Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading a summary of the book of Job. This is Part 2, chapters 14 through 27.

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Job – Part 2 of 3

Chapter 14. Talking

Job continues talking (to God):

• He says “Man born of woman is of few days;
• And full of trouble;”
• He is like a fleeting shadow, disappears quickly;
• Do you even look very long at a person like that?
• You have set the number of man’s days;
• So don’t even look at him; leave him alone;
• A tree can live longer than a man;
• “If a man dies, will he live again?”
• Then you will follow him everywhere;
• But you will not keep track of his sin;
• You overpower him once, and then he is gone.

Chapter 15. Accusations

Job’s friend, Eliphaz, renews his accusations:

• Tells Job he cannot argue with God with useless words;
• His sin is guiding his words;
• He says Job’s sins are causing him to rage against God;
• Eliphaz tells Job some things he has seen and learned;
• It’s the wicked man who suffers;
• He hears terrifying noises; he fears the darkness;
• He shakes his fist at God;
• Soon he will lose his wealth, trusting what is worthless.

Chapter 16. Reply

Job replies to the accusations of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar:

• Job says he has heard their long-winded speeches;
• He calls his friends miserable comforters;
• He says if they were in his place, he would be different;
• He would offer them words of encouragement;
• But he says, God has worn him out;
• God has turned Job over to these evil, wicked men;
• But Job still says only God is his real friend.

Chapter 17. Broken

Job says his spirit is broken; he cannot live much longer:

• He asks God for help to understand his friends;
• He says his friends have turned against him;
• But he will continue to trust God;
• He pleads with his friends to understand him;
• Their thinking has become twisted;
• He asks “Who can see any hope for me?”

Chapter 18. Speeches

Friend Bildad comes back with another reply to Job:

• He tells Job to end his speeches, be sensible;
• He says his friends are not stupid;
• Look at the facts–calamity awaits the wicked man;
• But he will be forgotten by history, leave no descendants;
• There will be no survivors where he lived.

Chapter 19. Alienated

Job tells his friends their attacks have been shameless:

• Their words have tormented him;
• And it seems God has abandoned him;
• His friends have been alienated from him;
• Even his servants have left him—he is alone;
• His wife hates him, his family has turned against him;
• But Job does not give up on God;
• He says, “I know that my Redeemer lives”
• And “I will see Him with my own eyes”.

Chapter 20. Disturbed

Zophar is disturbed by Job’s sharp accusations of his friends:

• Zophar says Job’s rebuke dishonors him, he must reply;
• He says Job knows the history of the wicked;
• They are happy for a short while;
• But the proud man will perish, will soon be forgotten;
• He speaks evil like the venom of the serpent;
• And he will give back all the riches he has craved;
• In the midst of his plenty, he will be thrown into distress;
• God will turn against him, expose his guilt;
• Such is the fate God allots the wicked.

Chapter 21. Nonsense

Job responds to his friends’ arguments, calls them nonsense:

• Job wants them to listen to this reply of common sense;
• They should listen even to their own arguments;
• The really wicked people are seldom punished in life;
• Evil people are rich and prosperous, oppress the poor;
• Job rebuts their claim that the wicked are always punished;
• Only God decides who will live and who will die;
• After death, both rich and poor are covered with worms;
• Job tells his friends they should get out more;
• They should travel more, learn the facts;
• Evil men are spared from calamity all the time;
• Their argument is false: he does not suffer because of sin;
• They cannot console him with their nonsense.

Chapter 22. Lecturing

Eliphaz resumes lecturing Job about his sinfulness:

• He questions Job: Is he suffering for his piety?
• Or is this calamity fallen on him because of his sin?
• He persists in lecturing Job about all his sins;
• He says Job sins even when he is questioning God;
• He suggests Job should just admit how sinful he is;
• He should confess his sins, ask God for forgiveness;
• Throw away his gold and silver, return to God;
• God will return to him and give him peace again;
• Afterwards, his wealth and prosperity will return;
• God will forgive even the one who is not innocent.

Chapter 23. Searching

Job is sure if he could just find God, he would plead his case:

• He has been searching east, west, north, and south;
• God is not to be found anywhere he has looked;
• Right now, God seems to be ignoring Job;
• But he is sure about this: God knows Job;
• And “When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold”.

Chapter 24. Judgement

Job says God sets His own time for passing judgement on evil men:

• Job tells his friends to look at the facts;
• Wicked men are allowed to steal, kill, and destroy;
• They are guilty of all kinds of evil deeds;
• They think their wrong doing is hidden by darkness;
• They want nothing to do with the light;
• And for a time, they are allowed to flourish and prosper;
• But God is always watching their behavior;
• He may let them be exalted for a time;
• He may let them rest and feel secure for a while;
• But eventually they will be brought down;
• Job tells his friends they cannot dispute this fact.

Chapter 25. Worm

Bildad presents another point of view: Man is only a worm:

• God is in control over everything;
• How can a man be righteous before God?
• How can a mortal be pure?
• Even the moon and stars are not very bright;
• And man is just a worm.

Chapter 26. Insight

Job throws sarcasm at his friends: What great insight they have:

• How have they come up with such great wisdom?
• Some spirit must be speaking through them;
• God is too great to be understood;
• We can only see and hear of Him around the edges;
• There is no way we can ever really know His power.

Chapter 27. Steadfast

Job declares to his friends he will never admit to their accusations:

• As long as he lives, Job will declare his innocence;
• He will never concede that his friends are right;
• He will go to his grave with a clear conscience;
• His faith in God will remain steadfast;
• Job says he will teach his friends about God’s power;
• What he is saying to them is really nothing new;
• They have all seen how the wicked prosper;
• But their descendants will eventually suffer;
• Their children end up being killed by enemies;
• Some will die by the plague;
• And the righteous will one day own their possessions;
• The wicked ones very often die a violent death.

End of Part 2 of 3 of the book of Job