INTRODUCTION ~ The Etymology Of The Name Job
Index This Page
A COMPENDIUM
The etymology of the name "Job"
(Job 1:1) is very nearly as diverse as the number of Hebrew scholars who attempt to define its derivation. The opinion of John Franklin Genung is typical of those who try to determine its etymology. He confesses that the meaning is "doubtful" and quotes others as saying it may mean "object of enmity" while others conjecture it may mean, "he who turns." His conclusion is that "both are guesses." (John Franklin Genung, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids, 1960), Vol. m, p. 1979).
Index Job 2 [A COMPENDIUM OF THE BOOK OF JOB]
The Hebrew radicals that make up the name (Aleph, Yod, Vau and Beth)
are defined by a highly recognized Hebrew Semitic Language scholar, Charles L.
Feinberg as meaning, "persecuted" or "afflicted." Charles L. Feinberg, Israel
At The Center Of History And Revelation (Portland, Oregon, 1980), pp. 7-64).
Since all scholarship must ultimately bow to the authority of the word
of God to be valid, we believe this definition to be the correct one for the
following reasons:
First, Job is persecuted and afflicted by Satan.
Second. in like manner, Israel, of whom Job is a type, will likewise suffer
persecution and affliction at the hands of Satan during the Tribulation Period.
Conclusion: Therefore, we conclude that this etymology of the name of Job is the
correct one.
A. Statistics On The Book Of Job:
Index This Page
The Book of Job contains 42 chapters, 1,070 verses, 18,098 words and
1,543,807 letters. (Rev. Jerry Gamble, Statistics Of The King Jam es Bible).
The reading time is approximately one hour and thirty minutes.
The characters named in the book are:
The cities, countries and nationalities mentioned are:
B. Date Of Writing Of Job:
Index This Page
Judging from the writings of men, the dating of the Book of Job is as elusive as the etymology of his name. The educated "guesses" range over a period of 1600 years. James Hastings is cited as an example of the latest date guessed at by writers. He suggests that maybe the book was written by an unknown author at the close of the Babylonian Captivity. He contends, "It is need-less to attempt to fix the date more precisely." He further concludes, "Happily the interest and value of the book are absolutely independent of date and authorship." (James Hastings, The Speakers Bible, (Grand Rapids, 1960), p.5.)
Leon Wood dates the life of Job as being contemporary with Jacob in the late Patriarchal period. He observes, "Several factors hint that he lived about the time of Jacob and before Israel left Egypt." (Leon Wood, Trusting Through Suffering. (Schaumberg, 111., 0979), Vol. 28, No. 2, p. 23).
Thomas R. Rodgers dates the Patriarchal age as beginning in 2,090 B.C. and concluding when Jacob stood before Pharaoh in 0876 B.C. or a total of 205 years. ( Thomas R. Rodgers, A Survey Of Old Testament History (Tennyson, Ind., 1976), Tape No. 15).
Although there is no definite evidence to pinpoint a specific date for the time of Job, internal evidence in the book suggests a pre-Patriarchal date. Consider the following internal evidence by observing the declining longevity of life following Noah's Flood as given in Genesis Chapter Eleven:
1. Eber lived 464 years
2. Peleg lived 239 years
3. Reu lived 239 years
4. Serug lived 230 years
5. Terah lived 205 years - Born in 2296 B.C.
6. Abram lived 175 year. - Born in 2166 B.C.
7. Isaac lived 180 years - Born in 2066 B.C.
8. Jacob lived 147 years - Born in 2006 B.C.
9.Joseph lived 110 years - Born in 1915 B.C.
If we can determine Job's age, we can then fit him into this Biblical age pattern that declined until God finally established the average human age to be 70 years.
|
Psalm 90:10, The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength, labor and sorrow; for it I' soon cut off, and we fly away (KJB).
|
|
(Job 1:4) And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
|
In the later Patriarchal days, marriages were contracted later in life. For example, Isaac was 40 years old when he married and Jacob was 80 years of age. With this known data, the most conservative possible age for Job at the beginning of the book would place him at 60 years of age.
Allowing for the time span covered in the Book of Job (unknown), but knowing that Job lived for 140 years after the events in the book took place (Job 42:16). After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations., Job would have to be over 200 years old when he died. In the declining chronological age scale given, this would place Job between Terah and his son Abraham.
Note also that Job makes no reference to Abraham or to Abraham's methods of worshiping God. Nevertheless, both men officiate as priests over their own households. Both men offer "burnt-offerings rather than "sin-offerings."
(See Genesis 22:13 compared with Job 1:5 and Job 42:8):
|
Genesis 22:13, And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son (KJB).
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. (KJB).
Job 42:8, Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. (KJB)
|
Both Job and Abraham have anthropomorphic appearances to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. It appears that God made similar appearances to both Job and Abraham to give them instructions. Job's divine revelations are given prior to Abraham's instructions.
Job makes absolutely no references to Moses; the so-journ in Egypt: the Exodus; the crossing of the Red Sea; or to the giving of the Mosaic Laws. This completely rules out the late date suggested for Job because he lived along one of the main trade routes between Egypt and Palestine. He most certainly would have known of these events if he were living at that time. For example, the people of Jericho living north of the Dead Sea, not only knew about the Red Sea crossing, but were terrified at the thought of this great event, although 40 years have passed.
|
Joshua 2:10, For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed (KJB).
|
Not only that, but Job would have been living in disobedience to the Mosaic Law had he been living at the time of Moses. He would have been making the wrong sacrifices and usurping the office of the priesthood guarded so jealously by God during this period. God took the kingdom of Israel away from King Saul for this offense.
|
I Samuel 13:13-14, And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God. which he commanded thee for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee (KJB).
|
God would have unlikely called Job a righteous man for doing what He punished King Saul for doing.
Job lived in Uz in the land of Edom which in turn is located south of the Dead Sea
|
Lamentations 4:21, Rejoice and be glad, 0 daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked (KJB).
|
Job makes no mention of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the consequent forming of Dead Sea, although numerous references are made to Noah's Flood.
|
Job 14:11, "As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up" (KJB).
|
|
Job 22:15-16, "Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood" (KJB).
|
|
Job 28:4, "The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they are dried up, they are gone away from men" (KJB).
|
Most certainly, Job would have made mention of such a terrifying event that happened due north of him, unless of course, he was living before it occurred. Remember, prior to Abraham's day, the Jordan Valley was a well watered plain.
|
Genesis 13:10, "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar" (KJB).
|
It was this well watered Jordan Valley plain that Lot chose to inhabit near the five cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zoboim and Zoar.
|
Deuteronomy 29:23, "And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the over throw of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Adrnah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in hi wrath" (KJB).
|
That fertile, magnificent plain became the horrible gorge that filled with water from the Jordan River with no outlet and became the Dead Sea after the destruction of the four cities. Zoar was spared for the sake of Lot and his daughters. (See Genesis 19:21-22).
|
Genesis 19:21-22, "And he said unto him, See, I hive accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou he come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar" (KJB).
|
For a proposed map of what the Jordan Plain may have been like before the Dead Sea was formed, see Klassen, The Chronology Of The Bible, p.8. The Dead Sea that was formed at the time of the destruction of the four cities has the following dimensions:
The surface of the Dead Sea is 1290 feet below sea level The sea itself is approximately 47 miles long and varies from six to nine miles wide. It is 1200 feet deep making its bottom surface 2,490 feet below sea level (See Leon Wood, A Survey Of Israel's History, p. 23).
|
Acts 14:17, "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." (KJB)
|
We are reminded that God has never left Him self without a witness in this world. The logical witness during the period of time between the Tower of Babel experience and the call of Abram from the Ur of the Chaldees would be the man, Job, together with the written record given to the world by God and known to us today as the Book of Job. In light of the facts given, we conclude therefore, that Job must have lived between 2296 B.C. and 2166 B.C. and probably a contemporary with Abraham. For a fuller discussion, see Edersheim, The Bible History: Old Testament, Vol.', pp. 65-67.
