Dealing with the Devil (Part 1)

Introduction

Recently, I started Scripture Journaling. Scripture Journaling is the process of writing out individual passages from the Bible to meditate on them, usually daily. I found a themed plan, entitled "Dealing with the Devil," by The Ruffled Mango.[1] I decided to start with this plan and share both my journal and my thoughts on the passages. I'm also chronicling the experience on my new YouTube channel. I hope you'll join me!

Genesis 3:1-5: The Serpent in the Garden

In the garden, when Satan makes his first appearance, he actually reveals a lot about his strategy:

• He approaches Eve when she is alone
• He twists God's words
• He envokes FOMO (fear of missing out)
• He offers Eve something she already has
• He, likely, utilizes the fact that Eve added to God's Word

Alone

The only thing God said was not good before the fall, was that man be alone (Genesis 2:18). Satan captializes on the the fact that we are weaker and more vulnerable when we are alone. There are many passages in scripture reminding us not to forsake fellowshipping with our fellow believers (e.g., Hebrews 10:24-25) . When we isolate ourselves, we become vulnerable and Satan will leap at the chance to devour us.

Twisting Scripture

Satan manipulates us by taking scripture out of context and twisting it to fit his purpose. Often, he uses our weaknesses to make these incorrect interpretations of God's Word sound good. That is why it is important for us to know God's Word, inside and outside. By meditating on the Word and strengthing our relationship with God, we will be able to discern Satan's manipulations.

Fear of Missing Out

We always think we're missing something or that there's something better out there. Eve could eat from any tree in the garden except one, and that wasn't good enough. There are over 2,000 types of fruit in the world,[2] all of which would have been available in the garden. The odds that the fruit on the tree of knowledge was the best fruit in the garden would have been roughly 1 in 2000 or 0.5%, and just Satan convinced Eve that she was missing out by not being able to eat this fruit.

False Gifts

Satan lures Eve to eat the fruit by suggesting that in doing so she will become like God. The irony is that she is already like God. God created man and woman in His image, gave them dominion over the earth and the ability to create. Not only was Satan offering Eve something she already had, the ramification of his suggesiton almost cost her that very object. Once man ate from the Tree of Knowledge, we lost our dominion over earth (we gave it to Satan), we lost our ability to be good like God, and we were cast our of our palace (the garden). It is important for us to know that God has already made us heirs to the kingdom. As long as we follow Him, everything belongs to us anyway!

Adding to the Word

God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit, but when Eve talks to Satan, she says they're not even supposed to touch it! This is the beginning of a pattern with mankind (just look at everything Israel added to what God said). It's also a crack in God's perfect law for Satan to weasel into. Imagine this: Eve has convinced herself that part of God's rule is that they can't touch the tree, but she (or the serpent) is touching the tree and nothing bad has happened. This leads her to doubt anything bad will happen if she eats the fruit. However, it's based on faulty logic because God never said they couldn't touch the tree. We have to stick to the Word as written to avoid these types of situations (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19).

Job 1:6-12: Satan Accuses Job

At the beginning of Job, Satan goes before God. Based on the context that "Satan" means adversary in Hebrew,[3] it is is implied that Satan frequently uses this time to complain about or accuse mankind. Instead of waiting for Satan to call out a particular person, God offers Job as an exemplary human. Satan is not convinced, arguing that Job only loves God because God has made Job successful. God then allows Satan to take Job's possessions and good fortune.

Why Did God Allow This?

The major question is why did God allow Satan to test Job? I think there are a few reasons for this, all of which apply to us today:

First, people often think they know everything until they are proven wrong. Satan had his mind made up about Job and the only thing that would prove him wrong was seeing it for himself. God already knew Job's heart and knew how everything would play out, but Satan did not.

Second, to prove to the sons of God who were also present. When Satan appears before God, the sons of God are also present. There are many intrepretations of who that refers to, but like Satan, these are limited beings who do not know the outcome of the test. If they were within earshot, some might have agreed with Satan, so God had to prove to them, as well, that there are faithful humans.

Third, to teach Job a lesson. (Sidenote, did you know "Job" means hated in Hebrew?[4]) Job was a bit self-righteous and in the end, though he never wavers in faith, God does have to chastise him. Sometimes we need to be reminded to have humility, because no matter how great our faith, we still fall short.

And fourth, to teach us a lesson. The book of Job answers the ultimate queston of why bad things happen to good people. Just like we discuss Job's trials and come to knew understandings about how suffering relates to our relationship with God, Job and his friends did the same thing. In the end, they learned about their own flawwed thinking because of Job's situation. Sometimes, we are the friend learning from our friend's misfortune and sometimes we are the friend going through the misfortune.

Who Does Satan Accuse?

Since we're discussing strategy, a great question is who does Satan accuse. God presents Job as perfect because he has perfect integrity, fears God, and turns away from evil. I seems that these are therefore the principles Satan tries to accuse us of not having. Also, an important observation is that if we do possess all three of these qualities, it is likely Satan wants to prove we don't really have all of these characteristics.

Matthew 16:21-23 Satan Speaks Through Peter

In this passage, Christ attributes the words spoken by Peter as being from Satan. Christ identifies these words as a stumbling block and says the reason is because they put man's desires over God's desires. Satan uses us to express seemingly innocent thoughts that are actually contrary to God; though he can also use us to express thoughts that are obviously contrary to God as well. The major theme in this passage is putting self interest above God.

Peter loved Christ and did not want to see Him die—this is a human inclination and very natural. Many of us would have likely expressed the same sentiments had we been in Peter's shoes. However, it wasn't what God wanted. As a small child, I used to pray/wish the world never ended—that was self interest and self preservation, but it also serves Satan. Our selfish desires always serve Satan. In my case, if the world never ends, Satan is never punished for his deeds and is allow to continue ruling over our world. In Peter's case, if Christ never died, there would be no salvation.

It is important for us to identify our thoughts and discern whether they are of God or not, as well as, identify the speech of those around us. As yourself:

• Why should I say this? (or why did they say it?)
• Is it selfish?
• Is it helpful?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it kind?

Matthew 4:1-11: Satan Tempts Jesus

Right before Christ starts His ministry, Satan comes to tempt Him. Christ fends off three attempts by Satan, each of which show Satan's tactics and the only way to respond.[4]

Temptations #1: Weakness

The first thing Satan does is attack Christ's weakness. After fasting for 40 days, it is not surprising that Christ would be hungry. Satan challenges Him to turn stones into bread. In this, Satan is both questioning His ability and tempting Christ to give in to the flesh's desires. Similarly, Satan will come to us when we are weak and tempt us to take something the flesh desires even if it's not appropriate.

Christ responds by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.

Temptation #2: Promises

The second thing Satan does is attack the promise of God. Satan tries to get Christ to prove God is who He says He is. Satan wants us to believe we have the responsibility of answering for God or proving His existance, when that onus is on the Holy Spirit. Christ did not need to put Himself in harms way to prove God is God because both He and Satan already know exactly who God is. The same is true for us.

