The Oldest Book
Notes
Transcript
Job is the oldest book in our ancient scriptures
Job is the oldest book in our ancient scriptures
it contains 110 Hapax Legomena, the most of any OT book
These are words unique to this book, ie absent in all other OT books.
Job was a real man - mentioned in Ezekiel 14:14 ,Ezekiel 14:20 “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.” and also mentioned in James 5:11 “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”
Pitiful
Constellations, metals, precious stones
Job 4:10–11 “The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.”
6 different words for lions
Job 3:4–6 “Let that day be darkness; Let not God regard it from above, Neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; Let a cloud dwell upon it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; Let it not be joined unto the days of the year, Let it not come into the number of the months.”
Job 10:21 “Before I go whence I shall not return, Even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;” ,Job 10:22 “A land of darkness, as darkness itself; And of the shadow of death, without any order, And where the light is as darkness.”
6 words for darkness
Job 18:8–10 “For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel, And the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way.”
6 words for traps
6 Names of God
Elohim - Creator
El - Omnipotent
Eloah - The living God who is worshiped {and feared ?}
Adonia - Lord (ruler) of the whole earth
Jehovah - self existent, eternal ( who is and was and is to come )
Shaddai - Almighty, All-bountiful, of unlimited supply
Languages Hebrew, Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Sumerian, Ugaritic …
Accept dashen - turn to ashes Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
Very old
No mention of the Law
No mention of Israel
No mention of idols
Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”
Job’s age can be estimated at 210 + based on the fact hat he had 10 adult children and lived a further 140 years after his losses and suffering.
Which may indicated predating Abraham
Terah 205, Previously longer
Abraham 175
Isaac 180
Jacob 147
Joseph 110 … subsequently shorter
There for may have overlapped with Noah, Shem etc
Wealth was described in livestock not money Job 1:3 “His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.”
and Job 42:12 “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.”
Sabeans and Chaldeans are depicted as nomadic, in post Abramic years the were settled.
When money is mentioned the word used is a very old one , elsewhere used only in reference to Jacob Genesis 33:19 “And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.”
Job 1:5 “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”
Job was his families priest, Ie. preceding National Priesthood.
Shaddai used only 17 times in all other O/T books but 31 times in Job.
Shaddai was familiar to Abraham Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”
Exodus 6:3 “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.”
Kitto Bible illustrations
Daily Bible Illustrations Monday. Patriarchal Wealth—Genesis 12:16; 13:2.
although Job did not possess horses, his book contains the most magnificent description of a war horse that has ever been given (Job 39:19
Exalting Jesus in Job Series Introduction
Augustine said, “Where Scripture speaks, God speaks.”
s 1 Thess. 4:1.
s 1 Thess. 4:1.
t Phil. 4:9.
s 1 Thess. 4:1.
u Eph. 3:17. So ch. 1:23. Comp. Jude 12.
w Acts 20:32. Eph. 2:20. Jude 20. See 1 Cor. 3:9.
x ch. 4:2. See ch. 3:17.
Col 2:6–7.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:6–7.
All the Turning Points in the Bible Job Speaks With God
Job Speaks With God
Job 42:1 records a turning point for Job, which he experienced after experiencing the presence of God and reaffirming his commitment to God. This turning point was a response to God.
Related event: God Answers Job
Related concept: Repent
James N/T theme of Wisdom -Joy thru trials
Obtained by asking in Faith
bible knowledge commentary (40:2). Job then repented in dust and ashes, a way of expressing his self-deprecation (cf. Gen. 18:27). Throwing dust in the air so that it came down on one’s head (cf. Job 2:12) and sitting in or near ashes or with ashes on one’s body (cf. 2:8; Isa. 58:5; Dan. 9:3) were signs of a humbled condition. Having grieved over his losses, Job now grieved over his sin.
Roy B. Zuck, “Job,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 774.
Obviously he did not repent of the sins which his three friends had conjured up. He stuck persistently to his position that his suffering was not merited by pre-calamity sins (Job 27:2–6). But, as Elihu had pointed out, bitterness and pride had followed his loss of wealth, family, and health (32:2; 33:17; 35:12–13; 36:9; 37:24). At first, however, Job’s response was proper (1:21–22; 2:10). Job now saw, as God had challenged him (40:10), that no one can stand accusingly against Him. Realizing that God is not obligated to man, Job’s questions vanished and his resentment left. He was now satisfied, for God
had communicated with him about His own person, not about Job’s problems. Now Job was willing to trust the Sovereign, whose ways are perfect (Ps. 18:30), even when he could not understand. Undoubtedly God forgave him of his former sin of pride.
