring. Their young
ones are healthy,
they grow strong with grain.
They depart and do not return to them.
And then next he talks about the wild ox,
who set the wild donkey free, who loosed
the bonds of the onager,
whose home I have made the wilderness,
and the barren land his dwelling.
He scorns the tumult of the city,
he does not heed the shouts of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pastor,
and he searches after every green thing.
And so this animal is sometimes ~ well the
wild donkey.
The next one is the ~ well the old King
James calls it a unicorn,
but it's referring to a wild ox.
will the wild ox be willing to serve you?
Will he bed by your manger?
Let me just mention this that the idea of
of a unicorn doesn't come from
the the you know mystical beast that Harry
Potter has and little kids like.
But it's the wild ox, if you look at it
head on,
you see both horns, but if he turns his
head and you just look at a side profile,
the horns are so symmetric that they look
like just one horn.
One's behind the other, but it looks like
one horn,
and that's where the idea of unicorn ~
came along.
But he goes on to say, Can you bind the
wild ox and the furrow with ropes,
or will he plough the valleys behind you?
Will you trust him because his strength is
great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
Will you trust him to bring home your
grain and gather it to your threshing
floor?
And so, of course, the answer to that is
no,
because this animal is huge, it's wild,
there's just no taming him, as it were,
and he'll say more
More about that in just a moment as well,
to about other animals. All right,
and then the next one is the ostrich,
~ at least as the New King James has it,
in verses thirteen through eighteen.
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are her wings and pinions like the
kindly storks?
For she leaves her eggs on the ground and
warms them,
warms them in the dust. She forgets that a
foot may crush them
or that a wild beast may break them.
She tears her young harshly as though they
were not hers.
Her labor is in vain without concern,
because God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not endow herself with
understanding.
When she lifts herself on high,
she scorns the horse and its rider.
And in other words, she's saying this
about the ostrich.
It's a very unpredictable animal,
it's a very just a weird animal,
how it treats its young, how it
Treats enemies and things like that.
but yet God still created it,
God still maintains it. And you know,
some animals you may see, yeah,
I could raise that, I could feed that,
or whatever, but not this ostrich.
But again, the questions are p put to Job,
and there's n and he's knowing that
there's no way he can answer these
questions
because he does not know. ~ notice next,
in verses 19 through 25.
He's speaking of the horse. Have you given
the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
Can you frighten him like a locust?
His majesty snorting strikes terror.
His paws in the valley and rejoices in his
strength.
He gallops into the clash of arms.
He mocks at fear and is not frightened.
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
The quiver quiver rattles him,
the glittering spear and javelin.
He devours the distance with fierceness
and rage,
nor does he come to a halt because the
trumpet has sounded.
At the blast of the trumpet he says Aha He
smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of captains and shouting.
And so this is not just any horse,
but a war horse, and he goes right into to
to the battle.
But yet who created this? Who allows this?
And of course it's God. But again
God is asking the Lord is asking Job ~ to
to let Job know that
he doesn't know everything, that he
doesn't know about God's will,
about how God operates, and you see the
relation of these questions,
at least the unknown knownness of Job,
to the struggle of how he thinks God is
mistreating him and he wants
to seek justice from God.
And then in chapter thirty nine,
twenty six through thirty, God continues
to ask these questions.
This time it's about the birds of prey.
Does the hawk fly by your wisdom and
spread its wings toward the south?
Does the eagle mount up at your command
and make its nest on high?
Or the rocket dwells and resides on the
crag of the rock and the stronghold,
from where it spies out the prey.
Its eyes observe from afar.
Its young ones suck up blood, and where
the slain are,
there it is. And so these birds of prey.
And then the Lord invites Job to respond,
and it's almost like you know,
here Job, here's some questions,
why don't you answer? Chapter forty verse
one moreover the Lord answered
Job and said, Shall the one who contends
with the almighty correct him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer.
Now again, I find this very intriguing
once again,
because, you know, as he says,
shall the one who contends with the
Almighty correct him?
So God recognizes Job is contending with
him.
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.
And so God is recognizing that Job is
rebuking God.
But yet it still says that Job was without
sin in all this.
He did not sin in it through his lips.
And so again, as I said before,
the only thing that I can think of is the
reason why is because God knows
Job is honestly looking for answers.
And God is never faulting us when we
honestly seek answers.
You know, Habakkuk did it in questions
somewhat similar to Job's.