Once again, Christ responds by quoting scripture. This time He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16

Temptation #3: Desires

The final thing Satan does is attack a desire. Satan promises Christ rulership from the price of submiting to him instead of God. Like with Eve in the Garden, Satan is offering something already given. Christ is the Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The kingdoms Satan was offering to Him were already His. The catch in these situtations is not if you will have the desires of your heart by how you go about trying to get them. Satan's way, usually the easy way or a short cut, is temporary and comes at a high cost. However if we keep the faith and do it God's way, we get lasting results.

Christ respons by quoting scripture again, and quotes Deuteronomy 6:13.

The fact that Christ's only response to Satan is to quote scripture should remind us of the importance of knowing God's Word and clinging to it.

Conclusion

These verses focused on the strategies Satan uses to trip us up and helped me reflect on ways to prepare myself for his attacks.

References & Footnotes

1. "June Scripture Writing Plan". The Reffled Mango; visited October 4, 2020
2. "Alphabetical list of Fruits". Fruits Info; visited October 16, 2020
3. Strong's H347. Job". Blue Letter Bible; visited October 17, 2020
4. I am aware that this passage is not included in the original list. I just felt it was relevant to the study and decided to slide it in.

My 10 Favorite Books of the Bible

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Herrmann Stamm

Book for Motivation in Life

I feel like most of life's scenarios and questions can be found and answered in the following three books: Job, Jonah, and Proverbs.

Job

Job is basically a tragedy that pulls an ex machina and ends on a happy note. What could possibly happen in my life that would be worse than what happened to Job? He lost all his children. He lost his wealth. He lost his health. The people were convinced he had some major skeletons in his closet for such tragedy to befall him, so he lost his reputation too. Yet, Job was highly favored by God. The book of Job answers the question of why bad things happen to good people and it reminds me to keep my faith through dark times.

Proverbs

Proverbs needs no explanation. The book is full of gems that grace walls, pictures, shirts, etc. There's a proverb for nearly every situation. The short, succinct messages are easy to memorize, poetic, and profound.

Jonah

When I was a child, my grandmother used to always remind me that "a hard head makes a soft tail"—i.e., when you don't listen you get a lot of spankings. Jonah is the spiritual embodiment of that theme for me. Jonah is most famous for ending up in the belly of a sea creature for 3 days. Why was he in the sea creature? Because he didn't listen to God. Jonah took the long, hard road, choosing to ignore God's calling. Imagine how different the story would be if he'd just gone where God told him to and done what God told him to do in the first place! That's the story of all our lives. We often wrestle with God, trying to go our own way, and in doing so we put our lives and the lives of others in danger.

The Relationship Between God and the Church

I know, you're expecting the gospels, or some other books from the New Testament that talk directly about the Bride of Christ or the history of the church, but actually this set of three (and a quarter) is all from the old testament. The themes in these books drive home God's love for us in a way that just touches my soul.

Genesis 1-3

Don't get me wrong, Genesis is a great book as a whole, and probably one of the best books of the Bible when it comes to the ratio between importance, interesting, and ease of understanding, but when it comes to the relationship of God and the Church, Genesis 1-3 melts my heart every time. When you truly dig into God creating us, giving us free will, the parallels between Adam (God's created son) and Jesus (God's only begotten son), and the fact that God spoke salvation into existence before He ever uttered the punishment for mankind's sin, it's powerful.

Exodus

Exodus tell us about the formation of Israel as an independent nation the first time, which was spurred by God delivering them from bondage in Egypt. It doesn't seem that important from a Gentile perspective, but it actually has a ton of spiritual significance. The journey of the Israelites out of bondage into freedom is the same as our journey from sinfulness to righteousness. Exodus introduces us to the holy feasts, which align with their journey, but also foretell of Christ's coming. We see God call Moses directly and using Moses, triumph over the most powerful king of the time. There's a song, "Reckless Love," that says "There's no shadow You won't light up, mountain You won't climb up, coming after me. There's no wall You won't kick down, lie You won't tear down, coming after me." Exodus truly shows us the lengths God is willing to go through to save His people.

Ruth

Most people go to Ruth to talk about waiting for love and basically romanticize the book as a how-to for dating. While that may be a valid interpretation, Ruth really is about the relationship of Jesus, the redeemer, and the Church, who needs redeeming. Ruth travels a great distance and gives up everything she knew to follow her mother-in-law, but the two women can't survive without a male benefactor, just as the church cannot survive without Jesus as our protector. Ruth puts in the effort of gleaning the fields for food (i.e., reading the Word and seeking God for spiritual food). Boaz ensures that there's always enough for her to glean, just as Jesus paved a way for us to get to Him. In the end we see the happy resolution of redemption and protection bestowed upon Ruth (the Church) by Boaz (Jesus).

Esther

How did Esther end up in my list of favorite books concerning God and His relationship with the Church when the book of Esther never mentions God? When I reread Esther last year and realized the whole story could also be interpreted as an allegory for the transferal of God's Word from the Israelites to the Gentiles and the salvation of God's people through Jesus, my mind was blown. If you shortened the history and foretellings of the Bible into their simplest forms, you would get the book of Esther with different names.

Prophecy and the End Times

Seeing prophecy come true is mind boggling. If there's one way to shock yourself into awe of God and the legitimacy of God's Word, it's to read and understand prophecy. That's why my actual favorite book of the Bible is in this set of three wonderful books on prophecy and the end times.

Daniel

Daniel is a history book, except it was written hundreds of years before the history took place. Reading Daniel and a history text book at the same time is life changing; not to mention what you see once you realize that Daniel is a key to Revelation! Not only does the book give us a roadmap of events for what to expect, Daniel and his friends provide an example of how we should react. From refusing to eat unclean foods to refusing to bow to the golden statue and face death, Daniel defines standing firm in the face of persecution. We can be confident that if we stand with God, when we get thrown in the fire, He'll bring us out unscathed because that's exactly what happened in the book of Daniel.

Matthew

A list of favorites isn't complete without a book from the gospels! In Matthew, Jesus addresses His return and the end of the Jewish nation. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which end He's referring to, but Jesus' Word about the end of days resonate for both occasions. Jesus gives us the tools and signs to identify false prophets and false doctrine, reminding us that if something is devoid of love, it's also devoid of God. Unfortunately, so many people do not know how to spot false doctrine and we have so many people turned away from God over false prophets and false doctrine. Matthew is the book that I feel like should be in the forefront of everyone's mind, may be then there'd be less non-believers.

Revelation

My absolute favorite book in the Bible is Revelation. I had an irrational fear of the end of the world as a child because I didn't understand what was supposed to happen or what it meant. Reading Revelation helped me understand that the end of the world is actually a victory for those who surrendered to God. Piecing together the pieces of the puzzle and finally understanding what's really written there was a fun journey, but more importantly, it gave me peace. The church—at least the churches I grew up attending—never really explained the end of the world, so it seemed uncharacteristically evil and harsh. It was only when I truly understood the book of Revelation that I could truly accept God and be at peace with Him.

Sometimes We Have to Suffer

A look at what I learned while reading Job. You've probably seen be referencing Job in a slew of other posts, so you can guess what the lessons are from this book. The four main takeaways are: (i) even the righteous may suffer; (ii) only God can define justice; (iii) when your friend is suffering, you should stay by their side; and (iv) God will not like it if you spread false doctrine.