Suffering is NOT always retributive,
Believing it is will potentially lead to mis judging the innocent.
UZ a real place Jeremiah 25:20
And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
Exalting Jesus in Job Introduction to Job
More than a museum exhibit, Job is a living, breathing, book (Stewart, Message, 27). Job “offers a rare peek through the keyhole of eternity”
Ezekiel 14:14 “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.”
James 5:11 “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”
All the Questions in the Bible
The Old Testament has a whopping 2,274 questions, the largest number are found in Job, No less than 329 Questions. 39 of these questions are in Chapter 38. I cannot do these justice in a 20 minute message, but I can maybe point you to the Holy Spirit inspired book of Job, and pray it may point you to Christ Jesus and he to the Father Himself.
The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 2: Samuel to Job (Chapter XXVII: “Music in the Bounds of Law” (Job 38))
the mind is prepared and made eager. The man, brought to the edge of pessimism, will at last look abroad and follow the doings of the Almighty even through storm and darkness. Does the sublime voice issue only to overbear and reduce him to silence? Not so. His reason is addressed, his thought demanded, his power to recognise truth is called for. A great demonstration is made, requiring at every step the response of mind and heart.
…
stands among men as a humble student of the ways of God—is content to stand there at the last, making no claim beyond the knowledge of what may be learned from the creation and providence of God.
And Job is allowed no special providence. The voice from the storm is that which all may hear; it is the universal revelation suited to every man. At first sight we are disposed to agree with those who think the appearance of the Almighty upon the scene to be in itself strange. But
reconciliation
The Expositor’s Bible, Volume 2: Samuel to Job Chapter XXVIII: The Reconciliation (Job 38:1–42:6)
Job finds the way of reconciliation.
“I know that Thou canst do all things,
And that no purpose of Thine can be restrained.
‘Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?’
Then have I uttered what I understood not,
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will demand of Thee, and declare Thou unto me,’
I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear;
But now mine eye seeth Thee,
Wherefore I repudiate my words and repent in dust and ashes.”
Exalting Jesus in Job “All Creatures of Our God and King”—God Speaks (Job 38–41)
Job has now come face-to-face with God himself and realizes the utter futility of his attempts to engage God on the subject of God’s justice, wisdom, power, and sovereignty (42:4–6).
Exalting Jesus in Job Yahweh’s First Speech (Job 38:1–40:2)
Job on the witness stand. Job the plaintiff has suddenly become Job the defendant
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
The Final Act
“All Creatures of Our God and King”—God Speaks
JOB 38–41
Main Idea: God speaks to Job and poses questions about nature to demonstrate Job’s incapacity to understand, his inability to run the universe, and thus his inability to know how God dispenses justice.
I. Yahweh’s First Speech (38:1–40:2)
II. Job’s Response (40:3–5)
III. Yahweh’s Second Speech (40:6–41:34)
In the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner plays the irascible character who thwarted the evil plans of the sheriff of Nottingham in the absence of King Richard, who was away fighting in the Crusades. Having himself returned to England from the Crusades, Robin Hood fell in love with his childhood friend, Maid Marion, the king’s cousin. After the defeat and death of the evil sheriff, Robin Hood and Marion are about to be married by Friar Tuck. He says, “Any man who has any reason why these two should not be joined, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace.” There is a pause, and then Friar Tuck continues: “Then I now pronounce you …,” but before he can complete his sentence, a regal voice from off camera exclaims, “Hold! I speak!” The camera pans to a retinue of soldiers on horseback slowly approaching, and to the surprise and delight of the wedding attendees, and the movie audience, King Richard, played by Sean Connery, has just arrived to the happy occasion! Suddenly every knee bows in the presence of the king, who approaches the happy couple to give away the bride in marriage.
After all of the wrangling back and forth between Job and his three friends, suddenly now at the end, the previously silent King’s regal voice is heard by Job: “Hold! I speak!”
Job 38:1–42:6 constitutes the final part of the poetic section of Job. Here God himself speaks. With the exception of three verses—40:3–5, where Job makes an ever so brief first response to God—four entire chapters are God’s speech to Job. Job’s final response to God is recorded in 42:1–6.