C. The Author:
Index This Page
It is reasonable, that with approximately 1,600 years variance in opinions as to the time of the writing of the Book of Job, there would he a wide difference of opinion as to the identification of the author. Once again the "guesses" take on extreme proportions. Robert A. Watson will be cited as one of the many extreme viewpoints. He contends, "We can see that it is vain to look back to Mosaic or pre-Mosaic times for life and thought and words like this. . . ." He then gives this startling conclusion, "Referring the earlier portion of Proverbs to the post- Solomonic age, we should place the Book of Job at a later date." His conclusion is that someone unknown in the Exilic or postExilic age wrote the Book of Job. See Robert A. Watson, The Expositor's Bible, The Rook of Job, (London, 1892), pp. 8,9.
Sidney Collet has written, "The Book of Job, written probably about the time of Moses and possibly by Moses-but apparently relating to a still earlier period Sidney Collet, All About The Bible Westwood, N.J., 1959), p.4.
Leon Wood remarks, "Since Job himself lived an additional 140 years after the events of the book, he had ample time to compile the record. He certainly had the experience and insight for the task." Samuel Garrett emphasized, "....the great body of the book was written by Elihu and it is not unlikely that Moses may have done for it what Ezra seems to have done for the Book which he found in the Canon of the Old Testament."
Internal evidence that speaks of the possibility of Elihu being the author of the Book of Job Is convincing.
(1). Elihu was the son of Barachel the Buzite. Jeremiah identifies the city of Buz with the cities of Dedan and Tema all located in the land of Uz.
|
Jeremiah 25:19-23, "Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 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 & Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon. And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners" (KJB).
|
(2). Other than God, Job and Satan, Elihu would have to be listed as one of the main characters in the book. Elihu gives the longest continuous discourse in the book covering six continuous chapters (32-37). Job himself, covers only six continuous chapters in his speech (26-31). Obviously, Elihu's position is a highly important one in the book.
(3). Of the four amateur psychologists who attempt to define Job's problem, only Elihu has the spiritual discernment to know precisely what Job's problem was before God. Only the Lord could have revealed to Elihu. possibly because he was the author, that Job's problem was that he was trusting in his own self- righteousness for salvation. Elihu knew this was as sinful as the deeds of wicked men. (See Job 32:1; 35:1; 35:7-8; 36:3)
(4). Perhaps the most convincing internal evidence is found in Chapter 32: 2-16. Here we learn that Elihu has been present at the scene from the very beginning of Job's troubles, but he has not spoken one word until this chapter. It is striking to notice that in the previous verses the "third person" is used, "They were amazed" (v. 15). Again in verse 15 we read, "They left off speaking" It reads as though the author is standing in their presence listening to them and taking notes. Then beginning in verse 16, the speaker changes to the first person as he declares, "When I had waited."
From here on, the first person is used as though the author himself is standing before his listeners.
We conclude, therefore, that Elihu was the writer of the Book of Job. He may have served as an amanuensis even as Tertius served as Paul's secretary for the writing of the Book of Romans. We concede that God may have later used Moses to translate the Book into Hebrew poetry, but we believe Elihu to be the Book's original human author.
D. Location Of The Land Of Uz:
Index This Page
The word of God is put together as delicately, but as precisely, as a butterfly's wing. A lepidopterist attempting to dissect or trace the delicate membrane of the wing of a butterfly with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver would be considered a novice indeed. Nevertheless, the theologians have no qualms of conscience about blundering through the word of God while trying to trace its circuits that are much more complex and delicate than the printed circuit boards of the most sophisticated computer. This is done by trying to explain the infallible word of God by comparing it to the wisdom of man which is already considered foolishness in the eyes of God.
1 Corinthians 3:19.
For example, a casual look at the stacks of volumes of man's writings would force the reader to conclude that Job was an Arabian, an Egyptian, a Syrian, an Israelite, an Idumean or a Hamite, who lived in the days of Terah, or Abraham, or Jacob, or Moses or Solomon, or David, or Ahasuerus, or Nebuchadnezzar, or Cyrus king of Persia, or perhaps some later unknown king. This is known as scholarship.
Following the same reasonings of men, we would conclude that the land of Uz was 200 miles north of the Arabian Desert, or 300 miles east into the Ur of the Chaldees, or near Damascus or northeast of Palestine somewhere, or perhaps at some mystical location, if in fact Uz was a real place at all. These conclusions (?) could be reached by researching 104 volumes on The Book of Job as did the author. Obviously, these "scholars" were reading some other book than the Bible.
We praise the Lord that we need not wander around in the swamp of man's intellectual imaginations. The Bible plainly says that Uz was in the land of Edom.
|
Lamentations 4:21, "Rejoice and he glad, 0 daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz . . . " (KJB).
|
In the infallible word of God we are clearly told that the I and of Uz was in Edom. Job lived in the land of Uz which the Bible declares was in Edom.
Edom is unquestionably identified in the Bible and can be found on any secular or Bible map of that time period. Edom played an important role in past Bible history and will once again he prominent during the Great Tribulation period.
Hagar left Hebron with her son Ishmael and traveled south on the King's highway through the land of Edom on her way to Egypt. She stopped at an area between Kadesh and Bered (Genesis 16:1-16).
Esau, Jacob's God rejected son, is given the land of Edom by God for his homeland.
Deuteronomy 2:5, ".... because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession."
Deuteronomy 2: 8; Deuteronomy 2:13; Isaiah 15:7.
The two important seaports of Edom are familiar to the Bible student. They are Ezion Gaber and Elath. It was at Ezion-Gaber that Moses asked permission from the King of Edom to turn north and travel up the King's Highway through the land of Edom on their journey to Canaan. lie was refused permission. Deuteronomy 2:8.
Moses then led his people east to Elath into the land of Moab. Solomon's copper foundry was located at Ezion-Geber.
1 Kings 9:26.
Ezion-Geber was the seaport from which Solomon exported his copper and goods. The "Navy of Tharshish" returned bringing "gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks."
1 Kings 10:22.
The Queen of Sheba would have landed at Ezion-Geber and traveled north up the King's Highway, through the land of Edom to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 9:1.
The names of the cities of Edom are of extreme importance to our study. We have already named Ezion-Geber and Eloth, Edom's two seacoast towns on the Red Sea. Dozrah, the modern city of Buseireh, was the chief stronghold of the northern half of the long land of Edom. It occupies a place on a bluff of rocks outlined by very steep valleys. It is located about two miles west of the King's Highway. The river Zered flowing from the northwest to the southeast forms a natural barrier between Edom and Moab to the extreme north.
(Jeremiah 49:13; Jeremiah 49:22; Amos 1:12.)
Very nearly centrally located in Edom and about 90 miles south of Jerusalem and about one mile west of the King's Highway lies the city of Teman. This city is important because, Eliphaz, one of Job's comforters was from Teman.
Job 2:1.
The location of Teman is definitely confirmed by archeologists. (Denis Daly, "lie Geography of the Bible, (N.Y., 1957, p.245).
The next city in tracing the pathway to the land of Uz is Selah . This city was perched on the almost impregnable mountain of Emm el-Biyara. This is what the Psalmist meant when he asked, "Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom?" Denis Baly notes, "it was the taking of Selah by storm that made Amaziah so conceited that he foolishly challenged Jehoash of Israel to battle." Kings 14:7-10).
Although the troglodyte, rose colored city of Petra did not come into prominence until the Nabatean civilization of the third century, B.C., nevertheless, the cities of Selah and Petra are classified together so that many refer to the city as Selah Petra. This city is considered by many Bible students to be God's hiding place for the Remnant of Israel who will be persecuted by Satan during the time of Jacob's Trouble.
Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 12:14 SRB.
This Remnant will be persecuted by Satan. Since Job 19 a type of Israel being persecuted by Satan during the Tribulation, we believe we have traced the Bible route in our journey in locating the land of Uz where Job experienced his testing by Satan. It would be like our Lord to have Job located in the very area where the Remnant Israel will be safely sheltered for 42 months, the exact number of Chapters in the Book of Job.
(Job 19:1-29.)
Additional evidence as to the location of Uz in Edom is to be noted in the names of Job's friends, all of whom had descendants of Esau, who were Edomites. One of Esau's descendants was named "Uz."
|
Genesis 25:2, "And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midan, arid Ishbak, and Shush" (KJB).
|
Shuah may have received his name from Bildad the Shuhite whose descendants are related to the Edomites.