Introduction

Job has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible. Its been a theological go-to for almost everything I talk about. The overarching theme that we may suffer even when we believe we shouldn't and only God has complete control and complete knowledge is one that seems to apply to everything in life. I find myself referencing Job's experience often, but I don't find myself reading the book often...
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Trouble Reading Job

Reading Job reminded me of reading Beowulf. The most I remember about Beowulf is that after reading each stanza, I would have to re-read it because I didn't understand it the first time. There's no question that Job contains masterful poetry. Its beautifully written, and many of the popular phrases we say today were spawned from Job's words. But like with Beowulf, I didn't always know what I had read. It could be that I had too much on my mind while reading, but I often found it really difficult to zero in on the meaning. On top of that, I had to remind myself that Job's friends weren't always giving sound advice. This makes the book even more difficult to understand. It's also why theologically, it's still my favorite! It's hard to know which pastors are giving us the right interpretation of scripture. Many times they mean well, they think they're right, and it sounds sort of in ball park. However, like Job's friends, they're missing a piece of the puzzle. We have to study diligently and ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding. When I finish my journey back through the Bible, I will comeback and re-read Job, because I'm sure I missed something (or many things).

Lessons

The book of job is one of the most depressing books in the Bible. It's a humbling reminder that things don't always go our way, even when we're doing all the right things. We like to comfort ourselves, and others, saying that good things come to those who serve God, but we often forget that bad visit us while we wait. It's hard to be strong in a case like Job's. I've always been the person who could take deserved punishment easily, but when I feel unjustly punished, that's another story. Like Job, it's easy to put ourselves on a pedestal and start thinking God has wronged us when things take a turn for the worst. We must remember those last chapters of Job and remind ourselves that God is just and He doesn't make mistakes.

Another takeaway is influenced by Job's friends. They may have been giving false doctrine, but they sat with Job during the storm. Job's friends could have labelled him a lost cause and gone on with their lives, but they didn't. If we are true friends, we will help our friends through their troubling times as well. Job's friends may have been perfect examples if they had prayed before spreading their opinion of the situation. We should follow their example of supporting our friends, but we should pray before offering our friends advice. Perhaps if Job's friends had been in better communication with God, they could have resolved the issue much sooner. Even if the suffering period remained the same, at the end, God would not have been angry with them. From start to finish, the Bible cautions us to beware of false doctrine. Most of us would never corrupt His word on purpose, but that doesn't mean we won't do so by accident. God doesn't want tarnished and distorted versions of His word floating around, so we should always check with Him to confirm our understanding.

References

Job 41&42: God's Final Words to Job

Sometimes all it takes is hearing God's voice to see the error of our ways. God knows exactly what to say to us, all we have to do is choose to believe Him. When Job realizes how small and insignificant he is, that's when God blesses Him with all he could want. Oh...and let's talk about this sea monster, Leviathan.

Introduction

God to finish His Words to Job in the last two chapters and Job realizes his error. I imagine, on Judgment Day, non-believers will be like Job, standing in awe at the wonder of God and realizing how wrong they've been. Unfortunately for them, it will be too late, but fortunately for Job, it was not too late.
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God's Message

In the previous chapter, God reminded us that only He could subdue a monstrous creature called Behemoth. In Job 41, God tells us only He can subdue Leviathan. We'll talk about whether Leviathan is a creature or a symbol later; for now, let's stick to God's power. The main problem we have as humans, is a loss of perspective. We become so involved in our own world, that we forget how small and insignificant we truly are. This has a tendency to make us prideful and vain. God's reason for describing such a ferocious creature and asking Job if he can subdue it is to remind Job of his frailty. We don't have control over anything in our world, except ourselves, and sometimes we don't have control over ourselves either (I'd never be sick if I had 100% control over myself). Even with tame, house broken animals such as a dog or cat, they are not completely under our submission. Your dog may scratch your chair or keep trying to play with you after you tell him to sit. My cat brings lizards in the house no matter how many times I tell her not to... We aren't in control.

Job Repents

Once Job hears this from God Himself, he realizes that we can't know everything. Job may not know why God allowed him so suffer, but he should always know that God's reason is pure and just. Job repents of accusing God of being unjust, and he also asks for forgiveness for his friends. Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad angered God, just as the angered Elihu, with their false doctrine. Part of being a believer, a leader, and a servant of God, is asking for forgiveness for those around us. Although Job was hard on his friends and was frustrated with their lack of answers, Job knew that like himself, they couldn't know everything. He recognized that they had tried to help him and were not spreading false doctrine on purpose. Now that Job understood the truth, he could teach his friends. It is only after Job prays for his friends that his fortune is reversed.

It is interesting to note that Job's friends must make sacrifices for their sin, but Job does not. I think the reason is the nature of the sin. Job did not violate any of God's laws; however, he was over confident in his own righteousness. Job's friends spread false doctrine, a practice that has severely crippled the modern church and continues to drive people away from God. Most likely God found the latter to be more harmful.

Job is blessed two-fold, receiving double of everything he once had (except children). I have heard people question why Job didn't receive twice as many children afterward, and I would assume it's because he didn't actually lose the first 10. Example: if I have a house and it burns down, then I buy a new house, I only have 1 house. If I have a child and he or she dies, then I have another child, I'm still a mother of 2. Another reason could be the fact that 10 is the number of completeness in the Bible. Both 7 and 3 have Biblical significance as well.

Leviathan

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Caleb George

The Leviathan has appeared in many legends. Scholars attribute the origin story of the Leviathan to pagan myths found in Baal Cycle; they argue that the name and thus the creature are a continuation of Lôtān, a sea monster found in Ugarit myths.^[1] Bible believers, however, argue that Leviathan was a real creature.

Leviathan is mentioned 6 times in scripture: Job 3:8, Job 40:15–41:26, Amos 9:3, Psalms 74:13–23, Psalm 104:26 and Isaiah 27:1. Depending on which translation you're reading, the text may say serpent. Job 3:8 in the KJV doesn't say anything that seems remotely related to Leviathan, but my study Bible has a footnote that says the Hebrew text translated "their mourning" could also be translated to Leviathan.^[2]

In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Isaiah 27:1 KJV

From a Biblical stand point, Leviathan could be real or symbolic (or both). The language in Isaiah 27:1 sounds very symbolic. The serpent and dragon are often used to describe Satan. This verse sounds like much of the text in Revelation in which we are told God will defeat the dragon (i.e., Satan) on Judgement Day. In Job 41, God is asking if Job can tame the beast. The list of questions God asks could be in reference to a real creature, but God also asks Job if he can make a covenant with Leviathan. I would think only beings with intelligence can make a covenant: God, angels, and humans.^[3]

References

1. Leviathan". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
2. Holman Bible Publishers. Holman KJV Study Bible, pg. 867. 2014
3. Jeffrey J. Meyers. "Leviathan and Job, Part 2". Biblical Horizons Newsletter, No. 88. October 1996

Job 38-40: God's First Speech

In Job 38-40, Job gets his wish. God speaks to Job and gives Job the chance to speak. Of course, when the Almighty asks Job what he has to say, Job is suddenly very aware of his boldness to think he could accuse God of treating him unfairly.