And others, and here's the difference.
When they receive the answer God gives,
they accept it. Habakkuk did that,
Job was going to do that we shall see.
But then others, like the Pharisees,
when they question Jesus, they're not
really seeking for answers.
We know explicitly sometimes, like in
Matthew 19,
verse 3, they asked him questions in order
to trap him,
in order to get him to say words that they
could accuse him of.
And so it's very interesting as God
challenges Job to answer.
Well, Job's answer to Yahweh's first
speech
is recorded for us in chapter 40,
verses 3 through 5. Now, Job first of all,
he concedes that he is in no position to
answer,
and then he drops any further claim of
innocence in verse 5.
So as we read this in Job chapter forty
and verse three,
then Job answered the Lord and said,
Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer
you?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
Once I have spoken, but I will not answer.
Yes twice, but I will proceed no further.
And so the last thing that Job said.
was in chapter twenty-nine through
thirty-one,
where he gave his oath of innocence.
Then we had the Elihu speeches,
and so when Job is saying here,
I have laid my hand over my mouth once I
have spoken,
but I will not answer yet twice,
but I will proceed no further.
He is not going to say anything in
addition to what he just said
in chapter thirty-one. And so he's
He's realized that he has no nothing to
say to God because he doesn't have
the answers. He doesn't he realizes he
doesn't really know what he thought he
knew,
that he was wrong and what he thought
about God.
And again, God never explicitly addressed
his situ his his questions,
his challenges. God just simply asked him
these questions from creation that
Job just simply could not answer.
And then we have the second
of the Lord's speeches and forty
Verse ~ six through forty one verse thirty
four.
And so as we continue, and of course in
these speeches questions
concerning Job's power. And so in verse
six,
then the Lord said or answered Job out of
the whirlwind and said,
Now prepare yourself like a man,
I will question you, and you shall answer
me.
Would you indeed annul my judgment?
Would you condemn me that you may be
justified?
Have you an arm like God or can you
thunder with a voice like his,
and array yourself with glory and beauty?
Disperse the rage of your wrath,
look on everyone who is proud and humble
him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring
him low,
tread down the wicked in their place,
hide them in the dust together and
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
Then I will confess to you that your own
right hand can save you.
In other words, here's some more questions
he asks Job,
and if you can answer these, then I know
that your own right hand can save you.
But if you can't answer these,
then you know that you are powerless,
and that my will is prevailing,
and you do not know everything you think
you know.
About my will and how I operate.
Alright, and then in verse 15,
look now to the behemoth. Alright,
and so this, you know, now he gives two
examples from creatures which show
Job the kind of power needed to rule the
world in justice.
Now he first points out behemoth,
and this word behemoth is basically just a
transliteration of
of a Hebrew word. Now the Hebrew word ~ is
a plural term and is usually translated
cattle.
It can mean cattle, as in Job 3511,
Joel 120 and 2.22,
Psalm 8.7, Psalm 4912,
and Psalm 7322. Now sometimes these plural
words here,
there is what some have called a majestic
plural
which are words that are put in plural,
but they really f refer to a singular,
but a majestic singular. And of course the
word Elohim is one such word,
as many of us who are listening to this
know that Elohim is a plural word,
but it's the word that's most often
translated God in the ~ Old Testament.
And whenever
Most of the time when you have an ~ or a
en at the end of a word,
it's a plural, like the seraphim,
the cherubim, etc. It's plural.
And so ~ the majestic plural is what is
used here.
But the translators and and the
translators are pretty consistent with
behemoth,
the translators know that this word is not
referring to just regular cattle,
at least in this context, or else they
would have translated it cattle.
But it's the word
But they just transliterate behemoth,
and a lot of times when they transliterate
words,
because they don't really know exactly
what it means,
so they just tell you what it says,
which is all right. All right,
but the plural gives it an intense force,
and in it in this sense it's referring to
this a super beast,
a super beast, if you will, ~ the noblest
and strongest beast.
Now, according to Hartley, earlier
attempts,
like Kyle and Delich.
Early attempts to suggest the der
derivation of this word from Egyptian
to mean the water ox has never been
substantiated.
And of course, there's all kinds of
explanations for behemoth,
you know, to try to get out of admitting
or at least given
the possibility that perhaps it's what we
know as a dinosaur,
which fits the context best, I think,
anyway. Now, of course, I w I do want to
say this about the dinosaur situation that
Both behemoth and Leviathan are full of
figurative language.