Job 2:11.
Jeremiah 49:8.
Zophar the Naamathite is clearly connected with the land of Edom by Joshua.
Joshua 15:21-24; Joshua 15:41.
The silver thread of truth continues to unfold in the word of God, however. By quoting an extensive passage from Jeremiah 25:19-24, geographic locations will stand out plainly before us.
(Jeremiah 25:19-24.)
A glance at a Bible lands map will quickly identify these locations. Egypt to the south; Edom in the central area; Philistia to the northwest; Moab to the north and east of Edom and Arabia to the east.
This geographical location is important for this reason. Trade was exchanged between these various lands through the years. Thus, trade routes were established among all these nations. For example, the dominant north-south trade route was called, "The Great Trunk Road." It entered Palestine through Syria running through Damascus, through the Pass of Megiddo to Gaza and ended in Egypt. There were many sub-dominant north-south routes, but for the scope of our study we mention three.
1. The Red Sea Gate that ended in Palestine entered at the Gulf of Aquaba, where we have established was located Eloth and Ezion-Geber, King Solomon's port and copper-smelting town. (Numbers 33:35; 2 Chronicles 8:17)* From here it was possible to go either to Cis-Jordan byway of the Arabah or up to the eastern plateau through Petra. The gate was of tremendous importance because it gave access to the sea route to Arabia, India, and East Africa.
(*Numbers 33:35; 2 Chronicles 8:17.)
2. The Desert Gate was the road followed by the great caravans from Southern Arabia west to Teman and either south to the Gulf of Aquaba, north up the King's Highway to Palestine or west to Gaza and the Mediterranean Sea. Tern an, Selah and Petra were, therefore, extemely important connecting points for both north-south caravans as well as east-west caravans.
3. The third important trade route, already mentioned, was the King's Highway. It began at the Red Sea, went north through Teman (Petra lies about two miles west of Teman), through Karnaim to Damascus. The northern part of the King's Highway was followed by Israel during the Exodus (Numbers 21:22), for all the towns mentioned in Numbers 21:27-30 lie along it. This highway was also used by the four kings in their invasion listed in Genesis 14.
(Numbers 21:22; Numbers 21:27-30; Genesis 14:1-29; Numbers 21:22; Numbers 21:27-30.)
For the reader who may be interested in further studyof these routes, the work by Denis Baly will prove to be invaluable. His studies are based on twenty years of continuous study of the land with fifteen years spent traversing every corner of the present lands of Israel and Jordan by foot, donkey, by ear and by air. (Denis Baly, loc. cit).
Once again by tracing the intricate threads of Bible truths and connecting the known facts. the Bible student's heart should leap for joy to see how miraculously God has put together this Wonderful Book we call the Living words of the Living God. By comparing Scripture with Scripture, we have determined the location of Uz to be in the land of Edom. Then with all reasonable doubts excluded, we have determined the location of the events in the life of Job to have taken place in the very locality where Satan will launch his vicious attack against God's people. This will be concluded with the Lord coming to the rescue of His chosen remnant in Petra.
(Isaiah 63:1, 6.)
The King's Highway would have been used by the wise men who came from the east seeking the King of the Jews.
(Matthew 2:1-2.)
The Bible nowhere teaches the traditional presentation that the wise men followed the star to Bethlehem. The reader may desire to study the following presentation in light of what the Bible teaches rather than the traditions of men.
The wise men came from the east following the star across the caravan trade route to Teman, turned north and arrived at Jerusalem. Herod's chief priests and scribes knew where and when the Messiah was to be born, which was at Bethlehem. Bethlehem was the town. Ephratah was the county and Judah was the territory. This was given for clarity since a second Bethlehem existed at this time. This Bethlehem was located in the land of Zebulun in the land of Galilee. (See Joshua 19:10-16).
Joshua 19:10-16; Micah 5:2l.
Christ had been born at least 18 months before the wise men arrived at Jerusalem. The chief priests and scribes knew this from Daniel 9:24-27
This was the reason Herod had all the male children who had been born within the last two years slain rather than the new born children.
Matthew 2:16-18,
In the meantime, Mary waited, perhaps at Bethlehem for the forty days of her purification, then took the Christ Child to the temple in Jerusalem.
Leviticus 12:1-8.
; Luke 2:22.
After the presentation and dedication service, Mary and Joseph took the Christ Child back to Nazareth This means that 45 to 50 days after His birth, the Christ Child was taken back to Nazareth.
Luke 2:39.
At least 8 months later, the wise men arrived at Jerusalem. Rather than going to Bethlehem as they were told, the star reappeared and led them to the home of Mary and Joseph in Nazareth.
Matthew 2:9.
After they worshipped the Young Child and presented to Him their gifts, they departed home another way. There were only two routes they could take to their home. The one we previously described, the Southern route from Teman up the King's Highway or the alternate route.
Matthew 2:12.
We can see why God called Job "the greatest man of all the men of the east." (Job 13). Even though he lived in a centrally located land, he lived at the crossroads of great commercial enterprises from the four compass points. We also know that in Bible terminology, wisdom and greatness were compared to the east. God gave Solomon more wisdom than "all the children of the east country." (1 Kings 4:30) When the Edomite kingdom finally crumbled, as all kingdoms do, Jeremiah lamented the vanishing of the wisdom of Teman.
Jeremiah 49:7.
We have noted previously that of all the peoples of the world, including the leaders in Israel who could have come. Their alternate route would have taken them northeast. to the King's Highway , then on to Damascus, Syria, retracing Abram's route around the fertile crescent and back to their home land once more.
With this data summarized before to worship the Christ Child, the new born King, it was the wise men from the east alone, who came to worship Him.
Once again we can see how the golden strands of sacred truth when studied and believed, unfold for us wisdom from above that can be gleaned in no other way than by Divine Revelation through a living Creator who loves and communicates that truth and wisdom to those who will trust him with child-like faith.
E. New Testament Truth Found In Job:
Index This Page
1. New Testament salvation truth is found in the Book of Job with
remarkable clarity.
|
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
|
|
Romans 10:3 , "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."
|
c. One sin, such as the sin of self-righteousness will brig God's wrath upon the sinner and ultimately doom him to eternal judgment if he does not repent.
|
Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (KJB).
|
d. God is merciful to any sinner who will repent and forsake his own righteousness and trust in the righteousness of God (Romans 3:21-28).
Romans 3:21-28 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (KJB).
|
e. We must have Divine Revelation to understand life and its problems.
|
Romans 10:14, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shill they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (KJB).
|
f. All who live Godly shall suffer persecution.
|
2 Timothy 3:12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (KJB).
|
|
Job 2:1-3, "Again there was a day when the Sofia of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Prom going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast hi. integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause" (KJB).
|
h. Job knew that he needed a Redeemer and Redemption. He also knew that his Redeemer was alive at that moment.
|
Job 19:25, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at The latter day upon the earth" (KJB).
|
2. Sin, its results, its judgment by God, the subject of Hell, including its
suffering&e all recorded in the Book of Job.
3. The Book of Job gives us the most complete pictures of Satan and the
antichrist to be found in the Bible.
4. Job clearly pictures the Great Tribulation as well as the Second Advent of the
Lord Jesus Christ. These themes are plainly traced through the Old Testament
prophets and culminate in the Book of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
F. Family And Community Life
Index This Page
Family and community life would be considered pure and simple
compared to our modern day civilization. This is not to say That
they were stupid or were a step above the Darwinian ape-man concept.
Quite The contrary, they were more advanced in some areas of life
than in our modern societies. This is especially true in the areas of
moral concepts, philosophies of life, science, education, astronomy
and modern religious concepts. This will become apparent as we move
along in our studies of this most unusual, ancient Book of Job.
Job and all those who were considered decent members of Job's culture
practiced monogamy. Job had one wife. There is no reference in the
Book of Job to polygamy. Job had a large family. He had seven sons
and three daughters (Job 1:2). Job had a very great household
(Job 1:3),
probably because he was extremely wealthy and could afford a large
retinue of servants.