Introduction

Who are we that we could approach God and question His actions? We often complain about the fairness of the world and why God let this or that happen, but as Elihu pointed out, we know nothing compared to what God knows. We are not more righteous than God, therefore we cannot judge a situation. When God speaks to Job, He opens the floor for Jon to question Him, but Job realizes at that moment that he has been foolish. The description of the scene reminds me of the times I would mumble somthing smart in response to my mother, but when she confronted me about what I said, I would clam up and hold my breath. I image Job reacting in similar fashion.
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God Speaks

God answers Job from out of a whirlwind. I want to dwell on this because previously, I always envisioned God simply speaking out of nowhere. A whirlwind could be anything from a tornado to a simple wind storm, but either way, Job would have been in the midst of such weather. Hearing God's voice seems terrifying enough, add in a whirlwind, an it's no wonder Job lost his resolve. Job realizes its in his best interest to keep his mouth shut.

God tells Job to "gird up now thy loins like a man," which is basically the predecessor to "man up." Now that God had made His presence known, Job wasn't springing forth to take advantage of the opportunity as he said he would. God says that Job has spoken without knowledge and echoes much of what Elihu has already said, reminding Job that he wasn't there when God created everything. Job can't affect change, only God can, because God created these things. Job has no wisdom of what's in the world, but God does, again, because He created everything. It is He who created and cares for everything. This is why we cannot question Him.

As God reminds us that He created everything, God mentions several types of animals—"unicorns" ostriches, peacocks, wild donkeys, horses, and hawks— that despite being unintelligent, He looks out for. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, were under the impression that only good can happen to the righteous and bad to the wicked, but these animals were neither righteous nor wicked. As animals, they don't have the ability to choose a side, yet God cares for these animals because He created them. Similarly, God cares for us because He created us.

Photocredit: Jon Taylor

Behemoth

During God's comments to Job, He brings up Behemoth. Behemoth is a reference to a legendary creature that no one can figure out, or rather agree upon. Scholars have identified the creature with well known creatures of today such as the elephant and the hippopotamus, mythological creatures, and dinosaurs. There is no consensus of which category the animal actually falls into.

Some of the descriptions seem to rule out the elephant and hippopotamus of today, however. God tells us that the animal is only approachable by God. While I wouldn't advise running up to an elephant or hippopotamus, both have been cared for by humans. People even ride on the backs of elephants. It seems unlikely that this description applies to these two creatures. Behemoth is described as follows:

1. Herbivore (eats grass like an ox)
2. Strong
3. Tail like a cedar
4. Bone like iron or brass
5. Lives in marshes
6. Chief of God's ways (Large?)
7. Can drink up an entire river
8. Only God can approach it

Based on this description, I'm not inclined to believe the creature is a hippopotamus or elephant. That leaves mythology or an extinct creature like a dinosaur. God says that He made behemoth just as He made Job; therefore it seems that God is not referencing mythology, but something real.

Naturally, scholars then assert that the animal in question must be a dinosaur, specifically, a sauropod.^[1][2] The most well known sauropod is probably the Brontosaurus. Another possibility is found in the Baluchitherium. Baluchitherium was one of the largest animals to ever walk the earth and was something like a massive, hornless rhinoceros.^[3]

God uses behemoth as an example to ask Job, if he couldn't approach an animal such as behemoth, how could he judge anything? God was able to tame the creature the way we tamed dogs and cats. The contrast is meant to remind us that we are small and helpless while God is infinite and all powerful.

Science

Once again, we find reference to science in the text of Job 38-40.^[4] Below, we discuss the relevance of these verses.

Ocean Springs

Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?Job 38:16

Topically, we can see lakes, rivers, streams, and the ocean. We know that rivers empty into the ocean, but the Bible gives more than one hint that there are other sources of water. In the details of the flood, we learn that water didn't just come from the sky, but from the earth as well. Job 38:16 tells us that there are springs in the depths of the ocean. Scientists began expecting hot springs in the ocean in the early 1970s and found the first one in 1977, 1.24 miles (2 km) below sea level. God said asked if Job had entered the springs of the sea, but until recently, we didn't possess the technology to dive that deep.^[5][6][7]

Light

Job 38 actually has quite a bit to say about light. Light is probably one of the most pervasive of God's creations and God is often compared to light Himself, so it makes sense that there is a lot more to the phenomena than meets the eye.

Light Travels

Job 38:19 asks about the way in which light dwells. The Hebrew word translated to way is "derek" which can mean way, road, distance, journey, or manner.^[9][10] Essentially, Job is telling us that light travels in a particular direction. Job may not have known the speed of light, but God informed him well ahead of schedule that light travels, which means it has speed. (The calculation of the speed of light started in 1670 with Olaus Rømer.^[11])

The Division of Light

Job 38:24 informs us that light can be parted or scattered. The scattering of white light is what creates color. This is part of the process of creating a rainbow. Snell's law, which describes the bending of light, wasn't established until the 984ad and is based on a concept that Ptolemy started in 2nd century ad, well after Job's era.^[8]

Light Waves

In Job 38:35, God brings up radio waves! Lightnings, or light, is a wave. There are several types of waves in the light spectrum, one of which is radio waves. It is through radio waves that we send messages. Although we are unable to see the waves, they are still part of the spectrum of light, thus we are sending messages through light, just as God said in Job 38.^[4][12]

Dinosaurs

We already talked about the relationship many scholars see between behemoth and dinosaurs. As such, many use the verses in Job 40 that describe behemoth (as well as the verses in Job 41 on Leviathan) to say the Bible discusses dinosaurs.

Astronomy

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?Job 38:31 KJV

God asks Job if he is able to bind Pleiades or loose Orion. Both Pleiades and Orion are constellations that can be seen in the sky. What's interesting about this question is the fact that the stars that create Pleiades are actually bound by gravity,^[13][14] but the stars those that make up Orion are not bound by gravity and are loose.^[15]

I have seen people who try to refute the accuracy of this claim since Pleiades is not permanently bound. The fact of the matter is that they were bound at the time the words were spoken, are bound now, and honestly, the world will probably end before they come unbound (the estimate for when they won't be gravitationally bound is about 250 million years). Furthermore, the point of God's question was whether Job (mankind) could replicate this act and the answer is still no.

Animal Instincts

Job 39 concentrates on animal instinct. God informs Job that animals can function without anyone teaching them anything because He made them that way. Today, scientists explain instinct as a product of evolution. It is interesting that lower order species, spiders, are born with knowledge of building webs having little to no contact with their mothers.^[16] Turtles find their way to the ocean without their mothers.^[17] Yet, humans have to be taught everything; we don't learn to walk until almost a year into life, some of us will never learn to build anything, and navigation is hit or miss.