You know, there's all kinds of figurative
language in there,
but and we re recognize the figurative
language,
but we also know that figurative language,
you know, gets its meaning from something
literal.
And so the the figurative language,
yes, it's figurative, but it's based the
figures it gives,
like a tail like a cedar and things like
that,
are based on literal cedar trees and
things like that.
And when you think about
~ the the seed the tail of a cedar,
some translations would have. I mean
there's all been all kinds
of explanations to try to explain that
away.
we know an ox doesn't have a tail like
that.
We know that a you know an elephant
doesn't have a tail like that.
I've even read some years ago that tried
to say that that was a a male sexual organ
that was large like a cedar. And that of
course is just ridiculous
in trying to explain away the obvious
about this this beast.
All right.
And so, you know, one of those big,
big ~ vegetable-eating water dinosaurs,
and I'm not up on the names of these
things,
but I know those guys from Apologetics
Press can tell you,
that kind of thing. But notice,
but again, the reason why it's being given
as an illustration here is
to show that the kind of strength Job
would need to have in order to control
such
a beast, yet God controls him.
And so look now at the behemoth,
which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox. see now his
strength is in his hips,
and his power is in his stomach muscles.
And so he's got huge hips and huge
stomach.
And again, that looks like one of them big
water.
Well, now I come from a time when he used
to call it Bronosaurus,
but I know that that's not the right name
anymore,
and that was just a figment of somebody's
imagination,
but maybe a brachiosaurus or something
like that,
whatever the name of that guy is.
But anyway, he moves his tail like a
cedar,
the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit,
his bones are like beams of bronze,
his ribs like brass or bars of iron.
He is the first of the ways of God,
only he who made him can bring near his
sword.
Surely the mountains yield food for him,
and all the beasts of the field play
there.
He lies under the lotus trees,
and
In a covert of reeds and marsh,
the lotus tree cover him with their shade,
the willows by their brooks surround him.
Indeed the river may rage, yet he is not
disturbed.
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes
into his mouth,
though he takes it in his eyes,
or one pierces his nose with a snare.
And so this one here it's the power,
the might, the largeness of this creature.
And so again, Job, can you handle that?
Behemoth? And of course the answer is no.
And then the next example he gives is
Leviathan,
and the reason he gives this is because of
its fierceness.
So behemoth because of its strength and
size,
and then also Leviathan because of its
fierceness.
Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook?
Now that word Leviathan does occur
elsewhere,
and sometimes it's translated serpent.
Does occur elsewhere in the Old Testament?
But notice can you draw Lephiaton with a
hook or snare his tongue with
a line which you lower? Can you put a reed
through his nose or pierce his
jaw with a hook? Will he make many
supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you? Will he make
a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a hind or
will you leash him for your maidens?
Will you will your companions make a
banquet of him?
Will they apportion him among the
merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his
head with fishing spears?
Lay your hand on him, remember the battle,
never do it again. Indeed,
any hope of overcoming him is false,
shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight
of him?
No one is so fierce that he would dare
stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against me?
Who has preceded me that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is mine.
And so again this Leviathan is a huge or a
very
~ fierce creature, a very fierce creature,
and no one can stop him. He continues,
I will not conceal his limbs.
his mighty power or his graceful
proportions Who can remove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face with
his terrible teeth all around?
His robes of scales are its pride,
shut up tightly as with a seal.
One is so near another that no air can
come between them.
And so here he seems to be describing a a
huge crocodile,
fierce type of thing, but
You know, again, it could be one of those,
you know, what we would call dinosaurs
that are now extinct,
but fit the description here, the figure
of the description here.
And again, ~ whatever these animals were,
Job would have would have known what they
are.
They would have s he would have seen them,
or he would have heard of them,
he would have known of Behemoth's might,
he would have known of Leviathan's
fierceness and anger.
~ something that he would have known
about,
not something that he had never seen.
Verse 17, and here he's talking about the
scales.
You know, they are joined to one another,
they stick together and cannot be parted.
His sneezing flash forth light.
His eyes are like the eyelids of the
morning.
And again, you know,
could be fire breathing. We know that some
things of creation are.
It could just be the mist of his breath
goes out against the the backdrop
of the sun and it looks like something,
who whatever. ~ a lot of this is
figurative.