Family life was close knit as seen in the family of Job. They held
parties in the homes of the brothers and sisters at regular intervals
(Job 1:4). Job acted as the Patriarchal head over his entire family
with no evidence of rebellion on the part of the grown members of his
family (Job 1:5). Although a wealthy
businessman, Job had a fatherly love for his family
(Job 1:5) and was vitally concerned for their spiritual well being.
Some things about Job and his day:
-
Job and all his sons lived in houses, not in tents or caves as the
evolutionists would try to have us believe (Job 1:4, 10, 13, 18, 19; 19:15).
- As a family man, Job knew one of the bitterest sorrows of life in the heartrending fact that he buried his ten children in one day.
Job 1:18-19.
- Job's wife, who shared the loss of their children became unsympathetic to Job's complete dedication to the Lord. (Job 2:9.)
- Job was forced to accuse his wife of speaking as a foolish woman (Job 2:10).
- In Job's day, other parents knew the sorrow of losing a new born baby in death
(Job 3:16).
- As in all ages there were rich people and poor people. Job was rich, but he was aware of the many poor about him
(Job 5:15-16).
- It became necessary for the Savior to remind Judas and his friends at Bethany, "For the poor always' ye have with you; but me ye have not always"John 12:8.
- Whether rich or poor, they were very conscious of their life span (Job 5:26; Job 7:1).
-
Although Job's life span was at least 200 years, he felt life was short (Job 8:9; Job 9:25; Job 14:1,2).
- Not only did the young die, but their society knew of the problem of orphans
(Job 6:27).
-
Those who were poor were often employed as servants and hirelings
(Job 7:2).
-
Houses were not only for the rich, but houses were common among the poor people as well
(Job 7:10; Job 3:15; 7:13; 20:19, 20:23; 21:9, 21:21, 21:28; 22:13; 24:16; 27:13 ).
(Job 7:13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;),
- without a doubt the poor knew of these conveniences as well.
-
The people of Job's day were familiar with scourging (Job 16:10).
-
Although Job and many others were living decent, respectable lives, nevertheless, sin had its victims in Job's day. Some men had a drinking problem
(Job 12:25).
-
Job and the people of his day knew what it was to weep (Job 16:20).
-
Old men had gray hair (Job 15:10).
- Suffering made wrinkles (Job 16:8).
- Some suffered childlessness which was considered a calamity (Job 13:19).
- The rich knew the sorrow of losing their wealth
(Job 20:28).
- They were thus familiar with ghost towns (Job 15.28).
- Job knew what it was to have his kinfolk fail him
(Job 19:14).
- His friends forsake him and his maid consider him an alien
(Job 19:15).
- Job also had compassion for the poor by helping them financially, together with the fatherless and the widows
(Job 29:12-16).
- Marriage was held in honor (Job 31:1).
- Job did not sin with his eyes by looking lustfully on a maid
(Job 31:1; Job 31:9).
- Job considered adultery a heinous crime to be punished by judges
(Job 31:11).
It is remarkable to remember that these high moral standards were held 600 years prior to the Mosaic Law and over 4,000 years from today.
Return to Matthew 5:28
- Job considered the rights of his servants and believed that failure to do so was considered a sin accountable to God
(Job 31:13-14).
- Job felt that if the poor and the fatherless were not helped. the person guilty of this sin would be judged by God
(Job 31:16-23). Job believed that wealth should be esteemed in its proper priority or else the guilty one should be judged by the judges or else by God (31:24-28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.). Job treated his land properly by not over working it and by replenishing its nutrients to the soil lest God charge him with the sin of destroying the farm land (31:38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;).
- Job paid for what he received and never tried to deceive a man in a business deal
(Job 31:39).
- The youth of the day respected their elders
(Job 32:6-7).
- Young Elihu, although he respected his elders, did not try to impress them with flattering titles
(Job 32:21-22)
- Job's kin were later reunited with him after his ordeal
(Job 42:11).
- Job's children were restored to him once more
(Job 42:13-14).
- We learn that women had rights such as being able to inherit property (Job 42:15).
- Job lived to enjoy four generations of his grandchildren
(Job 42:16).
G. Nature Of The Industrial Life And The Economy:
Index This Page
The people of Job's day were not rude, uncultured barbarians. We are talking about the year 2,100- 2,000 B.C. Some were poor, some were comfortably blessed with material possessions. Others were extremely wealthy.
If these words should be read by one who has had a secular education only at a secular college, with no Bible training, you might be thunderstruck to learn that Job and his country men may have known things about agriculture, astronomy, economics, morals, science, animal life, spiritual concepts, incorruptible judicial proceedings, and concepts of right and wrong totally unknown to your college professor.
Job was exceedingly wise. He was known as the greatest man of all the east
(Job 1:3). This refers to Arabia and Mesopotamia which set the world standard for wealth and wisdom at this time and up until the days of King Solomon. King Solomon's wisdom exceeded the wisdom of all the children of the east country.
(1 Kings 4:30),
Job exceeded all those in the east in both wealth and wisdom. Job owned 7,000 sheep; 3,000 camels; 500 yoke of oxen and 500 she asses
(Job 1:3).
An untaught Bible critic might scoff at being able to raise such gigantic herds and have large productive farms in an area that today is virtually 100% arid wilderness. The author has stood on these areas and entertained the same thoughts. However, the Bible teaches us that in Abraham's day, the entire Jordan Valley was a fertile plain that enticed his nephew Lot to risk his relationship with the Lord to settle there.
Today, from the spot where Abraham saw nothing but fertile plains, lies the Dead
Sea and nothing but arid wilderness as far as the eye can see. Our choice is to believe God or else call God a liar.
Romans 3:4 declares, " . . . yea, let God be true, but every man a Liar . . . . " (KJB). Obviously, since God cannot lie, the land of Uz in Job's day was a fertile, green, well watered, agriculturally rich farm land covered with all types of flora.
Job didn't merely inherit his wealth, but he worked for it with his hands
Job 1:10;
10:3). God did bless Job's labor because he loved and served the Lord. Job engaged in agriculture, beside the breeding and caring for all his vast herds of animals. His contemporaries also engaged in farming
(Job 24:5-6). Servants were hired to plow the fields and tend the animals
(Job 1:14-17).
Evidently Job's four friends were financially secure. They came to his aid immediately to comfort him and then stayed for an indefinite period of time
(Job 2:11).
The people of Job's day understood weights and balances
(Job 6:2).
They had a rapid means of communication by post and messengers
(Job 9:25).
They had men who specialized in astronomy
(Job 9:8-9; 38:31-32).
These men may have also been the weather forecasters of the day giving travel
information to the caravan leaders
(Job 38:7-32).
The Lord Jesus Christ chided the Pharisees for being able to read the signs of the skies, but not the resurrection sign.
(Matthew 16:1-5).
Undoubtedly they had labor problems or social problems for they
were familiar with the position of a Daysman or a mediator
(Job 9:33). Included in their business ventures would have been milk and cheese processors (10:10 Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?), candle makers (18:6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.) and net makers (18:8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.).
Books were written and printed
(Job 19:23-24).
Written records were kept
(Job 31:35).
Both gold and silver were used as monetary exchange
(Job 28:15; 27:16).
With gold and silver in demand, there would of necessity be the need for both gold and silver mines with all their related jobs
(Job 28:1).
Since they had landmarks to mark out their properties, there would have been a need for surveyors
(Job 24:2).
The book speaks of oil presses,
(Job 24:11)
and winepresses (Job 24:11),
and bakers (Job 28:5).
Unfortunately, there were professional thieves as well
(Job 12:6).
Not only were gold and silver mined, but precious stones were mined as
well. These included, sapphires, onyx, coral, rubies, topaz, together
with the serch for pearls all of which were considered valuable
(Job 28:6, 28:16-19).
In related fields, they had refineries for the smelting of ores such as iron and the making of brass
(Job 28:2).
Since they had musical instruments such as the harp, the organ and the timbrel
(Job 21:12),
these also could have served as means of employment for the area.
In
Job 35:10, we are told that God gave them songs to sing in the night -"But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night". This, of course, was before the Psalms were given to God's people. The earliest,
Psalm 90, was written by Moses in 1447 B.C. The latest
Psalm 126, was a post-exilic Psalm written about 500 B.C.