References

1. "Behemoth". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
2. Mart-Jan Paul. "Behemoth and leviathan in the book of Job". Creation; visited June 2017
3. Melchia. "Behemoth: Largest And Strongest Land Animal In Man’s World!". The Apple of God's Eye. February 22, 2011
4. "101 Scientific Facts & Foreknowledge". Eternal Productions; visited June 2017
5. B. Hanks. "Exploring the deep ocean floor: Hot springs and strange creatures". U.S. Geological Survey. June 24, 1999
6. Steven A. Austin, Ph.D. "Springs of the Ocean". Institute for Creation Research. 1981
7. Brian Thomas, M.S. "Scientists Describe Job's 'Springs of the Sea'". Institute for Creation Research. July 23, 2015
8. "Snell's Law". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
9. Job 38:19". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
10. "Strong's 1870. derek. Bible Hub; visited June 2017
11. Jose Wudka. "Light. University of California Riverside Physics Department. September 24, 1998
12. Thuy Mai. "Electromagnetic Spectrum. NASA. April 28, 2016
13. "Pleiades". Wikipedia; visited June 2017
14. Bruce Mclure. "Pleiades star cluster, aka Seven Sisters". Earth Sky. November 7, 2016
15. Barbara Kennedy. "Speeding star gives new clues to breakup of multi-star system". Phys.org. March 30, 2017
16. "Spiderlings". Kid Zone; visited June 2017
17. Carrie Arnold. "How Do Sea Turtles Find the Exact Beach Where They Were Born?". National Geographic. January 16, 2015

Job 32-37: Elihu's Intervention

Chapter 32 introduces us to the one person who seems to understand what's happening with Job's life. The following chapters lead up to the resolution of Job's crisis.

Introduction

Elihu was younger than Job and his friends, and not quite invited into the circle of conversation. Nonetheless, he had been listening to their conversation. Now that their conversation is over, he chooses to respectfully interject his perception of what has happened. Elihu's perception is a breath of fresh air, bringing us solid theology for once.
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Elihu

Elihu is introduced as the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram. Abraham's brother Nahor has a son named Buz (Genesis 22:21). It is unclear if this is from whom Elihu is descended. We aren't told how much younger Elihu is compared to Job and and his friends, but the fact that he patiently waits for them to finish before interrupting suggests that it was at least a few years. We aren't told the ages of any of the characters but the dynamic leads me to picture Job and his friends in their late 30s which Elihu in his early to mid 20s. I estimate Job's friends to be similar in age to Job and since Job had 10 children when this began, he has to have been married and able to produce heirs for at least 10 years (assuming the children are as close together in age as possible). While women were usually married off as soon as they were able to reproduce, men generally didn't marry until they could provide for their wives, which is why marriage of old tended to take place between older men and younger women. Job probably would have gotten married in his late teens or early 20s. 10 years later would place him in his early 30s. Job 1:13 says that Job's eldest son had a house of his own, which means he had to have been at least in his mid to late teens at the youngest. Thus I estimate that Job must have been in his mid to late 30s at the youngest when all of this occurred. If Elihu was so significantly younger than Job that he was considered a child, I doubt he would have been allowed to eavesdrop, let along join the conversation at all. Elihu waits patiently to join, but speaks as though he is on near-equal footing with Job and his friends. This reminds me of how high school students might view college students. This is why I envision Elihu being less than 10 years younger than Job and his friends. Of course, as I said earlier, this is all speculation since no age is given for anyone mentioned in the book.

Elihu's Stance

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Linda Ingleson

Elihu is clearly bothered by the lack what he hears from the group of older men. He expects them to be wise because of their age, but it surprised to see that he possesses more wisdom than them. Elihu's wrath is contained to one side of the story; he sees fault in both.

Elihu is angry with Job's friends because they are making accusations without proof and providing no guidance for Job. Just as Job has complained, their words are useless.

However, as the others have pointed out, Job is declaring himself blameless and essentially asserting that God is in the wrong. This is why Elihu is angry with Job. Where Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar argued that Job must be lying, Elihu focuses on the fact that God cannot be wrong. In Job 33:12, Elihu explicitly reminds Job that God is greater than man, we cannot be just in claiming God to be in the wrong. The major difference between Elihu's stand point and that of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, is what Job's actual sin is. Job's friends are suggesting that everything has happened because he has previously sinned. While they take the same stance as Elihu that God cannot be wrong, they view Job's assertion as a denial of his previously committed sin rather than the sin itself. Elihu is spot on in suggesting that in the aftermath, what has kept Job from reconnecting to God is his prideful insistence that God is in the wrong.

Job has spent the entirety of the conversation wishing he could plead His case before God as though a mere mortal could place the Almighty on trial. Elihu takes the position of representing God, and suggests that neither of them have the right to put God on trial. Elihu emphasizes the fact that God already knows everything, therefore there is no need to plead a case before Him. What Job really needed was to listen to God's judgment. While Job had been complaining that God had not spoken to him, Elihu contends that Job simply hasn't been listening.

Listening For God

When God speaks to Elijah on the mountain, He comes by way of a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). First, there was an earthquake, and then a fire, but it was only the still small voice that contained the presence of God. God does not yell at us the way our parents do. Instead, His voice is soft and subtle. We have to really be paying attention to catch Him speaking to us. This is something that I think happens to us quite often today. For starters, we often have a preconceived notion for what we want God to say. In Job's case, it seemed like he wanted God to apologize or concede that Job was right. We often pray for something particular and wait for God to give us that blessing, but we forget to listen for him telling us we can't have that or that now isn't the time. When we don't get our way, we fume that God has not answered us, when in actuality, God has been trying to point us in another direction the whole time. It is important for us to push our own thoughts and desires to the side when we pray and listened intently for His voice.

Behavioral Rewards

People are a bit like dogs. We often do things to be rewarded and refrain from doing other things to avoid punishment. When you talk to believers and non-believers, alike, this becomes very apparent. Job's friends spent the entire conversation that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Job countered their position, arguing that good things were happening to bad people too. Job took the position that it didn't matter what a person did. This is much like the principle of luck and coincidence. Elihu takes issue with both stances.

In his speech, Elihu enlightens the men that God deals out what is fair. Since no one is 100% good, that means bad may happen to good people, and since no one is 100% evil, good may happen to bad people.

Our Indifference

Elihu also reminds us that it doesn't serve God's interest either way. The devil gains a sense of victory when we act out against God. My advisor gains publications and notoriety when his students are successful. God on the other hand neither loses nor gains anything based on our behavior. He will win the battle with the devil whether we choose Him or not. He is the Creator whether we acknowledge Him or not. Therefore, God doesn't gain anything by unjustly punishing or rewarding us. This is why He is able to judge fairly among our actions.

We Aren't Always the Main Character

Elihu reminds Job of what I call the side character effect. We experience life as though we are the main character, but really, we're just living in a world God created. Elihu points our that this alters our perception greatly. Take rain, for instance. God may send a great rain to punish people for evil deeds, but He might also send a great rain to water the plants and replenish the lakes for the fish. It isn't always about us. Sometimes we may perceive and act as open hostility toward us, but it has absolutely nothing to do with us. Job's situation was actually an example for us and for the devil; the hardships had nothing to do with punishing Job.

Science

Within Elihu's speech are several references people argue are of evidence of scientific knowledge and thus valuable. Most people who discus the scientific value of these passages do so to back their claim that only the all-knowing God could have given the authors this information (since no one else knew the information). Despite being a believer, I disagree with this assertion, in general.