God’s speech in these chapters is nothing short of extraordinary! There is nothing else like this in all of Scripture. Job has been demanding an audience with the Almighty so he can prove his innocence. Now he gets his chance. God’s silence is broken.
Let’s take the aerial view of the passage at ten thousand feet, and then we can swoop down for some row-by-row crop dusting. The overall speech is structured in two sections: 38:1–40:2 and 40:6–41:34. The first section focuses on God’s creative and sustaining power in his creation. After challenging Job’s ability to debate him (38:1–3), God peppers Job with a series of questions focusing on God’s creative powers (38:4–38) and his care for the animal kingdom (38:39–39:30). God then demands that Job answer his questions (40:1–2), but Job cowers in silence: “I am so insignificant. How can I answer you?” (40:3–5).
In the second section God issues another brief challenge for Job to “get ready to answer [him] like a man” (40:6–7). Here God unveils Job’s main problem: his condemnation of God in order to justify himself (v. 8). God challenges Job regarding whether he is able to dispense justice on the earth (vv. 10–14).
God then offers two lengthy illustrations to demonstrate Job’s lack of wisdom and power, the two things he would need in order to begin to understand how God operates his universe with justice. The first illustration is Behemoth, possibly a reference to the hippopotamus if an extant creature is in view (vv. 15–24). This powerful animal is beyond the ability of Job to understand or control. In 41:1–34 God describes a terrifying creature called Leviathan, perhaps a reference to the crocodile. Both of these creatures testify to the wonderful, marvelous wisdom and ways of God that are beyond Job’s comprehension. God uses these two animals to demonstrate to Job his own utter incapacity to know, understand, or act in any way commensurate with God himself.
The section ends with Job’s response recorded in 42:1–6. Job no longer stays quiet, but he begins to acknowledge how little he really knows and comprehends (42:1–3). Job has now come face-to-face with God himself and realizes the utter futility of his attempts to engage God on the subject of God’s justice, wisdom, power, and sovereignty (42:4–6).
David L. Allen, Exalting Jesus in Job, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 165–166.
Exalting Jesus in Job “All Creatures of Our God and King”—God Speaks (Job 38–41)
God speaks to Job and poses questions about nature to demonstrate Job’s incapacity to understand, his inability to run the universe, and thus his inability to know how God dispenses justice.
Exalting Jesus in Job Yahweh’s First Speech (Job 38:1–40:2)
God peppers Job with a series of questions; seventy-seven to be exact. You might call these chapters “God’s Science Quiz,” including questions of cosmogony, astronomy, oceanography, meteorology, zoology, and two specific creatures: Behemoth and Leviathan. The divine professor sits Job down in his class and schools him with a lecture consisting mostly of questions that seem to have little to do with Job’s suffering. Each question highlights the sovereign power, majesty, wisdom, and awesomeness of almighty God
Exalting Jesus in Job Yahweh’s First Speech (Job 38:1–40:2)
since you don’t know how the earth originated, you are disqualified from commenting on how it is governed.
Job considered “mistakes” in his seemingly ill-advised birth, including day, night, light, darkness, birth, the womb, life, death, Leviathan, etc. God asserts that all these areas, as well as various other aspects of his creation that might be deemed “mistakes” (e.g., destructive hail, storms, lightning [which had destroyed Job’s flocks], east wind [which had caused the death of his children], silly ostriches, Behemoth, Leviathan), are
David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis–Malachi (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004), 171–172.
part of his almighty, all-knowing, all-wise rule of the universe. He and he alone knows all there is to know about his creation and its function. Accordingly, he alone holds the key to Job’s question of why? The message to Job is simple: “Job, I alone know all about everything, from beginning to end, including the seemingly mistaken events of your birth, your life, and your present suffering. And everything is ultimately under my good and wise control. Even in regard to your present suffering, I know all about it; I am in control of it; and I intend only good through it. I do not make mistakes.”
Wisdom—the understanding of why things are the way they are (and why things like Job’s suffering happen)—cannot be discovered by humans. God alone possesses this knowledge and understanding. For humans, whose knowledge is profoundly limited, the essence of wisdom is to trust (“fear”) God, who alone knows all things. Job and his three friends want to understand why Job is suffering; but only God knows why. And he is worthy of Job’s honest and tenacious trust.