We note with interest that they had professional interpreters
(Job 33:23; Genesis 11:9).
H. The Taxonomy* Of The Book
Index This Page
*Clarence Benson observes, "The Book of Job is especially characterized
by its studies in nature. In no other book in the Bible do we find as
much natural theology." (Benson, loc. cit., p.11).
1. Agronomy:
The following fruits and grains are referred to in the Book of Job:
2. Cetology:
3. Entomology.
4. Flora:
Flora is noted in abundance in the Book of Job.
For this reason we can see that although the area is an arid wilderness now,
it most certainly was not in Job's day.
5. Helminthology:
Job was very conscious of worms because of his terrible affliction. He mentions
worms in general (Job 17:14; 21:26; 24:20; 25:6), and skin worms in particular
(Job 19:26).
6. Herpetology:
Two common serpents are mentioned: Asps (Job 20:14).
and Vipers (Job 20:16).
Job 26:13 speaks of the Crooked Serpent.
This is undoubtedly a reference to a constellation by this name.
Job 30:29 speaks of Dragons,
Job 40:15 describes Behemoth, while
Job 41:1 tells of Leviathan this great and mysterious monster. For a full discussion of Behemoth and leviathan see
Chapter 5.
(Job 5:1-40).
7. Ichthyology:
8. Lepidopthera:
9. Ornithology:
10. Orthopteranology:
11. Zoology:
I. Scientific Data In The Book Of Job:
Index This Page
The scope of the scientific data in the Book is far beyond the
magnitude of this study It would take a full length book to do justice
to the incredible amount of material of a scientific nature
considered in the Book of Job. The incredibility is increased as we
remember that characters in the book mentioned these facts as part of
their normal speech in discussing other subjects. The theme of the
book is not in the area of science, but is mentioned only as a
bridge to cross over to the main theme. If these scientific facts
are merely a part of their everyday vocabulary, it is hard to
imagine what it would have been like if Job would have written a
Book of Science. It is necessary to keep in mind that until as
late as 30 years ago, eminent scholars were scoffing at Moses
writing the Pentateuch because they did not believe writing had
been developed in his time. Job lived 600 years earlier than Moses.
John said of our Savior in John 21:25.
A similar statement could be written about the vast knowledge God must have
revealed to the people of Job's day, some of which, has only recently been
rediscovered.
Note a few brief statements Job and his contemporaries knew in the
vast fields of science.
1.Job and his contemporaries were Scientific Creationists 3800 years before
Charles Darwin was born.
Darwin was born in 1809 and died in 1881. He wrote his "Origen of
Species" in the year 1859 Huxley, Lyell and Hooker championed his
Bible rejecting cause.
The men of Job's day were Catastrophic Geologists
3900 years before
theologians, who surrendered to these God defying unscientific day
dreamers of organic evolution ever walked upon the earth. Job's
contemporaries believed the earth was universally inundated by Noah's
Deluge
(Job 8:8; 14:11; 22:15-16).
2. They knew that day and night constituted a total of 24 hours as established by God in
Genesis 1:4, -5,500 years before it was recorded by Moses.
(Job 3:3; 4:20; Genesis 1:4-5).
3.They knew the truth of Genesis 1:15-16, 500 years before there was a written record of the fact (Job 3:4-6).
Moses lived from 1525 B.C. until 1407/06 B.C.
(Genesis 1:15-16.)
4.They had an established lunar calendar (Job 3:6).
5.They knew of the creation of the stars (Genesis 1:16).
6.They knew of the power of God to destroy men with a force that exceeds anything known to modern science today
(Job 4:9; 2 Peter 3:10-13).
7. They knew that God could do great things that science could not understand so that it would be marvelous and without number
(Job 5:9).
(See O.E. Phillips, I Know Whom I Believed (Philadelphia, 1957, pp. 57-99).
March 5:2005
O.E. Phillips Miniseries
In Bible study today I came upon citations in The Study of Job written by Dr. Walter G. Yeager. When I first met Rev. Phillips, Dr. Yeager was pastor of a little church "Calvary Baptist Church, Buck Run, PA. Rev. Phillips came to our little church every year and as a child he influenced my life to the extent that I can still recall many things about him and his influence on my life. What a blessing he was to my family and I.
Just though I'd let you know.
God's blessings to you and your ministry.
Retired,
Rev. Robert B Craig
8. They knew that rain came from God (Job 5:10).
9.They knew that God could frustrate man's achievements or permit them to be successful as He desired without any consideration of man's opinion in the matter, whatsoever. Unfortunately, science yet boasts of its achievements with absolutely no consideration of the Lord at all. They ignore God as though He were neither there nor had a say in the matter
(Job 5:12-14).
10. We must ask ourselves the question, "How did Job and his contemporaries know
about ice and snow when they lived in a tropical climate where they had seen
neither?"
(Job 6:16; 9:30; 37:6).
11. They knew that God had appointed a length of time for their
lives and accepted
this with out question. Science vet believes that it can freeze dead bodies for
future life, clone men and generally take the length of man's life into its own
hands. (Check the Intensive Care Unit at your local hospital).
12. They believed their ancestors were smarter than they were and that man's
mental capabilities were decreasing rather than increasing as modem science
believes.
(Job 8:8-10; 12:12-13; Romans 1:12-23).
13. Since they were not uniformitarian geologists, they knew that God can move
mountains and overturn them
(Job 9:5:
Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his
anger.).
They would have laughed at the so called geologic age columns as a joke.
(See Cable, The Physical Sciences (New York. 1945. pp.524-537).
Although they had never seen the great mountain ranges of North and South
America, or the Alps and Himalayas of Europe and Asia, they would have never
believed this happened over a period of millions of years. Although they had
never seen the Marianna Trench between Saipan and Guam in the Pacific Ocean
or stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona
(Job 14:19:
Yet through the
scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.). they would
have most certainly known that these colossal geologic miracles were the
results of the catastrophe of the Deluge in the days of Noah. (See NcGrown.
In Six Days (Van Nuys, Calif, I 976), pp.79-97). The perpendicular coal
beds in West Virginia must be a terrible embarrassment to the uniformitarian
geologists. We must ask ourselves. "How did Job get to be smarter than
Darwin. Lyell, Hooker, Huxley and the heads of the science departments at
most state universities?"
14. Job and his contemporaries knew that God had shaken the earth out of its place
(Job 9:6).
15. They knew that God controlled the sun
(Job 9:7), as in Joshua's Day
(Joshua 10:13).
as well as the moon and could seal up the stars.
16. Job was familiar with the constellations
and knew them by their names that
are yet in use today
(Job 9:9; 38:31-32).
They knew that Arcturus (the Big Dipper) was north; that Orion
was in the West, that the Pleiades was in the East and the Chambers was in the
South. The fascinating question is posed in Job 38:31-32,
Orion was visible between October and January. The question God posed was,
"Can you hold back the seasons?" (Genesis 8:22).
Mazzaroth is a reference to the twelve signs of the Zodiac as can be found in any
book on astronomy. They are: Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus,
Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, urus, Gemini, Cancer and Leo. Arcturus is the Ursa Major
or the Big Dipper. His sons would be the three stars in the handle of the Ursa
Major, known as the Bear.
Sidney Collett's remark on Job 38:31 concerning "the influence of the Pleiades" is
most informative. He instructs us:
Pleiades is the name given by the ancient Greeks to what is known as the seven
stars. The astronomer Bradley, in 1748 and more recently M. Madler of Dorpat and
others discovered, after most elaborate calculations, that Alcyone, the brightest
of these seven stars, is actually, so far as is known, the center of our whole
solar system--the hinge or pivot around which our sun, with all its attendant
planets is believed to revolve. Now when we remember that the sun is more than
three thousand billion miles awry from Alcyone, we get some idea of how
marvelous must be the "influence of the Pleiades, which swings these
planets--the earth included--around it is the rate of more than one hundred
and fifty million miles a year, in an orbit so vast that one circuit would
occupy thousands of years to complete. A similar reference to Pleiades is
found in Amos 5:8 where the prophet, in seeking to convey some idea of God's
greatness says, "Seek Him that maketh the seven stars" or Pleiades.