Both Biblically and secularly, we have evidence that ancient people knew a lot more than we give them credit for. One of mankind's biggest problems is that we want to be special—we want to be the smartest. Think about it, if scientists were to claim that people were stagnant in intelligence, it would throw a monkey wrench in a lot of theories. Similarly, the Bible tells us that knowledge will be increased just before Jesus returns, so there must have been a period of lesser knowledge, right?

From the pyramids to the ability to navigate by the stars, from Noah's Ark to the tower of Babel, we already know that the ancients weren't idiots. Furthermore, the increasing of knowledge the New Testament speaks on, doesn't mean new knowledge. My high school band started out with a huge gap between the best musicians and the worst musicians. By my senior year, that gap was much smaller, but our best musicians weren't better. I use this example to say that although the knowledge of music increased greatly within our band, there were still people who had that knowledge beforehand.

I believe that God gives us knowledge, and that it stands to reason that His prophets will be more knowledgeable than most, but that doesn't mean that no one during their time knew the the information. None the less, it should be solid information, so let's look at the science most often pointed out in Job 32-37.

Composition of the Human Body

Genesis tells us that we were created from the dust of the Earth. Job 33:6 reiterates that man was made of clay. The elements that make up our body mimic the elements that make up the crust of the Earth.^[1][2] Many assert that this is evidence of knowledge about the composition of the human body.

I've always found the Bible's statement that we were formed from the dust of the Earth to be quite interesting. As mentioned above, we really are made of the same materials. Job and Moses could have claimed we were sculpted from water or that we were created from nothing; the possibilities are actually quite large, yet they settled on the one that scientifically, makes the most sense. What's more, is that this covers our skin tones as well. Sand, soil, and dirt exist in the same spectrum of color as the human flesh. While there are beaches with multicored sand, the dirt in these locations are mixed with other elements to create that color.^[10]

I don't necessarily think Elihu's point was to educate us on the physiology of the human body, however. Elihu brought up this point to convince Job and his friends that they were the same—we are made of the same thing. The context of the verse is less about how humans were formed (though it may provide clues), and more about Elihu's statement to the other men that he was not declaring himself greater.

Evaporation and Precipitation Cycle

Learning the water cycle in grade class was quite fun. Not only did the teacher draw plenty of pictures, we got to draw pictures too. Job 36:27, 28 shows us that Elihu had knowledge of this process way back in his day. It seems obvious enough that the water falling from the clouds is the same as the water contained within the clouds, but that requires knowing that the clouds actually contain water. It would be just as easy to assume the clouds were merely a veil God placed over the sky to hide the mechanism from with the water came. They could have been filters, like a strainer, and used to control the flow of the water. Elihu tells us that the water in clouds is the same as the water that pools on the ground. This implies that he understood at least part of the water cycle.

Elihu doesn't actually say that the water on Earth rises to the clouds, which probably gives many people pause about attributing knowledge of the water cycle to Elihu. However, I think it is possible that he did have that knowledge. Elihu says that God creates the drop of water, which begs the question: does He create them on the fly, or are they created from the water sources He already created (i.e., lakes, rivers, etc.). Many translations, such as the NIV and NKJV use the phrase "He draws up drops" as opposed to the KJV's "He maketh drops." To draw up heavily implies knowledge that the water is brought up into the sky then rains down, just as the water cycle claims.

The original Hebrew word that appears there is יְגָרַ֣ע (yəḡāra); it only appears once in the Bible. However, related words do appear throughout the text.^[3][4][5] One of these root or related words means to diminish or make small by removing from something. Given this information, I think it's safe to say that Elihu's statement means God makes the water drops small by removing them from existing bodies of water on Earth.^[5] This is exactly what is described in the water cycle!^[6]

Wind and Weather Direction

Job 37:9,17 discusses weather direction. I remember as a kid, my grandmother used to tell me if a storm came from a particular direction, it would be worse than if it came from the other. Her rationale wasn't from divine knowledge, however, it was from observation. Of course, we could always argue that God gave her the ability to recognize such an observation... Nonetheless, Elihu informs Job that cold comes from the north, while whirlwinds and warmth come from the south. I am not a weather expert, but having grown up on the coast of the Southeastern United States my whole life, this sounds like a solid observation.

Personally, I don't find this passage to be earth shaking, but I have seen it listed on other sites and in commentaries as being of importance, so I thought I'd cover it.

Clouds and Lightning Relationship

Believer's Bible Commentary lists Job 37:11 as knowledge of the cloud-lightning relationship. The commentary doesn't explain why, and after reading the verse, I still didn't understand why. There are two types of lightning that can occur during a storm. One form is the kind that goes from the ground to the sky; this is the kind we generally worry about. However, lightening can also strike between the clouds. "Bright cloud" does not have to be a reference to lightning, however. This interpretation comes from the original Hebrew.^[7][8][9] Nonetheless, it seems to me more of an observation of God's wonder than a statement of any sort.

References

1. Ginger Allen. "From Dust to Dust". Answers In Genesis. February 15, 2012
2. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. "Elemental Composition of the Human Body. Thoughtco. March 15, 2017
3. "Job 36:27. Bible Hub; visited June 1027
4. "Yegara". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
5. "Bible Lexicons: Old Testament Hebrew Lexical Dictionary: Entry for Strong's #1639". Studylight; visited June 2017
6. Peter Jaeger. "The Water Cycle: Precipitation Condensation, and Evaporation". Study.com; visited June 2017
7. "Job 37:11". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
8. "Strong's 6051. anan". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
9. Strong's 216. or". Bible Hub; visited June 2017
10. Talia Avakian. "15 gorgeous colored-sand beaches around the world ". Business Insider. July 6, 2015

Job 28-31: Job's Monologue

Chapters 28-31 cover Job's final word to his friends about his predicament. In these chapters, Job discusses the power and riches God had given him and the importance of wisdom.

Introduction

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Yosh Ginsu

One of the hardest things for Job during this time, was probably the social ramifications of his predicament. Job was one the most respected men in the area and he was considered wise among the multitude living in that region. Although his friends may not have held the correct answers, it apparent that they, too, were considered wise. If they thought Job was suffering because of his own sins, the likelihood of the rest of the community believing the same was pretty high. Job lost the respect of these people and likely questioned his own sanity. As sure as he is that he has not sinned, and as faithful as he is to God, Job admits that he doesn't understand what is happening to him.

Wisdom

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. ⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. ⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. ⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. ⁹She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.Proverbs 4:5-9 KJV

Job 28 discusses wisdom, something Job says his friends are lacking. Wisdom is a big deal in the bible and is mentioned in almost every book. It isn't simply knowing things, but knowing how to apply information to life. Job tells us that wisdom can't be found; it isn't in the depths of the earth to be mined or in the sea where we fish. Even more, it cannot be bought. Simply paying out riches will not make you wise. Job tells us the only way to have wisdom is possess the fear of the Lord. This is reiterated in Proverbs 1:7 and James 1:5. The New Testament clarifies that the Holy Spirit is the provider of wisdom. The wisdom provided by God is what should inform our actions and thoughts.