Out of his mouth go burning lights,
sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out
of his nostrils,
and from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindles coals and a flame goes
out of his mouth.
Strength dwells in his neck and sorrow
dances before him.
The folds of his flesh are joined
together,
they are firm on him, and cannot be moved.
His heart is as hard as stone,
even as hard as the tower of his.
Millstone When he raises himself up the
mighty are afraid,
because of his crushings they are beside
themselves,
his crashings, they are beside themselves,
though the sword reaches him, it cannot
avail,
nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
He regards iron as straw, and bronze as
rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee,
slingstones become like stubble to him.
Darts are regarded as straw, he laughs at
the threat of javelins.
His undersides are like sharp potshirds.
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
He makes the deep boil like a pot,
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
He leaves a shining wake behind him.
One would think the deep had white hair.
In other words, when he moves to go under
water,
all this stuff happens. On earth there is
nothing like him which
is made without fear.
He beholds every high thing, he is king
over all the children of pride.
And so again he describes Leviathan as
this fierce very fearful
~ scales ~ part land,
part sea, he can raise up, and when he
raises up,
nothing can pierce his underside because
of the
thick ~ scales and such that are dis
described right here.
And so we have that second speech ~ that
was given to ~ Job about that creation.
All right, so now after describing
Leviathan,
Job's answer to Yahweh's second speech is
recorded in verse 42,
1 through 6.
Then Job answered the Lord and said,
I know that you can do everything,
and that no purpose of yours can be
withheld from you.
You asked who is this who hides counsel
without knowledge?
Therefore I have uttered what I did not
understand,
things too wonderful for me which I did
not know.
Verse four, listen please, and let me
speak.
You said I will question you and you shall
answer me.
I have heard of you by the hearing of the
ear,
but now my eye sees you. Therefore I bore
myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
verse six. And so Job's answer here is
that he confesses that he
has spoken without knowledge. Job's answer
was not explicitly asked
by Yahweh, but he gave the answer anyway,
because he realizes within within himself
that he spoke without knowledge.
Job also acknowledges the Lord's great
power in verse two.
I know that you can do everything,
and that no purpose of yours can be
withheld from you.
And then notice also that Job admits his
words are nothing compared
to the omniscience of God. You asked,
who is this who hides counsel without
knowledge?
Therefore I have uttered what I did not
understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did
not know.
Now Job did not utter anything about
counseling.
Well, he did utter some things about
creation in his responses to Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar, but you know,
what he did utter, he did not know.
And what he did utter was brought to his
attention by the questions that
God asked him. And so, in other words,
there's a connection between the questions
that God asked him,
which seemed to have l little if nothing
to do with Job's challenges and such.
But the questions God asked him really
made Job realize he doesn't know
everything.
And a lot of the things he was talking
about with God and wanting to meet
him and stuff was coming from a heart that
didn't know the facts like
he thought he knew. And so he he can
easily admit that he misspoke.
And then notice also Job admits only
limited knowledge in verse four:
Listen please and let me speak.
You said, I will question you.
And you shall answer me. And so he does
have limited knowledge,
but it's very limited compared to what God
has.
And then Job also acknowledges the Lord's
special appearing in verse 5.
I have heard you by the hearing of the
ear,
but now my eyes see you. And again,
what he could see was a whirlwind,
but the seeing and the hearing of the
voice of God in that one moment.
it's as if he's seeing God himself,
though he's really not, ~ as we know from
other passages of Scripture.
And then ~ also Job recants in verse six,
therefore I abore myself and repent in
dust and ashes.
And some translations may have their
recant in dust and ashes.
And so and sometimes ~ well,
there is the thought here about
You know, perhaps Job did sin,
but he was forgiven. And so when God says
he has not sinned,
it's an illustration of he will remember
their sins no more when people truly
repent. But we'll develop that some more
in the final episode
of this bumper series on the book of Job.
But ~ we end here with Job ~ realizing he
doesn't know everything.
And he is completely satisfied that God
just spoke to him from the whirlwind.
Again, it's not like Job expected to
present his case before God,
but it's exactly what God wanted and God's
will,
and so Job is content with that.
again, as I mentioned, we'll close this
series out next week when we look
at the restoration of Job and some of the
implications for us in our life
and in our age.
But until then, we thank you for tuning
in.
We appreciate your listening and any
feedback you can give.
We'd much appreciate it. And so we'll look
forward to concluding this series on Job.