17. Job and his friends knew of the origin of man from clay and that the future
of his body would be dust
(Job 10:9; Genesis 2:7),
18.They knew that heaven was high and hell was deep (Job 11:8).
19.They knew that the earth had measurements as well as the stars and seas
(Job 11:9).
John Whitcomb, loc. cit., gives the following measurements:
Earth is 7,927 miles in diameter at the equator; 24,894 miles in circumference;
weighs, 5 septillion, 883 million tons: 197 million, 272 thousand square miles of
and surface; spins 1,000 miles per hour at the equator in an oval path around the
sun at 20 miles per second being 91,840,000 miles from the sun. The waters cover
139 million square feet or 70.8% of the earth's total surface.
20. They knew that nature could teach them things that they did not know and
were commanded of God to "ask [observe] the beasts, the fowls of the air, and the earth
and the sea and they will act as man's teacher in areas where his knowledge is
deficient. (Job 12:7-9).
21.They knew that man was a tricotomy of Body, Soul and
Spirit (Job 12:10).
22. Job and his neighbors knew that God controlled the destiny of all
nations (Job 12:23).
23.They knew that God lives beyond the stars
(Job 22:12).
Our nearest star is Alpha Centauri which is 25 trillion miles away. Traveling at
the speed of light (299,792 miles per second), 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
would take 4 years and 4 months to arrive. Our most distant star in our galaxy,
Polaris could be reached by traveling at the speed of light in a vacuum
(6 trillion miles a year) and would take 75,000 years. There are more than one
million galaxies. The farthest heavenly body visible to the naked eye is the
great galaxy of Andromeda. It is 13 quintillion miles away. If you traveled at
670 million miles per hour, your great, great, great, grandchildren would all
die of old age before you got one quarter of the way there. This is equivalent
to an ant traveling from earth to the sun (93,840,000 miles) at the rate of
one inch a day. (See Gable, loc. cit., pp. 550-564).
At www.speed-light.info we find the following:
Before the 17th century, scientists believed that there was no such thing as the "speed of light". They thought that light could travel any distance in no time at all. Later, several attempts were made to measure this speed:
- 1667 Galileo estimated the speed of light to be at least 10 times faster than sound.
- 1675 Ole Roemer measured the speed of light at 200,000 Km/sec.
- 1728 James Bradley measured the speed of light at 301,000 Km/s.
- 1849 Hippolyte Louis Fizeau measured the speed of light at 313,300 Km/s.
- 1926 Leon Foucault measured the speed of light at 299,796 Km/sec.
Today:
According to the US National Bureau of Standards, the speed of light is = 299792.4574 +/- 0.0011 km/s.
According to the British National Physical Laboratory, the speed of light = 299792.4590 +/- 0.0008 km/s; making an average with the US standard = 299792.458 km/s (187,370.286 mi/s) .
But 1400 years ago, and without any scientific equipment at all, the speed of light was already known to be 299792.5 Km/s. It is stated in the Koran (Quran, the book of Islam) that light travels in one day the same distance that the moon travels in 1000 lunar years (12000 lunar orbits). And since velocity = distance / time, a simple calculation reveals the speed of light in vacuum to be 299792.5 Km/s. This is mathematically verifiable in less than 10 minutes: Speed of Light
24. They knew that God's armies are numberless (Job 25:3).
25. Job knew that the moon did not shine, but was rather a light reflector as were
the stars (Job 25:5; 31:26). This is most intriguing in light of the fact that
one of our famous American folk songs was "Shine On Harvest Moon." We taught
our children to sing. "Twinkle, Twinkle little star. how I wonder where you
are."
26. Job knew that there was an empty space at the North. He knew that the earth
was suspended by nothing. He knew of the rotundity of the earth
(Job 22:14). In other words, Job was not exactly a
slobbering caveman, dragging his wife around by the hair with a club over his
shoulder trying to discover fire and the wheel as Mr. Darwin and his friends
would have us believe. Sidney Collett illustrates for us once again how pitifully
far behind the Bible science has lagged while pretending it was right and God
was wrong. He notes:
Nearly all the early physicists and philosophers including Ptolemy, Plato,
Aristotle, etc. believed the earth was a flat disc of land surrounded by a
great world river Oceanus and that this flat disc formed the foundation for all
other elements. supporting first water, then air, then fire, etc. These ideas
prevailed through Western Europe until the 16th century. Pythagoras, as early
as 506 B.C. is said to have demonstrated the fact that the earth was round; while
Aristarchus of Samos, who lived about 280 B.C. believed that the earth turned
upon its axis, and revolved around the sun. The great astronomers and
philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Hipparchus, etc. ignored such
theories and believed in what is known as the Ptolemaic system of astronomy--viz.,
that the earth was a solid, stationary foundation which supported all the
other elements. Copernicus believed that night and day were really caused by
the earth's rotation upon its axis. But so ignorant is the mind of man, that
when Galileo, nearly one hundred years later, declared his belief in the
Capernican theory, he nearly lost his life for it! But that very theory,
which had lain hidden in the Bible for thousands of years, was ultimately
confirmed by astronomers. (See Collett, loc. cit., pp.280-285.
27. They knew that God had put limits on the boundaries of the seas
(Job 22:6-10).
28. Job and his friends knew that God had garnished the heavens with the sun, the
moon, the stars, the galaxies, the star clusters and the nebula
(Job 26:13). They were aware that God formed the constellation "the Crooked
Serpent"
29. To Job and his contemporaries, the thunder in the heavens was a symbol of God's power.
(Job 26:14).
30. God also gave them some mysteries that He did not reveal such as a secret
path through the skies that no bird of the air knows about (
Job 28:7). When we hear the scientists at NASA speak of the famous "keyhole" in
the sky; the door through which our rockets must pass to break the pull of
earth's gravitational pull and get into orbit" makes us think of this strange
verse in God's word and its meaning.
31. Job and his friends knew that both air and water had weight
(Job 28:25).
Both air and water have been weighted in proper balance. Nitrogen to oxygen ration is 79 to 21. If it were N2 0, everyone would die for this is dinitrogen trioxide. If it were N2 03, we would die laughing for this is nitrous oxide. Fish divide H2 0 into 3 parts and live on the oxygen. Atmospheric pressure or the weight of air is well known today. (See Collett, loc. cit., pp. 280-285).
32. Job was well aware that God controls the thunder and the lightning and makes a path for the lightning; a truth that should comfort all of those who are trusting in Him for our safety
(Job 28:26; 37:3; 38:35).
33. How embarrassing to the Darwinians to find out that Job and his Contemporaries
knew all about fire
(Job 15:34; 20:26; 22:20; 28:5; 31:12; 41:19).
34. Job knew conclusively of Adam's sin and how he tried to hide from God over
600 years before Moses wrote the story in the Book of Genesis
(Job 31:33).
35. Job knew that God had given animals knowledge, although man's knowledge was
considered superior
(Job 35:11).
Job also knew what scientists are finally getting around
to discovering; that is, that animals have instincts concerning storms and
impending disasters that is totally unknown to man.
(Job 37:8).
Scientists are now experimenting with dogs with the belief that if man could
communicate with the dog, the animal would be able to warn man of approaching
storms and particularly, tornadoes.
Dolphins normally follow ships. Yet a seaman told the author that during World War
II, the dolphins would meet the allied naval vessels upon entering the English
Channel and lead the ships safely through the German mine fields. In spite of
elaborate electronic gear aboard, the captains followed the dolphins. No one
knew how the dolphins knew to take the side of the allies in the war apart from
God directing the dolphins.
36. Job had been taught by God that raindrops have a peculiar make-up, designed
into them by God
(Job 36:27-28).
Dr. Walter Wilson told this illustration of how a raindrop could fall through the
air, reach its maximum velocity, then strike arose petal and not harm the petal.
He suggested, if he tried to water his roses with a hose, he could not get the
spray fine enough to keep from tearing the petal to shreds. Raindrops are
designed by God so they will not hurt rose petals.
37. Although Job and his friends were inland people, God taught them that the bottom of the sea is covered
(Job 36:30).
38. They knew that God controls the clouds and the amount of light that reaches the earth
(Job 36:32; 34:14; 37:21).
39. Coupled with this knowledge, Job knew that tornadoes came from the south and
traveled toward the north
(Job 37:9).