Glory and Power

The next topic Job covers is where we start to see the social ramifications of Job's conditions. If you remember, Eliphaz had previously accused Job of neglecting the poor. God made it clear that rich and powerful were to remember the poor and less fortunate by taking care of their needs. In Biblical literature the poor are often referred to as orphans (or the fatherless) and widows, since these were two groups likely to need the most looking out for. As Job clarifies his position in society, he also addresses Eliphaz's accusation.

Job admits that before his misfortune hit, he was very rich and very powerful. People had held great respect for Job before his troubles started; they respected his advice and held him as a man of great authority. People did not argue with Job and paid respects when he entered a room. Job must have been something of a wise man or town priest (like Moses' father-in-law). Today, we generally think of the rich and powerful as enemies and crooks. The powerful are out passing laws to keep the poor in poverty and the rich are suggesting the poor deserve to be poor.^[1] Job would not have been one of those people. He tells us that he was generous with his money and accomplished good with his blessings. Job helped the poor, the fatherless, and the widowed, exactly as expected of him by God.

The devil, in his haste to persecute God's people, failed to realize that the reason God continued to bless Job was his graciousness. Had Job only been following God for the blessings, he would never have acquired the fruit of the spirit. He would have been selfish and greedy. A lukewarm Job would have committed exactly the sins Eliphaz suggested he did.

Now that Job was in distress, the respect and power he'd once enjoyed was lost. Job pleads with God, saying that only evil has befallen him. Job can't seem to catch a break, along with losing his family and health, he has lost the respect of everyone in town. This is a classic case of kicking a man while he's down. When we add in the fact that all of this happened quickly, it makes the situation even more tragic. Before he could fully mourn one thing, something else was happening! The devil often comes at us full force to ensure we don't have time to stabilize ourselves. This is why it is important to stay in constant communication with God!

A Modern Example

In recent weeks a story surfaced about Shad Moss, also known as Bow Wow or Lil' Bow Wow, in which he lied about boarding a private jet. In the days that followed social media had a blast roasting the former star under #BowWowChallenge. When Chance the Rapper jumped in the game by showing off his real experience of boarding a private plane and tagged it #BowWowChallenge, one author decided society had gone too far.^[2] The comments I saw from my friends about this article, as well as, the comments beneath the article show that majority of the people saw no shame in roasting the former star and possessed no sympathy to the plight of a former child star, as discussed by the author.

Now, I don't know Bow Wow personally, but based on what I've seen in the media, I wouldn't compare him to the righteousness of Job by any means. However, Bow Wow's fall from celebrity-hood probably does mirror Job's fall from prosperity quite well. What the author says in her article is true; 15 years ago, when Beware of the Dog came out, Bow Wow held the number one spot on almost every chart. My friends and I loved his album and never missed his videos, which were always #1 on 106 & Park. Had the Scream tour come anywhere near my home town, I'm sure my friends and I would have begged to go, and like those who did attend, probably screamed our heads off the whole time. Bow Wow was that guy during the early 2000s. I'm not sure if teens and preteens of today would even know who he is. That's a stark contrast.

Granted, Bow Wow fell off over time, Job's descent was likely just as shocking. To go from having everything and being regarded as the "it" guy of the town to being miserable and having nothing... That's drastic. Just as Job's friends wanted to blame Job for his sudden case of misfortune, society found nothing wrong with laughing at Bow Wow's attempt to save face in his own misfortune. While Bow Wow may not have taken the shame personally,^[3] you have to wonder how we would react to Job. It seems that we live in a society that likes to see people fall. When Bow Wow was on top of his game, everyone loved him. Just last year, he was opening up about thoughts of suicide,^[4] and instead of hoping he gets the help he needs we are arguing about it being OK to laugh at him. We sound a lot like Job's misguided friends if you ask me.

How Do We Handle Loss?

Which brings us to the question of how do we handle loss. We aren't all as fortunate as Job or the celebrities of today. However, we all have something that makes us who we are and we all feel as though we've lost the world when a major change occurs. Maybe its the loss of a parent or mentor. Perhaps its the loss of our youth as we age. I'm sure at some point many of us have reminisced about a time past when we felt like things were better. There are many quotes that tell us we have to know where we've been to know where we're going, but I think in times like this, it's better to heed the advice of the quotes that tell us not to dwell on the past. Just because we've lost something, doesn't mean God won't bring us success in another area of our life. If we dwell on the past, we will stay stagnant trying to replicate or previous success (this is where Bow Wow fails). Look to God for a better future and don't be afraid to try something new.

Strange Poetry

²⁹I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. ³⁰My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heatJob 30:29-30 KJV

Job ends chapter 30 with two interesting lines of poetry, shown to the left. First, Job says that he is a brother to dragons and a companion to owls. We know that Job doesn't mean he is literally a brother to dragons, so it stands to reason that these verses are symbolic and figurative. The owl and the dragon must stand for something that Job is now aligned with. Owls are nocturnal, which seems to be a reference back to Job 30:28, in which Job tells us that he mourns before the sun rises. If you search the Bible for verses on owls, they don't seem to be mentioned positively. Isaiah 34:13 gives us another verse were the owl is placed beside the dragon; here it is reference to the burning of the world during the end times. Biblical symbolism holds that the dragon is usually the devil. Of course, dragons and the dragon may be different. Looking at Isaiah 34 we see that owls and dragons are mentioned as scavengers, picking off the remnants of the destroyed earth. Where there is decay, vultures, owls, and dragons prosper. Perhaps Job is saying that he has become like these scavengers, seeking whatever remnants of his life he can find in the aftermath of the devils curses. Note that the NIV says jackals instead of dragons, and the NKJV and ESV both replace dragons and owls with jackals and ostriches, respectively.

The entire chapter is a lament for Job's situation, which ususally goes hand in hand with the color black. It doesn't stand out that Job says his skin is black upon him, but I think it's worth looking at more closely. Job and his friends had been sitting in ashes for at least 7 days (Job 2:8, Job 2:13). Job's skin was probably black from the ashes and possibly from the scars left by the boils. He was likely becoming overheated in the desert sun at this point (Job 30:30) and perhaps the darkening of his skin was also due to a tan. Nonetheless, both the heat and the shame of being dirty represented the fallen status Job now held. In a home with servants and children, someone would have drawn him a bath to wash away the ashes and another person would have likely fanned away the heat. He could now afford neither.

Ending the Speech

One thing that Job's friends never accuse him of is adultery or lust. Job addresses this without prompt in Job 31. Job spends quite a bit of time explaining that he has neither coveted his neighbor's wife nor committed adultery. It leads me to wonder if he is also speaking of paganism and idolatry. Adultery is often used to describe idolatry; the Israelites are often said to commit whoredom when dabbling in paganism. Job may have been proclaiming his innocence both with his wife and with God.

Job makes it clear that if he has wronged someone then he wishes to reap the punishment. Job denies the claims that he mistreated the poor, but expresses a desire to make it right if he has done something in which he was unaware. It takes a lot to admit we may be wrong or that we may have offended someone unintentionally, but Job was willing to pay that price and move forward if it would allow him to reclaim his relationship with God.

Probably fed up with his friends and the feebleness of their conversation, Job says this is all he has to say and that it is the end of his speech.

Science

As I mentioned during the introduction to Job, there are lots of verses in Job that people assert are scientifically significant. Scholars, skeptics, and believers can argue until Jesus comes back about when the book was written, but we can all agree it was written in the bc era. That makes knowledge of scientific principles discovered recently pretty impressive. One such example of this is found in Job 28:25.^[7]

To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.Job 28:25 KJV

In this verse, Job is telling us that God makes a weight for wind. Scientifically, the idea that air had physical properties was introduced by Isaac Beekman in 1618, well after Job. The fact that air actually has a weight was proven by Pierre Petit in 1646.^[5][6]

I don't think its a coincidence that directly after mentioning the weight of air, Job talk about the weight of water. Both weights play a role in the hydrologic cycle!^[8]

References

1. Jose A. DelReal. "Ben Carson calls poverty ‘a state of mind’ during interview". The Washington Post. May 24, 2017
2. Aliya S. King. "Let’s Discuss Why The #BowWowChallenge Was Not OK. BET. May 15, 2017
3. Lisa Respers France. "Bow Wow responds to #BowWowChallenge". CNN. May 12, 2017
4. Speedy Morgan. "Bow Wow Opens Up About Contemplating Suicide, Groupies, and Baby Mama Drama". Complex. July 19, 2016
5. "Discovering Air". PBS. November 2000
6. A.N. Meldrum. "The Discovery of the Weight of the Air". Nature. July 30, 1908
7. "Science and the Bible. Clarifying Christianity; 2013
8. "Water Cycle". Wikipedia; visited June 2017

Job 22-27: Third Responses

During the third cycle of responses, only Eliphaz and Bildad speak. Once again Job responds to their criticism and we see that they do not have an answer for him. One thing that stands out is the discussion on helping the poor. The accusation that Job has not aided the less fortunate, while false, is a reminder than many of laws given in Exodus and Leviticus were in effect well before the Exodus.

Introduction

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Tim Foster

Chapters 22 through 27 cover the third set of responses amongst the friends. For some reason, Zophar chooses not to speak. Eliphaz and Bildad do not change their stances, and Job is still not comforted. One thing that stands out is the discussion on helping the poor. The accusation that Job has not aided the less fortunate, while false, is a reminder than many of laws given in Exodus and Leviticus were in effect well before the Exodus.
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Eliphaz

We always hear the saying "what profitest a man if he gain the world but lose his soul?", this time, Eliphaz is asking what God gets from us being righteous or evil. Eliphaz is actually very close to the issue when he poses this question. God doesn't need us; He isn't less good because we screw up, nor is He more perfect when we get it right. So what's the point? During Job's tragedies, his reaction gave God satisfaction in defeating the adversary (aka the devil).

As usual, however, Eliphaz goes on and we see that his logic is flawed. Eliphaz says that Job is guilty of great wickedness. He accuses Job of neglecting and taking advantage of the poor. God left several provisions in the law that specify how we are to treat the poor; it's important to note that despite Job living well before the law was penned, Eliphaz is accusing Job of sin from not following these laws. Eliphaz says that Job has to receive the law from God, repent, and return to God for his pain to be lifted.

Job's Response

Job eventually denies Eliphaz's accusation, but not immediately. In Job 23, Job's response is quite brief and doesn't address the accusation. Instead, Job speaks about having an audience with God. Job admits that merely being in the presence of the Lord would give him strength. Only after this does Job address Eliphaz's stance.

Job talks about the evil doers, such as those who cheat the poor, adulterers, and murderers. He contends that eventually they are brought low, but they still enjoy success for a while. I believe Job was making the point that Eliphaz's overall premise was faulty. Good could indeed happen to the wicked, just as evil could indeed happen to the righteous.

Bildad

Bildad reminds us that God has dominion over everything. We are born in sin and cannot be esteemed because we are imperfect. Bildad says even the stars are not pure in God's eyesight.

Job's Response

Job's response to Bildad is to point out the awe of God's creation. Job is acknowledging that we only see bits and pieces of God's power and are not worthy of understanding. We see and feel the effects of God giving and taking, but we don't comprehend the whys of these actions. Job understands this and that is why he won't speak ill of God. Job fully understood his friends' position on what would happen to the wicked, but he would not stoop to their level of misunderstanding and confess to something he didn't do. Job understood that this would have been a selfish act, rooted in self interest over truth. Further, he could not honestly repent when he felt he had done nothing wrong. It does us no good to apologize if we don't mean it; going through the motions doesn't cut it with God.

Suspension of the Earth

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.Job 26:7 KJV

Does Job 26:7 describe the suspension of the earth and is that remarkable? I've found that people are determined to believe or not believe; which means people will generally find whatever evidence they can to support their belief and toss out everything else. It's practically impossible to hold an unbiased view. As a believer, my opinion is clearly swayed toward God, but I will say that I don't think there's anything in the Bible that concretely proves it's divine authorship. If we could point to a verse and claim proof, there would be no need for faith and no one would be fooled by the antichrist.

The verse in question clearly states that the earth isn't hanging from anything. The first thing that pops into my head is that of a mobile, where the planets dangle from strings. Unlike God, we can't easily make a replica of our solar system without hanging our planets upon something. Given enough money one might be able to create an environment of with manipulated gravity to accomplish a solar system effect. Of course, I'm sure it would take several people to pull this off.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Jonatan Pie

Job is correct we aren't hanging like a Christmas tree ornament. Nonetheless, one non-believer points out that simple observation of the sky makes it obvious that the Earth isn't hanging upon anything.^[1] If we were on Saturn, we would be able to see the rings, so if there was cosmic rope connected to the Earth, surely we would see the rope, right? Yes...and no. There's this phenomenon called the aurora borealis, where the magnetic field strips radiation to provide a beautiful show of color in the sky. I've heard it's quite beautiful to look at, but I've never seen it. Why haven't I seen it? Because it's only visible at the poles and the farthest north I've ever been is Boston. I've also never seen gravity or a magnetic field, because they are forces—ok, I admit, I've seen a magnetic field illustrated with iron fillings but you get my point.

Of course, there's a 50/50 chance when it comes to Jobs particular statement.^[1] We either are or are not hanging from something. Skeptics often point to other verses in the Bible (even one in Job, Job 9:6) which discuss the pillars of the Earth to suggest the Bible is trying to have its cake and eat it too. The problem with their logic is that it isn't a contradiction. If you go to an amusement park and ride a rollercoaster, is the coaster hanging by anything? No, but it is supported by "pillars" beneath it. Whether the pillars mentioned in the Bible are metaphorical or references to gravity or something entirely different is another topic.

Honestly, I don't think Job was using that moment to try to teach us anything scientific. In fact, I think he was going for the opposite. The whole of Job 26 is meant to express awe at God handiwork. As I mentioned earlier, even with all of our science and technological advancement, we can achieve the level of creation God has. There are many things we can explain, but can't reproduce and even more things we can't even explain. It was true in Job's day, and it's still true in ours.

References

1. "Did God reveal to Job that the Earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7)?". 500 Questions. May 2011