Cold comes out of the north
(Job 37:9, 10).
We must keep in mind that all this information was revealed to people who lived in
a tropical climate.
40. God had revealed to them truth about outer space. They knew that the sky
was a looking glass. You could only see so far and then they could see no
farther, but rather would have a reflection only
(Job 37:18-21).
J. God's Personal Science Lecture:
Index This Page
Job Chapter 30-41
Five human intellectual giants are sitting together demonstrating
their vast knowledge, each claiming to be superior to the other. These
men were Job, Elihu, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. Although it is
regrettable that these men lost their tempers in their desire to
prove their points, their discussion has been for the world's
benefit. They have revealed a superior knowledge available to men
over 4,000 years ago that as yet remains a mystery to many modem
day intellectuals. Not only that, but their knowledge has been
infallibly recorded and preserved until this day.
In the midst of this tremendous display of intellectual ability, God
suddenly appears on the scene and speaks "out of the whirlwind."
Although God does not demean their current knowledge, He must remind
them that they have so much more to learn. After a mild rebuke to get
their attention
(Job 38:2), their Creator proceeds to give them a lecture on science
that, not only hum-bled them, but left them speechless. It is
regrettable that men such as Zeno, Aristotle, Plato, Socrates,
Huxley, Darwin, Lyell, Hooker, Tuplesdrake, Schopenhaur, Freud,
Nietzsche, Spengler and men of great intellectual capabilities could
not have attended this lecture. It may have saved the scientific and
philosophical world of educators from the foolishness that flowed
from their lips and pens. Since God miraculously recorded the lecture
and has seen that it would be infallibly preserved for the world,
perhaps they would have scoffed at God's personal lecture much as
they ridicule His verbally accurate preservation in writing.
For the seeker of truth, however, let us glance at the 35 questions
asked by God, not that we can comprehend the answers, for there is not
a man alive who can understand all the questions, let alone give the
answers. The scope of our study will permit a brief perusal of these
mind-boggling declarations.
1. God declared that, although the earth is suspended as a ball in space
(Job 38:6), the earth has a cornerstone.
Not only that, the earth has been given its measurements by God. Nothing
with such precise
measurements could possibly have come into being by blind chance or through
some evolutionary process. God declared it was all made by Him.
2. God declared that the stars can sing
(Job 38:7).
In recent years, men of science have discovered that light is vocal. Once again
we turn to Sidney Collet who assures us with the following help:
Light is transmitted by a succession of ether waves, oscillating at the amazing
rapidity of 400 billion vibrations per second. So that, as the rising gun sends
its radiations of light over the waking world, a singing sound is caused, but our
ears are not sufficiently sensitive to hear the song! (Sidney Collet,
loc. cit., p. 283).
Have you ever heard a sunrise or a sunset? Of course not; but one day when God gives us our glorified bodies, we shall experience the singing of the stars and the beautiful symphony of a sunrise and a sunset. God delights in confusing the rebellious man
(Psalm 2:4).
God speaks of seeing a song (Psalm 40:3), and hearing a sunset.
3. God announced in His scientific lecture to Job and his friends that the seas
have doors
(Job 38:8).
God revealed there are springs in the sea:
O.E. Phillips, loc. cit.,
p. 59 shares this truth. In Psalm 8:8 David speaks of the "path of the seas."
Long before men began crossing the oceans God made this known. Since then, we
have learned that there are warm streams ‘winding their ways through the seas and
around our continents that control the climates and make it possible for us to
live. Without these streams many of our regions would be so cold that neither
man nor beast could live.
God declared over 4,000 years ago that no man has as yet charted the bottom of the
sea. This is yet true in 1992. (2005) Piccard and Walsh went down to 35,000 feet
in their submarine "Trieste" and explored the Marianna Trench near Saipan and
Guam. They didn't get out and walk around because of the tremendous pressure,
but they found fish there and the water temperature at 38 degrees. Scientists
laughingly speak of the oceans as our last frontier on this earth. Certainly the
oceans are uncharted, but for the benefit of the conceited scientists, we remind
them there are more things on this earth that are yet to be discovered than are
known.
4. God revealed that death has gates
(Job 38:17).
No man on earth knows what God is talking about let alone be able to
intelligently explain the gates and doors of death. In additional revelations
about Hell, God informs us that:
5 . Light has an origin and a dwelling place (Job 38:19),
and darkness has a home
(Job 38:20)
Ask any scientists where the origin and dwelling place of light are located and where the home of darkness is to be found and watch them run for their book of poetry in order to call God a liar.
6. God instructed Job and his friends that snow and hail have a place of origin
and God uses both as weapons
(Job 38:22-23).
Napoleon learned in 1812 that snow could stop his mighty army when he tried to
invade Russia. In the winter of 1942/43. God used snow to halt Hitler's invasion
of Russia with bitter defeat at Stalingrad. When the five kings of ‘he Amorites
went to battle against the Gibeonites, Joshua went to their rescue in a night
maneuver that led to a rout of the Amorites. As they were fleeing Beth-Horon,
God cast down hailstones from the heavens and slew more of the Amorites than
Joshua and his men killed with the sword
(Joshua 10:5-11).
-
7. God instructed Job and his friends that light could be parted
(Job 38:24).
O.E. Phillips has noted:
It was in 1666 that Sir Isaac Newton sent a beam of white light through a glass
prism which broke the beam up into a band of colored light very much like the
rainbow. He developed the corpuscular theory of light which is based on the
fact that light travels in straight lines. Scientists have learned today that
there is some variation from straight lines. They have also learned that light
waves and beams can be bent. (O. E. Phillips, loc. cit., pp. 80-81.).
In 1916, Albert Einstein began experimenting with the amplification of light.
Although the principle was known, it was not until July 1960 that Theodore H.
Miman announced the generation of a pulse of coherent red light by means of a
ruby crystal. This was ‘he first laser. Laser stands for Light Amplification
by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. (See I 990 Grolier Electronic Publishing,
Inc.). The laser is a wonderful tool in the hands of ‘he physician. The point
is, however, that it took man over 4,000 years to advance from the primary truth
of the parting of light known by Job until ‘he development of the laser. Science
progresses rather slowly.
8. In Job's science lecture he received from the Lord,
Job learned that God
controls the rain so that it falls where and when God directs it
(Job 38:26-28).
Job also learned that God is the Father of not only the rain, but the dew as well
(Job 38:28).
9. Job learned of a mystery that day that still puzzles Bible students.
He learned that there is a vast sea in Heaven (somewhere between the second and
third heavens) and that the face of this deep is frozen
(Job 38:30).
The scope of this study is beyond the intention of this thesis. The interested
reader may consider these facts, however. In Genesis 1:6-10, God describes a
column of water He
separated by a land mass. A sea remained in the heavenlies while the waters on
earth were gathered together and called "seas." He opened the windows of Heaven
and emptied part of this sea at the Deluge (Genesis 7:11; Psalm 148:4).
Satan is likened to a sea monster (dragon or Leviathan) who lives in the
sea (Psalm 74:12-14; Job 41). Satan's abode is in high
places (Ephesians 6:12). As a Dragon, he will be cast out of his abode
(Revelation 12:9). Underneath God's Throne in Heaven is a Sea of
glass (Revelation 4:6). This sea will be destroyed with the
Heavens and the earth
(Revelation 21:1).
-
10. Job learned that man has no control over the heavens
(Job 38:33).
the rain (Job 38:34),
or the lightning (Job 38:35).
-
11.Only God knows the number of clouds that lie in the sky at any one time in the world
(Job 38:37).
-
12. In refuting the claims of Deism, God reminds the
world through Job that it is God who oversees the entire animal kingdom that
He has created
(Job 38:39-41).
K. Illnesses In Job: Physical And Emotional (Job 38:39-41; Job 39:1-30)
Index This Page
A study of the entire Book of Job relative to illnesses of the day
indicates that their medical problems may not have been as numerous or
of as great intensity as in our day. Their longevity may confirm this
conclusion.
Most references are made to emotional illnesses, however. The primary
emotional illness being that of fear with its subsequent symptoms that
appear frequently in the Book. Much of this fear revolved around their
relationship to God and their fellow men.
Job 28:28 informs us, "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the
Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (KJB).
As a result of this knowledge, men had a healthy fear of God
since many of them were wise and had understanding. When they
disobeyed God, as sinners do, they developed emotional illnesses
based upon their fear of God and what He might do to them.
Citizens of Job's day had An amazing sense of right and wrong
considering they had no Bible, nor any written commandments from
God. They also knew how they should treat each other in their human
relationships. When these unwritten codes of human conduct were
violated, emotional symptoms developed until they repented.
(For a full discussion of moral codes, see Chapter 3).
(Job 3:1).
They had both physicians and psychiatrists in Job's day, but evidently neither branch of these sciences was very effectively developed. The one reference to physicians is found in Job 13:4 where we learn that they were of no value.
Job 13:4 states, "But ye are forgers of lies, ye arc all physicians of no value" (KJB). The four psychiatrists, called "comforters" in Job were called "miserable."
(Job 16:2).
We are led to believe that God blessed those with good health and
long life who would obey the Lord and follow His verbally announced
commandments. It is clear that God had blessed Job and his entire
family with good health because of their obedience to God
(Job 1:10).
Many of the physical illnesses mentioned in the Book of Job were
maladies brought to pass as God permitted Satan to inflict these
horrendous tortures upon Job. Satan's philosophy was that Job
loved and served God because the Lord was blessing him. Satan's
religion taught as expressed in Job 2:4, "And Satan answered the
LORD, and said. Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he
give for his life" (KJB). God knew that in some cases this might
be true, but it most certainly was not the truth in Job's case.
Therefore, God permitted Satan to make his philosophy look
foolish by using Job as a test.
1. Physical Illness
Job was afflicted by Satan with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown
(Job 2:7).
In Job 3:16 we learn that some parents knew the sorrow of coping with a still
born infant.
Job 7:17-19,
speaks of flesh that causes pain. Sounds in the ears or perhaps "ringing in the
ears" (tinnitus) was experienced (Job 15:21).
Still others suffered from being overweight
(Job 15:27),
while others where bothered with gallbladder trouble
(Job 16:13)
Bad breath was recognized
(Job 17:1).
Still others suffered from the age old problem of poor eyesight
(Job 11:20; 17:5-7; 29:15).
Job knew what is today a fundamental in the
practice of medicine, that is, the importance of clean hands
(Job 17:9).
About 600 years later, God spelled out this important
procedure of keeping the hands clean that was contemptuously
ignored by medical men for 3900 years. It was not until April, 1847
that a young doctor by the name of Ignaz Semmelweis instituted the
practice of obstetricians washing their hands before delivering a
baby. His practice was treated with scorn and ridicule. Infection
continued to kill more patients than the original problem. Finally
by I 876 such men as John Tyndall, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch and
Sir Joseph Lister proved that Dr. Semmelweis was correct. S. I.
McMillen affirms:
The New York State Department of Health became alarmed because these
infections (staphylococcus) could be spread so quickly by a carrier
who failed to wash his hands carefully. In 1960 the Department issued
a book describing a method of washing the hands. The procedures closely
approximate the Scriptural method given in Numbers 19. At long last,
in the year 1960, science finally muddled through. Man had learned,
aller centuries and at fright fill cost, what God gave to Moses by
inspiration. (S. I. McMillen, None Of These Diseases (Westwood, N.J.,
I 968), pp.16-18).
The familiar upset stomach and the bloated stomach were known in
Job's day
(Job 20:20).
They also suffered body pains and aching bones
(Job 33:19). This severe pain caused a loss of appetite
(Job 33:20),
and a subsequent loss of weight
(Job 33:21).
They knew what it was to suffer a stroke.
Wounds were likely common.
(Job 31:22).
Job 31:22
speaks of a broken arm while Job 34:6 speaks of incurable wounds.
Some were injured with the sword (Job 30:12).
Some
were wounded unto death in their youth
(Job 36:14).
Others are spoken of as
being lame
(Job 29:15).
Included in Job's suffering was a swelling of his neck
(Job 30:17, 18)
,
his bones piercing through his skin
(Job 30:17),
continual muscle ache
with his skin turning black
(Job 30:30).
The Book of Job speaks of some who died peacefully
(Job 21:23).
while others experienced bitter deaths
(Job 21:25).
2. Emotional Illnesses
Only in recent years has the medical profession fully realized the devastating effects that emotional problems can have upon the physical well-being of a human being: S.I. McMillen gives us this enlightening evaluation of the problem:
What percentage of a physician's practice is made up of patients whose symptoms and bodily diseases are caused hy emotional turmoil? Statistics reported in 1948 indicated that two thirds of the patients who went to a physician had symptoms caused or aggravated by mental stress. In 1955 an article describing the work of a leading authority on stress was published under the questioning title, "Stress The Cause Of All Disease, (McMillen, loc. cit., p.60).
It is very informative to realize that in Job's day, the citizens knew what it was to suffer emotional turmoil and its related disease as do people in the 20th century. Solomon reminded us in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" (KJB).
(Job 9:28)
I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.,
Job 9:34-35, Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:
35 Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.;
Job 13:21, Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.;
Job 15:24, Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.;
Job 22:10, Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
Job 30:15-16, Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.;
Job 37:1, At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.).
|
|
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.]
|
Here we learn that wrath can kill a man and envy can slay him. Again this is confirmed by the medical profession today. S.I. McMillen has two chapters in his book entitled, "It's Not what You Eat--But What Eats You" and "The High Cost Of Getting Even." (McMillen.loc. cit., pp. 65-75).
In these chapters he explains from a medical doctor's standpoint how anger, envy and such emotions can actually cause a person's death. How interesting to see that this was revealed to Job nearly 4,000 years ago.
-
c. Job speaks of the terrors that come from God for the purpose of bringing correction into the life of one who is disobedient to God
(Job 6:4).
|
(Job 6:4, For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.).
|
He also speaks of nightmares and shortness of breath as symptoms of emotional disturbances
(Job 9:18)
He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
(Job 7:14) My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
|
-
d. Another on the list of symptoms of emotional illness is a mental confusion and turmoil that lead to irresponsible actions
|
(Job 10:15, If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;; 12:24-25, He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. 25 They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. ).
|
|
(Job 20:25) [ It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.] can bring on a nervous stomach
|
|
(Job 20:20) [Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.], and lead some to commit suicide either by taking snake poison
|
|
(Job 20:16, He shall suck the poison of asps:), or by letting a viper bite them
|
|
(Job 20:16, the viper's tongue shall slay him).
|
L. Government And Judicial System
Index This Page
The Book of Job reveals very little about the governmental system and the judicial procedures. We do know, however, that there was an organized system of government be cause Job himself was considered a ruler among his people. They must have highly esteemed his rank since we are told in Job 29:9-10:
Job 29:9-10 [9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.] that princes and nobles stood in awe of him. When Job went to the gate, the younger generation hid themselves and the older men arose in respect of Job. Job tells us that he sat as a chief and dwelt as a king in their army and acted as a comforter
|
|
(Job 29:25, I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners).
|
|
(Job 29:7, When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!).
|
It was the duty of the one who was ruler to execute justice in behalf of those who were wronged.
(Job 29:12-17, Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.).
|
Since family units were strong and closely knit; and since the father acted as the patriarchal head over the family, the father in his own home probably adjudicated most minor offenses without a civil hearing or a trial.
The following offices are mentioned in the book:
|
(Job 3:14, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;;
Job 12:18, He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.;
Job 18:14, His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.;
Job 29:25, I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.;
Job 34:18, Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?;
Job 36:7, He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.);
|
(Job 3:14, With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;;
Job 12:17, He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.);
|
|
(Job 3:15, Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:;
Job 12:19-21 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.;
Job 21:28, For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?;
Job 29:9, The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.;
Job 34:18-19, Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.);
|
|
(Job 12:24, He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.;
Job 29:25, I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.;
Job 40:19, He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.).
|
|
(Job 9:15, Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.;
Job 9:24, The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?;
Job 12:17, He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.;
Job 23:7, There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.;
Job 31:11, For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.;
Job 31:28, This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.).
|
Index Job 2 [A COMPENDIUM OF THE BOOK OF JOB]
CONTINUE>
|
